Silver Phoenix Read Online Free PDF Page A

misunderstood and smiled, revealing teeth stained from pipe smoking. He winked at her.
    “You have a temper. But nothing that can’t be tamed. One suckling babe at each teat should do the trick.” The man threw his head back and roared at his own wit.
    Ai Ling jabbed her nails into tight fists, clenching her teeth until her jaws ached.
    “Consider my offer, Lady Wen. I’ll give you two days. It is I who is doing you a favor.” Master Huang rose and snapped open his fan before stepping out into their courtyard, unescorted. He did not look Ai Ling’s way again.
    That evening, they dined in strained silence. Ai Ling knew her mother would not succumb to Master Huang’s coercion.
    She was certain he lied about the debt, and although she could have read everything written in that scroll, it would not have changed the situation. Master Huang fraternized with all the officials in their small town, plying them with 25

    Cindy Pon
    wine and gifts. It was his word as a powerful merchant against theirs, two helpless women. Without Father, there was no one to protect them.
    Master Huang was rich and did not need more money. He wanted her . . . to make a son for him. The thought brought a sour taste to her mouth, a mixture of panic and fury. She would leave home before ever stepping into his bedchamber. She could go look for her father and bring him back.
    She wanted to both laugh and cry—the idea was ludicrous.
    But she refused to stay, to suffer that brute’s bullying.
    Mother would be so worried . . . but it would free her from Master Huang’s manipulations. He knew they had no money. And there would be one less mouth to feed.
    In the late hours, as the crickets chirped outside her window, Ai Ling sat on her bed, a packed knapsack beside her, and surveyed the cozy room by lantern light. Taro climbed in to join her. He nuzzled her hand, tilted his head to have his chin scratched.
    “I’m leaving, Taro, to bring Father back. You’ll have to look after Mother while I’m away.” She stroked the short gray fur down his back and trailed her fingers along the tail. “I’ll miss you.” She kissed the spot between his pointy ears.
    Yet she didn’t move from her bed, feeling her heart ham-mer wildly. She grasped the jade pendant in her hand. Was she doing the right thing? Should she be the dutiful daughter, offer herself to Master Huang, and take the burden off her mother?
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    S I LV E R P H O E N I X
    Ai Ling couldn’t do it.
    She picked up her ink stick and slowly ground it against the square stone. What could she say to Mother to make her understand? After a few moments, with a trembling hand, she dipped her brush and wrote two sentences in clear, simple script.
    I have gone to search for Father. Do not worry for me.
    She signed her name and placed the ink stone over the small note. She hoped her mother could decipher the simple characters. And if she couldn’t, Master Huang would.
    She blew out the lantern and slid the lattice panel shut behind her. The flat-faced mutt next door erupted in wild barks, and Ai Ling froze, her nape damp with sweat. Silence returned as she hurried past her mother’s dark quarters, the tears fl owing freely now.
    Forgive me, Mother.
    She eased the courtyard door open and stepped into the silent alley. She dared not look back; Ai Ling walked as fast as she could toward the moonlight. And away from everything she had ever known and loved.
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    C H A P T E R T H R E E
    Ai Ling traveled onward through the night, guided by the half moon. The evening air was pleasant, still warm from the heat of the day. Yet she walked with her arms folded tightly around her, the hairs on her neck rising each time she heard the rustle of leaves or soft scrape of dirt. Ai Ling did not have the courage to look back, imagining dark shapes following her—Master Huang on a horse in pursuit or even lost ghosts, seeking the warmth of a living being.
    She cursed herself for ever reading The Book of the Dead . She had