Chapter 3 – Dancing Swallow of the village

Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan sat beside the window as they watch the snow falling from the sky. Xiahou Dun took care of the little swallow, and Xiahou Yuan ate his breakfast.

" Do you think Cao Pi can finish his assignment today? It seems he hasn't sleep tonight…" Yuan said as he ate his first meatbun.

" I bet he can do it. If it's about pretty ladies, he would do everything. That's why he seemed so enthusiastic yesterday…" Dun said. " By the way, this pretty swallow needed something to eat. May I have a piece of your bun, Yuan?"

" Sure!" Yuan passed a bun to Dun.

KNOCK! KNOCK! Yuan and Dun stared the door, " Come in!"

" Dun, Yuan, I have done all the assignment you have gave to me!" Cao Pi said proudly as he passed some books into the table.

" Wow, nice job, my lord!" Dun bowed his head.

" So, let's go to the village! Now!" Cao Pi said enthusiastic.

" Are you really ok to go with such condition? You haven't sleep last night, aren't you?" Dun asked.

" Oh, come on. I'm the great Cao Pi, nothing can stop me! Yuan, let's go now!"

" Wait a second!" Dun walked to Cao Pi and passed some clothes, " You better change your clothes into this villager's clothes. You are the next emperor, I'm still worry about your safety."

" Don't worry, Dun. I will take care of him!" Yuan said.

" Yeah, you're right. However please be careful, my lord. And please don't go too far. Just watch the performance and go home as soon as possible, okay?" Dun said.

" Okay, okay, I got it. So let's go, Yuan!" Cao Pi pulled Yuan's arm as he went as soon as possible. He can't wait to meet the beautiful sword dancer.

The Village of Hope located not too far away from the castle. The village was really calm, and lively. There are so many markets and shops that sold many unique items that Cao Pi haven't seen in his castle. As Cao Pi curious about those items, Yuan pulled him. As we know, the first destination is the restaurant. Yuan ran happily as he entered the restaurant. " I want a special set for 4 people! Please!"

" Calm down, Yuan, we don't come here to eat!"

" But eating is part of your vacation, sir!" Yuan said happily, " Come on, you have to enjoy this day!"

Cao Pi smiled." Okay…"

A cute maid with 2 hairbuns on her head came to their table, " Okay, sir Yuan, please enjoy the tea as you wait for the food. By the way, I haven't seen your friend before. Who is he?"

" He is my lo…." Cao Pi quickly closed Yuan's mouth his hand.

" I am a scholar from the other cities. I came to enjoy the famous performance from the beautiful sword dancer. Do you mind telling me where those performance is, beautiful lady?" Cao Pi smiled to the maid.

The maid blushed as she saw Cao Pi's killing smile, " Oh my, the performance of sword dancer huh? It's near this restaurant. Just walk along the road, and you will find them at the end of this road. I know about the performance, but beautiful…? All that I know is the sword dancer is a young man."

" What?" Cao Pi's eyes grew widen.

" Yeah, he's a young man. He's quiet cute, everyone on the village adore him. He came to this village a week ago, but he's already famous. He lived with Xiao Hua, a 7 years old girl who lost his father on the last war"

Cao Pi looked disappoints. " So…the sword dancer is a man…"

Yuan put his arm on Cao Pi's shoulder. " Come on, cheer up! Even he's a boy, you have to watch the performance. Remember, you have sacrifice your sleeping time in order to enjoy this day!"

" You're right…" Cao Pi sighed disappointed.

As they finished their meal, they left the restaurant. Cao Pi walked to the performance stage lazily.

" Come on, cheer up, my lord!" It seemed that Yuan's word couldn't be heard by Pi. " I wonder how can I make him cheer up again… Ah, maybe if I give him some meatbuns, he would be happy!" Yuan separated with Cao Pi as he walked to the kiosk.

As Pi walked, he just realized some people gathering around the stages. Pi could hear music played from the stage. Pi peeked around those crowded man. He couldn't believe what he saw. He saw a young man with swallow's tail on his clothes, dancing very beautifully. His graceful movements make him looked like an angel fallen from the sky. His swordplay, were very quick but gentle. Pi never saw those swordplay styles as long as he lived. The dances really caught Pi's attention. He couldn't even blink because he didn't want to lose a part of the dances.

As the performance ended, the dancer, Lu Xun, bowed his head to the audiences. The audiences give him some applause. A little girl, Xiao Hua, the assistant that played the music, came to the crowd to accept some tips from the audience. Pi also wanted to give her some money. But as he reached his pocket, he just realized that his wallet was already gone. " My Wallet!" Pi shouted as everyone stared at him. As he shouted, he could feel a sword passed beside his shoulder.

" OUCH!" A man shouted behind Cao Pi because the sword wounded his hand.

" MY WALLET!" Cao Pi took back his wallet after the thief dropped it. " How dare you stole my wallet!"

" DAMN IT!" The thief ran into the crowded. Cao Pi couldn't follow him.

" Are you alright, sir? Sorry I have made you surprised…" Lu Xun came to Cao Pi.

Cao Pi stared at the golden eyes of the dancer. His brunette hair, his tanned skin. " How beautiful…" Cao Pi murmured.

" Excuse me, sir…?" Lu Xun stared at him. " AH, your hand is wounded!" Lu Xun pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and warped Pi's arm. " I'm really sorry…"

" MY LORD!" Yuan rushly came to Cao Pi, " Are you alright? I heard that your wallet has been stolen!"

Cao Pi awake from his wild imagination, " Yuan, calm down. I'm all right. This young man helped me found my wallet."

" I'm Swallow, the street performer." Lu Xun nodded, " And this little girl is Xiao Hua, my little sweet assistant."

" Swallow…?" Yuan stared at Lu Xun, " I think I recognized you… have we meet before…?"

Lu Xun kept silent. " I don't know… I think you got a wrong person…"

Xiao Hua jumped to Yuan," What a big buddy you are!"

" Xiao Hua, please behave!" Lu Xun pulled Xiao Hua from Yuan. " Sorry for being rude…"

" Such great performances, I love it!" Cao Pi said.

" My pleasure. By the way, that man called you 'My Lord'. Are you a noble…?" Lu Xun asked.

Pi gave Yuan a cold stared," Well…," Pi silent for a while, " Actually I'm a scholar from the neighbor city. I visited this village to study about the culture. This man is my servant. My father asked him to take care of me," Cao Pi lied. " Oh yeah, just call me Winter."

" Oh, I see. It's nice to meet you, Winter. Sorry about what I have done before…" Lu Xun bowed again.

" I should be the one who thank you, you save my wallet!" Cao Pi put his arm on Xun's shoulder. " When will you perform your dances again? I want to see your dance again…"

" Oh, it's every evening, sir." Lu Xun answered, " It's the only way to help Xiao Hua to earn some money."

" Why don't you become the castle's performer? You can dance well, I think the emperor will pleased with your dance and he will give you a lot of money."

" I… I can't… My performance isn't good enough for the emperor, I think. And also… I don't know how long I can live in this village…"

" What do you mean…?"

Lu Xun shook his head, " Nothing… By the way, I think it's already dark. I want to go home now."

" WAIT!" Cao Pi gave him some money from his wallet.

" But sir, it's too much! I can't accept such big amount of money!"

" But you already save me. And I really impressed by your dance. Please accept it!" Cao Pi put back the money into Lu Xun's hand.

" But…" Lu Xun still resisted.

" Big brother, I'm hungry…" Xiao Hua pulled Lu Xun's arm.

" How about eating dinner with us?" Cao Pi asked.

" Thank you, but I think we will have dinner in our house. Excuse us…"

Yuan put his arm on Cao Pi's shoulder. " Being rejected, huh?" Yuan just realized that Cao Pi's cheek is already red. " My Lord… Are you okay…?"

Cao Pi sighed. " Let's go home now. Dun will angry at us if he found us not home when the sun is already set…" Cao Pi left Xiahou Yuan.

" My lord… are you…. Falling in love…?" Yuan thought, " Oh it's impossible. Lu Xun is a boy, and Xiao Hua is still 7 years old…. Maybe that was just my imagination…"