Chapter 158 — Eloping Together

Shen Mu saluted him from where he stood. "Elder, we are only passing through. The day is nearly done, so we stopped to rest. The road has been long and weary, and our thirst was hard to bear, so our ox drank a little more than he should. We beg your pardon."

The old man came nearer and looked up at the Ox, unable to hold back a gasp of wonder, though he was still somewhat afraid. "Your ox is well fed indeed — a fine, sturdy beast. But why is he green?"

Shen Mu smiled. "He has dragon blood in him. That is why he is green."

The old man wanted to touch him but dared not; at last he summoned his courage, came up to the Ox and gave him a pat. The hide was like satin, the muscle like iron. "Firm flesh, this," he said in admiration. "We have a few cows in our village. Could he be put to stud?"

The Ox was displeased. "Elder, I am no breeding bull, and I do not stand at stud. My heart already belongs to another."

The old man started. "A demon?" he stammered.

"No demon," Shen Mu said quickly.

Snow Fox poked out her head. "I'm the demon."

Light dawned on the old man. He looked at Shen Mu and Ling Yuxiu and laughed. "I see it now. You've run away from some great house, haven't you? Only a great house could keep a strange beast and a fox spirit. It's growing late — why not come to our village and rest?"

Shen Mu hesitated and looked at Ling Yuxiu. She said softly, "The Green Ox is tired out. He can't run any farther."

Shen Mu frowned. "If Loulan's Golden Palace catches up, we may bring trouble down on them."

Ling Yuxiu whispered, "The Green Ox has trodden wind and cloud the whole way and left no tracks; it will be hard for them to find us. Let us do this: if their village is well hidden, we will spend the night there; if it stands out, we will not stay."

Shen Mu nodded. "Elder, since that is so, we will trespass on your hospitality for one night, and set out again at first light."

The old man laughed. "Stay a few days if you like, no harm in it. There are few enough of us in the village — all old men and old women, living one day at a time. You look strong; help me drive my sheep."

Shen Mu stepped forward. His movements were so swift that he soon had the flock gathered together. The old man's eyes lit up. "Young lady, you have a good eye," he said approvingly. "This young fellow is sturdy and capable."

Ling Yuxiu flushed. "Elder, it is not what you think."

The old man laughed heartily and led them, driving the sheep, around a fold in the hills to a small village in the mountain woods. It was not large — some twenty houses, most of them empty — and in it lived a dozen or so old men and women. The woods were deep and still, the trees tall and unpruned, screening the little village from view.

"Why are there so few people here?" Shen Mu asked, his mind eased but puzzled.

"The khans fight every day, one killing the other. One comes and takes a batch of able-bodied men, then another comes and takes a batch — and bit by bit, the people are gone."

The old man sighed. "Those who could manage it moved away. Only us old ones are left — we cannot move, and we do not want to. And if we did move, where would we go? Luckily, when they press men these last few years, they don't take old bones like ours. Old woman — we have guests!"

An old granny mending clothes rose hastily on trembling legs and grinned. "Guests? I'll go cook!"

"Let me," Shen Mu said quickly. "When I lived in my village, I cooked often enough."

The granny could not out-argue him, and so she and the old man stood watching him fry and boil. Ling Yuxiu hurried over and asked the two elders to sit.

"Where are you from?" the granny asked, smiling.

The old man winked, raised both thumbs and pressed them together in a kissing gesture, and laughed. "Runaways from a great house — a young couple, eloping."

Ling Yuxiu's face went red. "It isn't so," she said in a low voice. "We are innocent..."

"We've all been young. We understand. The girl is just shy."

The granny looked her up and down, showed a few sparse teeth, and smiled. "A fine girl — strong body, good bosom, and a rump to match. That young fellow is a lucky one."

The old man laughed. "The young fellow's a good one too — sturdy, and simple-hearted, no bully in him. He was most polite to an old bag of bones like me."

"You two," the granny put in, "stay out on the run a year or two, then go back. Have a baby, take the baby home with you, and your family won't be able to deny you even if they want to."

Ling Yuxiu murmured vague assents, her heart fluttering like a startled deer, at a loss how to answer. She thought: "If I went back with a child by Ox-boy, my Imperial Father would die of rage... Pah, pah! He wouldn't die of rage, but he would certainly have his head cut off! Great fortune, great fortune!"

Before long the smell of cooking filled the air, and Ling Yuxiu hurried to help. When the meal was done, the sky had gone wholly dark. The village was all old men and old women; they lit only oil lamps, and slept as soon as night fell.

Shen Mu helped the two old people clear the bowls and chopsticks. The old man said, "There are plenty of empty houses in the village. Pick one and settle in."

Shen Mu thanked him and went into an empty house. Snow Fox helped tidy up, sweeping out three rooms, and reckoned to herself: "One for the Green Ox, one for the big-bosomed vixen, and one for me and the young master. Three rooms — no problem."

Suddenly Shen Mu felt something stir in his heart. He looked up and saw two great stars coming from the west, moving across the heavens. "Everyone get inside!" he cried.

Ling Yuxiu, the Green Ox, and Snow Fox hurried indoors. They had barely entered when, with a humming drone, two thick pillars of light came down and lit the little mountain village bright as day.