"What? Why?" The Emerald Wind tried to hook Peace and pull it away as he drew his second blade and attacked again. This time Cho stepped into the attack, brushing it aside and putting her body between the bandit and the boy. "He did this to you too. You're bound to him as well."
Cho said nothing. She knew there were no words that would convince him. Some people needed cold steel to concede to another opinion. The Emerald Wind attacked again, feinting right then hooking his swords together and swinging left. Cho saw the ruse, blocked the attack, and kicked the bandit square in the chest, putting him on his arse in the dirt.
"This is your last chance. Get out of the way!" The Emerald Wind shouted. He struggled back to his feet and faced Cho, his swords held ready. She knew it would come to this. She had tried to tell Ein, but he still insisted on bringing the bandit back. The boy claimed people could only be brought back once, and Cho was certain the world would be a better place without The Emerald Wind in it.
They clashed again, kicking up road dust as they danced around each other. Cho moved with fluid grace, ignoring the painful twinges in her chest. The Emerald Wind seemed poorly trained, his attacks obvious and easily parried, but he was slippery as a greased eel, always flipping around her rebuttals, or rolling clear of her range. She expected him to tire as the fight went on, but far from it: the man appeared to be getting quicker on his feet, his strikes more skilful with every parry.
"I have the measure of you now, Whispering Blade," he said after another clash. "It's a very pretty style…"
Cho rushed in, slashing upwards in a strike that should have cut the man in two, but he wasn't there anymore. The Emerald Wind somehow vanished before her attack and replied with his own so quickly Cho barely pulled back Peace in time to block. Almost too late she felt his second sword hook around her ankle. Rather than let him pull her off her feet, Cho threw herself backwards into a handstand, using the momentum to flow back onto her feet and into a ready stance once more.
"Finished," the boy said, still sitting on the long grass at the side of the road. He stood, testing his weight on his injured foot and then walked forwards to stand in between the two combatants.
The Emerald Wind wasn't smiling. He stood ready and wary. Cho had to admit, she had underestimated the bandit. She wouldn't make the mistake a second time.
"Please stop trying to kill each other. I need you both."
Cho saw the way The Emerald Wind's gaze flicked from her, down to the boy, and back again. He was considering the speed at which he could kill Ein, deciding whether he could do so fast enough.
"You need us for what?" The Emerald Wind asked.
"I have to kill someone. A man. I can't do it myself, I'm not strong enough. The shinigami told me to find heroes to fight for me. I've read all about you. Zhihao Cheng, The Emerald Wind. You fought at Dragon's Eye, one man against fifty."
The Emerald Wind straightened from his warrior's crouch, and nodded. "True. I did."
"You led the vanguard at the breaking point of Dangma. It was you alone who emerged from the breach, carrying the head of Sitting Tiger."
Again The Emerald Wind nodded. "He tried to stop me. Put up quite the fight." Cho gauged the distance between herself and the bandit and edged a bit closer. The Emerald Wind was barely even watching her now. She needed to rush in before he could compose himself again.
Ein walked closer to the bandit, right up to him, as though he posed no danger at all. "I need you, Zhihao Cheng, for a feat that will make those other feats nothing more than a footnote in your history."
"A what note?"
"Minor achievements. Barely worth mentioning." Ein was rubbing his scarf between his fingers again.
Even Cho was intrigued now. She straightened up, but kept creeping closer. "Who is it you want us to kill, Ein?"
Ein turned his fathomless pale stare on Cho. "Henan WuLong."
An insane laugh burst from The Emerald Wind, so vigorous he collapsed onto the grass at the side of the road, holding his ribs. Cho found nothing funny about madness, and the boy's quest was doubtless just that.
"You would have us kill the Emperor of Ten Kings? Ordained by the stars themselves," she asked.
"Yes." Ein nodded enthusiastically. "But he wasn't ordained by the stars."
The Emerald Wind snorted out another laugh. "And I suppose we'll just walk up to Wu palace, knock on the gates and challenge him to a duel."
Ein shook his head. "I don't have a way to attack the palace yet. But we won't be alone. I can bring others back. The shinigami told me to recruit many heroes."
"What happens to us if we refuse?" Cho asked. She had already sworn an oath to the boy, but it was beginning to sound like yet another unkeepable oath.
Ein glanced down at the scarf held between his fingers, a sad frown on his face. "You die. Again. I can only keep so many of you alive. If you won't help me, I have to let you go. I'm sorry."
The Emerald Wind stopped laughing and poked about at the grass, squashing something beneath his thumb. "So it's a help me or die thing."
"You were already dead. Without me you would still be dead. I ask only one thing in return."
"Yes. All we have to do to thank you, O mighty giver of life, is kill the most powerful, most heavily protected man in all of Hosa."
Ein nodded.
"What happens if we do?" Cho asked. The other two didn't seem to notice she still had her sword out. "If we help you."
Ein seemed to consider the question for a moment. "I set you free." He gazed from Cho to The Emerald Wind. "Think of it as a chance for the greatest glory, and as a way to save your lives."
And there it was. Ein might be a young boy, not even tall enough to pretend at being a man, but he held their lives in his hands. They were as much as his prisoners as if he locked them up and dangled the key in front of the bars.
"Well it seems I have no choice." The Emerald Wind flung himself back on the grass and stretched out. "For you, my boy, I will kill an emperor. And count it a small price to pay for a second life."
Cho wished she could agree, but she was far from certain it wasn't just a way to waste that second shot at life. But for now at least, she saw no other choice. A Shintei oath, once given, could not be taken back. And she wasn't ready to give up on this one just yet.
Chapter 6
After agreeing to what was undoubtedly a suicide mission, there seemed little else to do but get under way. After all, the Emperor of Ten Kings never left Wu palace, and it was at the farthest end of Hosa, deep within the city of Jieshu. It was weeks away at a good pace, and the boy's little legs set anything but that. Still, Zhihao wasn't about to complain about the delay, even if it did mean spending more time with an insufferable woman and a creepy child. And the boy certainly was creepy. His ghost stare was one thing, and he stared at Zhihao quite a lot, but it was nothing compared to his touch. Zhihao took a water skin from the boy, and for a brief moment their fingers brushed each other. It felt as though his entire arm had been set on fire. When it came time to give the skin back, Zhihao had thrown it at the boy and backed away as quickly as he could.
They skirted Kaishi, much to Zhihao's dismay. He had lost a small fortune in jewellery during his brief stint as a corpse, and he very much doubted Flaming Fist and the men had time to loot the city properly, especially since Fist himself was so dead set on tracking down his wayward daughter. When Zhihao thought about it, and he tried not to, it was entirely possible the whole attack on the city was his fault. Luckily for him the blame was being placed entirely on Flaming Fist, being the violent and half-crazed warlord that he was.