The magistrate had arrived back from the wedding he officiated in the middle of the night and was not happy to be awoken so early, but when Lian explained who she was and what Li Jie and she had planned, he was happy to provide the paper and ink she required to reach Captain Puotong. The magistrate also presented a new problem though.

Li Jie, Fen, and seven villagers walked into the same dirt floored building Lian had originally fought Kang in, and she told them the bad news.

“We can’t take the extra horse.”

“Why?” Li Jie asked.

“The magistrate’s horse is sick. Came down with a fever last night as they came in. And we’ll need the messenger to get to my friend today.”

“We packed an extra three days’ worth of food on the horse, and tents for everyone.”

“Split the food among everyone, but we’ll have to go without the tents. If we don’t do this in three or four days anyway, we’ll probably have bigger problems than sleeping outside.”

Li Jie nodded and led the villagers outside to redistribute their supplies, as Lian wrote her notes. Quan watched her, and after she finished the first letter asked, “Two letters?”

“That’s right.”

“Why?”

“Because I still need him to let me – let both of us – in and out of the country after this. Have to be polite. In the first letter at least.”

“What’s in the second letter then?”

Lian looked at her son and smiled. “The universal currency of bureaucrats, politicians, and the army. Dirt.”

The magistrate provided an older woman as the messenger and set her off for Puotong’s outpost with the first letter and instructions to meet again at the ruins Li Jie had spoken of with any reply. The rest of the party set off walking towards Li Jie’s Lily Valley.

The villagers were in surprisingly good hopes, holding their makeshift weapons with confidence. Lian knew that confidence would disappear the instant a single bandit with a real weapon was bearing down on them. In reality she didn’t expect the villagers to do much, but Lian had fought enough bandits to know that a single arrow – even fired haphazardly – hitting the right person at the right time could break spirits and end the threat of a group of outlaws. She just hoped the arrows coming back weren’t too accurate to break her little troupe’s spirits first.

Lily Valley was mostly the spitting image of Brilliant River Valley, except lilies grew there and there was no river nearby. The other exception was Li Jie’s house, which was much statelier than his brother’s rented home. The villagers there were all related to the villagers from Brilliant River Valley, and when the two groups met there was much laughter and back slapping. It was by far the most adventurous thing any of the villagers had ever done, and the thrill of it was contagious. When word got out that the fearsome Shuli Go who’d singlehandedly defeated Xue Kang and his dozen followers – such was the growth of her legend – four years earlier, was the same one now sending word for a band of troops, their spirits raised even more. They marched off to the southeast singing local folk songs about great battles and ancient heroes. Lian smiled and said a few words of encouragement to the young men and women, though she ensured she and Li Jie remained ahead of the pack on their horses, to keep from letting slip just how useless she knew the villagers were likely to be.

Quan and Fen followed close by, the two teenagers sullen as they walked a half-dozen paces away from one another. Lian had noticed just how obvious their glances towards each other were, and she was pretty sure Li Jie had noticed it too. Lian knew Zhosian boys and girls didn’t mix in the liberal way Imperial children were raised to, but she couldn’t believe just how bad her son was at approaching someone he was attracted to. Especially when it was clear Fen was just as attracted to him. Granted, she thought, there are obviously going to be some confusing emotions on both sides considering the larger situation. But Imperial teenagers weren’t usually shy about putting the larger situation to the side if there was a chance to cut through some sexual tension.

Her son’s love life was just a distraction though – most of her thoughts were on how to find and defeat the Keeper and his bandits. Li Jie didn’t have a map of the countryside available, but she picked his brain for the best way to approach the bandit’s potential camp the next day. The terrain he described was hilly, with a few especially tall peaks that would allow for good scouting positions. The problem was the bandits, if they’d returned to their base already, would probably have their own lookouts on those very same hills. Lian knew she could easily dispatch a few sentries on her own without raising alarms, but without a very clear idea of the geography, their entire group could go over a small crest and suddenly be visible to the enemy. The second day’s marching would have to be much less direct than the walk to the old fort.

The boisterous songs and loud smiles of the early day gave way to quieter conversations and furrowed brows as the heat of the bright summer day beat down on the group of travellers. They stuck to the roads and stopped for lunch at another fork between north-south and east-west. As they continued to the south and east the road nestled into a series of valleys as the hills started rising up around them. Even then the slight incline of the path started taking its toll and the pace of the group slowed. Lian estimated they had only made it eight miles when she decided it was time to turn off the road.

“Are you sure that’s smart?” Li Jie asked. “We’ll move much slower across the hills.”

“Maybe, but it’ll give us a chance to keep an eye out for the bandits if our paths are going to cross. Plus we can move straight towards the fort instead of winding back and forth through the hills like this.”

The decision to trample up and down each hill – some of them planted with crops despite their incline – didn’t do wonders for the morale of the villagers, but they continued on without complaint and Lian felt more comfortable at the top of each hill when she couldn’t spot any signs of horse movement.

At the top of one such hill Li Jie pointed just to the east and said, “There’s another village just below there. We could see if they know anything more about the bandits. They may even pitch in a few more soldiers.” Lian agreed and they headed towards the village, a few excited shouts from those who had family there injecting some excitement back into the march.

When they arrived the excitement died. As had most of the village.

There were only six homes still standing: the rest had been burnt to the ground or smashed by the bandits. When Lian’s group approached from on high, there were terrified shouts from the locals thinking the bandits had returned, but one of them recognized Li Jie before a full panic set in. Not that it would have mattered, the people there were in no shape to do anything – panicked or not.

Lian and Li Jie led their horses down into the village amid the smell of death and waste, some of the burnt down homes still smouldering. There were only twenty or so villagers left – Li Jie explained that at least fifty used to live there – and they were all exhausted and dishevelled. Half the survivors were out in the fields, harvesting half-finished crops because the bandits had taken almost all their food, along with their young men and women and almost every tool the villagers owned. The survivors told them how the ones that had fought back had been killed – almost a dozen. Particularly brutal was the Keeper, who killed with ease and apparent pleasure. There was only a single shovel left behind, and they had just finished the last of the graves, still fresh enough for the families of the dead to kneel over them, weeping and tearing their hair in mourning. The bandits had attacked two days ago, on their way to Brilliant River Valley – where they’d run into Lian.

Lian told everyone in her group to break out the food and prepare a meal for everyone in the village from their supplies. It meant their makeshift army would only have enough food for three days, but she didn’t care. She was going to deal with the bandits before then – a fact she explained to the village elder when she pulled him aside and handed him a piece from her purse. His eyes lit up – he hadn’t seen that much money in one place in a long time – but the joy dimmed quickly.

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“It’s no use. They’ll just come back and take any tools we buy anyway.”

“This isn’t for tools. It’s for food. Head to the nearest town and get enough for a few weeks. Bring the people back off the farms.”

“But we’ll still need tools eventually.”

“You already own them. I’ll be bringing them back. Hopefully with your young people.”

The old man nodded without any belief in her words, grateful for the money just the same.

After they ate a number of the local villagers announced – with vast quantities of rage and determination – that they would join Lian’s group on their noble battle against the Keeper and his men. Lian appreciated the thought, but they were mostly middle aged or older, and the lack of tools meant even makeshift weapons weren’t an option. She told them instead to do their best with what they had, and leave the bandit killing to the professionals.

They left the village behind, still smouldering, and the mood among the villager-soldiers had plummeted. Whispers started to swirl: “What hope do we have?” and “They killed the ones who fought back, just like us.” Lian let the murmurs bubble for a while before stopping on top of a hill and facing her makeshift soldiers.

“I’m going to tell you all the same thing I told Xue Li Jie.” The villagers looked up at her, some already beaten, others hopeful she could convince them otherwise. “A bandit trampling down a villager who just woke up is not the same kind of bandit we’re going to be fighting. We’re going to be fighting people just as scared as you are right now. We’re going to fighting them in their homes, when they’re not ready for it, and they’re going to break apart and beg for mercy before it’s over.”

The peasants looked to one another, obviously not convinced. One, a young woman, just stared at Lian. Their eyes locked and the young woman asked what the whole group was wondering. “How can you be sure?”

Lian smiled and replied. “Because I’ve done it before.”

She then stared right into the eyes of every other villager, holding their gaze for a second before moving on. The solemnity of her vow shone in her eyes, and even infected some of the villagers. Not all of them, but enough for the group to believe they could do it. She turned her horse about and led them on.

“I hope you’re right,” Li Jie said as they rode side by side.

“I am.” She said.

Li Jie smiled at Lian’s confidence. “Ok.”

They continued the march across the hills towards the old fort as the sun started its slow summertime descent. When Li Jie said they were about a mile away, Lian spotted a large hill with an almost sheer rock face on its northwestern edge.

“That would make a good lookout post for us. In case the bandits come back in the night time.”

Li Jie nodded. “Yes, there’s actually a small ledge you can sit on there. It’s a great view of the countryside.”

“Ok, let’s head there first.”

The hill was taller than anything for a mile around, and while the northwest face was too steep to climb, she left the villagers at the foot of the hill and took Li Jie, Fen, and Quan up the southern slope to examine the ledge. It wasn’t much more than a plank of stone accessible by a small path beaten by travellers over the years: the whole surface was only twenty five square feet of uneven stone. The four of them made their way to it and Lian looked out. The entirety of the paths and roads to the north were visible – if the bandits were coming in this direction, there was no way to sneak by without being spotted from here. While the stone fort they were heading towards wasn’t visible form the ledge, it was from the top of the hill: an overgrown mass of white stone walls that had mostly crumbled, a reclaimed roof of tall trees and bushes providing shelter from the elements.

“Ok. We’ll need some sentries here for the night,” Lian instructed.

“Should I bring up some of the villagers?” Li Jie asked.

Lian looked at him, then circled around the small space, stamping her foot on the hard rock. “Nah,” she replied dismissively, “this is going to be very uncomfortable. And your villagers have already put up with a lot today. No, I think we have our sentries here already.”

She turned to Quan and Fen and smiled. The surprise on their faces lasted too long for either of them to object with any skill. Quan eventually stammered out, “You’re sure?”

“Yes. Now no fire tonight, understand? It’s still almost a full moon and they’ll be able to see smoke.”

“What are we supposed to do if we see them?” Fen asked.

“Ah, good question,” Lian then rummaged around in the bag she’d taken off her horse at the bottom of the hill. She withdrew a thin, tall cylinder with a pointed top and a thin wire poking out the bottom.

“A firework?” Fen and Quan both asked at once before looking at each other and blushing.

“That’s right. Put it in the ground, Quan can light it. And this way you can tell us which way they’re moving. If they’re coming around to the east, fire it to the east. If it’s to the west, around the west.”

“That will give away our position though,” Quan pointed out.

“Yeah, and then they’ll come and capture you. But they’re not going to hurt you if that happens. They’ll just pack you up with the rest of their loot. If it happens, don’t worry, we’ll save you when we capture all their other stolen goods. In the meantime, you’ll have saved the rest of us from getting caught with our pants down.”

Fen nodded, but Quan began to pose an objection. “But mom I can—”

“No,” Lian stopped him before he could finish. Then with her eyes she said: not in front of other people. Not yet.

Quan understood and nodded silently.

“Ok,” Lian instructed, “come grab some extra food off the horses and then try and get comfortable for the night. One of you has to be awake at all times, so figure out who sleeps first.”

The teens walked down and gathered their things in silence, and made their way back up in quiet too. Lian and Li Jie bade them good night, then gathered up the villagers and made the half-mile trek to the ruins, which were just as broken down but still useable as Li Jie had promised.

As the villagers rolled out under the cover of the trees, the messenger arrived with word from Puotong. She stood next to Lian’s third horse outside the fort and delivered the message.

“I believe his exact words were: not for all the spices in the Slave Islands,” the messenger explained.

“Ok,” Lian replied. “Come in and sleep the night here. As soon as the sun’s up I need you to go back to him with this,” she pulled out her second prepared letter. “When he says yes this time, I need you to bring him and his men to the base of that mountain,” she pointed to the first of the ridge of Zhosian mountains, to the southeast, just south of where she approximated the bandits’ camp would be. “You understand?”

“Yes,” the messenger replied, exhausted and just happy to be able to rest. “I’ll tell him.”

Inside the broken down old walls, Li Jie was feeding and rubbing down his and Lian’s horses. Lian walked up next to him and rubbed her horse affectionately behind the ear. “How do you think we’re doing?” She asked the nobleman.

“Well,” he responded hesitantly. “It could be worse. But I really hope your officer friend comes through. Everything the villagers were saying back there was accurate. These bandits have been cutting people down all year. And I’m not even sure some of these people will be able to swing a weapon at a living person.”

“I know. I’m hoping they won’t have to do much fighting at all. If this works out, I think we can get the majority of the bandits to thrown down their weapons without much bloodshed.”

“And what if they come after us tonight?”

“They won’t,” Lian reassured him.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s just the logistics. They’ve already raided everything close to here. Say a day’s ride away, by horse. They hit that last village two days ago, and then yesterday they were heading towards Brilliant River Valley. Since they didn’t take anything from there, they have to keep going, probably straight to the north. Say another day’s ride away. That puts them at three days worth of riding and pillaging, which for about eighty to a hundred men means they’re probably getting to their maximum for what they can carry, and as much as they feel comfortable being out of their home base. So they’ll be heading back soon, but it’ll be another day and a half worth of riding probably.”

Li Jie looked at her with surprise and admiration. “You really have done this before.”

“Yeah, I have,” she smiled. “If we’re lucky, we’ll get to their camp with almost no one there. And then we can spring a trap for them. With my friend’s soldiers along for the fun part, I like our chances.”

Li Jie nodded, his own spirits lifted. Then he considered a moment. “Then, why did you ask Fen and Quan to act as lookouts?”

Her smile turned mischievous. “Honestly? I’m just kind of hoping your niece puts the moves on my son.”

Li Jie couldn’t help but laugh. “They were looking at each other quite a bit, weren’t they?”

“Yes, and Zhosian children are not raised quite right in my mind. I don’t think he’s ever had any kind of… experience.”

Li Jie was stunned. “None?”

“No. They tell teenagers there to wait until marriage for any sex.”

Li Jie shook his head. “How unnatural.”

“I know.”

The nobleman kept shaking his head. “I don’t know though, I mean… my niece. I don’t see it happening.”

“Really?” Lian scoffed. “I do. And here’s how. It’s a beautiful, clear, starry night. They have a wonderful view. It’s a sheer cliff face for a reason – probably a weird prevailing wind or something – so it’ll be chilly. She’ll snuggle up next to him, insisting it’s just to stay warm. Maybe they decide to put both their blankets on top of one another and sleep next to one another – you know, to stay warm. They’ll be looking up at the stars, and they’ll both say they’re too excited to sleep, so they’ll put off picking out who sleeps first. And they’ll talk and they’ll keep getting closer and closer, you know, to stay warm, and then maybe it’ll be an accidental bump or they’ll have to roll off of an uncomfortable rock or something, and then there they are.”

Li Jie chuckled for a few moments, but eventually his face grew less joyous. “Maybe. I’m not sure you’ve got quite the right read on my niece though.”