Ying took the key and stared into ShaoShu’s tiny eyes in disbelief. “I do not know how I will ever be able to repay you.”
“Take me with you. Weeks ago I told Tonglong that Hok was dead, but I am sure he saw her fighting here just now. He will kill me.”
“Do you think he will live? That was a nasty fall.”
Ying’s question was answered by a loud groan from Tonglong. Ying peeked back out through the pine boughs. Amazingly, the two horsemen were helping Tonglong to sit up. His head sagged under the weight of his long ponytail braid, but he was clearly conscious and had the use of his arms and legs. He appeared to be fine, and coming around fast.
ShaoShu peeked out, too. “Tonglong is wearing the famous white jade armor beneath his robes. I saw some of the little plates when I took the key.”
“That would explain why the branches did not impale him,” Ying said.
“We had better get out of here,” ShaoShu said, pointing east. “The bandits ran that way.”
“Let them run where they may,” Ying whispered. “It is Tonglong who we will follow. Now that he knows that I am alive, too, he will not rest until he is deep within the walls of the Forbidden City. Let us hunt him down and paint those walls with his blood.”
ShaoShu nodded, and Ying nodded back.
Ying slipped the key into the folds of his robe and backed away through the pines on his hands and knees.
ShaoShu scurried after him.
“How are you feeling?” Xie asked.
“Ridiculous,” Long replied.
“I am asking about your health since you arrived five days ago,” Xie said. “Not your pride at this moment.”
Long sighed. “I am fine, and my wound is healing nicely. I would feel better, however, if your friend stopped treating me like a human pincushion. That arrow through my side was enough, thank you.”
Xie’s personal tailor buzzed around Long like a busy bee, measuring and pinning sections of illegal yellow silk around Long’s body. Only the Emperor was allowed to wear yellow.
Long shook his head. Why had he agreed to this charade?
Xie had a plan to deal with Tonglong, and it was as elaborate as it was simple. Xie had formally taken control of his father’s troops, and as the Western Warlord he had commanded his generals to pull troops from the farthest reaches of their region to meet with the bandits outside the Forbidden City as Mong had suggested. However, what if Mong’s best guess was incorrect and Tonglong showed up at the Forbidden City several weeks before the New Year? Xie was convinced that they needed to take additional action.
Xie realized that since no one was exactly sure where the Emperor was, no one would question it if the Emperor happened to return to the Forbidden City. Meaning, if someone pretended to be the Emperor, that person would not be questioned. Especially if he looked like the Emperor and was accompanied by Xie, who everyone recognized as the Emperor’s bodyguard and most people feared. Long was about the Emperor’s size and would be given a wide berth whenever Xie was around, which would be all of the time.
Thankfully, today’s robe fitting would be the last, and they would be on their way by the end of the day. In order to keep things as authentic as possible, they would transport Long in royal style, complete with armed guards and a sedan chair. Long was looking forward to it.
Xie and Long had discussed the possibility that Tonglong might find out about the procession and attack them, but Xie thought that the chance was very slight. They would be traveling through the vast open spaces of the Western and Northern armies’ regions, and Tonglong would not be caught within a hundred li of them without a full complement of thousands of troops.
After a quiet lunch, they set off. Long would have thought there might be a problem with the secrecy of their mission being compromised because of all the people in Tunhuang who knew of the plan, but Xie assured him that nothing would be jeopardized. Everyone within Xie’s inner circle had been loyal to Xie’s father, and they were all eager to see Tonglong pay.
Long began the journey in the sedan chair with Xie at his side atop a Heavenly Horse, as was protocol. The sedan chair had long poles stretching in front of and behind it for men to hoist upon their shoulders; this one, however, had been modified so that horses could carry it as well. They were in a hurry, and the horses could walk twice as fast as humans. They could also run, if necessary.
The sedan chair had blinds that could open, and Long and Xie talked through them for hours. Xie explained that there was something called the Silk Road, which was a network of loose trails that connected China with the West. Goods were transported in both directions over this “road,” and Tunhuang was one of the major stops. Much of the road was hostile desert, so cities like Tunhuang were important points for the buying and selling of supplies for weary travelers. Trade also occurred here, and it was this trade that made Tunhuang one of the richest cities in the world.