admit it,” ShiShi added. “Still, Li Shang would have come to his senses sooner or later, little soldier, but you can thank me for making it sooner. I reminded him how much you sacrificed to get here.”
Shang flinched at his guardian’s gentle reprimand, but his gaze didn’t leave Mulan. “I also remembered what you told me in the tower. How you were a disappointment to your parents, and you were unhappy with yourself. I didn’t completely understand what you’d meant then. But I understand a little better now. Everything I said earlier…I didn’t mean it, and I regret it.”
“I’m sorry, too,” Mulan replied. “I didn’t mean to lie to you.”
“I know,” said Shang. “But you did it to save your father. I would have done the same if I were in your position.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Well,” Shang fumbled, “I mean, if—if I were a g-girl, but it’s hard to imagine that. I mean, I’d like to think I would have.”
“It’s not as hard as you think. Getting the voice down is the toughest part of it.” Mulan chuckled and heaved herself up a craggy boulder fallen in their path.
“Tougher than my drills?” Shang joked.
She laughed. “Maybe not,” she allowed. “I was so afraid you’d see right through me and send me home.”
Shang laughed with her, but he sounded nervous. “I would never have guessed. You—” He clamped his lips tight. “Y-you’re strong,” he stammered, “and I’m not just saying that. I mean it. You…you fight good.”
ShiShi rolled his eyes. “Come, you two, move faster. There’ll be time enough for you to gape at one another after we leave Diyu.”
“I’m not—”
Mulan stifled another laugh, then sobered. “We must be far from the hundredth level. How deep into Diyu did Meng Po lead me?”
“Not too deep. ShiShi and I found a door in the desert while we were looking for you. It looks like a portal.”
“One that should take us back to the City of the Dead,” ShiShi said, nodding his head to quicken their pace. “From there, we’ll find the gates.”
Mulan’s heart lifted. “So we’re close.”
Shang started to walk next to Mulan, but ShiShi stepped between them. “Not close enough.”
Mulan was both relieved and disappointed ShiShi had inserted himself between them. She couldn’t explain it, but now that Shang knew she was a girl, she felt shy around him.
Stop that, she scolded herself. You’re a soldier!
Trying hard not to look at Shang, she listened to ShiShi tell the story of how he’d guided one of the Li ancestors to become a great hero who helped the Emperor unify China. He’d risen from being the son of a penniless rice farmer to become an admired warrior, respected for his keen battle strategy, surprise tactics, and mercy on his defeated opponents.
“He was a legend for hundreds of years,” finished ShiShi. “People even wrote songs about him, and sang them from village to village.” The lion puffed up his chest with pride. “The tune was quite catchy, I remember. Shall I sing it?”
“No!” Mulan and Shang said at the same time.
ShiShi harrumphed. “Well, I—”
“I want to know your story, Mulan,” Shang interrupted. “Tell me about your family. Your father—Fa Zhou—he was in the army with my father. And he is married to—”
“My mother is Fa Li,” Mulan supplied. “She was the daughter of a civil servant in the Imperial City. She greatly honors the classics, so it always upset her that I could never memorize them.”
Shang smiled. “I can understand that.” He straightened again. “So you have no brother?”
“No, my ancestors were right. It’s just me. My parents tried to have a boy, but they couldn’t have any other children.” She’d never talked about this with anyone before, not even Mushu. “I don’t think my father minded much, but it was hard on my mother.”
Shang was quiet. He was listening.
“I wasn’t the ideal daughter. I was too clumsy to be of use around the house, and too independent to stay at home weaving and playing the zither all day. The only way I could uphold the family honor was to marry well. But on the day I met the Matchmaker, I accidentally set her on fire.”
“Really?” A laugh escaped Shang, then he quickly cleared his throat. “I mean, that’s terrible.”
Mulan grinned at him. “I would have laughed, too, if I hadn’t been so terrified. I know I disappointed my family. I’m an embarrassment to them. I guess I didn’t want to be trapped in a marriage.” She sighed. “At the same time, I