Chapter 28
Meilin
Meilin was on the verge of drifting to sleep, but Ailin shook her awake.
“Get up!” Ailin shouted. “There are imperial soldiers ahead.”
Meilin winced. Ailin was too loud, the sun was too bright, and her head was throbbing.
Her tongue felt heavy, and she didn’t know how much of her response was understandable, but she said what she felt anyway.
“Even if soldiers are coming, they wouldn’t help us.
They have no reason to. They only fight enemies, and do not help random civilians. ”
“They will help us,” Ailin said with surety. “I saw Captain Bai.”
Meilin popped her eyes open. That was impossible.
“At least sit up,” Ailin said as she pushed Meilin up from her back.
Meilin’s head pounded, but she squinted in the direction Ailin pointed. She had to be hallucinating. There was no way the army officer walking toward them was Captain Bai.
He was too dashing. She had seen Captain Bai dressed in armor countless times when he was rushing to Batong Mansion after a day’s work, but he had never looked so good before.
He had to be a figment of her imagination, conjured by fever dreams and a desperation to live.
Her subconscious must have thought of him as the most dependable ally in the face of danger.
That was the only reason she was seeing him now.
As imaginary Captain Bai walked closer, Meilin noted his dusty boots.
She was strangely proud of herself for crafting such an awfully realistic detail.
What remarkable mental clarity she had for someone who had been walking for several hours in summer heat without water.
When he knelt by her and took off his helmet, his overserious gaze looked lifelike too.
The mirage really resembled the Captain Bai she knew, sure of himself and ready to criticize her.
“What happened to your arm?” he asked in a low voice.
Meilin sighed. He was nice to look at, but she was tired and didn’t want to talk to an imaginary person, especially if he was going to nag her.
“Duan Meilin, I’m talking to you. Show me that you’re conscious.”
Meilin let her head fall to one side. Imaginary Captain Bai was as persistent as the real one. “You’re irritating.”
“It looks like an arrow tore through muscle, but thankfully not bone. Your wound might be infected, so I’m going to clean and bandage it.”
“But the Wōkòu are coming.”
“My soldiers are guarding this area now.”
Meilin looked into the imaginary Captain Bai’s eyes, searching for the truth. Was he really here? Was it really safe?
“Can you focus?” he asked.
Meilin’s emotions, blocked for hours by survival instincts, began leaking through. Whether or not this Captain Bai was real, she had reached her breaking point. Her voice cracked. “I thought we were going to die.”
“You don’t get to die yet.” The captain poured a stinging liquid over her arm.
Meilin screamed. Pain jolted her into full consciousness. “What was that?”
He smiled. “I see that you’re alert enough to feel. That’s good. Your wound is clean now, by the way. I’m going to put some medicine on it before I bandage it.”
As Meilin became fully aware of Captain Bai’s physical presence—and how close his hands were to her arm—she suddenly felt uncertain. Perhaps he was helping more than was proper. Part of her remembered that she wasn’t supposed to let a man touch her.
“Maybe my sister should do it.”
“I would rather not,” Ailin said unequivocally. “Captain Bai doubtlessly has more experience with arrow wounds than I do.”
Captain Bai stared into Meilin’s eyes, his gaze earnest and unwavering. “I’m not going to treat you if you don’t want me to, but if it’s because you’re afraid of impropriety, I would say your health and safety are more important.”
“Are they?”
“Yes,” Captain Bai and Ailin said at the same time. With both of them in agreement, Meilin felt confident enough to consent. Ailin would never lead her astray.
Captain Bai sprinkled a medicine on her arm that reminded Meilin of Ailin’s alum powder. Then he unfolded a roll of bandaging gauze.
“Do either of you have a clean knife or scissors?” he asked. “I’m afraid my sword isn’t as clean as it should be.”
Meilin grabbed the purse tied to her waist. “The dagger you gave me is in here.”
“You keep it so close to you?”
Why was Captain Bai surprised that she was carrying his dagger? Hadn’t he given the gift because it was supposed to be used?
Captain Bai deftly cut a bandage and wrapped up Meilin’s arm. The wound site still hurt, but it felt more stable.
“Thank you,” Meilin said quietly, trying to figure out how she felt about Captain Bai helping her. Now that she was properly bandaged, she realized just how much time he had sacrificed for her, especially when he had official military duties at hand. “Have I delayed you too long from your men?”
Captain Bai looked at her curiously as he handed her a flask. “Drink some water before you worry about me. I’ve only done the bare minimum. Once you get home, you’ll need stitches. A wound like that will take a month or two to heal.”
Meilin became genuinely concerned at his nonchalance. “But what about your troops? How can you have spent so much time with me?”
Captain Bai stood up. “It’s not a problem, Miss Meilin.
When I saw you and your sister among the evacuating civilians, I ordered my men to help the sick and injured while collecting information about the Wōkòu attack.
I was actually hoping you two could provide me a firsthand account so I can make a better plan for a counterattack. ”
Meilin sighed in relief. She suspected Captain Bai of making up a story so she would not feel indebted to him, but she was still grateful. The last thing she wanted was for him to neglect his duties because of her.
Working together with Ailin, Meilin told Captain Bai everything they had learned about the Wōkòu during their escape from the canal.
He told them it was useful to know what kind of weapons they had seen being used and where the attack began.
Based on that information, he could deduce what other types of weapons the Wōkòu had and where their current position was likely to be.
“Will you be all right?” Meilin asked as Captain Bai prepared to leave.
While he was with them, she worried about him not being with his troops.
Now that he was leaving to fight, she worried about his safety.
She realized the irony, but she couldn’t help it.
He had saved her life. And he had Sandy at home too. If anything happened to him . . .
“Based on the information you’ve provided, I think I can retake the canal with my elite forces. We’ve trained for situations like this.” Captain Bai put his helmet back on.
“It seems dangerous.”
“It’s my job.”
Meilin shook her head at Captain Bai’s nonchalance.
Did he always face danger with such indifference?
Even Ailin had been scared when Wōkòu arrows rained down.
So what if Captain Bai was trained for battle?
Fighting was dangerous. Meilin didn’t know how she could handle the thought of him risking his life—
“May I ask a favor from you ladies?” Captain Bai’s question interrupted Meilin’s anxious thoughts.
Ailin nudged Meilin as she answered for them both. “Of course, Captain Bai. We are in your debt.”
“I have a new enlistee, a boy named Sun. He’s too young to be a soldier, but I accepted him into my company because he was an orphan and the army was the only place he could find a home.
Could you take Sun back to Suzhou with you and keep him with the Jiang family until I return?
You can put him to work because I’ll tell him that his job is to escort and protect you.
I don’t want to hurt his pride, but I also don’t want him joining a battle until he’s ready. ”
Meilin frowned. Captain Bai’s “favor” was really another way to help Meilin and Ailin. It also sounded like he was trying to distract Meilin from worrying about him. He was much more emotionally aware than she ever gave him credit for.
She was still loath to part with him, but if this was what he wanted, she could follow his wishes. “If we take this Sun boy, will you promise to come back safe and sound?”
“Yes,” Captain Bai said after a brief hesitation.
His hesitation drove Meilin mad. She had never cared for him as more than a friend during the entire time she had known him, but after seeing his selflessness and courage, the thought of him marching into danger while she was running away tugged at her heart.
She couldn’t let him leave without expressing appreciation.
After some thought, she pulled the golden chāi pin out of her hair and pressed it into Captain Bai’s hand.
His eyebrows shot up so high that they disappeared under his helmet.
Giving a man such a gift was serious because he could interpret it as a love token.
Under normal circumstances, she would never have given him a hairpin, but it was all she had on her.
Captain Bai could interpret it however he wanted.
As long as he came back safely from battle, there would be time to explain later.
“A promise is a promise. If you break your word, I will never forgive you,” she vowed.