Running Blood

Fire. The burning houses, the screams of the people. It haunted her greatly, and she hated it.

"What's the matter, Lei Fong? Caring for the peasants?"

She did not bother to turn, let alone glare at her brother. Cao Pi rode his horse up beside hers, his hand was itching to pull out that sword that was by his side. She knew just by watching him from the corner of her eye. She really despised that bastard. Unlike his father, Cao Pi does not even try to hide his vileness. His intentions though, are thoroughly hidden.

"...."

Lei Fong's grip on her horse's reign tightened. She really wanted to hit him once. But her intentions were quickly dissolved as her attention caught the sight of a running soldier. Reaching before her, he went down on his knees.

"General Yu! Wu reinforcements!"

This was news.

"Wu reinforcements? But how? Their forces are suppose to be fighting with Shu at this moment!"

Zhang Liao thundered. Lei Fong had counted the possibility that Wu had some reserve troops. But something was off.

"How many are there?"

"We don't know! They came in riding on horses at great speeds! They had already killed off the advance units!"

"Impossible!"

Zhang Liao was certainly surprised, and Lei Fong understood the general's surprise. The advance units were no doubt weaker than the main troops, but they were tough as well. Her eyes looked to Cao Pi, who rubbed his chin, his eyebrows furrowed. No doubt he was thinking, and plotting.

"I will lead the troops to engage-"

Zhang Liao urged his horse forward, but Lei Fong raised her hand, stopping him.

"General Yu?"

"I will lead them myself. Wen Yuan, Zi Huan, take your units and travel North."

Zhang Liao stared at Lei Fong, bewildered by her words. Cao Pi simply smirked.

"North, General Yu?"

"Yes. There, you should come across a small abandoned town. Wait there for my return."

"But-"

"Do it."

Lei Fong cut Zhang Liao off, making it clear that she did not want to be questioned. Zhang Liao thought about it for a moment, then bowed to her.

"As you command. Men! Let us go!"

Lei Fong's eyes stayed focused on the burning town, not looking at Zhang Liao pull the men back. Cao Pi stayed behind a little longer, taking one more glance at Lei Fong's back, before riding off.

"... Now is the time."

Lei Fong's hand stretched out, and grabbed the spear that one of her men presented to her. Slipping her helmet on, she gripped onto her spear tightly. Raising her spear high, the roar of her men sounded from the hill where they now ride down. Fifty horsemen, seventy infantry units, all charging right behind her. Whoever Wu sends out, she will take them down. The advance units were suppose to secure the object which they were sent to get.

Although she was placed in-charge of the mission, Cao Pi had ordered his troops to burn the town. Though she really wanted to hit him, and arrest him for insubordination, she knew that Cao Pi had already gathered a large number of supporters under him. Also, she was the one in-charge. She should have gotten a better grip of the situation. Charging straight into town, she saw them. The blood red armour of Wu. Stained with the blood of her men.

"Charge!"

Lei Fong led her men forward. The Wu riders noticed her, and staged their own charge. Lei Fong steadied her spear, aimed it, and threw it with all of her might. The spear flew straight and true, piercing the armour and chest of the soldier she was aiming at, even throwing him off his horse. The throw itself had so much power that the spear actually flew out of the soldier's body, and impaling a second.

But the Wu soldiers did not stop. Anger, hatred, spite, all written over their faces and eyes. Those eyes. Like hungry animals, like tigers. She drew her sword, slashing another soldier as the two forces collided. She forced her horse forward, leaning to the right, grabbing onto her spear as she rode by. Pulling the reigns of her horse, she looked back, where the two forces had started to fight fiercely with one another. But something was wrong.

She estimated seventy Wu horsemen, yet they fought like they were a hundred. They were heavily outnumbered, yet they did not seem afraid. Then, a war cry split through the air. Lei Fong looked around, before seeing it. Coming from all directions, riders with blood red armour. There had to be at least two hundred Wu riders charging at them from all sides.

"Where did they come from?!"

"Steady yourselves!"

Lei Fong shouted. A couple of her officers and men broke off from the initial fighting, riding up beside her. She heeled her horse, charging forward with what few men followed her. She needed to break open a path for her unit. She should have seen it coming. An ambush, but for one to be pulled off so flawlessly in such a short time, Lei Fong had to know who commanded this force.

Her small unit collided with the force that had blocked their way out, the same way they came in. Spearing a soldier, she parried an attack, before knocking that man off his horse. But just as she was about to strike him down, the corner of her eye caught something, and she parried just in time as a rider slammed their weapon against her, throwing her off her horse. Scrambling to her feet, Lei Fong drew her sword, turning to the same rider who knocked her off, who was now circling back.

A white stallion, with a bloodied spear in one hand. The rider charged at Lei Fong, who ducked and rolled away, reaching her spear which had fallen out of her hand during her fall. Picking it up, she aimed and threw it at the rider, who actually jumped off the sadle, dodging the spear, and landing on the ground.

The rider wasted no time, launching the spear in hand at Lei Fong, who managed to duck, and launched off the crouching position, sword already drawn. Lei Fong could not get to her feet in time, but she managed to parry the attack, and that was when she saw her attacker clearly.

"... Is it me, or are there a lot of women on the field today?"

The young girl seemed to smile.


Xu Yen had to admit, this day just kept getting more and more interesting by each passing second. The girl was pretty, and looked to be slightly older than that Shu girl. If Xu Yen remembered clearly, Zhao Yun called her Xing Li. Then who is this? By the looks of things, she is no ordinary soldier. A general. Intricate details to the armour, and her sword is also something.

While Xu Yen was admiring her opponent, her opponent was slowly gaining strength, and Xu Yen only noticed it when her feet were no longer touching the floor. Her opponent managed to actually lift Xu Yen, and launch her into the air. Flipping gracefully in the air, Xu Yen landed lightly on her feet. Her opponent was already making an attack towards her. Bringing her sword close to her, by her chest, Xu Yen charged, side-stepping the first swing, countering with her own swing, but her opponent was fast, parrying the attack.

"You're... not... bad."

Xu Yen smirked, breathing down on her opponent.

"You... too!"

Her opponent pushed Xu Yen off once more, and Xu Yen staggered back. Xu Yen is small in size, and compared to this Wei general, Xu Yen may as well be a dwarf. Standing a full head taller than Xu Yen, this girl had the strength of two men, or at least in Xu Yen's mind it was. Wu horsemen rode up, and formed a circle around the two generals. The Wei general was now on a stronger guard than before.

"General Li! I am glad that you're unhurt."

Xu Yen waved her lieutenant off.

"I can handle this. You guys should not interfere."

"But-"

"Don't worry about me. Just make sure that we clear the townspeople."

"We already did that. The enemy forces are right now being routed, though some managed to escape."

Xu Yen licked her lips, feeling somewhat of an adrenaline going through her. She turned to her opponent, raising her sword and pointing it at the woman.

"Let's end this, shall we?"

Xu Yen charged at her opponent, who was slow at first, but charged as well. Xu Yen twirled her sword in her palm, before throwing it at her opponent, who parried it, sending the sword spinning in the air, before it imbedded itself in the ground. The enemy swung her sword at Xu Yen, who jumped onto the hilt of her own sword, and jumping again, flipping in the air just as the enemy's sword swung under her.

In the same flip, Xu Yen grabbed her sword, pulling it free, and bringing the sword crashing down on her enemy, who could not bring her sword up in time to parry it, but brought her arm up in a reflex motion. Xu Yen's sword hit the metal arm guard, but the arm guard was not made to withstand such a force, and broke. The swing cut deep, but not deep enough.

The Wei general screamed in pain, clutching onto her arm, as Xu Yen stepped back. The woman glared at Xu Yen, before charging at Xu Yen once more with her good arm. Xu Yen swung down her sword, before charging again. She ducked low, cutting at the Wei general's torso, but in an unexpected turn, her opponent jumped. While Xu Yen's sword still cut the enemy, it was light, and Xu Yen felt a tremendous pain searing through her chest.

"AAAHH!"

Xu Yen's lungs burned as she fell to the ground. Surprise took over the Wu soldiers, and the enemy general jumped up, kicking a Wu soldier off his horse, mounting the horse at the same time, before riding off, with some Wu riders chasing after her.

"General!"

Xu Yen could not respond, as the pain was nearly unbearable. The cut was not deep, but it was not shallow either. A clean slice from the left side of her abdomen, diagonally up over her right shoulder. A long blood line.

"Doctor! We need a doctor right away!"

"Ko-... Kong Xu-..n"

"Don't speak! Doctor!"

"Whe-..re... is... she-..?"

"We... we're chasing her now."

Xu Yen smiled, before the pain seared once more through her body.

"Xu Yen!"

"It's... been so... long... since you... called me... by that name..."

"Please... don't die on me!"

".. Let... her go..."

"What?!"

Xu Yen's captain thought he was hearing things. Xu Yen couldn't have possibly asked them to let her attacker go. Xu Yen never lets her enemies go. They either submit, or die.

"Do it..."

"... Yes. You, call them back! We're to make camp and set up a defensive line around here, got it?"

"Yes sir!"


Sun Ce Bo Fu had heard the news, and did not take it lightly. In a rage, and also of anxiousness, he actually jumped off his horse, and ran. No one had ever seen their lord run unless it was for food, hunting, or drinks. Now, he was running through the camp to the largest tent, where four guards stood by the entrance, and another five were stationed around the tent itself.

The guards snapped to attention at his presence, but he did not bother to even look at them, running into the tent. There, on the bed, was Xu Yen. Bandage wrapped around her torso were soaked in blood. Sun Ce's eyes then fell to an old man who sat by the bed. The doctor got up when Sun Ce approached him, but was caught by surprise when the lord of Wu grabbed onto his shirt with a glare that was so scary, it can only be described as a demon's face.

"How did this happen?!"

"I-i don't know! Y-you should ask the man who brought me to her!"

"!!! Dammit!"

Sun Ce let the doctor go, kneeling by the bed and holding onto one of Xu Yen's hands. The young girl did not respond to him, her eyes closed and breathing somewhat erratic.

"She's fine for now. I cleaned the wound and bandaged it. Luckily it wasn't fatal, but i recommend her not getting out of bed for another month, just to be sure. And another two months after to recover before she can go back on the battlefield."

The doctor explained, somewhat relieved that Sun Ce was no longer mad.

"I'll make sure she'll never go on the field again. I've lost my father, and almost my sister. I will not make the same mistake twice."


She was not able to focus on the path the horse was taking her. Her good hand used to apply pressure to the wound on her abdomen, while her injured arm was dangling freely by her side. She rested her head against the mane of the horse as it slowly trotted along. Her persurers left given up, no, they let her go. No doubt it was that female general. That general did not strike her as an unreasonable type, but rather as one who held honour and valor. If that general didn't, she would be dead by now, impaled by all of those riders that surrounded her during their duel.

"Tch."

Lei Fong gritted her teeth as the pain from her arm was starting to get to her. The horse continued to head North, and it wasn't for another five minutes before Lei Fong managed to see the faint outline of a town. The same town she told Zhang Liao and Cao Pi to wait for her in. The horse slowly headed into the town, where Wei soldiers ran up to it, and to their general. Lei Fong slid off the horse, losing all of her energy, but landed in the safe arms of the soldiers.

"General Yu!"

"Get a doctor right away!"

Lei Fong was brought straight into a giant house. It wasn't a mansion with a garden, but it was larger than the rest. The soldiers placed her on the bed of a room, and military doctors came in, and started to help her. Taking off her armour, dressing the wounds, and bandaging them.

Soon, they were done, and Lei Fong lay on the bed, trying to conserve her energy as the doctor instructed. Zhang Liao and Cao Pi stepped in after having a chat with the doctors. Judging by their looks, they were quite worried, which surprised Lei Fong, since she knew Zhang Liao to be one who would rarely worry about things, and Cao Pi, whom she had thought he never cared.

"Hi..."

She smiled.

"You were reckless out there, lady Yu."

Zhang Liao sighed, sitting down on a chair. Lei Fong flinched slightly at that title. She did not like being given titles, especially by people she were close to.

"I misjudged the enemy. They had set up an ambush so quickly that before i realized it, we were surrounded. How are my men? Some managed to escape."

"They're fine. We were all thinking the worst when they came back without you."

Cao Pi answered, leaning against the wall of the room. That same irritated look on his face, Lei Fong could not help but smile.

"Ge... you should learn to trust your family more."

"Trust? Look what happened to you! I mean, you almost died!"

Cao Pi shouted, but quickly regained himself. Lei Fong knew that her brother is a prick, and an overall jerk, but it seems like he had gained his father's strong love for the family. Well, that's a start.

"So? Did you find out anything about the enemy?"

Cao Pi quickly changed the topic. How typical, but Lei Fong could see the red tinge in his cheeks.

"... This ambush was set up by a woman. She's very strong, being the one who managed to dodge my attacks and inflict so much damage on myself."

"A woman?"

Cao Pi and Zhang Liao looked at each other.

"Yes... I managed to injure her, but it was only by luck. My leg slipped slightly, making her attack go slightly off, while i managed to cut her. But she's very strong."

"... It can't be."

Zhang Liao closed his eyes, rubbing his temples with his hands.

"Huh? What is it?"

"You may have faced the wolf of Wu."

Cao Pi answered her question, seeing as how Zhang Liao was quite worried.

"The... wolf?"

"Yes. She is known to hunt down her enemies, never letting them go. We need to leave. Wu troops may be on the march to our position as we speak."


For some reason, Tai Xing Li looked up. She thought she felt something off. Something was different. They were marching back to Shu, but she felt something odd. There was something she needed to do, or at least that was what she felt. The strange feeling that would not go away.

"Xing Li?"

Ming Yun looked at her. She snapped back to reality, smiling back at Ming Yun.

"It's nothing." Probably.

The troops suddenly stopped marching. Xing Li looked up, and saw that Guan Yu was discussing something with Zhao Yun. For this expedition, Guan Yu and Zhao Yun were the only two great generals dispatched. Some other generals were here as well, but Xing Li had some doubts on their capabilities. Zhao Yun seemed to be convincing Guan Yu of something, and it looks as though Guan Yu is convinced, as evident by his head nodding.

"Men! We'll change course!"

Some of the men were confused by this. But Xing Li felt something beating hard in her chest. Something was going to happen.

"We march North! To Wei!"

The men were now worried. Was their general drunk with bloodlust that he lost all reason?

"Worry not! The enemy we will face is one that is broken, and weak! We can thank Wu for that. They were daring enough to take advantage of a weakened nation, and though Wu is our enemy, we cannot ignore such an act! Are you with us?!"

Guan Yu trust his spear into the air, waiting. The men looked at each other, then to Guan Yu. The great general had such a strong presence, like he is God himself. The men all knew what they needed to do. They trusted their weapons into the air, giving out a defeaning war cry.

"Good! Onwards!"

Xing Li noticed that all of the men seemed to be hyped, their marching speed increasing until they were finally running. She sighed, matching her pace with the others. Men, all blood-thirsty. Did they even realize that they are running to face certain death?

"What's wrong? We're going to fight Wei, you know."

Ming Yun ran up beside her. Xing Li could see the twinkle in his eye. Like all the other men, Ming Yun was eager for battle. A little too eager. Xing Li rolled her eyes at that. Somehow, she had a feeling that it was going to be a one-sided battle, and not for them.