kingofthefortythieves:

   The corners of his mouth stretched upward. She was notably calm, which was quite impressive for a woman. He had been expecting the young lady to be so frightened out of her wits that she might scream. The idea had been to usher her along with a threat, but since she was so curious, he thought he might humor her before doing anything drastic. A hearty laugh rumbled in his throat as he leaned against the threshold of the open gate. Inwardly he cursed Bao-Zhi for being so careless. He was convinced this small heroine would be the man’s last shred of hope if he didn’t crack soon. She was positively glowing with anticipation.

   ”There certainly is.” Cassim spoke with a deep accent. “Why don’t you join me in his garden? I would be more than willing to share my reasons with you, but we wouldn’t want the entire town to hear, now would we? How about we close that gate behind you?”

   ”Better do as he says, lady.” Came a hiss from over his shoulder. He promptly elbowed his partner hard in the gut. He received a sharp snarl in return. 

   ”Sa’luk, please tell me you didn’t just leave Bao Zhi alone.”

   ”Uh—”
   ”Grab her.” Cassim snapped, rotating on his heel swiftly. Just as expected, the pole was vacant and his bonds were laying on the ground in tatters. The bulky brute reached forward and grabbed hold of the girl’s shirt. His hand clamped down over her mouth, much like he had done with their previous member, to prevent any shouting. He yanked her across the yard with him. The king was ahead throwing open every door he could find. “SA’LUK!” He roared from inside the house. “Get in here!”

   The man’s grip loosened for a moment as he sighed. 
“Now we’re both dead.”

The pole slipped painfully from her shoulders; at either end, the buckets leapt free with enough noise and splashing to rouse the neighbors, if Bao-Zhi had had close neighbors.

    Which he didn’t.

    It took all the self-discipline she’d learned in Wu Zhong not to fight back. The indignant yelp that burst from her lips, though, was completely genuine, and she beat feebly against her attacker’s chest with one fist, squirming desperately to escape or, at least, to give Sa’luk several well-placed kicks. Mulan was unsuccessful—good. She knew now that he wouldn’t suspect anything.

    Mulan’s mind was racing. She’d begun by playing innocent, a village girl passing by—albeit a girl conspicuous in trousers—but until the young woman felt she had a firm grasp on the situation, until she had decided when and how to act, there was no reason to give up her charade.

    (Besides, she’d had a lot of luck with pretending to be somebody else, in order to gain the upper hand in combat. Why change tack now?)

    Breathless from “struggling,” she subsided in the bulky man’s grasp, eyes wide with fear—wide enough to scan the dim yard for more men. It was still light enough that she was sure no one was near, which might have been a relief, except that she couldn’t suppress a mild surge of annoyance. Where then had Bao-Zhi gone? Why had these men attacked him? And was he really so lousy he couldn’t manage a thank-you before disappearing?

    Now—

    As Sa'luk’s grip went slack, she turned her face from the sour stench of his breath—and wrenched away abruptly, feeling the seams at her shoulder, her own clumsy work, give without tearing. There was no time to feel embarrassed about it; using the momentum of her body, Mulan swung her arm forward. With a sickening crack, Sa’luk dropped to his knees. The young woman snatched up a bucket for good measure. In the split second before her second blow bloodied his nose, Mulan relished the look of shock on his face.

    It stayed there as he lay stunned on the packed earth. Mulan adjusted her grip on the pole, seeking comfort from the familiar, sturdy weight.

    “Suppose you tell me now,” she called, sticking her head cautiously through the doorway. The room was dark, cool—and empty, but she could hear the first man’s footsteps elsewhere in the house. “You’ll have to yell, but I don’t mind. I’m sure the entire town would like to know what you’re doing here, too.”