Chapter 10

If there was anything he could wish for, he would have wished for the terror to end.

This was too tiring, too exhausting. Every blow he made to the men that came close to him, fatal or not, was straining every single sense he had. Zhao Yun was sick of it. This constant replay of failure caused by men that are too blind to see that there are no such things as eternal peace and a heaven that will guide an insane man; it was straining and aching his war-ridden hands. However, the deadly and flickering shine of the Fierce Dragon still approached in a draconic dance against the night raid like as the torches blazed against the darkness of the night.

He spun right, as a sheer of ripping flesh and a hollow of fear followed, splattering rivers of still pumping blood onto the ground and onto the shaft of his spear. The Tiger General only gritted his teeth as his mind screamed to end it all, just tear them apart, and give them their merciless deaths and tortures. This was causing too much pain, too many strains, and too many aches. Letting out a ferocious cry of a dragon, the blazing spear was being swung to his left, hooking each unfortunate being with their flesh, running their crimson life free, before being thrown to the right along with the rest of their foolish comrades.

The words of terrors, the staggering steps of peasants, servants and warriors were only mildly a small buzz to his ear. He could barely hear those words of retreating and begging of their lives before the jagged, tarnished blade of his spear silenced them and their unconfirmed retreated continued as no one dared to make a move to the driven dragon. Zhao Yun's eyes only shimmered with an unspoken anger. It stopped however. The sudden buzz of his mind crawled in fear towards the corner of his sanity; his stance loosened in shock and disbelief… maybe even fear.

Forget anything about a wish for the current terror to end; he wanted the man that caused this terror to die. It was too sickening to imagine. To just simply think of nature's laws being violated in such a degree… His body shook with a silent revelation.

Letting down his defense was one of the worst mistakes he had come to learn, many times in his life, as a sheer of blood ripped across his midriff. He could only stare in disbelief at the gushing warm blood that soaked his dragon emblem cloth within a matter of seconds.

However, his eyes played no images on him as his senses did. A streak of pain came forth at the sight of his distress.

This was impossible.

"Ah, Little Dragon… Did you miss me?" A rather familiar voice smirked at him.

It was impossible… he killed him; he swat that demon's heart without a single concern… However, as blackness clawed and grasped his vision, he could remember the hollowing words of Sima Yi's disbelief of Zhang Bao. Then the darkening shadows consumed him before the solid rocks of the ground below caught him.

He was a fool.

However, there was no one to confirm truly what had caused the Sleeping Dragon to make such a decision; there were only the crunching mud beneath his hurrying weight and passing shadows of charcoal trees. Only the torch burnt bright against the darkness of everything else, catching the gleams of sweat that lingered upon his forehead. Everything was beating against his mind and his body; his heart, the time and the blustering enemies that were invading their camp. It was just fatal evidences that this was his fault. There was surely no one to blame for the Prime Minister of Shu and he knows because this was his fault, if there was to be anything to happen to the Tiger General, he would not forgive himself.

Zhuge Liang paused for a brief second, bringing his long dangling Taoist sleeve to wipe the perspiration away from his vision. It was a frantic search, him against the ambush party that was most likely to be looking for that same Tiger General. Allowing a timid breath of air to escape, those ebony eyes only wandered around the place of absolute darkness excepts for the shy traces of the landscape of where Zhao Yun and he talked along with the innocent stars and the hanging moon.

There was nothing, no one was in sight except for the only flickering flame and the thickening forest in front of him.

The worn Prime Minister stumble a slight step, desperation seeking his mind. His mind whispering questions that he wanted to be answered as his weary eyes sought for the only familiar shadow he was looking for. However, gentle winds were his only answer to the eerie quietness.

Until his foot shifted with a sound of dripping.

Confused at why would there be the sound of dripping below where he stood; the Sleeping Dragon frowned at the ground as his fingertips came in contact of padded wet grasses. It was not till very long did the Prime Minister's mind immediately widened at the possibility of the strange dampness however, as the racing hand immediately brought the only source of light into sight.

No one is in the role to play around with fate… but… I…

Blood.

But I have to tell you that…

Ghost whisper of the memory that just happened in same grassland sounded in his mind as Zhuge Liang swung the torch in the sound of the dripping and the illuminated sight before him was something he wished he would never need to see again. His eyes slowly followed the rough branches trickled with blood, before its crimson liquid followed through the air to the formerly emerald blades.

The sole standing tree that was before the deep thickening forest held an aura of fear around it, a cold shiver was sent to over the Prime Minister of Shu's spine as his eyes scaled the branches, even laying its sight on the source of the dripping crimsons. There was nothing that would had brought as much fear into his heart as the sight of the Tiger General tied so helplessly on the branch, blood coated and splattered over his sapphire draconic armor as more of the hematic found its way through the saturated, thick rope and had started painting the emerald field with more redness.

Unable to find his voice at the moment, fearing the worst of the Little Dragon's as the Sleeping Dragon started to lose what his subconscious was trying to tell him.

This is not yet his time.

"Zhao Yun!" His voice finally crooked as his hand immediately reached for the rope, thanking god momentarily when he felt the general's breath and for the rope being reachable.

The sliver sound of the drawing scathed sword screeched into the surrounding as the Prime Minister of Shu felt his reflection shined shimmered on the blade as the moon hung low, almost as if something mysterious were lurking in the shadows. Zhuge Liang could however care less about the odd silence of his surrounding when a pair of blurred emerald flickered shyly to the serene field, his eyes meeting up with the Sleeping Dragon.

"Kongming...?" Zhao Yun's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as the timid ends of his brows drew together at why he was able to stare down to the strategist in such an angle before realizing he was barely connected to a mere branch of a tree. His confusion did not ease from his voice however, "What... why am I hanging like this?"

"Hold on." At the flow of the soft, collected voice of the Sleeping Dragon, the Tiger General nodded wearily as the mere buzzing of the sawing blade sounded clearly to his ears. Zhuge Liang only let a concern look creep into his face as his serene voice floated into the air again. If their situations were not so dire at the ambush, Zhao Yun realized he would had allowed his eyes to slip into the soothing darkness along with echoes of his only love's voice, "The rope is about to break, brace yourself, Zilong..."

Within the very moment he heard those alarming words, barring that one mere second, his only attachment to the branch released its deathly grip, allowing the warrior to fall freely onto the Sleeping Dragon with widen eyes. The Prime Minister of Shu stumbled a few quick steps at the sudden heavy weight of the fit-looking general as he caught the general from the full impact of the fall, slamming his back towards the trunk of the tree as Zhao Yun found his weight easing onto the strategist's cushion.

Zhuge Liang allowed a small moan escape his throat at the painful collision of the rough bark behind him, his eyes rolling to the back of his head at the moment flashing whiteness came into his sight at the flaring pain. Feeling his soothing black eyes rolled back into place, the young Prime Minister allowed his eyes to look at the startled emeralds that had slipped its place to his lap. The Sleeping Dragon then heaved wearily at the general before groaning his name accidentally at the Little Dragon's name, "You are heavier than you look, Zilong."

At the groan of his name, Zhao Yun found himself slapping himself from the ideal position he wished to be. After a mental shook to his brain, despite the piercing darkness and the clawing darkness from his weariness, the general glared at the strategist that was partially below him.

"... You are not counting my armor as well..."

"Well, you definitely still look lighter than you really are."

Zhao Yun felt his nerves snap alight when the rough voice that was not Zhuge Liang's answered his reply. Feeling his body immediately left the comfortable position on top of the Taoist at the clinks of his armors, he glared at the shadow before a frosty tip of a spear poked his exposed neck, sending his eyes to widen again.

"Don't even think of anything, Little Dragon..." A bold voice warned him as a small wheezing came out of the darkness, "You know, watch your precious dragon truly sleep..."

The Prime Minister of Shu narrowed his eyes as his breaths were becoming more haggard as a tight rope constricted his throat around the bark. The perspiration that were excreted from the effort it took him to breath slipped down the bridge of his nose and to his chin before dripping onto the silky white robe he wore. Trying to take his breath as calmly as he could without losing his instincts to the beastly human instincts beneath himself, the strategist gave a small struggle as his hands tightens into a death grip around the deathly rope. However, as much sweat and darkness in his eyes, he saw those fearful eyes of the general watched him with an unwavering anxiety.

"Now, now... pet, don't struggle so much, this will be a lot less painful if you don't move..." A voice behind the fraught strategist panted those words with a trickling warm breath as the man that was strangling him sneaked a lick to the lobe of his sweaty ear. Zhuge Liang tried to minimize his shudder of the disgust as he only rasped in response as his struggling started to ease as heaviness started to seep into his limbs and darkness were biting his vision.

"You know that right? This is really all your fault, Zhuge Liang. You can stop wishing for the warrior in front of you to help. If we wanted to, nothing would have stopped him. He hates you for betraying him for the answer to your curiosity. Don't you want to know the name of the man that saved your life? You can know if you give into us. The heaven that created this fine body of yours will and can give you the answer you want... My name is Pei Yuan Shao, by the way..." The host lied as the Yellow Turban general found his free arm to trace the edges of his hostage's tattered Taoist robe, a small shook was the last resistance the strategist managed before his limbs became limper to the gnawing shadows.

Zhuge Liang felt himself lack the strength to even rasp, but his scratchy breath did not end as he subconsciously waved those words out of his head as much as sweet as it was to his curiosity. Somehow, for some of the oddest reason, the Prime Minister had put every bit of his strength into keeping his vision as clear as he could in order to keep his eyes locked to the Tiger General.

The lick, the shudder, those taunting words did not go unheeded by the Tiger General as much as the Sleeping Dragon had hoped. It was almost obvious to the strategist as he watched a cry of frustration erupted from the general's throat as he ripped himself away from the hidden shadows of his grip, almost guaranteeing to ascend punishment upon those who wronged him.

Almost...

As the derisive, seductive blackness consumes the last of his vision, the splatter of blood across Zhao Yun's back, which happened when he fought the death trap that held him from doing anything, were revealed to the fainting strategist.

And that last thing he saw before complete darkness consumed his mind was when Little Dragon's fist found his way to his victim's jaw, before meeting those frightening eyes and the silent cry of his name.

End of Chapter

Author's Note: Whoa, Words of Despair had been dead for almost more than 7 months... I am so sorry to those who have been reading! . ; Anyway, sorry for the such chapter, but it was such a tempting urge to just cut the story right there in such an ideal cliffhanger... . ; ... I know I never have said this before in this story, but please drop a review! .;