The Road West

By the time winter set in, the northern roads had become unsafe. The emperor was dead; the armies of the rival claimants were marching and counter-marching across the plain. Wang Du decided to turn west, toward the hills where the wars were thinner and the old temples still stood.

He traveled with a small caravan of merchants who had heard of him and were glad of his company. On the third night out, when they were camped in a ruined watchtower, the watchman woke them with a shout: a band of mounted men was circling the fire. Wang Du took out the mirror and held it, covered, above the flames.

He did not use it as a weapon. He simply held it up. The horsemen, who had been closing in, suddenly reined their mounts and sat still, as though they had seen something in the firelight that they did not like. After a long moment they turned and rode off, and the caravan was not troubled again.