A Maiden’s Request
“Master Gong’s proposition sounds interesting,” you say, directing your words at the Songfeng disciples. “Rather than fighting each other, turning Zhou Manor into the site of a bloodbath, and risking the success of the mission, why don’t we make this into a challenge? Reach the pirate leader before I do, and take his head, and you can say that you have bested me. I will agree to that.”
As the other pugilists quietly pressure the Songfeng disciples to agree, Rong Muben speaks up. “That will be an acceptable condition. Still, I am sorry, Master Zhou, but I cannot participate in this personally. However, I will instruct my disciples to give you their utmost cooperation.” Having said his piece, he steps back and returns to his seat, a sour look on his face. His students, similarly irate, mumble their agreement, though they mutter accusations of cowardice under their breath. You smile at them and give the customary salute of an open palm over closed fist. They do not return it.
“Good,” sighs Zhou Dingqiu in relief. “That is settled, then. The preparations are well underway, and we will depart in a day’s time. If any of you have any further questions, you will always be welcome at my manor.” With that, the gathering disperses. Many are still uneasy at your participation, throwing suspicious glances at you as they leave. It does not really matter to you one way or another though – once the mission commences, acting in concert with the orthodox pugilists would only serve to slow you down.
***
Making your way through the streets of Yangzhou, you begin heading back towards the ramshackle hut that now serves as your temporary lodgings. Reaching a narrow street corner, you turn into the narrow alley suddenly, pulling Yu along with you.
“What’s the matter?” he asks.
“It’s happening sooner than I expected.” You gesture at him to move further in. Then, you wait.
You hear footsteps approaching your position, their pace picking up now that they are After a few seconds, the owner of the footsteps appears. She gives a gasp when she sees you waiting for her in the alley, taking an involuntary step backwards.
“Miss Zhou.” You give her a curt greeting. “A rather bold thing for a young maiden to do, running after two men in broad daylight.”
She shakes her head and frowns at you. “I was going to call out to you when we reached a more appropriate place to discuss matters. I suppose this place is appropriate enough.” Without any hint of worry, she steps into the alley, giving you a stare as if daring you to do your worst.
“Well, to come after me alone you have more balls than any of the Songfeng disciples at least,” you murmur. “What is it that you want to discuss?”
Miss Zhou nods and begins. “I have a request-“
“Why?”
“You’re asking why? You haven’t even heard my request yet!” she says, looking puzzled.
“You want me to take you to the pirates’ island?” you say.
“How did you know that?”
You sigh. “A lucky guess.” You are probably the only person she could ask, after all, and her intentions were rather transparent from her expressions during the meeting. “Why do you want to go there, and how do you think I can help you? Keep your replies to four words.” Xiahou Yu laughs in approval.
“To rescue a friend,” she replies quickly.
“Who is this friend?”
“Childhood friend, merchant’s daughter,” says the girl again.
“Captured by the pirates?”
“No, she went willingly.”
“Why did she go?”
“She married a pirate.”
“Wait, what?” This does not seem to be going the way you expected it to go. You had thought that the young mistress of Zhou Manor was going along to prove her skills, sick of being cloistered in the manor, or some such similar story. “That means she’s also a pirate now, right? More or less.”
“Yes, so I want to rescue her from the attack tomorrow.”
“Which means…”
“I can have a boat prepared within the hour. If you are willing to assist me, we will set sail for Tielou Island tonight.”
“You’re basically asking me to warn the pirates that an attack is coming,” you say in disbelief. “An attack planned by your own father, because you want to save the life of your friend.”
“Is that wrong? From what I've heard, the pirates are only pillaging to survive. At any rate, what is important to me is getting my friend away from the island.”
“Well, ethically and legally, yes,” interjects Xiahou Yu. “In so far as deeds are accomplished, they should be accomplished for the greater good. The pirates plunder what is not rightfully theirs and inflict suffering upon the populace. The needs of the many outweigh the life of one person.”
Miss Zhou peers at him, before saying, “Hey, didn’t I see you walking the streets one time in nothing but a sackcloth?”
“I do not remember,” he says flatly. It must have been one of his episodes – you probably do not want to give him any more access to alcohol any time soon, even if he has vowed to never drink it again.
“Well, I don’t see why you need us along,” you say.
“She may be my friend, but that does not mean that I would like to walk into their den alone. Even if I can protect myself, I would feel safer with more fighters on my side,” she explains.
“Right. Does your friend speak their language?” you ask.
“Not as far as I know.”
“Do any of them speak our language?”
“I don’t know,” she says, shaking her head. If her friend had married one of them surely they could communicate somehow… right?
“I know a bit of the Nippon language that the Wo speak,” says Xiahou Yu. “I studied it for a few weeks as part of my self-education on foreign policy.”
“My friend, the brilliant scholar. Whatever would I do without you?” you say with a strained chuckle. “What will you do if we refuse, Miss Zhou?”
“What can I do? I may have to take matters into my own hands, but that will be no concern of yours,” she says politely. You are not exactly sure what she will do; perhaps she might chance going it alone, perhaps she might not. That is no concern of yours, is it?
***
A. You agree and go along with her to meet the pirates before the mission begins. It will be extremely risky, but it will give you the chance to turn adversity into opportunity. You can decide what to do with the pirates after you set foot on the island – this will give you a headstart on the other pugilists anyway.
B. You attempt to convince her that you can save her friend on the day of the attack itself. She will definitely still insist on coming along, which means that you will have to find a way to sneak her onboard the ship underneath her father’s nose. If he finds out... well, you think you might be swimming back to the mainland.
C. You report her plans to her father so that he keeps an eye on her. This is far too risky a plan for any maiden to conduct. By having Zhou Dingqiu place her under lock and key, she should be kept safe and out of harm’s way during the mission. You might still keep an eye out for her friend, but that won't be your priority.
D. You reject her proposal, but do not do anything else. There is no need to undertake extra measures for this particular mission – what will be will be.
If I have the time and inclination perhaps I could try, but banging out long, expository updates is going to be more of a rarity nowadays. And more often than not I miss things because hey, this should be really fucking obvious to everyone, but it ends up only being really fucking obvious to the writer and no one else, which is why editors have a job. So, I figure OOC info-dumps are needed, particularly when I get sloppy. Particularly if it's something that's not vital to the plot, but to the understanding of the setting. The amount of tags I get asking me for further clarifications is testament to that.
