Thank you to Stardawn19 for editing this chapter and helping me make it more potent!

Chapter 20

Xena asked about the strange man as the subject came up, but these casual interrogations were far and few between. She did not want to suddenly become chatty with the other soldiers after being so cold, as this would draw some questions. She wanted to keep as low a profile as possible. Also, most did not know who she was talking about as he had made himself scarce since Xena had spotted him, and she was forced to conclude that he was too highly ranked to spend time in her camp. So Xena decided she would simply keep out a watchful eye and a sharp ear.

Even with all her diligence Xena did not discover anything new about the mysterious man for the next six months. She had been sent into battle against the northern nomads several times, and they won most of their fights, largely do to Xena. She slowly earned the respect of her superiors and was soon given the title 'Noyan' and put in charge of one thousand men. Eli warned her about becoming too involved with the war, and Xena heeded his advise, often biting her tongue and allowed her dim-witted superiors to stumble along with their faulty strategies, leading them blindly into battles that should have been easily won. Eli had earned her respect since visiting his 'church' in Kirkiz, or at least enough respect to heed his advice, and he helped her keep a level head. Try as she must however, she only had so much patience before she would loose it with these people, and in spite of Eli's promises that there was something important that she must find there, she started plotting her escape. She needed to make it look like she died, because if it was found out that Xena had deserted, they would go after the Zhu family. She was slowly accepting this risk. She needed to find Gabrielle. She didn't see how anything here where Eli wanted could be worth more than finding Gabrielle and making sure she was safe. The only thing that kept her in the army was the slight chance of meeting this mysterious man once more.

...

Little did she know, she had had much the same effect on the well-dressed official she had glimpsed. He was an Aravt, the highest leader of the army besides the Emperor. He did some undercover research and found out what little there was to know about the boy warrior. When they met again, it was under the most bizarre circumstance.

...

It was another day of battle and Xena dressed accordingly. She refused all offers of help with her armor for fear of discovery. She had taught herself how to bend in ways that allowed her the privacy of independence. She no longer had to worry about anyone waking and seeing her as she had been promoted to her own tent, and took full advantage of the perks this afforded her.

Although she was glad to be independent, she couldn't help but miss Gabrielle during the daily ritual. Before Gabrielle she had always cared for herself, dressing her own wounds and strapping on her own armor. Even when she was crippled she did not allow Borias to help her with anything. She worked alone, until Gabrielle. Gabrielle taught her to open up, to allow someone to assist her, to humble herself enough to ask for help, even when she didn't need it. Gabrielle had usually insisted that she help her unstrap that stubborn scabbard from her back, to undo her armor's buckles that were placed so awkwardly under her armpit. Xena had shivered at every touch, and now she ached with their absence.

...

The Aravt had heard that this strange young warrior would be fighting alongside his own regime that day. His curiosity had not diminished in any way over the months. The fact that he heard that she made a formidable opponent only increased

...

The battlefield was cold and silent in the early morning. The Chin army could see nothing through the mist. Xena led those under her command as quietly as they could through the trees that encircled the frosty spring field. Her Zuut, a leader one level above her, had taken her advice on this particular part and had ordered all the available Wei kingdom troops to walk through the trees on either side of the field. Hopefully then they could surround the enemy camp and catch them off guard as they slept.

Unfortunately, the Chin soldiers Xena was in charge of were trained to be unthinking swords that rode boldly into battle, not skilled hunters of men. The crystals of ice crunched under their feet as her army walked clumsily forward. The people of the Wei kingdom, as the people of Chin in Lao Ma's day, had become too proud to use military strategies such as sneaking around to gain the element of surprise. It had taken a lot of convincing on Xena's part to get her commander to agree on her advice. For good reason, too, as the army was ill equipped for such a strategy. Through the din of their clumsy shuffling feet Xena heard the bird call of an enemy lookout warning their foes of their presence.

"Charge!" Xena yelled. "lililililililili cheyah!" Xena took her chakram from her belt and flung it into the heavy white clouds that swirled on the frozen earth. She went smoothly into back handsprings and flips. Upon landing in the middle of her foes, Xena drew her sword and engaged ten of them at once with a furious grin on her face. She met foe after hapless foe with her blade, slicing left and right through thick leather armor and soft buttery flesh. As she spun around to slice off two heads at once she reached up and snatched her flying weapon out of the air. Holding the circle in the middle, she alternated sword for chakram, chakram for sword, leaving a trail of bodies behind her. Before she knew it she had cut through the Rouran and was facing her fellow troops on the other side.

She paused to look around. Both sides were fighting with equal passion, though some of their enemy was only half clothed in armor. So they did have a bit of surprise on their side. The bright armor of a Chin leader caught her eye as he went down, and she quickly came to his aid. After slicing the offender nearly in two she glanced down at the victim and was shocked to see none other than that man she had glimpsed so long ago. This time it was easy to blame the suddenness of this discovery for the ice-cold fire that leaped up in her chest. Once again, Xena did not know how to react. Luckily she only froze for a fraction of a second before the man broke eye contact, releasing her back into the fray. She left him immediately, unable to fully understand what she had just seen in that man's eyes, but instead simply wrestled into submission the urge to attack him. Her bloodlust must be out of control.

Xena fought the rest of the day without slowing, a fire in her soul that could paralyze the weaker of her foes with fear. The fog didn't last through the morning but Xena was so hyper focused on destruction that she barely realized when they won. Finally there came a time when there was no one left to fight, and Xena looked around at the other Wei soldiers. Covered in the blood of her foes, she raised her sword and shouted a long war cry that was joined by the rest of the victorious warriors.

Cleaned and watered and back at their own camp, the Zuut above her invited her into the commander's meeting tent for a meal of celebration. Having fought all day without a break, she was starving. Xena was surprised when she was given a place of honor several seats closer to the Aravt than her status would have normally allowed her. She did not question this, but sat down without a word. Maybe it had something to do with the absence of the Aravt, or whoever sat at the head of the table. She wondered where the strange man was. Half way through the meal she found out, as her item of interest sat at the Aravt's seat.

"I apologize for my delay, but I had a few issues to deal with," he said pompously. She recoiled, reminded of Caesar, but then, once more, he caught her eye. This time was different; instead of an icy chill, Xena was filled with something like warm honeyed milk that soothed her heart and made her yearn for more. He gave her a small smile then turned aside and engaged the man next to him in conversation.

Who on earth could this man be, to arouse such contradictory responses in her? All thoughts of hunger forgotten, Xena looked around for someone to ask the questions burning in her heart.

"Who is that man?" she asked a man to her right. They had previously discussed the day's battle earlier that night, so he was the most logical person to ask.

He responded to her question happily. "You mean Aravt Jianjun? I can't believe you've never hear of him!" The round-faced Zuut broke into uproarious laughter, blowing his stale alcoholic breath all over Xena's face.

"Thanks." she snarled.

"Wha- what for?" he asked, whipping away a tear from his eye.

"You answered my question, Angshu."

Angshu caught sight of the look on Xena's face through his tears and his laughter immediately subsided. "Sorry – hic – Junjie."

Xena turned to her other side, but he was engaged in a heated debate about the importance of Confucianism. She didn't even know what Confucianism was. Xena spent most of the rest of the meal in quiet meditation over her fruits and vegetables. She wasn't about to drag information out of anyone, she didn't want to seem too interested in Aravt Jianjun. She had finished her plate and was looking for an excuse to leave when the room quieted and the topic turned to war.

"We need to build another wall," Jianjun said loudly, "We must protect our farm land from these northern barbarians." There was a chorus of, hear hear! before it quieted down enough for Jianjun to continue.

"From the top of the Yellow river to the ocean, we must become invincible to attack!"

"You mean to say you will only build a wall in one straight line?" The room was suddenly quiet, and every eye was fixed on Xena. "It makes sense to build a wall in a circle around the city, but if you build one on the middle of nowhere it'll be too hard to man and our enemies will only go around it."

"No, the people of Chin have been doing this for centuries. It is the way to deal with barbarians. Besides, a fortified city can not produce its own food long enough to survive a siege." The man on Jianjun's right glared at her through his words.

"Then build a longer wall to encircle the nearby farm land as well as the city. But like I said, if the wall doesn't enclose anything, our enemy will simply go around it." Xena was exasperated. She had been one of the war lords who easily side stepped the great walls of Chin.

"Know your place, man!" the man bellowed, but Jianjun waved him down.

"What's your name?" the Aravt asked.

"Zhu Junjie." Xena responded.

"I see. Well, Junjie I will expect you at my tent at noon sharp tomorrow. I will deal with you then." He waved his hand in dismissal. Without a moments hesitation Xena stood and walked out of the tent. She was glad to finally escape the stuffy scent of alcohol, and intended to do her forms to work away her frustration with these close-minded fools. She went off into a secluded part of the woods and practiced her old moves, enriching them with her new Kung Fu. Once she had enough trial runs with the new moves she would determine which were most useful in a fight and integrate those with her old fighting style.

She couldn't believe how blinded these people were by their pride. Frankly, she had had it with them. She would satisfy her curiosity by touching the edge of Jianjun's soul with her own tomorrow, and if it proved to be a dead end, then she would wipe the dust off her feet and leave, simple as that.