Wei Bin’s daughter lifted a frozen hand and peeled the crooked upper lip from her face. She stood firm, like a noble warrior, like a princess, her lean, motionless figure a chiseled silhouette against the setting sun. She was badly injured, supporting a dying Mongolian and surrounded by starving wolves, yet, Fei Fei calmly stared down her predators.

  The light wind ceased, leaving behind a perfectly still world. The fire on the end of the torch barely moved; instead of dancing with life and vigor, the dull fme glowed in a ball. It was utter serenity, as if the world came to a complete stop. Not a snowfke moved.

  Then she heard it—a low sound. At first, it resembled a gentle autumn breeze. She felt the tree branches rocking back and forth in a mellow dance, singing light notes that eased in and out of the air. She thought she was standing on the edge of Redwood Cliff, her childish face glowing against the reddish twilight, the silver pine forest swaying behind her.

  Then, Sochai lifted his eyes. “The ocean,” he said. “I never thought I would live to see a real ocean.”

  The wolves inched closer, their thin lips pulled back in a seething snarl, their long teeth fully visible. Fei Fei drew away slowly, calmly, listening for the sound of waves.

  “Can you run?” she asked.

  “For a short distance.”

  “I’ll attack the wolves while you run for the ocean, and when they fall back, I’ll follow you.” She screamed, her thundering cry so ferocious that the wolves leaped back in surprise. She bolted for the nearest animal, her dripping bde whistling in front of her. Sochai hesitated, then spun around to run.

  Fei Fei moved diagonally across the line of retreating wolves, sweeping her bde against the ground and sending a shower of snow into the howling faces. The predators continued to retreat. Fei Fei pounced upon them, relentlessly cutting and stabbing. The wolves turned tail and fled.

  Fei Fei charged after Sochai. He was falling. She reached him, grabbed him from behind, and pulled.

  “Let’s go,” she said. “Can you walk?”

  “Yes,” he said, his voice weak.

  The wolves trailed them again. She spun around and sshed the hard ground, sending bnkets of frozen snow into the air. She pointed her torch at the predators, her rge eyes gring, a low growl emerging from her throat. “Run,” she whispered. “I can’t hold much longer.”

  They took off, never looking back, never hesitating. Rotted branches brushed across their faces and fresh blood dripped from opened wounds lined the snow, arousing the wolves further. Yet, the predators maintained their distance. There was no more fear in their prey, except a deep strength that propelled the two humans to tread the frozen ground together.

  Within seconds, Fei Fei and Sochai broke out of the forest and crossed a barren pin. Ocean waves drowned out the growls of disappointed wolves.

  “Jump,” Fei Fei said. In front of them was a short drop the height of three men, and below was soft sand. Fei Fei took a deep breath, locked the Mongolian in a tight embrace, and leaped over.

  With a sick thud, the two injured bodies crashed onto the beach. Fei Fei uttered a muted scream in pain. She swallowed the agony and scrambled to his side, her eyes never leaving the wolves standing motionless above them. She pointed her torch, her own teeth bared, a deep growl at the base of her throat. The wolves didn’t advance.

  She dragged Sochai far onto the beach while he writhed in spasms, his ghastly face trembling in pain. For a brief moment he managed to stand before colpsing and dragging her onto the sand.

  “They will not follow ...” he managed to say. “They would not ...They would not go where they are not familiar ...”

  She lifted her lean body and tried to sit. He was losing consciousness, his head softly sinking into her p. With a deep sigh, Fei Fei dropped the torch and cradled his head against her bosom.

  Light rays of twilight grazed the surface of the sand. The distant howl of wolves floated in the background.

  The gentle rocking of waves rolled against the setting sun.

  ???

  Darkness began to settle, the gray sky slowly deepening. Li Kung y on the hard snow, his breathing heavy and irregur, his face ashen white and dripping sweat. Next to him, Pun knelt on the ground wheezing for air.

  “Are you hurt?”

  “Why ...Why did we run?” he muttered, gasping. “Why did we run so hard? No one was chasing. No one was trying to kill us.”

  “What happened up there, Li Kung? Why were so many people killed?”

  Then he remembered. The moments that would be forever imprinted in his mind now appeared over and over again. He buried his face in his hands and wept. “I don’t know. I don’t know.”

  Pun slid her arm around him, pressing her face to his back, and held him tenderly.

  Peppercorn’s little head emerged from Li Kung’s robe, meaning to chirp for food. It gnced once at Li Kung, then at Pun, and without a sound, ducked into its warm hiding pce again.

  Finally, Li Kung calmed and he reached around to embrace her. She tried to comfort him, but she couldn’t find the words.

  “I’m so scared,” she finally said. “I’m so scared.”

  They held each other. Night fell upon them. Soon, there wouldn’t be enough light to travel under. “We need to find a pce to stay,” Li Kung said. “Old Gu’s house is just over that hill. Let’s see if he’s still awake.”

  “We shouldn’t disturb him. He’s not in good health, even though you stopped his fever st week ...”

  “He wants to see us,” Li Kung said, grabbing her hand to pull her away. “There are too many wolves in these mountains at night. Let’s go. Maybe I can examine his granddaughter again.”

  ???

  The rocking waves ebbed closer and closer. Sochai’s gloved hand cwed into the frozen sand, mechanically pulling himself forward. She followed, a tear in her eye, sometimes reaching out to help him.

  Without a gnce at her, he half-stumbled and half-crawled through the sand. He had no clue where he was headed, but he wanted to stay moving. He was afraid that the moment he stopped, he would succumb to the poison that ate into his bones, and he would never move again. At times, the pain became unbearable—it was not the same type of pain, but it was equally unbearable. He gazed at her then. Why was she the one who had done this to him?

  “Why is there no antidote?” he asked, stabbing his saber deep into the sand for bance.

  “I’m ...I’m sorry. There really isn’t.”

  He paused. The twisted expression formed by his chiseled features darkened, and he turned to her with threatening eyes. She instinctively reached for her weapon, then, hastily dropped her arm. The tense expression on her face softened and she leaned over to touch him. He was frozen, his eyes wide and expressionless.

  “Can you walk?” she asked, sliding her arm across his shoulder. “It’ll be night soon. We won’t be able to find shelter.”

  He turned without a word.

  “I’ll ask Old Snake,” she said. “I’ll ask him if he could find a cure.”

  He nodded, the bitter curve on his lips softer.

  “There’s never been a need for it,” she continued. “There’s never been anyone we poisoned that we didn’t want dead.” She wrapped her arm around his shoulder and held his weight as he weakened again. He felt her warm body pressed tightly against his side, and his frustration subsided. Maybe he would die now, in her arms, and the st face he would see would be an angel’s.

  “I’ll do my best,” she said. “I’ll do my best.”

  The beach ended, and across a field of barren ice and snow was a gray structure built in the middle of nowhere. The light was almost gone, but they could see it clearly: an empty, dark building that somehow remained steadfast in the open, with nothing to shield it from wind or snow.

  “A temple,” she said. “I think it’s an abandoned temple. There may be firewood in there.” In her excitement, she took a hastened step forward and callously pulled him. He lost his hold with a crash and colpsed to the snow. She spun around.

  “I didn’t mean to—”

  He suddenly grabbed her, the filth of blood and dirt still smeared all over his face. He drew her down and pnted his lips against hers. Her body tensed, just for a second, and slowly, she eased her aching body into his embrace, her entire weight leaning into his kiss. His hand gently brushed against her forehead, her cheeks, glided to the side of her neck, their lips burning against each other in heated passion.

  ???

  Deep in the mountains, hidden behind a dense cluster of trees, a local woodcutter’s house stood alone and out of pce. It was well built, maintained by an old man named Gu who lived alone with his granddaughter. Together, they could chop wood faster than the old man could sell, and thus they made their living.

  Gu’s granddaughter was named Ying. She was no older than fifteen, lean and strong, known to attack any mountain bandit who ventured too close. She often wore a straw hat to cover her girlish face, and a little brass bell around her waist so her grandfather would know where she was.

  It was te in the night by the time Li Kung arrived with Pun.

  “The doctor is here!” Old Gu shouted at the top of his voice. He csped Li Kung’s hand, bowing low. Ying smiled with a shy nod from behind her grandfather. The mountainous area they lived in was lush with medicinal pnts and insects. Ever since Li Kung came to the North with the Three Saints of Yunnan, he often hunted for herbs in the vicinity and frequently visited.

  The woodcutter was only too happy to see a friend at the door. He insisted that Li Kung occupy his bed for the night, while he slept on a pile of straws in the rear wood shack. Ying and Pun slept together in Ying’s room, and te in the night, Li Kung was left alone on a hard wooden bed to ponder the recent events. Moments ter, fatigue took over and he was sound asleep.

  ???

  Auntie Ma turned her head to gre at him. Sweat was dripping from her brows. Tears and saliva flowed from her face all at once. Li Kung ran forward but someone held him back.

  “Auntie Ma!” Li Kung shouted. “What are you doing? Why don’t you come home?”

  Auntie Ma ignored him, turned her head and closed her eyes. Her disheveled hair covered her face when she lowered her head. Behind her were hundreds of women with heads lowered, their clothing in tatters, their hair caked in blood and sweat.

  “I brought your favorite rice cakes!” Li Kung shouted.

  The long arm of an adult reached around his waist, lifted him off his feet, and dragged him away. He tried to kick the person behind him, tried to hammer the arm with his little fists, but it was useless.

  From a distance, he thought he saw Auntie Ma smile.

  Then, a huge man with a hairy chest stepped behind Auntie Ma’s prostrated body. Li Kung barely saw his face, or did he have a face at all? There was a heavy saber in his hand. Li Kung’s eyes bulged in arm. He had seen this before, though he wasn’t sure when.

  “Auntie Ma!” he shouted.

  The big man swung his heavy saber across Auntie Ma’s neck. Her head struck the floor tiles and rolled away.

  “Auntie Ma!” Li Kung screamed.

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