Part 2, Chapter 33

The rescue

Ch 33

Xun stood in the center of her small courtyard and stared blankly up at the moon. In one hand she held the most recent letter written to her by the God of War in the other she held a hair stick with a carved bird on the end. It wasn’t the same as the one she had lost, it was gold instead of wood and each of the birds feathers was inlaid with a tiny jewel chip that made the entire carving sparkle, even in the dim moonlight. 

He had known about her hair stick. He had known about the origami bird she had kept next to her pillow. And about the box of letters she had found on her shelf one day, all addressed to Little Bird.

How did he know all of these things?

Xun had no answers, so she stared at the moon as if it could tell unravel all these strange events. She had just decided to go back into her room to warm up when she saw two shadows climbing over the wall. They were oddly familiar shadows. Xun opened her mouth to demand who was there when she heard Leng Zai’s excited whisper, “Xun! Xun! We finally found you!”

Leng Zai raced across the yard and spun her up into his arms. Before she could protest he had dropped his lips onto hers in an enthusiastic, if boyish kiss. Renping followed behind him at a more sedate pace. “You’d think he hadn’t seen you in years, not just over a week,” she said a bit cynically. 

Xun pushed Leng Zai away, glad the moonlight hid the intense blush staining her cheeks. She just had time to notice that the two were wearing the uniforms of the God of War’s army and that they didn’t fit very well when she heard the soft hiss of steel being drawn coming from the open gate.

Leng Zai pushed Xun towards Renping. “Get away from here!” He said roughly before drawing his sword and turning to face the threat.

Xun pulled Renping into the door of her room before the two turned to watch the fight. The men were ferocious, their faces snarling masks as they pounded on each other’s blades with little finesse. Xun was shocked at how naturally Leng Zai handled the sword, he was slightly less graceful than the God of War, but with every stroke that became less and less true. As Leng Zai’s strokes became smoother and more coordinated the fight between the two men changed. Their blows became almost rhythmical, as if the two had practiced together a thousand times. The God of War’s expression became almost thoughtful and Leng Zai seemed to relax into the fight. Just when the two seemed almost equal, Leng Zai gave a cheeky grin and lunged when he should have dodged. His blade scratched along the God of War’s face, drawing blood. The God of War leapt into the air, somersaulting over his opponent. 

Xun couldn’t understand what happened next. Both men cried out and collapsed, unmoving. She and Renping rushed to Leng Zai’s side. A single drop of blood, dark against his skin, had splashed onto his forehead. Xun checked that he was breathing and allowed herself to calm down. 

Renping heaved one of Leng Zai’s arms over her shoulder. “Help me!” She demanded. Xun automatically put Leng Zai’s other arm around her shoulder. “Your bed is in that room?” Renping asked, jerking her head.

“Yes,” Xun responded shakily, she was never her best in an emergency.

“Help me get Leng Zai into the bed, then you call for someone to take care of sword happy over there. When Leng Zai wakes up we’ll find somewhere better to hide, but for now just keep everyone away from here.”

Xun and Renping wrestled Leng Zai up the few stairs and into Xun’s room. 

“You shouldn’t call the God of War sword happy,” Xun chided. They flopped Leng Zai’s unaccommodating frame onto Xun’s bed and arranged him under the covers.

“Well he shouldn’t charge sword first into a reunion between friends,” Renping snapped back.

Xun didn’t reply. She was pretty sure she couldn’t win this argument. Instead she turned her attention to Leng Zai, stroking his forehead worriedly and absentmindedly wiping the blood onto her skirt. “Take care of him,” she said to Renping without taking her eyes off of Leng Zai.

“Of course,” Renping replied, “Go take care of the God of War. Make sure you keep everyone out of here.”

Xun nodded and raced out the door.