The Magnolia Sword_A Ballad of Mulan by Sherry Thomas

Author:Sherry Thomas [Thomas, Sherry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: young adult, Fantasy
ISBN: 9781620148044
Goodreads: 44059557
Publisher: Tu Books
Published: 2019-09-10T00:00:00+00:00

At first I’m concerned that we might give ourselves away and the Rouran scouts will realize they’re being followed. But we ride at a leisurely pace, and after a while I start to worry about the opposite: that we’ll lose the Rouran party’s trail.

“No fear of that,” says Kedan, chewing on a piece of dried mutton. “Look at the ground. I can make out those hoofprints for days.”

I remember that he is a highly regarded hunter and tracker. “I guess I’m the only one who doesn’t possess any useful skills for life outside the Wall.”

Kedan laughs. “Hua xiong-di, don’t worry. Idiots live outside the Wall too—I’ve met my share. If you’re willing to learn, skills will come.”

“Can you teach me to read those trails?”

Kedan looks toward the princeling, who says, “When we come across the spot where they stopped to rest their horses, we’ll do the same. There you’ll have plenty of trails to show Hua xiong-di.”

It’s a long time before we stop. And when we do, the trails on the ground are too many: Rouran hoofprints, Rouran footprints, our hoofprints, our footprints, and prints belonging to animals and nomads that passed this way earlier.

Hoofprints I can make out by the indentations they leave. But the soil is hard and I am sure that I myself leave no marks.

“Granted, you walk very lightly, Hua xiong-di. But I see your prints.”

With his sheathed dagger, Kedan draws an outline around one of my prints. I have to put my face very near to the ground and squint to see the faint impression left behind by my boot. And even then I’m only half-confident that I am in fact seeing and not imagining it.

Kedan points. “This other footprint of yours lies on top of the Rouran scout leader’s and —”

“How do you know it’s his?”

“He was the only one who came off his horse earlier, to receive the salt from us. Also, he is the only one in leather boots. The others with him have footwear made of cloth, and they walk more gingerly on the ground.”

“You have a remarkable eye!”

“Trust me, Hua xiong-di. I possess no skill as remarkable as that of knocking three arrows at once out of midair while riding at a fair clip. This is just the result of practice.”

“I could say the same about knocking multiple objects out of midair—just the result of practice.”

We grin at each other. I slap him on the shoulder in brotherly appreciation.

“Tell me what you observed of the Rouran riders,” he says. “You must have noticed different things than I did.”

“I think the rider at the rear is the best fighter. And he is left-handed, which would make him a difficult opponent for me—if, that is, I don’t fall into a dead faint should he come at me. What did you notice?”

“I was looking at the condition of the horses, wondering how much distance they’ve already covered today. What about you, Tuxi xiong?”

Tuxi rubs his chin. “To me the man’s accent didn’t sound as if he hails from this region, or areas farther east.

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