The Wings of Dreams

purchases to the last minute. Although he’d put together provisions for two the night before, Gankyuu scanned the store fronts as well.
    “He was tame and well-mannered, fast on his feet, so smart it was like he understood what I was thinking.” Shushou’s lips drew a tightly in frustration and regret.
    “I see. That was a bad move on your part, Miss.”
    “What do you mean?”
    Gankyuu picked out a few dried apricots and tucked them away. He said over his shoulder, “Moukyoku are good around people. Not only yours, the whole species. Moukyoku in the Yellow Sea can be coaxed along with a little bait. They’re three-quarters of the way to becoming kijuu from the start, willing to trust anybody who calls out to them. You can’t hand over the reins of a moukyoku to anybody, especially in a busy city. You have to remain extra wary until you’re safely in a stables with trustworthy guards.”
    “Really?”
    “Really. Getting out of the saddle was your first mistake. You should count yourself lucky he didn’t haul you off to the constable.”
    “If he did that, I would have come out on top. I’ve got the papers to prove it.”
    “I bet he did too. As authentic as yours.”
    Shushou blinked. “Authentic? How could his be authentic?”
    “There are plenty of crafty hunters like them about. They do their hunting in Ken Province, not the Yellow Sea. Because hunters going to the Yellow Sea are bound to have kijuu. They probably had their eyes on you since Rinken. They pick out a kijuu boarding the ship and send a carrier pigeon to North Ken. Something like, There’s a moukyoku headed your way. Their colleagues in North Ken then select the proper certificates from the ones they’ve already got on hand, nab the moukyoku and make off with it. Since they handle a lot of kijuu, they’ve got a certificate for every one they’re bound to encounter.”
    Shushou lapsed into a silent sulk.
    “They would have secured a theft report from their colleagues in Rinken. They’ve got a whole network dedicated to stealing and selling kijuu. Yours is probably in the Kingdom of Han by now. I wouldn’t count on getting it back.”
    “I am going to remember this,” Shushou said under her breath. When Gankyuu looked at her, she said, “When I ascend the throne, I’ll have them all rounded up. I swear, they are going to regret this.”
    Gankyuu’s shoulder’s fell in dismay. “Going on the Shouzan isn’t enough? You’re already planning on becoming Empress?”
    “What else does one go on the Shouzan for?”
    “And you think you’ll be the one chosen?”
    “Anything wrong with thinking so?”
    “Not at all,” Gankyuu grumbled.
    A moukyoku wasn’t a bad kijuu, certainly worth targeting by the criminal element. It’d fetch a fine price. A family that owned one would be well off. Upon a closer look, the kid had a genteel air about her and didn’t shrink from ordering people around. This well-bred girl, treated with kid gloves her whole life and naive to the ways of the world, had let it go to her head and launched herself on the Shouzan. He’d never heard anything like it before. But seeing it for himself, it didn’t strike him as all that strange.
    “At least you can be grateful they didn’t rob you of your money as well.”
    “That’s why I took off my ruqun when traveling. Dressed like a pauper, nobody would believe a child like me was carrying that much money, right?”
    “That’s very clever.”
    “It’s common sense.”
    “I wouldn’t be so sure.”
    “Why?” she said, tilting her head up at him.
    Gankyuu patted the kijuu. “Couldn’t I just as well take off with all your money here?”
    Shushou sighed. “You’re not as smart as you think you are. Your name is Gankyuu. You’re a corpse hunter, well known to that innkeeper. If you ran away, I would report you to the authorities at once. Do you know what province this is?”
    “I Province.” Ken County was a detached administrative territory of the capital province.
    “That’s right. I am no stranger to the government officials of I Province. Or rather, my father isn’t. In North Ken, I was in a hurry so I gave it a pass. But if I ended up missing the Spring Equinox, you could count on me pursuing every legal option available.”
    “Yes, Ma’am.” Hells bells, Gankyuu cursed to himself. What a shrewd little kid. “But what if somebody shut your mouth for good? Not a few people enter the Yellow Sea never to be seen or heard from