New Friends

The stretch leading to West Gate Court had been complicated enough, but the Gardens of Jiancheng City between the Inner Ring City and the Royal Capital were a lot more complicated, and more richly decorated, than anything that Wuying had seen. He spent most of his walk gawking at the sights, as the two sergeants on either side of him pointed out the more famous of them.

Yue Ling had taken off already, to look for her friend, no doubt. Just as she had said she would do, once they arrived. How they were going to affect An Ling Town and its mines, however, he had no idea whatsoever.

But he had promised to help her, so he was doing his best to delay the two town guards, by walking around with them. The two were too polite to refuse him, after all. Not after he had managed to put money into their hands for a minimum of effort. Not to mention all of the free meals that they had sponged off Yue Ling's guard contingent.

"Ho! Little brother! Where have you been? I went to the inn to get you but they told me that you had already left!"

The pair of sergeants with him stiffened at the the sight of the man who was approaching the trio at once, but Wuying merely smiled as he clasped his hands together and managed a quick bow. "This one greets you, Baisheng da ge! Had I known that you were coming to get me, I would have waited. But as you can see, I had something that I needed to take care of, with these Town Guards here. They are from An Ling Town," he replied, even as he waved a hand at the pair at his back.

"May I present Sergeants Wu Ping and Jiang Leli?"

The older man in the Royal Guard uniform laughed as he acknowledged the pairs' very formal salute. Then he turned to the younger man with a grin. "Oh? Got yourself some fines to settle then? What is it? Drinking with your old team-mates again?"

Wuying laughed back. "No, no. Nothing like that. It is more of a recruitment issue, for the White Tiger Guards. Wu da ge and Jiang da ge were just helping me with some of the more troublesome details. It seems it is more complicated, here in Jiancheng City."

The two sergeants bowed again, albeit a little less stiffly, and the tall man smiled broadly as he acknowledged the same. "Ah! Then I must thank them for their help. Thank you for taking care of this hopeless younger brother of mine. He isn't used to how things are done here, of course. Some times, one despairs if he is ever going to make the Guard!"

The town guards quickly shook their heads at once. And Sergeant Jiang laughed as he waved a hand at the younger man with them. "No, no, no. It is nothing like that! Wuying xiong was only helping us with some of the more ... unruly youths in town. And recruited the same into the White Tiger Garrision. As a military man yourself, you can guess how pleased we are with that! Those youngsters can be a handful without the right guidance. We merely helped to keep them from making a nuisance of themselves," he told the Royal Guard.

"Ah! Your friends from the White Tiger Gate again? Recruiting? That's not so bad then. They are always shorthanded. Getting a few hotheads may actually work out for them then," laughed the tall major, "Thank you once again for taking care of my younger brother."

The pair made polite noises at that, and quickly made their excuses after that. Wuying bowed to them as they left, before he turned back to the tall man. Baisheng laughed again, and threw an arm around the younger man at once, half-dragging him to the side of the road, and the shade afforded by the massive wall.

"Can't help interfering, hey? But recruiting for the Guard? That's a good thing. White Tiger Gate has always been shorthanded, and those young thugs will get a new chance at a proper life back. But what about you? Aren't you going to be late for your own test?" the Royal Bodyguard asked, "It's already close to the Tenth Bell, you know?"

"The Tenth ... What? It's already that late?"

But Yue Baisheng merely laughed again, and waved at one of the pages of the Outer Court, loitering about the place. As soon as the boy was close enough, the major tossed him a coin. "Here, lad. My brother here is running a little late for his test - his enlistment test. But I think a cunning young fellow like you should know all the shortcuts hereabouts. Can you get him where he needs to be quickly? With a minimum of fuss?"

The boy took a look at the coin that he had just caught and Wuying saw his eyebrows go up, when he noticed it was gold, before he started to nod vigorously. "Sir! Yes, sir! There's a shortcut that will do nicely. But we'll have to run, sir. The bell's going to sound soon!" he warned.

"Ah! Then I had better get going then, da ge!"

Baisheng laughed again. "You mean you had better start running, Wuying xiao di! I'll be telling everyone about this when I get home, including sister! You just wait! Go! Go! Or you'll have to wait another year to try again!"

So he bit down on his own laugh and ran after the page!

*

They went through a number of side-roads and alleys, but the page soon declared that they had arrived at where he was supposed to be. There were enough military flags and armed guards about the place that it looked like the sort of testing ground that Wuying had envisaged when he was told where he was supposed to go. But when he looked up again, the young boy that had been leading him had already gone up to the frowning receptionist. No doubt, the page was taking pity on this dazed older fellow from out of town.

The older man seated in front of the reception table was scowling, and he was flanked by two stacks of rather long boxes. As Wuying got closer, he caught a snatch of what the two were saying, no doubt about his rather late arrival:

" ... West Gate Royal Guard Major? Are you sure it was Yue Baisheng?" the man in the administrator's robe was asking, "And he told you to bring him here?"

To that, the boy nodded. "And he gave me a coin for my trouble too! This one is his brother, I think?"

"His brother?"

By then, Wuying was close enough and the administrator looked him up and down, no doubt taking in the rough cotton coat that he had on, and the weapons at his well-worn belt. Since he got them from Yue Manor - leftover from Baisheng's days at the same, no doubt! Well, they looked more or less respectable for someone heading into his own trials. The official made a gesture for the younger man to approach, and asked his questions as soon as Wuying was well within earshot:

"What is your name, young sir? And are you sure that you wish the join the tests for the new recruits?"

Wuying heard the more-polite-than-you tones in the older man's voice, and half-smiled to himself as he dropped into a formal bow. This was nothing more than what he had been warned about by the two town guards earlier! Well, there was no such thing as being too polite in situations like these!

"This one is Wuying of Yue. And yes, I have come to be tested. Please take care of me, sir."

"Ah!" The man sounded surprised, and more than a little pleased at the way that Wuying had addressed him. Doubtless, not many would bother with a pen-pusher, an adminstrator, like him with any level of cordiality. Especially in such circumstances, when they were aiming for a military post themselves! Well, Wuying had been taught differently!

"Well, young Wuying, you have just managed to squeeze yourself in before the bell, so I see no reason to deny your entry. But we'll need to fill up your details later, so that you'll have some time to prepare yourself. First, I'll need you to place your belongings into one of these empty boxes. You can't bear arms inside, you know? And your coat will only get in your way. They will be safe enough here with us. Even your purse. Most of the candidates leave them in the boxes as well."

"Ah. Of course. Thank you, sir."

Wuying quickly removed the black sword and the long dagger that he had received from Yue Ling from his belt, and slid them into the box. Along with the belt and his rather sparse purse. The administrator seemed to smile when he saw the last, and he could only presume that he wasn't that out of place.

By the time that he had his coat off, folded it into a neat bundle and tucked it into the narrow box, the older man had already written out a pair of wooden tags. One of them he handed over to Wuying, while the other he tied to the handle of the box, affixing the latter with a wax seal that he used to lock the same.

"There. That should be safe enough, you see. Now, the testing grounds are just inside. You will see the entrance clearly marked by the red flags there. Just go that way. That tag shall serve as your placeholder for the test, so don't lose it. Now, good luck, Master Yue."

Wuying thanked the man politely, bowing a second time, before he walked briskly to the entrance that had been pointed out to him. For all that he knew, he was likely the last man to arrive! And he didn't want to get in after the bell. That would only make him look even worse!

But he managed to sit down, at the tail of the line, moments before the loud clanging echoed in the narrow space that he was in, and he barely noticed there was another ten to twelve others in line before him. Then the tough-looking men in nondescript black uniforms stepped up to all of them, checking their tags.

Once done, the applicants were waved forward by the same in groups of five. That was when he was in the last group of three. That meant that he was numbered thirteen. He wondered, of course, why there were so few of them, trying out then. But considering the hour, he thought it all the more possible that he was in the last batch to be tested.

Each of the participants were given a three bows to choose from, and Wuying picked one that he thought was best. He wasn't really that good at archery, although he had trained at the same, back at the Yue Manor. The old men at Kongming had made certain that he knew all of the basics, and he was suddenly conscious of letting them down.

There were some arguments among some of the other participants of the test, and he spied a shorter man, clad in rough cloth like him, ignoring his peers to shoot. He was much better than Wuying had hoped to be, to be honest: all of his shots were in the black! But he frowned as he walked away from the lists, as though he was not quite satisfied with his own performance.

Then it was his turn.

A scarred man pointed him to his spot, as he clambered onto the low platform, and handed him two arrows. These were green fletched, and he grunted as Wuying thanked him, tucking one of them into his belt. "Those are for practice. Try hitting the target, and remember the weight of the draw," the older man told him, earning him another bout of thanks from the younger man. Then Wuying turned to the targets himself, and sighted downrange himself.

His first shot was too low. Set at fifty feet, it was a little further than the thirty-feet range that he usually practiced at. But his second shot caught the bottom ring, low on the target, so he knew that he had to adjust his aim even higher because of that.

But the scarred man handed him three red-feathered arrows then, and warned him that it was for real thereafter. Wuying sighed and lifted his bow to sight the target again. This was harder than what the veterans had told him, after all.

To tell the truth, he had not expected a test like that. From all the stories that he had heard, wasn't the test supposed to be much simpler? But there had been changes that took place from time to time, and it was hard to find suitable recruits for the Gate. Hadn't the last group only come back with five new ones? When they lost three to retirement? Perhaps things weren't as simple as he had hoped it would be.

But he didn't have time to worry about that. He lifted the bow again and shot. And was gratified to see that his adjustment had not been in vain. His first arrow had hit the target in the white in the first ring, so he was doing better. So he didn't think too much, and quickly shot again. And a third time.

The shots landed in the black in the heart of the target now, and he smiled to see them there. At least he didn't let down all of the old men who had drilled him at the Yue Manor. The man at his back grunted again, and he turned back just in time to see him point at the left side of the platform, even as he held out his hand to receive the bow back from Wuying.

"You can proceed to the next test. That way."

Wuying thanked the man again, and quickly headed the way that he was directed. There was a opened gate there, and he wondered what the man had meant. Wasn't the test already over? He had never heard of a second stage in the recruitment trials for the army.

And when he stepped through the gate, into what his senses told him was an enclosure filled with horses, he was certain that there had been some sort of mistake. What was an army guard doing with horses? That was something that only officers had to do! All the other troopers marched, rather than ride!

But there was no one that he could ask, he realized, as he watched the other candidates and men in nondescript black uniforms parade the horses around. Were they grooms then? He couldn't tell. But they seemed to be much more at home with the horses than what he had seen, even at Yue Manor.

A cough at his shoulder made him turn around then. It was Scarface, who made an impatient gesture towards the men and the animals when he looked back. "You are supposed to go pick out your mount first," he told Wuying gruffly, "See if any of them catches your eye."

"Ah." He had not realized that. But now that he looked, he saw that one of the other candidates, wearing a rather florid purple shirt of silk, was cooing at his horse, as he checked its saddle and its bridle. Clearly, that was what he was supposed to do. So he decided not to waste any more time and stepped over to the stalls.

But the stable was almost empty. Clearly, the other participants before him had already taken the other horses. He spotted the archer, the short boy who had frowned as he stepped away from the lists, leading a horse away saddled and all, and moved quickly to do the same. There was a rather old horse, at the corner of the stables, and so he went over to it, and quietly checked its hooves. He was tempted to take a look at its teeth as well, but decided that it would be a little insulting to the grooms if he did so. If it wasn't meant for the test, what was it doing there?

So he moved to where the saddles lay, next to the stalls, and picked one. There were saddle blankets next to them, and he pulled a light green one too. It was neatly folded and looked clean, and that was all that mattered. And when he got back to the horse's stall, it looked almost eager as well. That was a good sign, if he needed one!

By the time that he finished saddling it, the rest of the hands seemed to be free, and were standing around and pretending not to be watching the trials. He could still hear the sound of hooves on the sand further inside, so he was a little relieved that he had not taken so long that they were all waiting for him. Still, he pushed himself to move a little faster, and quickly got out from under the weight of the staring.

There was a simple track inside the next section, and he was offered a variety of weapons again. Was he supposed to fight from horseback then? But he hadn't that much experience with a lance, and so he picked the bow again. It was almost identical to the one that he had used in the earlier test, so he thought he might have a better chance with it.

It seemed like a simple test, when he came up to it at last; all he had to do was to ride the circuit and shoot at three targets along its length. Luckily for him, the horse seemed to know what was expected, and it kept to the center of the track expertly, leaving him to concentrate on his shooting. Even so, he almost missed his first one; the target was just the size of a man's head, and he had only managed to catch it close to its edge. He did get the black with the other two, however.

Then it was over, and Wuying found himself removing the saddle and talking nonsense to the old horse that had borne him better than most. But he soon had the reins taken away from him by a grinning black-clad man as he was directed to the next segment.

There were only eight candidates left there, and one of them was the stern-faced archer that he had seen earlier. He still looked serious and slightly disappointed.

Beside him, however, was another young man. And the ridiculously colored shirt that he wore, in a magenta shade, reminded Wuying where he had seen the man before. This close however, he could see that he wore a necklace of gold and silver beads, interspersed with pearls, around his neck. And as he walked closer, he caught a snatch of what the gaudily dressed one was saying:

"... but that is just one of the tests. There's one more to go, and so long as you pass, I heard that you'll be accepted. So, no need to be so worried."

The boy with the brown hair and the persistent frown tendered the other one a rather formal bow then, before he turned and stepped away. Leaving the pretty one in the silk shirt to stare at his back. Then the latter shook his head with a sigh, and turned to Wuying, who just happened to passing closest to where the conversation had just taken place.

"Here. I am rather certain that I had just told him that going around the range once for practice was usually acceptable in such matters, and that his riding wasn't as bad as some that I had seen. And getting a low grade was better than an outright failure. Why did he look as though I had just insulted his ancestry or something?"

Wuying shook his head. He hadn't heard about that himself. Was it alright for him to go through the circuit without shooting then? Then he shrugged. "I have no idea. Perhaps he just does not like the thought to showing off his own weaknesses? If I am correct, he did do very well in the archery segment," he pointed out.

"As did I. Which was why I thought we might have something in common. It appears I might be wrong," sighed the flashily dressed young man, "Oh. I am Junhe, by the way. Duman Junhe."

Wuying clasped his hands in a formal salute, and tendered the man a shallow bow. "This one is Wuying of Yue. I am honored, to know your name."

"So formal? Come on, man! We are all merely candidates here, aren't we? Why the stiff manner? And please, call me Junhe. Using the surname reminds me of my father," the boy pouted back.

He laughed at that. "No one is ever faulted for excessive politeness, brother Junhe. And this is a test that selects entrants into the Guard. We are all expected to work together in the future. No harm in a little formality, now and again."

Junhe laughed back. "True, true. But I find all this politeness and formality a little stifling, to tell the truth. It's not like this when I'm at home. Or out gallivanting with my friends," he sighed, "Perhaps I should just drop out of the running, hmm?"

"Oh? After working so hard to get here? And getting this far? That seems a waste of your earlier efforts."

"Well, I'm not all that confident in my sword skills. I can defend myself well enough, but my attacks are quite atrocious. Perhaps I can get by with just that, hmm? Defending myself?"

"No. You must not."

Both of them looked up then, to see the short young man with the stern face standing there, a short distance from where they were. His rough clothes looked a little cleaner now, although there was still a layer of straw and dust over his boots. Which was enough to tell Wuying where he had gone. It seemed he took cleanliness a little more seriously.

Junhe too, apparently understood. But he was more surprised concerning the young man's comment over the last segment of the test. "Here. What do you mean by that? So long as I can keep the enemy at bay, that should be enough, right?"

"That only shows that you are capable to defending yourself. But consider: we are here to join the Guard, and to uphold the Laws of the Kingdom. That means that we will have to fight, and defeat our enemies. You cannot do that if you only defend."

The shorter man's argument made sense and Wuying dropped into a bow at once. "That is well-thought out. This one is Wuying of Yue, and I am most pleased to meet you," he greeted the shorter man at once.

Who looked surprised at the greeting as well. "This one is Wumu Qian, of Yexing Ya, of the Northern Territories," came his reply, as he took up the formal position as well.

Which was enough to draw a laugh from the third member of their group. "Well, this one is Duman Junhe, of Taijing City, in the Southern Phoenix Quarter. And I am most pleased to make both your acquaintances," he replied, before he sighed and waved a hand at their surroundings, "I would have preferred to invite you both to a drink right now. But it seems I am just about to have my arse handed to me, in the next segment of the test. Ah well! There is always next year."

"You seem to have a rather low opinion of yourself. But I remember how well you did in archery. And you are easily the best among us when it comes to riding."

Duman Junhe shook his head at that, although he blushed at Wumu Qian's praise. "Ah! But I'm rather hopeless at facing the enemy at hand-to-hand combat, I'm afraid. And I've only been formally trained in the dueling sword."

That was a rather limited experience, Wuying knew. Especially if the testers were as rigorous as the sort of opponents that he had to face, back at Yue Manor. Then again, he had been training with the sword for far longer than anyone else had. And a simple tactic suddenly made its way to his brain:

"When the match begins, attack! Be quick and be vicious, and make sure that you mark your opponent quickly," he suggested, "Or you can defend first, and wait for a lull in his attacks. That is a little more dangerous, since you will tire more quickly that way. But most swordsmen will not be able to adjust quickly enough to avoid a hit. I wouldn't try that in a real fight though."

Both boys looked at him in surprise, and Wuying felt his face growing hot. "I'm only low to middling in archery and riding, I know. But I have been practicing with the sword for almost six years now."

Junhe nodded carefully back at him. "I see. I see, indeed. Well, I guess that's the plan for me. What about you, Wumu Qian? How are you with the sword?"

The shortest among the trio smiled at that. "Well, I am shorter than most, and I am not so confident with that weapon as Wuying ge here. That's why I will be using a spear."

* * *