Three Kingdoms: Chapter 2

Chapter 2



Liu Bei slept uneasily as war and calamity incessantly haunted his dreams. He thought he heard a baby crying. The ring of hooves on the cobblestones resonated throughout his unconscious psyche. As if to confirm the peril, there came three desperate knocks on the door.

Before Liu Bei had the chance to answer, the innkeeper impatiently peeked in. His guest sat still on the edge of the bed, wide-awake. Hastily stepping in, he whispered in urgency. “A crisis! Huans have attacked! They’re after Luoyang and the merchants!”

“…!”

Opening the casement, Liu Bei exclaimed in disbelief. As far as he could see, fiery red blazed up in brutal victory. Smoke and splinters concealed his view, enveloping the source of frightful wails. Although he could not clearly discern what was ahead, rumors and tall tales were now all too vividly real. He did not wish to hear the sounds of hooves. As the earth rumbled, already maddened by the smell and sight of blood, the horses trampled upon children’s fragile little bones, violently and ruthlessly. All around the small town, people cried the terrible cries, pleading for mercy and uttering shrieks in pain. The sounds died away as the horsemen approached them, viciously beheading all, men and women, young and old alike. Soon, the malicious laughter of Huan army triumphed over the cries of terror. Innocent blood stained the ground and lifeless bodies crushed wild flowers.

“Those scoundrels!” Liu Bei cried, rising in anger. He fastened the sword at his side, ready to confront the wicked.

“Please, sir, calm down,” the innkeeper said, looking concerned and terrified.

“How can a man have patience for such deeds?” Liu Bei said impatiently.

“He cannot. But think logically: you can’t face hundreds of them alone. That would be an attempt to break a rock with an egg. Also, there are tens of thousands, no, hundreds of thousands of partisans behind them. No soul would call you a coward after this day. Even the emperor should forgive you.” The innkeeper said uneasily, yet with a true sincerity and quiet strength in his voice.

“You’re right,” Liu Bei hesitantly agreed. “Heroism,” his superego shouted. However, it would be foolish to blindly run into them, facing the callous bunch all alone. “Wisdom prevails over power,” he told himself. After all, his courage wouldn’t prevent them from spitting in his face. Getting up, he thanked the innkeeper, and left the tavern through the back door. He could feel his heart pounding against the smooth porcelain jar, carefully hidden in his bosom.

Liu Bei ran. He did not care where his slim knowledge of geography around this area led him. He felt safer as he gained some interval between his tired feet and the village. Red flames still endured, devouring the blood-curdling screams and the all-around chaos behind him.

He saw a hill, still quite a distance away. But what the heck, it was the nearest shelter he could find. Upon reaching the hill, he found a large rock and laid himself against it, exhausted from the run. He lay there for a while, trying to catch his gasping breath and calm his beating heart. He then stood up to gaze at the burning haven one last time. A patch of night sky glowed bright red, lamenting the ruin and destruction.

“What heartless villains…!” Liu Bei exclaimed in fury. “I shan’t ever forgive them. Justice will repay the innocent some day.”

A mocking laughter arose in the bushes behind him. Liu Bei whirled around to find two Huans patrolling. Gao, the shorter one, seemed to be of the lesser rank, as his armor suggested. His accomplice Ding stood beside him, much taller and larger in statue. Clad in thicker mail made of carapace, he seemed to be one of the leaders.

“Hello my brave friend. So, whom were you addressing earlier?” Gao asked, stepping forward.

“You…!” Liu Bei was cut off when the big man indifferently placed a deadly blade under his neck. His partner stood next to him, revealing his nasty yellow teeth as his lips curved into a vindictive smile.

“Don’t talk so impudently, you greenhorn. I can slit your throat in a blink of an eye.” The huge man intimidated, then minutely scrutinized Liu Bei.

“Hmm, he may be useful,” the Huan concluded, demanding Liu Bei to bear their loads.

“Lucky bastard,” Gao grumbled under his breath as he gnashed his teeth.

They went up the hill. What seemed a low hill from afar actually extended further ahead, and the slope continually bent upward. Liu Bei stumbled frequently as his weary legs resisted going forward. When Liu Bei could absolutely go no more, the company arrived at an abandoned Buddhist temple.

“Let’s find something to eat,” Ding said. The yellow paper* on the wooden entrance was, without doubt, Chang’s Declaration of Self-Rule.

“Hey! Is anyone home?” Gao shouted as his voice echoed throughout the empty halls and corridors. Opening a door, he found a figure sitting in the dark, stiff as a withered tree. A monk sat on the decaying floor, lost in meditation. Truly, long days of starvation had left him only a living carcass. Nonetheless, beauty hadn’t escaped his aged face. Upon his white brow sat wisdom, and in his closed eyes dwelt dignity. Only if a wild Huan soldier had some respect for the poor old man…

“You, why aren’t you answering?” Gao struck him by foot, and the helpless priest fell plump on the flooring.

“Get some food. We need to eat our fills. Move quickly.” Gao demanded.

“There’s nothing.”

“Nothing!” Gao was taken aback. A stunned silence enveloped them both.

“You kid! In a big temple like this? Nonsense! Can’t your eyes see this yellow ribbon** on my head?” Gao’s seized the old man by the throat in rage but the monk had not the strength to defy.

“Nothing! Nothing! Not even the statues!” Despairing, the priest fell to the floor once more and added, “Your friends have taken all… just as a swarm of locusts had demolished rice paddies and dry fields. There’s nothing left here.”

“Then, get us some water, at least!” Gao commanded.

“The well is also poisoned.”

“Who did that?”

“Your friends.”

“Damn,” Gao spat as he left the doorway, and looked out the window. A small spring lay in the front yard.

“There’s a spring outside. Is that water clean?”

“Go see for yourself.”

Gao continued to curse and mutter as he made his way to the fountain site. ‘If he’s lying… I will pour that water into his useless old mouth…’ Awful stench intensified as the spring got closer. His heart stopped when he saw the murky water swarming with hideous worms that fed on the rotting corpses.

“You might want to look at them carefully. The blameless villagers died valiantly defending the town against your pillage,” the monk shouted.

As if to forget the horror, Gao howled back louder. “What are you talking about! This serves them damn right!”

Ding interrupted. “All right. So we understand that you don’t have anything to eat, or to drink.” Then threatening the old man with his long sword, he furiously added, “How are you sustaining your life?”

In answer, the priest slowly raised up his finger toward what was left of his supper. Repulsive remains of lizards and rats lay there.

“Sir, we really can’t eat those,” Gao reported, as if Ding himself had no knowledge of the situation.

“We’ll eat when everyone else arrives. Let’s get out of this cursed place,” Ding said.

As the Huans and Liu Bei made their way out the temple, the monk called from behind.

“Master! Come here for a minute.”

“?”

The aged monk studied Liu Bei’s face carefully, then shouted as his eyes sparkled with joy.

“O Wise One, is there something wrong?” Liu Bei asked. In reply, the old man clasped Liu Bei’s hands in his and said, “You’re the one who will drive the devil’s darkness away and return the light to this world.”

Quite at a loss for words, Liu Bei responded, “You must be mistaken. I weave mats and straw shoes.”

“No, your physiognomy cannot lie. The blood of emperors and empresses flows in your veins.” The monk said with a surprising confidence.

“My father and my grandfather were both farmers.”

“How about your great-grandfather or above generations?”

“I have no knowledge of them.”

“Then trust my words. And this sword?” The monk asked, carefully touching the golden star patterns on the sheath.

“This is an heirloom of the family handed down for generations.”

“This sword isn’t made for anyone. This is the prince’s sword. It’s old, but you can tell at a glance. Have you used it before?”

Liu Bei didn’t have the chance to answer him. From the main entrance, Gao called him impatiently. “Brat! How long will you make us wait?”

“Go now. Or they will hurt you too. If you understood my meaning, until the time comes, hold your life dear to you. Don’t forget my words!”

They departed. For a time, they walked in silence. Finally, Ding spoke.

“Little one, sounds like you heard something interesting.”

Liu Bei did not answer.

“I have something to tell you.

“That old man said that you shall become the doer of great deeds.

“However, a wandering merchant can’t become a king or a general.

“… but I agree that you do have some potential. That’s why I didn’t kill you right away when we captured you.”

Liu Bei still did not say anything. He looked up in the sky to find the catastrophic star shining like a ruby. It seemed to speak to him, a light so strange, dangerous and beautiful. Overwhelmed by the radiance, he almost didn’t catch Ding’s last words.

“Wouldn’t you like to work with us?”

* * *

*Yellow is the trademark of Huans. The original name I planned for them was “Yellow Flags,” but I decided that it was cheesy. Well, it still is. But oh well. Deal with it.
**Again, a yellow ribbon. Self-explanatory.

* * *