Long grabbed the broken end of the cord as his two attackers sprang into action. Coiling the cord in his left hand, he took the counterweight in his right and cocked his right arm back. When the first attacker was within range, Long hurled the counterweight at the man’s head, letting the cord out while maintaining a tight grip on its end.
It was a direct hit. The man dropped to his knees and the cord went slack. However, the man was only dazed. His turban had absorbed more of the impact than Long would have liked.
Long switched the end of the cord to his right hand. He took several steps backward to make additional space between him and the second approaching man, and swung his right arm in a wide arc, the counter weight lifting off the ground and flying through the air like the weighted end of a chain whip or, more precisely, a rope dart.
Long had always been quite skilled with the chain whip and rope dart. Both mimicked the powerful sweeping motions of a dragon’s tail. He aimed the airborne counterweight at the second attacker’s head, and the man raised his sword in front of his face in an effort to protect himself.
The swinging counterweight wrapped the cord around the weapon’s hilt. Long gave a vicious yank, pulling the sword from the astonished man’s hands.
Long glanced at the first attacker and saw that he had stumbled to the stable and was fumbling with a saddlebag. He produced a pistol and aimed it at Long’s chest.
“I should have used this from the start,” the man said. “Drop the rope and—”
Long’s dan tien began to twitch. He heard hooves pounding behind him. He turned to see an elderly man much like Cang roar past on what appeared to be a Heavenly Horse. The rider halted in a cloud of dust in front of the stable and pulled two pistols from his sash. He pointed one at the armed man inside the stable, and the other at the unarmed man.
“Drop the pistol,” the rider said to the man in the stable.
“I don’t think so, DingXiang,” the man in the stable replied. “I believe this is a stalemate.”
“Think again,” said a new voice from behind the stable. Long looked over to see a young man step around the corner carrying a pistol in one hand and a pair of glowing blacksmith tongs in the other. He dropped the tongs in the sand and positioned himself so that the man in the stable could not shoot or even see him, but he still had an easy shot at the weaponless attacker.
The weaponless attacker swallowed hard and called out to his companion inside the stable, “It’s the apprentice and he’s got a pistol aimed at my head. Do as he says. That horse is not worth dying for.”
The man inside the stable cursed and returned his pistol to the saddlebag. He tied the bag closed and looked at DingXiang. “Satisfied?”
“I will be satisfied when the two of you leave. Take your horses and do not return.”
Both did as directed. They climbed onto their horses and left, the disarmed man not even bothering to ask for his sword back.
The apprentice stepped forward from the rear of the stable. Long saw that he was about seventeen years old.
Long bowed to him and to DingXiang. “Thank you both,” he said. “I feel like I should repay you somehow.”
“It was nothing,” DingXiang said. “Unfortunately, these events occur often out here. One must accept it as a normal part of life. I see you have a Heavenly Horse. Is it one of Cang’s? GuangZe, perhaps?”
“It is GuangZe.”
“A very fine horse. I suppose you are in need of some shoes for him?”
“That will be up to you, sir. I am traveling to Tun-huang.”
“Of course you are. Why else would you bother to stop here? Have you selected a route yet?”
“I have a map.”
“Well, let’s take a look. What we put on the horse’s hooves, if anything, will be dictated by the surfaces you will travel over. From here, it looks like there is nothing but sand out there forever, but once you travel west a few hours, you will begin to see rock formations. I hope your map is a good one. By good, I mean recent.”
“Why?”
“There have been a number of rock slides out there lately. Some of the passes are now blocked. My apprentice here knows the most about them. He gets updates from travelers who stop in here. Show him what you have.”
Long walked over to GuangZe, impressed that the horse had remained more or less calm this entire time. He removed the map from his saddlebag and handed it to the apprentice.
“Interesting choice,” the apprentice said. “This route is seldom used, but as far as I know it is still open. You should not have any problems.”
“What about horseshoes?” Long asked.