The Black Horned Crane
Author's Note:
The weird title name is because Zuo Ci was known as "Master Black Horn" or so I've heard and he takes the form of a crane in the game at the end.
In case nobody will notice, I have "borrowed" some themes from Paulo Coelho's novel The Alchemist. It is one of the best books I have ever read and I would really recommend it. So, sorry for all the jib-jab, here it is.
The Wandering Prophet"You!" screamed Gongsun Zan as he stepped towards Yuan Shao. Zhao Yun quickly blocked Zan from confronting Shao as Yuan Shao smirked.
"Please my Lord, we cannot start any conflicts here. Save it for the battlefield!" Yun reasoned.
"Hmpf" Gongsun Zan defiantly walked away from Yun's brace around his arm. Zhao Yun gave his old master a bow in respect and apologized for his lord's rudeness.
"Friend. I cannot thank you enough. We can't afford a dispute amongst allies at times like this." A man with a kind voice said. Zhao Yun looked to where the voice came from and saw a trio of men standing by a tent all wearing elaborate outfits designed around the color of jade. The man who spoke the words had a kind complexure about him that made him look like more of a lover than a fighter and looked so out of place with the other two men behind him. The two men were the opposite of the first man; they looked like warriors, the kind not to be messed with and were each holding giant fearsome spears that looked capable of breaking through any material.
"Yes. My Lord can let his emotions get the best of him at times." Zhao Yun replied.
"I am just glad that there are men who are capable of reason here. So far, I have seen very few like you." The man said.
"Zhao Yun! What are you doing?" Gongsun Zan called.
"Zhao Yun is my name," Yun said as he bowed, "I hope to meet again on the battlefield." The man bowed to Yun in affirmation.
Yun caught up with Gongsun Zan and asked, "My Lord, what can you tell me about the man I was just speaking with?"
"Who, him? That is Liu Bei; he was a fellow pupil with me. He was very gentle but that's pretty much all he was." Zan replied.
No, Yun thought, there's something about him.
Yun was walking back to camp to prepare the troops for the upcoming battle along with Gongsun Yue when a large bird caught Yun's eye. He examined the bird further and realized that it was a crane. What could a lone crane be doing in a climate such as this? Yun thought acknowledging the cold weather. He looked back and it was gone. Yun thought nothing of it and continued following Yue. The crane crossed his view again and this time landed on a nearby rock and seemed to be looking right at Yun.
"Yue?" Yun asked, "Do you see that crane?"
"Yes what about it?" Yue replied.
"What is it doing all the way up here in this weather?"
"Maybe it got lost or something. I don't know, I'm not one of those crazy bird watchers" Yue said annoyed.
Just then the bird disappeared again. And once again, appeared a second later flying over Yun's head. He ducked and the bird barely missed him but as Yun looked up, the bird faded from his view.
Am I insane? Yun thought.
"No, not insane my good child. More like gifted" A voice said and Yun jumped in surprise.
"Who… Who are you?" Yun asked.
"Oh for heaven's sake I'm Gongsun Yue you moron! I swear sometimes I don't know where my cousin finds you people." Gongsun Yue said and walked off to his tent in disgust.
The man who spoke to Yun was an old man and had the most unusual outfit with hair that stood up in an unnatural funnel-like shape and had a symbol that resembled a Yin-Yang symbol across his right eye.
"I am heaven and I am earth. I am nobody and I am everybody. I am the light and I am the dark. I am everything that is and everything that should be. I am the Yin and I am the Yang. I am the King of Salem." Replied the old man.
"Salem?" Yun said, "I have never heard of it. What province is it from?"
"Oh it is not from this place." The man said, "It disappeared long ago."
"Then surely this King of Salem has a name, does he not?" Yun asked.
"I have many names my child," the man said, "but one many call me here is Zuo Ci."
"So is that what I am to call you?" Yun asked.
"If you wish," the old man said.
"What is your business here Master Zuo Ci?" Yun asked.
"I am here to set right what once went wrong." Zuo Ci replied.
"…By coming to me?" Yun asked.
"You have been deemed worthy of this my child," Ci said, "You have the abilities and the mindset to fix the future of this world."
"Uh-huh…" Yun skeptically replied. "So… you are from the future?"
Zuo Ci took out five majestically designed cards and laid them face down in front of Yun. He started waving his hands and the cards started to glow.
"I've seen magic before Zuo Ci." Yun said. "You can't fool me."
"Ahh, so then you know that it is conceived by one's Chi?" Ci asked.
"So they say, yes." Yun replied.
"I am the embodiment of all Chi in this universe, which is why only a select few can even sense my presence." Ci explained. "All others see me as the crane you saw earlier."
"And why a crane Master Zuo Ci?" asked Yun.
"A crane is free like all birds, it can travel anywhere it desires just as Chi does, but we must discuss other things." Ci said. "I travel this universe to make things the way they were meant to be, but were changed by some unfortunate circumstances."
"How?" Yun asked, the man was starting to repeat himself now.
"When a man is destined to become rich by looking for gold and is on the way to giving up, I am the rock he trips over and strikes in anger only to reveal that underneath the rock is the most beautiful diamond the man has laid eyes on. When a man was destined to discover gravity, I was the apple that fell on his head to spark the idea. When a man is destined to marry the women of his dreams but is on the road to giving up, I am the painting on the wall that brings back that warm memory that re-ignites the man's passion and causes him to do everything in his power to marry that women." Ci explained.
Zhao Yun was skeptical about what Zuo Ci was saying, "Ah, I see you do not believe me to be who I say I am." Zhao Yun shook his head with a frown on his face. Zuo Ci then took a deck of cards and laid them face down. "To prove my honesty, I will reveal to you your past and if you are not convinced that I am who I say I am then I will leave and never bother you again." Yun snorted in amusement at this but as Zuo Ci turned the cards over, Yun read that every word was dead accurate and even revealed what Yun never spoke to anyone. It revealed his thoughts during moments such as his mother dying, what he felt like doing then, what he almost did then. These were thoughts Yun had kept buried deep and wanted to forget them more than anything in the world. For this Yun became less skeptical of Zuo Ci and gave what he had to say a chance. "Your future is in danger Zhao Yun. You have the ability to change it."
"What must I do Master Zuo?" Yun asked.
"First you must challenge him," Ci said.
"Challenge who?" Yun asked.
"The God among men, the Fang of the Demon, the man in which no other can rival… the Great Lu Bu!"