Author's Note: YAY! I finally finished a chapter! Whoohoo! Sorry guys,
that delay was HUGE! It's been a tough week at school and I may not be able to update on weekdays, so bear with me and check on the weekends. I
hope you like thid one, I worked hard on it : ))
Enjoy!
Part 3
The Romance of the Four Leaders
Chapter 23
Garden of Dreams
After only a week, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu being around had become part of the norm. Summer was now fully in blossom and the days were so hot, all anyone wanted do was stay inside. Insects hovered in the sky like little airborne jewels glistening in the hot sun. Cao Cao was now on his way to ambush the Shu a second time, but Sima Yi had other plans. He, along with Zhou Yu, was almost done with the plans and they were about to begin getting the generals on their side. Zhang He felt oddly dreamy in these long, humid dog days. He watched the parched field and the rippling sea of grass endlessly and was entertained by seeing the puffy white clouds migrate to who knows where. He never really said much, for him summer was a sad time for some reason. Perhaps sad wasn't the word, more like a feeling of beautiful melancholy where one only wished to dream and loll indolently around nature. He spent much time in the garden just staring at the water and perhaps nibbling on a crisp, green summer apple.
One night they all stole away to the mystical bamboo forest and celebrated summer. The warm night air filled everyone's heart with happiness and the stars glittered peacefully above. They all sang songs and burned natsu incense from Japan that was supposed to symbolize the season. Everyone brought different piles of summer fruit and put in into a large communal basket. The huge potluck of apricots, apples, peaches, plums, pomegranates, oranges, grapes and nectarines gleamed like a mountain of red, purple and gold jewels, and tasted of pure ambrosia. The girls all wore their finest clothing and picked elegant pastel flowers and adorned them in their hair. Diao Chan was put through request after request for everyone's favorite tunes, but she delivered them with shining clarity. Sima Yi showed them how to construct miniatures boats out of leaves and sticks and they floating them on the glass-like glowing water of the hot spring. Everyone enjoyed themselves and wished the night would never end.
It's a little like bliss Zhang He thought as the drifted back sleepily Being out here with all these people I love, doing all these pleasant thing. I almost wish I could stay there forever with them all, stuck in our youth, just dreaming the rest of eternity away . . .
When they all got back, all the good feelings vanished in a moments time. Zhang He barreled through the door, followed by Zhou Yu and Sun Ce, who ripped off their cloaks and were joking loudly. Zhang He started to laugh along with them but stopped with a choke when he noticed someone was sitting on the bed. Not just someone, Zhang Liao, his older brother. He looked alarmingly at the two seventeen year olds and stood up.
"They are from the Wu! What're they doing here?" He demanded pointing. Zhang He stood for a moment, and then slammed the door shut and stood in front of it protectively.
"They are my sworn brothers." Zhang He informed him. Diao Chan whispered something to Sun Shang Xiang quietly and the redheaded girl nodded.
"You can't possibly be serious? They are the enemy!" Zhang Liao spat.
"Here me out, brother, I have a very good reason. And so it was then that Zhang Liao learned of all the happenings that had occurred between the six and understood perfectly.
"Yes, I agree. A good reason . . ." He said, stroking his moustache.
"You won't tell them, will you?" Diao Chan said worriedly.
"No, I promise not to say a word. Also, I'm very interested in you starting a new kingdom. I would be honored if I could become a general in your league. I could also contribute my salary and perhaps recruit some troops for us." Said Zhang Liao excitedly.
"Really, you'll do that for us?" Zhang He said, leaping from his seat. Zhang Liao laughed, stood up and placed a large hand on Zhang He's shoulder.
"Anything for you, little brother." He chuckled, and then casually walked through the door.
"That was close . . ." Sun Ce said, wiping his brow.
"But if it's really that easy to get generals on our side . . ." Sun Shang Xiang said slowly.
"Then we could be outta here in a week!" Sun Ce said happily.
The next morning Zhang He woke up early and crept outside. No relatives of Cao Cao would ever betray him, so that cancelled out Zhen Ji, Xiahou Dun, and Xiahou Yuan. Cao Cao was all that Dian Wei had, and all he could really do was kill people and utter "rreis". So that left Xu Huang and Xu Zhu. Zhang He chuckled at the thought of Sima Yi's face when he informed him they would be including Xu Zhu in their merry little party. It would be no challenge convincing Xu Zhu, but what about his brother Xu Huang? Zhang he stepped up to the small hut concealing Xu Huang inside. He was probably still sleeping, but Zhang He didn't want to be seen trying to get people to betray Cao Cao. He knocked cautiously and pushed open the door. It was a little dark inside and there was a small collection of clutter on the floor. Zhang He poked around inside until he found the tall man sleep half-in and half-out of his bed. He tapped him on the forehead several times but there was no response.
"Xu Huang . . ." He hissed in his ear. "XU HUANG!" He snapped to life and sat up.
"Wha iz id?" He mumbled "Whas goihn un?"
"Shhhh, keep it down. I have some important matters to discuss . . ." Zhang He said, kneeling at the bedside.
"What is it you want to talk about?" He said warily.
"What do you think about a forth kingdom?" Zhang He asked.
"A forth kingdom?" He reiterated.
"Yes, one that brings the best generals out of all three of the kingdoms and joins them to defeat the rest . . ." Zhang He elaborated.
"Sounds . . . Interesting, tell me more." Xu Huang said in his deep voice.
"Well, me and my sworn brothers are already creating one as we speak. We need the best of the best generals to help us out. We're getting everyone to try and contribute troops, food, and money. We've already got Sima Yi, Sun Shang Xiang, Diao Chan, Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, Zhang Liao, and myself. We need the help of you and your brother desperately, are you willing to join us?" Xu Huang considered him for a moment thoughtfully. Then he nodded very powerfully.
"I will help you in your kingdom, and I will try and get my brother as well. I can recruit some troops from the Wei who are not so fond of Cao Cao and donate some money too." He smiled.
"Thank you!" Zhang He cheered bowing. "Now, please, tell no one about this, we will all be punished severely and Zhou Yu and Sun Ce will be killed."
"Alright, everything is safe with me. Good luck, and by the way, what's the name of this kingdom?" He asked as Zhang He was stepping out.
"Oh, Shi . . . It's the Shi." Zhang He said flashily.
Later that day the confirmed that Xu Zhu was also going to be on there side ("Xu Zhu get smash even moooore?") and that a good portion of the troops were interested in joining as well. After they collected, or 'borrowed' more supplies, they would be ready to escape from the Wei Camp and move onto the Wu. They were in dire need of horses, food, and tents, but the troops were good enough to gather some for them. The days quickly died and the deadline for their flight was upon. They were scheduled to leave tonight at midnight. All during the day, people were very apprehensive and quickly tried to gather as much supplies as they could. Sima Yi and Zhang He were able to acquire two carts for carrying supplies in and Zhou Yu set up the plan for how they would escape. At about 9:00 Sun Shang Xiang, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu moved into Sima Yi's room, joining the others. Approximately one half an hour later, Xu Huang, Zhang Liao and Xu Zhu arrived. It was an extremely tight fit and the room became very hot from all the body heat. Once it was midnight, they stepped outside and moved to the front. There the troops and supplies were waiting for them. Everyone mounted a horse and they moved through the door as silently as they could. Zhou Yu had already prepared a place where they would be building their main camp.
They traveled well into the next day. First of all they escaped the barren land where the Wei camp was and came upon luscious, rolling, meadows of emerald grass. The warm summer breeze was at their back, always pushing them towards the future. The troops seemed to support them fully and there was no chance of them going back to Cao Cao. Zhang He felt extremely important, leading all these people to the camp. He, in fact, would be leading them all along with Sun Ce when battle came around. He guessed this is what Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Jian felt like, a supreme commander. His thoughts wandered and the hot air made him dreamy. He imagined himself striking down all the leaders and claiming control of all of China. He waved his invisible sword while he rode along and cut down even more invisible enemies. He heard Diao Chan giggling beside him and he smiled sheepishly at her. She smiled back and looked towards the sky above.
After about a week of riding, they finally reached their final destination. The soldiers set up camp and started in building a wall around the premises. Zhou Yu and Sima Yi constructed a strategy building and placed all their important items inside they would be using for strategy. Two large buildings were put up, one for Zhou Yu, Sima Yi, Zhang He, and Sun Ce, and another for the women. Zhang He treated the men very well, they got to take breaks, eat and sleep whenever they wanted.
"Such a kind man . . ." They would say. "I'm glad we broke away from Cao Cao!"
Two weeks after the camp was set up, soldiers were dispatched to recruit more men from cities and to gather more supplies. They also decided that they should send Sun Ce and Sun Shang Xiang back to the Wu camp to gather some more people and generals. Zhang He also sent Sima Yi and Diao Chan to inspect the Shu. Everything was working perfectly; Zhang He was building his own kingdom.
The days grew less and less hot and the wind began to blow endlessly. The trees slowly transformed into decorated bursts of color and that familiar sweet smell filled the air. Zhang He spent much time conversing with Zhou Yu and they found out they were better friends then they thought.
"Its so nice being with everyone again, and this plan, it has really brought out my true self." Zhou Yu said one night as they were gazing at the full harvest moon.
"This truly is a good thing, I feel like I was born to do this." Zhang He said.
"It does seem so very fitting, I can almost taste victory as we speak." Zhou Yu said, picking up something from the grass and playing with it.
"Wouldn't that be spectacular? We would claim the next dynasty!" Zhang He smiled.
"The Shi Dynasty . . . sounds good." Zhou Yu agreed.
"So who is it we'll be trouncing first?" Zhang He asked.
"I believe it will be wise to either get the Nanmans on our side, or take their land. I've heard stories about them though, they are supposedly very ferocious." Zhou Yu said lying down on his back and closing his eyes. Zhang He was silent as he watched the forest bordering their camp. He thought about lying down as well and sleeping under the stars as his eyes pierced into the rustling trees. He just about to, when he heard a strange sound. A kind of high pitched, musical sound emanated from the wood. Zhang He sat up straight and listened. It was a song, someone was playing music! He strained his ears, trying to catch a bit of the delicate tune. Those notes, that song . . . He suddenly leapt to his feet. He couldn't believe it, the song was 'Kaze No Mori'!
"Zhou Yu! Come on!" He yelled, pulling Zhou Yu to his feet.
"What!?" He exclaimed.
"The song! Come on, follow me!" Zhang He said, tearing down the hill. His heart pounded, he would perhaps be able to find out something about that song, finally! Sweat rolled down his face as he burst into the trees. The music was louder now; he could hear where it was coming from. He wheeled left, right, left again, speeding through the forest at an incredible rate. Past tranquil, moonlit pools, through quiet glades, Zhang He stopped for nothing. His body shook with adrenaline and he looked frantically for the music. Flashes from his memory appeared in his head, in that forest, so long ago...
He burst into a glade and saw a blinding light. The song was all around them, it filled the air. Zhang He squinted and tried to see what was going on, but fell to his knees. Then, a beautiful voice filled the air and sung along with the melody. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard, tears began to fall from his eyes. Who was singing that? What heavenly creature of magic could make such a lovely sound? Then, as the last note was hit, everything ceased.
Zhang He stood up, his knees still shaking. He looked around for any sign of anything.
"W-what was that?" Zhou Yu sputtered.
"I don't know . . ." Zhang He said poking around the glade.
"How do you know that song?" Zhou Yu asked suspiciously.
"I don't know, I just seem to remember it from somewhere." Zhang He explained, helping Zhou Yu to his feet.
"I thought I was the one who told it to you." Zhou Yu said, frowning.
"No, I've known it since I was a kid." Zhang He explained.
"So, I'm not the only one . . ." Zhou Yu said.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Zhang He inquired.
"A long time ago, when I was about seven years old, I lived in a village by a forest. I was always so terrified of the trees, I couldn't go anywhere near it. Then one day around sunset, Sun Ce and I were playing by the river. He got a malicious idea and thought it would be funny to see if I could swim, so he pushed me in. Of course, I was very young and I couldn't swim at all. The river pulled me into the dark forest and I still couldn't get out. I pretty much gave up hope then; I knew I was going to die even at my age. I stopped kicking and screaming and I just let my body sink down to the bottom.
"I remember looking up through the water at the red sky and feeling my tears in the water. I also remember asking myself why Sun Ce would have done this to me, why would he be so cruel. Then I just closed my eyes. Then next thing I knew was there were two arms pulling me out of the water. I opened my eyes and there was a beautiful woman holding me. She was so unearthly and lovely I was frightened. She looked sad and put a finger to her lips, then handed me an ocarina. Then she began to sing that song; 'Kaze No Mori', and I fell right asleep. When I woke up, I was lying alone on the forest floor, with the ocarina still clenched in my fist, except the words 'Kaze No Mori' were written on the back of it. That's how I named the song.
"So then, when I finally found my way back, everyone was really happy to see me, especially Sun Ce. They all thought I had drowned to death, and Sun Ce was crying his eyes out because he thought he had killed me. I was so happy to back, that I never really told anyone what happened to me. Then I decided that it was probably a crazy dream I had, and I'd better not tell anyone about it. But I still had that ocarina and I didn't just magically appear on the river bank, so what happened?" He asked himself.
that delay was HUGE! It's been a tough week at school and I may not be able to update on weekdays, so bear with me and check on the weekends. I
hope you like thid one, I worked hard on it : ))
Enjoy!
Part 3
The Romance of the Four Leaders
Chapter 23
Garden of Dreams
After only a week, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu being around had become part of the norm. Summer was now fully in blossom and the days were so hot, all anyone wanted do was stay inside. Insects hovered in the sky like little airborne jewels glistening in the hot sun. Cao Cao was now on his way to ambush the Shu a second time, but Sima Yi had other plans. He, along with Zhou Yu, was almost done with the plans and they were about to begin getting the generals on their side. Zhang He felt oddly dreamy in these long, humid dog days. He watched the parched field and the rippling sea of grass endlessly and was entertained by seeing the puffy white clouds migrate to who knows where. He never really said much, for him summer was a sad time for some reason. Perhaps sad wasn't the word, more like a feeling of beautiful melancholy where one only wished to dream and loll indolently around nature. He spent much time in the garden just staring at the water and perhaps nibbling on a crisp, green summer apple.
One night they all stole away to the mystical bamboo forest and celebrated summer. The warm night air filled everyone's heart with happiness and the stars glittered peacefully above. They all sang songs and burned natsu incense from Japan that was supposed to symbolize the season. Everyone brought different piles of summer fruit and put in into a large communal basket. The huge potluck of apricots, apples, peaches, plums, pomegranates, oranges, grapes and nectarines gleamed like a mountain of red, purple and gold jewels, and tasted of pure ambrosia. The girls all wore their finest clothing and picked elegant pastel flowers and adorned them in their hair. Diao Chan was put through request after request for everyone's favorite tunes, but she delivered them with shining clarity. Sima Yi showed them how to construct miniatures boats out of leaves and sticks and they floating them on the glass-like glowing water of the hot spring. Everyone enjoyed themselves and wished the night would never end.
It's a little like bliss Zhang He thought as the drifted back sleepily Being out here with all these people I love, doing all these pleasant thing. I almost wish I could stay there forever with them all, stuck in our youth, just dreaming the rest of eternity away . . .
When they all got back, all the good feelings vanished in a moments time. Zhang He barreled through the door, followed by Zhou Yu and Sun Ce, who ripped off their cloaks and were joking loudly. Zhang He started to laugh along with them but stopped with a choke when he noticed someone was sitting on the bed. Not just someone, Zhang Liao, his older brother. He looked alarmingly at the two seventeen year olds and stood up.
"They are from the Wu! What're they doing here?" He demanded pointing. Zhang He stood for a moment, and then slammed the door shut and stood in front of it protectively.
"They are my sworn brothers." Zhang He informed him. Diao Chan whispered something to Sun Shang Xiang quietly and the redheaded girl nodded.
"You can't possibly be serious? They are the enemy!" Zhang Liao spat.
"Here me out, brother, I have a very good reason. And so it was then that Zhang Liao learned of all the happenings that had occurred between the six and understood perfectly.
"Yes, I agree. A good reason . . ." He said, stroking his moustache.
"You won't tell them, will you?" Diao Chan said worriedly.
"No, I promise not to say a word. Also, I'm very interested in you starting a new kingdom. I would be honored if I could become a general in your league. I could also contribute my salary and perhaps recruit some troops for us." Said Zhang Liao excitedly.
"Really, you'll do that for us?" Zhang He said, leaping from his seat. Zhang Liao laughed, stood up and placed a large hand on Zhang He's shoulder.
"Anything for you, little brother." He chuckled, and then casually walked through the door.
"That was close . . ." Sun Ce said, wiping his brow.
"But if it's really that easy to get generals on our side . . ." Sun Shang Xiang said slowly.
"Then we could be outta here in a week!" Sun Ce said happily.
The next morning Zhang He woke up early and crept outside. No relatives of Cao Cao would ever betray him, so that cancelled out Zhen Ji, Xiahou Dun, and Xiahou Yuan. Cao Cao was all that Dian Wei had, and all he could really do was kill people and utter "rreis". So that left Xu Huang and Xu Zhu. Zhang He chuckled at the thought of Sima Yi's face when he informed him they would be including Xu Zhu in their merry little party. It would be no challenge convincing Xu Zhu, but what about his brother Xu Huang? Zhang he stepped up to the small hut concealing Xu Huang inside. He was probably still sleeping, but Zhang He didn't want to be seen trying to get people to betray Cao Cao. He knocked cautiously and pushed open the door. It was a little dark inside and there was a small collection of clutter on the floor. Zhang He poked around inside until he found the tall man sleep half-in and half-out of his bed. He tapped him on the forehead several times but there was no response.
"Xu Huang . . ." He hissed in his ear. "XU HUANG!" He snapped to life and sat up.
"Wha iz id?" He mumbled "Whas goihn un?"
"Shhhh, keep it down. I have some important matters to discuss . . ." Zhang He said, kneeling at the bedside.
"What is it you want to talk about?" He said warily.
"What do you think about a forth kingdom?" Zhang He asked.
"A forth kingdom?" He reiterated.
"Yes, one that brings the best generals out of all three of the kingdoms and joins them to defeat the rest . . ." Zhang He elaborated.
"Sounds . . . Interesting, tell me more." Xu Huang said in his deep voice.
"Well, me and my sworn brothers are already creating one as we speak. We need the best of the best generals to help us out. We're getting everyone to try and contribute troops, food, and money. We've already got Sima Yi, Sun Shang Xiang, Diao Chan, Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, Zhang Liao, and myself. We need the help of you and your brother desperately, are you willing to join us?" Xu Huang considered him for a moment thoughtfully. Then he nodded very powerfully.
"I will help you in your kingdom, and I will try and get my brother as well. I can recruit some troops from the Wei who are not so fond of Cao Cao and donate some money too." He smiled.
"Thank you!" Zhang He cheered bowing. "Now, please, tell no one about this, we will all be punished severely and Zhou Yu and Sun Ce will be killed."
"Alright, everything is safe with me. Good luck, and by the way, what's the name of this kingdom?" He asked as Zhang He was stepping out.
"Oh, Shi . . . It's the Shi." Zhang He said flashily.
Later that day the confirmed that Xu Zhu was also going to be on there side ("Xu Zhu get smash even moooore?") and that a good portion of the troops were interested in joining as well. After they collected, or 'borrowed' more supplies, they would be ready to escape from the Wei Camp and move onto the Wu. They were in dire need of horses, food, and tents, but the troops were good enough to gather some for them. The days quickly died and the deadline for their flight was upon. They were scheduled to leave tonight at midnight. All during the day, people were very apprehensive and quickly tried to gather as much supplies as they could. Sima Yi and Zhang He were able to acquire two carts for carrying supplies in and Zhou Yu set up the plan for how they would escape. At about 9:00 Sun Shang Xiang, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu moved into Sima Yi's room, joining the others. Approximately one half an hour later, Xu Huang, Zhang Liao and Xu Zhu arrived. It was an extremely tight fit and the room became very hot from all the body heat. Once it was midnight, they stepped outside and moved to the front. There the troops and supplies were waiting for them. Everyone mounted a horse and they moved through the door as silently as they could. Zhou Yu had already prepared a place where they would be building their main camp.
They traveled well into the next day. First of all they escaped the barren land where the Wei camp was and came upon luscious, rolling, meadows of emerald grass. The warm summer breeze was at their back, always pushing them towards the future. The troops seemed to support them fully and there was no chance of them going back to Cao Cao. Zhang He felt extremely important, leading all these people to the camp. He, in fact, would be leading them all along with Sun Ce when battle came around. He guessed this is what Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Jian felt like, a supreme commander. His thoughts wandered and the hot air made him dreamy. He imagined himself striking down all the leaders and claiming control of all of China. He waved his invisible sword while he rode along and cut down even more invisible enemies. He heard Diao Chan giggling beside him and he smiled sheepishly at her. She smiled back and looked towards the sky above.
After about a week of riding, they finally reached their final destination. The soldiers set up camp and started in building a wall around the premises. Zhou Yu and Sima Yi constructed a strategy building and placed all their important items inside they would be using for strategy. Two large buildings were put up, one for Zhou Yu, Sima Yi, Zhang He, and Sun Ce, and another for the women. Zhang He treated the men very well, they got to take breaks, eat and sleep whenever they wanted.
"Such a kind man . . ." They would say. "I'm glad we broke away from Cao Cao!"
Two weeks after the camp was set up, soldiers were dispatched to recruit more men from cities and to gather more supplies. They also decided that they should send Sun Ce and Sun Shang Xiang back to the Wu camp to gather some more people and generals. Zhang He also sent Sima Yi and Diao Chan to inspect the Shu. Everything was working perfectly; Zhang He was building his own kingdom.
The days grew less and less hot and the wind began to blow endlessly. The trees slowly transformed into decorated bursts of color and that familiar sweet smell filled the air. Zhang He spent much time conversing with Zhou Yu and they found out they were better friends then they thought.
"Its so nice being with everyone again, and this plan, it has really brought out my true self." Zhou Yu said one night as they were gazing at the full harvest moon.
"This truly is a good thing, I feel like I was born to do this." Zhang He said.
"It does seem so very fitting, I can almost taste victory as we speak." Zhou Yu said, picking up something from the grass and playing with it.
"Wouldn't that be spectacular? We would claim the next dynasty!" Zhang He smiled.
"The Shi Dynasty . . . sounds good." Zhou Yu agreed.
"So who is it we'll be trouncing first?" Zhang He asked.
"I believe it will be wise to either get the Nanmans on our side, or take their land. I've heard stories about them though, they are supposedly very ferocious." Zhou Yu said lying down on his back and closing his eyes. Zhang He was silent as he watched the forest bordering their camp. He thought about lying down as well and sleeping under the stars as his eyes pierced into the rustling trees. He just about to, when he heard a strange sound. A kind of high pitched, musical sound emanated from the wood. Zhang He sat up straight and listened. It was a song, someone was playing music! He strained his ears, trying to catch a bit of the delicate tune. Those notes, that song . . . He suddenly leapt to his feet. He couldn't believe it, the song was 'Kaze No Mori'!
"Zhou Yu! Come on!" He yelled, pulling Zhou Yu to his feet.
"What!?" He exclaimed.
"The song! Come on, follow me!" Zhang He said, tearing down the hill. His heart pounded, he would perhaps be able to find out something about that song, finally! Sweat rolled down his face as he burst into the trees. The music was louder now; he could hear where it was coming from. He wheeled left, right, left again, speeding through the forest at an incredible rate. Past tranquil, moonlit pools, through quiet glades, Zhang He stopped for nothing. His body shook with adrenaline and he looked frantically for the music. Flashes from his memory appeared in his head, in that forest, so long ago...
He burst into a glade and saw a blinding light. The song was all around them, it filled the air. Zhang He squinted and tried to see what was going on, but fell to his knees. Then, a beautiful voice filled the air and sung along with the melody. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard, tears began to fall from his eyes. Who was singing that? What heavenly creature of magic could make such a lovely sound? Then, as the last note was hit, everything ceased.
Zhang He stood up, his knees still shaking. He looked around for any sign of anything.
"W-what was that?" Zhou Yu sputtered.
"I don't know . . ." Zhang He said poking around the glade.
"How do you know that song?" Zhou Yu asked suspiciously.
"I don't know, I just seem to remember it from somewhere." Zhang He explained, helping Zhou Yu to his feet.
"I thought I was the one who told it to you." Zhou Yu said, frowning.
"No, I've known it since I was a kid." Zhang He explained.
"So, I'm not the only one . . ." Zhou Yu said.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Zhang He inquired.
"A long time ago, when I was about seven years old, I lived in a village by a forest. I was always so terrified of the trees, I couldn't go anywhere near it. Then one day around sunset, Sun Ce and I were playing by the river. He got a malicious idea and thought it would be funny to see if I could swim, so he pushed me in. Of course, I was very young and I couldn't swim at all. The river pulled me into the dark forest and I still couldn't get out. I pretty much gave up hope then; I knew I was going to die even at my age. I stopped kicking and screaming and I just let my body sink down to the bottom.
"I remember looking up through the water at the red sky and feeling my tears in the water. I also remember asking myself why Sun Ce would have done this to me, why would he be so cruel. Then I just closed my eyes. Then next thing I knew was there were two arms pulling me out of the water. I opened my eyes and there was a beautiful woman holding me. She was so unearthly and lovely I was frightened. She looked sad and put a finger to her lips, then handed me an ocarina. Then she began to sing that song; 'Kaze No Mori', and I fell right asleep. When I woke up, I was lying alone on the forest floor, with the ocarina still clenched in my fist, except the words 'Kaze No Mori' were written on the back of it. That's how I named the song.
"So then, when I finally found my way back, everyone was really happy to see me, especially Sun Ce. They all thought I had drowned to death, and Sun Ce was crying his eyes out because he thought he had killed me. I was so happy to back, that I never really told anyone what happened to me. Then I decided that it was probably a crazy dream I had, and I'd better not tell anyone about it. But I still had that ocarina and I didn't just magically appear on the river bank, so what happened?" He asked himself.