Horrible weapons, qiangs, Hok thought, and her mind drifted to Charles. She wondered how he was doing. Hopefully, he hadn't had to use his weapons. She hoped he was still with her mother and GongJee and that they were all doing fine. Malao and Fu were another story. Hok simply hoped those two were alive. The same was true for her oldest brother, Long, who had essentially disappeared.
Hok looked at Seh, unconscious on the floor of the skiff. He was lying on his back with his face to one side, and she noticed a pool of rainwater accumulating near his nose. She bent over and rolled Seh onto his side to get his face out of the puddle, and her thin eyebrows raised up. There was a long, narrow bulge in the small of Seh's back that she hadn't noticed before. In some ways, it resembled the outline of one of Charles’ qiangs. Also, tied to one side of Seh's sash was a pouch. Hok poked the pouch and it jingled. There were coins inside. She wondered where he had gotten money.
Hok reached toward the bulge in Seh's back, then jerked her hand away. A telltale lump on Seh's right wrist began to move. It was his snake. She would have to work quickly if she wanted to find out what Seh was hiding.
Hok untied Seh's sash and rolled him gently onto his stomach. She took hold of the bottom of his blue silk robe and flipped it up. Tucked into the waist of Seh's silk pants was some sort of scroll. Even though it was thoroughly soaked, Hok could tell it wasn't one of the dragon scrolls. It looked too new to be something as old as the scrolls were supposed to be.
Hok stared at the scroll for a moment and noticed the snake beginning to make its way up Seh's arm, beneath his robe sleeve. Hok snatched the scroll away and folded Seh's robe back down. As the snake began to make its way over Seh's shoulder, she turned him back onto his back and quickly retied his sash.
The snake poked its head out of the folds of Seh's robe, and Hok leaned backward. The snake stared at her for a moment, then pulled its colorful head back into Seh's robe, out of the rain.
Hok shuddered and looked up. She saw Cheen staring at her.
“I don't like snakes very much,” Hok said.
Cheen nodded as if in agreement and turned away, staring intently downstream. Hok noticed that his mood seemed to have changed. He appeared anxious.
“Are we close to our destination?” Hok asked.
Cheen nodded again. Less than half an hour later, he pointed toward shore. Hok squinted through the rain and saw a small house set back in the trees atop a mound of yellow earth. It was a simple wooden structure, wisely built quite some distance from the rising water.
Cheen steered the skiff toward the shore and found a narrow clearing between two partially submerged maple trees. He ran the skiff up onto a stretch of yellow mud and jumped out. Hok followed. Together they dragged the skiff into the forest, well beyond the water's edge.
Cheen scooped up his sister and nodded for Hok to do the same with Seh. Leery of the snake, Hok cradled Seh in her arms like a baby instead of slinging him over her shoulder like she would normally have done. Holding Seh this way was difficult, to say the least, especially with her arm still hurting, but at least she could keep an eye on the undulating lump that had once again settled around Seh's wrist.
Cheen headed for the house with Hok on his heels. They reached the front door and Cheen knocked against it with one foot. No one answered.
Cheen knocked again, a little harder this time, and the door swung inward. He walked straight into the house without announcing them. Hok followed warily, her eyes darting left to right.
The moment Hok crossed the threshold, she relaxed. There were herbs everywhere! They hung from the walls and the ceiling. Piles were stacked on the floor. Hok saw cabinets and bottles and buckets and barrels overflowing with medicinal plants. She could tell that this was the home of a doctor. More than likely, a very good doctor.
Hok saw numerous things that she could use to help Seh once he regained consciousness. Why, right next to the door was a row of lung-enhancing herbs. There were huge clumps of hai zao, or seaweed; large pots of xing ren, or apricot kernels; small jars of bai jie zi, or mustard seeds … the list was endless. Hok realized that there were more herbs here than they had ever had back at Cangzhen. There were even a few she couldn't identify.
Excited, Hok set Seh down on the earthen floor to take a better look around. As she did, she noticed the snake on Seh's arm go rigid.
Hok heard a voice behind her.
“Can I help you?”
Hok turned to see an ancient woman hunched over in the doorway. Her wet hair was thin and gray but her skin was taut and her eyes shined bright and clear. She was very old, but appeared extraordinarily healthy.
Hok lowered her head. She felt like a thief. “I—”
“CHEEN!” the old woman exclaimed suddenly, interrupting Hok. “Is that you? I haven't seen you in ages! Come over here so that I can get a good look at you.”