Recently, I happened to do an in-depth study of Zhuge Liang's biography [at least, if you could call spending hours frying your eyes out in front of the computer screen surfing the net 'in-depth']. The guy absolutely amazes me. The things he's done, his accomplishments, his pure genius… it makes me feel so unworthy to be twisting his history and all that.
But then, I remembered that the reason I started this fanfic in the first place because I adored his 'awesomeness' [for the lack of a better term…] and found his private life so interesting [someone likes to stick her nose in other people's business] and also because the origin of Huang YueYing's existence was pretty vague—which leaves a lot of room for creativity to set in. But given that, I still don't know how I'm going to end this thing in such a way that it's still convincing. I've been shaking my head for a clever way that's not Mary Sue-ish [which I think is very annoying and yet very tempting to do at the same time]… I hope it dawns upon me soon.
Well anyway, that's that. Just rambling a bit.
Chapter 7
Two days after the successful entrance into Shanggui, the Master Strategist of Shu wasted no time and immediately got to work in relentlessly seizing the minor forts around the main city, and finally, securing power over the region. It had appeared to be almost effortless to him as one by one the bastions fell into his hands in a sweeping victory—further pressuring Sima Yi.
It was then that Hou Yi had her first taste of fighting along with the Shu troops, and instantly, she felt completely carried away by the soldiers' fierce loyalty and strength. They had a sense of purpose… the kind that made them face the battlefield with such passion and determination that no army could ever hope to match. Theirs was an uplifting infectious force that hoped to weave itself into every fiber of her being that it made her feel as if she had been fighting for this new kingdom from the beginning. Because of them, Hou Yi nearly never felt any sense of remorse for having deliberately turned her back on Wei
And it was also only then that it began to sink in to her that Zhuge Liang was her commander, and that she had to strictly obey his every word. Now that she was following his strategies, it made her truly marvel at how much of a genius he really was as compared to her days in Wei when there was that pressure to defeat him.
It had become clear to her now. She was not drawing her swords for only herself, but for this kingdom that she must now be compelled to serve.
When the last fort had been conquered, the army returned to the main city again and awaited Zhuge Liang's next instructions. The sudden break from the long battles made the wait feel like an eternity for Hou Yi. She was itching for another encounter. Hou Yi was no bloodthirsty warrior and she certainly found no pleasure in bloodshed, but something about the battlefield lured her to keep fighting. It was not because she simply wanted to prove her strength and skill as a woman (although she is actually proud that she's stronger than most men), or to compete with the other officers (she still ends up defeating more enemies than they do without really trying). She fought because it released the pent-up rage in her. Behind her smiles was a heart full of anger and resentment… disappointments and pain that she'd ever so often try not to focus on. But in every swing of her sword these emotions set themselves free… and Hou Yi would never fail to witness the destructive effects as she finds herself standing amidst the cold corpses of her enemies.
Hou Yi had a stable mind and knew how to exercise control. But like any woman, it was her emotions that often influenced her actions and her drive to fight so viciously.
She was a fatal weapon—and for that reason, when Cao Pi first laid eyes on her, he knew that she should belong to Wei.
But they made a grave mistake of welcoming a ferocious tiger with only a string for a leash. And when they provoked her, her wrath upon them was unstoppable. She left for four years to sharpen her claws and build up her strength. And now she has returned, a masked warrior, deadlier than ever to seek and draw blood from the man that took away the one person that had taught her to live. She could not forgive him—Sima Yi.
And as Zhang…a man, a man who felt neither fear nor weakness, she will take her revenge.
One quiet afternoon, while awaiting Zhuge Liang's instructions, the soldiers took the moment to rest. While some preferred to spend the time cleaning and sharpening their swords with the help of Luo, the city blacksmith, the others simply engaged themselves in conversations about the usual concerns and affairs: their wives, families that they left behind and such. Meanwhile, Hou Yi decided to pay a visit to Luo's workshop—a wide open lot with benches and a large central stone structure in the middle as the main work area—located east of the city plaza.
"Big Bear!" Hou Yi playfully called out as soon as she arrived. She was the only one who used this nickname for him, and it appeared to suit him perfectly because of his bear-like size and large square face with an abundant growth of hair stubbles on his chin. He had big round eyes that shone brightly, and upon seeing Zhang immediately lit up.
"Ah! Zhang, what can I do for you?" Luo's voice was rough, but it greeted her warmly and was accompanied by a friendly smile. He was a huge man with a huge heart to match that often reminded Hou Yi of the sun on a lively spring morning.
"Just the usual. A little cleaning and some sharpening. I think my sword isn't cutting as well as it used to lately."
"Not a problem, Zhang! You're my priority! I'll get my men to work on that first." Luo answered followed by a short hearty laugh. Zhang handed him the two swords and lazily stretched out on one of the benches under a canopy, cushioning her head by placing both hands behind it and closed her eyes—but with no intention of falling asleep. Luo called one of his smiths and gave the pair of swords to them, muttered a couple of instructions, and returned to where Hou Yi rested.
"Hey Zhang." he spoke. "Do you know when that Zhuge Liang will tell us his next move?"
Hou Yi sighed, almost wearily. "Nope. No idea."
"But it's been days!"
"Exactly." Hou Yi said matter-of-factly. "I don't know what the guy's been up to." And I don't have any plans of finding out for myself. She could not forget that night wherein she experienced first-hand what it felt like being burned alive by his fiery words. She wondered suddenly if he had ever spoken to Jiang Wei that way. But then she decided to shake away the thoughts from her head, not wanting to be reminded of that blood-boiling incident. She might as well avoid direct confrontation with the Sleeping Dragon lest she be shoved into the fire again.
"According to reports, the Wei army is already heading towards here, but Zhuge Liang doesn't seem to be doing anything. Don't tell anyone what I just told you by the way. We don't want to cause any panic."
"Okay. Oh, since you know him, why don't you go ask him so we can finally know what's going to happen?" Luo was clueless about Hou Yi's unfortunate experience. Hou Yi's eyes opened wide awake.
"Hell no."
"Why? How come?" Luo was innocently puzzled.
"Because. Period." Hou Yi wished he wouldn't probe into it.
"Come on, tell me!" He coaxed her. Hou Yi pictured in her mind a scruffy bear rolling at her feet and then abruptly changing into an image of Zhuge Liang, literally looking like a frightening dragon.
"Why don't you ask him yourself?" She fired back, slightly feeling annoyed.
"But you know him more than I do."
"Well, get to know him then! He's not such a bad person…I think." Hou Yi said the last words silently.
"Well if he's not such a bad person why not ask him?"
"Because!" Hou Yi was starting to feel unnerved. Stop asking!
"Wait a second…" Luo voice became hushed as he leaned forward to Hou Yi's mask. Hou Yi could feel his heavy breath beating down upon it. "Are you… afraid of him?"
Zhang jolted upright in a sitting position, startling the curious blacksmith. "Afraid? Of course not! Why should I?" it had been a blatant lie.
"That's the question. Why are you?"
"I said I'm not afraid of him!"
"Then ask him now so we can get things cleared up!" Luo's tone sharply rose again. Goddamn… Hou Yi shook her head in disbelief.
"Listen, Big Bear. I just asked you to do me a little favor to polish and sharpen my swords. Since when did grilling become part of your business?"
"Because I want to know what will happen to us next!" His hands were flying in the air.
Exasperated, Zhang finally blurted out, "Fine! Alright! I'll ask him!"
"Sheesh…" she mumbled as she got up.
Just then a familiar figure walked in along accompanied by Jiang Wei. Hou Yi could already feel shivers from the gust of wind that the other man, whom she knew very well, carried.
Hou Yi arose and along with Luo, bowed her head to Zhuge Liang. Liang nodded in turn.
"What brings you here, my lord?" the head blacksmith asked.
"Will it be alright if I could have a word with Zhang for a moment?"
"Ah, yes sir." Before he left, Luo elbowed Hou Yi's side to remind her to ask the Prime Minister. He probably didn't realize how much weight and power he had on his elbow when Hou Yi arched her body to the opposite side, feeling as if he broke every rib in her. She nodded her head reluctantly, briefly gritting her teeth in pain as she placed a hand on where Luo had hit her.
Straightening up, Zhang turned to Zhuge Liang and let him speak first.
"Yes sir? Would you like to sit down?" Hou Yi feigned politeness.
"No need. I will only make this quick." Liang drew a deep breath and said, "First, I'd like to apologize for how unfairly I must have treated you."
Hou Yi almost wanted to guffaw. I never guessed you were the type to apologize.
"Oh, that's nothing, Jiangjun. I was pretty drunk then anyway." She replied, putting on a fake smile of acceptance. She had decided from that night on that she wasn't going to like him and simply had no other choice but to put up with him. But it felt rather strange that he should ask for forgiveness.
"Good. Second," Zhuge Liang spoke with complete straightforwardness. "I would like to commend you on your early performance in this army. You proved to possess such great strength and skill…" Hou Yi glanced at Jiang Wei who seemed to be pretty pleased with what was happening. She threw a suspicious look at her friend, and she could have sworn he saw him wink at her. She wondered if he had said anything to his mentor to make him treat her kindly. Or so she thought.
"Quite 'demonic' I should say." Zhuge Liang finished. Hou Yi's optimism shattered even before it could be formed.
"Demonic?" Hou Yi repeated dully, expressing confusion on whether to think of it was a compliment or another of the Prime Minister's well-disguised mockeries.
"Well it is a surprise to see how many enemies you could slay single-handedly. A hundred? Alone? I dare say that that is rather a demonic display of brute strength." Just as soon as he caught a glimpse of a scowl on Zhang's face he immediately added, "Which is vital to the success of my strategies. And after careful deliberation, I have decided that you Zhang will be promoted as officer of the same rank as Jiang Wei."
Promoted? Hou Yi wasn't sure is she should already be rejoicing just yet. But there was one thing she was after.
"Does that mean… I'll be leading a regiment like Jiang Wei?" She saw a gleaming smile on Jiang Wei's face.
Zhuge Liang's lips curved into a thin smile.
"Certainly," Zhang felt overjoyed at the moment, and only for a moment it lasted when she had to hear the last part.
"…not." Jiang Wei looked shocked to hear his mentor deny Hou Yi the authority he had. It was not what he expected to hear from him.
Hou Yi sighed and said under her breath, "I knew it."
"Knew what, Zhang?" Zhuge Liang pretended not to notice her disappointment.
"Nothing Jiangjun. You sure have a good way of smashing optimism. Really brilliant."
Zhuge Liang simply returned her biting sarcasm with a smirk, annoying Hou Yi further. Hou Yi really was thankful for wearing a mask or she could have given Liang the pleasure to see her eyes rolling up in frustration.
"So I'm an officer. And I don't have troupes under me. Then what? Anything else?" Hou Yi was sure to hear jeers from the Shu soldiers when they learn about this. An officer without a regiment—how ridiculous could that get? It was like a king without a kingdom.
"Yes, there is something else," Zhuge Liang paused for effect. "I am appointing you as my bodyguard."
There was silence among them—only the common clamors of forging iron filled the empty air. Liang wanted his words to sink in to Hou Yi. It took seconds before Hou Yi realized what he had just said. She shot a glance at Jiang Wei, who was pretty shocked as well. What the hell is the meaning of this, Jiang Wei??
"Your bodyguard?!" she repeated his words, this time with a feeling of astonishment.
"Yes. My bodyguard. I thought the task would suit you perfectly." He said in a simple tone. "Your duty will begin starting tomorrow. Any questions?"
"I sure do." Hou Yi spat the words fearlessly. "Why me?"
"Simple, Zhang." He paused. He was looking at her intently. "Because I said so. Now, if you have any other questions, I will hear them later. I am a busy man, and the Wei forces are on their way. I must get back to my work." The Sleeping Dragon ended as he turned to leave. Jiang Wei was expressing the same confused expression that Hou Yi had.
"Wait a second! Can't I even decline this?"
Zhuge Liang shot an intimidating glance at her. "It surprises me that you would want to. This is quite a high position that I am giving you. Any normal soldier would accept such an offer."
But you didn't even offer it to me in the first place—you were forcing it upon me. Hou Yi thought.
"Then give it to them who'd beg on their knees for that job. I'm pretty contented with just being a regular member of the infantry." Hou Yi seemed to have forgotten what her defiance had brought her.
Then, she noticed Jiang Wei agitatedly mouthing words to her and discreetly shaking his head. He was telling her to yield. But it was clear that she could no longer escape the Sleeping Dragon's fangs.
"Then would you be contented as well with leaving my army now and be a regular peasant?" Zhuge Liang replied as he languidly motioned his fan towards her.
Hou Yi bit her lip.
"Fine. I'll take it."
Liang nodded his head, as if to conclude the discussion. "Consider yourself honored that I have personally come here to tell you about your promotion." He said before he finally left ahead of Jiang Wei.
"Thanks a lot." Zhang grumbled sarcastically.
Then, without warning, she lunged at Jiang Wei and forcefully grabbed him by the collar with an unusual power coming from a woman. Jiang Wei was startled by Hou Yi's violent approach.
"You bastard! What the hell did you tell him?" She growled. "And the nerve for you to be winking at me! I swear I will poke that eye of yours out of its socket if you won't start talking you moron!"
"I wasn't expecting what just happened awhile ago either Ho—I mean, Zhang! Let me explain first so let go of me!"
"You better do." She roughly released her grip. Jiang Wei felt like her temper matched the ferocious wolf carving on her mask perfectly.
"Look. I don't know what got into the Prime Minister alright? I put in a good word for you saying how you killed probably more than a hundred soldiers and what not. He seemed pleased and told me that he was interested in promoting you. I didn't know it would turn out this way." He said as he straightened the crumpled collar of his tunic.
"Goddamn. I'd rather use his body to shield myself from arrows than stand in his way to catch them for him."
"Zhang. He's testing you. Can't you see that?"
"Yes I know, but for what reason?" She snarled.
"Well, first of all, he wasn't given that liberty when one of our generals, Wei Yan, was accepted by Lord Liu Bei. And so we had to bear the consequences of putting up with his irritating cockiness and irrationality."
"So he's taking out his frustration on me? Well I'll kick his ass if that's the case!"
"No that's not what I meant!" Jiang Wei was getting weary of trying to explain himself. "Would you calm down first?"
Hou Yi took a deep breath and pursed her lips.
"What I meant was," he continued. "He didn't want the same thing to happen again. He's very cautious like that. Second, you're from the Wei army. I don't think he'd even trust you in the first place if I hadn't told him that I know you. And we're already in a crucial point in this war that we simply can't make too many mistakes or even make any at all. Any strategist would be distrustful of someone who claims himself an ally when he's coming from a mortal enemy's army."
"Then why did he trust you then?"
"He was the one who convinced me, Zhang. And I've long been interested in learning the ropes from him."
"And my nerd friend felt so honored?" She teased. Jiang Wei chuckled.
"Whatever, Zhang."
"Okay, what else?" Hou Yi asked, feeling much calmer.
"Lastly, you look suspicious with that conspicuous mask on."
"What's wrong with wearing a mask? If can get him one if he wants one." Hou Yi placed her fingers over her mask.
"Nothing's wrong with it. Except that it connotes something dark about you."
"Even politicians who aren't wearing masks have something dark about them! And what's scarier is that they don't even need masks to hide their true identities. The only reason why I'm wearing this is because I had to infiltrate the Wei army again."
"Then why not remove it now?" The question struck Hou Yi as she turned away from him to avoid his gaze. She almost felt like she was under the scrutinizing eyes of Zhuge Liang again.
"Because this has become my identity." Her voice had suddenly shifted to a somber tone.
"What are you talking about?"
"Women are considered weak, Jiang Wei. You and I know that. Men expect women to simply be naively submissive, sitting at home doing chores and working on their embroidery while taking care of their god-knows-how-many children they already have. With this on, I'll be doing none of that. I'm just that fearless warrior braving the battlefield."
"And besides," she added. "Everyone here knows me as 'the warrior with the scary wolf-mask'. Why bother removing it and introduce myself all over again?"
"But you're lying to yourself then."
"I've been doing that ever since." Hou Yi replied flatly. There was that scorn in her words.
"So you're going to wear that until this war ends?"
"Until I see Sima Yi fall that's what. I've decided that I won't be staying here all the way."
"Then you're just using this army?" Jiang Wei showed no disapproval at Hou Yi's actions. But he felt a slight tugging disappointment. She had become different. Very different. And he couldn't believe it. No, he had predicted that she would change, but not like this. He was standing before a vengeful woman, and for some reason he felt frightened by it.
He saw her place a steady gaze upon him. "Haven't you realized that by now?"
"No. Never. All along, I thought you just wanted to get away from Wei."
"Pshh," she snorted. "How I wish things were that uncomplicated."
"You're being selfish, Hou Yi." He was calling her by her real first name. He wanted to press upon her who she really was. "That's why you're making things complicated for yourself."
"Ever since that day when Sima Yi ordered Captain Li Xin to be beheaded for an alleged crime he never committed…" Her voice was climbing up with emotion. "Everything I've done was selfish. You don't need to remind me about it."
"But it's been years, Hou Yi. Haven't you moved on?"
"I will. When I see Sima Yi's body decapitated."
Jiang Wei let out a sigh. He knew he could not convince her to let go.
"Do I still have your back?" Her chestnut orbs caught the rays of the sun and shone brilliantly. They were fixed upon him, hoping to see his approval. Jiang Wei nodded his head.
"Of course you do." Zhang smiled at hearing this. She loved her friend.
She let out a breath. As if to exhale all the somberness that has gripped her for that moment.
"Surprisingly, I feel a little excited about tomorrow." Hou Yi drove the serious topic away.
"What? I thought you didn't want to be his bodyguard?"
"Yes, but I feel excited." She said with a grin. "Like the feeling when you're on the edge of a cliff on the verge of jumping off and committing suicide."
Jiang Wei laughed. "You know the feeling?"
"No. But I think this is probably what that might feel like."
They both laughed.
"Maybe the Prime minister might soften up a little when he gets to know you better. Just try not to keep being defiant—even if you don't really have a liking for authority."
"You sure know me well, Jiang Wei."
Hou Yi was thankful for having him. He was her solely trusted friend who saw beyond the layers of masks she had put on her self.
She suddenly remembered Luo. He was bound to get mad if she told him that she forgot to ask the Prime Minister about his plans. But then, she told herself how she rather preferred an angry bear over a cruel dragon. Zhuge Liang was too unpredictable, and he had her wrapped around his finger.
She will serve him, yes. And she hoped that it will only be a short while.
Why am I making Zhuge Liang so cruel here…? [laughs] *Sigh* this is going to be fun. There'll be a lot of cursing coming from Hou Yi—she grew up with a lot trash talking in the streets after all. So if you don't like that… well… that's too bad. Haha.
Just one more ramble:
It's funny how I always stop at a 3,000-word minimum. I mean, I don't know why I can't find myself going up to 6000+ words [yes. I check.]. Maybe I'll try writing longer chapters next time. :)