Dragon's Soul: An End's Beginning

by Tony Tran

  The letter basically thanked Sima Yi for his service to Aurora and that he would be awarded heavily upon his return to Aurora.

  It stated for him not to worry about the soldiers that had fled from Aurora because after receiving word of what Sima Yi was doing Zhang personally set off to pursue those fleeing soldiers.

  These men will most likely never make it back alive with Zhang, Gan Ning and Lu Xun on their tails.

  It also asked him to return to Aurora as soon as possible because in six months Zhang and the four beauties will be getting married and they wished for him to attend their wedding. It would be a huge event with many dignitaries attending and a very important announcement will be made so all officers of Aurora should be present.

  After reading the letter Sima Yi placed the letter onto the desk beside his book.

  “Go have a messenger tell those in Heavenly Sword City that if they surrender those who wish to leave will be given a chance to live but if they do not surrender then we will raze the city and none shall be spared.

  The lord of the province may leave with his wealth, his life and his families lives will be spare if they surrender.”

  “Right away my lord!” The soldier responded and left the tent.

  “For your wedding gift I’ll give you the entire Heavenly Sword Province my lord.” Sima Yi thought with a grin on his face.

  Although he would prefer to show mercy to those in the Heavenly Sword Province so that it would show the world that if the people are willing to surrender to Aurora they will be rewarded. If everyone thought that if surrendering to Aurora meant death, then no one would seek to surrender but rather they would fight to the death like in the small village that took up arms.

  But of course he could make an example out of Heavenly Sword City either way, if they surrender he can show them mercy but if they don’t he will show everyone what happens to stubborn fools who do not take the chances given to them. He would have every living soul in the city put to death as a warning to the world. “Surrender and live or resist and die.”

  “Those in the city will either be able to live in happiness or be sent to the depth of hell depending on their decision.” Sima Yi murmured.

  Upon Sima Yi’s orders a messenger rode through and passed the rows of troops that surrounded the city and made his way to the front of the city gate. Once he was in front of the gate the messenger pulled out a magical voice amplifier and brought it to his mouth, “Our commander Lord Sima Yi has decided to give those in the city two options! The first option is to lay down your arms and surrender, those who do not wish to live under our rule are free to leave and go elsewhere. The second option is resist and we will bury every single man, woman, and child in the city alive.”

  The messenger’s voice reverberated throughout the city and was audible to a large number of people inside. It did not take long for chatter to break out between the residents inside the walls of the Heavenly Sword City.

  In the provincial lord’s mansion an elderly man was sitting in a large hall filled with people. Dressed in golden robes, with a small crown atop his head of grey hair from his clothing and the crown alone one could tell that this elderly man was definitely the lord of the Heavenly Sword Province.

  “Lord Yuan Shao what should we do the entire city has been surrounded and the men we sent to Aurora are nowhere to be seen and those that went to the Green Clover Province never returned either. We still haven’t received word from General Zhuge Dan nor General Chao Chang either.” A middle aged man dressed in red robes said, one can tell that this man was most likely a minister of sorts.

  “On top of that our provisions are running low, we have at most enough food to feed the entire city for another four months and after that we will all die from starvation, that is to say we can make it without water because the Xunsu River has been dammed and no water is flowing into the city.” Another middle aged man said.

  “If we stopped giving food to those peasants then we can last for a year or two!” A third man with a balding head dressed in brown robes said.

  “I believe we should gather the riches of the city and then surrender. They said that if we surrender we may leave if we please. With all of the wealth of the capital we can go to another province and acquire large armies then come back and reclaim our land or we bid our time and take control of a few other provinces and when we are strong enough wipe out Aurora.” A young man in golden robes said with a sly look on his face.

  “Yuan Shang you're telling me to give up the land that our ancestors fought and died for?” Yuan Shao said while looking at his son.

  “Only for the time being father, man takes revenge, ten years is not too late; one should bide one’s time and wait for the right opportunity to seek vengeance.” Yuan Shang said proudly.

  After some thought Yuan Shao began giving orders for as much wealth as possible to be gathered in the provincial lord’s mansion. He would then store all of it into his interspatial ring, once this was done, they would open the city gates and surrender. As an act of kindness he did not take the possessions of the common folk of the city but had the province’s treasury emptied along with the wealth of many of his ministers.

  A day after Sima Yi’s messenger was sent white flags could be seen hung atop Heavenly Sword City while the city gates were wide open. The Heavenly Sword Province had officially declared their surrender to the Aurora Province and this marked the end of the bloodshed and war between the two, well at least for now.

  Chapter 86: Tall Tales

  On a sunny day without any clouds in sight, many carriages and people could be seen waiting in an orderly line in front of the gates of Aurora City. The lord of Aurora, Jian Wei, had ordered for an extravagant festival to be held for days on end to help celebrate his foster son’s wedding which was going to be held tomorrow. Thus people from many places gathered in Aurora to join in the festivities.

  Tomorrow could be considered the most auspicious day of the year on the Wulin Continent’s calendar. To add to the auspiciousness tomorrow was the day when the planet was perfectly aligned with the moon and the sun which happens only fifty years. Meaning tomorrow was the best day for anyone to get married.

  Dignitaries from many provinces and kingdoms had arrived in Aurora after having received the wedding invitations sent by Jian Wei. This meant that the streets of Aurora were crowded with people and carriages causing the businesses of the residents of Aurora City to boom.

  Of course with more people there would certainly be more gossip, people gathered in taverns, inns and restaurants by the troves to gossip about the various dignitaries that arrived, the events that happened during the festival and finally about the luckiest man on the face of the planet and his four wives.

  In one particular inn called the Raven’s Nest an extremely large crowd was gathered, people of all ages were currently engaged in a heated discussion amongst themselves.

  “Have you seen the young lord yet? I heard he is as large as a bear and as strong as a tiger.” Someone said excitedly.

  “What are you talking about? I heard that he looks as beautiful as a woman and if he wore women's clothes he could be considered a world class beauty.” A bald headed man said after he gulped down a cup of wine.

  “Get out of here and stop spouting nonsense.” One of the people standing by the bald man said after slapping the back of his head.

  “I hear he’s a bloodthirsty killer and lord Jian Wei only choose him because of how good he is at slaughtering people on the battlefield.” Someone blurted out.

  “Enough about the young lord I want to know if anyone has seen how his future wives look!” A man with a crooked nose and the eyes of a hawk said while rubbing his hands.

  “A friend of mine knows of a baker whose sister’s cousin works as a maid at the lord’s mansion and has seen them.” A chubby looking man said while gnawing on a grilled chicken thigh.

  “What are you waiting for tell us how they look? Are they as beautiful as some people clai
m? Or are their tales of beauty simply made up rumors?” A few of the listeners said.

  “Well from what I’ve heard and the little bit of research I did I know that one of them is the daughter of the previous lord of the Green Clover Province and is supposed to be very ugly. Something about an accident that disfigured her to the point where no one wanted to marry her, but she had offered the entire Green Clover Province to our young lord if he would take her hand in marriage. Our poor young lord is taking one for the team it seems.” The chubby man stated in a know it all tone.

  “Then what about the other three? Xu Zhu hurry up and tell us!” A few of the listeners said.

  “I was told that another one of the future madams is the daughter of some minister from the Heilong Kingdom whom seems to hate men. From what I gathered she once tried to light some poor fella on fire for looking in her direction. Probably is one of those political marriages.” Xu Zhu said while munching on another chicken thigh.

  “I kind of pity our young lord now it seems like he's getting the short end of the stick in this marriage.” Someone muttered.

  “No need to pity someone who is going to inherit an entire province. Hell if he wanted he can take a bunch of other wives later.” Another person said.

  “You lot shut up and let me finish, there's one girl who seems to be known by the former soldiers of the Heavenly Sword Army as “The Demon” I heard that anyone that gets on her bad side is hacked to pieces. They say that she appeared out of nowhere and no one knows her origins but the one thing that is known is to never get on her bad side. Have you heard of the children’s song about the monster with the long flowing hair and the blood stained sword? That song is about her.” Xu Zhu said as he continued eating.

  “What the… Why would the young lord marry her?” The bald man from before asked.

  “Who knows maybe he was threatened that if he doesn’t marry her, she’ll haunt him or something.” Xu Zhu said.

  “Lastly the last bride who is said to be a total weirdo. I hear that she claims she’s a princess from the underworld and some creepy looking spiders live in her blood red hair. Something must be wrong with her head. But besides that I don’t know much about this one.”

  After listening to Xu Zhu many people began to pity Zhang and had shivers run down their spines. In their heads tales of a demonesses with multiple heads and nasty spiders were brewing. Many people let their imaginations run wild and of course many horrendous scenes popped up in their minds.

  Little did they know the man whom they had been talking about was actually mixed into the crowd and was currently sitting in the corner of the inn trying to keep himself from breaking into laughter. Small tears formed in the corners of Zhang’s eyes as his hand pressed against his mouth trying to hold back the laughter. Luckily he was able to contain himself or he would have gotten too much attention.

  For the last couple days Zhang and the four beauties had sneaked out of the Provincial Lord’s mansion to join in on the festivities. While outside they had heard all of the out of the world tales that were being spread throughout the city. Heroic tales where Zhang rescued each and every one of the girls from some horde demonic beast, tales of love and romance, and some plain out weird stories that somehow people bought into life.

  “I have to admit that this man was by far the one who is closest to the truth. For some reason people have thought that my four lovely flowers are monsters, like that one crazy woman who claimed that Ai is able to turn into a dragon.” Zhang thought with a chuckle while shaking his head as he left the inn.

  Tomorrow would be his big day thus Zhang’s nerves were on end. Tomorrow would be a step into a new world, one where if he died he would not have any regrets because after tomorrow he won’t be a virgin anymore. As silly as it might sound for someone who had died nearly three times and has not experienced his first time was heartbreaking. So to settle his nerves Zhang snuck out alone and roamed the city.

  Leaving the inn Zhang walked along the main street of Aurora City and since no one besides his soldiers has ever gotten close to him to see his face, Zhang was able to perfectly blend into the crowd.

  “After the wedding I should take the girls to see the world or at least the entire warring states region because one must know their domain that will be ruling over.” Zhang thought as a smile crept onto his face. Just imagining the silliness that will ensure warmed his heart.

  While passing through the crowded streets Zhang noticed that the sea of people was suddenly parting to make way for something or someone. As he got closer he saw familiar looking black flags with dragons sewn onto them. Marching through the streets were soldiers clad in black and at the forefront of this cluster of men was a handsome looking man in his early twenties.

  “Sima Yi…” Zhang muttered as he saw the man who had departed for the Heavenly Sword Province months ago. News had arrived that Sima Yi and his men had successfully taken over the Heavenly Sword Province and were hurriedly making their way back to attend Zhang’s wedding. Of course this was after Sima Yi established Aurora’s rule in the Heavenly Sword Province, he had stationed roughly eighty thousand man in Heavenly Sword City and had requested for more soldiers to be allotted there until a new Heavenly Sword Army under Aurora’s control could be established.

  Upon Sima Yi’s return Zhang was going to grant him the title of duke and give him dominion over the Red Mist Province because he was the spark that had extinguished the Heavenly Sword Province. In turn Zhang’s family and Ling’s family will be given dominion over the Green Clover Province because it could now be considered the safest province in the warring states region. This was of course because it was situated between the Red Mist and Aurora Provinces while the Heavenly Sword Province shared nearly half of its northern border. This meant that the Green Clover Province could only be attacked from the south.

  One may ask how could Sima Yi be granted the title of Duke when his masters only controlled mere provinces and could be at most have the rank of a duke themselves be able to grant him such a title, well the answer is simple. With four provinces under their control Zhang and Jian Wei had decided to officially establish a kingdom, the Kingdom of Aurora. They had planned to make this announcement right before Zhang’s wedding as to add to the joyous occasion.

  As Zhang watched the procession move along he noticed that Sima Yi was looking in his direction.

  “Please don’t start a commotion.” Zhang plead in his mind. The last thing he needed was for this crowd of people to recognize and swarm him.

  But of course once Sima Yi’s steed reached where Zhang stood, did he dismount and kneel on one knee. “My lord I’ve returned and I’ve brought you a gift.” Sima Yi said excitedly.

  Seeing Sima Yi kneel all of the soldiers who were following behind him also followed suit and got on one knee also. Once this happened all of the civilians had their gazes set on Zhang and then quickly followed Sima Yi’s example. However, when everyone looked up Zhang was nowhere in sight, like a cloud he had drifted off to somewhere else.

  In an alley a block or so away Zhang was standing behind some bamboo poles with his back against a wall trying to avoid unwanted eyes.

  “Thank the heavens I got away from there before the crowd swarmed me.” Zhang said with a sigh. Before he could even say another word he felt someone's hand press against his shoulder. When he turned his head Zhang saw a delicate jade white hand that was as white as snow

  With a whiff Zhang was able to smell the familiar fragrance of various herbs flow into his nostrils. Contrary to what one may believe from the phrase herbs, this smell was a sweet and relaxing smell that could calm one’s very soul.

  “Lingqi what are you doing here?” Zhang asked without even having to look up at her face or hear her voice to know who it was. From the fragrance alone he was able to tell that it was her.

  “Did you think you can sneak out alone?” Lingqi’s gentle angelic voice drifted into Zhang’s ears as her gentle hand departed from his shoulder and h
eld onto his hand. With his hand in her grasp Lingqi tugged lightly trying to signal Zhang to follow her. The two of them walked hand in hand until there was not a single soul in sight.

  Leading Zhang into a narrow alleyway cluttered with bamboo rafters and various things Lingqi suddenly turned around and while standing on the tips of her toes planted a light kiss on Zhang’s lips.

  Caught by surprise Zhang could only stand where he was somewhat dumbfounded. Usually he was the one to take the initiative and this could be considered one of the rare occasions where he was on the receiving end.

  “I may have come last but I definitely won’t give up the chance of taking your first.” She murmured as she planted another kiss on Zhang’s lips while he was still in a slight daze.

  Of course by the second kiss Zhang had been able to regain his composure so before her lips could depart his arms swiftly wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer. Without the worry of being seen the two of them stood out of sight in the empty alleyway, passionately kissing with arms wrapped around each other. Surely had Jian Wei been around he would have made some silly remark about it being too early in the day for such activities.