“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.

“Oh, it was a while back. Old man, when was that? Had we planted the hawthorns yet?”

“Which ones? We planted the ones on the north bank, and then—”

“Oh, right, right, and then the ones by the edge of the pond as well. My goodness, that’s been a while, hasn’t it? A while ago, cleric. Now, no more talking about old history. Everyone eat up. If we go quickly we’ll be home before sundown.”

They went faster than they did the day before. Chih was used to setting their own pace and found that they had to concentrate to keep up, matching their stride to Lao Bingyi’s in front. Beside them, Sang sounded as if she were tiring as well, but Wei Jintai’s mincing gait, short and smooth so it looked as if she rode on a cloud, would have left them both behind if she did not wish to stay close.

It was Lao Bingyi in the front and Khanh in the rear, but when Chih looked back a short while after they had set out, they were startled to see no sign of him.

“Wait, Khanh’s gone—!”

They pictured Khanh hung up in the trees like the poor man at the shelter had been, an image that came so strongly that tears started up in their eyes, but then Khanh popped out of the trees, jogging to catch up.