I’m not your friend, then who is?” he demanded.
Kuang ignored him.
“Anyway,” Huo continued, “why are you sulking? It’s the end of the week. We need to relax. Come on, it’ll be good to get away from the fort. There’s nothing for you here.” He paused to let his meaning sink in. Still Kuang didn’t answer.
“Don’t be an idiot, Kuang!” Huo said finally.
“What do you mean?” Kuang said.
You know what I mean. I saw the way you were looking at Weilin.”
“She was looking at me!”
“She’s just bored—don’t flatter yourself. Weilin is Commander Tang’s daughter and she’s engaged to Captain Fu Sheng.”
“What about it?” Kuang said.
“Fu Sheng would tear you apart if he even suspected.”
“I’m not afraid of Fu Sheng. Besides, it’s none of your business.”
“I’m trying to help you, you idiot!” Huo said.
Kuang glared at Huo, his temper rising. Then he remembered how Huo had carried him back to the barracks when he had been too weak to walk, and the anger left him. “I’m staying here,” he sighed. “You go to Longpan. You don’t need me.”
“Have it your own way,” Huo shrugged and made for the door.
“I never did thank you for the other day,” Kuang called after him.
“No, you didn’t.”
Huo stood in the doorway as Kuang searched for the right words, then gave up waiting. “Never mind,” he said, stepping out of the barracks and into the dusk. “There really is no need.”
Kuang sprang up and checked his face in the polished brass that served as a mirror. He wondered whether to wait another week, but when he thought of Weilin’s pretty eyes and slim waist, he decided he had waited long enough.
He left the barracks and crossed the compound, keeping to the shadows. When he reached the commander’s house, Weilin was not in her usual place on the terrace. He wondered what to do. He could not stand around idly. Someone would soon notice him. Perhaps he would go into Longpan after all, get some food, a few drinks, perhaps a girl—someone to pass the time with until he could have the girl he wanted. He turned to go. He had only gone a few paces when he heard the faint click of a door opening behind him. Weilin was on the terrace. She glanced at him for a moment, then set about rearranging her flowerpots.
He sauntered over to her and stood in the shadows nearby. “Is something the matter, Miss?” he asked with a smile.
“Perhaps I should ask you the same thing?” she answered without looking up from her work.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s not me who is skulking in the shadows,” she replied without turning to look at him. “Is there something you want, soldier?”
“You don’t know my name?” he asked.
“Why would I know your name?” she asked icily.
Things were not going as he had hoped and he began to wonder if he had made a mistake after all. “I know your name,” he continued lightly. “You’re Weilin. I’m very pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Kuang, from Hubei.”
“In that case, I do know your name,” she said. “In fact, I have often heard it mentioned in my father’s house, usually when trouble is discussed. Now I can put a face to the name.”
“Then at least you know my face,” he smiled, hoping to seize a small victory.
“Who wouldn’t know your face? It stands out from the rest, even among the battered faces I see here every day.”
He touched the remains of the scab on his lip before he could stop himself. He was getting nowhere. She clicked her tongue and busied herself with her flowerpots, picking out dead leaves and pouring a little water into each.
“I know your face,” he said finally. “It stands out too, but for a different reason.”
She ignored him.
“You’re very beautiful,” he said, almost to himself.
She looked at him then, waiting for a further remark, but there was none.
“That’s kind of you to say,” she said at last, “but I don’t think so.”
“Oh, it’s true,” he smiled, “believe me.”
“What is it you want, exactly, Kuang?”
“I came to tell you that you’re the most beautiful woman in the whole of Yulong Fort,” he said with a mischievous smile. Her face hardened. It was hardly a compliment, considering the age of the few other women who lived in the fort. Then, seeing the humor in his eyes, she relented and laughed despite herself.
He stepped up to the balcony rail with a broad grin and she saw how handsome he was beneath the cuts and bruises. “If someone sees you here, there’ll be trouble,” she warned.
“No one will see me. Besides, we’re only talking, nothing more.”
“Why aren’t you in Longpan this evening like everyone else?”
“There’s nothing for me in Longpan.”
“I’m sure there are plenty of pretty girls.”
“None like you.”
“You’re out of your mind, Kuang!”
“Maybe,” he said, reaching over the rail for her hand and drawing her to him slowly, drawing her so close he could only see the curve of her cheek and the top of her lip. He leaned forward to kiss her. To his surprise, she did not resist. When a lingering moment later she pulled away, he drew her back and they kissed again.
“This is a bad idea,” she whispered urgently. “You shouldn’t be here. If someone sees you, there’ll be serious trouble.”
“There’s no one around,” he assured her. He vaulted the balcony rail and pulled her body to his, pressing his lips to hers. His hands cupped her neck lightly, then smoothed down her back, settling on her slender hips. His knee found its way between her thighs. Her body tensed. He wondered if he had gone too far when he felt her press into him, her small hands pulling on his shoulders.
A sound came from inside the house—a door closing—foot-steps in the hall. Kuang vaulted back over the rail and darted into the shadows. Weilin returned to her flowerpots. They waited, breathlessly, but no one appeared. He returned to the terrace, but she put her hand on his chest to prevent him from jumping over the rail. “I’m betrothed, Kuang! I’ll be married soon. And don’t forget to whom. You know what Fu Sheng would do if he found out.”
“I’m not afraid of Fu Sheng. I’m not afraid of anyone.”
“You should be. He would kill you. He would probably enjoy it,” she shuddered.
“But where is Fu Sheng now? Out in the steppes, more concerned with killing Turks and Uighurs than with being with you. If I was him, I would never leave you on your own.”
“Fu Sheng has important duties.”
“Your father arranged the marriage?” Kuang asked.
“Father did what’s best.”
“Best for who?”
She looked so sad that he did not know what to say next. Instead he kissed her and she did not resist.
There was another noise from the house. He leapt away into the shadows just as Weilin’s mother put her head out.
“Are you out there, Weilin?” she called.
“Yes