Editing Chapter 1 (section)

==Zhou Wing stalked...==

...his quarry with singular concentration, following at a distance so as to avoid notice until the moment of his strike.  He ducked low beneath the heads of grain as he crept along, standing infrequently, and then only for a split second so that he could get his bearings and continue his stealthy approach.  Indeed, so great was his effort that he had nearly reached his prey when he noticed that the mat of grass and sod beneath him gave way to a river.   With a terrific splash he landed in the three foot deep channel, and was forced to suffer the ignominy of being fished out by the object of his pursuit.

“You should really be careful, stranger.   The creek is pretty fast here... I guess sometimes it just sneaks up on you like that.”

Wing spluttered as he clung to the youth’s staff and used it to steady himself as he regained his feet.  “Thank you... I was actually hoping to meet you out here, where we could talk.”

“Oh, well... I don’t know much about the ways of ghosts and devils like yourselves, but if you can help me gather flax, I’d be thankful.  I’m Ping, the tailor.”

“Ah.  I am Zhou Wing, the surgeon.  I saw you yesterday actually,” Wing said as he removed his soaking robe and began to wring it out.  “You seemed to be having a bit of trouble with that gentleman in the town.”

Ping sighed.  He was a short young man, probably not much older than twenty, with a narrow face and a pinched brow.  “Yes, Sun Chee is his name, and he is the father of my fiancee, Sun Lian.  Only now I suppose he says that I cannot marry her, because I don’t know how to ride.”

“That’s strange... but it should be easy enough to learn to ride, shouldn’t it?”

“That it would, I suppose, if I had a horse.  I am a poor tailor.  What can I do?  If he says she cannot marry, then she could choose of her own will to defy him, but then she would have no dowry, and...”

“...and you cannot afford to take care of her without a dowry.  I see.”  He put on the  robe once more, which was now hopelessly wrinkled and still quite wet.  The two young men sat by the stream with their heads down, lost in thought.

“I want her to be happy... to have nice things, like a horse of her own, a red dress and house with a lamp and big bed, a table and chairs.  I could never earn enough  to buy all that, and I’ve no talent for making furniture.  Festival clothes, those I love to make; I’m excellent at sewing and mending, but there’s only so much call for that in a village this small.”

Wing nodded his head, then suddenly snapped his pale fingers.  “I know what you could do... you don’t need the dowry after all.  You could move to God Crossing with her!  There is a terrific need for men of industry there, and free housing with lighting and even sewage systems.  It will be a great city soon, especially with men like you in it.”

“Hmm...”  Ping stood and tossed a rock in the creek.  “You know, I would like to have a wider audience for my wares... and then I could afford to keep her home all day in comfort.  Best of all, I would never have to hear Sun Chee mock me again in front of her... this is a good plan!”

“Then let us do it!  Quickly, let’s tell Sun Chee and his daughter.  You could be on your way before noon today.”

“Yes, I like this idea!”  The two youths began striding back to town with their fists clenched at their sides and a defiant mien.

Meanwhile, Yao Ye was enacting her own plan.  She found Sun Lian easily enough, herding her father’s horses as they grazed.  Ye shouted to her from across the clearing, “Hey you!  I am Yao Ye, and I am her to help you!”

Lian rode over to the girl on a spirited roan stallion, looking down at her with curiosity.  “How can you help me, little fire sprite?  Will you beat some sense into my father?”

“I could do that, but I’d probably get yelled at.  Why don’t you tell me what all that shouting was about yesterday.”

The young woman dismounted.  She was tall, with long auburn hair, and she wore tall boots that came above her knees.  “It’s no secret.  My fiancee, Ping, cannot marry me because my father will not hear of me marrying a man that cannot ride.  He is insufferable.  He thinks he can keep me at home forever!”

“Hmm, that shouldn’t be a problem.  You are Marukan; why don’t you marry him anyway?”

“Ping will not agree to it unless my father allows it; he says it would be unfilial to ignore his wishes.”

“Bah!”  Ye put her hands on her hips and threw out her chest.  “Unfilial?  This Ping doesn’t sound like much.  If he loves you, why doesn’t he marry you?  He can’t even ride?”

“He is sweet to me... I thought that if I was at his side, he would learn confidence.”

“If he cannot stand on his own, he isn’t ready for you, believe me.”  Ye closed her eyes and nodded her head sagaciously.

“But if I don’t marry him, what can I do?  I can’t stand another year in my father’s house... all my friends are already married.  Shall I be subject to such an overbearing father forever.”

“Hmm...”  Ye rubbed her chin as though in deep thought.  “That is true to.”  She looked at Lian through slit eyes.  “You seem to know how to ride well enough.  Can you shoot a bow, swing a sword?”

“Of course!”  She drew herself up proudly in her saddle.  “I am Marukan!”

“Perfect!  Rivers Betwee... no no...”  She looked at Sun Lian suspiciously.  “The solars have returned to guide us, as you doubtless already know, and they need brave warriors like yourself.  You should join the army!  You can be free of your father and meet no end of men who know how behave valorously both on and off the battlefield.”

“You know... that would show these fools a thing or two.  I don’t have to wait for such petty bickering.  I’ll give myself up to death and glory!”

“Yes, death!  Come, let’s go tell them now.”

Sun Lian began riding back to town at a gallop, while Yao Ye struggled after her as fast as her short legs could carry her.

At that moment, in town, Selara was talking with Sun Chee.

“You see,” he said, “I could care less if he knows how to ride.  My daughter can outride any man in a hundred miles.  She has no equal!  But Ping is a poor man, and I have many horses.  Why has he wooed Sun Lian, when she is so far above him?  He must be after my wealth, and is hoping for a big dowry.  I cannot let my daughter marry such a man who only sees silver in her eyes, can I?”

Selara turned her own silver eye away in embarrassment.  “Yes, quite.  But there must be a solution... why not a test?  Offer to let them marry, but excuse yourself from paying a large dowry... you have no sons, so who will take care of you when you are old, after all?  If Ping refuses to marry her when you offer a single horse, then you will know if it is love or money that he seeks.”

Sun Chee pounded his fist on the table, rattling the (slightly rusted) saber that lay naked on the boards.  “This is a good plan.  Thank you, beastwoman.  Let us tell them now so that I can finally have this worry off my chest!”

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