Although Beatriss’s nemesis Madam Guto has finally been “dealt with,” Beatriss and Tetsukichi soon realized that not all problems could be solved with a sword. Most troublesome was one of the former sing-song girls from Guto’s establishment, a young woman named Phi Phong.
Phi Phong was beautiful, certainly, but that alone did not concern them. Khanbaliq was full of beautiful people. What disturbed them was the effect she seemed to have on others. Men who met her became unusually attached to her—protective, eager to please, almost grateful simply to be near her.
Their companion Golfo, impulsive even by his own standards, had married her after a very brief courtship. That in itself might have been dismissed as typical of a man who, having missed several opportunities to die young, had committed all the more to living fast. More unsettling was the reaction of Anca Sansar, Tetsukichi’s uncle and khan of the household. Sansar openly favored the couple, elevating the rough, low-born Golfo almost overnight. He formally adopted him as a son and seemed especially delighted by Phi Phong’s presence in the household, granting her honors far beyond what her station would ordinarily allow.
Concerned, Tetsukichi sought counsel from Afu, the sun priest who had aided them before. He hoped Afu might divine whether Phi Phong possessed some supernatural influence. But Afu had his own concerns.
First, he believed that Gwinch, the foreign sohei, had become involved in slaving operations along the southwestern frontier. Second, he suspected that Fun Town—the sprawling entertainment district outside the labor camps—served as a covert base for the mysterious Slavelords.
Beatriss and Tetsukichi agreed to investigate.
Following rumors gathered from drunken laborers, they made their way through the crowded alleys of Fun Town until they reached a tavern called The White Warrior. The food was greasy, and the patrons loud enough to discourage careful listening. But while Tetsukichi watched the room, Beatriss struck up a conversation with a monk seated nearby.
When she mentioned Phi Phong and her strange effect on people, the monk nodded with immediate interest. Yes, he said, he knew someone who might help determine the source of such powers. In fact, he was on his way there now—to the Monastery of the Two-Fold Path, just outside the city walls. He would gladly guide them.
The offer came too quickly.
Beatriss politely declined. The pair finished their meal and returned home, treating the encounter as a likely attempt to lure them into an ambush.
For several days afterward, life returned to something like normality. Tetsukichi’s infant daughter, born during the winter, was formally named in a household ceremony presided over by Afu. The rites were solemn and joyful, and afterward the priest found some time speaking privately with Phi Phong, in hopes of divining the source of her strange powers.
Later, he reported his conclusions to Beatriss.
Phi Phong, he said, seemed like an exceptionally kind and delightful young woman—warm-hearted, generous, and possessed of uncommon grace. In fact, Afu added with complete sincerity, she appeared blessed by the Gun God himself.
Beatriss listened in silence.
Afterward, she resolved very firmly that Phi Phong would never be left alone with her children.
No comments:
Post a Comment