CHAPTER 5
The sun that slowly sunk in the horizons was a mass fireball that coincidentally, reflected the mood he was in at that moment. Strangely, he was elated and strangely too, he felt a deep sense of foreboding as he rode his favourite silver-white steed to his post. Accompanied by his elite guards, the journey was silent as he contemplated the very disturbing (not to mention beautiful) meeting with one extremely intriguing man earlier. Silently spurring the stallion quicker, he recalled the brief, almost nonexistent exchange they had shared…
'…Bottomless midnight eyes met turbulent violet ones in a gaze that spoke thousands, and yet remained wordless. Wordless, but never meaningless. Deep in his heart, Zhang He, for the many literature books he read, for the many poems he had learned, calmly understood the meaning of 'a picture that spoke a thousand words'. No one human had merely stood, unperturbed even as he speculated and stared with a gaze that many had commented as chilling and cutting as winter's breath, in a manner that he could only describe as beautiful. Truly awed, he had predicted then, the man was to be an important one someday. And oddly, he longed to stand by his side when that fateful day dawned.
The man, object of his curiosity and rapidly increasing interest, merely smiled; and a hint of a conceited smirk grazed his lips.
Zhang He could feel his intensity. It was as if the man had announced, "I will own you someday."
Irrationally too, his traitorous heart pounded faster…'
______________________________________________
Looking strangely at the scenery around him, Feng Yi, one of General Zhang He's elusive elite guards paused in mid-run to observe further, the source of his unease. Quickly following their leader, the other guards, and the small troupe that was assigned to the general steadily grew further from the soldier.
Something was amiss…
Then eyes widening in realization, Feng Yi sprinted forward. He had to alert the general, and quick. Or it would be too late.
______________________________________________
'…In a tentative, graceful step, the purple-clad man emerged from dimness to bask in full glory, even under the soft glow of limited candles. Struggling to keep his hands by his side, he could not help admiring the seductive way in which the man moved. And the beauty in which he bore. Mocking the thoughts that entered his head, he quickly averted his eyes and once again resumed the stance of one aloof, and disinterested. Something shifted in the deep purple depths he was beginning to love so dearly then. He must have imagined it but…could it have been…maybe, disappointment?
Zhang He despised the thought of ever causing him anything but happiness…'
"General! General Zhang He!!" The harried shouts of his bodyguard broke his reverie. From the rear, Feng Yi pushed forward, frantically elbowing his way to the lanky general. Stumbling upon his words, he rushed, "General, general, you…"
Zhang He, irritated by the sudden interruption, brushed the frenzied words aside with trademark panache and glared. Effectively the guard shrank back.
Glowering, Zhang He hissed, "If it isn't a matter of life and death, do not hinder our progress."
"But…"
Another chilling stare, and the guard stopped. Nodding his head resignedly, he could not help thinking: The general sure isn't acting himself today…
______________________________________________
'…As quickly as the young lord swept in, Cao Pi strode out the main tent, bringing the object of his interest with him. With barely concealed regret, he watched as the man walked out as well. But just as he too, turned to request his leave, the man stopped. In a voice that seemed meant only for his ears, he softly murmured, "May fortune smile upon you." And with that, he vanished from sight…'
It was the startled face of Zhen Ji that brought Zhang He rearing his horse in surprise and his heart tumulting in sudden alarm. It was then, that realization dawned, just as enlightenment too descended for the Lady Zhen. Scowling, she said scathingly, "General Zhang He, your station is to the east. This is west." Blushing in embarrassment, Zhang Junyi realized too late that so caught up was he in his daydreams, he had led the soldiers astray. Hurriedly spurring his horse back, he caught the fast fading words of an angry Lady Zhen, "And learn your directions next time…"
Feng Yi shook his head. Like he said, the general was not acting himself that day.
______________________________________________
Zhuge Liang smiled with calm assurance at a sullen Zhou Yu. "Do not worry, General Zhou. Our combined forces will triumph."
Biting his lips for fear of letting out an angry retort, Zhou Yu stood in brooding silence.
Spread in disciplined order, the Wu navy waited in the darkness of the night sky for commands from their high commander. The high commander, meanwhile, was irked at the prospect of such an alliance. An alliance that he, had allowed.
As if privy to his thoughts, Zhou Yu caught the condescending smile on the Shu strategist's thin lips. Gritting his teeth painfully, he glowered. I'm going to wring the damn man's neck sometime soon. Really soon…
______________________________________________
From what he perceived, the battle that Wei would soon be embroiled in was a futile one. From the trust he had earned from Lord Cao Pi, Zhang Junyi had been stationed safely, away from any possible forms of danger he could think of, within the majestic walls of granite and stone. Based on the young general's skill with the claws, he would no doubt be able to quell any resisting force along the short mountain trail. Nevertheless, Sima Yi closed his eyes in silent prayer. Please…please let him return safe…
______________________________________________
The Wei armada was ready to sail. Cao Cao, high above the helm of the main battleship stared far into the distance.
"Yuan Shao, Dong Zhuo, Lu Bu; and now Wu. Zhuge Liang, Zhou Yu, your fate ends tonight!"
~~~~~
Gosh, this chapter was tiring. Not to mention short as a, uh, puppy's tail. You see, I needed some sort of link to the next chapter and well, this is the end result. I guess this is a sort of mini chapter. Oh well…
Also I just realized, how slow the story is going and arghh…I need some action!! I'm really, really sorry for the absence of a plot so far, since I've mainly only been introducing a few characters so far… But, hopefully it'll pick up speed later on. Right now, I'm having too much fun with Sima Yi and Zhang He. *giggles* Oh yeah, I noticed too, how ridiculous Zhang He seems in this chapter. I just thought it would be nice to see a more human, a not so perfect side, to the almost-perfect vain general. Also, I guess I wanted to lay of the serious tone the fic has been taking on lately and inject some humour…
As some might have guessed, this is leading up to the Battle of Chi Bi. I remembered it as being a really fiery stage and Wu was honestly notorious there. Just liked it a whole lot, so… ^^
One more thing: I have changed the "Don't Accept Anonymous Reviews" setting. Didn't know about it before. ^^;; I guess you can just picture me as some totally clueless person wandering around in fanfiction.net space. My heartfelt thanks to Lady Kazune Kikenshi for pointing that out to me.
The sun that slowly sunk in the horizons was a mass fireball that coincidentally, reflected the mood he was in at that moment. Strangely, he was elated and strangely too, he felt a deep sense of foreboding as he rode his favourite silver-white steed to his post. Accompanied by his elite guards, the journey was silent as he contemplated the very disturbing (not to mention beautiful) meeting with one extremely intriguing man earlier. Silently spurring the stallion quicker, he recalled the brief, almost nonexistent exchange they had shared…
'…Bottomless midnight eyes met turbulent violet ones in a gaze that spoke thousands, and yet remained wordless. Wordless, but never meaningless. Deep in his heart, Zhang He, for the many literature books he read, for the many poems he had learned, calmly understood the meaning of 'a picture that spoke a thousand words'. No one human had merely stood, unperturbed even as he speculated and stared with a gaze that many had commented as chilling and cutting as winter's breath, in a manner that he could only describe as beautiful. Truly awed, he had predicted then, the man was to be an important one someday. And oddly, he longed to stand by his side when that fateful day dawned.
The man, object of his curiosity and rapidly increasing interest, merely smiled; and a hint of a conceited smirk grazed his lips.
Zhang He could feel his intensity. It was as if the man had announced, "I will own you someday."
Irrationally too, his traitorous heart pounded faster…'
______________________________________________
Looking strangely at the scenery around him, Feng Yi, one of General Zhang He's elusive elite guards paused in mid-run to observe further, the source of his unease. Quickly following their leader, the other guards, and the small troupe that was assigned to the general steadily grew further from the soldier.
Something was amiss…
Then eyes widening in realization, Feng Yi sprinted forward. He had to alert the general, and quick. Or it would be too late.
______________________________________________
'…In a tentative, graceful step, the purple-clad man emerged from dimness to bask in full glory, even under the soft glow of limited candles. Struggling to keep his hands by his side, he could not help admiring the seductive way in which the man moved. And the beauty in which he bore. Mocking the thoughts that entered his head, he quickly averted his eyes and once again resumed the stance of one aloof, and disinterested. Something shifted in the deep purple depths he was beginning to love so dearly then. He must have imagined it but…could it have been…maybe, disappointment?
Zhang He despised the thought of ever causing him anything but happiness…'
"General! General Zhang He!!" The harried shouts of his bodyguard broke his reverie. From the rear, Feng Yi pushed forward, frantically elbowing his way to the lanky general. Stumbling upon his words, he rushed, "General, general, you…"
Zhang He, irritated by the sudden interruption, brushed the frenzied words aside with trademark panache and glared. Effectively the guard shrank back.
Glowering, Zhang He hissed, "If it isn't a matter of life and death, do not hinder our progress."
"But…"
Another chilling stare, and the guard stopped. Nodding his head resignedly, he could not help thinking: The general sure isn't acting himself today…
______________________________________________
'…As quickly as the young lord swept in, Cao Pi strode out the main tent, bringing the object of his interest with him. With barely concealed regret, he watched as the man walked out as well. But just as he too, turned to request his leave, the man stopped. In a voice that seemed meant only for his ears, he softly murmured, "May fortune smile upon you." And with that, he vanished from sight…'
It was the startled face of Zhen Ji that brought Zhang He rearing his horse in surprise and his heart tumulting in sudden alarm. It was then, that realization dawned, just as enlightenment too descended for the Lady Zhen. Scowling, she said scathingly, "General Zhang He, your station is to the east. This is west." Blushing in embarrassment, Zhang Junyi realized too late that so caught up was he in his daydreams, he had led the soldiers astray. Hurriedly spurring his horse back, he caught the fast fading words of an angry Lady Zhen, "And learn your directions next time…"
Feng Yi shook his head. Like he said, the general was not acting himself that day.
______________________________________________
Zhuge Liang smiled with calm assurance at a sullen Zhou Yu. "Do not worry, General Zhou. Our combined forces will triumph."
Biting his lips for fear of letting out an angry retort, Zhou Yu stood in brooding silence.
Spread in disciplined order, the Wu navy waited in the darkness of the night sky for commands from their high commander. The high commander, meanwhile, was irked at the prospect of such an alliance. An alliance that he, had allowed.
As if privy to his thoughts, Zhou Yu caught the condescending smile on the Shu strategist's thin lips. Gritting his teeth painfully, he glowered. I'm going to wring the damn man's neck sometime soon. Really soon…
______________________________________________
From what he perceived, the battle that Wei would soon be embroiled in was a futile one. From the trust he had earned from Lord Cao Pi, Zhang Junyi had been stationed safely, away from any possible forms of danger he could think of, within the majestic walls of granite and stone. Based on the young general's skill with the claws, he would no doubt be able to quell any resisting force along the short mountain trail. Nevertheless, Sima Yi closed his eyes in silent prayer. Please…please let him return safe…
______________________________________________
The Wei armada was ready to sail. Cao Cao, high above the helm of the main battleship stared far into the distance.
"Yuan Shao, Dong Zhuo, Lu Bu; and now Wu. Zhuge Liang, Zhou Yu, your fate ends tonight!"
~~~~~
Gosh, this chapter was tiring. Not to mention short as a, uh, puppy's tail. You see, I needed some sort of link to the next chapter and well, this is the end result. I guess this is a sort of mini chapter. Oh well…
Also I just realized, how slow the story is going and arghh…I need some action!! I'm really, really sorry for the absence of a plot so far, since I've mainly only been introducing a few characters so far… But, hopefully it'll pick up speed later on. Right now, I'm having too much fun with Sima Yi and Zhang He. *giggles* Oh yeah, I noticed too, how ridiculous Zhang He seems in this chapter. I just thought it would be nice to see a more human, a not so perfect side, to the almost-perfect vain general. Also, I guess I wanted to lay of the serious tone the fic has been taking on lately and inject some humour…
As some might have guessed, this is leading up to the Battle of Chi Bi. I remembered it as being a really fiery stage and Wu was honestly notorious there. Just liked it a whole lot, so… ^^
One more thing: I have changed the "Don't Accept Anonymous Reviews" setting. Didn't know about it before. ^^;; I guess you can just picture me as some totally clueless person wandering around in fanfiction.net space. My heartfelt thanks to Lady Kazune Kikenshi for pointing that out to me.