Chapter 19

ZHEN

The plum rain—the heavy downpours in the fourth and fifth months, when the plums turned yellow—cleared up by late afternoon

the next day, and they set off. Zhen had seen hunting parties before, and they usually took dogs or even hawks and eagles.

But that was when the game was stag or deer. Stalking snakes required silence and stealth.

"Lead the way," Xian told him.

Zhen rode ahead on one of the horses from the Changle stable. Xian followed on Zhaoye, and Feng and Fahai brought up the rear.

Zhen and Qing had recently spent time in these forests as snakes; he was familiar with the lay of the land and knew which

areas were too rocky and treacherous to attempt because of erosion or landslides.

Zhen led them to a creek with crystal-clear water where they could stop to rest and the horses could drink. He handed out meat buns he had brought along in a basket made from braided willows.

"Join us," Xian said.

"Thanks," Zhen replied. "But I'd like to scout the terrain to make sure it's safe to pass."

He swung up into the saddle and rode a distance ahead. The sun was beginning to set, and some snakes would be waking from

their daytime slumber, hungry and ready to feed. He listened keenly to the murmur of the forest around him—crickets chirped

in the bushes, squirrels skittered up tree trunks, and starlings and blackbirds bickered on the branches.

He raised his head and let out a low, sibilant sound beyond the realm of human hearing. It echoed off the canopy of leaves

above him, a warning that only other snakes would understand:

Danger. Stay away.

The restive stillness was the only reply. But if he shut his eyes and concentrated hard, he could sense dozens of snakes responding

to his urgent call, uncoiling and slithering into rocky streams or hiding beneath the cool mulch of fallen logs—

"See anything?"

Zhen's head snapped around as Fahai pulled up next to him on his mount. The man's expression was unreadable, the way it had been last night when he surprised Zhen in the courtyard. A flicker of panic rose in Zhen's chest, and for a moment, he wondered if Fahai had overheard his warning. But that was impossible. Fahai wouldn't be able to hear, much less comprehend the language of snakes. No human could.

Zhen gave a slight nod. "It's all clear."

Xian and Feng came up alongside them on their horses.

"We haven't sighted a single snake so far." Feng gazed up at the darkening sky. "I think I saw deer tracks back there. Let's

just get one and call it a day."

"We aren't here for deer, Feng." Xian couldn't hide the exasperation in his tone.

"I know. But it would look bad going back to the palace empty-handed—"

"Wait." Fahai suddenly raised a palm. He gestured toward a cluster of shrubs. "I saw something white moving in the grass over

there."

To Zhen's dismay, a snake darted out of the bushes and slithered across the clearing. Its scales gleamed pale in the fading

light.

"There!" Xian dismounted and grabbed a steel hook and a pair of tongs from the rattan case tied to the back of Zhaoye's saddle.

"Don't let it get away!"

The frantic snake tried to escape the way it had come, but Fahai blocked its path. Xian moved forward, trying to catch it

with the tongs. The snake hissed, rearing up and showing its fangs; Feng drew his sword, but Xian quickly held out a hand.

"No! We need it alive." He pointed at the pole with a noose in the rattan case. "I'll drive the snake toward you. If I can't

get it with the hook, you snatch it with the noose—"

A roar from behind them made Zhen spin around.

A leopard burst out of the thicket, leaped a startling distance, and landed several feet from Xian. It growled, baring its teeth.

The snake vanished into the underbrush, unscathed.

Zhen's senses had been so focused on the snake that he hadn't detected the leopard's approach. Xian had a hook in one hand

and a pair of tongs in the other—effective against a snake, but useless against this predator. Leopards were one of the strongest

wild cats, and Zhen had seen one dragging a carcass heavier than itself up a tree.

Feng moved first, stepping in front of Xian. He brandished his weapon, the look in his eyes as deadly as the leopard's. He

swung his sword just as the animal leaped at him.

Zhen's stomach lurched. Even before the leopard's paw knocked the sword out of Feng's hand, Zhen knew the prince's bodyguard

didn't stand a chance.

Feng fell backward under the crushing weight of the animal. He let out an anguished yell as the leopard's teeth sank into

his left shoulder. If he hadn't put up such a spirited fight, that first bite would've punctured his throat. But the next

one could.

"Feng!" Xian rushed forward.

Fahai caught his arm. "No!" The adviser had his bow in hand, but he couldn't hold Xian back and fire an arrow at the same

time.

Zhen picked up a thick fallen branch, ran toward the leopard, and, with all the strength he could muster, swung at the leopard's

left hind leg. The leopard howled and whirled around.

"Zhen, watch out!" Xian shouted as the leopard released its grip on Feng and advanced toward Zhen.

Zhen stood his ground, stared into the depths of the leopard's eyes, and spoke in its language:

Leave the humans alone. Run before they kill you.

He wasn't sure what kind of sound emerged from his mouth, but the recognition in the leopard's eyes was unmistakable. It raised

its head and looked balefully at Xian, who had picked up Feng's fallen sword, and Fahai, who had pulled an arrow from his

quiver—

With a frustrated growl, the leopard sprang away just before Fahai's arrow whistled past, narrowly missing its head. It bounded

into the bushes and disappeared.

"Feng!" Xian hurried forward and dropped to his knees next to his injured best friend. "How bad is it?"

Feng grimaced. His bleeding shoulder looked dislocated. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not. You just got mauled by a leopard!"

Feng looked at Zhen, mystified. "That beast swept my sword away like a toy. How did you hit it hard enough to knock it back?"

"When it jumped at you, it landed awkwardly, favoring its left hind leg," Zhen replied. "I assumed it had been injured earlier,

so I struck its most vulnerable spot. It probably ambushed us because it couldn't run fast enough to catch its usual prey—"

"We need to get Feng back to the palace," Fahai interrupted. "An animal bite must be cleaned and covered with a poultice as

soon as possible to prevent festering."

"I know the shortest route," Zhen said.

Their horses hadn't spooked and run off when the leopard attacked, proof of the quality of their training.

Xian helped Feng to his feet. "You'll ride with me."

"I'll have to turn down that honor, Prince." Feng gritted his teeth and managed to climb onto his steed without jarring his

injured shoulder. "The only time you'll bring me in on your horse is if I'm dead."

"Don't say such things, you idiot." Xian glared at him as he swung up into Zhaoye's saddle. "We've had enough bad luck for

today."