Chapter 5: Don't Know What's Good for You

The bamboo raft drifted out of the little river and into a larger one. Niu Youdao put away his bamboo pole and let the raft go with the current. As for where it would take him, Dong Guo Haoran had been a dying man, and a dying man's words were usually sincere. There was no reason for him to lie, so Niu Youdao saw no need to be overly suspicious.

Sitting on the raft, he used his woodcutting knife to shave several thin strips from a piece of bamboo. He took some of the dry kindling he had prepared beforehand, lit a small fire on the broad flat stone with his fire striker, and held the bamboo strips over the flames, baking the moisture out of them until they had become sufficiently pliant and tough. Then he cut them into short lengths.

From inside his clothes, he pulled out the hemp cord he had prepared back in the village. He stretched it between his hands to make sure it was strong enough, then tied the short bamboo pieces to the cord at intervals, each one fastened at its midpoint.

Next he took out a stalk of wheat straw and cut it into short sections. He bent each resilient bamboo strip until its two ends met, then slipped a piece of straw over the ends to hold them together and keep the bamboo from springing open. Digging around inside a tear in his ragged clothes, he produced a small handful of wheat grains. He had picked them one by one from the mud in the village, probably grain spilled when the marauding soldiers looted the food stores. He pushed one grain into the hollow of the straw sleeve holding the bamboo ends together. Repeating the process, he made more than a dozen simple little mechanisms along a single length of hemp cord.

He dropped the cord into the water, tied one end to the raft, and left the rest to fate. Taking a section of bamboo tube, he scooped up river water, held each mouthful until it warmed before swallowing, then sat by the fire and watched the scenery along both banks. Curiosity about this world was plain in his eyes.

He did not know how long had passed when he suddenly felt movement beneath the raft, as though something underwater were tugging at it. His expression brightened. The tugging continued, but he remained seated and did nothing. Before long, it stopped. He hauled in the hemp line from behind the raft. Soon a fish weighing two or three catties came dragging out of the water. The bamboo strip had sprung open inside its gills and forced them apart; after only a short while, the fish was already half dead.

Simple though the little trap looked, it was effective. A fish's gills were its underwater breathing system. Once its breathing was obstructed, even a creature born to live in water could drown. The springy bamboo was not something a fish could easily shake loose, and oxygen deprivation soon robbed it of strength. Once caught, it was difficult to escape. A fish on a hook, by contrast, could keep struggling underwater for a long time.

Of course, the device had its shortcomings. It was no use for catching large fish. There was nothing else he could do. Conditions in the village had been too poor for anyone to spare him food for the journey, so he had made do with whatever he could scrounge and adapt to his needs. One way or another, he still had to fill his stomach along the road.

He took the fish off and tossed it onto the raft, then reset the bamboo strip with another piece of straw, baited it, and lowered the line back into the water. The remaining grains of wheat had already swollen after soaking, and he reckoned they would now be much more likely to attract fish.

Picking up the half-dead catch, he took out a dagger, gutted and cleaned the fish in the river, then relit the fire. He skewered it on a stick and began roasting it, quite content to amuse himself this way. Since he could catch fish, the ecology here seemed pretty good. He decided he might as well eat, drink, sleep, and relieve himself on the raft. He had heard that war and disorder plagued this region, so staying on the water was probably safer.

The fish had only just finished roasting. Niu Youdao was blowing on his burned fingers and had barely taken a few bites when another tug came from beneath the raft. He grinned. At the same time, a carriage was careening along the distant bank, with a troop of riders in hot pursuit. They quickly caught up. Cavalry surged past on both sides, raising bows and crossbows and loosing a storm of bolts into the carriage. Screams came from within, and the vehicle was soon forced to a stop.

As the bamboo raft drifted past, Niu Youdao slowly gnawed his roasted fish and watched soldiers drag several bodies from the carriage. One person seemed to be still alive and dropped to his knees begging for mercy. A mounted commander approached, thrust once with the spear in hand, and stabbed the kneeling man to the ground.

For someone who had lived through another kind of society, murder in broad daylight like this was a bit much. More importantly, his recent experience in the village had already prejudiced him against these government troops. He had no liking for them, though all he could do was watch coldly from the river.

The commander pulled the spear free and noticed Niu Youdao as well. A boy on a bamboo raft, roasting fish in the dead of winter? That was unusual. Niu Youdao realized the soldiers were watching him. He immediately put on the air of an obedient commoner and minded his own business. He hauled up the hemp line behind the raft and brought in another fish.

Interest appeared in the commander's eyes. Turning to a subordinate, the commander said, "Midwinter, ragged clothes, yet he still has a way to keep himself fed. The boy looks clever. With a little training, he might make good material."

The voice was a woman's.

The subordinate understood at once. The commander wanted to seize the boy and turn him into a soldier. He immediately shouted toward the raft, "Boy! Bring that raft to shore. We have questions for you!"

As if Niu Youdao would dare go ashore. He pretended not to hear. Wiping his hands casually on his clothes, he pulled the roasted fish off where he had stuck it into the raft and lowered his head to keep eating, playing deaf.

Thunk!

An arrow buried itself quivering in the raft right beside him. Niu Youdao nearly jumped out of his skin. If that shot had strayed even a little, what then? He looked up furiously and saw that the archer was the same commander who had just killed the kneeling man with a spear.

Seated on horseback, the commander held the bow aimed at him and called, "Boy, come here!"

The voice was clear and bright, actually quite pleasant. Only then did Niu Youdao realize the commander was a woman. Covered in travel dust and wearing full armor, she had been impossible to distinguish by appearance alone. His anger flared. He raised a middle finger at her and shouted two words across the water.

"Bitch!"

The female general did not understand what the raised middle finger meant, but his curse made it obvious the gesture was no compliment. An ordinary commoner who dared curse government troops to their faces had some nerve. There was something interesting about the brat. She gave a cold laugh.

More than a dozen of her men immediately drew their bows and aimed at the raft.

"Oh, hell!" Niu Youdao yelped. How had he forgotten they had bows? If he had remembered, he never would have cursed her and made her angry. He flipped over the side with a splash and plunged into the freezing river.

A rapid series of thunks followed. More than a dozen arrows buried themselves where he had just been sitting. Firelight jumped as several shafts struck the burning wood on the stone slab and sent embers flying.

The female general gave a soft "Eh?" Her appreciation deepened. The boy was not simple. His reactions were fast enough. Most people would have panicked into helplessness, but his first instinct had been to evade the danger before it arrived. That confirmed he was indeed promising material and only increased her interest in bringing him under her command.

She raised a hand to stop the men who were nocking more arrows. Wearing an amused, teasing expression, she led the troop along the bank at the same pace as the drifting raft. Underwater, Niu Youdao grabbed the raft's edge and raised his head for a look. Only then did he discover that the pile of dry firewood aboard had caught. He quickly splashed water over it and put out the newborn flames. If the raft burned, his current young body would have no way to carry Dong Guo Haoran's corpse all the way to the Shangqing Sect without some form of transport.

Seeing the riders proceeding leisurely along the bank, clearly intent on keeping him in sight, Niu Youdao clung to the raft and kicked through the water, trying to pull it toward the opposite bank. The female general casually drew an arrow from her quiver, nocked it, pulled the bowstring, and released.

Niu Youdao turned to follow the blur of the arrow. It struck the trunk of a crooked tree on the far bank and quivered there. The corner of his mouth twitched. The river was at least sixty or seventy meters wide, yet she had casually hit a tree that was not even particularly thick. Her meaning could not have been clearer. She was displaying her archery and warning him that if he dared climb ashore on the opposite side, she could put him down with a single arrow. He should not imagine he could run.

Niu Youdao had indeed been thinking exactly that. If necessary, Dong Guo Haoran could have a water burial while he climbed out on the far bank and escaped. It was not that he was heartless. The water was simply too cold. Stay in it too long, and he really would die.

The female general watched him with a mocking curl at the corner of her mouth, her expression plainly saying, Let's see how long you can soak in there. She kept her riders to a slow pace and followed him closely. She even spread her men out in a long line along the riverbank, watching a broad stretch of water so he could not dive, swim farther away underwater, and escape.

Niu Youdao stubbornly endured for a while, but soon his teeth began chattering uncontrollably. Finally unable to stand it, he shouted, "General! This humble one has neither grievance nor enmity with you. Why force me toward death?"

The female general called back, "No grievance or enmity? Who were you calling a bitch just now?"

"..."

Niu Youdao was speechless for a moment. Then he shouted, "You're a great person. Can't you overlook the offense of a petty one?"

"No!" came the crisp reply.

Niu Youdao shouted, "Then what will it take for you to let me go?"

The female general answered, "Simple. Serve under my command to atone for your offense. Become one of my soldiers!"

With a woman this unreasonable, wouldn't joining her mean getting tormented to death? Niu Youdao cursed inwardly. Nor did he trust her. He strongly suspected she merely wanted to trick him ashore so she could deal with him. Since she refused to be reasonable, he saw no need to be polite either.

"Not interested in being your soldier!" he shouted. "How about being your man instead?"

The female general sneered. "Your pubes aren't even grown in yet, and you still dare mouth off? Let's see how long you can stay in that water!"

She set an arrow to the string and made as if to shoot. Niu Youdao sucked in a deep breath and dived. Gripping the vines lashed beneath the bamboo raft, he hid under it and let it carry him along. After waiting a while without hearing anything, he cautiously surfaced again. The instant his head appeared, she drew the bow once more, forcing him straight back underwater.

After this happened several times, Niu Youdao finally understood. She was toying with him. Yet he still did not dare ignore the threat. What if she actually loosed the arrow? He was beginning to doubt Dong Guo Haoran's words. Hadn't the old man said those protective talismans would keep him safe all the way? Why didn't they seem to be doing anything?

He had no choice but to slip toward the section of raft covered by the pile of firewood. Dong Guo Haoran's body lay beneath it. At this point, Niu Youdao could no longer worry about whether hiding there might cause stray arrows to implicate an innocent corpse.

Fortunately, Heaven never blocks every road. Just as he was desperately searching for a way out, the terrain along the bank ahead became complicated. Horses could no longer travel close to the river. The waterway began to wind and change direction, while the silhouettes of lofty mountains appeared in the distance. The river seemed to be entering mountainous country, and its current was visibly growing faster.

One of the female general's subordinates rode up beside her and spoke quietly for a while. She looked toward the terrain ahead. After a brief silence, she took out a small plaque, tied it to an arrow, nocked the shaft, and shot. The arrow buried itself in the bamboo raft.

Then she raised her voice. "Brat, listen well! You kept this general entertained today, so I'll point you toward a road worth taking. War is everywhere outside, and these are hard times. If you come to your senses, take that token to the authorities in Guangyi Commandery. They'll know how to find me. I can't promise you anything else, but I can guarantee you'll have enough to eat and clothes to keep you warm. You might even make something of yourself. Don't be too stupid to know what's good for you!"

With that, she wheeled her horse around and led the entire group racing back the way they had come.

[End of Chapter 5]