"We've prepared the camps on the high road." Zhao Yun said, trotting around Zhuge Liang on his white steed.
"Good, bring me my horse. I will see to the final preparations myself." Liang smiled, and Yun trotted away, bringing back Liang's dapple-grey steed with him.
He mounted and the two rode off together across the high road.
"Zhao Yun, I want you to lead the army tomorrow night." Zhuge Liang sighed.
Yun looked at him confused. "Don't you think Jiang Wei will be back in time?" Yun asked.
Liang shook his head. He had sent Wei Yan out too look for Wei, but so far found no trail. If Wei was in trouble, he would have left something for them.
---
Yi was quite relieved. His guard duty didn't seem so hard anymore. After he brought the boy back from Cao Cao, he just lay down quietly, facing the wall. Yi put his feet up on the table and stretched. Such a sweet victory. The look on Wei's face when his little friend read out his death sentence was the icing on the cake.
But the more he thought about it, the less his victory seemed. Here was a mere child, crushed by the betrayal of his best friend, and Yi was enjoying it? Maybe that's what Zhang He meant. Maybe Yi had changed.
He felt sad now, looking down at the child, huddled in cold damp cloths, rope still hanging around his neck, thirsty, hungry and broken hearted.
He stood up and opened the cell door, walking over to the boy and kneeling beside him.
Wei acknowledged him with a sigh.
"Here." Yi said, laying his half full rice bowl on the floor in front of the boy's face.
Wei didn't shift. He just closed his eyes.
"Come on, you need something to eat." Yi smiled.
Wei shifted. "What is it this time? Drugged? Poisoned?"
Yi laughed a little, taking some rice in hand and eating it. "Nothing I wouldn't eat." Yi smiled.
Wei sighed and closed his eyes again.
Sima Yi felt terrible. "I'll leave it with you ok?" Yi said, leaving the cell and taking his seat at the table.
After a few minutes, Wei's stomach was getting the better of him. Yi could hear it snarling from across the room.
Wei had to surrender and shifted to a sit, looking down at the bowl. The rice looked all right. He leant close and sniffed it. It didn't smell of anything bad.
Yi looked over from the table, watching the boy carefully examine the food.
Wei had to. He shuffled around so Yi couldn't see the undignified manor in which he would consume, and then took a mouthful.
Yi smiled. Somehow, it felt better to do something nice for the boy.
Wei quickly finished the rice. Sustenance was a relief. He brought up one knee and wiped his moth on it.
Wei looked over. Yi smiled. "Was it good?" Yi asked.
Wei nodded, a small smile gracing his face.
Yi laughed, but it was a different laugh, one of contentment.
Zhang He was right. Sima Yi wasn't such a bad man after all.
Wei half smiled and stood up, paced around his cell and knelt down occasionally.
Yi's curiosity was perked. "What are you doing?" Yi asked.
His question was answered when Wei walked up to the door, mouthful of black feathers and posted them through the bars.
Yi walked over to the bars, a little cautious at first, but took the feathers from the boy. He lingered his hand for a while, but Wei didn't try to bite him.
"You can fix your fan now." Wei smiled.
Yi smiled and posted his hand through the bars, taking hold of the rope round Wei's neck. Wei jumped, but Yi smiled, pulling it free of Wei's throat and throwing it on the floor. Yi raised his hand and laid it on Wei's head, stroking his hair a little. "Zhuge Liang was right. I was a fool not to see you when you worked for Cao Wei."
---
Cao Cao stood on his balcony looking over the fields with a discontented gaze.
"What is wrong sir?" Zhang Liao said, walking to his master's side.
Cao Cao sighed. "A few Shu Han troops have been spotted skulking around the castle."
"Do you think they've found out Jiang Wei is here?" Liao asked.
"Impossible!" Zhou Yu spat, Lu Xun by his side. "Right Lu Xun."
"I left nothing they could follow. There is no way they could suspect us." Xun said, looking at Liao to try and escape the gazes of the other two.
Cao Cao raised a hand to his chin. What could Shu Han be planning?
---
When Zhang He came to relieve Sima Yi of guard duty, he found he wasn't there, and Jiang Wei was sitting alone in the dungeon, humming.
"Where did Sima Yi go?" Zhang He asked.
Wei stopped humming and looked up, "Oh, he left a few minutes ago, a soldier came and requested him."
"That's odd, I should go look for him…" Zhang He said turning to leave but stopped and looked back at Wei. "You won't try to escape will you?"
Wei grinned. "Well, I haven't tried so far."
Zhang He sighed and left the room. He went to Yi quarters but he wasn't there.
Strange, Zhang He thought.
He walked down the corridor, looking into every room he passed, but he was nowhere.
When He got out into the courtyard, he saw a black feather lying by the door of the storehouse. Puzzled, he approached the door, but stayed his hand when he heard talking.
"… Guessing you came for more poison then?" Sima Yi's voice was clearly audible.
"No… came… to say… I quit." A strangers voice growled.
"What do you mean you quit? You know the plan! We both need Zhuge Liang Dead."
"Can't… do it…Last time … poison… hurt… friend… Zhuge Liang… not worth it."
Zhang He suddenly remembered where he knew that voice, that grumbling, growling tone.
"So that's it is it? You're just going to walk away and forget this never happened?" Yi's voice snapped.
The grumbling voice was angry. "Don't want… to hurt… anyone… anymore."
And Zhang He had to hide in the bushes as the angry man stormed out of the storehouse. He was right. It was Wei Yan of Shu Han!
And he remembered back to his conversation with Jiang Wei, the scars on his wrists, and that was it! It was Sima Yi's drugs that had been used, but Wei Yan had carried out the deed.
He held his breath as Sima Yi walked past, heading back down to the Dungeon.
---
Sima Yi got back to the dungeon and Jiang Wei was exactly where he left him.
"You didn't try to escape then?" Yi grinned, looking over at Wei.
Wei shrugged. "No, doesn't really seem much point."
Yi laughed happily, when Zhang He opened the door.
"Oh, Sima Yi, I'm here to take over." Zhang He smiled.
"Oh, ok He." Yi laughed happily, rising from his seat and leaving, chuckling to himself.
He looked puzzled at Wei. "What did you do to him?"
And this raised a laugh from Wei.
There was silence for a while after the laughter had died and Zhang He had to break it.
"Is there anything I can do, to make you feel better?" He asked.
"Besides bringing me Lu Xun's heart, not much." Wei sighed.
Zhang He frowned. He knew that there was nothing he could say would persuade Wei against his thoughts. To Him, Xun was a traitor, But He knew differently. He just wished he could tell him. And when the door creaked slowly open and Lu Xun peered sheepishly around the door, Zhang He was shocked.
"What are you doing here?" Zhang He asked. And Xun skittered down the steps.
"Cao Cao And Zhou Yu have gone to check the borders, I have a few minutes to myself, Is the coast clear?" Xun asked.
"I'll watch the corridor." Zhang He said, rushing up the stairs and taking up position by the door.
Lu Xun nearly cried when he saw Jiang Wei.
"Oh Jiang Wei! I'm sorry I got away as soon as I could." Xun said, sliding the door of the cell open and kneeling in front of Wei.
Wei kept his expression unreadable and turned away.
"Oh, you're mad at me… I'm so sorry, I never wanted to hurt you, but I had no choice." Xun cried.
"Choice…" Wei muttered.
Xun knew it wasn't working. "I can't tell you why now but you have to believe me, I had a good reason. I would never hurt you. Please believe me." Xun said. He shuffled close and hugged Jiang Wei. But Wei growled in his ear.
"You always had a choice." Wei snarled, and Xun suddenly felt the pain rise in his shoulder as Wei sank his teeth deep.
"Wei! What are you doing? You're hurting me!" Xun shouted in shock.
"Good! Traitor! How could you! I HATE You!" Wei snarled through clenched teeth as he bit deeper.
"Wei! Stop! Please I'm your friend." Xun cried as Wei drew blood. It soaked through the robes and trickled down his arm.
"You are no friend of mine." Wei growled, Xun's flesh audibly snapping under his jaws.
"Stop it! STOP IT!" Xun panicked. He clenched his hand into a fist and punched Wei in the face, forcing him to let go. Xun retreated against the back wall, blood pouring down his arm and pooling on the floor.
Wei was breathing heavily, hatred in his gaze. His mouth was full of blood and shredded cloth. He spat the collection at Xun who shuffled to his feet and slid the door closed behind him.
"I thought I cold trust you!" Wei growled.
Xun was crying now, desperately trying to stop the bleeding.
"You don't trust me…" Xun sobbed.
"Give me one reason why I should?" Wei snapped. His eye was swelling now, where Xun had struck him.
"They took my wife." Xun cried.
And Wei suddenly stopped growling, the anger on his face suddenly dropping.
There was silence, and then Wei started to cry. "Oh Xun… I'm sorry…" Wei sighed, but Xun was already leaving, trailing blood behind him. "Xun stop!" Wei shouted but he was gone.
Wei sat alone now, cursing himself. He should have trusted Xun.
Wei was thinking now, what Xun had said to Zhang He, Cao Cao was inspecting the borders. That could only mean one thing, enemy troop sightings. And with Cao Wei and Sun Wu in alliance, the only enemy was Shu Han. Then he remembered the plan. The plan could save him, but would Zhuge Liang carry it out without him?
