Chapter 1

"'If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.' Well, I do know that after a hundred battles with Mengqi, it still ends the same way, so I guess the next hundred might be the same, hmm?" questioned Yunlu, looking at The Art of War.

She, now 18 years of age, is sitting in the library at her house in Xiliang, reading and studying the book written by Sun Tzu. Her brother, Chao, is resting in a chair, dozing off. Her father, Tie, and Xiu were training their own men, having armies of their own. Only Chao, whose army is resting, decided to take a nap himself, but he was forced into studying with his youngest sister. Catching him off guard, Yunlu whacked him in the head.

"MENGQI! EARTH TO MENGQI! ARE YOU LISTENING?" Yunlu yelled into his ears. Chao, alarmed, jumped off the chair that he was sitting. A wave of relief washed over him, and, seeing that he was safe, went and took his seat again.

"Are you even listening to a word I said?" asked Yunlu, annoyed, although she knew the answer to the question.

"Eh, is one of the quotes about justice?" guessed Chao, scratching his head.

"As expected of my Cousin Chao! You have no brainpower at all. Born to fight, and die fighting." A young man in his twenties came in, shaking his head and laughing. He, who is none other than Ma Dai, dressed like an artist, and wields a big paintbrush. He sat down besides Yunlu, grabbing a map and examining it.

Yunlu continued, "Mengqi, if half of your brain contains some knowledge of warfare instead of justice, maybe you might be a better general."

"Hey, that's not true," injected Chao. "Justice is a good cause to fight for the people, and without it, the world would go into chaos, and with chaos-"

"I'm glad that you and father think that way, but that is only a reason to motivate people to fight. You need to know how to win the war. That's why people fight-to win the war and to get what they want out of it."

"But justice is a huge factor too," protests Chao stubbornly. "Right, Dai? Justice will prevail!"

"What?" Dai asked, looking up from the map, not knowing what his cousin is talking about. Then, thinking about it for just a second, he grins. "Oh, yeah, all that justice and stuff," he replied nonchalantly, returning to the map.

Yunlu shook her head. "Dai, you don't have to agree with him if you don't want to. Mengqi needs to learn about war."

Dai shrugged. "Well, you can't teach someone if they don't want to learn. Might as well go along with the flow." He then took a brush and some ink along with some papers and wrote a few characters, making notes about the map.

As he wrote, Chao, bored, said, "Yunlu, duel with me again."

Yunlu frowned. "It will end up being a tie. It's no use. Have you forgotten? 'If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.'"

Chao yawned. "Such nonsense. You, Dai?"

Dai laughed. "Chao, have you forgotten that I have not wield a single spear since I was 3?" Yunlu remembered him telling her that while training, he used to be so bored that he practically picked up a stick and drew his cousin riding a horse, so real that his parents appreciated his talents.

Well, that's how Dai got out of the training field- by drawing and reading, thought Yunlu. Brother Xiu's not as lucky though.

"Come on, Dai. Just try holding a spear. It'll make a great weapon against the enemy," persuaded Chao.

Dai smiled and put a finger on his lips. "Well, the secret is, the pen is mightier than the sword," he whispered in a mysterious tone.

Chao burst out laughing hysterically. "Dai! What in the earth are you thinking? How can a pen win over a sword? That's just like saying a mouse can win over a cat! Did those books brainwash you?"

"Nope," Dai shook his head innocently. "Actually, they helped a lot."

Yunlu pondered over her cousin's words. She knew that Dai meant what he said, aside from his humorous jokes and nice ways, but still, she did not understand. How can a pen be mightier? Swords were used to kill people. Pen can only write for people to see. For people! Her eyes widened, now with new understanding of what her cousin had meant. A pen can write to people, manipulating their emotions and thoughts. She nodded, smiling. Dai looked over at Yunlu and grins.

"See what I mean?"

"Yeah." She laughed, nodding. "Now I know why my aunt and uncle decided to stop training you."

"Yup," replied Ma Dai, gleefully. "I'm too much for them to stand, you know. They had to go along with my flow, which is a good thing, since I turned out to be a little more unexpected." He went back to his writing while Yunlu went back to her book.

"Chao," sung a girly voice. A woman barged into the library, carrying a tray containing two cups of tea. She settle one for Chao and another for Dai. Dai, raising an eyebrow at his cousin, smirked a little out of the corner of his mouth, and shook his head, concentrating back on his writing and ignoring the woman and her offering. Yunlu scowled at the sight of her, turning her back upon the woman, who had seated herself beside Chao and smiling sweetly at him. It is none other than his wife, Dong Yi, the prettiest girl in Xiliang who loves and chases after Chao for years. After all, her brother have all the power, fame, and looks that most lower class women wanted; it is common that those shallow women of Xiliang that Yunlu detests so much would love such idiot like her brother. Chao smiled at the sight of her, and drank the tea that she had offered him. Yunlu sighed, knowing that all men look for beautiful wives nowadays; not surprising that her brother would love her. Dong Yi then proceeded, purring, "I figure that you'd have a hard time, so I came in, bringing you and Master Ma Dai some tea." She then smirked at Yunlu's back, and said coolly, "Well, Yunlu, if you are thirsty, you can always go get something to drink."

"No thanks. I'm not thirsty. In fact, if you are so bored, why don't you do something productive? Like taking care of Young Qiu? Isn't it time to make his meals?" asked Yunlu, nonchalantly, with her back facing his wife still, and glanced slightly toward the woman. Dai, upon hearing this, grinned and slapped Yunlu's back, then went back to his work. Dong Yi, embarrassed, decided to divert her attention away.

"Master Ma Dai, please drink-"

"Nope. Not thirsty either. Guess that'd make the two of us, hmm, Yunlu?" Dai finished his notes and put them away.

"Yeah..." Yunlu trailed off, waiting for her brother's wife to leave.

Dong Yi, suddenly realizing that she does not belong in the library, got up from her chair. "Chao, I'm going to make Qiu his meals." She then floated away.

Yunlu breathed a sigh of relief. "That woman tried to seduce all of the guys in the Ma family. Why did you marry that idiot?"

Chao looked at his sister in horror. "What's so bad about her? My wife is nice and graceful, not like you!"

Dai shook his head grimly while Yunlu whacked Chao in the back of his head. "Even the strongest warrior can be seduced by a beautiful woman. She tried her luck with Tie and Xiu, too. Didn't work as planned, and jumped to Chao instead. I don't trust her, not even the food." He then lifted up the cup of tea and went out the door, coming back without any liquid. "Anyways, Chao, since Qiu was a boy, I guess he will take after you. Just don't let that woman spoil and ruin his mind."

"Hey! Dong Yi won't! What are you talking about? She-"

"Yeah, yeah. You are falling for her now. Can't help you, Mengqi." She flipped her hair upwards, and stood up. "Enough of that woman. Study!" Yunlu attempted to push Sun Tzu's book toward her brother, but he rejected it, grumbling.

"I'm not studying, Yunlu. That's just boring."

"That is why you tend to lag behind many great generals."

"Oh, studies will not make me a great general," replied Chao stubbornly. "Fighting and justice will."

"One day, Mengqi," Yunlu smiled persistently. "One day, you will need to know some of the strategies of war to survive in battle."

"Oh, surviving will be easy, alright?"

"It's not as easy as it seems," Dai injected. "Nothing is easy, my cousin."

Chao snorted. "I will just have to make it easy, alright? I don't need to study. By the way, Yunlu and Dai, you guys should find a mate. You can't go single forever, you know."

Dai laughed while Yunlu snorted. "That subject again! Why must it be brought up?" retorted Yunlu, mad.

"We are too early for that, cousin. Besides, we have 40 or more years to live, so what's the rush, hmm?"

Chao shrugged sheepishly, feeling a little dumb. "I'm just saying. No need to get defensive, you two."

Just then, a servant came in, bearing news. "Master Ma Chao, Master Ma Dai, and Lady Ma Yunlu, Master Ma Teng wants to hold a council with you along with Master Ma Tie, Master Ma Xiu, and all of the heads of the family. Please come immediately." Dai nodded and dismissed the servant. He then turned toward his two cousins.

"Shall we go?"

"Sure. I wonder what father has in store for us this time," replied Chao, leaving first. Dai was planning to leave and go, but was held back by Yunlu.

"Dai, you think something bad might happen? It never has gotten this serious before, summoning all of the heads of the family at once."

"I know," Dai said, looking at Yunlu. "Maybe it's something relating to Cao Cao, or our relation toward other important beings. All I know is that it is important, as you said. Good or bad, I can't predict." He took off his hat and scratched his head a little bit, and put it back on. "We should be going, ne?"

"Right," muttered Yunlu. Well, whatever news there might be, I'm ready. She calmly followed her cousin out of the door and toward the council room.