“Ning, I love you!”
After dinner, while reading the recently received letters, ZiChuan Xiu spoke thoughtfully to ZiChuan Ning, who sat on the opposite side of the table sipping tea.
Splat! Bai Chuan’s tea cup shattered on the ground and Luo Jie coughed loudly; a big chunk of cake was stuck in his throat and he was unable to breathe. Chang Chuan stared as his mouth dropped open wide enough to fit a handful of eggs; he didn’t even notice when Luo Jie snatched his wallet…
ZiChuan Ning could only feel her heartbeat quickening with shortness of breath, and her cheeks burned bright red…but it was with the flame of joy. All this time, everything she had hoped and ached to hear from her beloved…would today be the day it would happen?
“I love you!” ZiChuan Xiu spoke solemnly: “So erm… Can you lend me some money? Damn those bastards at the High Command! It was obviously Di Lin’s fault; why are they sending the bloody bill for the broken furniture to me?! My salary from last month was used to cover that stupid bill at the Heaven’s Dream restaurant…that reminds me; I will get you back, Bai Chuan! Hey, Ning, where are you going?! I haven’t finished yet, wait!”
“Damn it, teenagers these days; how can she leave halfway during my confession? Nobody appreciates true love anymore!”
ZiChuan Xiu sighed in defeat, turning towards Bai Chuan, and spoke thoughtfully: “Bai Chuan, I love you…”
Smack! Suddenly, countless stars appeared before ZiChuan Xiu’s eyes, but they were all coin-shaped!
…
Servants came to deliver the message; Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard – Stirling, was coming to visit.
ZiChuan Xiu couldn’t have been happier as he dashed out of the room.
Stirling was twenty-three at the time; the brightest period of one’s youth. Everything about him was filled with energy. He was of medium height, had an avid short haircut, light brown skin and a pair of sharp eyes. He was a rather dashing young man…but unlike ZiChuan Xiu’s fragile, spoiled unruliness or Di Lin’s arrogant and frosty aloofness, Stirling was more of a righteous and masculine man; he had the kind of straightforward handsomeness that was befitting of a soldier. He was dignified, outspoken, genuine, and passionate.
Historians would later refer to him as the "'Model Soldier during the Golden Age." His contemporary friend, ZiChuan Xiu, would describe him as: “Stirling was born to be a soldier!”
ZiChuan Ning had also made a comparison of the three young Heroes of the House: "Stirling was like a ferocious tiger and a natural leader; Di Lin was like a cobra, cold, cruel, and aloof; ZiChuan Xiu was…hard to describe, I can only compare him to a nasty slug…”
…
In order to have some privacy, the two met in the garden.
“I heard you went to the High Command today. Who did you talk to?”
ZiChuan Xiu explained everything that happened earlier that day in detail and Stirling listened closely to every word, before finally exhaling sympathetically: “Di Lin has a tough road ahead! His situation is the most dangerous; he must be under a lot of pressure right now.”
“But the information he provided has proven invaluable. What are you going to do about the two spies in your midst?”
“I will keep an eye out for now…getting rid of them right away is like telling Yang Ming Hua that Di Lin is on our side!”
“Brother, I have always wondered; if everyone knew that Yang Ming Hua couldn’t be trusted, then why didn’t Headmaster ZiChuan Shen Xing call back the Far Eastern Army and take care of him? Could he really be…as they say?” ZiChuan Xiu swallowed back the word “incompetent.”
“Nobody knows what ZiChuan Shen Xing is really like.” Stirling sighed in defeat: “I’m one of his most trusted confidants, but even so I can’t tell what he is thinking half of the time…but he is definitely not incompetent. Aren’t there many who thought you to be stupid, spoiled, and incompetent as well?
ZiChuan Xiu smirked as he thought of Luo Jie, Bai Chuan, and Chang Chuan.
“As to recalling large forces to deal with Yang Ming Hua, that plan is simply unrealistic. In order to contend with the Central Army made of seventeen hundred thousand strong soldiers, we have to recall at least two hundred thousand soldiers from the Far Eastern Army, a hundred thousand from the Border Army, and eighty thousand from the Black Banner Army. It is impossible to camouflage such large military operation from Yang Ming Hua’s eyes and ears. It would only force him to show his hand. If that happened, we would all be fucked.”
ZiChuan Xiu smiled bitterly: “And so, we are in a stalemate!”
“Exactly, neither side dares to openly declare war on the other, so we are resorting to a form of cold war.” Stirling continued: “Di Lin’s advice rings true; you need to be careful. There have been many incidents recently in the dark corners of our Capital City – Di Du. Almost every morning, the garbage collectors find a dead body lying somewhere. Many powerful and influential figures ended up that way. Just last week, one of my Deputy Banner Masters was dragged away after getting drunk in a bar. We found his body three days later floating in the city moat.”
“What did you…?” ZiChuan Xiu knew his friend all too well; Stirling would never let something like that slide.
“Well, nothing…but two days ago, I heard that Commander Lei Xun’s stepson, Banner Master Lei Xiao Yun was found dead in his mistress’ home. The City Guards (Di Du’s security force) thought it was a robbery and are looking for the killer amongst the unemployed and the local gangsters. How unfortunate!”
“Haha.” ZiChuan Xiu laughed wholeheartedly. This serious kind of humor from Stirling could always get a few kicks out of him.
…
“So, Xiu, what are you going to do now?”
“Well, since it is getting so dangerous…the honest, timid and cowardly ZiChuan Xiu can only find a place to hide until the two giants fight it out. I will come back when they are done and shake the hands with the victor.”
“Timid and cowardly? Who are you referring to?”
The two eyed each other and laughed.
“Come with me, Xiu! We will serve the Headmaster together.”
“Stirling, I remember when we were still children. You, me and Di Lin had all made a vow to the former Headmaster – ZiChuan Yuan Xing, to serve Lady ZiChuan Ning. Have you forgotten?”
“I remember. But given our current circumstances, we can only protect Lady Ning by helping Headmaster – ZiChuan Shen Xing against Yang Ming Hua. Am I wrong?”
ZiChuan Xiu hesitated.
“I know you are still holding a grudge against the Headmaster for what happened six years ago. But back then, he had only just became the Headmaster, and everything was under Yang Ming Hua’s control. He had no choice but to side with Yang Ming Hua against you! He told me many times afterwards that he regretted what happened, that he shouldn’t have done what he did. He was sincere; please forgive him.”
“Besides, we now all have a common enemy, Yang Ming Hua. No matter what you do, Yang Ming Hua will not spare you. The only way out is together!”
ZiChuan Xiu smiled: “Let me think about it. I heard you and Banner Master Li Qing are getting married?”
Stirling smiled back, he had always known ZiChuan Xiu’s signature move – whenever ZiChuan Xiu didn’t like the topic of the conversation, he would always begin with “Let me think about it,” and then come up with all kinds of unrelated topics to derail the conversation!
Stirling didn’t press him further: “That is right. We are planning to hold the ceremony after everything is finished.”
“I brought a whole bunch of goblins back from the Far East, how about I send her a pair or two?”
“That would be great! She had always wanted a goblin servant, but the market price went up to thirty thousand a head. Clearly it is more profitable being on the front line!”
“What are you talking about? In the entire House of ZiChuan, only the uniform of the Imperial Army is laced with gold…you are not fooling anyone! Very well, so that counts as your wedding present!”
“No way! That counts as extra, wedding present not included. Don’t you dare skip out on me!"
…
“Everything is such a mess. I really hope that House Liu Feng doesn’t come and stir the pot right now.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. They don’t have time for us right now! Their Headmaster – Liu Feng Xi Shan is on his deathbed. They are doing pretty much the same thing we are; struggling for power. Liu Feng Xi Shan’s three sons are all incompetent, which is the reason for his indecision. He can’t seem to decide on whom to give his seat to, since each one of them looks worse than the other two.”
“Thank the gods that Liu Feng Shuang is a girl and has no succession rights, or else we would be in big trouble.”
“Indeed. But I heard Liu Feng Xi Shan has recently given her the title of 'The Guardian!'"
“What does that mean?”
“That means even though Liu Feng Xi Shan is not happy with any of his sons, it doesn't matter who succeeds; as long as they have Liu Feng Shuang’s support, House Liu Feng will not fall.”
“What an effort. I heard you faced Liu Feng Shuang’s force during the second invasion. How did that go?”
Recalling, Stirling exhaled deeply: “Liu Feng Shuang is the real deal!”
“We had Liu Feng Ming’s and Liu Feng Qing’s almost two hundred thousand men surrounded…Their lines were beginning to crumble; just a bit more and they would have been annihilated, but then Liu Feng Shuang’s forces appeared. She didn’t raise her banner; her numbers were less than eight thousand and were all Calvary as well.”
“Fang Jing, Ming Hui, Yang Li (The former Border Army Commander) and I were four officers on the frontline, and none of us took those eight thousand riders seriously. Fang Jing only sent three infantry formations to thwart their attack and it was a sound strategy. Nobody expected her to crush the three infantry formations in less than ten minutes; her unit was simply too well organized! She broke through another infantry division of Yang Li soon after, and then all the way through our encirclement.”
“By the time we realized something was amiss and tried to organize a counter-offensive, it was already too late! By then the white banner with red letters was already raised high – ‘Liu Feng Shuang’. The moment the two hundred thousand encircled soldiers of Liu Feng Army saw her banner, the roar of 'Hail! Commander Shuang has arrived; we are saved! Kill the ZiChuan Dogs!' erupted and shook the earth. After a full day of battle, they should have been exhausted and distraught, but when Liu Feng Shuang arrived, it was as if they were possessed. Their warcries shattered our confidence…and Liu Feng Shuang, a meek little girl, unafraid of rain of arrows, stripped down to her waist and stood firmly beneath her banner. She let the entire battlefield watch her swinging her sabre shouting: “Soldiers of House Liu Feng, are you afraid when a woman is not? Muster your courage and attack!” You just have to respect that kind of gallantry. Her personal guards were crazy as well, shielding her from the incoming arrows with their bare body. When one fell, another one took his place…
“So the army of House Liu Feng came at us like mad men. That snake Ming Hui hastily retreated the moment he saw Liu Feng Shuang’s banner; Yang Li gave the order to hold the lines in the midst of chaos and as a result, his forces suffered heavy casualties and soon crumbled. Luckily me and Fang Jing secured our backlines together. We had to fend her off constantly during the retreat and she kept chasing us for several hundred miles until Ming Hui’s Border Army joined us at the border. Only then did she give up.”
Stirling expressed a sense of pride: “But I can say with certainty that my unit is not inferior to hers; despite her relentless attacks, my unit could always hold their ground, while the other units all crumbled under the pressure! She chased us almost a thousand miles, but she still couldn’t break my lines! During the last skirmish, I even gained the upper hand!”
He turned towards ZiChuan Xiu: “Hey! Why…why the hell…are you asleep?!”
“Blah blah! So bloody boring, who wouldn’t fall asleep?!”
…
Entering the Guest Hall, the view left Stirling stunned.
“Assassin?” ZiChuan Xiu reacted behind him and quickened his steps. Readying himself for battle, he dashed into the Guest Hall!
All he saw was Bai Chuan, Luo Jie, and Chang Chuan, the three clowns sitting on the couch and shamelessly enjoying Lady Ning’s hospitality.
“What is the problem?” ZiChuan Xiu followed Stirling’s gaze, and noticed the fourth person. Even though she sat on the soft couch, her posture was straight and dignified. She was not interested at all in the rich and well-prepared meal spread across the table.
It was the Demon Princess – Ka Dan.
“Is something wrong?” ZiChuan Xiu poked at Stirling’s waist.
“Huh, oh, what?” Stirling gibbered senselessly: “What’s wrong?”
ZiChuan Xiu gave him a strange frown, but didn’t say anything.
Stirling's composure instantly returned to normal, and he walked into the Guest Hall.
Staring at the shadows casted by Stirling's back, ZiChuan Xiu was riddled with worries: “I hope it is not what I think it is…”
Luo Jie, Bai Chuan, and Chang Chuan immediately stood up and saluted. Thanks to his exceptional talents, dazzling charm, and charisma, Stirling had become the new generation of ZiChuan Soldiers' idol. The younger officers like Bai Chuan might not have recognized more powerful figures like the Headmaster or the Supreme Commander, but they would never mistake the sight of Stirling. Luo Jie had admired him for a long time.
Even though it was the first time they had met, all of them could tell that Stirling was different from his usual self…
According to Commander Bai Chuan’s personal memoirs – “The Days with his Lordship”.
“…He (Stirling) greeted us as expected and spoke appropriately for someone of his station. He even shared a frozen watermelon with us on the couch and answered any questions we had regarding the art of war… Everything seemed normal, but somehow I could always sense that he wasn’t entirely comfortable in his own skin… Very peculiar indeed. I told myself that perhaps it was what you would call a woman’s instinct?”
Later, another officer at the scene, Adjutant General Luo Jie had this to say: “Don’t you believe the 'woman’s instinct' crap that old hag Bai Chuan has been spewing. That entire memoir of hers was a scam. It was all made up and written by a hired gun. She doesn’t even know the meaning of 'How are you?' Even an idiot could tell that Stirling was off his game! How else could a Master like Stirling hurt his own hand when cutting open a watermelon? Or ask us the same question five times? ‘When did you come back to Di Du?’, ‘You guys came back when?’, ‘When was it again?’ …Even though we gave him a clear answer every time, he had to ask it again in less than three minutes.”
Chief of Staff, Chang Chuan added: “Also, Master Xiu just stood there, not saying anything, but kept laughing like two Yang Ming Hua’s and a Lei Xun added together. You could tell just by the sneaky way he laughed that something was afoot!”
…
After leaving ZiChuan Ning’s mansion, ZiChuan Xiu decided to walk Stirling home.
“The stars are really bright tonight!” Stirling spoke flatly, as if he was making a statement.
ZiChuan Xiu looked at the cloudy sky, raised his eyebrows, and said: “Of course!”
“The moon is exceptionally large as well!”
“Sure.” Even though no moon could be seen that night.
“Look at how clean the streets are in the capital!”
“You are right.” ZiChuan Xiu had just stepped on a dead cat.
“You didn’t have to walk me home. I’m sure you have a lot of things waiting for you to do as it is…”
“Bullshit.”
“…”
“…”
“Thanks for the gift by the way, Li Qing will be glad.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Is everything all right with Lady Ning? I didn’t get to see her tonight.”
“She is fine.”
“What was her name?”
“Ka Dan.”
The pair stopped where they stood. ZiChuan Xiu stared at Stirling, but the latter avoided the gaze of the former.
Silence.
Finally, ZiChuan Xiu spoke slowly, one word at a time: “Princess Ka Dan, the third daughter of the current Demon God King. She is my spoil of war from the fifth battle of Heng Chuan. The High Command made her my ward.”
Stirling’s lips were trembling, lacking their usual calm courage.
“You knew?”
“I’m not blind.”
“Do you think badly of me?”
“Nope.” Turning his face away, ZiChuan Xiu replied after considering it a bit more: “Not more than usual, anyway.”
“I have a fiancé, and she loves me very much.”
“I know. Li Qing is a great woman.”
“She is the Demon God King’s daughter, a Demon.”
“And royalty, no less!”
…
The pair halted their steps once again, inspecting each other closely.
“What should I do?”
“Do you really want to hear me talk about how a high ranking officer of the ZiChuan Army should behave himself, have devotion to the cause, and the selflessness and courage to sacrifice oneself for the greater good?”
“Fuck you @#4#&&##!"
“…”
“Sorry, that was uncalled for.”
“It is alright, but there are several ways to deal with this… Do you want to hear about the long-term solutions, the mid-term solutions, or the short-term solutions?”
“Let’s start with the long-term.”
“The long-term solution can also be called: The Decisive Solution. Solution number one: Tie a knot of rope on the ceiling, and step on a chair. Put your neck through the loop and kick away the chair. Solution number two: Go to the Great Demon Fortress and challenge the Demon God King to a single combat match. Solution number three: On the 1st of January, assassinate Yang Ming Hua during the annual military parade. So which one of the solutions do you prefer?”
“…”
“Not to your liking? That's alright, we still have the mid-term solutions! Like castrating yourself with a razorblade… Other than the technical difficulties which may become present when performing such a deed, its effectiveness and health risks are both inferior to the solutions mentioned earlier…”
“Shut the fuck up!”
“Or perhaps you can act like a horny teenager. Buy a dozen roses and send them to Princess Ka Dan. Wait beneath her window every night till the sun rises, sing her love songs, and play the guitar. Make your heart race without stopping whenever you catch a glimpse of her shadow…though you might want to watch out for your future father-in-law!”
“I told you to shut up!”
“No good? Well then, there is only one final solution left… Since I’m her guardian, I can lock her up somewhere alone and secluded; I can even give you the keys…”
Stirling instantly punched ZiChuan Xiu in the face, sending him tumbling to the ground. Slowly regaining his footing, ZiChuan Xiu took a handkerchief from Stirling and wiped off the blood around the corner of his mouth, speaking slowly: “If you ask me, I’d rather kill you than see you walk down this road… Death can be swift and painless.” ZiChuan Xiu spoke in a deeper voice: “Give up, brother. This is madness. We both know that if there was the slightest hope, I would have helped you, no matter the cost. But this time… you are no longer fifteen years old! I’m sure you are just having a crush! She doesn’t even know who you are!”
Stirling remained silent; the usual fire was missing from his eyes. He could have been paying attention to the conversation, but he could have been somewhere else entirely as well…
…
"…"
“This is the first time I have felt this way.” Stirling’s voice was soft, but the tone was resolute: “I love her.”
“No, you don't!” ZiChuan Xiu argued back, softly: “And don't you love Li Qing, as well?”
“It's not the same! With Li Qing… it wasn’t love. We just spent a lot of time together, and we got along…”
“So after you have slept with her so many times and are even getting married, you realize only now that it was not ‘love’? Isn’t it too bloody late for that?”
“It is too late… That's the problem; only now do I realize what ‘love’ is!”
“Then go kill yourself and see if I care!” ZiChuan Xiu finally lost his patience and shouted in anger: “What was the point of me trying to change your mind when all you care about is how you feel? Aren't you tired of being alive? Why don’t you just slit your throat then; surely that would be faster?!”
“I’m aware.”
Stirling saw a little tavern next to the road and smiled: “I just found another solution—alcohol, the solution to all worries! Come, it is my treat.”
“Wait, I can’t! I have to report to the Executive Office tomorrow! Yang Ming Hua wants me to be the Deputy Division Chief. I’m not allowed to drink tonight…”
Stirling ignored his protests and entered the tavern.
ZiChuan Xiu understood: “Shit, he is serious this time! Why can’t it be a good woman like Li Qing? Instead, he has to fall in love with the Demon God King’s daughter… What is wrong with this world?! Love… is clearly the root of all evil!”
…
Yet, the one asking these questions could never have guessed that many years later, he would find himself in the midst of an even more bitter love struggle. It would be the most famous and heart-wrenching love story during the golden age. However, that is a tale for another time…
Imperial Calendar Year 778, August: On the hottest day of the month, Stirling was 23, Di Lin was 24 and ZiChuan Xiu was 18. The three young heroes of House ZiChuan found themselves swept away by the whirlpool of time, unable to escape, struggling. It was a period of their lives when they had no control over the directions of their future. However, the days when they could were rapidly approaching…
“You claim to be the new Deputy Division Chief?” The security guard at the door looked like he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
“Err, Yes.” ZiChuan Xiu lowered his voice, knowing he didn’t look very convincing at the moment. Nobody knew how it actually happened, but after getting drunk last night with Stirling, they got into a fist fight with some local thugs. The event last night had taught him two things: First, the combat strength of two top tier fighters together when drunk is no better than a pig's; Second, the sewers in the capital smelled really bad… especially for sore losers who were thrown into it and had to spend the night in the mud. By the time the waste collectors came in the morning to find their bodies and wake them up, ZiChuan Xiu didn't even have time to change his clothing before he had to report to the Administrative Office, and thus…
“Documents?”
“I left them at home.” Though most likely they were stolen by the thugs when they searched for his wallet.
“Of course, another one who left it at home.” The security guard sounded very understanding but the way he moved his giant baton proved otherwise: “Listen kid, we get a couple of troublemakers like you every month, but someone who comes all the way here like you did… well, that's a first!” He raised his eyebrow and continued: “Are you drunk?! God, what is that yellow stain on your shirt? Is it shit or mud? And what is with your face, why is it swollen like a panda?”
“Please.” ZiChuan Xiu begged: “I have to report to your Division Chief – Ge Shan; I’m already late!”
“Right, and I'm the bloody Headmaster!” The security guard clearly didn’t believe him. Then again, ZiChuan Xiu had to admit he had every reason not to.
Glancing around to make sure no one was paying them any attention, ZiChuan Xiu took a deep breath: “I’m sorry, friend!” He casually tapped the guard’s shoulder, and suddenly, the guard fell limp at his feet. Quickly catching him in his arms, ZiChuan Xiu made it look as though the guard was taking a nap leaning against the wall.
…
“Where is Division Chief’s office?”
The question left the staff in complete shock; confused, they each pointed in a different direction. It could have only been a miracle that ZiChuan Xiu somehow managed to find the right way in the end.
The female assistant outside Chief’s office was shocked by the swiftly approaching madman. Blocking his path, she shouted: “You may not pass! You don’t have an appointment… I’m calling the guards!”
By then ZiChuan Xiu had already entered through the office door.
At the opposite end of the spacious office room, a rather pretty lady sat behind a desk, reading documents. She wasn’t startled at all by the sudden appearance of ZiChuan Xiu.
His male instinct automatically gave her a score of 8.5.
“Please sit, Commander Xiu; you are 15 minutes late.” Her voice was ice cold, and she showed neither joy nor anger. In fact, she didn’t even bother raising her head when she waved her assistant off with a motion of her hand.
“Right, Sir, I’m sorry, I had to…”
“I have no interest in your personal life, but now that you are a part of my Division, I hope you can start following the regulations and avoid any future indiscretions. Are we clear?”
As the score dropped to a 3.5, ZiChuan Xiu instantly put her into the category of the old virgins who wanted to be loved but weren't, and as a result, they ended up with a mental disorder hating other people who lived a happier life.
“Sir, I’m sorry, next time…”
“Thank you for your apology. I’m sure it will be very useful; who knows, perhaps it can give me back the time I had to waste due to your tardiness.” Ge Shan remarked sarcastically: “Also, there is something else you should know. We are of the same rank; we are both Deputy Commanders, which means that you don’t have to call me Sir.”
“Yes, Sir. Oh, I mean, Chief. ZiChuan Xiu, reporting in. I’m at your command.”
“Commander Xiu, there is just one thing… I wonder if you can do me a favor.”
“Anything you say, your wish is my command.”
“Get the fuck out this instant. Go home, take a shower, brush your teeth then come back to work! Because of you, we have to spend at least three air conditioners!”
………
Facing Bai Chuan, Luo Jie, Chang Chuan, ZiChuan Ning and Ka Dan, ZiChuan Xiu sat in front of them on the couch. Despite the serious and stern look on their faces, the size of their swollen cheeks looked as if a giant frog could be sitting inside.
ZiChuan Xiu sighed, waving in defeat: “It is ok guys, laugh away.”
“Wuahahaha!”, “Hihihi!”, “Hehehe!”…
Only Ka Dan managed to retain her princess-like demeanor, smiling slightly.
“Sir, you look like a panda with those two black eyes… Hahaha.”
Bai Chuan flipped a page from the “Di Du Daily Papers” and read out loud: “Today’s hot topic: Today a mental patient who claimed to be Commander Xiu, who recently returned to the Capital from the Far East, broke into the Administrative Office, injuring the security guard in the process. The patient was eventually repelled by the Division Chief – Ge Shan, after breaking and entering into her office. One of the witness, Miss Jing Mei Li, who is a staff at the Administrative Office, has this to say (The picture of a stupid-looking, fat, and ugly woman with a sad expression could be seen between the paragraphs): “It was so scary; he tried to touch me! He was… I mean, it's too embarrassing to say…” The main witness, Division Chief – Ge Shan, has refused to comment on the matter.
Based on the initial report from the official investigation, it was probably the result of the recent collapse of the fences around the local mental hospital three days ago. The investigation is still ongoing, the official announcement has stated that their aim is to re-capture all the unstable and dangerous mental patients as soon as possible, and that the citizens will have nothing to worry about. All the parties involved have been advised to improve on the maintenance of any local holding facilities. Please report any sightings of the fugitives to the following address: Di Du Ministry of Civil Administration, Public Safety and Maintenance, Section – Third Office.”
A wave of wild laughter arose.
ZiChuan Ning said: “Brother, you are now famous; can I have a signature?”
Luo Jie laughed: “Sir, I knew you were desperate for some female attention… but surely you can do better than this?”
Chang Chuan whispered to ZiChuan Ning: “Where is the Ministry of Civil Administration?
ZiChuan Xiu asked Bai Chuan: “Where is the article posted? First page or the second?”
After double-checking it, Bai Chuan replied: “It is posted… under the article of Special Treatment for Venereal Syphilis, and above the commercials for Viagra.”
Another wave of wild laughter arose.
The usually silent Ka Dan spoke: “Master Xiu, your eyes… perhaps I can help.”
ZiChuan Xiu had heard long ago of the incredible powers of the Demons, speaking in excitement: “Are you a shaman?”
Ka Dan shook her head.
“Do you have healing abilities?”
Ka Dan shook her head again.
“Do you know healing spells?”
Ka Dan shook her head yet again.
“Then how can you help me?”
Ka Dan reached for a wooden box behind her: “I have something here that can help you. It can disguise your eye injuries and make them invisible to the others… But it is very expensive, I’m afraid…”
What was it? Magical pills? Divine medicine? Holy water? …None of it mattered. ZiChuan Xiu only wanted to not look like a panda anymore.
Without hesitation, he reached for the last two hundred dollars in his pocket and handed them to Ka Dan.
Ka Dan shook her head: “Not enough.”
ZiChuan Xiu borrowed another thousand dollars from ZiChuan Ning and gave them to Ka Dan as well.
Ka Dan spoke sympathetically: “Sigh, very well; I’m only doing this because I like your sister, Lady Ning…”
ZiChuan Xiu took the box from her and opened it…
A pair of sunglasses, priced at fifteen dollars, and it didn’t even have a brand.
…
According to the historical records: when the King of Light finally took control of the entire Far Eastern region, he treated the lower-class citizens of the Demons exceptionally well, but the Demon royalties were treated harshly. He would punish them whenever he got the chance. As to the exact reason for his polarized treatment of the Demons, one thing was certain: Sometime, somewhere, and for some unknown reason, ZiChuan Xiu had to have suffered at the hand of a Demon Royalty…but the truth will forever remain a mystery, and lost to time
Stirling had to struggle getting out of the bed; the sudden headache made it difficult.
The shower helped. Looking at the time, it was already past noon. A lot happened last night, but he could only remember that he was drunk and he got into a fight. As to what happened afterwards… he couldn’t even tell how he managed to get home. He did find two wallets inside his pockets… The other one belonged to ZiChuan Xiu. As to how it ended up in his pocket, well, he couldn’t remember it at all.
His old servant told him that Lady Li Qing was here earlier and she left him a note.
Picking it up, Li Qing’s elegant handwriting greeted him: “You didn’t come home last night; both me and Headmaster Shen Xing were worried. We are glad you made it back safely this morning. Though you should consider your status and what you represent, you cannot behave like a fool who spends most of his time drunk. Master Shen Xing has requested your presence. So make sure you do when your mind is clear.”
Stirling let out a wry smile; Li Qing was still the same: kind, smart and reliable. There wasn’t a word of blame afraid of hurting his pride. What else can a man wish for when you have a great woman like that. If last night didn’t happen, she could very well have been his most suitable partner for the rest of his life.
Meanwhile, Stirling had already prepared the excuses for when he sees Li Qing: “I saw Xiu last night. We were overjoyed and I drank a bit too much… I’m sorry. He forced me to go.” Stirling was almost certain that ZiChuan Xiu would tell the same kind of lies to Lady Ning: “Stirling forced me to go.” Friends were like that. It was a common excuse they use at the time.
A cup of tea later, Stirling instantly felt re-energized, and with that, the usually confident Stirling once again returned to himself.
……
First thing after arriving at the House of Headmaster, Stirling’s usual habit was to inspect its security measures. The best and the most loyal forces of the Imperial Guards – The Death Guard, posted sentries every five feet around the perimeter of the House, and like nails in the ground, they had the place on lockdown. But that was only the first line of defence everyone could see from the outside; inside, archers were secretly assigned to every high vintage point, rooftops, high walls and trees. But that was not all; countless sharpened blades were also hidden on top of the walls. There were even secret traps installed around every corner. The place was literally a fortress. Then again, it was he who designed its defence plans. After the routine inspection, Stirling sighed in relief: “Unless they bring an army, there is no way anyone can get in.”
The Imperial Guards guarding the entrance let Stirling through without raising much hassle. Due to Commander Pi Gu’s old age, thus incapable of handling everything alone, most of the Capital’s defences were organized by Stirling.
……
Stirling arrived at the Headmaster’s office located dozens of meters underground, and saluted politely: “Master?”
“Stirling is it?” ZiChuan Shen Xing stuck out his head from behind the huge pile of documents. Pushing up his pair of glasses and said: “Please sit.”
The current Headmaster of House ZiChuan was 53 years old. Six years ago, his famous and feared brother, ZiChuan Yuan Xing died in battle against House Liu Feng, leaving his only heir, Lady Ning who was only 9 years old at the time. Therefore he was the only logical choice to succeed the seat of Headmaster.
None of his features resembled that of the great ZiChuan Yuan Xing, he was ordinary and boorish. He wasn’t tall either, a pair of small eyes and hunchback, even missing a few teeth. Many would have been disappointed merely looking at him. In ZiChuan Xiu’s words: “He is a ruler incapable of inspiring loyalty from his subjects.”
His political skills didn’t change the way he was perceived either. Sure it wasn’t terrible, but it didn’t really stand out to inspire confidence either. Simply put, there was no awe inspiring aura befitting a Headmaster to be found within him. He was most commonly described as: An easily bullied, weak old man who only made it to his position by sheer luck.
Yet only Stirling and a few close confidant of him knew: Just how incredible that spark of brilliance hidden between that pair of frail eyes could be…
“I heard from Banner Master Li, that you were looking for me?”
“Yes.” ZiChuan Shen Xing nodded: “Did you have too much to drink last night?”
“I did!” Stirling instantly bowed his head and apologized: “I’m sorry, Master…”
“I’m not blaming you. You are still young. It is good to relax once in a while. Just… it shouldn’t have been now… as you may know, “they” are watching you very closely! I was afraid that they got to you first. You went missing last night; I had to send out two Imperial Guard regiment to look for you… If something really did happen to you, I would have done anything to get you back, even if I have openly turn on Yang Ming Hua.”
Stirling was deeply moved by his words: “Master, I’m terribly sorry. My selfish actions, I… I’m undeserving of your kindness. I would gladly give my life for your cause…”
“There is no need for that. Stirling, I’d rather keep you alive and well.” ZiChuan Shen Xing smiled, and that smile gave his usual plain face an incredible charm.
“Did you meet with ZiChuan Xiu?”
“Well?”
Stirling knew better than anyone of the meaning and its consequences of what he was about to say next: “He is not against us, but he has yet to make his final decision; he is still considering.”
“I see. That is not very smart of him.” ZiChuan Shen Xing stood up and said: “He is my dead brother’s stepson. There is no way Yang Ming Hua would trust him. So why doesn’t he join us instead?”
Stirling stood on the side, not uttering a word. Even though it wasn’t his fault, ZiChuan Xiu was still his best friend. He felt ashamed that he wasn’t able to convince ZiChuan Xiu.
“Keep an eye on him! Stirling, I know he is your best friend, but if he somehow mistaken friend for foe and ended up on Yang Ming Hua’s side… I’m afraid we will have to strike first.”
Chill ran down Stirling’s back, yet he managed to speak: “Yes, Master.”
ZiChuan Shen Xing could guess his thought: “I hope we won’t have to. I’m not looking forward to fight an enemy as powerful as ZiChuan Xiu either.”
“How good is he in a fight, do you know?”
“I only know that ZiChuan Yuan Xing used to teach him some basics of the wave technique, but then he left for the Far East. I don’t know much after that…”
ZiChuan Shen Xing looked serious and said: “He must have another teacher… Ge Ying Xing once told me, that he was able to hold his breath for four hours under the sand, killing two demon commanders in the midst of the demon army. Both top tier demon warriors were killed with one stroke; they didn’t even see it coming, and he managed to escape afterwards unscathed from thousands of demon soldiers. I doubt even my dead brother can raise someone as terrifying as that.”
Stirling remained silent.
ZiChuan Shen Xing changed subject: “What is your opinion on Di Lin’s new assignment? Yang Ming Hua is sending him to the Far East.”
Stirling replied candidly: “I can only think of one thing right now: Yang Ming Hua sending Di Lin to the Far East means that he is not yet ready to openly turn on us. Di Lin is Yang Ming Hua’s close confidant, if Yang Ming Hua was planning to make a move, he would definitely want to have a capable lieutenant like Di Lin at his side. It also means, the moment Di Lin return to Di Du is probably the moment Yang Ming Hua will strike. He hesitated for a moment and continued: “I may be wrong, but that is all I can think of right now.”
“Hmm, good, your thoughts are clear.” ZiChuan Shen Xing smiled: “Just a bit too naïve. Have you considered the possibilities from Yang Ming Hua’s standpoint?”
“Please share your wisdom.”
“We are afraid of Yang Ming Hua making a move, surely Yang Ming Hua is afraid of us making a move. Yet he chose to send away his most trusted lieutenant at a critical juncture such as this… Don’t you find it strange?”
“Ah… Indeed.”
“Therefore, after due consideration, there are only two possibilities explaining Yang Ming Hua’s actions.”
“Do tell.”
“First possibility, Yang Ming Hua has already discovered Di Lin’s true allegiance. He sent Di Lin away to avoid him getting in the way, however that isn’t his usual motto. He is not a patient or merciful man; he would have killed Di Lin. Surely dumping his body somewhere in the moat would have been more satisfying?”
“Then what is the second possibility…”
“Yang Ming Hua has more tricks up his sleeves that we don’t know about!” ZiChuan Shen Xing spoke slowly and clearly: “He definitely has, or else he wouldn’t have acted as carelessly as he did. And this secret person must satisfy three requirements: First, he is good enough of a fighter. Second, he is staying in the Capital. Third, he won’t raise our suspicions… So who can you think of that fits all the requirements above?”
Stirling instantly got nervous, because he already knew whom ZiChuan Shen Xing suspected.
“The timing of ZiChuan Xiu’s return was too peculiar. The moment he got back, Di Lin was reassigned. Other than him, no one else of importance has returned recently…”
“Master.” Stirling spoke resolutely: “I will guarantee with my life, that ZiChuan Xiu would never side with Yang Ming Hua!”
“Stirling, the last time you saw him was three years ago. People change…”
“People do, but ZiChuan Xiu and Di Lin… Master, if any of them betrays us, I will atone by taking my own life.” Stirling answered proudly.
ZiChuan Shen Xing didn’t say anything after that.
Neither did Stirling.
“Very well. Stirling, then you better make haste and convince ZiChuan Xiu to side with us. He is an incredible fighter and the four dozen personal guards he brought back from the Far East are all war-hardened veterans. Despite the small numbers, they are still good in a pinch. They could be a great asset to us. With him on our side, our ‘Lancer’ plan will more likely to succeed.”
“Yes, Master! I will do everything in my power!”
……
“A-choo!” In the midst of trying to steal Bai Chuan’s wallet, ZiChuan Xiu suddenly felt the urge to sneeze while he was still in her room: “Who is saying bad things about me behind my back this time?”
“Oh. Hi, Bai Chuan. Are you awake? How lucky… that I’m able to find you in your bedroom!”
“Bai Chuan, come on, don’t look at your commanding officer this way… Let me explain, I’m just looking for the bathroom and it is dark outside. I got lost on my way back, so I went into your room by mistake… It is totally logical!”
“Oh, the wallet I’m holding? Hahaha, there is a perfectly logical explanation to that as well… You’re not thinking I’m here to steal your wallet I hope? Hahaha…”
“Hey, Bai Chuan, you don’t need your sabres. Wait, hold on, I will give you a perfectly logical explanation in a second… Just give me some time to come up with an excuse.”
Under the influence and active involvements of many, time quickly flew past. Yet, Di Du was as peaceful as ever, like the calm before the storm. Six months later…
The aftershock from the far away Far Eastern region reached the Capital and another brilliant star was born. Di Lin, following ZiChuan Xiu’s footsteps, had achieved the second great victory against the Demonic Horde. During the sixth campaign of Heng Chuan, he crushed the invading Demon’s conventional Forces, inflicting over seventy thousand casualties and capturing close to fifty thousand prisoners. It was the greatest victory ever achieved since Humans first began this war against the Demons. The most shocking fact of this battle however, was not its glorious outcome, but Di Lin’s cruelty – He gave the order to kill all the captives, leaving no one alive.
Upon receiving the report, the Chief of Staff of the Far Eastern Army at the time, Luo Bo was appalled by his act. Racing over as fast as he could, Luo Bo tried to stop the execution. But after he had arrived, Di Lin blindsided him with his graceful welcome while ordering his men to execute the last remaining five thousand captives in secret. By the time Luo Bo realized what Di Lin had done, the dead had already littered the earth. Looking down at the corpses drowning in the sea of blood, Luo Bo closed his eyes in agony and condemned Di Lin: “You bloody devil… You just destroyed everything the seven generations of House ZiChuan had built, fought for and paid in blood over the past two hundred years!” (That was how Di Lin earned his nickname, the Devil)
Di Lin replied defiantly: “I’m building a grand future for House ZiChuan for the next thousand years to come!”
……
When the news reached Di Du, the whole court was in shock. Due to Di Lin’s great achievements in war, being Yang Ming Hua’s close confidant and the fact that Yang Ming Hua was the most powerful figure at the time, only few whispers of dismay were heard and no one dared to file a formal complaint or impeachment, But that didn’t stop people talking about it in private of course, even Yang Ming Hua shared his disapproval within his inner circles – “Di Lin was out of line.”
But he didn’t even know the half of it, in fact, it was only the beginning. After the battle, Di Lin didn’t wait for regroup; he immediately led the two hundred thousand soldiers of the Far Eastern Army in a chase after the retreating Demon forces all the way towards the Demon God Fortress, breaking the eternal status quo of the Far Eastern warfare – Humans defending and Demons attacking. His swift manoeuvre caught the defending Demon forces at the border completely off guard, sending them scattering to the winds. It only further encouraged Di Lin to continue his pursuit.
Everywhere he went, if any none human populated villages, towns or cities dared to resist, he would immediately give the order to massacre its population. Old or young, man or woman, none of it mattered, he would simply kill them all, and then raze the place to the ground in a sea of fire. Most of the time, only smoke and ashes were left in his wake.
Races resembling humans were given a chance to survive this encounter with the dreadful commander… But in order to survive, they had to relinquish everything they owned, provide provisions and volunteer to join his army. Under Di Lin’s Iron Fist and harsh military disciplines, none of the half beasts, werewolves, snake men or goblins dared to raise their voice despite their wild nature, afraid of catching Di Lin’s watchful gaze.
He did not only rule the none-humans with an Iron Fist, even the soldiers of ZiChuan had to endure his harsh command. The thousand or so riders caught for running away in battle were all sentenced to death and executed in front of the whole army. Over forty soldiers who arrived late this morning were dragged behind a horse for several kilometres and those who fell asleep standing guard were whipped fifty times. Well, it was more like twenty times really, because the soldiers in question were already dead, but the Marshals didn’t dare to defy the order and had to carry out rest of the sentence, completing rest of the fifty whips on a corpse.
Under Di Lin’s command, no one defied their orders, no one neglected their duties and most importantly, no one dared to cowardly retreat. Whenever they faced Demons in battle, even against the powerful Armored Beasts, Di Lin’s forces would not falter. They would face it head on and fight it with spears, sabres and arrows… even if they only had rocks or no weapon at all, with just fists and teeth, they would not retreat. The Demons called them in awe: “Di Lin’s forces are all possessed!”
And so his name became the avatar of nightmare and the embodiment of invincibility. The news of his deeds quickly travelled throughout the Far Eastern Regions still under Demon’s control. After massacring the four Demon Cities, Glenco, Kazi, Heng Lan and Kashalachi, not a single settlement resisted his occupation again. No matter where his army went, Demon cities would open their gates and welcome him on their knees. The city guards either fled or surrendered…
While wiping out small pockets of Demon resistance here and there, Di Lin’s army was also attracting large contingent of non-human forces, boosting their numbers significantly. By the time he arrived at Demon’s second major city – Gamara, his forces was already five hundred thousand strong! Since the war against Demons first began, Humans had never launched such a massive offensive, or penetrated so deep into the Demon Territory.
However, in the city of Gamara, he was met with fierce resistance for the first time since the beginning of this campaign. A famous young demon general blessed with royal blood, Yun Qian Xue[1] had stationed his forces of two hundred thousand strong behind the sturdy fortification of the city, waiting to face his enemy…
…
While Di Lin was carving his name on the wall of history, another one of the three famous hero of House ZiChuan, ZiChuan Xiu was working hard and diligently in the Administrative Office.
When his newly assigned and pretty female secretary left the office, Deputy Chief ZiChuan Xiu pulled out a note: “38, 22, 37. One hundred dollar!”
Luo Jie pulled out a note as well: “38, 21, 38. I bet hundred as well!”
Chang Chuan showed his: “37, 22, 38. Hundred. However I think you guys are wrong about her bra size. Based on my many years of experience, I’m fairly certain that she is using bra pads… Don’t forget to ask her about it, Bai Chuan!”
Luo Jie followed: “Right, and her xxx – is hanging a bit low. I’m pretty sure Master Xiu has underestimated it.”
ZiChuan Xiu continued: “Bai Chuan, what are you waiting for? Hurry and go ask!”
Bai Chuan complained: “What excuse do I have to ask for her bust?!”
“Dude, that is super easy… Just tell her you need it for the staff survey.”
…
Bai Chuan rolled her eyes in disgust at the perverts, then went outside and came back, announcing: “38, 22, 37!”
ZiChuan Xiu shouted joyously: “I won! Pay up!”
Chang Chuan grudgingly pulled out his wallet: “What the hell, how can I be wrong?”
Luo Jie: “Damn it… boring. What do we bet on next, Sir?”
Counting the bills, ZiChuan Xiu felt satisfied: “Money smells the best… How about we bet on if she is a virgin next? I bet one hundred that she is not!”
“Ah, this is the perfect life of a Commander I have always dreamed of!” ZiChuan Xiu inspected satisfyingly at the luxuriously decorated office. A majestic desk (with expansive wine and porn mags secretly stuffed in the draws), a comfy leather couch and a pretty secretary wearing mini skirt he could shout orders at: “Get me that decade old diary from top of the cabinet!” When she climbed up the ladder, he could raise his chins and enjoy the view in peace… You know, men. There is no need to explain!
And the workload was light… Clearly ZiChuan Xiu, the Deputy Commander was not being taken seriously. Most of his daily work included counting how many chairs and tea cups each regiment had, and where the windows broke in need of repair etc. Even though Station Chief Ge Shan didn’t give ZiChuan Xiu any work of importance, at the very least, she didn’t discriminate and make his life difficult.
ZiChuan Xiu sighed in relief: “This is paradise!”
Suddenly, certain elements unbefitting his paradise appeared in the corner of his eye.
“Luo Jie, Bai Chuan, Chang Chuan. Why are you in my office?”
“Huh, Sir. Did you forget? We are your assistants!”
“That is not what I meant… Don’t you have your own offices, why are you…”
“Forget it, our offices are small and old, and there is no sunlight!”
“Yeah, and no air conditioning either!”
“My secretary is uglier than the mother of all demons… Sir, have you seen the movie “After midnight” yet? If not, you don’t even need to go to the cinema, just come around at my office and check out my secretary.”
“Also, they don’t even provide Coca-cola!”
“Sir, you know what it is like. We are Banner Masters. Back in the Far East, a Banner Master is a title commanding over thousands of men!”
“But here, we are being treated worse than the refugees!”
……
ZiChuan Xiu felt a little bit sick: “Hold on…. Then why is Lady Ning here as well?”
ZiChuan Ning replied calmly: “Well, I’m here as the heir of House ZiChuan, to inspect the Administrative Office. Is there a problem? Deputy Chief ZiChuan Xiu?”
“Why is Princess Ka Dan with you then?”
“Brother! Now you’re being selfish. How can we leave a little girl alone back at home when we are all outside having fun? She would get lonely. Don’t you feel ashamed? Doesn’t your conscience bother you?”
“But people would talk seeing all of you gathered in my office…”
“Oh, Commander Xiu, you don’t have to worry about that!” With that said, Ka Dan pulled out a sign from her bag saying: “Chief in Conference, please do not disturb.” And hanged it on the door. “You just have to tell them that Deputy Chief has to be in conference seven days a week. Everyone would praise you for your dedication!”
“This is hell!” ZiChuan Xiu howled in despair.
“Xiu, what hell are you talking about?” Stirling suddenly arrived at the doorstep, smiling: “Sorry for barging in on your conference!”
“Welcome!” Everyone quickly stood up and welcomed him, only Ka Dan didn’t move from her chair.
……
Ever since that day they parted ways, Stirling would pay Lady Ning a visit on a daily basis. It was obvious, everyone quickly figured out the reason for Stirling’s frequent visit, which was not because his close friendship with Master Xiu. Besides, the person of interest, Stirling didn’t try to hide his intention either. Whenever he visited Lady Ning’s place, he would scan around like a hawk, till he finds Ka Dan, only then would he calm down as if he just took a weight off his shoulder.
Luo Jie used to lament about it to Bai Chuan: “Look at Sir Stirling. He is like a high-school kid falling in love for the first time… He must have a screw loose somewhere.”
Bai Chuan would then reply: “We all understand the idea. Yet in the end we are all slaves of love, no one can escape it.” And lose in thought…
However, the person of interest number two, Ka Dan did not seem to be affected by Stirling’s affection. If he visited, it was fine, and if he left, that was fine as well. She treated him just like anyone else. She didn’t push him away, nor did she welcome him with open arms.
Stirling was a well-known figure in the Capital City – Di Du. Something like this could easily become a wide spread gossip if not for ZiChuan Xiu’s heavy-handed intervention. He threatened every servant in the house and men under his command: “If you value your lives, then keep your mouth shut!” Even to Lady Ning, he played a card he rarely used before, as her brother, he warned her not to send words to Li Qing. Only then did the gossips stay contained within Lady Ning’s mansion.
……
Trying hard to keep a straight face, everyone watched Stirling drifting into the room. Chang Chuan sitting next to Princess Ka Dan immediately stood up and said: “Sir, here please sit!” Stirling bluntly accepted his invitation and sat down, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Even the usually thick-skinned ZiChuan Xiu had to applaud him for his shamelessness.
“What is everyone talking about?” Even though Stirling said everyone, in his eyes he only saw Ka Dan.
Ka Dan remained silent. ZiChuan Xiu replied for her: “Talking about Di Lin’s war situation in the Far East!” As he handed over the newspaper.
Stirling had already read it before, but he pretended to read it for the first time, muttering “I see” while reading, as though the news was actually interesting. Several minutes later, he asked: “So what is everyone’s opinion on this matter?”
“We all believe, that Di Lin is in danger.” Luo Jie raced to answer, hoping to give his Idol a good impression: “Deep behind enemy lines with no help on the way, now facing a powerful enemy ahead, unable to inch forward.”
“Right, is that your opinion as well, Xiu?” Stirling eyed ZiChuan Xiu. The two shared a look and instantly, they knew what the other one was thinking.
ZiChuan Xiu spoke softly: “Nope. I think at a time like this, Di Lin holds the initiative of the battlefield.”
Stirling concurred: “I agree!”
“Why” Several voices questioned at the same time.
ZiChuan Xiu smiled: “You only see that in front of Di Lin, in the city of Gamara two hundred thousand Demons led by the famous Demon General Yun Qian Xue awaits. With an impregnable fortress in the way, Di Lin has no choice but to attack, and has no choice but to fail. Correct?”
Stirling followed up: “But what if, Di Lin decides to not to attack Gamara, what happens then? What if he turns around and attacks the weaker city of Yi Ka to the southeast? Once he conquers Yi Ka, Di Lin will be able to make contact with Deputy Commander Lei Bang’s border army situated to the southeast, and will no longer have to worry about his supply lines. At the same time he could isolate almost five thousand square kilometres of Demon controlled territories, which they could swallow at their leisure…”
ZiChuan Xiu continued: “If Di Lin does not attack the city of Yi Ka, he could move towards the Guo Sen plains to the northeast. Conquering the Guo Sen plains means cutting off Demon’s supply of magic crystal stones and land dragons, and with the magic crystals and dragons he seized, he could build a large contingent of magic wielding dragon riders of his own, which will make Demon’s life even more difficult.”
Stirling nodded: “Even if Di Lin doesn’t attack Guo Sen either, he could choose to use his number superiority to surround the City of Gamara and wait for Yun Qian Xue’s two hundred thousand Demons to surrender by starving them out.”
A wave of silence later, Bai Chuan questioned: “But all those possibilities hinged on one key element, Di Lin’s army’s supplies has to be able to reach him constantly. If his supply line gets cut off, he cannot possibly fight a prolonged battle. Right now the supply line already stretches thousands of kilometres deep into Demon controlled territories. How can he secure it?”
ZiChuan Xiu and Stirling shared a look, both cracked a wry smile.
Stirling spoke discreetly: “It is a tough problem to solve for someone like you and me, but for Di Lin, it is not a problem at all. Perhaps that is the difference between a capable general and an average one.” His voice was filled with unspeakable bitterness.
ZiChuan Xiu smiled wryly: “It has nothing to do with your ability. It is merely a difference in perspective. You don’t have to apologize for yourself.”
Everyone looked confused, turning their gazes at ZiChuan Xiu and hoping he would explain.
ZiChuan Xiu sighed and spoke only a few words: “Take everything you come across, that solves all the supply problems.”
Everyone suddenly understood: The reason Di Lin could afford a prolonged engagement was because he would send out many raiding parties, to rob everything the towns, cities, villages in the vicinity of everything they have. He would not let his soldiers starve. Which means, if Di Lin could hold out for two months, then Yun Qian Xue stuck inside the City wouldn’t even manage three weeks.
Ka Dan cried out: “Then what about our people? Do they deserve to starve?”
All the officers of House ZiChuan in the room turned away from her, unable to meet her sharp gaze. Only Luo Jie murmured a few words: “Casualty of war…” But nobody heard him.
……
“That felt bloody awful.” When ZiChuan Xiu and Stirling were the only ones left in the room, ZiChuan Xiu lowered his voice: “I lost track, I totally forgot Ka Dan was one of them.”
Stirling sighed.
ZiChuan Xiu continued: “If it was anyone else, I would have had thousand of reasons to refute them. Like the way Demons treated us in the past several hundred years? This isn’t even enough to cover the interest! But when I saw the look in her eyes, I couldn’t say a word…”
Stirling sighed again.
“But really, Di Lin is making a huge mess in the Far East, who is going to clean it up?” ZiChuan Xiu went on: “He just cares about what is convenient for him. Killing all the prisoners like that, who would dare to surrender to us in the future? They would all fight to the death. Besides, killing civilians, robbing them of their livelihood, I just can’t get behind that … Without its people’s support, how would we ever establish ourselves in the Far East?”
Stirling had no words, he could only think of Di Lin’s imperious and courageous voice: “We don’t need the support of those low-lives. We only need their obedience and for them to fear us! In the end, the reason we control the Far East is not because of public elections, but the sword in our hand!”
Stirling didn’t truly agree with Di Lin’s cruel policies in his heart either, but Di Lin was the eldest of the three sworn brothers. ZiChuan Xiu, the youngest could complain if he wanted, but as the middle one, it was not his place.
He sighed yet again.
“Hey, Stirling. Don’t keep sighing like a nagging old hag. Say something.”
“So what is new, I mean here in Di Du.”
“Nothing surprising. Just Yang Ming Hua denying Ming Hui’s Border Army for receiving the latest equipments, and as usual, the new equipments ended up in the hands of Lei Xun’s Central Army. The second thing is that the Station Chief here, Ge Shan had a huge argument with Luo Ming Hai about it, she complained that Yang Ming Hua shouldn’t have violated the regulations. Historically, new equipments are always allocated to the Border Army first. I’m having trouble determining which side that old virgin is on.”
“Oh, really? Looks like I can put some work on her, perhaps I can win her over.”
ZiChuan Xiu frowned at Stirling and gave him a strange look.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Bloody pervert, can’t you just keep it in your pants for once? Even if you really like Ka Dan, you don’t have to be so damn obvious about it. I’m afraid that… I can’t keep it under wraps for much longer!”
Stirling had no words.
“Does Li Qing know?”
“She has doubts. She suspects that I have another woman somewhere. But she doesn’t know who.”
“Ouch. A woman’s instinct is seriously scary! She went through Lady Ning asking me to help her spy on you. I used every trick in the book to reassure her, but next time it won’t be so easy. So what does Ka Dan say?”
“You saw it for yourself. No reaction! She never gave me the chance to be with her alone…”
ZiChuan Xiu cursed: “What a cunning witch! In my opinion, you should just be straight with the Headmaster. If he is ok with it, then no one else can interfere. You won’t have to hide it then either!”
“I will, just not now… Yang Ming Hua would never let any opportunity slip if he could hurt us. In worst case, he could force me to resign. Besides, I don’t want to bother Headmaster with my personal affairs.”
“You are right.”
……
ZiChuan Xiu took a closer look at Stirling’s face. It had lost some weight, leaving his cheekbones more exposed and his eyes deeper in its sockets. He didn’t understand how his friend could suffer so much in the name of love yet was able to pretend as if nothing happened while dealing with all kinds of military assignments and plotting against Yang Ming Hua every day…
He had great sympathy for Stirling, but most importantly, he admired his perseverance. He even thought: “If it was me, I wouldn’t be able to do it. Luckily I’m not as foolish either. What is love? Screw that! There are more than enough pretty ladies walking about in the halls of the Grand Hotel of Di Du. Which one of them is not as pretty as an angel? They only cost three hundred a night, why would you bother with love?”
Imperial Calendar, winter of February, the war in the Far East had reached another turning point. While Di Lin’s army formed the encirclement around the City Gamara and Yun Qian Xue’s two hundred thousand Demons, new enemies appeared deep within the Demon territory. Leading two hundred thousand imperial guards, second Demon Prince, Ka Lan had come to Yun Qian Xue’s aid. After a few short skirmishes, Di Lin had realized that the adversary he now faced was not one he had faced before. Both the morale and combat prowess of the Demon Imperial Forces greatly surpassed that of the regular regiments, and they were loyal to a fault. Fearing the possibility of being pincered from both end, having to fight a winter war which the Humans are not accustomed to, and the increasing difficulties with gathering supplies, Di Lin immediately made the decision and gave the order to retreat.
Due to Di Lin’s orderly retreat and his superior numbers, very little opportunities were left for Ka Lan and Yun Qian Xue. Neither of them dared to give chase recklessly. Instead of calling it a chase, it was more accurate to describe it as an armed escort. The chase continued all the way back to the contested border of Heng Chuan, restoring the original frontier and put an end to what would be known as “The First Great Invasion” that lasted over six months.
During this campaign, House of ZiChuan suffered total fifty one thousand and three hundred deaths, and eleven hundred and six thousand wounded. (Of all the casualties, thirty thousand deaths and over eighty thousand wounded belonged to the non-human warriors forcibly conscripted into Di Lin’s Army).
Demons on the other hand, had suffered two hundred and seventy three thousand deaths, and two hundred and eighty eight thousand wounded. (Out of all the deaths, over hundred and fifty six thousand were captured prisoners). Those were merely the military casualties.
According to House ZiChuan’s Military Historian, Tang Chuan’s research: during the First Great Invasion orchestrated by Red Banner Master Di Lin, total five major Demon Cities, seventy two towns and over two hundred villages were massacred and razed. The final count of non-human civilian casualties suffered at the hand of Di Lin’s Army (Mass massacred or died indirectly from starvation and cold caused by Di Lin’s brutal gathering methods) reached over 1.8 million. (Later many Historians argued that Tang Chuan’s statistics were overly conservative, believing that his research was not conducted objectively. Clearly Tang Chuan was under House ZiChuan’s payroll at the time, and thus had the motives to be biased towards Di Lin.)
The entire western border region of Demons was mercilessly purified by Di Lin’s blade; even a hundred years would not be enough to restore what was lost. As result, their hatred for Human-kind had also reached an unprecedented height. Despite House ZiChuan’s effort to improve the livelihood in the region in the days after their successful conquest of the entire Far Eastern Regions many years later, the animosity between the races could not be quelled. Only till much later, when the King of Light, ZiChuan Xiu made his return to the Far East, did the many non-human races start to re-establish their connections with humans again…
As of right now, Di Lin was praised as the new War of God of House ZiChuan, the first general since the days of Ya Li Mei. Though at the same time, many called him a cold blooded monster, butcher, or king of murderer…
Meanwhile, he himself returned to the Headquarters of the Far Eastern Army in Fort Warren without a care in the world, and was awarded with a medal for his efforts and a new commission as the Deputy Commander.
……
Imperial Calendar, Year 779, Eleventh of March. Supreme Commander Yang Ming Hua, as the representative of the High Command, advised Headmaster ZiChuan Shen Xing the following: “Deputy Commander Di Lin and his men fought long and bravely, their efforts and merits should be rewarded. We propose to transfer Deputy Commander Di Lin and the fifty thousand men under his command who had distinguished themselves during war back to the Capital for their awards.”
Twelfth of March, Headmaster ZiChuan Shen Xing gave a short reply: “Approved.”
Nineteenth of March, Di Lin received his new orders. Taking fifty thousand soldiers who had “distinguished themselves” with him, he left Fort Warren and began his glorious march to the Capital.
Inside the secret room of the High Command, with a smug look on his face, Yang Ming Hua slowly enjoyed a glass of wine and spoke to Luo Ming Hai: “The moment Di Lin returns… You will be the new Supreme Commander.”
Noticing the slight hint of jealousy coming from the Central Army Commander – Lei Xun, Yang Ming Hua spoke calmly: “Don’t worry. You are the next one in line for the seat of Headmaster.”
Luo Ming Hai’s reaction was merely a dispassionate nod, as he said: “Thank you for your generosity, Sir!”
Lei Xun on the other hand, responded excitedly: “I can never repay the kindness you have bestowed upon me, Sir! However, it is my humble opinion that we are more than capable of finishing the job. We don’t have to wait for Di Lin! That brat is too arrogant and unpredictable…”
Yang Ming Hua laughed cheerfully: “Lei Xun, are you jealous? There is a reason I requested for Di Lin’s transfer. You don’t have to worry about it. He will yet prove to be useful… Hahaha.”
……
Inside the House of Headmaster, ZiChuan Shen Xing spoke bitterly to Stirling: “Yang Ming Hua has ordered for Di Lin’s transfer, he is about to make a move.”
Stirling questioned back: “There is one thing I don’t understand, if Your Excellency wishes to share your wisdom. Given their current military strength in the Capital, Yang Ming Hua has full control of Lei Xun’s Central Army; he vastly outnumbers us and has the absolute advantage. Why is he wasting time waiting for Di Lin’s forces to return to the Capital? What is the point?”
ZiChuan Shen Xing smiled: “Stirling, what day is it today?”
Stirling couldn’t quite figure out the meaning of ZiChuan Shen Xing’s question, thus he gave him a straightforward answer: “Twentieth of March, Tuesday.”
“Next Monday, is the annual Military Assembly of House ZiChuan, almost all army officers with the rank of Banner Master or above will have to attend, including Ge Ying Xing. He will have to return to Di Du as well.”
“Sir, are you saying that, the reason Yang Ming Hua requested for Di Lin’s transfer is to deal with Ge Ying Xing?”
“Exactly! Ge Ying Xing will bring his six thousand personal guards, but Di Lin will have fifty thousand men with him. Almost ten to one, he wants Ge Ying Xing dead.”
“Such bold move, isn’t he afraid that it would cause the Far Eastern Army to rebel?”
“He won’t have to worry about that because by then, Ge Ying Xing would already be dead. Even if his subordinates, like Luo Bo or Lin Bing complained, the ones involved are all soldiers from the Far Eastern Army. Yang Ming Hua could easily cover it up saying it was an internal conflict inside the Far Eastern Army, and no one will be able to connect it to him. In the worst scenario, he could always sacrifise Di Lin to quell the anger from Ge Ying Xing’s subordinates. How is that for a perfect plan?”
Stirling smiled: “He is too clever for his own good!”
……
Inside the House of ZiChuan Ning, she spoke to ZiChuan Xiu: “Brother, I heard Di Lin is coming back with an army of fifty thousand strong! …What are you looking for?”
“Oh, I’m looking for the bill for the stuff we broke during our last duel. Clearly he should be the one paying for them; why the hell do I have to pay?! It’s a huge sum, over seven thousand, and another six months of interest…”
“Ning, do you think I should give him the official interest rate or the black market interest rates? I mean we are friends for many years after all, I guess I shouldn’t use compound interest…”
“It is not like he can’t afford the extra interest. I heard he robbed the Far Eastern Regions clean… leaving the poor Demon villages with nothing but tears…”
“Sir.” Guard Captain Cobra handed Di Lin a letter: “Just got it from the mailbox.”
Di Lin opened the letter, revealing only one sentence: “xpsspnpulsbqmbsuofd.” He gave it a look and nodded. Captain Cobra knew better and dismissed himself.
“What is it? What letter is so important? It came as soon as you returned to the Capital.” Lin Xiu Jia, his beautiful and gracious wife approached his side. Di Lin planned to hide the letter, but it was too late.
“A love letter?” Lin Xiu Jia asked mockingly.
Di Lin’s icy cold cheeks smiled in a way that was rarely seen: “You are the only one I love.” And handed her the letter.
“I was kidding. You are always like this, no fun at all!” Even though she complained, she couldn’t be happier on the inside: “Is it about work? I don’t think I should look at it.”
“It is fine. Between us, there is no secret.”
With that, he instantly melted her heart. She was so glad that she agreed to marry Di Lin back then. It was the best decision she ever made: “Luckily I chose him…”
Di Lin was young, handsome and talented. Given his position of prominence in the army, countless ladies were captivated by the Red Banner Master’s aloof charm. (He is now a Deputy Commander). But all of them were met with an icy mountain, a mountain made of Di Lin’s cold demeanor and calm, keeping them a thousand miles away. It was a common saying amongst the young misses in the Capital: “Di Lin was an impassable mountain of ice!”
“Too bad they never saw the other side of him when he is at home.” Lin Xiu Jia smiled pleasantly. Is there another husband out there who still loves his wife as much as he does after two years into the marriage? Everyone says that marriage is the graveyard of love, but in her eyes, this is the paradise, because she married an almost perfect husband…
Almost, the only flaw was the position he found himself in, an extremely dangerous secret identity… and the cause of her constant worry…
……
“xpsspnpulsbqmbsuofd.” “What does it mean?”
Di Lin explained to her: “It is a simple substitution cipher, try substituting each letter with the previous one in the alphabet.”
“worromotkraplartnec…” “It still doesn’t make sense!”
Di Lin gave her a naughty wink: “Try reading it in reverse.”
“Central Park tomorrow… Oh, I get it. Someone is asking to see you tomorrow in the Central Park!” Seeing the way Di Lin smiled, she leaped into his arms and pushed against his broad chest: “You are mean! You are making fun of me again!”
Instantly, Di Lin was on his feet, pulling up his sleeves in anger and glanced around him: “Who?! Who dares making fun of my wife? I will kill him!”
Lin Xiu Jia laughed happily at the sight of his act.
Di Lin sat back down again, holding Lin Xiu Jia gently in his arms: “Like I said, surely my wife is the smartest of them all.”
Lin Xiu Jia felt a wave of happiness wash over her… but then a question popped up in her mind: “Who sent the letter?”
“Oh, just an idiot who thinks he is being cleaver!” Di Lin revealed another gentle smile, together with his usual cold demeanor, it was surprisingly charming.
“ZiChuan Xiu!” Lin Xiu Jia guessed the name right away.
Di Lin smiled again: “I’m glad. We both think alike!”
……
In truth, ZiChuan Xiu’s extracurricular measures were mostly useless. If the letters were to fall into Yang Ming Hua’s hand, his cryptographic experts would solve a basic cipher like this in less than a minute. But it was in ZiChuan Xiu’s nature to do pointless things. In his words: “This is how you do things in secret!” and thus he insisted that all exchanges between him, Di Lin and Stirling had to be encrypted. And they weren’t allowed to use the same encryption either, sometimes shifting one letter in the alphabet, sometimes two, and sometimes the cipher even included highly sophisticated form of algebra…
In the end the real victims of the whole ordeal were Di Lin and Stirling. Every time they had to go to great lengths in order to decipher the unreadable gibberish. Sometimes even after they finally deciphered the code, its content would appear to be simple messages like:
“It is quite sunny today… I ate too many watermelons; my stomach is making noises.”
“There is a new waitress at the Heaven’s Dream tavern, super hot, just a bit uptight.”
“Stirling, the money I owe you, can I get a three month extension?”
……
Lin Jiu Jia seemed a bit agitated: “Him again, is he asking you to do something dangerous again… I don’t understand. Aren’t the three of you supposed to share the burden together, why do you have to be the one to go undercover? You keep saying that he is your friend, but every time you are the one taking all the risks…” Di Lin’s face was cold as ice; she instantly knew the look and stopped herself.
Di Lin stared motionlessly at the thick clouds covering the blue sky through the window, calm as ice.
Lin Xiu Jia didn’t dare to utter a sound. She knew his husband, even though he loved her deeply and would do everything she asked, there was a place hidden deep in his heart so sacred, that she could never reach.
After a long while, Di Lin sighed: “ZiChuan Xiu and Stirling are not my friends… They are my brothers. I didn’t hear what you just said.”
Lin Xiu Jia lowered her head obediently: “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“It is alright, just that…”
Di Lin couldn’t finish the sentence; he kissed her lightly and said: “You should rest.”
Only after Lin Xiu Jia’s shadow disappeared from his study, did Di Lin mutter the rest of the words he wanted to say but couldn’t: “Just that you don’t understand what we have been through… I guess it is hard to explain to a woman, what it means to be brothers!”
“Ning, I love you!”
After dinner, while reading the recently received letters, ZiChuan Xiu spoke thoughtfully to ZiChuan Ning, who sat on the opposite side of the table sipping tea.
Splat! Bai Chuan’s tea cup shattered on the ground and Luo Jie coughed loudly; a big chunk of cake was stuck in his throat and he was unable to breathe. Chang Chuan stared as his mouth dropped open wide enough to fit a handful of eggs; he didn’t even notice when Luo Jie snatched his wallet…
ZiChuan Ning could only feel her heartbeat quickening with shortness of breath, and her cheeks burned bright red…but it was with the flame of joy. All this time, everything she had hoped and ached to hear from her beloved…would today be the day it would happen?
“I love you!” ZiChuan Xiu spoke solemnly: “So erm… Can you lend me some money? Damn those bastards at the High Command! It was obviously Di Lin’s fault; why are they sending the bloody bill for the broken furniture to me?! My salary from last month was used to cover that stupid bill at the Heaven’s Dream restaurant…that reminds me; I will get you back, Bai Chuan! Hey, Ning, where are you going?! I haven’t finished yet, wait!”
“Damn it, teenagers these days; how can she leave halfway during my confession? Nobody appreciates true love anymore!”
ZiChuan Xiu sighed in defeat, turning towards Bai Chuan, and spoke thoughtfully: “Bai Chuan, I love you…”
Smack! Suddenly, countless stars appeared before ZiChuan Xiu’s eyes, but they were all coin-shaped!
…
Servants came to deliver the message; Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard – Stirling, was coming to visit.
ZiChuan Xiu couldn’t have been happier as he dashed out of the room.
Stirling was twenty-three at the time; the brightest period of one’s youth. Everything about him was filled with energy. He was of medium height, had an avid short haircut, light brown skin and a pair of sharp eyes. He was a rather dashing young man…but unlike ZiChuan Xiu’s fragile, spoiled unruliness or Di Lin’s arrogant and frosty aloofness, Stirling was more of a righteous and masculine man; he had the kind of straightforward handsomeness that was befitting of a soldier. He was dignified, outspoken, genuine, and passionate.
Historians would later refer to him as the "'Model Soldier during the Golden Age." His contemporary friend, ZiChuan Xiu, would describe him as: “Stirling was born to be a soldier!”
ZiChuan Ning had also made a comparison of the three young Heroes of the House: "Stirling was like a ferocious tiger and a natural leader; Di Lin was like a cobra, cold, cruel, and aloof; ZiChuan Xiu was…hard to describe, I can only compare him to a nasty slug…”
…
In order to have some privacy, the two met in the garden.
“I heard you went to the High Command today. Who did you talk to?”
ZiChuan Xiu explained everything that happened earlier that day in detail and Stirling listened closely to every word, before finally exhaling sympathetically: “Di Lin has a tough road ahead! His situation is the most dangerous; he must be under a lot of pressure right now.”
“But the information he provided has proven invaluable. What are you going to do about the two spies in your midst?”
“I will keep an eye out for now…getting rid of them right away is like telling Yang Ming Hua that Di Lin is on our side!”
“Brother, I have always wondered; if everyone knew that Yang Ming Hua couldn’t be trusted, then why didn’t Headmaster ZiChuan Shen Xing call back the Far Eastern Army and take care of him? Could he really be…as they say?” ZiChuan Xiu swallowed back the word “incompetent.”
“Nobody knows what ZiChuan Shen Xing is really like.” Stirling sighed in defeat: “I’m one of his most trusted confidants, but even so I can’t tell what he is thinking half of the time…but he is definitely not incompetent. Aren’t there many who thought you to be stupid, spoiled, and incompetent as well?
ZiChuan Xiu smirked as he thought of Luo Jie, Bai Chuan, and Chang Chuan.
“As to recalling large forces to deal with Yang Ming Hua, that plan is simply unrealistic. In order to contend with the Central Army made of seventeen hundred thousand strong soldiers, we have to recall at least two hundred thousand soldiers from the Far Eastern Army, a hundred thousand from the Border Army, and eighty thousand from the Black Banner Army. It is impossible to camouflage such large military operation from Yang Ming Hua’s eyes and ears. It would only force him to show his hand. If that happened, we would all be fucked.”
ZiChuan Xiu smiled bitterly: “And so, we are in a stalemate!”
“Exactly, neither side dares to openly declare war on the other, so we are resorting to a form of cold war.” Stirling continued: “Di Lin’s advice rings true; you need to be careful. There have been many incidents recently in the dark corners of our Capital City – Di Du. Almost every morning, the garbage collectors find a dead body lying somewhere. Many powerful and influential figures ended up that way. Just last week, one of my Deputy Banner Masters was dragged away after getting drunk in a bar. We found his body three days later floating in the city moat.”
“What did you…?” ZiChuan Xiu knew his friend all too well; Stirling would never let something like that slide.
“Well, nothing…but two days ago, I heard that Commander Lei Xun’s stepson, Banner Master Lei Xiao Yun was found dead in his mistress’ home. The City Guards (Di Du’s security force) thought it was a robbery and are looking for the killer amongst the unemployed and the local gangsters. How unfortunate!”
“Haha.” ZiChuan Xiu laughed wholeheartedly. This serious kind of humor from Stirling could always get a few kicks out of him.
…
“So, Xiu, what are you going to do now?”
“Well, since it is getting so dangerous…the honest, timid and cowardly ZiChuan Xiu can only find a place to hide until the two giants fight it out. I will come back when they are done and shake the hands with the victor.”
“Timid and cowardly? Who are you referring to?”
The two eyed each other and laughed.
“Come with me, Xiu! We will serve the Headmaster together.”
“Stirling, I remember when we were still children. You, me and Di Lin had all made a vow to the former Headmaster – ZiChuan Yuan Xing, to serve Lady ZiChuan Ning. Have you forgotten?”
“I remember. But given our current circumstances, we can only protect Lady Ning by helping Headmaster – ZiChuan Shen Xing against Yang Ming Hua. Am I wrong?”
ZiChuan Xiu hesitated.
“I know you are still holding a grudge against the Headmaster for what happened six years ago. But back then, he had only just became the Headmaster, and everything was under Yang Ming Hua’s control. He had no choice but to side with Yang Ming Hua against you! He told me many times afterwards that he regretted what happened, that he shouldn’t have done what he did. He was sincere; please forgive him.”
“Besides, we now all have a common enemy, Yang Ming Hua. No matter what you do, Yang Ming Hua will not spare you. The only way out is together!”
ZiChuan Xiu smiled: “Let me think about it. I heard you and Banner Master Li Qing are getting married?”
Stirling smiled back, he had always known ZiChuan Xiu’s signature move – whenever ZiChuan Xiu didn’t like the topic of the conversation, he would always begin with “Let me think about it,” and then come up with all kinds of unrelated topics to derail the conversation!
Stirling didn’t press him further: “That is right. We are planning to hold the ceremony after everything is finished.”
“I brought a whole bunch of goblins back from the Far East, how about I send her a pair or two?”
“That would be great! She had always wanted a goblin servant, but the market price went up to thirty thousand a head. Clearly it is more profitable being on the front line!”
“What are you talking about? In the entire House of ZiChuan, only the uniform of the Imperial Army is laced with gold…you are not fooling anyone! Very well, so that counts as your wedding present!”
“No way! That counts as extra, wedding present not included. Don’t you dare skip out on me!"
…
“Everything is such a mess. I really hope that House Liu Feng doesn’t come and stir the pot right now.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. They don’t have time for us right now! Their Headmaster – Liu Feng Xi Shan is on his deathbed. They are doing pretty much the same thing we are; struggling for power. Liu Feng Xi Shan’s three sons are all incompetent, which is the reason for his indecision. He can’t seem to decide on whom to give his seat to, since each one of them looks worse than the other two.”
“Thank the gods that Liu Feng Shuang is a girl and has no succession rights, or else we would be in big trouble.”
“Indeed. But I heard Liu Feng Xi Shan has recently given her the title of 'The Guardian!'"
“What does that mean?”
“That means even though Liu Feng Xi Shan is not happy with any of his sons, it doesn't matter who succeeds; as long as they have Liu Feng Shuang’s support, House Liu Feng will not fall.”
“What an effort. I heard you faced Liu Feng Shuang’s force during the second invasion. How did that go?”
Recalling, Stirling exhaled deeply: “Liu Feng Shuang is the real deal!”
“We had Liu Feng Ming’s and Liu Feng Qing’s almost two hundred thousand men surrounded…Their lines were beginning to crumble; just a bit more and they would have been annihilated, but then Liu Feng Shuang’s forces appeared. She didn’t raise her banner; her numbers were less than eight thousand and were all Calvary as well.”
“Fang Jing, Ming Hui, Yang Li (The former Border Army Commander) and I were four officers on the frontline, and none of us took those eight thousand riders seriously. Fang Jing only sent three infantry formations to thwart their attack and it was a sound strategy. Nobody expected her to crush the three infantry formations in less than ten minutes; her unit was simply too well organized! She broke through another infantry division of Yang Li soon after, and then all the way through our encirclement.”
“By the time we realized something was amiss and tried to organize a counter-offensive, it was already too late! By then the white banner with red letters was already raised high – ‘Liu Feng Shuang’. The moment the two hundred thousand encircled soldiers of Liu Feng Army saw her banner, the roar of 'Hail! Commander Shuang has arrived; we are saved! Kill the ZiChuan Dogs!' erupted and shook the earth. After a full day of battle, they should have been exhausted and distraught, but when Liu Feng Shuang arrived, it was as if they were possessed. Their warcries shattered our confidence…and Liu Feng Shuang, a meek little girl, unafraid of rain of arrows, stripped down to her waist and stood firmly beneath her banner. She let the entire battlefield watch her swinging her sabre shouting: “Soldiers of House Liu Feng, are you afraid when a woman is not? Muster your courage and attack!” You just have to respect that kind of gallantry. Her personal guards were crazy as well, shielding her from the incoming arrows with their bare body. When one fell, another one took his place…
“So the army of House Liu Feng came at us like mad men. That snake Ming Hui hastily retreated the moment he saw Liu Feng Shuang’s banner; Yang Li gave the order to hold the lines in the midst of chaos and as a result, his forces suffered heavy casualties and soon crumbled. Luckily me and Fang Jing secured our backlines together. We had to fend her off constantly during the retreat and she kept chasing us for several hundred miles until Ming Hui’s Border Army joined us at the border. Only then did she give up.”
Stirling expressed a sense of pride: “But I can say with certainty that my unit is not inferior to hers; despite her relentless attacks, my unit could always hold their ground, while the other units all crumbled under the pressure! She chased us almost a thousand miles, but she still couldn’t break my lines! During the last skirmish, I even gained the upper hand!”
He turned towards ZiChuan Xiu: “Hey! Why…why the hell…are you asleep?!”
“Blah blah! So bloody boring, who wouldn’t fall asleep?!”
…
Entering the Guest Hall, the view left Stirling stunned.
“Assassin?” ZiChuan Xiu reacted behind him and quickened his steps. Readying himself for battle, he dashed into the Guest Hall!
All he saw was Bai Chuan, Luo Jie, and Chang Chuan, the three clowns sitting on the couch and shamelessly enjoying Lady Ning’s hospitality.
“What is the problem?” ZiChuan Xiu followed Stirling’s gaze, and noticed the fourth person. Even though she sat on the soft couch, her posture was straight and dignified. She was not interested at all in the rich and well-prepared meal spread across the table.
It was the Demon Princess – Ka Dan.
“Is something wrong?” ZiChuan Xiu poked at Stirling’s waist.
“Huh, oh, what?” Stirling gibbered senselessly: “What’s wrong?”
ZiChuan Xiu gave him a strange frown, but didn’t say anything.
Stirling's composure instantly returned to normal, and he walked into the Guest Hall.
Staring at the shadows casted by Stirling's back, ZiChuan Xiu was riddled with worries: “I hope it is not what I think it is…”
Luo Jie, Bai Chuan, and Chang Chuan immediately stood up and saluted. Thanks to his exceptional talents, dazzling charm, and charisma, Stirling had become the new generation of ZiChuan Soldiers' idol. The younger officers like Bai Chuan might not have recognized more powerful figures like the Headmaster or the Supreme Commander, but they would never mistake the sight of Stirling. Luo Jie had admired him for a long time.
Even though it was the first time they had met, all of them could tell that Stirling was different from his usual self…
According to Commander Bai Chuan’s personal memoirs – “The Days with his Lordship”.
“…He (Stirling) greeted us as expected and spoke appropriately for someone of his station. He even shared a frozen watermelon with us on the couch and answered any questions we had regarding the art of war… Everything seemed normal, but somehow I could always sense that he wasn’t entirely comfortable in his own skin… Very peculiar indeed. I told myself that perhaps it was what you would call a woman’s instinct?”
Later, another officer at the scene, Adjutant General Luo Jie had this to say: “Don’t you believe the 'woman’s instinct' crap that old hag Bai Chuan has been spewing. That entire memoir of hers was a scam. It was all made up and written by a hired gun. She doesn’t even know the meaning of 'How are you?' Even an idiot could tell that Stirling was off his game! How else could a Master like Stirling hurt his own hand when cutting open a watermelon? Or ask us the same question five times? ‘When did you come back to Di Du?’, ‘You guys came back when?’, ‘When was it again?’ …Even though we gave him a clear answer every time, he had to ask it again in less than three minutes.”
Chief of Staff, Chang Chuan added: “Also, Master Xiu just stood there, not saying anything, but kept laughing like two Yang Ming Hua’s and a Lei Xun added together. You could tell just by the sneaky way he laughed that something was afoot!”
…
After leaving ZiChuan Ning’s mansion, ZiChuan Xiu decided to walk Stirling home.
“The stars are really bright tonight!” Stirling spoke flatly, as if he was making a statement.
ZiChuan Xiu looked at the cloudy sky, raised his eyebrows, and said: “Of course!”
“The moon is exceptionally large as well!”
“Sure.” Even though no moon could be seen that night.
“Look at how clean the streets are in the capital!”
“You are right.” ZiChuan Xiu had just stepped on a dead cat.
“You didn’t have to walk me home. I’m sure you have a lot of things waiting for you to do as it is…”
“Bullshit.”
“…”
“…”
“Thanks for the gift by the way, Li Qing will be glad.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Is everything all right with Lady Ning? I didn’t get to see her tonight.”
“She is fine.”
“What was her name?”
“Ka Dan.”
The pair stopped where they stood. ZiChuan Xiu stared at Stirling, but the latter avoided the gaze of the former.
Silence.
Finally, ZiChuan Xiu spoke slowly, one word at a time: “Princess Ka Dan, the third daughter of the current Demon God King. She is my spoil of war from the fifth battle of Heng Chuan. The High Command made her my ward.”
Stirling’s lips were trembling, lacking their usual calm courage.
“You knew?”
“I’m not blind.”
“Do you think badly of me?”
“Nope.” Turning his face away, ZiChuan Xiu replied after considering it a bit more: “Not more than usual, anyway.”
“I have a fiancé, and she loves me very much.”
“I know. Li Qing is a great woman.”
“She is the Demon God King’s daughter, a Demon.”
“And royalty, no less!”
…
The pair halted their steps once again, inspecting each other closely.
“What should I do?”
“Do you really want to hear me talk about how a high ranking officer of the ZiChuan Army should behave himself, have devotion to the cause, and the selflessness and courage to sacrifice oneself for the greater good?”
“Fuck you @#4#&&##!"
“…”
“Sorry, that was uncalled for.”
“It is alright, but there are several ways to deal with this… Do you want to hear about the long-term solutions, the mid-term solutions, or the short-term solutions?”
“Let’s start with the long-term.”
“The long-term solution can also be called: The Decisive Solution. Solution number one: Tie a knot of rope on the ceiling, and step on a chair. Put your neck through the loop and kick away the chair. Solution number two: Go to the Great Demon Fortress and challenge the Demon God King to a single combat match. Solution number three: On the 1st of January, assassinate Yang Ming Hua during the annual military parade. So which one of the solutions do you prefer?”
“…”
“Not to your liking? That's alright, we still have the mid-term solutions! Like castrating yourself with a razorblade… Other than the technical difficulties which may become present when performing such a deed, its effectiveness and health risks are both inferior to the solutions mentioned earlier…”
“Shut the fuck up!”
“Or perhaps you can act like a horny teenager. Buy a dozen roses and send them to Princess Ka Dan. Wait beneath her window every night till the sun rises, sing her love songs, and play the guitar. Make your heart race without stopping whenever you catch a glimpse of her shadow…though you might want to watch out for your future father-in-law!”
“I told you to shut up!”
“No good? Well then, there is only one final solution left… Since I’m her guardian, I can lock her up somewhere alone and secluded; I can even give you the keys…”
Stirling instantly punched ZiChuan Xiu in the face, sending him tumbling to the ground. Slowly regaining his footing, ZiChuan Xiu took a handkerchief from Stirling and wiped off the blood around the corner of his mouth, speaking slowly: “If you ask me, I’d rather kill you than see you walk down this road… Death can be swift and painless.” ZiChuan Xiu spoke in a deeper voice: “Give up, brother. This is madness. We both know that if there was the slightest hope, I would have helped you, no matter the cost. But this time… you are no longer fifteen years old! I’m sure you are just having a crush! She doesn’t even know who you are!”
Stirling remained silent; the usual fire was missing from his eyes. He could have been paying attention to the conversation, but he could have been somewhere else entirely as well…
…
"…"
“This is the first time I have felt this way.” Stirling’s voice was soft, but the tone was resolute: “I love her.”
“No, you don't!” ZiChuan Xiu argued back, softly: “And don't you love Li Qing, as well?”
“It's not the same! With Li Qing… it wasn’t love. We just spent a lot of time together, and we got along…”
“So after you have slept with her so many times and are even getting married, you realize only now that it was not ‘love’? Isn’t it too bloody late for that?”
“It is too late… That's the problem; only now do I realize what ‘love’ is!”
“Then go kill yourself and see if I care!” ZiChuan Xiu finally lost his patience and shouted in anger: “What was the point of me trying to change your mind when all you care about is how you feel? Aren't you tired of being alive? Why don’t you just slit your throat then; surely that would be faster?!”
“I’m aware.”
Stirling saw a little tavern next to the road and smiled: “I just found another solution—alcohol, the solution to all worries! Come, it is my treat.”
“Wait, I can’t! I have to report to the Executive Office tomorrow! Yang Ming Hua wants me to be the Deputy Division Chief. I’m not allowed to drink tonight…”
Stirling ignored his protests and entered the tavern.
ZiChuan Xiu understood: “Shit, he is serious this time! Why can’t it be a good woman like Li Qing? Instead, he has to fall in love with the Demon God King’s daughter… What is wrong with this world?! Love… is clearly the root of all evil!”
…
Yet, the one asking these questions could never have guessed that many years later, he would find himself in the midst of an even more bitter love struggle. It would be the most famous and heart-wrenching love story during the golden age. However, that is a tale for another time…
Imperial Calendar Year 778, August: On the hottest day of the month, Stirling was 23, Di Lin was 24 and ZiChuan Xiu was 18. The three young heroes of House ZiChuan found themselves swept away by the whirlpool of time, unable to escape, struggling. It was a period of their lives when they had no control over the directions of their future. However, the days when they could were rapidly approaching…
“You claim to be the new Deputy Division Chief?” The security guard at the door looked like he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
“Err, Yes.” ZiChuan Xiu lowered his voice, knowing he didn’t look very convincing at the moment. Nobody knew how it actually happened, but after getting drunk last night with Stirling, they got into a fist fight with some local thugs. The event last night had taught him two things: First, the combat strength of two top tier fighters together when drunk is no better than a pig's; Second, the sewers in the capital smelled really bad… especially for sore losers who were thrown into it and had to spend the night in the mud. By the time the waste collectors came in the morning to find their bodies and wake them up, ZiChuan Xiu didn't even have time to change his clothing before he had to report to the Administrative Office, and thus…
“Documents?”
“I left them at home.” Though most likely they were stolen by the thugs when they searched for his wallet.
“Of course, another one who left it at home.” The security guard sounded very understanding but the way he moved his giant baton proved otherwise: “Listen kid, we get a couple of troublemakers like you every month, but someone who comes all the way here like you did… well, that's a first!” He raised his eyebrow and continued: “Are you drunk?! God, what is that yellow stain on your shirt? Is it shit or mud? And what is with your face, why is it swollen like a panda?”
“Please.” ZiChuan Xiu begged: “I have to report to your Division Chief – Ge Shan; I’m already late!”
“Right, and I'm the bloody Headmaster!” The security guard clearly didn’t believe him. Then again, ZiChuan Xiu had to admit he had every reason not to.
Glancing around to make sure no one was paying them any attention, ZiChuan Xiu took a deep breath: “I’m sorry, friend!” He casually tapped the guard’s shoulder, and suddenly, the guard fell limp at his feet. Quickly catching him in his arms, ZiChuan Xiu made it look as though the guard was taking a nap leaning against the wall.
…
“Where is Division Chief’s office?”
The question left the staff in complete shock; confused, they each pointed in a different direction. It could have only been a miracle that ZiChuan Xiu somehow managed to find the right way in the end.
The female assistant outside Chief’s office was shocked by the swiftly approaching madman. Blocking his path, she shouted: “You may not pass! You don’t have an appointment… I’m calling the guards!”
By then ZiChuan Xiu had already entered through the office door.
At the opposite end of the spacious office room, a rather pretty lady sat behind a desk, reading documents. She wasn’t startled at all by the sudden appearance of ZiChuan Xiu.
His male instinct automatically gave her a score of 8.5.
“Please sit, Commander Xiu; you are 15 minutes late.” Her voice was ice cold, and she showed neither joy nor anger. In fact, she didn’t even bother raising her head when she waved her assistant off with a motion of her hand.
“Right, Sir, I’m sorry, I had to…”
“I have no interest in your personal life, but now that you are a part of my Division, I hope you can start following the regulations and avoid any future indiscretions. Are we clear?”
As the score dropped to a 3.5, ZiChuan Xiu instantly put her into the category of the old virgins who wanted to be loved but weren't, and as a result, they ended up with a mental disorder hating other people who lived a happier life.
“Sir, I’m sorry, next time…”
“Thank you for your apology. I’m sure it will be very useful; who knows, perhaps it can give me back the time I had to waste due to your tardiness.” Ge Shan remarked sarcastically: “Also, there is something else you should know. We are of the same rank; we are both Deputy Commanders, which means that you don’t have to call me Sir.”
“Yes, Sir. Oh, I mean, Chief. ZiChuan Xiu, reporting in. I’m at your command.”
“Commander Xiu, there is just one thing… I wonder if you can do me a favor.”
“Anything you say, your wish is my command.”
“Get the fuck out this instant. Go home, take a shower, brush your teeth then come back to work! Because of you, we have to spend at least three air conditioners!”
………
Facing Bai Chuan, Luo Jie, Chang Chuan, ZiChuan Ning and Ka Dan, ZiChuan Xiu sat in front of them on the couch. Despite the serious and stern look on their faces, the size of their swollen cheeks looked as if a giant frog could be sitting inside.
ZiChuan Xiu sighed, waving in defeat: “It is ok guys, laugh away.”
“Wuahahaha!”, “Hihihi!”, “Hehehe!”…
Only Ka Dan managed to retain her princess-like demeanor, smiling slightly.
“Sir, you look like a panda with those two black eyes… Hahaha.”
Bai Chuan flipped a page from the “Di Du Daily Papers” and read out loud: “Today’s hot topic: Today a mental patient who claimed to be Commander Xiu, who recently returned to the Capital from the Far East, broke into the Administrative Office, injuring the security guard in the process. The patient was eventually repelled by the Division Chief – Ge Shan, after breaking and entering into her office. One of the witness, Miss Jing Mei Li, who is a staff at the Administrative Office, has this to say (The picture of a stupid-looking, fat, and ugly woman with a sad expression could be seen between the paragraphs): “It was so scary; he tried to touch me! He was… I mean, it's too embarrassing to say…” The main witness, Division Chief – Ge Shan, has refused to comment on the matter.
Based on the initial report from the official investigation, it was probably the result of the recent collapse of the fences around the local mental hospital three days ago. The investigation is still ongoing, the official announcement has stated that their aim is to re-capture all the unstable and dangerous mental patients as soon as possible, and that the citizens will have nothing to worry about. All the parties involved have been advised to improve on the maintenance of any local holding facilities. Please report any sightings of the fugitives to the following address: Di Du Ministry of Civil Administration, Public Safety and Maintenance, Section – Third Office.”
A wave of wild laughter arose.
ZiChuan Ning said: “Brother, you are now famous; can I have a signature?”
Luo Jie laughed: “Sir, I knew you were desperate for some female attention… but surely you can do better than this?”
Chang Chuan whispered to ZiChuan Ning: “Where is the Ministry of Civil Administration?
ZiChuan Xiu asked Bai Chuan: “Where is the article posted? First page or the second?”
After double-checking it, Bai Chuan replied: “It is posted… under the article of Special Treatment for Venereal Syphilis, and above the commercials for Viagra.”
Another wave of wild laughter arose.
The usually silent Ka Dan spoke: “Master Xiu, your eyes… perhaps I can help.”
ZiChuan Xiu had heard long ago of the incredible powers of the Demons, speaking in excitement: “Are you a shaman?”
Ka Dan shook her head.
“Do you have healing abilities?”
Ka Dan shook her head again.
“Do you know healing spells?”
Ka Dan shook her head yet again.
“Then how can you help me?”
Ka Dan reached for a wooden box behind her: “I have something here that can help you. It can disguise your eye injuries and make them invisible to the others… But it is very expensive, I’m afraid…”
What was it? Magical pills? Divine medicine? Holy water? …None of it mattered. ZiChuan Xiu only wanted to not look like a panda anymore.
Without hesitation, he reached for the last two hundred dollars in his pocket and handed them to Ka Dan.
Ka Dan shook her head: “Not enough.”
ZiChuan Xiu borrowed another thousand dollars from ZiChuan Ning and gave them to Ka Dan as well.
Ka Dan spoke sympathetically: “Sigh, very well; I’m only doing this because I like your sister, Lady Ning…”
ZiChuan Xiu took the box from her and opened it…
A pair of sunglasses, priced at fifteen dollars, and it didn’t even have a brand.
…
According to the historical records: when the King of Light finally took control of the entire Far Eastern region, he treated the lower-class citizens of the Demons exceptionally well, but the Demon royalties were treated harshly. He would punish them whenever he got the chance. As to the exact reason for his polarized treatment of the Demons, one thing was certain: Sometime, somewhere, and for some unknown reason, ZiChuan Xiu had to have suffered at the hand of a Demon Royalty…but the truth will forever remain a mystery, and lost to time
Stirling had to struggle getting out of the bed; the sudden headache made it difficult.
The shower helped. Looking at the time, it was already past noon. A lot happened last night, but he could only remember that he was drunk and he got into a fight. As to what happened afterwards… he couldn’t even tell how he managed to get home. He did find two wallets inside his pockets… The other one belonged to ZiChuan Xiu. As to how it ended up in his pocket, well, he couldn’t remember it at all.
His old servant told him that Lady Li Qing was here earlier and she left him a note.
Picking it up, Li Qing’s elegant handwriting greeted him: “You didn’t come home last night; both me and Headmaster Shen Xing were worried. We are glad you made it back safely this morning. Though you should consider your status and what you represent, you cannot behave like a fool who spends most of his time drunk. Master Shen Xing has requested your presence. So make sure you do when your mind is clear.”
Stirling let out a wry smile; Li Qing was still the same: kind, smart and reliable. There wasn’t a word of blame afraid of hurting his pride. What else can a man wish for when you have a great woman like that. If last night didn’t happen, she could very well have been his most suitable partner for the rest of his life.
Meanwhile, Stirling had already prepared the excuses for when he sees Li Qing: “I saw Xiu last night. We were overjoyed and I drank a bit too much… I’m sorry. He forced me to go.” Stirling was almost certain that ZiChuan Xiu would tell the same kind of lies to Lady Ning: “Stirling forced me to go.” Friends were like that. It was a common excuse they use at the time.
A cup of tea later, Stirling instantly felt re-energized, and with that, the usually confident Stirling once again returned to himself.
……
First thing after arriving at the House of Headmaster, Stirling’s usual habit was to inspect its security measures. The best and the most loyal forces of the Imperial Guards – The Death Guard, posted sentries every five feet around the perimeter of the House, and like nails in the ground, they had the place on lockdown. But that was only the first line of defence everyone could see from the outside; inside, archers were secretly assigned to every high vintage point, rooftops, high walls and trees. But that was not all; countless sharpened blades were also hidden on top of the walls. There were even secret traps installed around every corner. The place was literally a fortress. Then again, it was he who designed its defence plans. After the routine inspection, Stirling sighed in relief: “Unless they bring an army, there is no way anyone can get in.”
The Imperial Guards guarding the entrance let Stirling through without raising much hassle. Due to Commander Pi Gu’s old age, thus incapable of handling everything alone, most of the Capital’s defences were organized by Stirling.
……
Stirling arrived at the Headmaster’s office located dozens of meters underground, and saluted politely: “Master?”
“Stirling is it?” ZiChuan Shen Xing stuck out his head from behind the huge pile of documents. Pushing up his pair of glasses and said: “Please sit.”
The current Headmaster of House ZiChuan was 53 years old. Six years ago, his famous and feared brother, ZiChuan Yuan Xing died in battle against House Liu Feng, leaving his only heir, Lady Ning who was only 9 years old at the time. Therefore he was the only logical choice to succeed the seat of Headmaster.
None of his features resembled that of the great ZiChuan Yuan Xing, he was ordinary and boorish. He wasn’t tall either, a pair of small eyes and hunchback, even missing a few teeth. Many would have been disappointed merely looking at him. In ZiChuan Xiu’s words: “He is a ruler incapable of inspiring loyalty from his subjects.”
His political skills didn’t change the way he was perceived either. Sure it wasn’t terrible, but it didn’t really stand out to inspire confidence either. Simply put, there was no awe inspiring aura befitting a Headmaster to be found within him. He was most commonly described as: An easily bullied, weak old man who only made it to his position by sheer luck.
Yet only Stirling and a few close confidant of him knew: Just how incredible that spark of brilliance hidden between that pair of frail eyes could be…
“I heard from Banner Master Li, that you were looking for me?”
“Yes.” ZiChuan Shen Xing nodded: “Did you have too much to drink last night?”
“I did!” Stirling instantly bowed his head and apologized: “I’m sorry, Master…”
“I’m not blaming you. You are still young. It is good to relax once in a while. Just… it shouldn’t have been now… as you may know, “they” are watching you very closely! I was afraid that they got to you first. You went missing last night; I had to send out two Imperial Guard regiment to look for you… If something really did happen to you, I would have done anything to get you back, even if I have openly turn on Yang Ming Hua.”
Stirling was deeply moved by his words: “Master, I’m terribly sorry. My selfish actions, I… I’m undeserving of your kindness. I would gladly give my life for your cause…”
“There is no need for that. Stirling, I’d rather keep you alive and well.” ZiChuan Shen Xing smiled, and that smile gave his usual plain face an incredible charm.
“Did you meet with ZiChuan Xiu?”
“Well?”
Stirling knew better than anyone of the meaning and its consequences of what he was about to say next: “He is not against us, but he has yet to make his final decision; he is still considering.”
“I see. That is not very smart of him.” ZiChuan Shen Xing stood up and said: “He is my dead brother’s stepson. There is no way Yang Ming Hua would trust him. So why doesn’t he join us instead?”
Stirling stood on the side, not uttering a word. Even though it wasn’t his fault, ZiChuan Xiu was still his best friend. He felt ashamed that he wasn’t able to convince ZiChuan Xiu.
“Keep an eye on him! Stirling, I know he is your best friend, but if he somehow mistaken friend for foe and ended up on Yang Ming Hua’s side… I’m afraid we will have to strike first.”
Chill ran down Stirling’s back, yet he managed to speak: “Yes, Master.”
ZiChuan Shen Xing could guess his thought: “I hope we won’t have to. I’m not looking forward to fight an enemy as powerful as ZiChuan Xiu either.”
“How good is he in a fight, do you know?”
“I only know that ZiChuan Yuan Xing used to teach him some basics of the wave technique, but then he left for the Far East. I don’t know much after that…”
ZiChuan Shen Xing looked serious and said: “He must have another teacher… Ge Ying Xing once told me, that he was able to hold his breath for four hours under the sand, killing two demon commanders in the midst of the demon army. Both top tier demon warriors were killed with one stroke; they didn’t even see it coming, and he managed to escape afterwards unscathed from thousands of demon soldiers. I doubt even my dead brother can raise someone as terrifying as that.”
Stirling remained silent.
ZiChuan Shen Xing changed subject: “What is your opinion on Di Lin’s new assignment? Yang Ming Hua is sending him to the Far East.”
Stirling replied candidly: “I can only think of one thing right now: Yang Ming Hua sending Di Lin to the Far East means that he is not yet ready to openly turn on us. Di Lin is Yang Ming Hua’s close confidant, if Yang Ming Hua was planning to make a move, he would definitely want to have a capable lieutenant like Di Lin at his side. It also means, the moment Di Lin return to Di Du is probably the moment Yang Ming Hua will strike. He hesitated for a moment and continued: “I may be wrong, but that is all I can think of right now.”
“Hmm, good, your thoughts are clear.” ZiChuan Shen Xing smiled: “Just a bit too naïve. Have you considered the possibilities from Yang Ming Hua’s standpoint?”
“Please share your wisdom.”
“We are afraid of Yang Ming Hua making a move, surely Yang Ming Hua is afraid of us making a move. Yet he chose to send away his most trusted lieutenant at a critical juncture such as this… Don’t you find it strange?”
“Ah… Indeed.”
“Therefore, after due consideration, there are only two possibilities explaining Yang Ming Hua’s actions.”
“Do tell.”
“First possibility, Yang Ming Hua has already discovered Di Lin’s true allegiance. He sent Di Lin away to avoid him getting in the way, however that isn’t his usual motto. He is not a patient or merciful man; he would have killed Di Lin. Surely dumping his body somewhere in the moat would have been more satisfying?”
“Then what is the second possibility…”
“Yang Ming Hua has more tricks up his sleeves that we don’t know about!” ZiChuan Shen Xing spoke slowly and clearly: “He definitely has, or else he wouldn’t have acted as carelessly as he did. And this secret person must satisfy three requirements: First, he is good enough of a fighter. Second, he is staying in the Capital. Third, he won’t raise our suspicions… So who can you think of that fits all the requirements above?”
Stirling instantly got nervous, because he already knew whom ZiChuan Shen Xing suspected.
“The timing of ZiChuan Xiu’s return was too peculiar. The moment he got back, Di Lin was reassigned. Other than him, no one else of importance has returned recently…”
“Master.” Stirling spoke resolutely: “I will guarantee with my life, that ZiChuan Xiu would never side with Yang Ming Hua!”
“Stirling, the last time you saw him was three years ago. People change…”
“People do, but ZiChuan Xiu and Di Lin… Master, if any of them betrays us, I will atone by taking my own life.” Stirling answered proudly.
ZiChuan Shen Xing didn’t say anything after that.
Neither did Stirling.
“Very well. Stirling, then you better make haste and convince ZiChuan Xiu to side with us. He is an incredible fighter and the four dozen personal guards he brought back from the Far East are all war-hardened veterans. Despite the small numbers, they are still good in a pinch. They could be a great asset to us. With him on our side, our ‘Lancer’ plan will more likely to succeed.”
“Yes, Master! I will do everything in my power!”
……
“A-choo!” In the midst of trying to steal Bai Chuan’s wallet, ZiChuan Xiu suddenly felt the urge to sneeze while he was still in her room: “Who is saying bad things about me behind my back this time?”
“Oh. Hi, Bai Chuan. Are you awake? How lucky… that I’m able to find you in your bedroom!”
“Bai Chuan, come on, don’t look at your commanding officer this way… Let me explain, I’m just looking for the bathroom and it is dark outside. I got lost on my way back, so I went into your room by mistake… It is totally logical!”
“Oh, the wallet I’m holding? Hahaha, there is a perfectly logical explanation to that as well… You’re not thinking I’m here to steal your wallet I hope? Hahaha…”
“Hey, Bai Chuan, you don’t need your sabres. Wait, hold on, I will give you a perfectly logical explanation in a second… Just give me some time to come up with an excuse.”
Under the influence and active involvements of many, time quickly flew past. Yet, Di Du was as peaceful as ever, like the calm before the storm. Six months later…
The aftershock from the far away Far Eastern region reached the Capital and another brilliant star was born. Di Lin, following ZiChuan Xiu’s footsteps, had achieved the second great victory against the Demonic Horde. During the sixth campaign of Heng Chuan, he crushed the invading Demon’s conventional Forces, inflicting over seventy thousand casualties and capturing close to fifty thousand prisoners. It was the greatest victory ever achieved since Humans first began this war against the Demons. The most shocking fact of this battle however, was not its glorious outcome, but Di Lin’s cruelty – He gave the order to kill all the captives, leaving no one alive.
Upon receiving the report, the Chief of Staff of the Far Eastern Army at the time, Luo Bo was appalled by his act. Racing over as fast as he could, Luo Bo tried to stop the execution. But after he had arrived, Di Lin blindsided him with his graceful welcome while ordering his men to execute the last remaining five thousand captives in secret. By the time Luo Bo realized what Di Lin had done, the dead had already littered the earth. Looking down at the corpses drowning in the sea of blood, Luo Bo closed his eyes in agony and condemned Di Lin: “You bloody devil… You just destroyed everything the seven generations of House ZiChuan had built, fought for and paid in blood over the past two hundred years!” (That was how Di Lin earned his nickname, the Devil)
Di Lin replied defiantly: “I’m building a grand future for House ZiChuan for the next thousand years to come!”
……
When the news reached Di Du, the whole court was in shock. Due to Di Lin’s great achievements in war, being Yang Ming Hua’s close confidant and the fact that Yang Ming Hua was the most powerful figure at the time, only few whispers of dismay were heard and no one dared to file a formal complaint or impeachment, But that didn’t stop people talking about it in private of course, even Yang Ming Hua shared his disapproval within his inner circles – “Di Lin was out of line.”
But he didn’t even know the half of it, in fact, it was only the beginning. After the battle, Di Lin didn’t wait for regroup; he immediately led the two hundred thousand soldiers of the Far Eastern Army in a chase after the retreating Demon forces all the way towards the Demon God Fortress, breaking the eternal status quo of the Far Eastern warfare – Humans defending and Demons attacking. His swift manoeuvre caught the defending Demon forces at the border completely off guard, sending them scattering to the winds. It only further encouraged Di Lin to continue his pursuit.
Everywhere he went, if any none human populated villages, towns or cities dared to resist, he would immediately give the order to massacre its population. Old or young, man or woman, none of it mattered, he would simply kill them all, and then raze the place to the ground in a sea of fire. Most of the time, only smoke and ashes were left in his wake.
Races resembling humans were given a chance to survive this encounter with the dreadful commander… But in order to survive, they had to relinquish everything they owned, provide provisions and volunteer to join his army. Under Di Lin’s Iron Fist and harsh military disciplines, none of the half beasts, werewolves, snake men or goblins dared to raise their voice despite their wild nature, afraid of catching Di Lin’s watchful gaze.
He did not only rule the none-humans with an Iron Fist, even the soldiers of ZiChuan had to endure his harsh command. The thousand or so riders caught for running away in battle were all sentenced to death and executed in front of the whole army. Over forty soldiers who arrived late this morning were dragged behind a horse for several kilometres and those who fell asleep standing guard were whipped fifty times. Well, it was more like twenty times really, because the soldiers in question were already dead, but the Marshals didn’t dare to defy the order and had to carry out rest of the sentence, completing rest of the fifty whips on a corpse.
Under Di Lin’s command, no one defied their orders, no one neglected their duties and most importantly, no one dared to cowardly retreat. Whenever they faced Demons in battle, even against the powerful Armored Beasts, Di Lin’s forces would not falter. They would face it head on and fight it with spears, sabres and arrows… even if they only had rocks or no weapon at all, with just fists and teeth, they would not retreat. The Demons called them in awe: “Di Lin’s forces are all possessed!”
And so his name became the avatar of nightmare and the embodiment of invincibility. The news of his deeds quickly travelled throughout the Far Eastern Regions still under Demon’s control. After massacring the four Demon Cities, Glenco, Kazi, Heng Lan and Kashalachi, not a single settlement resisted his occupation again. No matter where his army went, Demon cities would open their gates and welcome him on their knees. The city guards either fled or surrendered…
While wiping out small pockets of Demon resistance here and there, Di Lin’s army was also attracting large contingent of non-human forces, boosting their numbers significantly. By the time he arrived at Demon’s second major city – Gamara, his forces was already five hundred thousand strong! Since the war against Demons first began, Humans had never launched such a massive offensive, or penetrated so deep into the Demon Territory.
However, in the city of Gamara, he was met with fierce resistance for the first time since the beginning of this campaign. A famous young demon general blessed with royal blood, Yun Qian Xue[1] had stationed his forces of two hundred thousand strong behind the sturdy fortification of the city, waiting to face his enemy…
…
While Di Lin was carving his name on the wall of history, another one of the three famous hero of House ZiChuan, ZiChuan Xiu was working hard and diligently in the Administrative Office.
When his newly assigned and pretty female secretary left the office, Deputy Chief ZiChuan Xiu pulled out a note: “38, 22, 37. One hundred dollar!”
Luo Jie pulled out a note as well: “38, 21, 38. I bet hundred as well!”
Chang Chuan showed his: “37, 22, 38. Hundred. However I think you guys are wrong about her bra size. Based on my many years of experience, I’m fairly certain that she is using bra pads… Don’t forget to ask her about it, Bai Chuan!”
Luo Jie followed: “Right, and her xxx – is hanging a bit low. I’m pretty sure Master Xiu has underestimated it.”
ZiChuan Xiu continued: “Bai Chuan, what are you waiting for? Hurry and go ask!”
Bai Chuan complained: “What excuse do I have to ask for her bust?!”
“Dude, that is super easy… Just tell her you need it for the staff survey.”
…
Bai Chuan rolled her eyes in disgust at the perverts, then went outside and came back, announcing: “38, 22, 37!”
ZiChuan Xiu shouted joyously: “I won! Pay up!”
Chang Chuan grudgingly pulled out his wallet: “What the hell, how can I be wrong?”
Luo Jie: “Damn it… boring. What do we bet on next, Sir?”
Counting the bills, ZiChuan Xiu felt satisfied: “Money smells the best… How about we bet on if she is a virgin next? I bet one hundred that she is not!”
“Ah, this is the perfect life of a Commander I have always dreamed of!” ZiChuan Xiu inspected satisfyingly at the luxuriously decorated office. A majestic desk (with expansive wine and porn mags secretly stuffed in the draws), a comfy leather couch and a pretty secretary wearing mini skirt he could shout orders at: “Get me that decade old diary from top of the cabinet!” When she climbed up the ladder, he could raise his chins and enjoy the view in peace… You know, men. There is no need to explain!
And the workload was light… Clearly ZiChuan Xiu, the Deputy Commander was not being taken seriously. Most of his daily work included counting how many chairs and tea cups each regiment had, and where the windows broke in need of repair etc. Even though Station Chief Ge Shan didn’t give ZiChuan Xiu any work of importance, at the very least, she didn’t discriminate and make his life difficult.
ZiChuan Xiu sighed in relief: “This is paradise!”
Suddenly, certain elements unbefitting his paradise appeared in the corner of his eye.
“Luo Jie, Bai Chuan, Chang Chuan. Why are you in my office?”
“Huh, Sir. Did you forget? We are your assistants!”
“That is not what I meant… Don’t you have your own offices, why are you…”
“Forget it, our offices are small and old, and there is no sunlight!”
“Yeah, and no air conditioning either!”
“My secretary is uglier than the mother of all demons… Sir, have you seen the movie “After midnight” yet? If not, you don’t even need to go to the cinema, just come around at my office and check out my secretary.”
“Also, they don’t even provide Coca-cola!”
“Sir, you know what it is like. We are Banner Masters. Back in the Far East, a Banner Master is a title commanding over thousands of men!”
“But here, we are being treated worse than the refugees!”
……
ZiChuan Xiu felt a little bit sick: “Hold on…. Then why is Lady Ning here as well?”
ZiChuan Ning replied calmly: “Well, I’m here as the heir of House ZiChuan, to inspect the Administrative Office. Is there a problem? Deputy Chief ZiChuan Xiu?”
“Why is Princess Ka Dan with you then?”
“Brother! Now you’re being selfish. How can we leave a little girl alone back at home when we are all outside having fun? She would get lonely. Don’t you feel ashamed? Doesn’t your conscience bother you?”
“But people would talk seeing all of you gathered in my office…”
“Oh, Commander Xiu, you don’t have to worry about that!” With that said, Ka Dan pulled out a sign from her bag saying: “Chief in Conference, please do not disturb.” And hanged it on the door. “You just have to tell them that Deputy Chief has to be in conference seven days a week. Everyone would praise you for your dedication!”
“This is hell!” ZiChuan Xiu howled in despair.
“Xiu, what hell are you talking about?” Stirling suddenly arrived at the doorstep, smiling: “Sorry for barging in on your conference!”
“Welcome!” Everyone quickly stood up and welcomed him, only Ka Dan didn’t move from her chair.
……
Ever since that day they parted ways, Stirling would pay Lady Ning a visit on a daily basis. It was obvious, everyone quickly figured out the reason for Stirling’s frequent visit, which was not because his close friendship with Master Xiu. Besides, the person of interest, Stirling didn’t try to hide his intention either. Whenever he visited Lady Ning’s place, he would scan around like a hawk, till he finds Ka Dan, only then would he calm down as if he just took a weight off his shoulder.
Luo Jie used to lament about it to Bai Chuan: “Look at Sir Stirling. He is like a high-school kid falling in love for the first time… He must have a screw loose somewhere.”
Bai Chuan would then reply: “We all understand the idea. Yet in the end we are all slaves of love, no one can escape it.” And lose in thought…
However, the person of interest number two, Ka Dan did not seem to be affected by Stirling’s affection. If he visited, it was fine, and if he left, that was fine as well. She treated him just like anyone else. She didn’t push him away, nor did she welcome him with open arms.
Stirling was a well-known figure in the Capital City – Di Du. Something like this could easily become a wide spread gossip if not for ZiChuan Xiu’s heavy-handed intervention. He threatened every servant in the house and men under his command: “If you value your lives, then keep your mouth shut!” Even to Lady Ning, he played a card he rarely used before, as her brother, he warned her not to send words to Li Qing. Only then did the gossips stay contained within Lady Ning’s mansion.
……
Trying hard to keep a straight face, everyone watched Stirling drifting into the room. Chang Chuan sitting next to Princess Ka Dan immediately stood up and said: “Sir, here please sit!” Stirling bluntly accepted his invitation and sat down, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Even the usually thick-skinned ZiChuan Xiu had to applaud him for his shamelessness.
“What is everyone talking about?” Even though Stirling said everyone, in his eyes he only saw Ka Dan.
Ka Dan remained silent. ZiChuan Xiu replied for her: “Talking about Di Lin’s war situation in the Far East!” As he handed over the newspaper.
Stirling had already read it before, but he pretended to read it for the first time, muttering “I see” while reading, as though the news was actually interesting. Several minutes later, he asked: “So what is everyone’s opinion on this matter?”
“We all believe, that Di Lin is in danger.” Luo Jie raced to answer, hoping to give his Idol a good impression: “Deep behind enemy lines with no help on the way, now facing a powerful enemy ahead, unable to inch forward.”
“Right, is that your opinion as well, Xiu?” Stirling eyed ZiChuan Xiu. The two shared a look and instantly, they knew what the other one was thinking.
ZiChuan Xiu spoke softly: “Nope. I think at a time like this, Di Lin holds the initiative of the battlefield.”
Stirling concurred: “I agree!”
“Why” Several voices questioned at the same time.
ZiChuan Xiu smiled: “You only see that in front of Di Lin, in the city of Gamara two hundred thousand Demons led by the famous Demon General Yun Qian Xue awaits. With an impregnable fortress in the way, Di Lin has no choice but to attack, and has no choice but to fail. Correct?”
Stirling followed up: “But what if, Di Lin decides to not to attack Gamara, what happens then? What if he turns around and attacks the weaker city of Yi Ka to the southeast? Once he conquers Yi Ka, Di Lin will be able to make contact with Deputy Commander Lei Bang’s border army situated to the southeast, and will no longer have to worry about his supply lines. At the same time he could isolate almost five thousand square kilometres of Demon controlled territories, which they could swallow at their leisure…”
ZiChuan Xiu continued: “If Di Lin does not attack the city of Yi Ka, he could move towards the Guo Sen plains to the northeast. Conquering the Guo Sen plains means cutting off Demon’s supply of magic crystal stones and land dragons, and with the magic crystals and dragons he seized, he could build a large contingent of magic wielding dragon riders of his own, which will make Demon’s life even more difficult.”
Stirling nodded: “Even if Di Lin doesn’t attack Guo Sen either, he could choose to use his number superiority to surround the City of Gamara and wait for Yun Qian Xue’s two hundred thousand Demons to surrender by starving them out.”
A wave of silence later, Bai Chuan questioned: “But all those possibilities hinged on one key element, Di Lin’s army’s supplies has to be able to reach him constantly. If his supply line gets cut off, he cannot possibly fight a prolonged battle. Right now the supply line already stretches thousands of kilometres deep into Demon controlled territories. How can he secure it?”
ZiChuan Xiu and Stirling shared a look, both cracked a wry smile.
Stirling spoke discreetly: “It is a tough problem to solve for someone like you and me, but for Di Lin, it is not a problem at all. Perhaps that is the difference between a capable general and an average one.” His voice was filled with unspeakable bitterness.
ZiChuan Xiu smiled wryly: “It has nothing to do with your ability. It is merely a difference in perspective. You don’t have to apologize for yourself.”
Everyone looked confused, turning their gazes at ZiChuan Xiu and hoping he would explain.
ZiChuan Xiu sighed and spoke only a few words: “Take everything you come across, that solves all the supply problems.”
Everyone suddenly understood: The reason Di Lin could afford a prolonged engagement was because he would send out many raiding parties, to rob everything the towns, cities, villages in the vicinity of everything they have. He would not let his soldiers starve. Which means, if Di Lin could hold out for two months, then Yun Qian Xue stuck inside the City wouldn’t even manage three weeks.
Ka Dan cried out: “Then what about our people? Do they deserve to starve?”
All the officers of House ZiChuan in the room turned away from her, unable to meet her sharp gaze. Only Luo Jie murmured a few words: “Casualty of war…” But nobody heard him.
……
“That felt bloody awful.” When ZiChuan Xiu and Stirling were the only ones left in the room, ZiChuan Xiu lowered his voice: “I lost track, I totally forgot Ka Dan was one of them.”
Stirling sighed.
ZiChuan Xiu continued: “If it was anyone else, I would have had thousand of reasons to refute them. Like the way Demons treated us in the past several hundred years? This isn’t even enough to cover the interest! But when I saw the look in her eyes, I couldn’t say a word…”
Stirling sighed again.
“But really, Di Lin is making a huge mess in the Far East, who is going to clean it up?” ZiChuan Xiu went on: “He just cares about what is convenient for him. Killing all the prisoners like that, who would dare to surrender to us in the future? They would all fight to the death. Besides, killing civilians, robbing them of their livelihood, I just can’t get behind that … Without its people’s support, how would we ever establish ourselves in the Far East?”
Stirling had no words, he could only think of Di Lin’s imperious and courageous voice: “We don’t need the support of those low-lives. We only need their obedience and for them to fear us! In the end, the reason we control the Far East is not because of public elections, but the sword in our hand!”
Stirling didn’t truly agree with Di Lin’s cruel policies in his heart either, but Di Lin was the eldest of the three sworn brothers. ZiChuan Xiu, the youngest could complain if he wanted, but as the middle one, it was not his place.
He sighed yet again.
“Hey, Stirling. Don’t keep sighing like a nagging old hag. Say something.”
“So what is new, I mean here in Di Du.”
“Nothing surprising. Just Yang Ming Hua denying Ming Hui’s Border Army for receiving the latest equipments, and as usual, the new equipments ended up in the hands of Lei Xun’s Central Army. The second thing is that the Station Chief here, Ge Shan had a huge argument with Luo Ming Hai about it, she complained that Yang Ming Hua shouldn’t have violated the regulations. Historically, new equipments are always allocated to the Border Army first. I’m having trouble determining which side that old virgin is on.”
“Oh, really? Looks like I can put some work on her, perhaps I can win her over.”
ZiChuan Xiu frowned at Stirling and gave him a strange look.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Bloody pervert, can’t you just keep it in your pants for once? Even if you really like Ka Dan, you don’t have to be so damn obvious about it. I’m afraid that… I can’t keep it under wraps for much longer!”
Stirling had no words.
“Does Li Qing know?”
“She has doubts. She suspects that I have another woman somewhere. But she doesn’t know who.”
“Ouch. A woman’s instinct is seriously scary! She went through Lady Ning asking me to help her spy on you. I used every trick in the book to reassure her, but next time it won’t be so easy. So what does Ka Dan say?”
“You saw it for yourself. No reaction! She never gave me the chance to be with her alone…”
ZiChuan Xiu cursed: “What a cunning witch! In my opinion, you should just be straight with the Headmaster. If he is ok with it, then no one else can interfere. You won’t have to hide it then either!”
“I will, just not now… Yang Ming Hua would never let any opportunity slip if he could hurt us. In worst case, he could force me to resign. Besides, I don’t want to bother Headmaster with my personal affairs.”
“You are right.”
……
ZiChuan Xiu took a closer look at Stirling’s face. It had lost some weight, leaving his cheekbones more exposed and his eyes deeper in its sockets. He didn’t understand how his friend could suffer so much in the name of love yet was able to pretend as if nothing happened while dealing with all kinds of military assignments and plotting against Yang Ming Hua every day…
He had great sympathy for Stirling, but most importantly, he admired his perseverance. He even thought: “If it was me, I wouldn’t be able to do it. Luckily I’m not as foolish either. What is love? Screw that! There are more than enough pretty ladies walking about in the halls of the Grand Hotel of Di Du. Which one of them is not as pretty as an angel? They only cost three hundred a night, why would you bother with love?”
Imperial Calendar, winter of February, the war in the Far East had reached another turning point. While Di Lin’s army formed the encirclement around the City Gamara and Yun Qian Xue’s two hundred thousand Demons, new enemies appeared deep within the Demon territory. Leading two hundred thousand imperial guards, second Demon Prince, Ka Lan had come to Yun Qian Xue’s aid. After a few short skirmishes, Di Lin had realized that the adversary he now faced was not one he had faced before. Both the morale and combat prowess of the Demon Imperial Forces greatly surpassed that of the regular regiments, and they were loyal to a fault. Fearing the possibility of being pincered from both end, having to fight a winter war which the Humans are not accustomed to, and the increasing difficulties with gathering supplies, Di Lin immediately made the decision and gave the order to retreat.
Due to Di Lin’s orderly retreat and his superior numbers, very little opportunities were left for Ka Lan and Yun Qian Xue. Neither of them dared to give chase recklessly. Instead of calling it a chase, it was more accurate to describe it as an armed escort. The chase continued all the way back to the contested border of Heng Chuan, restoring the original frontier and put an end to what would be known as “The First Great Invasion” that lasted over six months.
During this campaign, House of ZiChuan suffered total fifty one thousand and three hundred deaths, and eleven hundred and six thousand wounded. (Of all the casualties, thirty thousand deaths and over eighty thousand wounded belonged to the non-human warriors forcibly conscripted into Di Lin’s Army).
Demons on the other hand, had suffered two hundred and seventy three thousand deaths, and two hundred and eighty eight thousand wounded. (Out of all the deaths, over hundred and fifty six thousand were captured prisoners). Those were merely the military casualties.
According to House ZiChuan’s Military Historian, Tang Chuan’s research: during the First Great Invasion orchestrated by Red Banner Master Di Lin, total five major Demon Cities, seventy two towns and over two hundred villages were massacred and razed. The final count of non-human civilian casualties suffered at the hand of Di Lin’s Army (Mass massacred or died indirectly from starvation and cold caused by Di Lin’s brutal gathering methods) reached over 1.8 million. (Later many Historians argued that Tang Chuan’s statistics were overly conservative, believing that his research was not conducted objectively. Clearly Tang Chuan was under House ZiChuan’s payroll at the time, and thus had the motives to be biased towards Di Lin.)
The entire western border region of Demons was mercilessly purified by Di Lin’s blade; even a hundred years would not be enough to restore what was lost. As result, their hatred for Human-kind had also reached an unprecedented height. Despite House ZiChuan’s effort to improve the livelihood in the region in the days after their successful conquest of the entire Far Eastern Regions many years later, the animosity between the races could not be quelled. Only till much later, when the King of Light, ZiChuan Xiu made his return to the Far East, did the many non-human races start to re-establish their connections with humans again…
As of right now, Di Lin was praised as the new War of God of House ZiChuan, the first general since the days of Ya Li Mei. Though at the same time, many called him a cold blooded monster, butcher, or king of murderer…
Meanwhile, he himself returned to the Headquarters of the Far Eastern Army in Fort Warren without a care in the world, and was awarded with a medal for his efforts and a new commission as the Deputy Commander.
……
Imperial Calendar, Year 779, Eleventh of March. Supreme Commander Yang Ming Hua, as the representative of the High Command, advised Headmaster ZiChuan Shen Xing the following: “Deputy Commander Di Lin and his men fought long and bravely, their efforts and merits should be rewarded. We propose to transfer Deputy Commander Di Lin and the fifty thousand men under his command who had distinguished themselves during war back to the Capital for their awards.”
Twelfth of March, Headmaster ZiChuan Shen Xing gave a short reply: “Approved.”
Nineteenth of March, Di Lin received his new orders. Taking fifty thousand soldiers who had “distinguished themselves” with him, he left Fort Warren and began his glorious march to the Capital.
Inside the secret room of the High Command, with a smug look on his face, Yang Ming Hua slowly enjoyed a glass of wine and spoke to Luo Ming Hai: “The moment Di Lin returns… You will be the new Supreme Commander.”
Noticing the slight hint of jealousy coming from the Central Army Commander – Lei Xun, Yang Ming Hua spoke calmly: “Don’t worry. You are the next one in line for the seat of Headmaster.”
Luo Ming Hai’s reaction was merely a dispassionate nod, as he said: “Thank you for your generosity, Sir!”
Lei Xun on the other hand, responded excitedly: “I can never repay the kindness you have bestowed upon me, Sir! However, it is my humble opinion that we are more than capable of finishing the job. We don’t have to wait for Di Lin! That brat is too arrogant and unpredictable…”
Yang Ming Hua laughed cheerfully: “Lei Xun, are you jealous? There is a reason I requested for Di Lin’s transfer. You don’t have to worry about it. He will yet prove to be useful… Hahaha.”
……
Inside the House of Headmaster, ZiChuan Shen Xing spoke bitterly to Stirling: “Yang Ming Hua has ordered for Di Lin’s transfer, he is about to make a move.”
Stirling questioned back: “There is one thing I don’t understand, if Your Excellency wishes to share your wisdom. Given their current military strength in the Capital, Yang Ming Hua has full control of Lei Xun’s Central Army; he vastly outnumbers us and has the absolute advantage. Why is he wasting time waiting for Di Lin’s forces to return to the Capital? What is the point?”
ZiChuan Shen Xing smiled: “Stirling, what day is it today?”
Stirling couldn’t quite figure out the meaning of ZiChuan Shen Xing’s question, thus he gave him a straightforward answer: “Twentieth of March, Tuesday.”
“Next Monday, is the annual Military Assembly of House ZiChuan, almost all army officers with the rank of Banner Master or above will have to attend, including Ge Ying Xing. He will have to return to Di Du as well.”
“Sir, are you saying that, the reason Yang Ming Hua requested for Di Lin’s transfer is to deal with Ge Ying Xing?”
“Exactly! Ge Ying Xing will bring his six thousand personal guards, but Di Lin will have fifty thousand men with him. Almost ten to one, he wants Ge Ying Xing dead.”
“Such bold move, isn’t he afraid that it would cause the Far Eastern Army to rebel?”
“He won’t have to worry about that because by then, Ge Ying Xing would already be dead. Even if his subordinates, like Luo Bo or Lin Bing complained, the ones involved are all soldiers from the Far Eastern Army. Yang Ming Hua could easily cover it up saying it was an internal conflict inside the Far Eastern Army, and no one will be able to connect it to him. In the worst scenario, he could always sacrifise Di Lin to quell the anger from Ge Ying Xing’s subordinates. How is that for a perfect plan?”
Stirling smiled: “He is too clever for his own good!”
……
Inside the House of ZiChuan Ning, she spoke to ZiChuan Xiu: “Brother, I heard Di Lin is coming back with an army of fifty thousand strong! …What are you looking for?”
“Oh, I’m looking for the bill for the stuff we broke during our last duel. Clearly he should be the one paying for them; why the hell do I have to pay?! It’s a huge sum, over seven thousand, and another six months of interest…”
“Ning, do you think I should give him the official interest rate or the black market interest rates? I mean we are friends for many years after all, I guess I shouldn’t use compound interest…”
“It is not like he can’t afford the extra interest. I heard he robbed the Far Eastern Regions clean… leaving the poor Demon villages with nothing but tears…”
“Sir.” Guard Captain Cobra handed Di Lin a letter: “Just got it from the mailbox.”
Di Lin opened the letter, revealing only one sentence: “xpsspnpulsbqmbsuofd.” He gave it a look and nodded. Captain Cobra knew better and dismissed himself.
“What is it? What letter is so important? It came as soon as you returned to the Capital.” Lin Xiu Jia, his beautiful and gracious wife approached his side. Di Lin planned to hide the letter, but it was too late.
“A love letter?” Lin Xiu Jia asked mockingly.
Di Lin’s icy cold cheeks smiled in a way that was rarely seen: “You are the only one I love.” And handed her the letter.
“I was kidding. You are always like this, no fun at all!” Even though she complained, she couldn’t be happier on the inside: “Is it about work? I don’t think I should look at it.”
“It is fine. Between us, there is no secret.”
With that, he instantly melted her heart. She was so glad that she agreed to marry Di Lin back then. It was the best decision she ever made: “Luckily I chose him…”
Di Lin was young, handsome and talented. Given his position of prominence in the army, countless ladies were captivated by the Red Banner Master’s aloof charm. (He is now a Deputy Commander). But all of them were met with an icy mountain, a mountain made of Di Lin’s cold demeanor and calm, keeping them a thousand miles away. It was a common saying amongst the young misses in the Capital: “Di Lin was an impassable mountain of ice!”
“Too bad they never saw the other side of him when he is at home.” Lin Xiu Jia smiled pleasantly. Is there another husband out there who still loves his wife as much as he does after two years into the marriage? Everyone says that marriage is the graveyard of love, but in her eyes, this is the paradise, because she married an almost perfect husband…
Almost, the only flaw was the position he found himself in, an extremely dangerous secret identity… and the cause of her constant worry…
……
“xpsspnpulsbqmbsuofd.” “What does it mean?”
Di Lin explained to her: “It is a simple substitution cipher, try substituting each letter with the previous one in the alphabet.”
“worromotkraplartnec…” “It still doesn’t make sense!”
Di Lin gave her a naughty wink: “Try reading it in reverse.”
“Central Park tomorrow… Oh, I get it. Someone is asking to see you tomorrow in the Central Park!” Seeing the way Di Lin smiled, she leaped into his arms and pushed against his broad chest: “You are mean! You are making fun of me again!”
Instantly, Di Lin was on his feet, pulling up his sleeves in anger and glanced around him: “Who?! Who dares making fun of my wife? I will kill him!”
Lin Xiu Jia laughed happily at the sight of his act.
Di Lin sat back down again, holding Lin Xiu Jia gently in his arms: “Like I said, surely my wife is the smartest of them all.”
Lin Xiu Jia felt a wave of happiness wash over her… but then a question popped up in her mind: “Who sent the letter?”
“Oh, just an idiot who thinks he is being cleaver!” Di Lin revealed another gentle smile, together with his usual cold demeanor, it was surprisingly charming.
“ZiChuan Xiu!” Lin Xiu Jia guessed the name right away.
Di Lin smiled again: “I’m glad. We both think alike!”
……
In truth, ZiChuan Xiu’s extracurricular measures were mostly useless. If the letters were to fall into Yang Ming Hua’s hand, his cryptographic experts would solve a basic cipher like this in less than a minute. But it was in ZiChuan Xiu’s nature to do pointless things. In his words: “This is how you do things in secret!” and thus he insisted that all exchanges between him, Di Lin and Stirling had to be encrypted. And they weren’t allowed to use the same encryption either, sometimes shifting one letter in the alphabet, sometimes two, and sometimes the cipher even included highly sophisticated form of algebra…
In the end the real victims of the whole ordeal were Di Lin and Stirling. Every time they had to go to great lengths in order to decipher the unreadable gibberish. Sometimes even after they finally deciphered the code, its content would appear to be simple messages like:
“It is quite sunny today… I ate too many watermelons; my stomach is making noises.”
“There is a new waitress at the Heaven’s Dream tavern, super hot, just a bit uptight.”
“Stirling, the money I owe you, can I get a three month extension?”
……
Lin Jiu Jia seemed a bit agitated: “Him again, is he asking you to do something dangerous again… I don’t understand. Aren’t the three of you supposed to share the burden together, why do you have to be the one to go undercover? You keep saying that he is your friend, but every time you are the one taking all the risks…” Di Lin’s face was cold as ice; she instantly knew the look and stopped herself.
Di Lin stared motionlessly at the thick clouds covering the blue sky through the window, calm as ice.
Lin Xiu Jia didn’t dare to utter a sound. She knew his husband, even though he loved her deeply and would do everything she asked, there was a place hidden deep in his heart so sacred, that she could never reach.
After a long while, Di Lin sighed: “ZiChuan Xiu and Stirling are not my friends… They are my brothers. I didn’t hear what you just said.”
Lin Xiu Jia lowered her head obediently: “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“It is alright, just that…”
Di Lin couldn’t finish the sentence; he kissed her lightly and said: “You should rest.”
Only after Lin Xiu Jia’s shadow disappeared from his study, did Di Lin mutter the rest of the words he wanted to say but couldn’t: “Just that you don’t understand what we have been through… I guess it is hard to explain to a woman, what it means to be brothers!”
