But Jenmei and Shen were no longer his charge. What Professor Kang worried about now was how to avoid losing more members of Minghua 123. Hunger and fatigue were already taking their toll. Students caught colds and never got better. The students took their studies seriously, reading by the light of cheap oil lamps that smoked and irritated their eyes, so several had eye infections and would need attention when they reached a town with medical care. They were malnourished, another reason so many were prone to illness. Winter had set in and fresh vegetables were scarce. Professor Kang and his colleagues had given what money they had to Cook Tam for food. He hoped the government and their promises of cash would catch up to them in Wuhan, the next big city on their route.

Professor Kang waved a hand in greeting when he saw the Star, her lithe form glowing as she came up the path. The acrid scent of cheap tobacco wafted around the stone bench and she lifted one eyebrow. He wasn’t smoking, just letting the ashes fall to the frozen ground.

“I tried to buy this, just one cigarette,” he said, stubbing out the cigarette. “I met a man from Soochow on the road. He could tell by my accent I’m also from Soochow. When he learned I was a professor, he insisted on giving it to me. The smell reminds me of my rebellious youth, when I smoked mainly to annoy my grandparents.”

She sat on the bench beside him. It was the first time they’d had alone since Wang Jenmei’s death. Despite the glow that radiated from her, he could tell she was tired. He remembered how upset she’d been after Mr. Shen’s death. How she had felt somehow responsible.

“This was murder,” he said gently. “There was nothing you could’ve done. You’ve led our group to safety.”

The Star nodded but didn’t look much happier. The professor gestured at the expanse of fields below, bisected by a road that extended from east to west.

“Even the humblest of country temples somehow manage a good view,” he said. “I’m not a greedy man but I confess to a certain pleasure at seeing the landscape from above, horizon to horizon. It makes me want to own it all, as far as I can see.”

“Animals feel safer when they can sight predators from afar,” the Star said. “Humans like high ground for the same reason. To see enemies coming from a great distance.”

“And as the machines of war increase in speed and brutality we want to own more and more of that distance to keep them at bay,” Professor Kang said. “May I ask how your . . . comrades are doing?”

“Word is spreading now,” she said, “and most know it’s time to leave. There’s some resistance, of course, especially from the ones who’ve inhabited earthly forms for a long time.”