Chapter 15: Xiang Yang
Ling Tong sighed to himself as he took a scroll in the gardens. The cool air of the twilight and the relative quietness of the hour before dawn calmed him tremendously. It was a rare moment where he would stop his daily activities and appreciated the serenity. He gazed up at the sky and smiled at the full moon shining down on him, lighting the otherwise dark garden with a luminous glow. It was a beautiful sight to behold and the martial artist sighed as he thought the moment would be even more perfect if he had the company of a certain girl besides him.
It was a lost cause and Ling Tong knew it. He did not need to be told that he had lost the fight for Ning Xue's love, though he had hardly participated in any battle for her favor. The fact was he could not, not when his rival in love happened to be his one best friend. Moreover, he has realized he stood no chance, not when it was so obvious to him who Ning Xue fancied among her two suitors.
A breeze blew past; the martial artist felt his body shivered slightly. He should have worn that cloak on his chair but he was so distracted with the thoughts of the one girl, that he did not think that it might be cold outside. Ling Tong sighed again; he had forgotten how many times he had exhaled his breath in a dramatic melancholy mood this morning. Yet, no matter how many times he sighed, the throbbing pain in his heart remained. When he recalled her lovely eyes, sparkling with happiness when she sought out his best friend's company, her hands hooked at the strategist's elbow and snuggled close to him. The very image of them together enjoying blissful moments was enough to stab at his heart, painfully reminding the martial artist that she was one girl who was now out of his reach.
"Ning Xue..." he whispered her name, feeling his mouth voiced the words. He clutched at his heart as the throbbing pain intensified. A small tear rolled down his eyes and the martial artist swept it away roughly, angry at his display of weakness.
He thought about their first meeting; he had just emerged from a bath and was going to enjoy the tray of lotus puff pastry - his favorite snack - when he saw the girl with the last puff on her hand and an empty tray besides her. He was absolutely vivid and had glared at her angrily but Ning Xue had only smiled and licked his face. He touched his cheek with one hand subconsciously; the martial artist thought he could still feel the wetness on his face. He had been rather disgusted and shocked when she did it but now, Ling Tong knew he would gladly offer his entire face to her so long as she desired. He never knew that a girl could hold such power over him.
"You're up early, Ling Tong." a smooth voice said from behind, breaking his thoughts.
Ling Tong tensed instantly; he did not need to look at the speaker to identify him. "Morning, Boyan..." he replied in a neutral voice, keeping his back facing the strategist and forced his depressed feelings aside with his will. He was not about to have his best friend feel bad about his broken heart.
"Gongji... Are you alright?" the strategist asked in a concerned voice. The martial artist felt his friend's hand landed on his shoulders and squeezed it; His body tensed at the touch but he did not turn around to face the strategist. Ling Tong offered him a small nod instead.
"Gongji..." Lu Xun positioned himself in front of the tall general and forced him to meet his worried gaze. "What's wrong?" he queried, a slight frown appearing on his handsome face as he studied his friend's expression.
"I'm fine!" he replied curtly, in a tone harsher than the martial artist had intended. He frowned when he saw the strategist winced and offered an apologetic look to him. "I think... I caught a chill or something..." that was his excuse and his apology for snapping at his friend.
Lu Xun nodded, apparently accepted his words. "So, I guess you're not going to Xiang Yang, <em>right</em>?"
It was probably meant as a statement but the strategist's emphasis on the last word told the martial artist otherwise. He met his friend's hopeful eyes and knew he wanted him to participate in the upcoming battle. Perhaps that might be a good distraction for him. Ling Tong flashed a small smile at his friend. "I'll go with you..." his smile widened briefly as he saw Lu Xun's eyes lit up at his response.
"That's great!" the strategist grabbed his arm and shook it excitedly. "We will conquer Jing province and bring honor to Wu! Together, you and I... the world will know our names!" Determination flashed in the strategist's eyes and he raised one clenched fist to show his resolution.
Ling Tong allowed his smile to widen further and he nodded encouragingly at the strategist.
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A small knock on his door aroused the martial artist from his nap. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and stifled a yawn. He had not planned on taking a nap but his tired body needed to rest and before long, he had fallen asleep. "Who is it?"
"It's me, Ning Xue. Open up! I want to talk to you."
Ling Tong blinked in surprise; there was a slight forceful manner in the way the girl spoke. The martial artist smiled in amusement; no other people would dare to speak to him in such a manner, especially a subordinate. Still, he knew there was no way he would chastise the girl for her lack of manners; in fact, the martial artist felt pleased that the major spoke to him in such a presumptuous manner - it could only mean that she felt close to him.
"Open up already!" she shouted impatiently from outside the door.
The martial artist laughed and unlatched the lock on the door. One pouting girl stepped in and gave him a dirty look. "What took you so long?" she grumbled.
Ling Tong let his hands ran through his messy hair and shrugged. "You woke me up, Pastry Girl." he answered with a hint of amusement in his voice.
Ning Xue glanced at him in mild disapproval. "You're sleeping in broad daylight? Lazybum."
The martial artist raised one eyebrow in surprise. He was about to respond in his usual sarcastic manner when he caught the twinkle in the girl's eyes and saw her lips twitching into a grin. Ling Tong nodded knowingly and smiled. "You didn't come in to give me a lecture, did you?"
His words obviously reminded the girl of her purpose and her smile promptly disappeared. Her expression became serious and she ducked her eyes around nervously, unable to meet the martial artist's curious stare. Ling Tong closed the door behind them and offered her a seat.
"I... err..." she began and paused to swallow hard. Ning Xue drew a long sip from her tea and kept her eyes on the brown liquid.
Ling Tong waited patiently for the girl to continue. The martial artist knew the girl well and she was well-known for her frank attitude and blunt words. If Ning Xue was stammering, then the martial artist could guess what she was going to say.
Finally, he watched the girl inhaled deeply and looked him in the eye. "Lu Meng told me you love me. Is that true?" the words came out too fast and the girl was sipping her tea nervously again as she waited for his response.
Ling Tong blinked in surprise as it took him a moment to interpret her words. When he did, he blushed furiously and nodded lightly at her. He saw her licked her lips and sighed.
"Ling Tong..." she grabbed his arm and squeezed it. "You know... I..." Ning Xue frowned and struggled with her words.
The martial artist put his hand over hers and patted it lightly. "You know, you don't have to explain to me. I know you picked Boyan." He saw her exhaled in relief and a smile crept onto her face.
"Thank you... You won't be upset with me or Xun, right?" she blinked at him.
Ling Tong felt the girl tightened her grip on his arm. He gave her a thoughtful look and tried to shrug away the pain he felt. His heart beat painfully and the martial artist let out the breath he had been holding. He met her anxious gaze and flashed a small grin at her. "As long as you both remain my best friends."
Ning Xue smiled widely and embraced the martial artist. "Of course! We will always be best friends." she shrieked happily into his ears and hugged him roughly.
The martial artist winced and rubbed his ringing ears. He relaxed his tensed muscles and hugged the girl back.
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Lu Xun was there to greet his commander when Lu Meng returned from patrol. "What news, Lu Meng?" he rushed up and helped the weary general off his horse.
The pale general smiled at him. "I've followed your advice and hid all our soldiers away. They are disguised as peasants and merchants, waiting for your instructions." He patted the young officer's shoulders, his eyes displayed amusement and approval. "I have confidence in your strategy, Lu Xun."
The strategist flashed a huge grin and nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, our enemy won't even know what hit them. We will not fail our lord."
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It was time to attack Shu's encampment in Xiang Yang. The enemy camp was almost empty now that their commander had led the army to engage Wei's city. Lu Xun smiled to himself; his plan had worked. With Guan Yu busy fighting Wei, Xiang Yang was defenseless. The strategist turned to his commander and nodded. "We attack." he raised one saber and signaled the attack.
Lu Meng smiled and nodded, raising his polearm into the air and charged towards the city.
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Lu Xun studied the enemy camp from the hill top. It had been easy taking over Fan Castle in Xiang Yang and captured the remaining officers in the fortress. The Wu army had even captured the Shu commander, Guan Yu who had been executed by Lu Meng's orders. The strategist sighed; it had been a great pity to kill off the Shu commander but they had no choice as well. The tiger general was a threat to the kingdom of Wu and Lu Meng had decided it was safer to execute him. Now, the Shu leader had brought forth a massive army of one hundred thousands troops to avenge the death of his sworn brother. Was it really safer to kill the tiger general? The strategist shrugged; it did not matter now, they must hold the defense.
It was summer in the South. The weather was hot and dry; the sun shone mercilessly on the Shu soldiers who were unused to the humid climate of the south. Many had fallen ill, morale was low and tempers short. Lu Xun smiled knowingly that as long as he refused to meet the taunts of the enemies and engaged them, victory would be granted to Wu. It was a battle of endurance.
Day after day, the Shu generals came to the city walls of Yi Ling and taunted them, throwing verbal abuse that was too uncouth to repeat. Zhou Tai and Ling Tong were getting quite upset and nearly left the city but the strategist had stopped them. "Let me go and teach them a lesson!" Zhou Tai said, clenching his fists angrily, staring down from the fortress walls at the Shu soldiers insulting them.
"No, Zhou Tai. We wait." Lu Xun said calmly.
"Wait for what!" Ling Tong snapped and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He was restless and frustrated from the long waiting game.
"Gongji... We wait for the right moment." the strategist raised one arm and stayed the martial artist.
"When's the right moment? We have waited for three whole months already... Don't you want to go home?" the martial artist whined, frowning irritably at the lack of action.
Besides Ling Tong, Zhou Tai nodded his head in agreement.
The strategist smiled. "It won't be long now... Trust me." he said and offered no further explanation.
The two generals snorted but they backed down; With Lu Meng ill and escorted back to Wu, the young strategist had taken over the command. A soldier ran towards the young commander and bowed to him. "Milord. Liu Bei had shifted the camps to the forest."
"Ahh. Finally, the moment has come." Lu Xun smiled triumphantly and dismissed the messenger. He turned to his two impatient generals. "We will now attack."
Ling Tong grinned and rubbed his hands. "About time, Boyan." Zhou Tai nodded. "But why wait till now?" the martial artist queried.
"Liu Bei has moved his camp into the forest to escape the summer heat. His men had either fallen ill or grumbled about the heat excessively. This resentment lowered the enemy's morale." the strategist explained.
The two generals nodded at his logic. Lu Xun smiled at them and continued. "The forest is a perfect place for a fire attack. We will burn them alive and score the victory."
Ling Tong laughed, and looked at his friend with genuine respect in his eyes. "Well done, Boyan."
Zhou Tai nodded and smiled.
"Well, shall we?" Lu Xun asked his two generals and they both replied in unison. "Yes!"
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As the strategist predicted, victory was within their grasp the moment the fire attack was launched. Due to the dry weather, the forest caught the fire quickly and the flames spread fast, trapping the massive army of Shu in the inferno. Needless to say, Liu Bei had to retreat.
"Milord, our reinforcements have arrived." A messenger reported.
"Good, send word to them to pursue the Shu forces but do not engaged them if they meet their reinforcements." Lu Xun dismissed the messenger.
The strategist raised one arm and signaled for the army to follow him. He kicked his steed lightly and the horse galloped.
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"Milord, our reinforcements had engaged in battle with the enemy's reinforcements led by Zhao Yun." a soldier reported to the strategist.
Lu Xun frowned and recalled the reputation of the fearsome tiger general. "Who's leading our reinforcements?" he asked the soldier.
"Milord, it is Lady Ning Xue." he replied with a deep bow.
Lu Xun winced at the mention of the girl's name. "What? Why wasn't I told?" he demanded, worry evident in his voice at the though of the girl facing an experienced enemy general.
"Milord, I thought you knew..." the soldier stammered and kneeled down.
"How many troops do we have and how many of the enemy's reinforcements?"
"About five thousand on both sides, Milord." the soldier replied promptly.
The strategist exhaled his breath in relief. At least, their numbers were evenly matched. However he was worried that the inexperienced girl would not be a match against the enemy's general. "Break out the camp, we will reinforce our ally."