The lady made reply: “Though I am called an assassin, yet really I have no heart for anything of the kind. I will tell your lordship exactly what my mind meditates.” She got up, lit the lamp again, and came close to the general and sat down. He looked at her. Her cloudlike hair was fastened with a golden pin. She wore a narrow-sleeved outer coat with a military jacket underneath, embroidered with stone and bamboo designs. She wore phoenix-tail shoes and at her belt hung a dragon sword. Her face was bright like rose petals with dew upon them. She opened her lips, which were red as the cherry, and spoke slowly in tones like the oriole, saying: “Your servant came originally from Yang-joo county, where for generations we have been subjects of the Tangs. I lost my parents when young, and became a disciple of a woman who was a great master in sword-drill; she taught me her art. My name is Sim Nyo-yon, commonly spoken of as the Swallow. Three years after learning the science of the sword, I learned also that of metamorphosis—to ride the winds, to follow the lightnings, and in an instant to travel a thousand li. Several of us were taught, and we were all about alike in our sword skill, but when the teacher had some special enemy to destroy or some wicked person to kill, she invariably sent one of the others to do it. She never sent me. I was angry at this, and asked: 'We all alike have followed our teacher and have been taught the same lessons, yet I alone have made no return to you for your kindness. Is it because my skill is poor and I could not be trusted to carry out the will of my mistress that you fail to send me?'
“The teacher then said: 'You are not of our race. Later you will hear the truth and be made perfect. If I were to send you as I do the others, to kill and to destroy, it would for ever mar your virtue. For this reason I do not send you.'
“I asked again, saying: 'If that be so, then of what use is my practising sword drill?'
“The teacher replied: 'Your appointed mate lives in the Tang kingdom, and he is a great and noted lord. You are in a foreign land and there is no other way by which you can meet him. By means of my teaching you this insignificant craft you may come face to face with your special affinity. In your search you will enter a military camp of a million men, and among the swords and spears you will find him. The Emperor of the Tangs, I know, is to send a great general against the Tibetans, and King Chan-bo has issued a proclamation calling for assassins who are ready to destroy this appointed leader. Do not miss the opportunity to descend from the hills. Go at once to Tibet and show your skill with the swordsmen of that country. On the one side you can save them from the danger that the Tangs threaten, and on the other you can meet your Master.'
“I received the commands of my teacher and went at once to Tibet, tore off the notice that I found on the city gate, and carried it to the king. He called me and allowed me to try my skill with others. In a few minutes I had struck off the top-knots of more than ten persons. The king was greatly delighted and chose me, saying: 'When you bring me the head of the general of the Tangs, I will make you my queen.' Now that I have met your Excellency I find that my teacher's words have come true, and my desire is to join those who wait on you and share a part in your life. Will you consent?”
The General, greatly surprised and delighted, answered: “Your ladyship has already spared this head of mine that was doomed, and now you wish to serve me. How shall I repay you? My wish is to bind you to me by the endless contract of marriage.”
Thus they plighted their troth. Around the tent the glitter of swords and spears served for candle light, and the sound of cymbals for the festal harp. This marriage hall within the warlike enclosure was a happier one than was ever that of shimmering silks or embroidered screens.
From this day forth the General fell a victim to the fair one and took no account of officers or men. Days passed thus, when Sim the Swallow said: “A military camp is no place for women. I fear that I shall hinder the movement of the troops, so I must go.”
The General replied: “But your ladyship is not a common woman; I hope that you will stay and teach me some special craft or science that pertains to war so as to defeat these rebels. Why should you leave me?”
“Your lordship,” said Swallow, “does not need me, but with your power will easily destroy the haunts of the rebel. Why should you fear? Though I came forth by order of my superior, yet I have not said my farewell to her, so I shall go back to my teacher in the hills and await your return to the capital. By and by I shall meet you there.”
The General asked: “After you are gone, in case Chan-bo sends another assassin, how shall I defend myself?
Swallow said: “Though there are many assassins they are not my equals, and if your lordship accepts me as your devoted one all danger is dispelled.” She then felt at her belt, drew forth a jewel, and gave it to him, saying: “The name of this is Myo-ye-wan, a pin that King Chan-bo wore in his head-dress. Please send a messenger to him with it saying I shall return no more.”
The General inquired further: “Have you no other matters to suggest?”
Swallow said: “On your way ahead you will pass a place called Pan-sa-gok where good drinking-water will fail you. Make all haste to dig wells when there, so that the soldiers may not die of thirst.”
He desired to ask further questions, but Swallow gave a leap into the air and was gone. The General then called his officers to him and told them of her coming. With one accord they said: “Your Excellency's luck is like that of the gods, and your power to affright the rebels is by means of angels who come to help you.”
Chapter IXAmong Mermaids and Mermen
GENERAL YANG at once sent an officer into the camp of the enemy to restore the pin to King Chan-bo. The army was then set in motion and moved forward till it reached Tai-san, where the valley was exceedingly narrow with room only for horsemen to pass in single file. Circling a wall of rock they skirted the high bank of a river. In a long thin line of procession they went like fishes in a stream, till after some hundred li they found a fairly roomy place and there pitched their camp and rested. The soldiers were greatly worn by thirst and could find no drinking water. There was beneath the mountain a large lake toward which they struggled. Scarcely had they tasted of it, however, than their bodies turned green and they became dumb. Trembling seized them, and the expression of their faces grew fixed as in death.
The General was greatly distressed and went himself to look at the lake, the water of which was green and the depth of it beyond his power to fathom. A cold, forbidding breath seemed to issue from it like the frosts of autumn. Then he remembered, and said: “This must be the place that Sim Nyo-yon referred to as Pan-sa-gok.” He urged those soldiers who were able to do so to dig wells, and though they dug in several hundred places to the depth of ten kil and more, not a drop of water was to be found.
The General determined at once to move his camp to another place, when suddenly the sound of drums was heard from behind the mountain. The earth shook and trembled and the valleys echoed. Evidently the enemy had blocked the way in this dangerous defile and had cut off all means of retreat.
Thus were the Imperial forces dying of thirst, and menaced in front and to the rear. The General sat in his tent vainly thinking by what means he might extricate himself from the difficulty. In his distress and weariness he leant on his desk and fell asleep. Suddenly a sweet fragrance seemed to envelop the camp and two maidens came before him. Their faces were wonderful, and he knew that if they were not fairies they must be of a certainty disembodied spirits.
Said they: “We have a message from our Lady Superior to your Excellency; please condescend to come with us to our lowly place of dwelling.”