away. “Nothing.”
“You…you don’t believe what they said about me, do you, Shang?”
“Of course I don’t. I’m just…looking out for ShiShi.” Shang cleared his throat awkwardly, then started walking faster. He parted the three branches with his arms, making for the hills that would lead them closer to the gates.
The captain was a terrible liar. She could tell her ancestors’ conversation had gotten Shang thinking.
Great, she thought, her shoulders sinking. Great.
Mulan felt her lungs constrict. She’d tried so hard for the past few months to hide who she really was. To become Ping the brave and capable soldier and bury Mulan under the facade of armor and a deep voice.
She’d been so happy to earn Shang’s trust, and now…she’d lost it.
And she had a feeling that even if she told him the truth, she’d never gain it back.
Pain burst from Mulan’s ankle as she ran to catch up with Shang, but she ignored it. The captain wasn’t slowing down for her; he didn’t even look back to make sure she was still behind him.
“Shang?” she called after him. “Shang. Please. Talk to me.”
Finally Shang whirled around, his red cape bright against the dead foliage. “Are you really Ping?”
Mulan winced, both from her ankle and from Shang’s question. “Who else would I be?”
“You could be a demon. I wouldn’t be able to tell.”
“I asked you to trust me,” she said, limping. “Remember? In the Tower of the Last Glance to Home.”
“I trust the Ping I trained,” said Shang stubbornly. “The Ping I know wouldn’t lie to me.”
Mulan didn’t reply. How could she? Guilt gnawed at her. Deep down, she knew he was right. She had been lying to him. But how could she tell him the truth, knowing what he’d think of her if she did?
“Look at me,” she said. “I’m no demon.”
Shang sighed, looking worn and defeated. “It’s just…it is odd. I’d forgotten about it until now, but Chi Fu couldn’t find any record of you either. He started looking into it during your training, but after I decided to send you home, he relinquished his search. Then everything happened so quickly.…You and the rest of the troops improved, and we were called into battle.”
“Shang…”
“Just tell me, Ping. Look me in the eye and tell me that your ancestors are wrong and simply didn’t know about you. I’ll never doubt you again.”
I can’t tell him the truth, she thought miserably. What I did—stealing Baba’s conscription notice and dressing up as him—was against the law. I could be executed for high treason, and Mama and Baba would be in trouble, too. She pressed her back against the closest tree, lifted her ankle to let it rest. But if Shang trusts me, shouldn’t I trust him?
She slid her back against the tree until she was almost sitting on the ground. What could she say? She valued Shang’s trust. Ever since that first day she’d reported to duty, she’d looked up to him—first as a leader, then as a friend.
And now?
She let out a silent sigh and stole a glimpse at the captain. He didn’t say anything, but she could feel the change in their friendship. He doubted her.
She picked herself up, shuffled her feet against the dead leaves. “Who else would I be?” she said, laughing uneasily.
“Ping,” said Shang thinly. “It’s a simple question. Are you, or aren’t you, the son of Fa Zhou and Fa Li?”
“I’m…” Mulan twisted her hands. She couldn’t lie to him—not to his face like this. Yet she couldn’t tell him the truth either. “I’m—”
Shang backed away from her. “All I need is a yes or no.”
“Shang, I can explain,” Mulan pleaded, but she could see from his eyes she’d lost him.
He snapped a thick tree branch behind him, broke it in half with his fists. She’d never seen him so angry before, so hurt. “Who are you, then?”
“I’m…I’m—”
His eyes narrowed. “You say my father sent for you.” Shang circled her. “But mortals can’t come into the Underworld. How are you here?”
“I told you,” Mulan said. “I made a deal with King Yama—”
“The ghosts said King Yama couldn’t find any mention of you in his book,” Shang said, still gripping the broken branches tight in his fists. “Have you been lying to me, Ping? Or were you never Ping to begin with?”
“I—”
Mulan didn’t know whether to be relieved or dismayed that ShiShi reappeared just that instant. The lion, completely oblivious to Mulan and Shang’s argument, pounced out of a thicket, landing in front of the pair with a