Jing Li: Trust

As night fell and the cook fires were banked, Jing Li walked among the camp. A word here, a shared joke there, men and animals relaxed for the evening. The guards were on the treasury and they were alert. Jing Li himself would take a turn on watch, but for the moment he had another matter to deal with.

Not a matter for armor, his was ready for use if needed. Nor a matter for youth; his wards and student were winding up their qin practice. He could still hear them perform scales, and the occasional simple tune. Mixed with the scents of spring and aroma of fodder, Jing Li was content.

"You wanted to speak to me?" Kuo Ji-min said quietly, as she and her brother approached. Her brother seldom left her side when they were on the march. Only Jing Li was allowed to be her other protector.

"Yes. How did you know?" Jing Li replied. As Kuo Ji-hun turned to leave, he added. "Wait. To both of you."

"Your nightly walks away from people tend to take a different route. Perhaps I hoped it was I who changed your path." He could hear the joy in her voice. She seemed to take advantage of the darkness, and her brother's retreat, to find Jing Li's hand. "How may a dutiful vassal and her loyal retainer serve you, my lord?"

"Duty. An interesting word." Jing Li's thumb gently caressed the back of her hand and then he let go. He still smiled, but stood as lord, not intimate. Brother and sister felt the difference, and respectfully saluted.

"I need your help resolving a problem. Some months ago a pair of skilled retainers joined my retinue. They quickly became valued members and worked hard. No one, at least as far as I know, asked why two nobles traveled so far, with little to their name, and then took service with a less than stellar leader in an out of the way province."

"Normally, this would not be a problem. In a few days, it may be. Should nobles go missing in our lands it would be natural for a kinsman to search for them. Who would a kinsman ask for? How would they be described?"

He paused, and gently took her hand. "My mother's grand father was from your lands. He was a great warrior; known for martial skill without anger or wrath. Where I have fought few, he fought hundreds. My mother would tell me stories of Wenruodeeyun, as he was known. Like Little Brother, men would surrender to him without battle. They knew his skill, and his honor. I have always wanted to bring honor to his name, and perhaps to achieve a shadow of his glory."

He held her hand, still. "My father, out of love for my mother, raised me when she died. He even arranged for a tutor so I could learn to speak her ancestral tongue, though even she spoke more like the Chin than her parents. My skill, of course, is purely based on what I was taught. I cannot tell one Buyeo accent from another."

"Others can." He looked at both of them. "Even among my people, others have heard you speak and can probably identify much about you that I have not asked. I have not questioned them about you, out of respect. Trust." He squeezed her hand slightly. "Perhaps more."

"In a couple days we will reach Xi He port, a place where someone might ask about wandering nobles. A few days after that we will be in Imperial territory, a very likely place to be asking. Many know I have a, close confident, who is a female Buyeo architect. And her brother, who does a marvelous job training horses. I have not hidden you."

"It would be embarrassing if someone were to ask me about 'so and so' in my retinue and I didn't even know who they were talking about. I can live with that, perhaps." His tone changed a little. "Yet what if such lack of knowledge puts Little Brother at risk? Or my men? Should I be forced to blindly go when a torch light is ready at hand?"

"If there were no risk, I would not mind as much." His voice echoed his sadness. "I am glad for whatever brought you to me. You have seen me now for a while, you can judge me as you see fit. If someone is hunting Buyeo nobles, that's their business. But if they are hunting my Buyeo nobles, it is my business. If I have solid ground to stand on, I will stand well."

"I have given you my loyalty. I ask for your trust." He retreated a step. "My guard shift is in a couple hours, so I need to rest. Please, let me know if you can help solve this problem."