A/N: Greetings all! Thank you for reviews! I love you all! Durn . . . I
love this new computer but the internet stuff is all screwy so I can't get
on the Internet or AIM gasp OH THE HUMANITY!!! Yes . . . call 911 we
have an emergency.
Gan Ning: Ok
Ra: I was joking, baka. Ok, Ning do the disclaimer, I haven't done one in a long time and I don't think I ever put one up.
Gan Ning: Ok. Um . . . ya . . . Ra does not own Dynasty Warriors, money, a car, me, and anything at all, except her PS2 and other life dependable objects such as a toothbrush. Except her toothbrush was free because she just went to the dentist's office and they're too cheap to give out the bouncy balls that make life o-so-fun and-
Ra: knocks him unconscious I think that's enough . . . it was going into a very long run-on sentence there. Oh yes, in this chapter there is several fight scenes with Hua Wan, in these she recalls her training sessions with Gan Ning or Lu Xun. For she is inexperienced but remembers what she was taught (amazing I know). Warning: LOTS OF GORE IN THE FIRST COUPLE PARAGRAPHS!!!
((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((()))))))))))))))))))))))))) )))))))))))))))))))))))))))
Chapter Five
'Mini-Ning's and the Fang of Light'
(((((((())))))))
(Hua Wan's POV)
I had successfully gotten myself to Shu, and I had successfully gotten myself lost. I was in one of the more trashy and poor sides of the city. I stopped walking and looked around. Yep, this was at least the third time I had passed the same shady looking house. I turned around and tried to think of where I had taken my last turn. Suddenly, a cold chill ran up my spine. I felt as if I was being watched. I froze. I turned around slowly with my hand on my sword. Standing in front of me was several gruff looking men. One of them walked up and grabbed my shoulder roughly.
"Well, well, well . . . what have we here," the man said, his rotten teeth showing behind a fat lip.
"Don't touch me!" I spat and pulled my shoulder away.
I backed up a couple steps, keeping my hand on my sword. "Just breathe deeply, and keep your head," I thought to myself. I quietly popped the hilt of my sword out of it's sheathe, thus making it ready to draw in a second. I stared at the men with a glare that could have killed.
"Well, it looks like a young spitfire that's run a little too far from home," said one of them.
"Yes, a very defenseless young spitfire," said another.
"Defenseless you say? I do beg to differ . . ." I said coldly, drawing my sword out with expertise.
The two farthest away from me jumped a bit, but the other held his ground. I suspected he was the leader of their little group, or the most experienced. "This might be just a little bit of fun," I thought. None had weapons. Also, none of them looked like they had ever fought a person wielding one. They seemed to be the kind of bullies that just used their weight, mass, and strength to kill or hurt others. "Don't underestimate your opponent. He may have several trump cards he's keeping hidden," Lu Xun had once told me. My sword was like a silver fang in the mouth of a sleeping dragon. Hidden by disuse, but once reviled, it shown with a brilliant light like that of the stars. "If you draw your sword first, the enemy gets the first move. It is a matter of courtesy, and of honor. Plus, it makes the whole thing look like a self defense situation, making you the good guy –I mean- girl," Lu Xun had explained when I asked about the matter of invasion. This wasn't an invasion, but it seemed to help.
The first man clenched a fist and threw it at me with a powerful punch. Time seemed to slow as it came close to my head. "Gah! What do I do?" I asked myself. "Duck to the right and slash him in the side," Father had instructed me. I silently thanked Lu Xun and my father. They had taught me everything I knew. Now was the time to show that I had listened. I ducked to the right, avoiding his punch. Then I cut him in the side as he fell forward from the force of his own punch. He fell and screamed out in pain. His blood dripped off my sword. Pools of it ran from the man's open gash and seeped into the dry dirt, but he was alive.
"GET HER!" shouted the other two men.
Again they came at me with only their fists. That's were I made my mistake. I made the same move. Not wise. One punched to the right, were I had ducked. It hit me just below the collarbone. I fell with the force, pain in the right side of my chest. The other man kicked me while I was down in my shin. Those made me scream. Tears streamed down my cheek and dripped off my chin.
"Haha, look at the little girl cry," one laughed.
I sucked up my tears in anger. My blood boiled with rage now. Now I understood why my father loved to fight. The adrenaline rushed through my body making me shake with its power. My hand grasped my sword tightly. It made me feel powerful. Invincible. No one could stop me. I pushed myself with one hand and landed firmly on my feet. Blood pulsed in my head with a drumming throb. My sword now glowed with a brilliant light. It shown like the moon . . . no . . . like that of a fang inside the dark mouth of a wolf. Fear and panic were its allies. It shown with this light now. I wanted to kill them for laughing at me. I wanted them to die. To die in their own cold blood. I slashed the first man in the stomach, letting him scream. Then I pointed the tip of my sword into his gut. I pushed it in. I felt his blood flow down my hand and my arm. It was warm . . . frighteningly warm. "What have I done?!" I screamed in my head. I pulled my sword and hand out in panic. The man's eyes were dead . . . cold. He fell to the ground and blood ran out of his mouth. It bubbled and reeked. I stepped back in horror at what I had done. The last man stared at me in fear. He looked at me and ran. He never looked back, never slowed. I didn't blame him, for I had become a monster.
((Gan Li Wu's POV))
Stupid older sisters! She just had to go and run off didn't she? Of course! And why did she run off? Because she's in love with some lowly peasant! Romance is gross. I'd never kiss a girl even if my life depended on it. I was riding into Shu now on a horse I had stolen from the Wu stables. Nothing special, just Sun Quan's prized colt. I came to the marketplace and looked around aimlessly. Then a familiar face caught my eye. It was that filthy Zhou Lin. I pulled the young colt sharply into his direction. The horse stamped impatiently, but followed, and came right up to Zhou Lin. I dismounted quickly and landed perfectly in front of the commoner. He had been washing a bay mare with a bucket of soapy water. He turned and looked at me with confusion.
"May I help you?" he asked.
"Yes, you can. Stay away from my sister," I said with a cold tongue.
He looked at me with even more confusion. He put down the bucket of water he had been about to pour on the mare's back.
"May I ask who you are?" Zhou Lin asked.
"Li Wu, Hua Wan's brother," I snapped.
He seemed to recognize me now.
"Why do you want me to stay away from her?" he asked.
"You're a lowly commoner that doesn't deserve my sister and her social stature. You come but one yard of her and your life shall end there. Got me?" I snapped cruelly.
He didn't even make a comeback, he just pulled back his fist and knocked me one good right in the kisser. I was thrown back a step in surprise.
"Got me? You might be an inch or two taller, but let me remind you who's older kid," Zhou Lin said.
That was it. I curled my lip in despise. I thruster my fist into his gut, making him doubled over, holding his stomach. It was on now!
((Gan Ning's POV))
We all had finished eating and were in good spirit. Okay, I just sounded like some kind of proper English person out of Romeo and Juliet! And there ain't no way in hell I'm Romeo! Diao Wan could tell ya' that! I was Don Juan de Marco, the greatest lover who ever lived! Yeah right! Well anyway so we had eaten till we felt like barfing and most of us were working on getting ourselves drunk (if we weren't already). Diao was engaged in conversation with Xiahou Dun and his wife, Hui Ying. Her and Diao had hit off like too peas in a pod. I had to laugh. I never knew Xiahou Dun was the family-man kind of guy! He and his wife had had three children: Shing, Ting, and Lei. Shing and Ting were twins. We had been sitting and talking together for awhile when the door to the hall banged open. Every eye in the room diverted to the door. Oh hell . . . Diao's putting me in the dog house tonight. Our two children came in covered in bruises, blood, and lots of dirt and mud.
"Holy Wei . . . it's a bunch of mini-Ning's," Xiahou Dun said.
The whole room burst out laughing. It was true, for Hua Wan and Gan Li Wu both took after my physical features greatly . . . and it seemed they had my gene of getting into trouble . . . or fights as it looked to be.
"Ning . . ." Diao said in shock.
"Yes, my cuddle-dumpling?" I replied.
"What in the Seven Hells are our children –who we left in Wu- doing here? And looking like they got run over by a stampede of idiot Yellow Turbans?" she asked.
"I have no idea, my dear. Although you could go and ask them," I said calmly with a small smile.
I finished off the rest of my cup of wine as she marched over to scream and rant in rage at our kids. Ahh . . . the joy it brings to my heart to hear that woman get angry. She so hot . . .
"See Hui Ying, you need to be more active like Lady Diao! All you do is stay home all day!" Xiahou Dun teased his wife.
"Excuse me! I birthed your three –two at a time once I might add- children, cook your food, clean your house and laundry, and once I pulled a tire out of a creek bed! I HELPED THE ENVIROMENT!" she said, going red in the cheeks.
"WHAT THE HELL IS A TIRE?!" he yelled back.
"I DON'T KNOW!" she yelled.
"My, my, my . . . such a loving couple," I said, leaning back in my chair.
"And this comes from the man who has to sweet talk himself out of the dog house every night," Hui Ying said with a glare.
"OOoooo! DISS!" said Zhao Yun and Jiang Wei in unison as they passed on their way to go watch Diao yell at Gan Li Wu for "ruining Hua Wan's chances at marriage to a nice young man".
"Yes, very cold, my dear," Xiahou Dun said to his wife.
She beamed with pride and laughed. I just refilled my wine glass and mumbled about Diao's tendency to overreact when I told Li Wu to short sheet Sun Quan's bed. It was only a little bit of fun! I would of done it myself but Li Wu needed the practice. Diao came back over, dragging Li Wu and Hua Wan by the arms.
"Ning . . . they're your children. You yell at them now," she snapped and sat in her seat.
"Diao Wan, dear, aren't you being a little harsh?" I asked, watching my words so I didn't set off my wife's short temper.
She sighed and stood back up again. She had a look of resentment on her face.
"Okay, so I was a little harsh. Hua Wan did what she did in self defense. I shouldn't blame you for getting lost in the bad district of Shu and getting attacked and end up killing your first opponent. BUT! You are still in trouble for coming here when I told you to stay home. Li Wu . . . beating up your sister's boyfriend because of your own prejudice is . . . is . . . I don't have a word for it," she lectured.
"A very bad thing to do?" I offered.
"Yes, that would be the word for it," she said, giving me a smile and a kiss on the top of my head.
I just stuck my tongue out at Xiahou Dun and smiled to myself. Diao Wan grounded Li Wu and Hua Wan and sent them off to go get baths and such. She finally went to bed along with everyone else eventually. About two hours later it was only Cao Pi, Sun Quan, and I. We all sat in silence, sipping our cups of wine occasionally. I could tell Sun Quan was watching Cao Pi with a cautious and judging eye. I had been doing the same. We both wanted to see if we could actually trust this new general. Cao Cao had had a mistrusting personality. He would do anything and kill anyone if he could get more land and power along with it. It was just logic that his eldest son would be the same. Finally I guess Cao Pi sensed the fragile tension in the air. He stood up and nodded a goodbye to Sun Quan and me. I watched him leave with a solid glare. It was several moments later till Sun Quan spoke.
"Well my friend . . . I have to say. There is something about that man I don't like. My father never trusted Cao Cao, nor did my elder brother. I will surely not trust Cao Cao's son. It was rumored that Cao Pi is worse than his father in his crave for power. Take Zhen Ji for example. Cao Pi took her away from her first husband because he wanted her as her own. It is like a conqueror who will take another man's land because he wanted more for himself," Sun Quan said.
"I agree, my lord. I have been around many scoundrels in my life and if there is one thing I learned is that you can always tell a liar. They may keep a pretty good poker face and can keep the twinkle out of their eye, but the untrusting aura always surrounds them," I said.
"You have some hidden wisdom in that head of yours, Gan Ning. Who knew?" Sun Quan said with a smile.
"I won't take that as a compliment, but I won't take it as an insult. I'll call it even from my son's prank the other night that involved the shorting of your majesty's sheets," I said.
After an hour or so of sitting in a comfortable silence, I decided it was best for me to go to bed.
"Good Night, Sun Quan. I'd better go on to bed and let Diao sleep some," I said.
"I thought she'd be asleep by now. Didn't she go to bed early on?" he asked.
"Aye, but I know that woman. She never goes to sleep if I'm not there. She always makes the excuse that she needs something to hold on to when she sleeps, but I know better. She just waits up for me," I said, and with that I walked out.
((Cao Pi's POV))
I slid into bed next to Zhen Ji. She was lying down with her eyes closed with her back turned to me, looking asleep. I knew otherwise.
"Ji . . . I'm worried," I said to her.
She turned towards me and looked at me.
"Why is this, my husband?" she asked.
"I do believe that the Sun family brat sees through my plan. Along with that river rat, Gan Ning," I said coldly.
"It's your aura. They can see right through your sober face and into your mind. I even feel it now. It is hard to hide, but do not fret. Just let Xiahou Dun do the talking from now on. He has enough experience were he is able to hide his aura," she told me calmly.
"No! This is my plan and I shall be the one to carry it out fully," I snapped at her.
She just scoffed and turned away once again.
"Fine, but just like your father . . . your own arrogance will be your downfall," she said.
Her words haunted my thoughts as I lay on my pillow. Would I really be like my father? Or was I already so much like him that I had become worse? I would have consulted Ji again, but she was obviously mad at me for snapping such at her. I could hear her soft breathing next to me. I tried to dose off but couldn't. Her words still in my brain. They haunted my thoughts over and over again till I thought I would go mad. I raked the room for something to concentrate on, my eyes burning with exhaustion. Every little sound made me jump. This wasn't me . . . I had always been fearless and careless. I never was one to worry . . . but tonight I worried so much I had sweat pouring from my brow. Finally, I stood up and put my robe on. I walked out into the hall and leaned against the wall. I had to clear my head. My plan had to work, they couldn't expect a thing. Not a thing . . .
(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((())))))))))))))))))))))))) ))))))))))))))))))))))))) A/N: hey I want to say to the two girls who went to my friend Ali's horse camp: Blair and Adrian, I FEEL FAMOUS! WHOOT! Hehe thanks u guys! (See Jashi, my a/n lot shorter now! XP)
Gan Ning: Ok
Ra: I was joking, baka. Ok, Ning do the disclaimer, I haven't done one in a long time and I don't think I ever put one up.
Gan Ning: Ok. Um . . . ya . . . Ra does not own Dynasty Warriors, money, a car, me, and anything at all, except her PS2 and other life dependable objects such as a toothbrush. Except her toothbrush was free because she just went to the dentist's office and they're too cheap to give out the bouncy balls that make life o-so-fun and-
Ra: knocks him unconscious I think that's enough . . . it was going into a very long run-on sentence there. Oh yes, in this chapter there is several fight scenes with Hua Wan, in these she recalls her training sessions with Gan Ning or Lu Xun. For she is inexperienced but remembers what she was taught (amazing I know). Warning: LOTS OF GORE IN THE FIRST COUPLE PARAGRAPHS!!!
((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((()))))))))))))))))))))))))) )))))))))))))))))))))))))))
Chapter Five
'Mini-Ning's and the Fang of Light'
(((((((())))))))
(Hua Wan's POV)
I had successfully gotten myself to Shu, and I had successfully gotten myself lost. I was in one of the more trashy and poor sides of the city. I stopped walking and looked around. Yep, this was at least the third time I had passed the same shady looking house. I turned around and tried to think of where I had taken my last turn. Suddenly, a cold chill ran up my spine. I felt as if I was being watched. I froze. I turned around slowly with my hand on my sword. Standing in front of me was several gruff looking men. One of them walked up and grabbed my shoulder roughly.
"Well, well, well . . . what have we here," the man said, his rotten teeth showing behind a fat lip.
"Don't touch me!" I spat and pulled my shoulder away.
I backed up a couple steps, keeping my hand on my sword. "Just breathe deeply, and keep your head," I thought to myself. I quietly popped the hilt of my sword out of it's sheathe, thus making it ready to draw in a second. I stared at the men with a glare that could have killed.
"Well, it looks like a young spitfire that's run a little too far from home," said one of them.
"Yes, a very defenseless young spitfire," said another.
"Defenseless you say? I do beg to differ . . ." I said coldly, drawing my sword out with expertise.
The two farthest away from me jumped a bit, but the other held his ground. I suspected he was the leader of their little group, or the most experienced. "This might be just a little bit of fun," I thought. None had weapons. Also, none of them looked like they had ever fought a person wielding one. They seemed to be the kind of bullies that just used their weight, mass, and strength to kill or hurt others. "Don't underestimate your opponent. He may have several trump cards he's keeping hidden," Lu Xun had once told me. My sword was like a silver fang in the mouth of a sleeping dragon. Hidden by disuse, but once reviled, it shown with a brilliant light like that of the stars. "If you draw your sword first, the enemy gets the first move. It is a matter of courtesy, and of honor. Plus, it makes the whole thing look like a self defense situation, making you the good guy –I mean- girl," Lu Xun had explained when I asked about the matter of invasion. This wasn't an invasion, but it seemed to help.
The first man clenched a fist and threw it at me with a powerful punch. Time seemed to slow as it came close to my head. "Gah! What do I do?" I asked myself. "Duck to the right and slash him in the side," Father had instructed me. I silently thanked Lu Xun and my father. They had taught me everything I knew. Now was the time to show that I had listened. I ducked to the right, avoiding his punch. Then I cut him in the side as he fell forward from the force of his own punch. He fell and screamed out in pain. His blood dripped off my sword. Pools of it ran from the man's open gash and seeped into the dry dirt, but he was alive.
"GET HER!" shouted the other two men.
Again they came at me with only their fists. That's were I made my mistake. I made the same move. Not wise. One punched to the right, were I had ducked. It hit me just below the collarbone. I fell with the force, pain in the right side of my chest. The other man kicked me while I was down in my shin. Those made me scream. Tears streamed down my cheek and dripped off my chin.
"Haha, look at the little girl cry," one laughed.
I sucked up my tears in anger. My blood boiled with rage now. Now I understood why my father loved to fight. The adrenaline rushed through my body making me shake with its power. My hand grasped my sword tightly. It made me feel powerful. Invincible. No one could stop me. I pushed myself with one hand and landed firmly on my feet. Blood pulsed in my head with a drumming throb. My sword now glowed with a brilliant light. It shown like the moon . . . no . . . like that of a fang inside the dark mouth of a wolf. Fear and panic were its allies. It shown with this light now. I wanted to kill them for laughing at me. I wanted them to die. To die in their own cold blood. I slashed the first man in the stomach, letting him scream. Then I pointed the tip of my sword into his gut. I pushed it in. I felt his blood flow down my hand and my arm. It was warm . . . frighteningly warm. "What have I done?!" I screamed in my head. I pulled my sword and hand out in panic. The man's eyes were dead . . . cold. He fell to the ground and blood ran out of his mouth. It bubbled and reeked. I stepped back in horror at what I had done. The last man stared at me in fear. He looked at me and ran. He never looked back, never slowed. I didn't blame him, for I had become a monster.
((Gan Li Wu's POV))
Stupid older sisters! She just had to go and run off didn't she? Of course! And why did she run off? Because she's in love with some lowly peasant! Romance is gross. I'd never kiss a girl even if my life depended on it. I was riding into Shu now on a horse I had stolen from the Wu stables. Nothing special, just Sun Quan's prized colt. I came to the marketplace and looked around aimlessly. Then a familiar face caught my eye. It was that filthy Zhou Lin. I pulled the young colt sharply into his direction. The horse stamped impatiently, but followed, and came right up to Zhou Lin. I dismounted quickly and landed perfectly in front of the commoner. He had been washing a bay mare with a bucket of soapy water. He turned and looked at me with confusion.
"May I help you?" he asked.
"Yes, you can. Stay away from my sister," I said with a cold tongue.
He looked at me with even more confusion. He put down the bucket of water he had been about to pour on the mare's back.
"May I ask who you are?" Zhou Lin asked.
"Li Wu, Hua Wan's brother," I snapped.
He seemed to recognize me now.
"Why do you want me to stay away from her?" he asked.
"You're a lowly commoner that doesn't deserve my sister and her social stature. You come but one yard of her and your life shall end there. Got me?" I snapped cruelly.
He didn't even make a comeback, he just pulled back his fist and knocked me one good right in the kisser. I was thrown back a step in surprise.
"Got me? You might be an inch or two taller, but let me remind you who's older kid," Zhou Lin said.
That was it. I curled my lip in despise. I thruster my fist into his gut, making him doubled over, holding his stomach. It was on now!
((Gan Ning's POV))
We all had finished eating and were in good spirit. Okay, I just sounded like some kind of proper English person out of Romeo and Juliet! And there ain't no way in hell I'm Romeo! Diao Wan could tell ya' that! I was Don Juan de Marco, the greatest lover who ever lived! Yeah right! Well anyway so we had eaten till we felt like barfing and most of us were working on getting ourselves drunk (if we weren't already). Diao was engaged in conversation with Xiahou Dun and his wife, Hui Ying. Her and Diao had hit off like too peas in a pod. I had to laugh. I never knew Xiahou Dun was the family-man kind of guy! He and his wife had had three children: Shing, Ting, and Lei. Shing and Ting were twins. We had been sitting and talking together for awhile when the door to the hall banged open. Every eye in the room diverted to the door. Oh hell . . . Diao's putting me in the dog house tonight. Our two children came in covered in bruises, blood, and lots of dirt and mud.
"Holy Wei . . . it's a bunch of mini-Ning's," Xiahou Dun said.
The whole room burst out laughing. It was true, for Hua Wan and Gan Li Wu both took after my physical features greatly . . . and it seemed they had my gene of getting into trouble . . . or fights as it looked to be.
"Ning . . ." Diao said in shock.
"Yes, my cuddle-dumpling?" I replied.
"What in the Seven Hells are our children –who we left in Wu- doing here? And looking like they got run over by a stampede of idiot Yellow Turbans?" she asked.
"I have no idea, my dear. Although you could go and ask them," I said calmly with a small smile.
I finished off the rest of my cup of wine as she marched over to scream and rant in rage at our kids. Ahh . . . the joy it brings to my heart to hear that woman get angry. She so hot . . .
"See Hui Ying, you need to be more active like Lady Diao! All you do is stay home all day!" Xiahou Dun teased his wife.
"Excuse me! I birthed your three –two at a time once I might add- children, cook your food, clean your house and laundry, and once I pulled a tire out of a creek bed! I HELPED THE ENVIROMENT!" she said, going red in the cheeks.
"WHAT THE HELL IS A TIRE?!" he yelled back.
"I DON'T KNOW!" she yelled.
"My, my, my . . . such a loving couple," I said, leaning back in my chair.
"And this comes from the man who has to sweet talk himself out of the dog house every night," Hui Ying said with a glare.
"OOoooo! DISS!" said Zhao Yun and Jiang Wei in unison as they passed on their way to go watch Diao yell at Gan Li Wu for "ruining Hua Wan's chances at marriage to a nice young man".
"Yes, very cold, my dear," Xiahou Dun said to his wife.
She beamed with pride and laughed. I just refilled my wine glass and mumbled about Diao's tendency to overreact when I told Li Wu to short sheet Sun Quan's bed. It was only a little bit of fun! I would of done it myself but Li Wu needed the practice. Diao came back over, dragging Li Wu and Hua Wan by the arms.
"Ning . . . they're your children. You yell at them now," she snapped and sat in her seat.
"Diao Wan, dear, aren't you being a little harsh?" I asked, watching my words so I didn't set off my wife's short temper.
She sighed and stood back up again. She had a look of resentment on her face.
"Okay, so I was a little harsh. Hua Wan did what she did in self defense. I shouldn't blame you for getting lost in the bad district of Shu and getting attacked and end up killing your first opponent. BUT! You are still in trouble for coming here when I told you to stay home. Li Wu . . . beating up your sister's boyfriend because of your own prejudice is . . . is . . . I don't have a word for it," she lectured.
"A very bad thing to do?" I offered.
"Yes, that would be the word for it," she said, giving me a smile and a kiss on the top of my head.
I just stuck my tongue out at Xiahou Dun and smiled to myself. Diao Wan grounded Li Wu and Hua Wan and sent them off to go get baths and such. She finally went to bed along with everyone else eventually. About two hours later it was only Cao Pi, Sun Quan, and I. We all sat in silence, sipping our cups of wine occasionally. I could tell Sun Quan was watching Cao Pi with a cautious and judging eye. I had been doing the same. We both wanted to see if we could actually trust this new general. Cao Cao had had a mistrusting personality. He would do anything and kill anyone if he could get more land and power along with it. It was just logic that his eldest son would be the same. Finally I guess Cao Pi sensed the fragile tension in the air. He stood up and nodded a goodbye to Sun Quan and me. I watched him leave with a solid glare. It was several moments later till Sun Quan spoke.
"Well my friend . . . I have to say. There is something about that man I don't like. My father never trusted Cao Cao, nor did my elder brother. I will surely not trust Cao Cao's son. It was rumored that Cao Pi is worse than his father in his crave for power. Take Zhen Ji for example. Cao Pi took her away from her first husband because he wanted her as her own. It is like a conqueror who will take another man's land because he wanted more for himself," Sun Quan said.
"I agree, my lord. I have been around many scoundrels in my life and if there is one thing I learned is that you can always tell a liar. They may keep a pretty good poker face and can keep the twinkle out of their eye, but the untrusting aura always surrounds them," I said.
"You have some hidden wisdom in that head of yours, Gan Ning. Who knew?" Sun Quan said with a smile.
"I won't take that as a compliment, but I won't take it as an insult. I'll call it even from my son's prank the other night that involved the shorting of your majesty's sheets," I said.
After an hour or so of sitting in a comfortable silence, I decided it was best for me to go to bed.
"Good Night, Sun Quan. I'd better go on to bed and let Diao sleep some," I said.
"I thought she'd be asleep by now. Didn't she go to bed early on?" he asked.
"Aye, but I know that woman. She never goes to sleep if I'm not there. She always makes the excuse that she needs something to hold on to when she sleeps, but I know better. She just waits up for me," I said, and with that I walked out.
((Cao Pi's POV))
I slid into bed next to Zhen Ji. She was lying down with her eyes closed with her back turned to me, looking asleep. I knew otherwise.
"Ji . . . I'm worried," I said to her.
She turned towards me and looked at me.
"Why is this, my husband?" she asked.
"I do believe that the Sun family brat sees through my plan. Along with that river rat, Gan Ning," I said coldly.
"It's your aura. They can see right through your sober face and into your mind. I even feel it now. It is hard to hide, but do not fret. Just let Xiahou Dun do the talking from now on. He has enough experience were he is able to hide his aura," she told me calmly.
"No! This is my plan and I shall be the one to carry it out fully," I snapped at her.
She just scoffed and turned away once again.
"Fine, but just like your father . . . your own arrogance will be your downfall," she said.
Her words haunted my thoughts as I lay on my pillow. Would I really be like my father? Or was I already so much like him that I had become worse? I would have consulted Ji again, but she was obviously mad at me for snapping such at her. I could hear her soft breathing next to me. I tried to dose off but couldn't. Her words still in my brain. They haunted my thoughts over and over again till I thought I would go mad. I raked the room for something to concentrate on, my eyes burning with exhaustion. Every little sound made me jump. This wasn't me . . . I had always been fearless and careless. I never was one to worry . . . but tonight I worried so much I had sweat pouring from my brow. Finally, I stood up and put my robe on. I walked out into the hall and leaned against the wall. I had to clear my head. My plan had to work, they couldn't expect a thing. Not a thing . . .
(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((())))))))))))))))))))))))) ))))))))))))))))))))))))) A/N: hey I want to say to the two girls who went to my friend Ali's horse camp: Blair and Adrian, I FEEL FAMOUS! WHOOT! Hehe thanks u guys! (See Jashi, my a/n lot shorter now! XP)