Author's Note: Ahhh, a Diao Chan x Zhang He chapter. A little short, I
know, but I was busy today lol! Next chapter I promise and good 'n bloody
battle or two. Also, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu are coming back soon. YAY,
rejoice! Please, more suggestions, I like ta hear from yas!
Enjoy!
Part 2
The Power of the Red Moon
Chapter 17
Forgotten Roads
"No, Zhou Yu would never do that!" Zhang He said in disbelief.
"Someone I know, who is a master in White Magic, and first name starts with 'Zh'! He's smart too; he would know how to perform a Chi-Ku-To spell! I can't believe my own sworn brother would betray me like that." Sima Yi said sounding sick.
"He wouldn't! He never will! I'm sure there are tons of people who match that identity! Zhou Tai for instance! You don't have to be bestest buddies for them to know you, it could be your worst enemy!" Zhang He said, trying to keep a cool head.
"But his voice, it sounded like him! Cool, collected, and intelligent." Sima Yi said waving his arms around.
"I heard it too, it didn't sound like Zhou Yu to me." Zhang He said, putting his hands on his hips.
"What are you guys talking about?" Zhang Liao said puzzled.
"Nothing brother, never mind." Zhang he said, leading Sima Yi back into their room. Diao Chan was waiting inside sleeping in Zhang He's blankets. He realized that she didn't have her own set of blankets and told himself he get one when he could.
"We'll know soon enough, won't we? Once we do battle with the Wu, if he comes running with sword drawn, I'll know. Look what war has done to our friendship." Sima Yi said miserably. He probably didn't have many friends at all, and when the few he did started betraying him, it must have felt terrible.
"I'm sure it isn't him at all. Now, let us sleep, tomorrow we shall start preparing for battle, it will be very tiring, we should try and get a lot of sleep right now." Zhang He said, rubbing his temple.
"Yes, all right, positive thinking, I was always to much of a pessimist anyway . . ."Sima Yi said, retiring into his bed. Zhang He looked at Diao Chan sleeping peacefully below. It seemed like such a crime to disturb her, and it wouldn't hurt to slip in next to her, would it? Yes, it was just sleeping, that's all. Zhang He bent down next to her and delicately lifted the blanket. He lay down right beside her soft, warm body and closed his eyes. She wouldn't mind at all, not at all . . . It's almost like being married Zhang He thought as he placed a hand lightly on her silky hair. Yes, love hurt at times, but overall, it was truly wonderful.
The next morning, they all awoke early and got to work. Everywhere the camp was buzzing with people preparing to attack Shu. The messengers returned in two days time and the Shu's position was confirmed. Every day Sima Yi was swarmed with questions about the strategy and plans about war. He finally retreated to his room where he and Zhang He played a game of Shogi, in which Sima Yi won by a mile. They stayed inside most of the time, trying to keep out of the way of Cao Cao and his men. They had heard rumors that if you so much as irritated Cao Cao, he would chop off your head.
"One true story is that when he visited a friends house for dinner, upon hearing 'we shall bind it and kill it' from the kitchens, he and Dian Wei slaughtered every living thing in the castle, only to discover that the one the men were binding and killing, was a pig." Zhang Liao told them, gesturing with his hands.
Over the next few days, Diao Chan stuck with them for a great portion of the time. She feared she would run into Zhen Ji and be invited back to her room. Zhen Ji herself was usually found prancing around the camp, fingering her golden flute, and bragging about her husband's strength to anyone who would listen.
Sima Yi informed Zhang He that they would set up a subcamp straight in the path that the Shu was marching on.
"We shall march for a week until we reach Bo Wan Po. They won't expect us to be there first, Zhuge Liang thinks he'll be attacking our main camp, but we'll surprise him when he passes through the trench, we can shower him with a rock slide and have a fleet of archers at the top. They won't know what hit them . . ." Sima Yi said, his deep brown eyes glinting maliciously.
On the night before they would be leaving, Zhang He steeped outside around midnight. The air was still warm and the pink blossoms were nearly almost gone from the tree. The middle of spring was a lovely time, not to hot in the day, not to cold at night. It won't be so nice near the end though. Zhang He thought, we should expect heavy rainstorms. He strolled onto the bridge above the moonlight pond. Tomorrow would be different; he'd be getting new armor and a new horse. His hand slid down his side to his hip. He felt a hard lump in his pocket, slipped a hand inside, and lifted it out. The little clay-red ocarina had appeared in his hand. He looked at it and smiled, remembering Sun Shang Xiang. He put it to hips lips and blew a lovely, long 'c' note. His fingers moved to the different holes and he played a perfect version of 'Kaze no Mori'. So lovely, but where was it from? It always was on the edge of his mind, just hidden in shadow. It was part of a memory from his childhood, something that happened many, many years ago. Al he could remember was blood red sunset, casting long black shadows over the ground. It was in a small village, one bordering a huge forest. A big tree, a river, a beautiful little village. A house high on a hill where the wind blew gently and picked his hair up, blowing it towards the wide, open world. Something happened, something he had long forgotten, but it always shone just a little brighter when ever he hummed that song.
"What are you doing out so late?" He turned around and saw Diao Chan, looking like a goddess in the pale moonlight. He hair was down and it waved softly in the wind. She glided over to him and looked into his hands. "What's this? She said, picking up the ocarina.
"It was a gift from one of my friends." Zhang He said, still feeling dreamy from delving back into his mind.
"It's pretty, can you play it very well?" She asked.
"Only a little, but I have one song down pretty good." He said taking it back and showing her the mysterious song.
"Wow, so pretty, and it seems so familiar." Diao Chan breathed clapping her hands "Did Sima Yi give that to you?"
"No, Sun Ce's sister, Sun Shang Xiang did." He said throwing it up and catching it.
"Oh . . ." Diao Chan said lowering her voice "You and her must be really good friends. I heard of her, she's supposed to be this beautiful and strong girl with amazing fighting skills. You two must be very close if she gave you something like that"
"Yes, it's true she's a very good friend. But, I can hardly say I'd like her for my woman, her hair is too short . . ." Zhang He said in a mock serious voice. Diao Chan smiled and looked up at the moon. She began a humming a little tune and rocking her head to the tempo. "Please sing it. I'd really love to hear it with words."
"Alright!" Diao Chan piped happily and she took several steps back. "It's a song about undying love between two people who have been separated, but will someday meet again." She took a deep breath and spun around in a graceful dance move. Her mouth formed foreign words perfectly and with the same clarity. She must have been singing in Japanese but Zhang he could still almost feel the meaning of the words. Her body flowed and swayed as freely as water and her voice was ever so pure. Zhang He felt his heart swell and he longed more than ever no to tell Diao Chan how he felt. Even though the song was quite short, he felt like all the worry was cleansed from his body.
"That was extremely beautiful, you are truly talented, Diao Chan. Were you just born with such skill?" Zhang He asked. Diao Chan stopped for a moment and looked at him intently.
"You know, I think I-"She halted "Never mind, it's stupid." She finished.
"No, what? I want to know, I promise I won't laugh or anything." Zhang he said, craving to know.
"Well . . . Do you believe in spirits?" She asked. Zhang He just stood there and looked puzzled. "Well, you see when I was very young . . ." She snorted "It was probably just a stupid dream or something, but anyway, I got lost in a large forest. There was something very odd about it though; I seem to remember blue lights and lots of bright colors. Well, it was supposed to be a forbidden magical ground, and I got separated from my real parents. When I finally gave up hope of ever finding my way out I just sat down and cried. Then in the glade, I heard a beautiful sound. I crept up to the bush and peered in. I couldn't believe my eyes, there was a woman floating in midair singing the loveliest thing I had ever heard. I stopped crying because I was scared, I was crying because it was so beautiful. She was so unearthly, so perfect. There were floating balls of light and many creatures I had never even heard of before. Then she turned to me and smiled. She floated over and touched my face and I felt a great force flow into me. The next thing I remember is being with my adopted father. I believe I somehow got my voice from her." She said mysteriously.
"Wow. . ." Was all Zhang He could say. Was she lying or was it really a crazy dream she had? It seemed to be too farfetched to be real, but then again . . .
"Also, look at this . . ." Diao Chan said as she unbuttoned the very top frog on her night shirt. Right below the middle of her collarbone was a strange symbol. It looked too intricate and bright to be a tattoo, and altogether couldn't be paint.
"What is that?" Zhang He said looking at the mark.
"I've had it ever since my adopted father took me in. I have no idea how it got there, unless . . ." She left off.
"Wait, I've seen that symbol before somewhere." Zhang He said, still puzzling over it. "Sima Yi might know, why don't you show him tomorrow?"
"I'm not going to show him!" She cried, rebuttoning her shirt.
"Why not?" Zhang He asked.
"Because! I'm not just going to unbutton my shirt to some guy I barely know and tell him to look!!" She said, sounding as if Zhang He asked her to do something indecent.
"You showed me! What's the difference?" He said, starting to walk back.
"Well, you're you, not Sima Yi." She protested.
"Is there really that much of a difference? I mean, he's not perverted or anything..." Zhang he said, speaking softly on this touchy subject.
"Yes, there's a difference. I've know you a pretty long time, and we're really good friends. Also, I . . ." Diao Chan stopped. Zhang He ceased walking and looked into her eyes. So pretty, so deep, like pools of magic water. They shone like stones that fell off of the moon, sparkled like stars. Diao Chan also stopped walking and looked back at Zhang He. She cocked her head to the side in a cute way and looked almost confused. Zhang he closed in on her and pt his arms around her waist. She looked nervous and at the same time excited. "Wha-What are . . ." She breathed, still looking deeply into his gray eyes with her aquamarine ones. How I love her peaceful eyes . . . Zhang He thought, as he closed his own. He bent his neck forward and held her close. She put her hands on his strong chest and also bent forward. The moment Zhang he was waiting for was just about to come; her lips had to have only been 10 centimeters away when-
"Whoa-Ho!! What's going on out here?" Rang a loud surprised voice also filled with the air of someone who had been enjoying a good show. Zhang He let go of Diao Chan quickly and stumbled backwards. He was going to strangle the person who interrupted them. He wheeled around, face burning and looked right at his brother. He clenched his teeth and fists and stomped towards him. Being a few inches shorter than Zhang Liao, it was amazing how tall Zhang He looked standing next to him. He whipped out his index finger and poked it hard onto Zhang Liao chest. He then stomped away back to his room, fuming and embarrassed.
The next morning came to soon. Even before the sun had peeked over the horizon, everyone was up and about. Zhang He got dressed groggily, and did his hair half asleep. Sima Yi almost forgot to put his hair up in a bun before he left, and outside they could hear Zhen Ji whining that this was way too early for her delicate, little self. Siam Yi, Zhang He, and Diao Chan mounted three snow white horses and allowed the whole of the troops to pass before them, so they could have as much space as they wanted near the back. Cao Cao, who was leading everyone, looked quite alert and hawk eyed. Xu Zhu had trouble mounting his horse because of his immense size and kept wailing to himself that he needed a bigger horse. They had the unfortunate luck of picking the exact place Xu Zhu liked to ride, and were forced into talking with him at times.
"Xu Zhu smash them, Xu Zhu smash lotsa guys, Xu Zhu do." He said primitively to Sima Yi who looked at him with pure loathing. "I think you the smart guy, yup, I not know as many people smart as you, Mr. Smart guy." Sima Yi turned to Zhang He and shot him a look that looked as though he wished to cry 'Why me?' out loudly. Zhang he smiled and took the place next to Xu Zhu, reliving Sima Yi of his stupidity. Diao Chan giggled as Zhang He started to talk to Xu Zhu using extremely complicated words. Xu Zhu just stared back and looked moronic. Then they all delighted in making fun of the huge man with difficult words to comprehend and laughing raucously. The best part about it was that Xu Zhu laughed along with them.
After a while, they got tired of teasing Xu Zhu and moved ahead in the great line of soldiers. They greeted Xiahou Dun and spoke with him for a while about the state of the war.
"I think the Shu and Wu have already done some battle, but there was really no loss or win." He said.
"Yes, I have heard that as well, we should try and be on our guard as much as possible, the Wu will attack us next." Sima Yi said. They then got into to a complicated discussion that neither Zhang He nor Diao Chan could follow. They rode silently for a while, watching the people in front of them. Suddenly, Diao Chan gasped and clapped her hands together.
"What's today?" She asked excitedly.
"Ummm . . . April 27?" Zhang He said, confused.
"Today is my birthday! I'm fifteen years old!" She cheered.
"Wow, congratulations!" Zhang He smiled, patting her on the back.
"Now my age sounds good, fifteen makes me like and adult, don't you think?" She smiled.
"Yes, I agree." Zhang He said grinning.
"But I suppose I'm not exactly a woman yet, most girls around my age are already married. What if I grow old and never marry at all? What a terrible fate . . ." She shivered. Zhang He laughed out loud and ran his fingers through his bangs.
"A girl like never getting married? Hahaha, don't worry about it, I'm sure thousands of men wish to marry you." He added a bit softly.
"Yeah, men like Lu Bu, and old, ugly, fat people like Dong Zhou!" She joked.
"I'm sure there's at least one man out there who's completely mad about you, but doesn't have the guts to say so." He said, trying not to sound suspicious. She smiled broadly and gazed up at the clouds.
"I sure hope so . . ."
battle or two. Also, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu are coming back soon. YAY,
rejoice! Please, more suggestions, I like ta hear from yas!
Enjoy!
Part 2
The Power of the Red Moon
Chapter 17
Forgotten Roads
"No, Zhou Yu would never do that!" Zhang He said in disbelief.
"Someone I know, who is a master in White Magic, and first name starts with 'Zh'! He's smart too; he would know how to perform a Chi-Ku-To spell! I can't believe my own sworn brother would betray me like that." Sima Yi said sounding sick.
"He wouldn't! He never will! I'm sure there are tons of people who match that identity! Zhou Tai for instance! You don't have to be bestest buddies for them to know you, it could be your worst enemy!" Zhang He said, trying to keep a cool head.
"But his voice, it sounded like him! Cool, collected, and intelligent." Sima Yi said waving his arms around.
"I heard it too, it didn't sound like Zhou Yu to me." Zhang He said, putting his hands on his hips.
"What are you guys talking about?" Zhang Liao said puzzled.
"Nothing brother, never mind." Zhang he said, leading Sima Yi back into their room. Diao Chan was waiting inside sleeping in Zhang He's blankets. He realized that she didn't have her own set of blankets and told himself he get one when he could.
"We'll know soon enough, won't we? Once we do battle with the Wu, if he comes running with sword drawn, I'll know. Look what war has done to our friendship." Sima Yi said miserably. He probably didn't have many friends at all, and when the few he did started betraying him, it must have felt terrible.
"I'm sure it isn't him at all. Now, let us sleep, tomorrow we shall start preparing for battle, it will be very tiring, we should try and get a lot of sleep right now." Zhang He said, rubbing his temple.
"Yes, all right, positive thinking, I was always to much of a pessimist anyway . . ."Sima Yi said, retiring into his bed. Zhang He looked at Diao Chan sleeping peacefully below. It seemed like such a crime to disturb her, and it wouldn't hurt to slip in next to her, would it? Yes, it was just sleeping, that's all. Zhang He bent down next to her and delicately lifted the blanket. He lay down right beside her soft, warm body and closed his eyes. She wouldn't mind at all, not at all . . . It's almost like being married Zhang He thought as he placed a hand lightly on her silky hair. Yes, love hurt at times, but overall, it was truly wonderful.
The next morning, they all awoke early and got to work. Everywhere the camp was buzzing with people preparing to attack Shu. The messengers returned in two days time and the Shu's position was confirmed. Every day Sima Yi was swarmed with questions about the strategy and plans about war. He finally retreated to his room where he and Zhang He played a game of Shogi, in which Sima Yi won by a mile. They stayed inside most of the time, trying to keep out of the way of Cao Cao and his men. They had heard rumors that if you so much as irritated Cao Cao, he would chop off your head.
"One true story is that when he visited a friends house for dinner, upon hearing 'we shall bind it and kill it' from the kitchens, he and Dian Wei slaughtered every living thing in the castle, only to discover that the one the men were binding and killing, was a pig." Zhang Liao told them, gesturing with his hands.
Over the next few days, Diao Chan stuck with them for a great portion of the time. She feared she would run into Zhen Ji and be invited back to her room. Zhen Ji herself was usually found prancing around the camp, fingering her golden flute, and bragging about her husband's strength to anyone who would listen.
Sima Yi informed Zhang He that they would set up a subcamp straight in the path that the Shu was marching on.
"We shall march for a week until we reach Bo Wan Po. They won't expect us to be there first, Zhuge Liang thinks he'll be attacking our main camp, but we'll surprise him when he passes through the trench, we can shower him with a rock slide and have a fleet of archers at the top. They won't know what hit them . . ." Sima Yi said, his deep brown eyes glinting maliciously.
On the night before they would be leaving, Zhang He steeped outside around midnight. The air was still warm and the pink blossoms were nearly almost gone from the tree. The middle of spring was a lovely time, not to hot in the day, not to cold at night. It won't be so nice near the end though. Zhang He thought, we should expect heavy rainstorms. He strolled onto the bridge above the moonlight pond. Tomorrow would be different; he'd be getting new armor and a new horse. His hand slid down his side to his hip. He felt a hard lump in his pocket, slipped a hand inside, and lifted it out. The little clay-red ocarina had appeared in his hand. He looked at it and smiled, remembering Sun Shang Xiang. He put it to hips lips and blew a lovely, long 'c' note. His fingers moved to the different holes and he played a perfect version of 'Kaze no Mori'. So lovely, but where was it from? It always was on the edge of his mind, just hidden in shadow. It was part of a memory from his childhood, something that happened many, many years ago. Al he could remember was blood red sunset, casting long black shadows over the ground. It was in a small village, one bordering a huge forest. A big tree, a river, a beautiful little village. A house high on a hill where the wind blew gently and picked his hair up, blowing it towards the wide, open world. Something happened, something he had long forgotten, but it always shone just a little brighter when ever he hummed that song.
"What are you doing out so late?" He turned around and saw Diao Chan, looking like a goddess in the pale moonlight. He hair was down and it waved softly in the wind. She glided over to him and looked into his hands. "What's this? She said, picking up the ocarina.
"It was a gift from one of my friends." Zhang He said, still feeling dreamy from delving back into his mind.
"It's pretty, can you play it very well?" She asked.
"Only a little, but I have one song down pretty good." He said taking it back and showing her the mysterious song.
"Wow, so pretty, and it seems so familiar." Diao Chan breathed clapping her hands "Did Sima Yi give that to you?"
"No, Sun Ce's sister, Sun Shang Xiang did." He said throwing it up and catching it.
"Oh . . ." Diao Chan said lowering her voice "You and her must be really good friends. I heard of her, she's supposed to be this beautiful and strong girl with amazing fighting skills. You two must be very close if she gave you something like that"
"Yes, it's true she's a very good friend. But, I can hardly say I'd like her for my woman, her hair is too short . . ." Zhang He said in a mock serious voice. Diao Chan smiled and looked up at the moon. She began a humming a little tune and rocking her head to the tempo. "Please sing it. I'd really love to hear it with words."
"Alright!" Diao Chan piped happily and she took several steps back. "It's a song about undying love between two people who have been separated, but will someday meet again." She took a deep breath and spun around in a graceful dance move. Her mouth formed foreign words perfectly and with the same clarity. She must have been singing in Japanese but Zhang he could still almost feel the meaning of the words. Her body flowed and swayed as freely as water and her voice was ever so pure. Zhang He felt his heart swell and he longed more than ever no to tell Diao Chan how he felt. Even though the song was quite short, he felt like all the worry was cleansed from his body.
"That was extremely beautiful, you are truly talented, Diao Chan. Were you just born with such skill?" Zhang He asked. Diao Chan stopped for a moment and looked at him intently.
"You know, I think I-"She halted "Never mind, it's stupid." She finished.
"No, what? I want to know, I promise I won't laugh or anything." Zhang he said, craving to know.
"Well . . . Do you believe in spirits?" She asked. Zhang He just stood there and looked puzzled. "Well, you see when I was very young . . ." She snorted "It was probably just a stupid dream or something, but anyway, I got lost in a large forest. There was something very odd about it though; I seem to remember blue lights and lots of bright colors. Well, it was supposed to be a forbidden magical ground, and I got separated from my real parents. When I finally gave up hope of ever finding my way out I just sat down and cried. Then in the glade, I heard a beautiful sound. I crept up to the bush and peered in. I couldn't believe my eyes, there was a woman floating in midair singing the loveliest thing I had ever heard. I stopped crying because I was scared, I was crying because it was so beautiful. She was so unearthly, so perfect. There were floating balls of light and many creatures I had never even heard of before. Then she turned to me and smiled. She floated over and touched my face and I felt a great force flow into me. The next thing I remember is being with my adopted father. I believe I somehow got my voice from her." She said mysteriously.
"Wow. . ." Was all Zhang He could say. Was she lying or was it really a crazy dream she had? It seemed to be too farfetched to be real, but then again . . .
"Also, look at this . . ." Diao Chan said as she unbuttoned the very top frog on her night shirt. Right below the middle of her collarbone was a strange symbol. It looked too intricate and bright to be a tattoo, and altogether couldn't be paint.
"What is that?" Zhang He said looking at the mark.
"I've had it ever since my adopted father took me in. I have no idea how it got there, unless . . ." She left off.
"Wait, I've seen that symbol before somewhere." Zhang He said, still puzzling over it. "Sima Yi might know, why don't you show him tomorrow?"
"I'm not going to show him!" She cried, rebuttoning her shirt.
"Why not?" Zhang He asked.
"Because! I'm not just going to unbutton my shirt to some guy I barely know and tell him to look!!" She said, sounding as if Zhang He asked her to do something indecent.
"You showed me! What's the difference?" He said, starting to walk back.
"Well, you're you, not Sima Yi." She protested.
"Is there really that much of a difference? I mean, he's not perverted or anything..." Zhang he said, speaking softly on this touchy subject.
"Yes, there's a difference. I've know you a pretty long time, and we're really good friends. Also, I . . ." Diao Chan stopped. Zhang He ceased walking and looked into her eyes. So pretty, so deep, like pools of magic water. They shone like stones that fell off of the moon, sparkled like stars. Diao Chan also stopped walking and looked back at Zhang He. She cocked her head to the side in a cute way and looked almost confused. Zhang he closed in on her and pt his arms around her waist. She looked nervous and at the same time excited. "Wha-What are . . ." She breathed, still looking deeply into his gray eyes with her aquamarine ones. How I love her peaceful eyes . . . Zhang He thought, as he closed his own. He bent his neck forward and held her close. She put her hands on his strong chest and also bent forward. The moment Zhang he was waiting for was just about to come; her lips had to have only been 10 centimeters away when-
"Whoa-Ho!! What's going on out here?" Rang a loud surprised voice also filled with the air of someone who had been enjoying a good show. Zhang He let go of Diao Chan quickly and stumbled backwards. He was going to strangle the person who interrupted them. He wheeled around, face burning and looked right at his brother. He clenched his teeth and fists and stomped towards him. Being a few inches shorter than Zhang Liao, it was amazing how tall Zhang He looked standing next to him. He whipped out his index finger and poked it hard onto Zhang Liao chest. He then stomped away back to his room, fuming and embarrassed.
The next morning came to soon. Even before the sun had peeked over the horizon, everyone was up and about. Zhang He got dressed groggily, and did his hair half asleep. Sima Yi almost forgot to put his hair up in a bun before he left, and outside they could hear Zhen Ji whining that this was way too early for her delicate, little self. Siam Yi, Zhang He, and Diao Chan mounted three snow white horses and allowed the whole of the troops to pass before them, so they could have as much space as they wanted near the back. Cao Cao, who was leading everyone, looked quite alert and hawk eyed. Xu Zhu had trouble mounting his horse because of his immense size and kept wailing to himself that he needed a bigger horse. They had the unfortunate luck of picking the exact place Xu Zhu liked to ride, and were forced into talking with him at times.
"Xu Zhu smash them, Xu Zhu smash lotsa guys, Xu Zhu do." He said primitively to Sima Yi who looked at him with pure loathing. "I think you the smart guy, yup, I not know as many people smart as you, Mr. Smart guy." Sima Yi turned to Zhang He and shot him a look that looked as though he wished to cry 'Why me?' out loudly. Zhang he smiled and took the place next to Xu Zhu, reliving Sima Yi of his stupidity. Diao Chan giggled as Zhang He started to talk to Xu Zhu using extremely complicated words. Xu Zhu just stared back and looked moronic. Then they all delighted in making fun of the huge man with difficult words to comprehend and laughing raucously. The best part about it was that Xu Zhu laughed along with them.
After a while, they got tired of teasing Xu Zhu and moved ahead in the great line of soldiers. They greeted Xiahou Dun and spoke with him for a while about the state of the war.
"I think the Shu and Wu have already done some battle, but there was really no loss or win." He said.
"Yes, I have heard that as well, we should try and be on our guard as much as possible, the Wu will attack us next." Sima Yi said. They then got into to a complicated discussion that neither Zhang He nor Diao Chan could follow. They rode silently for a while, watching the people in front of them. Suddenly, Diao Chan gasped and clapped her hands together.
"What's today?" She asked excitedly.
"Ummm . . . April 27?" Zhang He said, confused.
"Today is my birthday! I'm fifteen years old!" She cheered.
"Wow, congratulations!" Zhang He smiled, patting her on the back.
"Now my age sounds good, fifteen makes me like and adult, don't you think?" She smiled.
"Yes, I agree." Zhang He said grinning.
"But I suppose I'm not exactly a woman yet, most girls around my age are already married. What if I grow old and never marry at all? What a terrible fate . . ." She shivered. Zhang He laughed out loud and ran his fingers through his bangs.
"A girl like never getting married? Hahaha, don't worry about it, I'm sure thousands of men wish to marry you." He added a bit softly.
"Yeah, men like Lu Bu, and old, ugly, fat people like Dong Zhou!" She joked.
"I'm sure there's at least one man out there who's completely mad about you, but doesn't have the guts to say so." He said, trying not to sound suspicious. She smiled broadly and gazed up at the clouds.
"I sure hope so . . ."