Chen Rising Chapter 7
The flame of Wei dies: Jin rises from the ashes
'My lord! The Shu army is on the march!' Cao Sai grinned. 'It looks like our friends from Shu are making the first move.' Cao Sai said. 'Prepare for battle!' Niu Kuoang bowed, and ran off to give out the orders. 'This will be our last battle, Zima Shi. And I look forward to it.' Cao Sai thought. Ren Mei walked up to him and interrupted his thoughts. 'Are you so sure about this? The New Year is nearly upon us. Is it such a good idea to do this?' Cao Sai grinned. 'Afraid of battle Ren Mei?' He asked. 'Of course not. I just find it foolish to engage in battle with Lord Cao Cao so recently deceased.' Cao Sai shook his head. 'If we don't do this, we shall be ceding the land to Shu. Land is the basis of the kingdom. If it's given up, there is no kingdom.' Cao Sai said. Ren Mei bowed. 'I see. Then I shall begin my preparations.' She walked off, leaving Cao Sai to his thoughts. 'Watch over us Lord Cao Cao.'
The Shu army had set up camp after marching to Han Zhong. This was their intended point of invasion for their campaign against Wei. They had set up camp and the sun had already begun to set. 'I'm going off for a ride. You're in command.' Zima Shi said to Zima Shao. 'Be careful my brother.' So saying, Zima Shi rode off into the mountains. At first he was going at a fast pace, but after awhile he slowed, admiring the scenery. As he was riding through a grove of trees, he noticed that all the usual sounds of the night were missing. He could hear neither the harmonic chirping of the cicadas or the sounds of the crickets as he rode. Suddenly, he saw a glint of metal. He tried to dodge, but couldn't quickly enough. Pain erupted in his left side as he felt a ninja star cut into him. He hit the ground and let out a yell of pain. From out of the trees leapt Shadow. 'It's you, you traitorous bastard.' Zima Shi said. Shadow didn't reply. Zima Shi stood up, clutching his side. He managed to draw one of his swords. He began to run towards Shadow, but lost his strength mid-run. He dropped his sword and fell to his knees. 'What's happening? What did you do?' Zima Shi asked, among gasps of pain. 'That Star I threw at you was coated in a very lethal poison from an insect in the Nanman region. I'm afraid you don't have long to live.' Zima Shi tried to walk back to his horse, but fell. 'At least I shall have your head to present to Lord Cao Sai.' Shadow drew his sword and was about to strike, but a spear stopped his sword. He turned and saw Son Mia, ready to fight. 'Traitor.' Was all she said as she began her attack. Shadow jumped into the tree and sheathed his sword. 'My job is finished. Although I cannot take his head, he shall die anyway.' Shadow said as he vanished. Son Mia ignored him and ran to Zima Shi. 'No time to take him back to the base.' She put him down and began searching through the bushes for several herbs. 'A fever, cold chills, and heavy breathing.' She said, taking to mind the symptoms and grabbing the needed herbs.
Cao Sai sat in his tent. He was reading a set of scrolls that contained the teachings of Sun Tzu. Out of the darkness, Shadow appeared. 'Was your mission a success?' Cao Sai asked without looking up. 'I found him in the mountains alone. I wasn't able to kill him personally, but I did manage to poison him. If that girl that saved him doesn't have a thorough medical knowledge, he'll be dead by the morning.' Shadow said. 'Not exactly the result I wanted, but it shall work. You're dismissed.' Shadow bowed, then vanished. 'This shall hopefully work to our advantage.' He said.
'Any sign of our Lord or Son Mia?' Son Ja asked. Fei Shen shook his head. 'None yet.' Son Ja nodded. It had been hours since the sun had set. 'Keep searching. We have to find them! We don't know Wei's position, so we need to find them quickly.' Fei Shen rode off to continue the search. Huan Xong and Mai Ling then rode up. 'Zima Shao has ordered us to assist you.' Son Ja nodded. 'You two head that way. I'll keep searching in this area.' Huan Xong and Mai Ling rode off. The woods were incredibly quiet. Huan Xong had learned from experience that it was too quiet, so he had his twin swords out. 'What are you so nervous about?' Mai Ling asked. 'It's far too quiet.' He said. 'You're just paranoid.' Mai Ling responded. Suddenly, Huan Xong pushed Mai Ling of her horse and jumped off his. 'What's your problem?' She yelled. The two horses they were riding on suddenly fell to the ground. Huan Xong walked up to one of them and pulled something off the horse's neck. He tossed it to Mai Ling. 'Still think I'm paranoid?' It was a poisoned dart. 'Those were meant for us. Someone's here.' Huan Xong looked around, and focused his vision on one particular area of the trees. Suddenly, a dagger flew out from the darkness. Huan Xong caught the dagger and threw it back into the tree. Tumbling from the branches, Shadow hit the ground with a thud, the dagger embedded in his arm. 'You.' Huan Xong said. Shadow only glared at him. Mai Ling stepped forward. 'You betrayed my brother. Why?' Shadow didn't say anything. He quickly reached into his cloak and threw a single shuriken at her. Instead of moving or even blocking, Mai Ling froze. Huan Xong reacted, knocking it away with his swords, but when he turned back to Shadow, he was gone. 'We must be on the right track. He was trying to keep us away.' Mai Ling walked up behind him. 'Thank you.' He turned around only to receive a deep, passionate kiss from Mai Ling. Every alarm in his mind went off, but his body ignored them. When they finally parted, all they did was stand there. 'Huan Xong, there's something I want to tell you.' She said at last. He grinned, already knowing what it was. 'And what would that be?' She looked down for a second be then looked up. 'I love you.' She said. Huan Xong nodded. 'I also have something to say, but you just said it for me.' The two lovers embraced each other, oblivious to the rest of the world.
Zima Shi opened his eyes slowly. He could hardly see because of the feverish haze that clouded his vision. He looked up and saw someone kneeling next to him. He squinted, trying to see who it was. 'Who?' He managed to whisper before passing out again. Son Mia looked over from crushing the herbs to Zima Shi. 'Got to hurry.' She said, turning back to her work. Within minutes, she had finished her concoction. She lifted Zima Shi up. 'This is medicine. Drink it.' Barely conscious, Zima Shi groaned. She poured the medicine into his mouth, but he wouldn't swallow it. 'You have to swallow the medicine or you'll die!' She said. Still nothing. 'Stubborn.' She said. She looked around quickly. 'You owe me for this Zima Shi.' She said. She then kissed him hard on his lips. Shocked, Zima Shi swallowed, the medicine finally going down his throat. Even though he had already swallowed the medicine, Son Mia didn't end the kiss. 'Why?' she thought. When she finally did end it, she mentally berated herself. She heard Zima Shi mumble something, but she assumed it to be the delirium caused by the fever. She lay Zima Shi back down and leaned against a tree. For many hours, nothing happened. She felt herself dozing off when she heard something. She stood up and looked around. The sun had begun to rise, and in the distance, she saw dust rising. 'Wei!' She ran over to Zima Shi and slung one of his arms over her shoulder. She began to walk over to Zima Shi's horse and first sat Zima Shi on it, then climbed up herself. She then kicked the horse. The horse took off running. Looking behind her, she saw several of the Wei generals coming closer. 'We're too heavy for the horse.' She said to herself.
Zima Shi slowly felt himself regaining his senses. Ever since Son Mia had got him to swallow the medicine, he had been neither asleep nor awake. Right now, he knew he was on a horse. He opened his eyes to see Son Mia guiding the horse. He looked back and saw the pursuing troops. At their head was Cao Sai. Zima Shi went for one of his swords, ready to jump off the horse and fight. But in his search for one of his swords, Son Mia saw he was awake. 'Zima Shi! You're awake!' Zima Shi grinned. 'It's not that easy to kill me.' He said. Suddenly, something shot past Zima Shi's ear. 'No.' he thought. The arrow whizzed past him and hit Son Mia's left arm. She let out a scream of pain. Zima Shi grabbed her to keep her from falling off. He stopped the horse and jumped off. 'What are you doing?' Son Mia asked. 'Distracting them.' He said. 'You can't fight them all by yourself! And you're still wounded!' She said, referring to the wound in his side. 'We can't live forever.' He said. 'Now run!' He heard the horse neigh, and then run off. 'Farewell Son Mia.' He said. 'I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you.' A voice said. He whirled around. Son Mia stood behind him, her Typhoon Spear in hand. 'Are you crazy? You'll die!' She grabbed the arrow imbedded in her arm and with a grunt, pulled it out. 'I'm a warrior before I'm a woman. That's my fate.' She said. Zima Shi shook his head. 'Stubborn fool.' He said. She laughed. 'I could say the same about you.' Zima Shi nodded. 'This is probably a really bad time to say this, but I may not get another chance.' Zima Shi said suddenly. 'If you're going to say what I think you are, save it for when we get back to Cheng Du. I'm not dying and neither are you!' She said. As the Wei forces drew closer, Zima Shi grew more ready. Just as Cao Sai was within sword's length, an army wearing purple suddenly appeared. Their sudden appearance of this new army caused the Wei forces to panic. 'Any who retreat will die!' Cao Sai roared. A shadow fell over Cao Sai. He looked up and saw Zima Shi, broadswords drawn, mouth opened in one long battle cry. Cao Sai was able to block one of the swords, but the other came down, cutting his arm off. He fell to the ground. Zima Shi pulled his sword back, ready to deliver the final blow. Cao Sai then began to laugh. 'This new force is even more powerful then my Kingdom of Wei. It's a shame that they shall conquer the land.' Cao Sai began to laugh again. Zima Shi then stabbed Cao Sai, putting the ruler out of his misery. Pulling his sword from Cao Sai's now dead body, Zima Shi saw Son Mia running towards him, both her spear were covered in blood. 'Zima Shi! We have to escape!' Zima Shi nodded and sheathed his swords. They both ran, avoiding combat whenever possible. They finally reached the end of the battlefield and ran into the woods. When they could no longer see the battlefield, they sat down to rest. 'That is something I would rather not go through again.' Zima Shi said. Suddenly, they heard something. Clapping. They both looked up into the tree to see a man. He was wearing a full suit of armor, including a helmet that masked his face. 'Bravo, bravo. To think it was you who killed the great Cao Sai of Wei. You saved me a lot of trouble.' Zima Shi pulled his swords out. 'Who are you?' The man chuckled. 'My name is Sima Dan, and I am the Sovereign of Jin.'
My first attempt at serious romance. It may be cheesy, but I don't usually use romance in my stories. Just to finish this chapter up, I'd like to thank all my reviewers who have stuck with me since I began this project. Red Ninja1, The duo of animatized, Nacla, Dragonridley, Miss Da Qiao, Legend2, and Maiden of Water. If it weren't for these people, I probably wouldn't have gotten this far. I thank you. To the people who reviewed, but didn't submit characters, I thank you for the time you took to review. And as for those people who just submitted characters and not reviewed, you know who you are. *glares* enough of that. Next chapter will be up soon!
The flame of Wei dies: Jin rises from the ashes
'My lord! The Shu army is on the march!' Cao Sai grinned. 'It looks like our friends from Shu are making the first move.' Cao Sai said. 'Prepare for battle!' Niu Kuoang bowed, and ran off to give out the orders. 'This will be our last battle, Zima Shi. And I look forward to it.' Cao Sai thought. Ren Mei walked up to him and interrupted his thoughts. 'Are you so sure about this? The New Year is nearly upon us. Is it such a good idea to do this?' Cao Sai grinned. 'Afraid of battle Ren Mei?' He asked. 'Of course not. I just find it foolish to engage in battle with Lord Cao Cao so recently deceased.' Cao Sai shook his head. 'If we don't do this, we shall be ceding the land to Shu. Land is the basis of the kingdom. If it's given up, there is no kingdom.' Cao Sai said. Ren Mei bowed. 'I see. Then I shall begin my preparations.' She walked off, leaving Cao Sai to his thoughts. 'Watch over us Lord Cao Cao.'
The Shu army had set up camp after marching to Han Zhong. This was their intended point of invasion for their campaign against Wei. They had set up camp and the sun had already begun to set. 'I'm going off for a ride. You're in command.' Zima Shi said to Zima Shao. 'Be careful my brother.' So saying, Zima Shi rode off into the mountains. At first he was going at a fast pace, but after awhile he slowed, admiring the scenery. As he was riding through a grove of trees, he noticed that all the usual sounds of the night were missing. He could hear neither the harmonic chirping of the cicadas or the sounds of the crickets as he rode. Suddenly, he saw a glint of metal. He tried to dodge, but couldn't quickly enough. Pain erupted in his left side as he felt a ninja star cut into him. He hit the ground and let out a yell of pain. From out of the trees leapt Shadow. 'It's you, you traitorous bastard.' Zima Shi said. Shadow didn't reply. Zima Shi stood up, clutching his side. He managed to draw one of his swords. He began to run towards Shadow, but lost his strength mid-run. He dropped his sword and fell to his knees. 'What's happening? What did you do?' Zima Shi asked, among gasps of pain. 'That Star I threw at you was coated in a very lethal poison from an insect in the Nanman region. I'm afraid you don't have long to live.' Zima Shi tried to walk back to his horse, but fell. 'At least I shall have your head to present to Lord Cao Sai.' Shadow drew his sword and was about to strike, but a spear stopped his sword. He turned and saw Son Mia, ready to fight. 'Traitor.' Was all she said as she began her attack. Shadow jumped into the tree and sheathed his sword. 'My job is finished. Although I cannot take his head, he shall die anyway.' Shadow said as he vanished. Son Mia ignored him and ran to Zima Shi. 'No time to take him back to the base.' She put him down and began searching through the bushes for several herbs. 'A fever, cold chills, and heavy breathing.' She said, taking to mind the symptoms and grabbing the needed herbs.
Cao Sai sat in his tent. He was reading a set of scrolls that contained the teachings of Sun Tzu. Out of the darkness, Shadow appeared. 'Was your mission a success?' Cao Sai asked without looking up. 'I found him in the mountains alone. I wasn't able to kill him personally, but I did manage to poison him. If that girl that saved him doesn't have a thorough medical knowledge, he'll be dead by the morning.' Shadow said. 'Not exactly the result I wanted, but it shall work. You're dismissed.' Shadow bowed, then vanished. 'This shall hopefully work to our advantage.' He said.
'Any sign of our Lord or Son Mia?' Son Ja asked. Fei Shen shook his head. 'None yet.' Son Ja nodded. It had been hours since the sun had set. 'Keep searching. We have to find them! We don't know Wei's position, so we need to find them quickly.' Fei Shen rode off to continue the search. Huan Xong and Mai Ling then rode up. 'Zima Shao has ordered us to assist you.' Son Ja nodded. 'You two head that way. I'll keep searching in this area.' Huan Xong and Mai Ling rode off. The woods were incredibly quiet. Huan Xong had learned from experience that it was too quiet, so he had his twin swords out. 'What are you so nervous about?' Mai Ling asked. 'It's far too quiet.' He said. 'You're just paranoid.' Mai Ling responded. Suddenly, Huan Xong pushed Mai Ling of her horse and jumped off his. 'What's your problem?' She yelled. The two horses they were riding on suddenly fell to the ground. Huan Xong walked up to one of them and pulled something off the horse's neck. He tossed it to Mai Ling. 'Still think I'm paranoid?' It was a poisoned dart. 'Those were meant for us. Someone's here.' Huan Xong looked around, and focused his vision on one particular area of the trees. Suddenly, a dagger flew out from the darkness. Huan Xong caught the dagger and threw it back into the tree. Tumbling from the branches, Shadow hit the ground with a thud, the dagger embedded in his arm. 'You.' Huan Xong said. Shadow only glared at him. Mai Ling stepped forward. 'You betrayed my brother. Why?' Shadow didn't say anything. He quickly reached into his cloak and threw a single shuriken at her. Instead of moving or even blocking, Mai Ling froze. Huan Xong reacted, knocking it away with his swords, but when he turned back to Shadow, he was gone. 'We must be on the right track. He was trying to keep us away.' Mai Ling walked up behind him. 'Thank you.' He turned around only to receive a deep, passionate kiss from Mai Ling. Every alarm in his mind went off, but his body ignored them. When they finally parted, all they did was stand there. 'Huan Xong, there's something I want to tell you.' She said at last. He grinned, already knowing what it was. 'And what would that be?' She looked down for a second be then looked up. 'I love you.' She said. Huan Xong nodded. 'I also have something to say, but you just said it for me.' The two lovers embraced each other, oblivious to the rest of the world.
Zima Shi opened his eyes slowly. He could hardly see because of the feverish haze that clouded his vision. He looked up and saw someone kneeling next to him. He squinted, trying to see who it was. 'Who?' He managed to whisper before passing out again. Son Mia looked over from crushing the herbs to Zima Shi. 'Got to hurry.' She said, turning back to her work. Within minutes, she had finished her concoction. She lifted Zima Shi up. 'This is medicine. Drink it.' Barely conscious, Zima Shi groaned. She poured the medicine into his mouth, but he wouldn't swallow it. 'You have to swallow the medicine or you'll die!' She said. Still nothing. 'Stubborn.' She said. She looked around quickly. 'You owe me for this Zima Shi.' She said. She then kissed him hard on his lips. Shocked, Zima Shi swallowed, the medicine finally going down his throat. Even though he had already swallowed the medicine, Son Mia didn't end the kiss. 'Why?' she thought. When she finally did end it, she mentally berated herself. She heard Zima Shi mumble something, but she assumed it to be the delirium caused by the fever. She lay Zima Shi back down and leaned against a tree. For many hours, nothing happened. She felt herself dozing off when she heard something. She stood up and looked around. The sun had begun to rise, and in the distance, she saw dust rising. 'Wei!' She ran over to Zima Shi and slung one of his arms over her shoulder. She began to walk over to Zima Shi's horse and first sat Zima Shi on it, then climbed up herself. She then kicked the horse. The horse took off running. Looking behind her, she saw several of the Wei generals coming closer. 'We're too heavy for the horse.' She said to herself.
Zima Shi slowly felt himself regaining his senses. Ever since Son Mia had got him to swallow the medicine, he had been neither asleep nor awake. Right now, he knew he was on a horse. He opened his eyes to see Son Mia guiding the horse. He looked back and saw the pursuing troops. At their head was Cao Sai. Zima Shi went for one of his swords, ready to jump off the horse and fight. But in his search for one of his swords, Son Mia saw he was awake. 'Zima Shi! You're awake!' Zima Shi grinned. 'It's not that easy to kill me.' He said. Suddenly, something shot past Zima Shi's ear. 'No.' he thought. The arrow whizzed past him and hit Son Mia's left arm. She let out a scream of pain. Zima Shi grabbed her to keep her from falling off. He stopped the horse and jumped off. 'What are you doing?' Son Mia asked. 'Distracting them.' He said. 'You can't fight them all by yourself! And you're still wounded!' She said, referring to the wound in his side. 'We can't live forever.' He said. 'Now run!' He heard the horse neigh, and then run off. 'Farewell Son Mia.' He said. 'I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you.' A voice said. He whirled around. Son Mia stood behind him, her Typhoon Spear in hand. 'Are you crazy? You'll die!' She grabbed the arrow imbedded in her arm and with a grunt, pulled it out. 'I'm a warrior before I'm a woman. That's my fate.' She said. Zima Shi shook his head. 'Stubborn fool.' He said. She laughed. 'I could say the same about you.' Zima Shi nodded. 'This is probably a really bad time to say this, but I may not get another chance.' Zima Shi said suddenly. 'If you're going to say what I think you are, save it for when we get back to Cheng Du. I'm not dying and neither are you!' She said. As the Wei forces drew closer, Zima Shi grew more ready. Just as Cao Sai was within sword's length, an army wearing purple suddenly appeared. Their sudden appearance of this new army caused the Wei forces to panic. 'Any who retreat will die!' Cao Sai roared. A shadow fell over Cao Sai. He looked up and saw Zima Shi, broadswords drawn, mouth opened in one long battle cry. Cao Sai was able to block one of the swords, but the other came down, cutting his arm off. He fell to the ground. Zima Shi pulled his sword back, ready to deliver the final blow. Cao Sai then began to laugh. 'This new force is even more powerful then my Kingdom of Wei. It's a shame that they shall conquer the land.' Cao Sai began to laugh again. Zima Shi then stabbed Cao Sai, putting the ruler out of his misery. Pulling his sword from Cao Sai's now dead body, Zima Shi saw Son Mia running towards him, both her spear were covered in blood. 'Zima Shi! We have to escape!' Zima Shi nodded and sheathed his swords. They both ran, avoiding combat whenever possible. They finally reached the end of the battlefield and ran into the woods. When they could no longer see the battlefield, they sat down to rest. 'That is something I would rather not go through again.' Zima Shi said. Suddenly, they heard something. Clapping. They both looked up into the tree to see a man. He was wearing a full suit of armor, including a helmet that masked his face. 'Bravo, bravo. To think it was you who killed the great Cao Sai of Wei. You saved me a lot of trouble.' Zima Shi pulled his swords out. 'Who are you?' The man chuckled. 'My name is Sima Dan, and I am the Sovereign of Jin.'
My first attempt at serious romance. It may be cheesy, but I don't usually use romance in my stories. Just to finish this chapter up, I'd like to thank all my reviewers who have stuck with me since I began this project. Red Ninja1, The duo of animatized, Nacla, Dragonridley, Miss Da Qiao, Legend2, and Maiden of Water. If it weren't for these people, I probably wouldn't have gotten this far. I thank you. To the people who reviewed, but didn't submit characters, I thank you for the time you took to review. And as for those people who just submitted characters and not reviewed, you know who you are. *glares* enough of that. Next chapter will be up soon!