21
Mulan stared down at the woman in front of her. In death, the witch’s face looked peaceful. The thought brought some comfort to Mulan. Xianniang had been many things, but she had, at her heart, been a strong warrior. She shouldn’t have had to die. She shouldn’t have had to suffer at the hands of Böri Khan for so long, just so she could feel accepted. But now, at least, she was free.
Getting to her feet, Mulan pushed away the surprising grief she felt. The best thing she could do for Xianniang’s memory now was defeat Böri Khan and save the Emperor. Grabbing her sword, she raced through the maze of construction. Shafts of light pierced the shadows and the wind blew through the beams and rubble, making a low hissing sound.
Mulan spotted Böri Khan. The warrior’s back was to her. He stood in front of a large open furnace. Inside, molten metal flowed into a huge tub, filling it with red-hot liquid. Focused on the furnace, he didn’t hear Mulan as she approached. Taking advantage of his distraction, Mulan scanned the area, looking for any sign of the Emperor. Her eyes traveled upward and stopped as she spotted him. He was tied to a pole and bleeding from several wounds, but he was alive.
Taking a deep breath, Mulan tiptoed over to a low beam and hopped on. Then she climbed, using the crossbars that zigzagged over the room to get closer and closer to the Emperor. She was almost to him when a large shadow loomed over her.
Böri Khan was in front of her, blocking her way to the Emperor. In the shadowy light, he looked larger than life, like something out of a nightmare. His gaze trailed over her body and she saw him sneer. “The girl who has come to save the dynasty,” he said, his voice dripping with disdain.
Mulan knew that to Böri Khan she appeared nothing more than a young woman. But he was wrong. She was much more. Dropping into the warrior’s pose, she lifted her sword. “If you surrender,” she began, “I will assure you that your death is swift and painless.”
In response, Böri Khan laughed. And then—he attacked. In a smooth, powerful stroke, he swung his sword down at Mulan. The move was so quick Mulan barely had time to lift her own sword to block it. But the movement knocked her off-balance, and she fell. With a thud, she slammed into a beam below her, the impact knocking the wind from her lungs.
As she struggled to her feet, Böri Khan came after her. She scrambled backward, jumping out of the way just in time to avoid his swinging sword. Creeping along the beam, she switched her gaze back and forth between Böri Khan and the Emperor.
Böri Khan kept coming, his cruel laughter bouncing off the beams. His sword whipped through the air, and Mulan somersaulted to another beam to stay out of the way. The metal clanged as his sword struck the beam where she had been just moments before. Taking advantage of the miss, Mulan raced upward, making her way to the Emperor. She heard Böri Khan roar with rage as he gave chase behind her.
Beam to beam they went, with Mulan barely staying ahead of the huge, hulking warrior. But stay ahead she did, and soon she had reached the captive Emperor. Turning just in time, Mulan met Böri Khan’s sword as it once again swung toward her. The sound of metal on metal filled the air as she struggled to hold strong against Khan’s onslaught. But then he swung one last time, and the motion was so powerful that it sent her sword flying out of her hand.
In horror, Mulan watched as the blade fell down, down, down toward the ground and then, with a hiss, dropped into the burning liquid of the furnace. Mulan let out a cry of despair as she watched her father’s sword disappear, melting into nothing.
For a long moment, she stared at the furnace. She had lost her father’s sword. She had lost everything. How could she stand a chance now against the great and powerful Böri Khan?
And then, from above, she heard a voice. “You are a mighty warrior.”
Looking up, she met the Emperor’s gaze. Even though he was trapped, he looked strong—and calm.
“Rise up like the Phoenix,” the Emperor went on. “Fight for the kingdom and its people.”
Rise up like the Phoenix. The Emperor’s words hung over Mulan. Was this part of why the Phoenix had come to her? Had everything been leading to this moment? She thought back to the despair she had felt as she stood on the mountain cliff, exiled and alone. And then she thought about the strength she had found when she had faced Xianniang, and the power she had felt when she heard Commander Tung accept her. Despite the odds and the obstacles thrown her way, she had overcome. She was a phoenix. She had risen above it all and become a warrior.
Hearing the beating of wings behind her, Mulan slowly rose to her feet and turned. She gasped as she saw the Phoenix appear, wings spread. The bird was no longer the wretched creature she had been when Mulan first met her. She was beautiful. Strong. Magnificent. Her feathers nearly blinded Mulan with their vivid color.
Filled with a renewed sense of purpose and power from the Emperor’s words and the Phoenix, Mulan turned to face Böri Khan once more. The Rouran warrior hesitated only a moment, surprised to see her resilience, and then he rushed at her.
Mulan raced to meet him. For a moment, it looked as if they were going to crash headfirst. But at the last moment, Mulan leapt. Soaring over Böri Khan, she landed on a thin bamboo pole behind him. Balancing perfectly despite the narrowness of the surface, she taunted Böri Khan with a smile.
The warrior roared and swung his sword, slicing through the bamboo. It split in half, but that didn’t stop Mulan. Leaping to another, and then another, she jumped from pole to pole as Böri Khan continued to hack at the air wildly with his long sword. Reaching the end of the poles, she lifted her arm in the air as one of the pieces of cut bamboo flew into her outstretched hand. Grabbing it, she jumped down to the ground and stood, the bamboo pole in front of her like a staff.
Her breath came in gasps. She was exhausted. Every muscle ached and even her bones felt sore. She had been fighting for so long. First to find her place in the army, then in actual battle against hundreds of fierce warriors—and now against the strongest Rouran warrior of all. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could go on. But if she stopped, the Emperor would die, and what would become of the kingdom? Unbidden, an image of the tulou came to her. The peaceful village, full of the same families for generations. What would become of her home? Her family? She had to keep fighting. Taking a deep breath, she lifted the bamboo.
Once again, Böri Khan came at her. Using the staff, she blocked his sword and then spun, her movements fluid. The staff became a twirling blur as she moved this way and that. Böri Khan tried to follow the dizzying motion but he stumbled. Taking advantage of it, Mulan stopped spinning and whacked him across the face. He let out a cry as his hand went to his cheek.
Mulan kept moving. Racing back in the Emperor’s direction, she heard Böri Khan on her heels. Turning around, she lifted her bamboo just as Böri Khan’s sword sliced down toward her head. Mulan cried out as her bamboo spear cracked, breaking in two as the Rouran’s sword met wood and then continued down, slashing a rope that hung nearby. Without the rope holding it steady, one of the giant crossbeams pressed against the scaffolding came free. It swung back and forth in the air above, between where Mulan stood and the Emperor was imprisoned.
Watching the long piece of wood, Mulan had an idea. She leapt for the crossbeam in an attempt to use it to get to the Emperor. But the beam was too high. Desperately, she grabbed at it and hung there, her arms wrapped around the beam in an awkward hug. With her added weight and the momentum of her jump, the beam began to tilt and spin.
Böri Khan, his face filled with rage, took a running leap and grabbed hold of the opposite end of the crossbeam. The wood groaned under their combined weights as they hung on either end. At the same time, Mulan and Böri Khan hoisted themselves to their feet on the beam. They swayed, their balance uneven as the beam beneath their feet rocked back and forth.
Peering down at the ground, which now seemed very far away, Mulan took a nervous breath. Böri Khan was not going to stop until he defeated her. She saw him begin to maneuver toward her, his weight causing the beam to raise up behind her, forcing her closer to the middle—and to the Rouran. It would only take one swing of his sword for Böri Khan to knock her off. She had every reason to retreat.
But then, as if there was something in the back of her mind that kept reminding her why she had to carry on, she heard Commander Tung’s voice in her head, reading aloud the Pillars of Virtue. She heard the Emperor, urging her to rise like the Phoenix. She saw, in her mind’s eye, the magnificent bird. And she knew, in that moment, she would not give up. Slowly, she bent her knees and lifted her arms, taking the now familiar stance of the warrior that the commander had taught her. With her center of gravity lowered, her balance grew stronger. The room around her faded and she was back beside the lake, practicing the moves Commander Tung had drilled into the soldiers. As Böri Khan came at her, she moved forward and backward, pressing and then yielding, all the while staying steady and focused.
Böri Khan, on the other hand, grew less focused. As Mulan deftly met every one of his moves, his face grew redder. His sword’s movements became less controlled. Letting out a furious scream, he lunged at her.
Mulan barely had to move. Using his energy against him, she let him race by on the narrow beam, grabbing the sword right out of his hand as he passed. When he stopped at the end of the beam, he turned, only to find the blade of his own weapon pointed at his throat.
As Böri Khan stared at her in surprise, Mulan leapt up, grabbing a rope that hung from the ceiling above. Then, using the Rouran’s sword, she hacked at the rope holding up the crossbeam. Repeatedly she swung until, bit by bit, the rope began to fray. Then, with a loud creak, it ripped in two, sending the beam—and Böri Khan—plummeting to the ground below.
Not waiting to see if Böri Khan landed on his feet, Mulan swung herself to the platform on which the Emperor still sat tied. Racing over, she furiously cut at his bindings. Mulan’s heartbeat quickened as she desperately tried to free the Emperor. Hearing the man take a quick inhale, she turned and saw that Böri Khan was standing on the ground below, his bow in hand and an arrow aimed right at them.
Böri Khan pulled back the arrow.
Mulan cut faster.
As the Rouran let the arrow fly, Mulan cut away the final binding. The Emperor’s hand came free, and just before the arrow could pierce his chest, he lifted his arm and grabbed it. With a look of defiance, the Emperor tossed the arrow into the air. Both Böri Khan’s and Mulan’s mouths dropped open in surprise. But Mulan was quicker to recover. Watching the arrow arc up and then descend back toward the ground, she saw an opportunity. Leaping into the air, Mulan whipped her body around. Her foot came out and then, with a
THWACK
, she kicked the blunt end of the arrow. The movement sent it hurtling through the air—right toward Böri Khan.
Lifting his hand, the huge warrior tried to catch it. But he wasn’t quick enough. Fueled with Mulan’s power and strength, the arrow slammed into Böri Khan’s chest, knocking him to the ground, where he lay, unmoving.
Silence descended as the reality of what she had just done filled Mulan. Her body shook with adrenaline and her knees grew weak. She turned. The Emperor stood staring at her with an expression she could not read. She immediately lowered her knees to the ground, bowing.
“Stand up, soldier,” the Emperor said. Mulan rose. “Tell me your name.”
Mulan took a deep breath, pausing for only a moment. She had just defeated Böri Khan, the most feared warrior in China. She had beat him with her own strength and skill and, in doing so, had saved the Emperor—and the entire kingdom. A warmth spread within her as she realized the magnitude of what she had done. Moments flashed in front of her: Xianniang sacrificing her own life. Commander Tung putting his faith in her. Honghui lifting his voice in support of her. She had spent so much time pretending to be someone she was not in the hopes of doing her part to help. And the irony was that all along, she had only needed to be herself. Lifting her head, Mulan met the Emperor’s gaze.
“I am Hua Mulan,” she answered, and as her name echoed through the tower, she smiled.
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