“Were you awake this whole time?” they asked, rubbing at their eyes.

“My wife came to sit with me for a while. You and the girls need your rest, and as I told you before, I don’t sleep much.”

“Mm, thank you, I like to sleep a lot,” Chih said, climbing to their feet. The sky above them was more blue than black, and there was a slight warmth to the air that made it somewhat bearable out of their blankets.

“You and auntie really don’t like The Cruel Wife, do you?” Chih asked. They had an idea why Khanh and Lao Bingyi might not like the story, and they wanted to give Khanh an opportunity to tell another one, if he wished.

In the darkness, it seemed as if Khanh’s eyes were darker still, strange and indifferent to light. They had seen that look in Lao Bingyi’s eyes while she was fighting. They guessed that sooner or later, if she kept walking the martial road, Wei Jintai would have it as well.

“Well, you know, it’s a matter of taste,” Khanh said at last. “I guess there’s people out there who think it’s a good story or that it’s an important one.”

“Not you?”

“These days, I think it’s hilarious. And she’s right, you could do worse than to take in some xauhi opera if you get the chance. That’s the good stuff, they don’t make them like that anymore, and why would they, when they did it right the first time?”

“Back when everyone went to temple and children respected their elders?”

“Yes, then. And now I really do need to get at least a little sleep, cleric. My wife gets terribly upset if I don’t.”

“Of course, I am sorry for keeping you from it,” Chih said, and when the sky grew lighter and they could see their hand in front of their face again, they took out a sheet of paper and started to write.

Chapter Six

Around true dawn, there was a light drizzle that suffused the trees in mist. It left Chih’s clothes clammy, made the tips of their fingers and their nose feel terribly chilled, but there was something bracing about it as well, as if the world had rolled back to an earlier, wilder time.

Lao Bingyi took great gulps of the cool air, squaring her shoulders up and planting her fists on her hips.

“This is why all the great fighters come from the riverlands,” she said, slapping Wei Jintai companionably on the shoulder. “Breathe this every day of your life, and you’ll fly where others have to crawl.”

“That is what my master, Yo Laozi, said as well,” said Wei Jintai, and Lao Bingyi nodded.

“She’s a wise one, your master. I never met her, but her brother, he was a tough customer when he came to the riverlands. We fought, you know, and then we threw in together for a while…”

“How long ago was that, auntie?” asked Chih respectfully, and Lao Bingyi waved them off.