A Vast Empire
Disclaimer: I own Zhei Kuo and his clan.
A/N: This story is set in between 200-220.
CHAPTER 1. DIE IN OR DIE OUT
AT RU NAN CITY, VANGUARD UNIT, 11:36
Xiahou Dun lifted a blade into the air, and dropped it on top of the first soldier. Zhei Kuo hesitated and walked towards his horse. Even a tiny glimpse of a traitor for a man was revolting. Firstly, the guy betrayed the Han by joining Cao Cao in a rebellion against Yuan Shao and his estranged half-brother and now Cao Cao by attacking his outpost declaring himself a phoenix.
Zhei Kou couldn't stand hatred against enemies of Shu, and now, clenching his sword tight, he felt the hatred grow. He jumped onto his horse and smiled at his three brothers, Zhei Han, Zhei Zhu and Zhei Chong. Grasping his reins, he shot the horse around and sped to return to his Unit Camp. Zhei Kuo gave away a grimping rampaging grin and sped at 100 miles per hour. All three brothers read his mind, and grinned evilly too.
AT BO WAN VILLAGE, MAIN UNIT, 12:16
Zhei Kou walked towards the guards and nodded his head to see a great altar plopped smack-dam where his camp had once been. He stepped onto the altar in shock and walked next to his master, Liu Bei. He stood by his side and bowed.
"Oh, so here he is," the young lord said. "Lord Zhei Kou, Master Zilong will walk you around our newly created village, will you not, Master Zhao?"
"Why is the sad face, Master Zhei Hanxian?" Liu Qan asked vitely.
"I caught must-not catches in Ru Nan, sir," Zhei Kou replied, tying a knot on his horse's reins.
Walking away from his horse, he walked a little closer to Zhao Yun and sighed unstably. He knelt infront of Liu Bei and then lowered his head being placed with the 'Vanguard Crown'. He then stood and bowed and walked towards Zhao Yun even further. He punched the air six times in excitement and then calmed a little bit.
"So, show me around Zilong," Zhei Kou said, a little ungracefully. "Is there a field of flowers? A beautiful untouched bar with a public house for my friend's to drink and celebrate their birthdates and things?"
"I wouldn't actually say so, but, sort of," Zhao Yun replied, holding a map. "Here, take this and read it, OK, Brother Hanxian?"
"Good so far," Zhei Kou said overreading the paper. "The Blossom Field, the Wine House, the Garden of Beauty?"
"The Wine House is an old established bar, created on the birth of Az Az El, an Ancient God of China and the continents bewildered beyond it's borders," Zhao Yun said fulfillingly. "Glad to be back yet?"
Zhei Kou nodded and walked a little further, smiling as he jogged. He lifted his arms and stretched for his hands. He touched his fingers and smirked his lips. An impatient enemy inside his soul made his heart beat harder and faster, and his strength dropped to a low sweeping enemy system. Zhei Kou began to fuzz in an argument between nerves and instincts. He smiled anxiously.
"I'm glad to be back by far," Zhei Kou said walking into the gates off said 'Blossom Field' by nature."I am tempted to enter and pluck at a thornless rose, or a daffodil."
Zhao Yun nodded to him, and Zhei Kou walked faster, before stopping at a horde of daffodils, and clutching a daffodil, he plucked it out. He held it behind his back and then nodded to Zhao Yun.
"Meeting Lord Yunchang is a very funny part, but he's not here, we just have Lord Yide," Zhao Yun sighed. "But he's funnier, but seeing as you've already met him, let's move on to…"
"I met him last night," Zhei Kou said, unamused by the silence breaking.
"How do you know who I was gonna say, no, what was I gonna say?" Zhao Yun asked, slightly impressed.
"Gonna say Lord Yunchang's son," he said, slightly defeated.
Zhao Yun gasped of shock and continued walking down the road. Zhei Kou nodded his head to the once again silence in which he liked to rest his mind a little.
"Hmm," Zhao Yun said, once again breaking the silence. "Lets meet Lady Cao then, huh? She's sort of lonely."
Zhei Kou nodded, firmly holding onto the daffodil, walking also as to reply to Zhao Yun's speaking. He then stopped next to Zhao Yun outside a wooden shed. Zhei Kou raised an eyebrow at Zhao Yun and then giggled in laughter silently.
"Well, this is where she lives, Hanxian," Zhao Yun said, creating a fume for Zhei Kou.
"Hmm..." Zhei Kou hummed as Zhao Yun knocked on the door.
Footsteps from inside the building were heard and then the door swung open. An old man walked out and nodded at Zhao Yun, and began to do sign language with his hands. Zhao Yun raised an eyebrow and then nodded and after the old man stopped doing sign language, Zhao Yun put up his thumbs, then put two fingers on his bottom lip. He then took it off and pointed it at the man.
"Well," he said musingly. "She's in the Blossom Field, he said. Can you see her in the Blossom Field? Possibly not from this angle, I doubt!"
Zhao Yun walked towards the Blossom Field, and full of neglect, Zhei Kou followed almost imm
ediately. Walking into the fields he had a feeling that he would be ambushed by Wei, seeing as Cao was a common Wei-ist family name, and that he could not take or recieve the meaning's of his life, as Xiahou Yuan had recently been ordered by his son Xiahou Shang to slay Zhei Kou's father two years back, and when Xiahou Yuan failed, Xiahou Dé did it instead. His heart burned and he held onto his sword.
"Lady Cao!" Zhao Yun called, standing near a long metal pole. "Lady Cao!! Are you here!"
The sound of skipping foot steps were heard and then the sound of a halt was heard behind them. Turning around, Zhei Kou witnessed a large picture of Xiahou Dun encircling a little girl. He shaked his head and the smoke left her.
"Cao Wu, this is Zhei Kou," Zhao Yun said almost immediately. "You are to protect him in the future. Do you understand? And Zhei Kou, this is Lady Cao Wu."
Zhei Kou looked at Zhao Yun and turned to Cao Wu, staring at her little face. Smiling, he grasped the daffodil tighter and begun to let a little grin encounter his face, his heart was pounding like a footballer. He felt enragement disappearing, and love at first sight swelling his mind.
"She will be your bodyguard in the future, but in every way you must, too, protect her as well," Zhao Yun said, bowing and then walking away. "I'll leave you two to discuss your plans!"
Zhao Yun eventually walked away into the trees, so Zhei Kou turned from Zhao Yun to Cao Wu. Cao Wu stared deep into his eyes, but realising she might have noticed the love, he turned his face to the ground. He quickly looked back at her and realised she might be more suspicious.
"So, are you Lord Zhei Kou?" she said, attempting to hide a smile. "You are a brave, handsome man!"
"Dunno how I fight yet," he said, lowering his head. "I could be a coward. And..."
Cao Wu smiled now, she couldn't hold it in. Zhei Kou smirked, as she stroked a little bit of hair dangling in the way of eyes. She walked around him, and touched the hair band that he held his low ponytail in. He looked at Cao Wu after she released the hair band and he looked serious, spinning her infront of him. He stroked her cheek and then laughed with her a little. He kept his left hand behind his back though.
"My uncle, Kei Ya, always stands like you," she told him. "One hand behind his back, secretive, but also passionate, and handsome. Hehe."
"From your mother's side or your father's?" he asked demonishingly.
"Err..." she subject-changed. "Would you like to go inside? Eat or something?"
Zhei Kou's smile turned into anger as she never answered his question, but he remained to keep his head tight, and held his head above his neck.
"I have something to match your immense beauty," Zhei Kou said cheerfully. "Here, accept this gift from me... To you..."
He held out his right hand and stretched infront of him a daffodil that he plucked earlier. He handed it over to her, and she stretched her hand out to reach it. A guy with a knife walked past the couple and stared at them in horror.
"Oi, who's dis?" he asked, yielding the knife. "Who da 'ell are you playin' wid? Bruv, ge' off ma girl before I make ya!"
"Jai Su?" she asked horrified. "It's just my new master. Anyways I thought Uncle Ya told you."
"Told ya wat?" Jai Su asked. "Wat bruv! Wait, eh, soz abou' dat man, I though' su'en else, ey - ge' 'ere you wretch!"
As Cao Wu tried to escape, Jai Su grabbed her collar. Zhei Kou, infuriated by his disrespect, pushed him off of her.
"Excuse me, that is not how you treat a woman, here, you know?" Zhei Kou said pushing him against the wall.
"Ai don't touch me, bruv, I was ge'in' all kind to ya!" Jai Su argued, pushing Zhei Kou off of him. "Bruv duck ou'!"
"Who are you to tell me what to do?" Zhei Kou asked, drawing a sword from his shief. "I'm a general under Liu Bei, pay some respect to both me and Lady Cao. Apologise!"
"I don't wan' 'o," he said in a frightening manner, as Zhei Kou dropped the sword and twisted his arm behind his back, pushing him face first against the wall. "I ha'e 'er!"
Zhei Kou twisted his arm harder until he heard a crack. Zhei Kou kicked Jai Su away and threw Jai Su's knife ontop of a cart. Zhei Kou laughed, leaving him for dead, and walked towards Cao Wu in a comforting manner. He held her hands and smiled at her, laughing slightly.
"Who was he?" Zhei Kou asked cracking his fingers. "A boyfriend?"
"No, I was gonna dump him, actually," she said musingly. "Huh... Thanks, for that Master Zhei."
He put his hands around her waist and she put her head against his shoulder. She laid a tear on it and then slurched her arms around his back.
"Mind you, I'll have a talk," Zhei Kou said loudly at Jai Su, gently pushing Cao Wu off of him. "Let's walk."
Walking together, he took her to a few trees and after stopping, turned and looked at her.
"So you're my bodyguard?" Zhei Kou asked, entrigually. "Since when did I need a bodyguard? So Lady Cao, have you ever been in a real battle before?"
"No," she said, truthully.
"Well I'm not trying to scare you or anything, but battles are way different than training. You've got to learn what not a teacher is able, what not a sorceror can sorce. You've got to fight through them and survive, because in training, your master helps you to fight, if you fall he'll help you up. In battle, the enemy will slay you if you ask to help you up. They are not to be depicted on, Lady Cao."
She looked a little frightened. He wiped a strain of hair from her face and placed a hand on her left shoulder. Smiling, he laughed a little.
"But don't you worry," he said. "I know its your duty to protect me in battle, but if you're in trouble still, I will help you. Best to run from a losing battle than to die in it though. If you're injured, don't hesitate to run for our base to heal. Besides, you're protecting one of the Five Sub-Tiger Generals, amongst the likes of Mi Fang, Fu Shiren, Li Dian, Zhou Cang and Wei Yan! You'll be able to tackle down the light-armoured foot soldiers. I'll give you a share of the pay I get for each battle, and since I fight amongst 200 higher ranked soldiers than you, they get their own pay. I'll half my pay with you. You spend it wisely, though. And finally, if you impress me, I can invite you to important meals and into the Court Office to be a soldier that stands behind me while we discuss important matters. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, Master Zhei," she said, bowing. "Thank you, I won't forget that."
Zhei Kou lifted a smile from his soul and walked on past the gardens that had been recently created. He breathed in the air as Cao Wu ran up to Zhei Kou and tapped him tight. He turned around and saw Cao Wu bow. So for respect's cause he bowed too. She skipped away off to the old wooden house. Zhao Yun walked out from behind the tree and walked towards Zhei Kou. Zhei Kou looked away from Cao Wu and turned to the Tiger General. He walked over towards him and bowed upon reaching. Zhao Yun saw Jai Su lying flat on the floor, frozen-bodied, face first against the floor.
Zhei Kou heard Zhao Yun laughing a little bit and then he turned around and gasped at seeing three arrows fly past his head. Zhao Yun turned around and stopped laughing. Unable to speak, he ran towards the tree in which the arrows fell from. He felt people jump above his head. Zhei Kou saw a man fall out from a tree above him, and he dropped a bow and a quill full of 99 arrows. He took out an arrow and shot down a guy who nearly killed Zhao Yun from above the tree. He watched as the guy crashed on top of all the people that were in the tree. They all fell out and knocked down the person on top of Zhao Yun accidentally. Then, Zhao Yun ran closer to him, and on a tree above him, a ninja flooped down aiming a sword for Zhao Yun's head. Zhei Kou aimed directly above Zhao Yun's head and a few metres under the ninja. Shooting the arrow, he turned around and smiled evilly. When he turned back around, the arrow pierced the nija in his heart.
Smiling, Zhei Kou ran closer to Zhao Yun who was smiling. But Zhao Yun's face changed, and Zhei Kou looked at Zhao Yun. Running towards him, armed with both bow and sword, he ran towards Zhao Yun to catch him. Zhei Kou caught Zhao Yun and stopped him from dropping completely into mud.
"I... Thank... You..." Zhao Yun breathed out. "Now, help me up, here!"
Stretching out an arm, he dragged up Zhao Yun and brought the Tiger General too his feet. Zhao Yun shaked his head, assuming that he had fallen by accident. He smiled at Zhei Kou, who felt a touch of hatred in him. Zhei Kou walked out and drew his sword, attempting to cut down Zhao Yun.
"I wonder who did that?" Zhei Kou asked, getting Zhao Yun to turn around. "Why don't you have a look?"
"Sure thing, there," Zhao Yun said, turning around to see. "Huh?"
Zhei Kou crept behind Zhao Yun and rose the sword above his head. He swore to bring the blade down for the sake of Liu Bei's future - he could not trust this man. Staring with deep eyes, he saw that ZhaoYun was staring directly at Xiahou Yuan. Throwing his blade on the floor, he ran in front of his master. He bowed and repicked up his blade, now rushing at Xiahou Yuan.
"Zhei Kou, don't die yet!" Zhao Yun shouted. "You are too young to!"
"I must do this for the death of my father!!" Zhei Kou shouted back, rushing agitatingly at Xiahou Yuan. "Fetch Lord Liu Bei! Tell him enemies have approached."
"Yes, sir," Zhao Yun said, rushing away towards the slopes.
Zhei Kou thrusted the sword over his head, and then, realising that Xiahou Yuan, armed with both rod and bow, was aiming a shot directly in his stomach, dived into a pile of oranges. Xiahou Yuan shot all the arrows, and it squirted the juice. One shot missed the orange and squashed right into the middle where Zhei Kou wa positioned. Zhei Kou began to breath lightly from his position, and then saw that Zhao Yun accidentally left his spear. Xiahou Yuan watched as he realised the arrow had slightly missed Zhei Kou. He shot another arrow in the exact same place. Blood squirted out from the oranges, and Xiahou Yuan nodded victoriously. He turned aroun and walked back towards the village in which Cao Wu had so recently made her home. Enraged, Zhei Kou jumped out from the bunch of oranges, and he revealed a large tomato. He threw a tomato dircectly at Xiahou Yuan's head and dived towards the spear.
AT BO WAN VILLAGE HOSPITAL, RELIEF FORCE UNIT, 21:28
Zhei Kou shaked his head and opened his eyes. He felt blurred off, and he looked up to see a nurse. He blinked and then, unamazed at his next sight, witnessed a young man wearing blue. He remembered, Xiahou Yuan was slouched with blue clothes and armour. But this was too young to be him.
What can I do? he thought to himself. It could be Dé or Shang, but he doesn't wear any armour, like the freaks that they were. It could be... err... Wei or - Damn! That's Xiahou En - that bas-
"Lord Zhei Kou are you OK?" the nurse asked. "You have been winded by a few arrows in the chest and a couple in each limb. If you do not stay here for another seven months, you are sure to die, sir. So we have to care for you 'til the time ends. Now we must take you to the Costenement Room, and then to Ward 69."
"Where'm I?" Zhei Kou asked, his mouth burned by a fire. "H..."
"Lady Cao Wu has come to see you, sir," a voice called, pushing open the door.
Zheo Kou looked towards the door to see his lords, Zhang Fei Yide and Zhao Yun Yilong. He then saw Cao Wu rush past them, and towards Zhei Kou. She then stopped and walked back and she widened her eyes. Zhei Kou looked down to his arm. He shouted loudly over the fact that fresh blood was pouring from a wound of an arrow.