We walked into town like we owned it.
Well, I walked like I owned it. Zhu Deming walked like he didn't quite know where to put his hands without the mask, and Sun Longzi walked like someone who thought killing the townspeople might solve the problem of their staring.
To be fair, they were staring.
The moment my boots hit the stone path past the gates, the whispers started.
I had heard them all before, so I let them run off me like water from a duck's back. Sticks and stones my break my bones and all that shit.
As we passed through the main street, a merchant dropped a gourd full of wine, the liquid splashing the bottom of my green dress. He dropped to his knees like he had seen the executioner and started to beg for his life.
Zhu Deming looked between the two of us, but when I didn't so much as slow down, he shook his head. "Did you want me to kill him for you?" he asked, almost like he was asking me if I liked the sun today.
