bumpy earth beneath the grass made for an uncomfortable bed. Her legs ached. She’d rather have bedded down next to Seisai. The area was cramped. And Gankyuu was a nag. Sleep was pretty much out of the question.
But once she closed her eyes, when she opened them again, it was morning.
Chapter 14
[2-6] T hey were past the three-day window of safety Gankyuu had promised, but the Shouzan caravan was still deep in the forest. The mountain stream they were following had grown into a small river.
Just as they had so far, about the time the sun touched the Kongou Mountains in the west, the caravan reached an enlarged hollow in the woods and began setting up camp.
Shushou gathered firewood along the way as always, and placed the stones in the place Gankyuu picked out.
That day, Gankyuu chose to bed down in a grove a short ways from the clearing past a screen of overgrown shrubs and bushes. Behind a big tree covered with pungent leaves was a little meadow ringed by small trees. That was where Shushou built the hearth.
While Gankyuu cooked dinner, Shushou fetched water from the river. Coming and going people called out to her.
“Shushou, how are you feeling? You must be tired.”
“Oh, I’m okay.”
It’d be a lie to say she wasn’t, but she’d been prepared for this kind of fatigue from the start. Rather, it was walking through the monotonous forest, however untamed, that was enervating.
“How’s camp life treating you, Shushou?”
The question came from an old man by the name of Shitsu Kiwa. Kiwa had the most belongings and the biggest retinue in the caravan.
“Well enough, I guess.”
“Why don’t you spend the night in my tent? To think that a little girl like you has to sleep every night on the grass! It’s such a sad sight.”
“I can’t say I’m not tempted.” Shushou sighed. Kiwa’s tent was large. Rumor had it he’d brought a portable bed with him, along with a horse-drawn coach and a wagon to carry it all. “But Gankyuu would chew my ear off.”
Kiwa furrowed his brows. “What sort of fellow is this Gankyuu?”
“My bodyguard. I hired him. Didn’t I tell you?”
“A goushi ?”
“Seems he was once a corpse hunter. There’s no doubting his knowledge of the Yellow Sea.”
“A corpse hunter, eh? No wonder he’s such an unsociable fellow.”
“That I wouldn’t disagree with.”
The professional bodyguards who escorted people on the Shouzan were known as goushi or “guardians.” Corpse hunters tracked and trapped youjuu in the Yellow Sea. Guardians were considered trustworthy assets on the journey. But everybody had to wonder what a corpse hunter was doing in the caravan.
“A corpse hunter is hardly a professional bodyguard, not to mention their reputation for outrageous and loutish behavior. Are you sure you’ll be safe with him? You can travel with me, if you wish.”
“Well, if he proves unreliable, I may take you up on that offer.”
“You’d be more than welcome. Should anything bad happen, don’t hesitate to speak up.”
“Thank you.”
Kiwa wasn’t the only one making such offers. Her being a child was a big deal to everybody. She regretted having to turn them all down, but Gankyuu wouldn’t allow it so that was that. Not that she couldn’t imagine fleeing the nagging Gankyuu for a spacious, comfortable tent. But she’d spent all her money hiring him and it would pain her equally to see that investment go for naught.
Good grief, Shushou grumbled to herself after she left Kiwa and returned to their campsite. “But at least he seems a pleasant enough person.”
Far from being a pleasant person, Gankyuu pitched a fit over every little thing. He gave her orders like a general bossing around a private. If she asked him a question, he groused. Maybe he was on edge because they were in the Yellow Sea. At any rate, if she’d only arrived in Ken earlier, she would have had time to find a proper bodyguard.
“That’s probably no less naive a supposition,”
But once she closed her eyes, when she opened them again, it was morning.
Chapter 14
[2-6] T hey were past the three-day window of safety Gankyuu had promised, but the Shouzan caravan was still deep in the forest. The mountain stream they were following had grown into a small river.
Just as they had so far, about the time the sun touched the Kongou Mountains in the west, the caravan reached an enlarged hollow in the woods and began setting up camp.
Shushou gathered firewood along the way as always, and placed the stones in the place Gankyuu picked out.
That day, Gankyuu chose to bed down in a grove a short ways from the clearing past a screen of overgrown shrubs and bushes. Behind a big tree covered with pungent leaves was a little meadow ringed by small trees. That was where Shushou built the hearth.
While Gankyuu cooked dinner, Shushou fetched water from the river. Coming and going people called out to her.
“Shushou, how are you feeling? You must be tired.”
“Oh, I’m okay.”
It’d be a lie to say she wasn’t, but she’d been prepared for this kind of fatigue from the start. Rather, it was walking through the monotonous forest, however untamed, that was enervating.
“How’s camp life treating you, Shushou?”
The question came from an old man by the name of Shitsu Kiwa. Kiwa had the most belongings and the biggest retinue in the caravan.
“Well enough, I guess.”
“Why don’t you spend the night in my tent? To think that a little girl like you has to sleep every night on the grass! It’s such a sad sight.”
“I can’t say I’m not tempted.” Shushou sighed. Kiwa’s tent was large. Rumor had it he’d brought a portable bed with him, along with a horse-drawn coach and a wagon to carry it all. “But Gankyuu would chew my ear off.”
Kiwa furrowed his brows. “What sort of fellow is this Gankyuu?”
“My bodyguard. I hired him. Didn’t I tell you?”
“A goushi ?”
“Seems he was once a corpse hunter. There’s no doubting his knowledge of the Yellow Sea.”
“A corpse hunter, eh? No wonder he’s such an unsociable fellow.”
“That I wouldn’t disagree with.”
The professional bodyguards who escorted people on the Shouzan were known as goushi or “guardians.” Corpse hunters tracked and trapped youjuu in the Yellow Sea. Guardians were considered trustworthy assets on the journey. But everybody had to wonder what a corpse hunter was doing in the caravan.
“A corpse hunter is hardly a professional bodyguard, not to mention their reputation for outrageous and loutish behavior. Are you sure you’ll be safe with him? You can travel with me, if you wish.”
“Well, if he proves unreliable, I may take you up on that offer.”
“You’d be more than welcome. Should anything bad happen, don’t hesitate to speak up.”
“Thank you.”
Kiwa wasn’t the only one making such offers. Her being a child was a big deal to everybody. She regretted having to turn them all down, but Gankyuu wouldn’t allow it so that was that. Not that she couldn’t imagine fleeing the nagging Gankyuu for a spacious, comfortable tent. But she’d spent all her money hiring him and it would pain her equally to see that investment go for naught.
Good grief, Shushou grumbled to herself after she left Kiwa and returned to their campsite. “But at least he seems a pleasant enough person.”
Far from being a pleasant person, Gankyuu pitched a fit over every little thing. He gave her orders like a general bossing around a private. If she asked him a question, he groused. Maybe he was on edge because they were in the Yellow Sea. At any rate, if she’d only arrived in Ken earlier, she would have had time to find a proper bodyguard.
“That’s probably no less naive a supposition,”
Similar Books
