Chapter 14: Mercy

They walked back to Anping in the dark before dawn, and neither of them said a word. Ming walked fast. The road from the north gate was frozen into ridges and her cloth shoes slipped on them, and the gourd in her writing box knocked against her hip at every step, and she walked faster. Behind her she could hear him, his footsteps light and even on the frozen road, keeping exactly the proper distance, as a well-bred escort should. At the gate she had to stop and wait for the gatekeeper to wake up and draw the bar. Nine stopped too, just behind her. She could feel him there without turning round, as you can feel a fire at your back. "Say it," she said to the gate. "Say what, Recorder?" "Whatever you're going to say." "I'm not going to say anything," said Nine pleasantly. "It's very early. The…