An Affair of the Heart

Bo made it back to the capital in one piece. As soon as he docked the boat, he was whisked to the palace by guards who were already waiting for him at the marina.

"Private Ren Bo," announced the Chief Eunuch, ushering him straight into the Emperor's presence.

"Your Majesty," Bo kowtowed.

"Where are the rest of them?" the Emperor got straight to the point.

"Commander Meyer chased the girls to Packenham on the eastern edge of old Melbourne. The women were under attack by a huge nest of tubiàn red bellied black snakes. There was a swarm of them, at least one hundred.

The girls were on their last legs, and we joined the fight to try and save them. Those snakes use their tails as weapons as well as having a poisonous bite. I was flicked ten metres into the bush, and I landed with my head smashing onto a rock."

Bo had given himself a contusion on the back of his head in case a doctor was asked to verify his story.