"Lower and remove your sword from his neck," Her companion demanded, calmly. Thank heavens for him, or she would've accidentally slipped a surprised squeak or even a word. But it didn't help; it only made the sharp object dig in deeper into her skin causing blood to trickle. But her partner's deep voice calmed her down a little bit.

"I'm not repeating myself," General Shang said firmly. She lowered her hood to cover her eyes.

"He is mute," Her companion snapped. "He comes from another village looking for a place to settle down. He's heard rumors of the dangerous situation and wants to know more. We thought by following you we could find where the rest of the men are discussing this."

"If he's heard," Shang narrowed his eyes, "why hasn't he fled? Why live here even there's a mad man going around stealing precious goods and raping women?"

"This town is special to him. Our mother was born here, and she died awhile ago." He continued, "Please sir, we shouldn't waste time."

It was minute or two before Shang decided to remove his sword from her neck and sheath it. Shang warned, "If you're lying, it's off with your head…for both of you."

"Welcome Hua Park and Hua Yongnian," One of the leaders, Zemin, greeted. "I'm sure you've been informed." Mulan shook her head. "A mysterious criminal is going around the village stealing precious things like jewels and raping and killing random women. It's been confirmed that he was looking for a particular girl, but he couldn't seem to find her. Last night, he broke into Fa Zhou's home but it he didn't steal anything or rape the women there. We think his target is Fa Mulan, but we could be wrong." Mulan wished no one heard her gulp. The fact that Shang was sitting next to her, and that her father was there made her uneasy about being in a place she wasn't wanted. She could Shang staring at her questionably as she shifted in her chair nervously.

"If we're wrong, how do we figure out his next suspect? How do we trap him?" One asked.

"And if we're not? Too much is going is on under our noses," Another cut in. "May I remind you that Fa Mulan has escaped from her prison? We have to also go through the trouble of finding her, and figuring out how to capture her too. We have to give her to him in order to restore peace to the villa-" He paused when he caught Fa Zhou's glare.

Just being here made her extremely uncomfortable. It made her uncomfortable that every time she gulped or shifted uncomfortably in her seat, Shang slowly moved her attention to her and looked at her suspiciously. Mulan wasn't familiar with this place at all, and it made her very alert. Mulan motioned to her interpreter. They had gone over the questions she wanted to ask.

"Do you at least have any clues to who he may be?" He asked.

"I think it's that Jianjun fellow!" One yelled, "He hasn't attended the any meetings since the first."

"I heard he moved away after his mother's house burned," A second man reasoned.

"Oh is that right? Why would he leave his mother like that?" Ling questioned.

"You know what? I think it's you! Yes, you heard me right," Yao cut in. "We all know how you haven't had some action in awhile or ever."

"Excuse me, little one, that's my business."

"And he can go to the brothel to do that," A fifth man said.

"I think it's you, Chen! You haven't been doing well with money lately." Another shouted.

"It's Shang, I tell you!" Chen accused.

"Excuse me?" Shang asked, angrily.

"Yes that's right," Chen pointed. "There are those rumors about you and your little soldier getting busy especially when she's dishonorable. You rape and kill the women for not keeping their mouths shut. Besides how exactly did she escape?"

"You're a dolt, Chen," Shang insulted. "By what logic does that theory make sense in any way? Maybe you're hiding some dirty secrets of your own."

Chen said, "Look, I just don't want my fiancée getting raped. Maybe if we threaten to harm Fa Zhou, the witch will come running back." The volume of voices rose and the tension grew. Voices that argued except not each side was willing to listen to each other, and were shouting at each other instead. Fed up with such talk about harming those close to her just to lure her in their hands angered her. She pounded her fists on the table and stood up and left. It was hard to breathe comfortably in that humid air anyway. Mulan stood up against the wall and took deep breaths. A few minutes passed before she saw a figure in front of her.

"Are-are you al-alright, Fa Park? You seemed agitated i-in there." Li Shang stuttered. He seemed nervous again like he was when she was around her. Was he shy around meeting new people? Mulan couldn't help herself from blushing. The space between them was too small for an unmarried couple. Then again, they were "both" men. Mulan suddenly felt uneasy. Something was wrong with what he said. Wait, Fa Park?

He continued, "I saw you smile a little when you were communicating with your interpreter back there. I recognize that smile. Park, I've been mustering up the courage to talk to you properly and it seems I'm doing well now. I've also been mustering up the courage to-" Shang felt placed his hands on her hips and felt her curves. Mulan widened her eyes, opening her mouth to speak. "…kiss you, Mulan." He placed his lips on hers. At that moment, all her worries went away. She couldn't even hear crickets chirp or feel the wind blowing on her pale skin. At that moment, everything felt nice. Their lips parted for breath, and when she tried to lean in for another but he leaned back in refusal. His face converted into a serious expression.

"Did you hear that?" He asked in a low, bitter voice. Mulan listened closely. The sounds were screams.

"It's him and another victim."

When they sneaked into an almost crumpling building, they found their target. The criminal had his back to them. He was too busy stabbing a woman's chest repeatedly so he hadn't noticed them.

'Stay back and let me handle this,' Shang mouthed.

Mulan rolled her eyes and mouthed, 'In your dreams that I'm not going to do a damn thing about this!' Mulan sneaked up quickly and stabbed the criminal in the side of his hip. The criminal yelped, but held onto his weapon. He tripped Mulan causing her to land on the side of her wound. Mulan flinched.

"Shang, get help!"

Shang asked, "Are you insane? Leaving you like this?"

"I'll be okay," She replied bitterly. Shang hesitated but ran back to the meeting. Mulan turned to her opponent and stood up, "As for you…you're one sick man." The man just smiled and took out a white cloth to wipe his bloody dagger. White cloth…dagger…

Mulan blurted out, "Jianjun?"

"Now, Mulan, I thought we were on the same side. Hm?" A grin spread across his face.

"How…did you do all this? The rape? The stealing? The burning?" She threw a punch but he dodged it.

He tried to stab her but the lithe girl moved to the side, "I did all of it."

"Why?" Jianjun attempted to catch her leg as she kicked him in the chin, but failed.

"I've loved you for as long as I imagined, Fa Mulan. I moved back to this village once I heard you had entered the army…so disgraceful," He punched her in the stomach that sent her rolling on the floor. "I want you to be mine, Mulan, but I need to fix you."

"Fix me?" Her heart started to beat faster as she heard the sound of the door slam shut.

"I tried to find where you lived. You're curious and you're in the army so I figured if I committed all those crimes, I would lure you to me. Eventually I did, and I planned to rape and kill you tonight after the job I gave you. All of those men in the house except your partner are Mongolians who've been helping me. I have to thank them." Jianjun stood over her as she felt thumping at the back of her head, "I've learned I can't fix your dishonorable self anymore. But I plan to take your virginity whether you're dead or alive."

"You're not taking anything!" She heard a man yell outside.

"It seems you're 'trusty' allies aren't here to save you," Jianjun smirked.

"I don't need saving," Mulan took out a dagger she had been hiding and stabbed her former friend in the leg. "I think I'm doing just fine myself." Jianjun yelped in pain and fell to the right. The heroine stood up and remembered to be careful because she was a little dizzy. She walked over to him and dragged him by his hair over to the door. "I hope you burn, old friend." She opened the door to be greeted with sighs of relief, claps, and cheers. Mulan coughed as the scent of blood made its way into her nose and mouth.

"Mm that's all I remember," Mulan told her fourth child as they sat on a bench together under a tree.

"Did your village hold a trial for him and clear your name? He was condemned right? You gained your honor back, am I correct?" The 15 year old asked.

"No, I ran away to live a life of shame and came back to erase the people's mind of that time. What do you think, Ping?"

Her son threw her a quizzical look, "Father's right, mother. You are a rare blossom. A very rare one indeed."

I'm sorry if it seems rushed or short, but this was planned to be a short story anyway. I just used this story to help my writer's block and to come up with ideas for future stories. I did enjoy typing this though, and I'm sad to see it end. Thank you guys for reading my story from beginning to end. I appreciate it a lot. I hope in the future I'll improve to become a better author.