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www.qingche.mewww.yixia.meEvery ti Mulan closed her eyes, she saw herself spinning through the air and felt the ground crunch under her feet as she slaed down. She saw the varied looks of the other soldiers—so surprised, so awed, so bothered. But re than anything, she saw Honghui staring at her, and it was that look that lingered in her ry. He had seed surprised. As if he hadn’t thought her capable of defeating hi She didn’t know whether that de her feel proud, or a bit offended. Either way, his look—and the others’—now haunted her.
She still wasn’t sure what had e over her. Her body had started ving on its own. It was as though a switch had been flipped and all the training and practice had clicked into place. But there was sothing re to it. Sothing that felt deeper and bigger than her. When she had been twirling through the air, whipping her spear as though it were an extension of her body, it felt the sa as the day long ago when she had chased the chicken through her faly’s pound and fallen off the roof. Then, like now, she had been unable to explain what had possessed her.
And that scared her.
Now she lay on her sleeping platfor willing her eyes to close. But every ti she shifted, her own body odor assailed her nostrils. She needed to wash herself—and the day—off. Swinging her legs over the platfor she grabbed fresh clothes and tiptoed past the other soldiers out of the barracks.
The encant was quiet and ety, all of the soldiers retired to their tents for the night, so Mulan was able to ve quickly. Her footsteps barely de a sound as she floated over the ground toward the lake at the edge of the ca. A bright on in the sky above illunated its still surface. Mulan sled at the sight of the fresh water.
Taking a quick peek over her shoulder to ke sure no one was looking, Mulan undressed. Dropping her clothes in a pile, she slipped into the chilly water.
A sigh of pure bliss escaped her lips. The water washed away the dirt that clung to her skin, and the chill felt good on her aching scles. Sinking beneath the surface, she let the silence envelope her. She floated there, suspended between the rky lake bottonbsp; and the surface above for a long nt, her thoughts slowing. There, in the silence, she was once again just Mulan. Not Hua Jun trying to prove “hielf.” She hadn’t realized how hard the act had been on her ntally until now, when she allowed her body and nd to relax.
When her breath ran out, she allowed her body to rise and returned to the
She still wasn’t sure what had e over her. Her body had started ving on its own. It was as though a switch had been flipped and all the training and practice had clicked into place. But there was sothing re to it. Sothing that felt deeper and bigger than her. When she had been twirling through the air, whipping her spear as though it were an extension of her body, it felt the sa as the day long ago when she had chased the chicken through her faly’s pound and fallen off the roof. Then, like now, she had been unable to explain what had possessed her.
And that scared her.
Now she lay on her sleeping platfor willing her eyes to close. But every ti she shifted, her own body odor assailed her nostrils. She needed to wash herself—and the day—off. Swinging her legs over the platfor she grabbed fresh clothes and tiptoed past the other soldiers out of the barracks.
The encant was quiet and ety, all of the soldiers retired to their tents for the night, so Mulan was able to ve quickly. Her footsteps barely de a sound as she floated over the ground toward the lake at the edge of the ca. A bright on in the sky above illunated its still surface. Mulan sled at the sight of the fresh water.
Taking a quick peek over her shoulder to ke sure no one was looking, Mulan undressed. Dropping her clothes in a pile, she slipped into the chilly water.
A sigh of pure bliss escaped her lips. The water washed away the dirt that clung to her skin, and the chill felt good on her aching scles. Sinking beneath the surface, she let the silence envelope her. She floated there, suspended between the rky lake bottonbsp; and the surface above for a long nt, her thoughts slowing. There, in the silence, she was once again just Mulan. Not Hua Jun trying to prove “hielf.” She hadn’t realized how hard the act had been on her ntally until now, when she allowed her body and nd to relax.
When her breath ran out, she allowed her body to rise and returned to the