Part 1
The Rise of the Stars
Chapter 5
Ignition
The castle was chaotic with people scurrying around trying to get things done. Men rushed by with swords, women packed rice for the trip, and people everywhere were training themselves with weapons. Huge piles of spears, swords, and arrows could be found lying around near to the entrance. Gua Zhu brought more horses into the stables so that more people could ride into battle. Yuan Shao pranced around, dressed in full armor, shouting orders to everyone in the vicinity. Zhang He spent his time practicing his moves and readying himself for battle. He was very excited and scared to be going into battle. He would be getting his own troops and bodyguards, get to wear his shiny red armor, and ride next to Yuan Shao in glory. Yuan Shao was also treating him with a lot more respect. He would include him in councils, ask his personal opinion, and request to have Zhang He to follow him around while he shouted.
Three days after the quarrel with the Yellow Turbans, troops from the esteemed Sun family arrived. They had agreed to help them with stamping out the Yellow Turbans, but that had yet to hear from the Sima, Cao, and Liu troops. The leader of the Sun troops was a tall and mysterious man called Sun Jian. He wore extravagant red and gold armor and a large sword with very little hilt at his waist. He rode in, grazing his barely-even- there beard, and smiling down at the people. He was greeted by Yuan Shao, and shown to the room he was to be staying in. He had brought with him his three children, Sun Quan, Sun Shang Xiang, and Sun Ce. Sun Quan, being the youngest at ten years old, wore a permanent scowl and had a face like a monkey. He wallowed around, not speaking to anyone, and examining his ridged sword. Zhang He thought it odd that Sun Jian would send a ten year old into battle, but it wasn't his child. Sun Shang Xiang was a spunky twelve-year-old girl with reddish brown hair. She spent her time following her father around and meeting people around her age. She had two giant rings, each lined with a blade that were called Chakrams. Sun Ce was an extremely loud, slightly obnoxious sixteen-year-old boy. He walked around talking continuously to his shy friend, Zhou Yu. He had long hair that he tied in the Japanese Samurai style. He carried around his weapon wherever he would go, to bamboo poles with handles for swinging around. Zhou Yu, who was also sixteen, followed Sun Ce around, talking in a hushed voice, and keeping cool in any situation. He was quite handsome and had shoulder high, dark brown hair that was very straight. His face was pale and he looked even thinner then Zhang He. His weapon was a very long, silver sword with strange markings. His father was a man named Zhou Tai. He was silent and always seemed very calm. He and Sun Jian were good friends and he carried a sword as well. He wore a helmet that almost hid his eyes, which were icy blue of color. He wore a long black cape that reached down to his ankles, and black armor as well. While walking around, Zhang He ran into Sun Shang Xiang. "What's your name?" She said cheerfully from behind him. He turned around to face her. "I'm Zhang He, I assume you are Sun Shang Xiang?" "That's right! Do you live in this huge palace, or are you just visiting for the battle as well?" Sun Shang Xiang inquired amiably. "Yes, I live here, I am Yuan Shao's bodyguard." Zhang He said, sounding impressive. "Wooooow, that must be a really important job! Is it very hard?" She said sitting down on a wall near to her. "At times." Zhang He said, sitting beside her "But mostly it's just training for battle." "What kind of weapon do you use?" She asked, running her fingers through her very short hair. "Metal Talons, I like them a lot because they're easy to block with." Zhang He explained. "Can I see what they look like?" Said Sun Shang Xiang excitedly. Zhang He was about to agree, but a loud voice rang out through the courtyard. "Hey, sis! Who's that you're talkin' to?" Yelled Sun Ce as he bounded across the courtyard towards them, closely followed by Zhou Yu. Zhang He stood, and walked slowly across to meet them. "This is Zhang He, he's Yuan Shao's bodyguard, isn't that amazing?" She said to Sun Ce. "Big deal, we're like father's bodyguards, aren't we?" Sun Ce said, not lowering his voice. "Nice to meet you, Sun Ce." Said Zhang He bowing his head. "Great to see you too." Sun Ce said slightly offhand. Zhou Yu bowed his head and said in a quiet voice. "Please forgive his rudeness, I am Zhou Yu." "Yeah, he's in line to become a strategist, aren't ya, Zhou Yu?" Sun Ce said. Zhou Yu slightly nodded and looked at the grass. "Come on! Let's go see what everyone's up to!" Sun Shang Xiang offered. "Ok, I could do with some poking around." Sun Ce said smiling and swinging his poles back and forth. They all three started to walk off, but Sun Shang Xiang stopped and looked back. "Come on, Zhang He, don't you want to come?" "Alright!" He agreed, and caught up with them. The walked around, peering to see what everyone else was doing, but didn't find anything very interesting. When they located Sun Quan, Sun Shang Xiang went up to him and asked if he would join them. He grunted unfriendily, and pounded away. "Can't blame me for trying!" Sun Shang Xiang said shrugging. When they arrived near Sun Jian, he told them to go away, as he very busy yelling at people. They passed by Guo Tu, who sat scowling at Zhang He. "That's our strategist, he absolutely hates me." Zhang He said quietly to Sun Shang Xiang. "He doesn't look very friendly." Sun Shang Xiang said. Guo Tu stood up, and strode over to Zhang He. "Can we speak?" Guo Tu snapped at Zhang He. "Alright." Zhang He said cautiously. "In private." He said turning and beginning to walk away. Zhang He followed Guo Tu until they were out of earshot of the others. "I want to make it clear that I am Yuan Shao's most trusted man in his service. I am warning you now that if you try and make me look bad in front of him once again; I will make you pay.dearly! Now get out of my sight." Guo Tu said dangerously. "What? What're you talking about? You did all that stuff to yourself, don't blame me!" Zhang He said. Guo Tu let out a cry of rage and stormed away. Zhang He shrugged and walked back towards Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, and Sun Shang Xiang. "What did he say?" Sun Shang Xiang asked. "Nothing, just something stupid." Zhang He said. "I'm tired of walking around." Sun Ce complained, "let's go back to the courtyard and train together!" "Good idea, brother!" Sun Shang Xiang said, brightening up. They all followed Sun Ce back to the courtyard. "Come on Zhou Yu, practice with me!" Sun Ce said posing with his poles. "If you want to." Zhou Yu said drawing his sword. "Will you partner up with me, Zhang He?" Sun Shang Xiang asked. "Sure, let me get my Talons, they're in my room." Zhang He said, setting off towards the building. "Can I come?" Sun Shang Xiang said. "If you want to, but it's not exactly a fun walk." Zhang He said. She trotted up beside him and the walked off. "Which one is yours?" She asked when they got inside. "It's down this hall." Zhang He said in a sort of bored voice. He pushed open the large door and Sun Shang Xiang gasped. "Your room is magnificent! Ten times bigger than mine!" She said running inside. "Wow, you get your own bath even!" Zhang He grabbed the Talons from the wall and walked back towards the door. "Come on, let's go back." After coming back, Sun Ce stopped fighting to get a look at the Talons. "Pretty cool, but I like these better" he said spinning the poles. "Hey come on, you said you fight with me, Zhang He!" Said Sun Shang Xiang, holding up her Chakrams. "Alright." Zhang He said. They began training as he usually did with Rai Tso, blocking each other's moves and performing fake slashes and jabs. They all trained until it was so late at night, the men told them to go to bed because they were making to much noise. "See you tomorrow!" Sun Shang Xiang said, waving goodbye to Zhang He. He waved back and made his way back to his room. I forgot about dinner.He thought, feeling pain in his stomach from hunger. He placed he Talons back on the wall, then flopped down on the bed. Zhang He spent a sleepless four hours night thinking about nothing until he finally dropped off. The next day he spent with Sun Ce, Zhou Yu and Sun Shang Xiang again, doing meaningless things, conversing, then training later in the day. The day after that, more forces had arrived. The Sima and Liu forces arrived that morning and then Cao Cao came in the late after noon. The man leading the Sima troops was called Sima Xu. He was very tall and supposedly extremely intelligent. He wore armor made of black, shiny metal that gleamed in the sunlight. Besides his troops and several generals, he brought his son, Sima Yi with him. Sima Yi appeared to be the same age as Zhang He and wore elegant purple robes. His face was almost as pale as Zhou Yu's and he wore his hair in a bun, which he also covered with a hat. He would follow closely behind his father wherever he would go and often hid his face with a black feather fan. On the occasions that he was alone, he spent his time alone, reading scrolls and books that contained things that were very complicated. When Sun Shang Xiang tried to get him to come and train with them, he blushed, quietly refused and moved quickly inside. "He's really shy." She said, coming back to report what happened "I think he's not allowed to talk to other people while he's here or something." "Hmmm, sounds harsh." Sun Ce said. Liu Bei was the one leading his troops. He was a young man with short hair who wore a hat and a used a long sword with a golden hilt. He had very thin eyes and a small mustache and goatee. He rode a black horse and brought a small amount of troops. Cao Cao came in riding a huge white steed and followed by his bulky bodyguard, Dian Wei. Cao Cao was a get down to business kind of man, who said nothing but the pointed. He glared around at everyone, and was never seen without Dian Wei. He always wore the same rectangular hat, and often played with his beard. Dian Wei was and enormously tall man who was completely bald and bulging muscles. He always had his mighty ax slung over his shoulder whenever he was walking around. The days went by quickly and the end of the week came before anyone was ready. At dawn on that day, they loaded up carts filled to the brim with food, weapons and armor. Zhang He was among the lucky ones who could ride a horse instead of walk. They would be marching for about three weeks before they would find the place where the Yellow Turbans lived. Zhang Jiao would probably already be there, he did not wait for his men to catch up, and he just sped on ahead. They all set out, leaving the women and children behind at the palace. Sun Shang Xiang, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu all rode near Zhang He for the trip. Sun Quan was lucky, he got to ride in a cart because he was too young to ride. Zhang He didn't care much for horses if he was doing anything with them besides brushing them. Most of them were extremely stupid, stubborn, and filthy, three things Zhang He could not stand. Zhang He realized that Rai Tso had not made her return, and was quite baffled. He rode near to Yuan Shao and asked him if he knew why. "Hmmm, it is odd, I thought she had come back." He said, peering over his shoulder. "Not to worry, just ask Cao Cao, she had to have been there or Cao Cao wouldn't have known to come." Zhang He fought his way over to Cao Cao, who was conversing in low voices with Dian Wei. "Ummm, excuse me, Lord Cao Cao?" Zhang He inquired timidly. "Yes, what is it?" Cao Cao said, looking superior. "The messenger, a woman named Rai Tso, did she ever leave your palace?" Zhang He said, trying to get his horse to behave. "She was slightly injured when she arrived at my palace, but she will join us in about a weeks time." Cao Cao informed Zhang He. "Thank you very much, sir!" Zhang He said, bowing, and then taking leave. He fell back to his friends and told them what he had learned. "See, I told you she would be fine!" Sun Shang Xiang said. The road ahead was very bumpy and covered in small rocks. The horses kept tripping and it was not comfortable at all to ride on. The sun beat down on the tired marching party and there was sadly no breeze. It as odd how incredibly hot it could feel during the middle of autumn. After noon passed the riding became much easier. It began to cool down and the bumpy road turned into a smooth meadow of flowing grass. The huge mountains above their head grew to a beautiful pastel purple as the sun sank even lower. Zhang He hummed those mysterious tunes that try as he could; he was unable to remember where he learned it. "That's a pretty song." Sun Shang Xiang said, when she noticed him humming to himself "Does it have any words?" "Not that I know of." Zhang He said softly so that Sun Ce wouldn't notice, scream to the world he was singing to himself. "I like it a lot, will you write the music down so I can play it on my Ocarina?" Sun Shang Xiang asked. "I would, but I don't know how to write music." Zhang He. "I'll teach you when we set up camp, but for now will you please sing it again?" Sun Shang Xiang said putting her hands together. "Alright, if you really want." And he resumed humming. She rocked back and forth and quickly learned the tune herself. She hummed it loudly to herself and seemed content. The sun fell low under the horizon then completely disappeared. Small stars peeked out of the soft pink sky and it slowly changed to a deep hue of blue. The moon swept into view, large and beautiful, lighting their path. Zhang He became very tired and almost fell asleep once or twice still riding the horse. When the moon was overhead, Yuan Shao ordered the people to stop and set up camp. Sun Shang Xiang took Zhang He to a corner and unrolled a sheet of paper. She still seemed to be wide-awake. As the people around them set up tents and such, Sun Shang Xiang taught Zhang He about writing music. "See, on an ocarina there's only four holes for making combinations with on the top. Then on the bottom side there's two other holes for changing the octave. One octave is eight different notes, each with sharps and flats. The first and lowest is C, then D, E, F, G, A, B then C again!" Sun Shang Xiang explained. She drew eight circles on the piece of paper. "You draw filled in holes for the spaces your fingers cover, and empty ones for the ones you leave blank." She pulled out a shiny clay-red Ocarina out of her pocket. "This is a Low C note," She said then played the note. "And this is how you draw it!" She demonstrated. "Understand?" "I think so." Zhang He said. She then played and drew the other eight notes onto the paper and labeled them. "Do you think you can figure it out?" She asked. "Maybe." Said Zhang He, taking the small instrument. He put the mouthpiece to his lips and blew. The sound came out horribly high pitched and totally wrong. "Owwww. You've got blow softly and make a "t-t-t-t" sort of noise with your tongue, try that." She said. Zhang He followed her directions and the note came out sounding slightly better. He played around with the different notes, but they didn't sound at all like the song. "I don't know if I can figure it out, it seems kind of hard." He said trying to hand back the ocarina to Sun Shang Xiang, but she pushed it back towards him. "Keep it, I have another one." She said smiling. "Thanks!" He said, pocketing it "I'll practice until I can figure out that song for you." "Good night, Zhang He!" She called as he was leaving. "Good night!" He waved back. As he was about to go and find some blankets to sleep in, he spied Sima Yi, engulfed in a large scroll that looked like and ancient battle plan. A boy about seventeen approached him and tore the scroll of his hands. "G-give it back! It's very old!" Said Sima Yi, standing up and making a grab for it. "What's wrong? Not tall enough?" Laughed the other boy, holding it above his head.
"I'll report you to my father and he'll have you thrown out if you don't give it back!" Sima Yi warned. "Oh no! Not your daddy, whatever will I do now?" The boy mocked. "Come on, that was a gift!" Sima Yi begged. The boy laughed and tore the scroll into little pieces and threw them at Sima Yi's feet. He cried out and gathered up the shreds as the boy left laughing at Sima Yi's distressed reaction. Sima Yi stood up, his handsome face struck with sadness. He opened his mouth to say something, then gave up and started to walk the other way. Zhang He went up and stood in front of him. "You're just going to let him get away with that?" Zhang He said in disbelief. Sima Yi stood with surprise for a moment then looked at his feet and mumbled something inaudible. "Come on!" Zhang He said grabbing Sima Yi by the arm and pulled him towards the boy. "Hey you!" Zhang He said walking towards the burly seventeen-year-old. "What you did to him was wrong and uncalled for!" Zhang He said coolly. Sima Yi struggled and kept pleading softly to let him go. "Now apologize, ugly!" Zhang He commanded. The boy sat awestruck then burst out laughing. "You think I'm going to listen to a scrawny little guy like you? I should beat you both up!" The boy said standing. This was going the exact way Zhang He wanted it too. "Come on you moron! I said apologize! You can't be dumber than you look! You understood me, right unibrow?" Zhang He spat smiling. "That's it, you!" The boy took his huge fists and pounded Zhang He over and over again. Sima Yi backed away and looked frantically around. When the boy finally stopped, Zhang He wailed out in fake agony. "OWWWWW!! STOP PLEASE, SOMEONE HELP!!!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. He continued on yelling and wailing until Yuan Shao showed up. "What's going on?" He said, holding on to his helmet. "P-please sir. This boy beat me continuously just because I asked him to apologize for doing something mean. I tried to make him stop, but I didn't want to fight back. He just kept on hitting me, I.I think he might've broken one of my ribs." He said in a painfully forced woeful voice. "Is this true?" He asked Sima Yi, who nodded breathlessly grasping his fan. "You, men, Take his boy out into the mountains and leave him, we don't want someone fighting our own troops." Said Yuan Shao, walking away. "Wait, no, He's lying, I swear! NOOOOO!" The boy called as the men took him away. Zhang He waited until the men were out of sight, then stood up fine, with nothing less than a few bruises. Sima Yi looked over wide-eyed at Zhang He. "T-thank you so much!" He said at once "No one's ever done something that nice for me before!" "Do people pick on you like that a lot?" Zhang He said walking over to Sima Yi. "Yes, ever since I can remember, I think it's because I spend so much of my time studying." Sima Yi said. "That's stupid, why would they be mean to you because you want to become smart?" Zhang He said. "Well I suppose I don't have very acute social skills, either, I don't know, I've always been somewhat of an outcast." Sima Yi said toying with the fan with his white hands. "I think your very nice, Sima Yi, but you need a lot more self confidence, you should stand up to people like that!" Zhang He said. "I don't want to start fights or anything, you saw what happened to him." Sima Yi said quietly. "Well, I'm sure there are other ways besides fighting." Zhang He advised. "Thank you again, Zhang He, I must be going now." Sima Yi said. "No problem, if you ever feel lonely or anything, feel free to come talk to me." Zhang He said smiling. Sima Yi nodded and rushed off into the darkness.
The Rise of the Stars
Chapter 5
Ignition
The castle was chaotic with people scurrying around trying to get things done. Men rushed by with swords, women packed rice for the trip, and people everywhere were training themselves with weapons. Huge piles of spears, swords, and arrows could be found lying around near to the entrance. Gua Zhu brought more horses into the stables so that more people could ride into battle. Yuan Shao pranced around, dressed in full armor, shouting orders to everyone in the vicinity. Zhang He spent his time practicing his moves and readying himself for battle. He was very excited and scared to be going into battle. He would be getting his own troops and bodyguards, get to wear his shiny red armor, and ride next to Yuan Shao in glory. Yuan Shao was also treating him with a lot more respect. He would include him in councils, ask his personal opinion, and request to have Zhang He to follow him around while he shouted.
Three days after the quarrel with the Yellow Turbans, troops from the esteemed Sun family arrived. They had agreed to help them with stamping out the Yellow Turbans, but that had yet to hear from the Sima, Cao, and Liu troops. The leader of the Sun troops was a tall and mysterious man called Sun Jian. He wore extravagant red and gold armor and a large sword with very little hilt at his waist. He rode in, grazing his barely-even- there beard, and smiling down at the people. He was greeted by Yuan Shao, and shown to the room he was to be staying in. He had brought with him his three children, Sun Quan, Sun Shang Xiang, and Sun Ce. Sun Quan, being the youngest at ten years old, wore a permanent scowl and had a face like a monkey. He wallowed around, not speaking to anyone, and examining his ridged sword. Zhang He thought it odd that Sun Jian would send a ten year old into battle, but it wasn't his child. Sun Shang Xiang was a spunky twelve-year-old girl with reddish brown hair. She spent her time following her father around and meeting people around her age. She had two giant rings, each lined with a blade that were called Chakrams. Sun Ce was an extremely loud, slightly obnoxious sixteen-year-old boy. He walked around talking continuously to his shy friend, Zhou Yu. He had long hair that he tied in the Japanese Samurai style. He carried around his weapon wherever he would go, to bamboo poles with handles for swinging around. Zhou Yu, who was also sixteen, followed Sun Ce around, talking in a hushed voice, and keeping cool in any situation. He was quite handsome and had shoulder high, dark brown hair that was very straight. His face was pale and he looked even thinner then Zhang He. His weapon was a very long, silver sword with strange markings. His father was a man named Zhou Tai. He was silent and always seemed very calm. He and Sun Jian were good friends and he carried a sword as well. He wore a helmet that almost hid his eyes, which were icy blue of color. He wore a long black cape that reached down to his ankles, and black armor as well. While walking around, Zhang He ran into Sun Shang Xiang. "What's your name?" She said cheerfully from behind him. He turned around to face her. "I'm Zhang He, I assume you are Sun Shang Xiang?" "That's right! Do you live in this huge palace, or are you just visiting for the battle as well?" Sun Shang Xiang inquired amiably. "Yes, I live here, I am Yuan Shao's bodyguard." Zhang He said, sounding impressive. "Wooooow, that must be a really important job! Is it very hard?" She said sitting down on a wall near to her. "At times." Zhang He said, sitting beside her "But mostly it's just training for battle." "What kind of weapon do you use?" She asked, running her fingers through her very short hair. "Metal Talons, I like them a lot because they're easy to block with." Zhang He explained. "Can I see what they look like?" Said Sun Shang Xiang excitedly. Zhang He was about to agree, but a loud voice rang out through the courtyard. "Hey, sis! Who's that you're talkin' to?" Yelled Sun Ce as he bounded across the courtyard towards them, closely followed by Zhou Yu. Zhang He stood, and walked slowly across to meet them. "This is Zhang He, he's Yuan Shao's bodyguard, isn't that amazing?" She said to Sun Ce. "Big deal, we're like father's bodyguards, aren't we?" Sun Ce said, not lowering his voice. "Nice to meet you, Sun Ce." Said Zhang He bowing his head. "Great to see you too." Sun Ce said slightly offhand. Zhou Yu bowed his head and said in a quiet voice. "Please forgive his rudeness, I am Zhou Yu." "Yeah, he's in line to become a strategist, aren't ya, Zhou Yu?" Sun Ce said. Zhou Yu slightly nodded and looked at the grass. "Come on! Let's go see what everyone's up to!" Sun Shang Xiang offered. "Ok, I could do with some poking around." Sun Ce said smiling and swinging his poles back and forth. They all three started to walk off, but Sun Shang Xiang stopped and looked back. "Come on, Zhang He, don't you want to come?" "Alright!" He agreed, and caught up with them. The walked around, peering to see what everyone else was doing, but didn't find anything very interesting. When they located Sun Quan, Sun Shang Xiang went up to him and asked if he would join them. He grunted unfriendily, and pounded away. "Can't blame me for trying!" Sun Shang Xiang said shrugging. When they arrived near Sun Jian, he told them to go away, as he very busy yelling at people. They passed by Guo Tu, who sat scowling at Zhang He. "That's our strategist, he absolutely hates me." Zhang He said quietly to Sun Shang Xiang. "He doesn't look very friendly." Sun Shang Xiang said. Guo Tu stood up, and strode over to Zhang He. "Can we speak?" Guo Tu snapped at Zhang He. "Alright." Zhang He said cautiously. "In private." He said turning and beginning to walk away. Zhang He followed Guo Tu until they were out of earshot of the others. "I want to make it clear that I am Yuan Shao's most trusted man in his service. I am warning you now that if you try and make me look bad in front of him once again; I will make you pay.dearly! Now get out of my sight." Guo Tu said dangerously. "What? What're you talking about? You did all that stuff to yourself, don't blame me!" Zhang He said. Guo Tu let out a cry of rage and stormed away. Zhang He shrugged and walked back towards Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, and Sun Shang Xiang. "What did he say?" Sun Shang Xiang asked. "Nothing, just something stupid." Zhang He said. "I'm tired of walking around." Sun Ce complained, "let's go back to the courtyard and train together!" "Good idea, brother!" Sun Shang Xiang said, brightening up. They all followed Sun Ce back to the courtyard. "Come on Zhou Yu, practice with me!" Sun Ce said posing with his poles. "If you want to." Zhou Yu said drawing his sword. "Will you partner up with me, Zhang He?" Sun Shang Xiang asked. "Sure, let me get my Talons, they're in my room." Zhang He said, setting off towards the building. "Can I come?" Sun Shang Xiang said. "If you want to, but it's not exactly a fun walk." Zhang He said. She trotted up beside him and the walked off. "Which one is yours?" She asked when they got inside. "It's down this hall." Zhang He said in a sort of bored voice. He pushed open the large door and Sun Shang Xiang gasped. "Your room is magnificent! Ten times bigger than mine!" She said running inside. "Wow, you get your own bath even!" Zhang He grabbed the Talons from the wall and walked back towards the door. "Come on, let's go back." After coming back, Sun Ce stopped fighting to get a look at the Talons. "Pretty cool, but I like these better" he said spinning the poles. "Hey come on, you said you fight with me, Zhang He!" Said Sun Shang Xiang, holding up her Chakrams. "Alright." Zhang He said. They began training as he usually did with Rai Tso, blocking each other's moves and performing fake slashes and jabs. They all trained until it was so late at night, the men told them to go to bed because they were making to much noise. "See you tomorrow!" Sun Shang Xiang said, waving goodbye to Zhang He. He waved back and made his way back to his room. I forgot about dinner.He thought, feeling pain in his stomach from hunger. He placed he Talons back on the wall, then flopped down on the bed. Zhang He spent a sleepless four hours night thinking about nothing until he finally dropped off. The next day he spent with Sun Ce, Zhou Yu and Sun Shang Xiang again, doing meaningless things, conversing, then training later in the day. The day after that, more forces had arrived. The Sima and Liu forces arrived that morning and then Cao Cao came in the late after noon. The man leading the Sima troops was called Sima Xu. He was very tall and supposedly extremely intelligent. He wore armor made of black, shiny metal that gleamed in the sunlight. Besides his troops and several generals, he brought his son, Sima Yi with him. Sima Yi appeared to be the same age as Zhang He and wore elegant purple robes. His face was almost as pale as Zhou Yu's and he wore his hair in a bun, which he also covered with a hat. He would follow closely behind his father wherever he would go and often hid his face with a black feather fan. On the occasions that he was alone, he spent his time alone, reading scrolls and books that contained things that were very complicated. When Sun Shang Xiang tried to get him to come and train with them, he blushed, quietly refused and moved quickly inside. "He's really shy." She said, coming back to report what happened "I think he's not allowed to talk to other people while he's here or something." "Hmmm, sounds harsh." Sun Ce said. Liu Bei was the one leading his troops. He was a young man with short hair who wore a hat and a used a long sword with a golden hilt. He had very thin eyes and a small mustache and goatee. He rode a black horse and brought a small amount of troops. Cao Cao came in riding a huge white steed and followed by his bulky bodyguard, Dian Wei. Cao Cao was a get down to business kind of man, who said nothing but the pointed. He glared around at everyone, and was never seen without Dian Wei. He always wore the same rectangular hat, and often played with his beard. Dian Wei was and enormously tall man who was completely bald and bulging muscles. He always had his mighty ax slung over his shoulder whenever he was walking around. The days went by quickly and the end of the week came before anyone was ready. At dawn on that day, they loaded up carts filled to the brim with food, weapons and armor. Zhang He was among the lucky ones who could ride a horse instead of walk. They would be marching for about three weeks before they would find the place where the Yellow Turbans lived. Zhang Jiao would probably already be there, he did not wait for his men to catch up, and he just sped on ahead. They all set out, leaving the women and children behind at the palace. Sun Shang Xiang, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu all rode near Zhang He for the trip. Sun Quan was lucky, he got to ride in a cart because he was too young to ride. Zhang He didn't care much for horses if he was doing anything with them besides brushing them. Most of them were extremely stupid, stubborn, and filthy, three things Zhang He could not stand. Zhang He realized that Rai Tso had not made her return, and was quite baffled. He rode near to Yuan Shao and asked him if he knew why. "Hmmm, it is odd, I thought she had come back." He said, peering over his shoulder. "Not to worry, just ask Cao Cao, she had to have been there or Cao Cao wouldn't have known to come." Zhang He fought his way over to Cao Cao, who was conversing in low voices with Dian Wei. "Ummm, excuse me, Lord Cao Cao?" Zhang He inquired timidly. "Yes, what is it?" Cao Cao said, looking superior. "The messenger, a woman named Rai Tso, did she ever leave your palace?" Zhang He said, trying to get his horse to behave. "She was slightly injured when she arrived at my palace, but she will join us in about a weeks time." Cao Cao informed Zhang He. "Thank you very much, sir!" Zhang He said, bowing, and then taking leave. He fell back to his friends and told them what he had learned. "See, I told you she would be fine!" Sun Shang Xiang said. The road ahead was very bumpy and covered in small rocks. The horses kept tripping and it was not comfortable at all to ride on. The sun beat down on the tired marching party and there was sadly no breeze. It as odd how incredibly hot it could feel during the middle of autumn. After noon passed the riding became much easier. It began to cool down and the bumpy road turned into a smooth meadow of flowing grass. The huge mountains above their head grew to a beautiful pastel purple as the sun sank even lower. Zhang He hummed those mysterious tunes that try as he could; he was unable to remember where he learned it. "That's a pretty song." Sun Shang Xiang said, when she noticed him humming to himself "Does it have any words?" "Not that I know of." Zhang He said softly so that Sun Ce wouldn't notice, scream to the world he was singing to himself. "I like it a lot, will you write the music down so I can play it on my Ocarina?" Sun Shang Xiang asked. "I would, but I don't know how to write music." Zhang He. "I'll teach you when we set up camp, but for now will you please sing it again?" Sun Shang Xiang said putting her hands together. "Alright, if you really want." And he resumed humming. She rocked back and forth and quickly learned the tune herself. She hummed it loudly to herself and seemed content. The sun fell low under the horizon then completely disappeared. Small stars peeked out of the soft pink sky and it slowly changed to a deep hue of blue. The moon swept into view, large and beautiful, lighting their path. Zhang He became very tired and almost fell asleep once or twice still riding the horse. When the moon was overhead, Yuan Shao ordered the people to stop and set up camp. Sun Shang Xiang took Zhang He to a corner and unrolled a sheet of paper. She still seemed to be wide-awake. As the people around them set up tents and such, Sun Shang Xiang taught Zhang He about writing music. "See, on an ocarina there's only four holes for making combinations with on the top. Then on the bottom side there's two other holes for changing the octave. One octave is eight different notes, each with sharps and flats. The first and lowest is C, then D, E, F, G, A, B then C again!" Sun Shang Xiang explained. She drew eight circles on the piece of paper. "You draw filled in holes for the spaces your fingers cover, and empty ones for the ones you leave blank." She pulled out a shiny clay-red Ocarina out of her pocket. "This is a Low C note," She said then played the note. "And this is how you draw it!" She demonstrated. "Understand?" "I think so." Zhang He said. She then played and drew the other eight notes onto the paper and labeled them. "Do you think you can figure it out?" She asked. "Maybe." Said Zhang He, taking the small instrument. He put the mouthpiece to his lips and blew. The sound came out horribly high pitched and totally wrong. "Owwww. You've got blow softly and make a "t-t-t-t" sort of noise with your tongue, try that." She said. Zhang He followed her directions and the note came out sounding slightly better. He played around with the different notes, but they didn't sound at all like the song. "I don't know if I can figure it out, it seems kind of hard." He said trying to hand back the ocarina to Sun Shang Xiang, but she pushed it back towards him. "Keep it, I have another one." She said smiling. "Thanks!" He said, pocketing it "I'll practice until I can figure out that song for you." "Good night, Zhang He!" She called as he was leaving. "Good night!" He waved back. As he was about to go and find some blankets to sleep in, he spied Sima Yi, engulfed in a large scroll that looked like and ancient battle plan. A boy about seventeen approached him and tore the scroll of his hands. "G-give it back! It's very old!" Said Sima Yi, standing up and making a grab for it. "What's wrong? Not tall enough?" Laughed the other boy, holding it above his head.
"I'll report you to my father and he'll have you thrown out if you don't give it back!" Sima Yi warned. "Oh no! Not your daddy, whatever will I do now?" The boy mocked. "Come on, that was a gift!" Sima Yi begged. The boy laughed and tore the scroll into little pieces and threw them at Sima Yi's feet. He cried out and gathered up the shreds as the boy left laughing at Sima Yi's distressed reaction. Sima Yi stood up, his handsome face struck with sadness. He opened his mouth to say something, then gave up and started to walk the other way. Zhang He went up and stood in front of him. "You're just going to let him get away with that?" Zhang He said in disbelief. Sima Yi stood with surprise for a moment then looked at his feet and mumbled something inaudible. "Come on!" Zhang He said grabbing Sima Yi by the arm and pulled him towards the boy. "Hey you!" Zhang He said walking towards the burly seventeen-year-old. "What you did to him was wrong and uncalled for!" Zhang He said coolly. Sima Yi struggled and kept pleading softly to let him go. "Now apologize, ugly!" Zhang He commanded. The boy sat awestruck then burst out laughing. "You think I'm going to listen to a scrawny little guy like you? I should beat you both up!" The boy said standing. This was going the exact way Zhang He wanted it too. "Come on you moron! I said apologize! You can't be dumber than you look! You understood me, right unibrow?" Zhang He spat smiling. "That's it, you!" The boy took his huge fists and pounded Zhang He over and over again. Sima Yi backed away and looked frantically around. When the boy finally stopped, Zhang He wailed out in fake agony. "OWWWWW!! STOP PLEASE, SOMEONE HELP!!!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. He continued on yelling and wailing until Yuan Shao showed up. "What's going on?" He said, holding on to his helmet. "P-please sir. This boy beat me continuously just because I asked him to apologize for doing something mean. I tried to make him stop, but I didn't want to fight back. He just kept on hitting me, I.I think he might've broken one of my ribs." He said in a painfully forced woeful voice. "Is this true?" He asked Sima Yi, who nodded breathlessly grasping his fan. "You, men, Take his boy out into the mountains and leave him, we don't want someone fighting our own troops." Said Yuan Shao, walking away. "Wait, no, He's lying, I swear! NOOOOO!" The boy called as the men took him away. Zhang He waited until the men were out of sight, then stood up fine, with nothing less than a few bruises. Sima Yi looked over wide-eyed at Zhang He. "T-thank you so much!" He said at once "No one's ever done something that nice for me before!" "Do people pick on you like that a lot?" Zhang He said walking over to Sima Yi. "Yes, ever since I can remember, I think it's because I spend so much of my time studying." Sima Yi said. "That's stupid, why would they be mean to you because you want to become smart?" Zhang He said. "Well I suppose I don't have very acute social skills, either, I don't know, I've always been somewhat of an outcast." Sima Yi said toying with the fan with his white hands. "I think your very nice, Sima Yi, but you need a lot more self confidence, you should stand up to people like that!" Zhang He said. "I don't want to start fights or anything, you saw what happened to him." Sima Yi said quietly. "Well, I'm sure there are other ways besides fighting." Zhang He advised. "Thank you again, Zhang He, I must be going now." Sima Yi said. "No problem, if you ever feel lonely or anything, feel free to come talk to me." Zhang He said smiling. Sima Yi nodded and rushed off into the darkness.