Li Jin Qing: The one behind it all

Chapter 21

"What happened inside?" Xue hua asked.

"Get on the horse" Jin qing ordered.

"What-"

"Get on the horse" Jin qing repeated with a hard edge to her voice.

The bells inside the fort sounded and Jin qing cursed underneath her breath.

"What- they realized we are gone!"

Shouts erupted from inside the fort and more bells rang.
Xue Hua noticed the blood on her sister's dress.

"Xue Hua get on the horse, now!"

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Jin qing looked back to make sure her sister was still following her. She had chosen to give her sister her own horse so them they wouldn't slow down too much, but now she worried her sister wasn't used to such rough riding.

The moonlight made it hard for her to see, the horse's hoofs pounding on the floor, leaping over any obstacle along the way. They must be in Wei territory again, they have to be, but who knows how far the fort was from the border? Tens of miles? Hundreds of miles?

Jin qing shook her head and breathed in. She was only asleep for an afternoon, no way the Song would have gotten that far in that short amount of time. Besides, she had other things to worry about. She trusted her sister's sense of direction, but how would she know that they were heading into the Wei territory and not deeper into the Song?

The forest flew past her, her horse easily maneuvering between the trees, the hooves pounding on the earth floor. Her sister wasn't too far behind her, trying not to slip from her steed. They must make haste if they want to distance themselves from the soldiers. No doubt war has already been declared, therefore Song soldiers would be free to do what they liked on Wei land, it was wartime after all.

An arrow whizzed by her ear.

She turned back, expecting to see the Song soldiers behind her, but no one was there.

Was she hallucinating? Or could it be someone has an extremely good aim and a good arm? is someone hiding from them? If they are, why hasn't she found out where they are?

It's too dangerous to be running at night. They need to settle and hide somewhere. If only she can locate the lake or the cliffside her sister said she saw...
If she can, she knows exactly where they would be.

The approached a stream with a bridge. She allowed her sister to catch up.

"Why did we stop?"

"Xue Hua, I need you to hide somewhere near here."

"Why? What about you?"

"I'll be fine." Jin qing sighed, "I just need you to be safe, it'll be easier on my mind to know you're hiding somewhere."

"But what about you! You need to hide too!"

"As I said, I'll be fine, I saw something and I want you to be safe." Jin qing assured her. "Hide along somewhere among the stream. Leave the horse here."

Xue Hua slipped off the horse and ran off, following her sister's orders.

Meanwhile, Jin qing rode back toward the direction of the Song. She could have sworn something was on the arrow that was shot towards her, from the short time she saw it, it looked like a note.

Jin qing carefully scanned her surroundings, looking for the arrow. By the base of a tree was the arrow that had nearly hit her, but the shaft was snapped in half and only the point remained. She picked it up and studied the tip of the arrow.