Chinua killed a wealthy businessman in the village, and the assembled crowd screamed, stepping back as one. Chinua quickly grabbed the remaining arrows on the ground and shot at the two servants charging at her.
"Murder!"
"He killed someone!"
The assembled crowd muttered.
"Go, release them!" Chinua yelled at the beast. She grabbed the jar of silver and ran, law enforcement officers hot on her heels.
Ten law enforcement officers chased Chinua as she rushed down an unknown street.
"Don't run away!"
"Stop!"
The officers shouted as they chased Chinua.
Chinua frantically grabbed goods from street stalls, throwing them at the law enforcement officers, but even the vendors' vegetables did little to slow them. They chased Chinua like hungry wolves after their prey.
"Stop!"
Chinua knew she couldn't outrun the law enforcement officers on the crowded streets. She put some distance between herself and the leading officer. She opened the silver jar, grabbed a handful, and scattered it into the street.
"Someone dropped their silver!" Chinua shouted.
The surrounding people rushed into the street, one after another, blocking the law enforcement officers as they fought for the money on the ground.
As Chinua fled, she continued to throw silver, carrying the black bag on her shoulders, escaping across the bustling street toward the camp.
Standing on the second floor of the inn, Ge Ming chuckled. "Wang Yong," he said, "this Chinua is a very interesting person." He sipped his tea. "She refused to go to Tanggolia with me, and she refused to let me claim her reward. She even found out we had a mole in the camp." He looked at Wang Yong. "Did you know she also knows what our plan is?"
Wang Yong asked, "You seem very interested in her?"
Ge Ming smiled. "Unfortunately, she refused to follow me to Tanggolia," he said.
"Get out of the way!" the officers shouted to the crowd.
The ten officers finally made their way across the street, but Chinua was already a long way ahead. They started chasing Chinua along the dirt road. Even from a distance, they could see her path and knew where to find her because of her distinctive armor.
The officers gasped by the side of the road, watching Chinua disappear from their sight, their abdominal muscles cramping and slowing them down.
"You can run, but we'll find you!" an officer yelled behind Chinua.
On the badlands, Od handed the leather water bag to Khunbish. "Khunbish," he said, "you two need to rest. I believe Chinua will be fine."
"Yes, that's right," Chaghatai said. "Chinua is smart; he'll get away and sooner or later he'll return to camp." He smiled.
Erden looked at Khunbish and Khenbish, who hadn't slept since Chinua disappeared. He smiled. "How about you two take a nap, huh? If we find anything, we'll come to you right away."
"No, I can't rest until I know Chinua is safe," Khunbish said.
"Even when we're fully awake, bad things can still happen to Chinua," Khenbish said. He looked at Khunbish.
Och sat next to Khunbish and Khenbish. "Why are you two so loyal to Chinua?" he asked.
"She saved us in a way no one else could have," Khunbish said.
While the men rested to catch their breath, Muunokhoi ran toward them, waving and shouting, "Hey...hey...Chinua..." The men stood and rushed to Muunokhoi. "Chinua is back at camp!"
Khunbish grabbed Muunokhoi's right arm. "Really?" he asked quickly.
Muunokhoi, catching his breath, said, "Yes, he's back. Uninjured."
Khunbish and Khenbish quickly ran back to camp.
"Stop looking for Chinua, everyone! He's back at camp!" Muunokhoi shouted.
Chinua stood before Dzhambul and Lixin in Batzorig's personal tent. Khunbish, Khenbish, and Batzorig entered, standing behind Chinua.
Dzhambul looked at Chinua coldly. "You seem to be doing fine. How did you escape?" he asked.
"I walked away," Chinua replied.
"If you were able to get out unscathed, does that mean you killed both intruders?" Dzhambul asked.
"It was two intruders, but the uninjured one was driving our soldiers away, leaving me with the wounded intruder," Chinua said.
"Princess, did you kill him?" Batzorig asked.
"No, I let him go," Chinua replied.
Dzhambul slapped the table heavily, stood, and pointed at Chinua. "Chinua! How dare you let that intruder go? Especially the one who came to kill me!"
Chinua looked at Dzhambul. "How much honor does one get for killing a wounded, surrendered soldier?" she asked.
Dzhambul walked slowly to Chinua, gritting his teeth. "What exactly do you mean?" he demanded.
"The reclaiming of Nue-Li City," Chinua said.
Dzhambul's anger flushed his face. He raised his hand and slapped Chinua hard across the face. "Father sent you here to train," he said angrily, "it doesn't mean you can scoff at other people's problems."
Chinua felt the pain in her mouth. She spat out a mouthful of blood. "There's a saying," she gasped, "'no secret can be kept forever.'"
Dzhambul scoffed. "There's another saying: no soldier can violate military law." He walked back to the table and sat down. "Batzorig," he ordered, "tie her to a post for four days without food or water."
Batzorig hesitated. "Prince Dzhambul," he pleaded, "please reconsider. Chinua is a princess."
"Princess or not, now that she's a soldier, she'll be treated as any soldier," Dzhambul said.
Khunbish and Khenbish quickly fell to their knees. "Please," they begged, "let us replace Chinua."
"If you're so noble to your master, then perhaps you two can tie yourselves to the same post beside her," Dzhambul said.
"No need! I accept!" Chinua said.
On the first day of punishment, Chinua stood in the training ground, observing the other nine captains train their soldiers. Instead of training with the soldiers, Chinua studied their formations. Chinua sat on the ground, writing: "How to protect a battering ram," "How to destroy a wall from a distance," and "How to keep an archer within five hundred yards of an enemy wall."
Haitao stood beside Chinua and sighed. "You're supposed to be serving your sentence, not drawing," he said.
"I need to focus elsewhere, not think too much about food and water," Chinua said.
Haitao looked down at the ground. He read, "How to protect the battering ram? How to destroy the city wall from a distance? How to get an archer within five hundred yards of an enemy wall?" He smiled, then looked at Chinua. He burst out laughing. "Chinua...oh, Chinua...you haven't passed the first stage of enlistment, and you're already thinking about an invasion!" He smiled, shook his head, and started to leave Chinua.
Chinua turned to Haitao. "Captain Haitao," she asked, "among all the foods, which one can make you feel full longer?"
Haitao turned. "I don't know," he said with a smile. "Are we talking about rationing now?"
"I was just thinking... what do we need to prepare if we're surrounded by enemy forces for a long time?" Chinua said.
"Well, you have three full days to figure it out," Haitao said. He walked away.
On the second day of her sentencing, Chinua's body grew weaker. She hadn't eaten for three days. Leaning against a wooden post, she watched a spider quickly wrap a fly into a cocoon. She stared at it for a while, then smiled. Chinua sighed. "So, the battering ram should be protected like this," she murmured.
Chinua quickly looked up at the hot, humid air, tasting the moisture. She swallowed hard, but her mouth was already dry.
On the morning of the third day of Chinua's punishment, Haitao and his party walked through the training ground. As soon as Khunbish and Khenbish saw Chinua, they rushed over, only to be stopped by seven of their comrades.
"You two know very well that Prince Dzhambul ordered Chinua's punishment," Timicin said. He pushed Khunbish back. "Helping Chinua now is like condemning her to death," he warned.
"Chinua will make it," Erden said. He looked up at Timicin. "Hey, Timicin... we've told you, no matter how much you hate Chinua, don't refer to him as a woman."
"Yes, on that mountain," Chaghatai said. He pointed to the mountain in front of them. "You told us you don't hate him. Why do you keep referring to him as a woman?" He pushed Timicin away.
Terbish said disappointedly, "I'm not on your side this time; you've gone too far."
Haitao turned and watched the other six team up against Timicin. He sighed. "Because Chinua is a woman," he stated simply.
All six of them gaped.
"Does... does General Batzorig know about this?" Od stammered.
Timicin nodded. "Yes..."
Muunokhoi pressed, "What did he say?"
Everyone looked at Timicin, waiting. "General Batzorig can't say much," Timicin finally replied, "because Chinua pointed out that there's no law in Hmagol Kingdom that prohibits women from becoming soldiers."
"Why do I feel like I'm such a fool? Not just me, but every one of us," Od said.
"Only you are a fool," Och retorted.
"Hey, you didn't even know Chinua was a girl, so you're not a fool!" Terbish said, laughing suddenly.
"What's so funny?" Muunokhoi asked.
"What's so funny, Terbish?" Chaghatai asked.
Terbish laughed. "It's funny because Timicin can't break free from Chinua's headlock!"
Timicin hit Terbish in the head with the fishing rod. "You're trying to get Chinua to lock your head in her arms," he grumbled. "Let's see if you can break free!"
"Let's go," Haitao said.
"Chinua is very good at wrestling," Khunbish said. "Once she grabs you by the neck, it's hard to break free."
"She's been training since she was a child," Khenbish said. He looked at Timicin. "There's no shame in losing to Chinua."
Timicin smiled. "See? You heard the man. There's no shame in losing to Chinua," he conceded.
"What should we call Chinua now? He or she?" Erden asked.
"That's a decision Chinua has to make," Khunbish said.
Chinua watched from a distance as the ten slowly disappeared outside the training camp gates. She closed her eyes and murmured, "Batsaikhan...so hot..." Chinua collapsed to the ground.