It was indeed a sight one had to see to believe. Even with a good chunk of his army gone, Cao Cao had quite a force underneath him. He sat at the head of his army, a scowl plastered on his face that could not be wiped away. If the ambush hadn't driven him mad, then seeing the whole of the Wu army would. He looked ready to explode at any moment. On either side of him were his trusted officers, the ones that were famed throughout the land for their prowess on the field of battle. All they needed was for Cao Cao to make the motion, and it would be all out war right here, right now. It was somewhat impressive.
"Sun Jian, you coward! Show yourself before my army forces you out here!" Even from far away, the extent of Cao Cao's anger was obvious. Sun Jian appeared at the front of the line of his own army, with his children and officers on either side of him. Cao Cao pointed his sword directly at the Wu leader. "Come here and fight me, you worthless scum! I will have your head for this outrage!"
Sun Jian laughed a bit. "What, now that you've lost me you've lost everything? I will not fight you, Cao Cao. It would not be fair. You see, I have my entire army with me, and by the looks of things, you are missing a few. No, it would not do to fight you now."
"You will fight me, or you will fight my army," Cao Cao responded. "I may have a smaller army than you at the moment, but we will fight stronger, harder, and longer than any of your pathetic soldiers. So unless you want all of your men to die, you will fight me right here for it all."
Sun Jian thought for a moment, and then reached for his sword. Li Tai hurried over and put a hand on her leader. "My Lord, you mustn't fight. Cao Cao's rage will make him a formidable opponent, and we have worked so hard to get you back."
Sun Ce nodded. "She's right, pop. It wouldn't be good if anything happened to ya."
"Then what do you suggest?" Sun Jian asked. "Do you want to fight him?"
Li Tai smiled. "I have an idea. But you have to trust me, my Lord." She bowed low to him, and he sighed.
"Alright, do what you must if you think you can beat him." Li Tai nodded and, taking her sword in her hand, marched out in front of the Wu army. There was a slight chuckle from the Wei side, but Cao Cao was far from amused. She could almost see the veins popping in his head at the sight of her. Excellent.
"Cheng!" she cried out into the enemy army. "Now it's your turn to come out, you coward. You wanted me? Well you're going to have to fight me then." There was a moment of stunned silence, and moments later Cheng appeared at Cao Cao's side. A sword in his hand, he stepped forward.
"Ah, my Lady Li Tai. It seems that we are at an impasse here. What ever shall we do about this mess?"
"Don't you be so formal with me, you bastard. This whole mess is your fault, and you know it." She gave him a slight smile. "But I am willing to work with you to fix this, if you are willing to do so." She could feel the mood behind her change, and she wondered who had had to hold her brother and husband back at that statement. Good. She would need their emotions to feed her during this ordeal.
"I'm glad you finally see that there is no way out, My Lady," Cheng answered. "Now how do you propose that we clear this whole situation up?"
She smirked. "I have an easy solution. You and I will fight. Here and now. If you are the victor, then I will submit to you and return with you. In addition, Wu will give into the demands of Wei and give up a portion on their lands. If I win, then you and the Wei army return to your homes and cause no more trouble. If you do, Wu will be very unforgiving and will take whatever action they feel is necessary. Do you agree?"
Cheng thought for a moment. "I see there will be no more room for compromise with you. Good." He turned to Cao Cao, who nodded in acceptance of the terms. Li did the same to Sun Jian, who rather reluctantly nodded. Li turned back around to face Cheng.
So this was how it was going to end. A single duel between Li Tai and her nightmare. The winner would take home everything while the loser would die without honor. Tonight, there would be no mistakes made, for one would cost Wu everything.. Li Tai took her position opposite the shadow and pulled out her Tiger Fang Sword in front of her. Everything that she had ever learned would be put to the test. And if she failed? Li shook her head to erase those thoughts. Failure was not an option.
Despite the total silence in the air, Li could feel the inner cheers and cries of her fellow officers from behind her. Sun Jian was now back on his faithful horse, flanked by his officers on either side. Two of his children - Sun Ce and Sun Shang Xiang - stood beside their father. Zhou Yu, Lu Xun, and Huang Gai, all looked on from their line of soldiers. Each of the Qiao sisters clung to their husband. But it was the inner voices of Lu Meng and Zhou Tai that cried the loudest. For those two voices alone, Li Tai refused to lose this fight.
Cheng's menacing grin could be seen even with his distance from Li. As he took out his own sword, he offered a hand towards Li. "Last chance, my lady. Last chance to make the one decision that will either make you or break you."
Li scowled. "I have already made my decision. I think you will find that it is your own choices that will break you. If not your choices, then my wrath." Cheng's grin faltered a bit, but he nodded in acknowledgement of her choice. With that motion, the battle began.
Everything Li Tai had been taught was coming back to her in waves. Cheng charged with unbelievable speed, but Li was ready as she blocked, swung, charged, and blocked again. Cheng was like a blur on the battlefield. As soon as he had swung, he moved in preparation for another strike attempt. But Li was just as swift, always able to block his own attacks then swipe him away for her own attempt. Back and forth, back and forth the battle raged. For a moment, it seemed that each were evenly matched.
Li Tai knew that she had to do something to gain an edge in this battle before Cheng did. As he charged again, Li dropped to her knees and grabbed his legs as he tumbled by her. If she could not beat him with the spear, then she would use her muscle instead. He tried to jump back to his feet, but Li still gripped them tightly as she reached for his face. Pulling his helmet off, she punched him square in the face before rolling away and getting to her own feet. Cheng felt her release his legs and got up. He didn't seem to notice the blood that was pouring out of his nose. His grin refused to go away.
Kicking up his sword from the ground, he lunged at Li for another bout. This time, Li was not quick enough to move out of the way, and his sword nicked her arm. She bit back a gasp of pain and she felt her shirt begin to soak up the blood. But again, she refused to go down. She made her own charge, and the battle continued. Despite their injuries, in addition to the ones that came from missed blocks and successful strikes, the two were still evenly matched. Li Tai struggled to formulate another plan inside her head between blows.
As she blocked another one of Cheng's attacks, he gave a small whistle. Li's eyes went wide with surprise as he let up a bit on the attack. She realized what he had done, but could do nothing. She felt herself be thrown from her feet, an arrow now firmly planted right above her heart. Before anything could be done, Cheng grabbed her neck and hoisted her into the air.
"I think you were mistaken," he said loud enough for both armies to hear. A plan came to Li, and she closed her eyes as if drifting into death. She let her spear fall to the ground as Cheng displayed her to everyone present. "There will indeed be a broken body here tonight, but it will not be me." He began to squeeze Li's neck, slowly choking the life from her.
There was no way for Cheng to see it coming. In an instant, Li's eyes snapped open and she swung her legs up to Cheng's face, Wrapping her legs around his thin neck, she twisted his arm away from her. She used his breastplate and pushed off, bringing him down to the ground with her. As Li hit the ground, she bent her legs down and rolled away from Cheng. The snap that sounded before she rolled brought total silence to the camp. Getting up slowly, Li Tai walked over to Cheng and kicked his body over with her foot. His head rolled unnaturally to his side.
"Wrong again, Cheng." Li Tai spat, picking up her own weapon. As she straightened herself, pain seared through her chest. She would need a surgeon to remove that arrow later. But for now, she hobbled over to Sun Jian, who looked ready to fall of his saddle in shock. Lu Meng and Zhou Tai hurried over and positioned themselves on either side of her for support. once in the safety of the Wu army, Li turned to face Cao Cao.
"Your soldier has fallen, Cao Cao. You must do as was agreed. Leave Wu now and never return on pain of death if you do."
Cao Cao smirked atop his horse. "I have lost but one soldier. I still have an entire army alongside me, and with their help I shall take over Wu. You cannot keep me off of your lands." He raised his hand to signal the attack.
It was a very angry Li Tai who wrenched the arrow out of her chest and grabbed a bow from Lu Meng. Aiming carefully and quickly, she let the arrow fly towards Cao Cao. She did not want to kill him, only to hit him. The arrow flew true as it grazed his left arm, forcing him to drop his sword in pain. By a feat of coincidence, the arrow continued to fly past him, finding a new home in the head of one of his soldiers. Poor Mao was so shocked at is friend Cheng's loss that he did not even try to step out of the way.
"Army, forward!" came a cry from above Li. Sun Jian had taken advantage of Li's episode to raise his own sword in a rally against Cao Cao. Without a second's hesitation, Li Tai and the rest of the Wu army charged and drove themselves into the very heart of the army. But the battle lasted no more than fifteen minutes. Cao Cao ordered an immediate retreat, and the Wu army chased them as far back as they could without going over the Wei borders. Needless to say, it was a very cheerful group that returned to camp soon after.
A few days later, the trumpets sounded loudly as the army returned to the capital. The cheering that erupted as they entered was unlike any that Li Tai had ever heard. They had not even entered the city when they were surrounded by the remainder of the army and the other villagers. They followed the army all the way back to the city and the palace, where everyone was enveloped in the arms of loved ones and friends and family. It was like a wave of joy that had swept across the Kingdom of Wu.
Li Tai watched it all from the back of the army. She had insisted on bringing Hua Ling's body back to Wu and giving her a proper burial. Despite everything that Hua had done, Li felt that it was the least she could do. As the people were overtaking the army, Li turned and went up a back road behind the palace. She stopped out near the tree line, where the funeral pyre was kept until it was needed. She loaded it with wood and hoisted Hua's body up on top of it, difficult in light of her now bandaged shoulder. Lighting a stick of wood, she held it under the pyre until the whole thing had caught on fire. Li took a step back and watched as her former enemy's body succumbed to the fire and smoke. She wished more than anything else that her and Hua Ling could have set things right without one of them having to die for it. But there was nothing that could be done now. So she simply watched as the smoke carried Hua's soul up to the heavens.
As the fire died down, Li Tai heard footsteps behind her. She turned to see Zhou Tai and Lu Meng walking towards her, smiling. "Are you ready to return, Li?" Lu Meng asked. "Sun Jian is asking to see you." Li looked back at the smoldering form of Hua and nodded.
"Yes. I am ready to finally finish this whole ordeal." With the support of her brother on one side and her husband on the other, the trio made their way back to the palace, where the sounds of celebration could already be heard from far away.
It was to the sounds of cheers that the small group entered the room to. Li Tai couldn't help but grin as she leaned against Lu Meng for support, a thick bandage wrapped around her chest wound. Zhou Tai walked on Li's other side, ready to help should she need it. He had taken his helmet off at Li's and Sun Jian's request, but the smile on his face betrayed any fears he had about being in public without it. Had it really only been a year ago that he had discovered this sister? Already she had proven herself to be equal to him in every way; strong, honorable, loyal, and yet caring under her sharp exterior. He had thanked the gods every day for returning her to him, but after saving his best friend and Lord Sun Jian, he could find no more thanks to give. The amount seemed insignificant to what she deserved.
Sun Jian stood from his throne as the three made their way towards him and bowed. He walked down the stairs to them and beckoned them to stand. He turned to Li Tai and gave her a slight bow of his own. "My lady, it is I who should be bowing to you."
"Please don't, My lord," she answered, blushing. "You took me in as a servant, showed me kindness as Zhou Tai's sister, and welcomed me as a Lady. I don't require anymore than that to make me happy."
"Lady Tai, you have just saved an entire kingdom," Sun Jian replied to this. "There is nothing that can repay you for such an honor."
"My lord, as I said, I require nothing. As long as I am allowed to remain in your service, surrounded by the people I love, then I will be satisfied." She felt Lu Meng tighten his grip around her shoulders, and she looked up at one of the biggest smiles she had seen him give.
Sun Jian took a few steps back until he could see the entire delegation. "Well spoken, my Lady. We should all be so lucky to know people like Li Tai during our short lives on the earth. Among the chaos of this day and age, champions rise as they are called. We each have our own champions before you, who have fought valiantly and bravely as any of those in Wei and Shu. But I can truthfully say that we carry the greatest. And I am beside myself with joy to add another stalwart hero to our own today. Please raise a cheer for Lady Li Tai!"
In an instant, the room was filled to the brim with cheers and shouts from the delegation. Sun Shang Xiang ran down the stairs and hugged a breathless Li Tai, being careful of her chest wound. Gan Ning, however, was not so careful. Between him and Huang Gai, Li was unable to breath. Taishi Ci and Lu Xun were a little more subtle about their congratulations, beaming as they patted her shoulder and hugged her slightly. But it was the great hug from her brother that took Li by surprise. When everyone else had finished, Zhou Tai enveloped his sister in an embrace that would have killed anyone else. Li could feel her cheeks getting wet has her tears mixed with his. For all his fears of being seen emotional in public, he was making quite a scene with his crushing hug and salty tears. The crowd cheered loudly again as they continued to embrace.
"Thank you, Li. You have given me the gift of a sister, and friend, and a hero. I could not ask for more."
Li smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. As soon as she let go, she found herself enveloped once again, but Lu Meng was much gentler than her brother had been.
"You saved my life back there," he said, brushing a stay piece of hair out of her face. She laughed and gently touched his cheek.
"I do what I can:" she responded. Lu Meng grinned, then hoisted her in the air and spun her around.
"My wife is the most amazing woman ever!" The crowd erupted in cheers again as he brought Li back down to earth and planted a kiss on her lips. No one could recall a moment like this ever before, a moment where there was absolute peace and happiness in the kingdom of Wu. As the cheers of the people carried into the night air, all of the problems in the world ceased. There was not conflict, no war, no strife. No poverty, sickness, or evil. There was just happiness, the special kind that turns everything it touches into wonder, joy, and awe.