Path of the Eclipse Read Online Free

Mao-T’ou. I have inquiries to make of the scholars there. Now, tell me at once where the university is.”
    Neither guard had ever been spoken to in such a manner by a woman. The farther one straightened and flushed, but the nearer one attempted to bluster. “Now see here, my girl, it’s all very well to go running about dressed up like a fighter, but—”
    Chih-Yü cut him short, her anger for all the frustrations she had encountered in Lo-Yang welling up in her. “This person is of the family T’en,” she announced loudly enough for passersby to hear her. “My distinguished father was General T’en. Perhaps you have heard of him?” she asked sarcastically, knowing that her late father was one of the most revered tacticians of the kingdom. “This person, being his rightful heir, is properly addressed as Warlord T’en, not ‘my girl.’ Now, where is the university, fellow?”
    The nearer soldier cleared his throat and came to attention. “The Warlord T’en, if she will give herself the trouble, will find the university near the old city walls, two li from here, two streets to the west of this one.” He had directed his eyes toward the roofs of the three official buildings across the square from the one he guarded. “The Warlord may avail herself of a guide, which this humble guardsman would be honored to summon for her.”
    “That will not be necessary, soldier, unless your instructions are faulty.” She gave him a challenging look and waited for his denial, and tapped her booted foot on the raised paving stones.
    “This humble guardsman assures the Warlord T’en that he has provided instructions to the best of his poor ability.” He was still looking at the rooftops, but his voice had hardened.
    “Then there should be no difficulty, should there?” She stepped back and found that there was a large number of people gathered to listen to her upbraid the guard. Chih-Yü understood why the guardsman was so resentful, so she added, “The Warlord T’en appreciates the assistance given her, guardsman, and will so inform the official Lun.” She turned away smartly and shouldered through the crowd. She wished she had applied for the right to carry her sword inside the city walls instead of the scabbard alone. Somehow, that empty scabbard made a mockery of her rank. Walking more quickly, she made her way through the bustling crowds down the long avenue toward the crenellated outline of the old city walls.
     
    Text of a dispatch from the scribe Wen S’ung to the Ministry of the Imperial Army in Lo-Yang. The messenger was ambushed by raiders and the message never delivered.
     
    In the fortnight of Great Heat in the Year of the Rat, the Thirteenth Year of the Sixty-fifth Cycle, to the Ministry of the Imperial Army, at the behest of the General Kuei I-Ta.
    To the Ministers of War and the Protectors of the Imperial Presence, greetings:
    The General Kuei I-Ta finds himself and his men in desperate straits. The perfidious Mongols have once again breached the defenses we established near the village of Nan-Pi on the northern side of the Sha-Ming Pass of the Tsin-ling Mountains. The casualty toll of men now stands at 347 dead, 861 wounded, with another 212 ill from various diseases. This latest offensive on the part of the men of Temujin has effectively cut our supply lines, and if the Mongols are allowed to keep their hold on this pass through the winter, this garrison will not survive to oppose them.
    It has come to my attention that two companies of Imperial bowmen are stationed no more than eighty li from this place, in the Ma-Mei valley. Half of this force, speedily sent, would be of great assistance to us here, and would make it possible for us to rout the despicable Mongols.
    It is my sad duty to inform the Ministers and the officers of the Secretariat that the stronghold of Pei-Yo has fallen and all the men, women, children and chattel of the place hacked to pieces. We of this company tried to penetrate