Disclaimer: This author does not own any of the characters created by Tecmo-Koei.

Chapter One: A Debt

Fighting was not second nature to him, but maybe killing other people was another. He could feel fresh zeal every time he was able to carry his blade, but not when it involved taking another person's life. On his horse, he surveyed the ongoing bloodshed before him. These rebels dressed in yellow turbans. According to his superior, they were being mislead by the lunatic leader, Zhang Jiao and his Way of Peace. But if these people were misled, would it be right to kill them?

"No," he whispered to himself. "The leaders would be the one to pay for misleading their soldiers!" With that thought in mind, he led the assigned infantry into the battlefield.

Up and down, left and right. Blood splayed against his blade, against his armor. He pushed back into his head, the images of the men slain by his blade. In the slightest of distraction, he was thrown off his horse when it reared back on its hind legs. The soldier pulled himself up from the ground and looked ahead to see who would try and kill him.

His opponent was ruthless-looking, a former military man who joined the rebellion to voice out his dissatisfaction with the current government of the Han. But there was something, there was a smell of alcohol around that man.

"A weakling like you deserves a better life when you are part of the Way of Peace!" the rebel spluttered out with saliva. He laughed, "You have no chance against me, boy. Surrender, or I'll skewer your guts out!"

The soldier remained quiet, observing when would his opponent put on a false step. It was then, he found it. There was a tattered opening underneath the rebel's right arm. His opponent was too full of himself, underestimating the abilities of the soldier before him. The rebel charged and raised his sword. But the moment the Yellow Turban rebel raised his blade, he found himself bleeding to death on the ground. The soldier ignored the cries of mercy of the rebel. With a look of sympathy, he ended the rebel's life with a strike of his blade, and then moved on.

He didn't know how long he was fighting; but by the end of the day, he heard the battle drums sound across the battlefield. The enemy commander was slain. They were victorious! They had defended their area.

It was sunset. His eyes scanned the damage done to the town they were in. Buildings were smoking from the fires that burned. Houses were shattered. But everywhere, he listened to the victory cheers of his comrade.

A rider came up to him and got down from the mighty steed.

"Good job, Zhang Liao," his superior commended him, taking off his own helmet.

Zhang Liao, the young soldier, saluted and responded, "Thank you sir. But the honors of the victory go with your leadership."

His superior laughed. "It wasn't easy, boy." He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "Maybe one day, you'll lead an army even bigger than mine, and your name would be heard all throughout the land of China."

Zhang Liao kept a firm face. "I have hopes to be so, sir."

The older man patted Zhang Liao on the shoulder. "Mayi is now safe because of our joint efforts. Keep in mind, that it takes more than just one man to pull a victory."

"Yes sir, I will keep that in mind, sir!"

"Can you patrol the grounds?" it wasn't an order. It was more of a request.

"I am still not yet tired, sir," Zhang Liao responded. "I can still do as you ordered."

The superior nodded. "Good. I will see you with the other volunteers later."

Zhang Liao saluted and made his way to patrol the grounds.

He followed the stone path into one of the villages. The sun had not completely set yet. The soft glow of the remains of the burnt houses illuminated the path. He could see surviving villagers slowly returning to the area, trying to salvage what they can. He offered his help with the lifting of heavy planks of wood or push away some rubble along the way. When he reached at the end point of his patrol, he turned to make his patrol back. Something caught his ear.

It was a muffled sound. Zhang Liao quickly headed for that direction. It sounded like a cry for help. But where was it coming from? He quickened his pace when he heard the sound getting louder, there was a mix of thumping and yelling, and also a bark. Zhang Liao listened ever more closely. He stopped in front of a pile of rubble of a destroyed house.

"I'm coming to help you!" he called out. He looked around him to see if anyone can help him. He realized that this house was at the far edge of the village. He cracked his fingers and stretched. Looks like he's going to have to push the rubble away by himself. He was lucky that he was able to carry the weighted broken blocks aside. The sound was getting clearer, but fainter.

"Hang on!" he said, trying to give whoever was trapped in there some hope to keep on fighting.

When he reached what seemed to be a break through, there was finally a hole where a child can slip out. Initially, Zhang Liao thought it was a child was trapped underneath the rubble. He immediately stepped back when a head of a dog popped out of the hole. It scrambled itself out of the hole and started barking at the hole. Zhang Liao peered over once again and almost stepped back a second time, because a hand grasped on the edge of the hole. He soon realized that it wasn't a child that was trapped inside. He could hear a distinct but faint cry for help once more.

"Hold on," he said. He was faster in clearing the rest of the rubble and couldn't believe what he saw. A young woman was lying curled on the ground. There was a trail of blood flowing down from her head. She must had been hit by something hard. He immediately approached to her side and lifted her up.

"Can you hear me?" he asked, while his fingers immediately pressed on her wrist. It relieved him that she was still alive.

The young woman opened her eyes and uttered a soft yes, before fading into unconsciousness. He held her like that, in amazement.

Her eyes were like a mirror reflects the color of the stormy gray sky.

She could feel something licking her hand. "Chiu, stop it," she murmured. She could feel the weight of four paws at her stomach and hear the sound of the dog's panting. Her head was spinning even when she was just lying down on the bed. The dog was not helping either. When the dog licked her face, she opened her eyes and sighed.

"You never stop until I wake up, don't you," she muttered softly. She sat up and felt pain all over her body. The dog gave a joyous bark and got off her at once. It trotted towards the door and started scratching the wood, whining.

"Do you have to go?" she mumbled. Groggily, she pushed her legs off the bed and unto the floor. She wasn't bothering herself to think where she was. The dog's whines were getting louder and louder, irritating her. She was already walking when she heard the door slide and open. She stopped on her steps and stared as a young man opened the door and let the dog out first before entering and closed the door behind him.

He gave a polite bow. "You're awake."

She stood there, unsure of what to do. She wasn't even sure if she should say anything. She just stood there, stayed quiet.

The young man cautiously approached her and took her hand. "I am Zhang Liao styled Wenyuan, an administrative officer here in the Mayi county. I am the one who found you underneath the rubble." He could see that the young woman was still in shock, or perhaps she really couldn't speak. "You are here in my house. You are safe."

The woman opened her mouth and whispered something almost inaudibly.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

The woman pulled her hand away from his grip. She kept her gaze down. How should she react to this? Normally, she wouldn't really ask help from anyone, but this Zhang Liao person in front of her, went out of his way to help her. Thinking back to being buried under the heavy pile of rubble, she hadn't expected to be saved by someone despite crying out for help.

"Thank you for helping me," she whispered a little louder for him to hear.

"Oh," Zhang Liao said. "You're welcome."

Perhaps it was best that she introduced herself to him. She mustered enough strength and spoke out, "Lan."

He looked at her. "Lan?"

The young woman looked at him squarely in the face and nodded. "I am Lan."

"Would you like to eat something, Lady Lan?" Zhang Liao asked. "You must be famished."

She nodded. "Thank you," she spoke softly.

They sat in the small dining room that also served as the kitchen. He preferred to keep a simple living quarters. They sat across each other. He watched her hungrily eat the beef noodles he had cooked. He took his cup of tea and sipped it. He heard a whine next to him. It was Lan's dog, Chiu was its name. Its tongue was hanging out and giving wanting eyes towards him and a bark. He got up from his seat. "I believe I have some goat milk here for you." He walked over to the cupboard and opened it. He pulled out a small jar from it and poured all of its contents into a bowl, and then set it before the pet. The dog yelped happily and started lapping it up.

Zhang Liao smiled to himself, proud of having done something to good to the animal. He turned to see what his guest's needs. He was not surprised to see an empty bowl in front of Lan. He watched her pick up a beef bone and whistled.

The dog turned its head up from the already empty bowl of milk and barked. She tossed the bone to the dog, and it leaped up and caught it between its teeth.

Lan smirked, "That's a good dog, Chiu."

"You mean 'autumn'?" Zhang Liao asked. He watched the dog gnaw on the bone.

Lan nodded. She felt the bandage tied around her forehead; she was looking for wherever she was hit. She winced slightly when her hand touched the area. "Was I hit that bad?" She asked herself.

Zhang Liao watched this woman suddenly talking to herself. He had a lot of questions that he wanted to ask, but he would have to be very tact in asking them.

"Lady Lan, if you would forgive me for asking," he started, "where do you live? So that I can escort you back to your home, once your wounds have healed."

She shot him a look, but then looked down. "I don't have a home to go back to," she spoke carefully. Would she be able to trust this man with herself? Maybe some truth-covering would do for now. "I have been traveling on my own, until I met that cute creature over there." She gestured to the dog that rolled on its side, blinking its cute eyes.

Zhang Liao was intrigued. "Why did you leave your own home, my lady?"

"I..." Lan's voice trailed off. "You know how it is, when the first born wasn't a boy. It was a great dishonor to the family. I ran away from the time that I knew how to think for myself. Although, I was lucky enough to find someone who took care of me, a childless farming couple. But I had to leave as well when they both passed away, I sold the land to a new couple and used the money to go about on my own."

"So you have been traveling ever since," Zhang Liao said. "But then, how were you able to survive on your own?"

"I learned women's trade, like sewing and cooking from the farmer's wife. But it wasn't enough," she replied. "To repay the couple that took care of me, I had to secretly learn how to hunt and fish."

Zhang Liao stared at the young woman in front of him. He took her tale into further analysis. It was true that she had some money with her, but he didn't how long it was when she had left the farmers. He wondered how was she able to purchase weapons for hunting, unless there was some other odd jobs done in the way.

"I can tell that you lived a pretty good life," her voice pervading his thoughts. She motioned around the room. "You have a house, a job in the government, and a salary that pays to get you by."

Zhang Liao chuckled and shook his head. "With the current state of affairs, the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the disorganization of the Han empire, I find it hard to be able to sleep well without wondering when the next attack on this town would be."

Lan nodded. She sipped the tea with lack of a proper woman's table manners. "You aren't engaged to some arranged marriage as well."

"Very perceptive of you," he said. "It was as if, there was something more about you other than being able to hunt and to fish. For example, I wonder how were you able to survive the banes of the roads such as bandits and thieves."

He tried to read her actions, to determine whether she was lying or not. There was no way for a woman, on her own, to have evaded such. She could be someone dangerous if he was not careful.

"You are very perceptive yourself," Lan spoke. She held her head, feeling like the wound on her head was threatening to reopen itself. "But I feel ill once more."

"Further questions, can wait then," Zhang Liao said. She really piqued his interest. He wasn't one to be chasing women down. He had no intention of going after the rich but snobbish noblewomen. He poured more tea into her cup and then placed a small wrapped item next to the cup. "Here is some herbs that would help alleviate the pain. It is best to drink them with tea."

Lan gave a courteous bow. "You are very kind, Lord Zhang Liao." She consumed the medicine and drank her tea. "I wish there was some way I could repay your kindness."

Zhang Liao thought it would be a good joke to ask, "How about marrying me?" And then proceeded to laugh. The look on her face was contorted with horror and disgust. "I was only joking, my lady. Please, let me escort you back to your bed."

He didn't expect it coming, but a slipper went flying straight to his face and knocked him down to the floorboards. He was right about one thing, and that was she knew more than just hunting and fishing to be able to fight off the banes of the road. He heard footsteps coming his way, and the hysterical cries of apologies towards him.

"I am so sorry Lord Zhang Liao!" Lan cried. "I... It... I didn't mean to hurt you with a slipper!"

Zhang Liao sat back up and rubbed his nose. "I believe that was your way of fighting off men who tried to flirt with you, wasn't it?"

"Yes," she spoke guiltily. "It was one of the ways."

One of the ways, he thought. Zhang Liao scrunched his face. His nose just hurt. "It is alright, Lady Lan. You are forgiven. I hope the next time, you would not throw something harder towards me."

She went quiet, possibly to ponder over the unruliness of her actions towards him. Somehow, he knew there was something more about her than the innocent mask she was showing him. He was determined to find out about it.

A few days passed, and things were going back to normal in the town. The lady he had taken under his care was free from her bandages and was able to move without fear of falling in pain.

She sat in the room where he had insisted she recover. She didn't know if she would feel more guilty of ridding a man his simple pleasure of sleeping on his own bed. She watched her pet roll on the floor, its tongue out and panting. He, Zhang Liao, was unlike the men she had met in her travels. She had met some educated men who were as eloquent with words as he is, but always it would lead to something sexual. But it was different for him, despite joking about marriage, he was sincere in taking care of her health. Suddenly, her thoughts went to that youth who was watching her in the rain, a few years ago. Whatever could have happened to him?

The dog's whine drover her out of her reminiscence. It was scratching at the door again and whining. Lan pushed herself off from the bed and slid the door open. Chiu immediately raced out to the back door to do its own business. Lan moved to the dining room where she saw an empty pack and beside it was wrapped meat buns. She saw Zhang Liao finish wrapping the last of the meat buns in a thin paper wrapper.

"What is this for, Lord Zhang Liao?" she asked.

He looked at her and gave a smile. "I am preparing your pack for your journey, Lady Lan."

"You don't have to do this, Lord Zhang Liao," she began. "I have not repaid the debt that I owe you for saving my life. I - "

Zhang Liao looked at her and said firmly, "To see you back healthy on your feet was a debt repaid enough for me."

Her eyes widened. This kindness was just too much. He didn't have to do this for her! He should never do this for her! It went against to what she would normally do. For her, it was a simple principle of give and take. She gets the job done and receives something return or does it vice versa. She wanted to be the one to repay herself, by her own actions!

She shook her head, and then slammed her hand on the table. "I cannot let you do this, Lord Zhang Liao, I simply cannot!" she exclaimed.

The young man looked at her, and she glared back

"The pack is set for you already, Lady Lan," Zhang Liao said. "You can leave whenever you like. There is no need for you to repay your so-called debt to me."

If that's the way he wanted it, she thought. Then... then...

"Fine then, I will not leave you until my debt is repaid by saving your life!"

She could see that he was taken aback by her words. Yes, this would be what she would do. But somewhere in the back of her mind, there was another motive as she would not leave. Maybe she had found a place she could call home here in Mayi.

She looked at him hard and said, "Well? You have nothing to say, Lord Zhang Liao?"

She was given a smile for a reply. It caused her cheeks to tense.

"Very well then," he said. "But remember, my lady, you can leave whenever you want. You owe nothing to me."

This would be a very strange relationship, she thought. But her principle still stands, and she will not leave until she had saved his life.

More than a week had passed, a messenger appeared at Zhang Liao's door.

Zhang Liao opened it to receive a letter from the messenger.

"Lord Ding Yuan has seen your potential as a military officer and expresses his wishes to recruit you into his service, Lord Zhang Liao," the messenger said. "He awaits your response."

Zhang Liao took a long time in reading the letter. He gave his response.

"Yes, I will accept his offer."

The messenger nodded. He handed Zhang Liao a satchel of money. "Use this to purchase a horse. Lord Ding Yuan awaits your arrival at his county." After that, the messenger bowed and departed.

No, he was not crazy.

No, he was not impulsive.

No, he had no intention of running away from her.

"Right now, you have the option to leave or to go with me to the Lord Ding Yuan at the south of Bing Province," he said.

He could see the rage burning in her eyes. Despite her simple principle of give and take, it would not work with him. If ever he would do something like that, it would be for a long term contract, and he doubted she would ever agree to it.

"What is your choice then, Lady Lan?"

She exhaled a defeated sigh. "Take me with you then. But you better have enough to buy another horse! There is no way would I be seen riding with you on one horse!"

He laughed to himself. Clearly, she hadn't gotten over his marry-me joke.

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