Scaling the Dragon's Back

I had just barely managed to peek outside, scaring the life out of me, before Lu Qing Yu pulled me back inside.

We were on the top of a very steep mountain ridge, and in this era there were no such things as safety mechanisms or hand rails, only flat steps every now and then carved by the predecessors who had used this route.

On our left was the jagged mountain, and on the right and enormous drop.

One false step and we would plunge below.

4 additional men had positioned themselves behind the palanquin, supporting nearly the entire weight, while the other men held onto the side to steer the palanquin forward.

I was deeply worried. The ground was already slippery due to the ice, and it was only getting colder the higher we ascended.

The palanquin suddenly jolted, dipping to the side!

A bearer had slipped. Lu Qing Yu and I slid to the right heavily, slamming against the wall of the palanquin.

I grabbed him tightly to steady myself so I wouldn't fall out.

A short moment and a few grunts later, the palanquin's center of gravity was restored as the bearers found their places again.

I was still breathing heavily from the shock.

"We really need to install seatbelts on the palanquins." I said.

"Seatbelts? What are those?"

"Err... It's like... a sort of safety belt or rope. It's tied from the wall of the palanquin like this... and fastens across the body of whoever is sitting in it. It prevents them from falling out when there's a sudden stop or fall." I said.

I gestured to the wall and made swiping movements with my hands, unsuccessfully attempting to describe it to him.

"What's the purpose? How is it possible to fall out when there's 8 people holding the palanquin? And in the event of an attack, it would be inconvenient to get out."

"What about if the palanquin falls? Wouldn't you like to not get thrown out of the palanquin?" I asked.

"Silly girl. If the palanquin falls, we have no chance of survival. Even if we remained in the palanquin, the force of the impact would shatter the palanquin into pieces and skewer us."

Lu Qing Yu was still unconvinced about the usefulness of this "seatbelt".

The palanquin jolted violently again.

Instinctively, I grabbed Lu Qing Yu with my left arm while holding onto the wall with my right arm.

My heart beat loudly in my chest.

"That's it. I'm getting out." I said.

"But Ling Yue..."

"Stop the palanquin!" I shouted.

The bearers outside heaved a loud sigh of relief as the palanquin was lowered to the ground.

I now had the issue of trying to climb out of the palanquin, since I was practically plastered to the back of my seat at a 45 degree angle.

There was simply no way of doing this gracefully.

I lifted up my long skirt with one hand, exposing a bit of ankle, and with my other hand clambered out of the palanquin, losing one stylish but tragically nonfunctional boot in the process.

The bearers shouted as soon as they realised I had gotten out, and worse, was steadying myself on the palanquin with a foot in the air.

I averted looking to the left totally. From the position I was in, we were very high up. My head actually started to spin a little.

A thick layer of snow covered the ground, and although scouters up ahead had cleared some snow off the path as they went, letting the palanquin have an easier ascent, the ground was still very slippery.

It was clear it was too dangerous to proceed carrying the deadweight that was the palanquin. It was neither adequate means for shelter nor a necessity.

The mountain wind was cruel and unyielding, and I could barely keep my eyes open.

Adding to that, my uncovered foot was starting to freeze.

"Wait a moment, Noble Concubine Ling."

The entire convoy had paused together with us, albeit some delays in relaying communication due to the distance between each carriage, but someone managed to fetch me a replacement of warm boots.

Much more practical boots at that.

I put them on and tossed the decorative boot back into the carriage.

I squinted in the distance. Judging by the tracks of the convoy ahead of us, we still had a steep climb to go.

"I'm going to climb up myself." I said.

Half squatting in an unladylike manner, I grabbed the cold mountain rock and wouldn't let go. I began to climb, eyes glued to the ground.

"Hold on! I'll climb with you!"

Lu Qing Yu was helped out of the palanquin in a similarly ungraceful fashion.

"You're climbing too?" I asked, impressed.

"Your Highness, Noble Concubine Ling, you can't climb! It is our duty to ferry you!" the bearers immediately protested.

"Are we taking this route back down as well?" I asked.

"We are." Lu Qing Yu nodded. "It's the only route down."

Just imaging the palanquin inching downward at the same 45 degree angle made my stomach churn. I was definitely climbing down as well.

"It's much for dangerous, not only for the bearers but also for us to sit in a palanquin. And there must be treacherous paths ahead too, am I right?" I turned to Lu Qing Yu.

"You're almost making me feel guilty for having sat in the palanquin all this time. But you're right. Now that we've decided on this, I'll climb every year too." he said.

After much protest, Lu Qing Yu was also given proper boots. In addition, since we were out in the cold, we each got an extra cloak, hat, and gloves to aid with the climbing.

I tried not to think too much about the fact we were on very narrow, slippery and exposed pathways at the side of the mountain, or that we often had to hop over or maneuver over precipitous drops.

"Ling Yue, you go first." Lu Qing Yu insisted.

"Why? So I can meet danger first?" I asked in self deprecation.

Lu Qing Yu was stunned. "No, because there's a dozen men behind us." he said.

He then turned and shouted behind "No looking up!"

"Yes, Your Highness!" the aforementioned dozen men, liberated of the heavy palanquin didn't dare to voice any complaints.

I swallowed. Lu Qing Yu didn't understand my humour. He was simply trying to prevent anyone seeing up my skirt, although frankly no one would be able to see up these floor length robes.

A powdery, light substance gradually wet my hair and the back of my robes. I stared at the path in front of me in horror as mounds of white congregated on the ground.

It was snowing.