Thousands of Sakura trees stood in a field, with the petals flying and making the whole ground pink. Amidst that magic stood Lia, with her eyes open and watching it all. The warmth of the spring made her comfortable and like falling into those petals. She had this clear visual while riding the horse with Wan. Riding the white horse with him, the golden moonlight reflecting in her eyes and the chill of snow.
"Um...what is your name?"
The embarrassed Lia asked with a flushed face, the name of that man.
"I am Wan Heian...a bounty hunter"
"Bounty hunter?"
She was quiet after hearing that he was a bounty hunter. She remembered what she had told earlier. The words that came from her mouth, her ideology that all bounty hunters are not bad people, felt like it was a universal truth. She understood that the man was the same age as her; the difference was what he was doing.
Before she realised they had already reached the Ni Rong village. Wan leapt from the horse, Lia also did the same, and Wan Heian caught her. Everyone in the village was looking for her, and from far came a scream.
"Lia!!"
A lady came running; she was older but had the same appearance as Lia. Wan understood that they were related. She hugged her tightly, never to let her go again. Wan understood the love of siblings for the first time. He recalled his sisters whom he left to reach China. The image of Varanasi and his family came to his head after seeing that. Also, their image, the whole of the merchant group.
Wan got onto his horse, ready to leave the village. He had already done what he had to.
"Wait...young boy!" Called the sister.
*** ***
The court was over for the day, and all the ministers and guards walked out of the palace. The ministers were on their way to the after-talks, and the foreign minister's officials headed towards the ministry building. The sun was already down capital was bustling with people.
Amidst that chaos, two ministers headed towards the periphery of the palace. There existed a building adjacent to the King's quarters, the pleasure quarters, where only the king could enter. The moans from the pleasure quarters made it evident that the king was there. Like an animal, he was enjoying the night, inclined at the hands of several women.
Both the ministers waited in the guestroom in front of the King's quarters. Their nonchalant look and acknowledgement of the king's filthy life made them hate him even more. They didn't belong to the opposing faction, but the king's animalistic lifestyle made them even more wary.
"Hi Sang Gul...I am fed up with this"
"I also feel the same, Chui"
"The king only lives for the sake and women, a pure animal"
"We are the Qin slaves, the only ones who are still under that filthy empire's rule!!"
"Ah...I can't handle it anymore"
"What about all the generals, Chui?"
"Generals?"
"I heard that a unit had emerged"
"Yeah, he is not a general; he only leads a 200-man army"
"What is his name?"
"Um...I think it was some Shi, it was Zen Shi!"
"Zen Shi?"
"What is his age?"
"He is only twenty"
"Hm...a leader at 20, eh? I envy him"
"The king doesn't acknowledge him"
"Acknowledge him? Why?"
"He was a childhood friend of Princess Hia"
"He was the childhood friend of the princess?"
Chui was surprised by hearing that. It was the first time he had heard that the princess had a childhood friend. Also, his name was Zen Shi.
*** ***
Far away in the Huai plains, a conflict was escalating. The vulture flew above the plane, above the two armies. The Chu army stood with 10,000 soldiers ready to claim the border village of Lingbi. On the other side of the Huai River came the Han army, with only a 1000-man army. In the front rode a figure who was young and had his long hair pinned at the back. He wore a golden armour and he held the golden sword of Han Sui Yan.
The Chu army general declared the identity of the man they were going to face. The only man who could take on a general, he is young and he can easily defeat a 10,000-man army even with a 100 army.
"Today!! We are fighting the 500-man commander Zen Shi!"
"Our objective is to conquer the Lingbi village, but for that, we need to crush this man"
"Don't underestimate the man based on his age, with that amount of soldiers, he can take on our whole army"
All the soldiers carefully listened to the general's words. Terror crept into their head, but their bones hadn't forsaken their soul. Their will to finish off Zenshi burned brighter, on the other side appeared the Han army. They had already crossed the river and were ready to go on.
He stood before them, on his black horse he just in front of the whole army.
His armour shone in that sun, and his eyes were determined as ever.
His physique clearly defined him as a demon capable of defeating several armies.
His long hair moved in that breeze.
SFX: KRARR!
The vulture in the sky cried out loud, as if it had already understood the power of the man.
It flew away, as if an Earthquake was bound to occur.
The Chu general lifted his arm and gave the order to engage the Han army. The soldiers roared and headed to slash each of them. However, after traversing half of the plain, a chill ran down the spine. The pressure was insane. Zenshi's golden aura made all of them shiver. The horses galloped several times.
Zenshi stood there calm, like a palm leaf that had just fallen on the water. One of the Chu soldiers noticed that the number of people behind Zenshi was fewer, despite the number of his army being 1000.
"I guess he is a fool!"
"Yeah, there isn't even a hundred"
They became more confident and dashed to slash Zenshi's throat. Little did they know that Zenshi was cunning beyond the fox and a godly strategist.