He saddled his horse and took off into the dead of night. He had to see father's grave. He had been buried on high ground just a half a mile outside the palace gates. The grounds were also the resting place of the Sun clan, and for those honored generals besides Ling Cao who gave their lives for Wu and its people.
Ling Tong slowed his horse before the grand cemetary arch, an ancient arch that clearly delineated ordinary earth before it from hallowed ground past. Ling Tong tied his horse to a tree and entered the grounds. The road--which looked more like an old scar on a scalp--faded into a carpet of grass, blackened by night, and studded with tuffs of long grass and withered shrubs. The moonlight gave Ling Tong sight enough to step and side-step between the graves, the swishing sound of his footsteps being the only sign of life.
He arrived at the Ling clan plot and approached his father's grave marker. He paused before it, then fell to his knees and bowed his head.
"What do I do, father?" Ling Tong said. There was no response from human, Heaven, nor Earth, save for a playful gust of wind that tustled his hair.
"What do I do!" Ling Tong pleaded. "You always had an answer."
He stayed curled before the gravestone until his back and thighs ached. He had no clue how long had passed when he finally rose to his feet in a daze. He felt depressed, insulted, trapped, and worst of all: sober. He thought the visit to the grave would clear his mind, but it had done nothing. Only the stillness of the air and scenery seemed to lessen the tulmult his emotions were in.
He untied his horse and remounted, feeling his head throb and his stomach complain of hunger. He rode back to the palace with dialed down speed, and after stabling his mount, headed straight for the kitchen. The palace was as quiet and still as he was used to--moreso, given the time of night. He figured the party must have ended as well. He stepped through the kitchen entrance while rubbing his temples with a hand across his brow. He bade the sparse amount of kitchen staff who were present to relax when they stood at attention. He then dropped his hand, and the sight before him nearly made him lose his appetite.
"Keep deh knifes away from 'im," Gan Ning said to the staff with his mouth full, pointing his chin toward Ling Tong. He was at one of the kitchen islands, in a stool hunched over a bowl of rice, vegetables, and a plate of porkchops. He swallowed his bite, then picked up a porcelain cup beside his food and dangled it between his fingers. "Tea?"
Ling Tong sighed, signaling his deflated spirit. Could this be an answer? he thought. He decided he didn't care right now. His head hurt, and he was ready to gnaw his arm off with hunger. "Sure," he said, seating himself across from the pirate. Gan Ning nodded, herding another bite into his mouth as he signaled to the staff from his seat to put together another serving for Ling Tong.
"What's on the menu?" Ling Tong asked.
"Leftovers," Gan Ning replied.
"Ah." A moment of awkward silence floated between them before it clicked in Ling Tong's mind. "Lu Meng throw you out, too?"
"Yeah, if it weren't for your little psychotic break, I'd be happily countin' sheep on a full stomach right about now." As Gan Ning said the words, a servant, with a cautious look, deposited Ling Tong's meal and a tea kettle before going back to work.
"Don't blame it all on me. You oughta think next time you shoot your mouth off. I don't know what you got away with while serving Huang Zu, but you can't just say whatever you feel like. There's more responsibility now that you're a high-ranking officer of Wu." Ling Tong said the words as he dove into his meal.
"I guess," Gan Ning uttered, downing a gulp of tea. Ling Tong mustered no reply--being content with the taste of his meal, he let more silent moments go by between the two for the sake of quickly satisfying his empty belly. He did not notice Gan Ning watching him as the pirate picked fibers of food from his teeth with his fingernail.
"So where did you go?" Gan Ning suddenly asked. "Just now?"
"Visiting my father," Ling Tong said bluntly before shoveling rice into his mouth.
"Ah," Gan Ning said, followed by another moment of awkward silence, where Gan Ning resumed eating. His behavior prompted Ling Tong to lower his rice bowl from his mouth and observe his companion, whom he noted ate with the manners of a feral animal. Beyond that observation, however, Ling Tong noted that he indeed possessed an unusual magnetism. Besides that, there was also something about Gan Ning's face that calmed him. He couldn't decide it it was his intense eyebrows, his angular cheeks, or his thin lips--perhaps a combination.
"You gonna finish that?" Gan Ning said, pointing at a piece of meat left on Ling Tong's plate. Ling Tong pushed the plate of pork towards the pirate for him to continue gorging on.
"I wonder if your field rations could keep you fed," Ling Tong mused aloud, sipping on his cup of tea.
Gan Ning grinned. "Funny you should say, because I told Sun Quan about my frequent bouts of hunger fatigue. He actually OK'd for me to take from you if I had to."
"Over my dead body," Ling Tong said, smiling to convey that he understood the joke. For the moment, Ling Tong forgot that he was supposed to be hating him.
"Ah, there you two are," a voice said. The two officers turned to see Lu Meng enter and approach them.
"Old man!" Gan Ning said. "Care to join us troublesome 'kids'?"
Lu Meng smiled at him, but said in seriousness, ""I'm afraid not, Gan Ning. We must prepare for battle immediately. Come with me and I will brief you." The officers left their dishes behind and followed Lu Meng who continued, "Wei is marching again. Cao Cao seems to have recovered more swiftly than we had anticipated. Our ally, Shu, has requested that we check them by flushing them out of He Fei."
"Why are we helping Shu?" Ling Tong asked.
"It doesn't matter," Lu Meng said, waving a dismissive hand. "It would be in our best interests as well to have He Fei under our control. That way, Cao Cao would not be so quick to make movements knowing that we are just over Xu Chang's horizon."
"So when do we leave?" Gan Ning said.
"As I said, we will be leaving immediately. Sun Quan wants a word with us, first."
They entered the familiar conference room, where Sun Quan was seated at the table along with Lu Xun, Zhou Tai, and Zhou Yu.
"Managed to round them up pretty fast, Lu Meng," Zhou Yu said.
"Just follow the stomach," Lu Meng said. Ling Tong and Gan Ning each gave their own looks of annoyance.
"Indeed. Have a seat," Zhou Yu directed. "As I was saying," he continued when the officers took their seats, "we will need to have some of us stay behind in case this is a ploy by Shu to redirect our attention while they prepare to strike. Zhuge Liang is not a mind to be trifled with, and we must take every precaution."
"But if we don't send enough men," Lu Xun said, "then it will be a long siege, and it will exhaust our army and supplies too much. He have to strike hard and fast before Shu can make any plans."
"Why are we striking in the first place?" Ling Tong interrupted. He knew he was no strategist by the likes of the experienced Zhou Yu or the prodigal Lu Xun, but he had a bad feeling either way. "I don't think there is any reason to take such a big risk any way you slice it."
"Yes," Lu Meng said. "But it's not such a big risk when you consider the benefits of such a location. If we succeed, our clout and bargaining capacity will expand greatly."
Sun Quan took a deep breath before saying, "Thank you for your input, gentlemen. Your points are well-taken. My decision, however, leans toward being cautious with this, as Zhou Yu recommended, but have no doubt that we will be waging a full assault on He Fei's garrison. It is too important to pass up."
"Who will go, then?" Lu Xun asked. Sun Quan scanned the table, coming to his decision with a smirk.
"I will go myself. Lu Meng, Ling Tong, and Gan Ning will accompany me," he said. Ling Tong paled.
"Sir!" Lu Xun interjected, leaping to his feet. "Are you sure that is wise? What if you are in danger?"
"He'll never be in danger with us around," Gan Ning said, leaning back in his chair. "Don't worry your boyish little head about it."
"Indeed. I would be remiss if I did not go to the front. I also want my top strategists here in case Zhuge Liang tries anything," Sun Quan said.
"Yes, sir," Lu Xun acknowledged, reseating himself.
"If there are no more concerns to bring up, then I dismiss this meeting so we may begin preparations."
The officers adjourned. As Ling Tong was making his way for the door, Sun Quan said, "Ling Tong, a word if you will."
Ling Tong's heart was pierced with dread. He could guess the subject of the conference, and it was a conversation he was not ready for. Once everyone was out the door and presumably out of earshot, Sun Quan spoke:
"I heard about what happened between you and Gan Ning." He sighed, gazing upwards. "It pains me to know that there is such animosity between our two of our best officers." He then lowered his eyes to Ling Tong's, and put a firm hand on his shoulder before saying, "You realize we cannot afford to harbor resentment. It breeds distrust and corrodes the unity of this army. I simply cannot tolerate it while our security from Wei and Shu is foremost on our priorities."
Ling Tong bowed his head. Sun Quan continued:
"Ling Tong, I do not mean to admonish you unjustly. You should know that I trust my life with your abilities as much as I did with your father's. That is why I will overlook the matter if you can promise to me here and now that whatever problem you have with Gan Ning can be put aside until the war is over and both of your services are no longer required."
Ling Tong's head drooped. "I promise," Ling Tong said, nodding. "I've been giving it some thought. Making Gan Ning pay for my father's death wouldn't satisfy anybody. And I think my old man would have been disappointed with who I had turned into at the party." Ling Tong shook his head. "He always said, 'Master what ails you.' No, upon my honor, I won't let my grief cause any more problems."
Sun Quan smiled, shaking Ling Tong lightly before releasing his shoulder. "Glad to hear it," he said. "Try to get some sleep in. We have a long road ahead."
