Vol 1 Chapter 1 (1/2)

Chapter One (Part 1)

Young armored warriors on horseback appeared outside the skirt of the imperial city’s western gates. The general of the warriors wore a black armor, his hair was tied up but the wind fluttered some of his loose strands of hair. A weapon was suspended on the general’s armored back and he sat upright on a snow white Ferghana horse. The warriors behind the general wore navy uniforms under their armors.

‘Xiao Ha, how far are we from the imperial city?’ Chen Quan Ran asked.

Xiao Ha looked into the distance for the imperial city’s visible landmarks. ‘About two to three miles. If we whip the horses we’ll reach the imperial city within one s.h.i.+chen (large-hour = two hours).’

Chen Quan Ran gestured for his horse to slow down and his men followed his lead.

Chapter One (Part 2)

Xiao Ha joined Chen Quan Ran’s army since Xiao Ha was fifteen years old. Despite Chen Quan Ran’s seniority, Xiao Ha and Chen Quan Ran’s relations.h.i.+p was like blood brothers. Xiao Ha knew Chen Quan Ran’s personality almost as well as Xiao Ha knew his own personality.

Chen Quan Ran was born into a military family. Although Chen Quan Ran’s father died on the battlefield, if his father was alive his father would be proud of him. Two generations after his grandpa was general, the Chen household’s army force had increased tenfold. The Chen army was the chief protector of the Northern Empire.

Chen Quan Ran respected and treated his men as equals. He despised corrupt court officials who oppressed citizens and only knew how to eat and sleep. Some of those kind of officials were eating at the inn.

‘Those who are ignorant of what labor means and speak nonsense but regard themselves as wise are loathsome. Let us not speak of those who are born to live idle lives. Those kind don’t dare to show their teeth when they laugh and fall unconscious for three days and three nights at the sight of an insect. They are only deserving of being looked upon with disdain,’ Chen Quan Ran said.

(CQR is discussing with his men a proverb from The a.n.a.lects of Confucius – ‘Learning without thought is labor lost, thought without learning is perilous.’ i.e. CQR is implying he detests people who are spoon fed and can only regurgitate knowledge without thinking for themselves.)

Chen Quan Ran saw two short young men walked into the inn who looked like the kind of weaklings Chen Quan Ran detested. The two young men carried bulky bags. Chen Quan Ran was especially drawn to one of the young men who was dressed in white silk clothing that was embroidered with chrysanthemum. Chen Quan Ran thought the young man in white was strangely too beautiful, his skin was snow white, his eyebrows were elegantly arched, his thick eyelashes curled, his lips were peony red and his black hair was tied above his slender neck.

Chen Quan Ran stared at the young man in white’s eyes that shone like stars. Chen Quan Ran thought the young man in white’s steps were dainty and he had a cold graceful aura. Behind the young man in white was another weakling who was dressed in clothing appropriate for a servant.

The two young men walked pa.s.sed Chen Quan Ran’s table and they sat on the table opposite to Chen Quan Ran’s table. The young man in white spoke softly to a fuwu yuan.

‘Do you men see those two young men? Their bodies are like sticks, their shoulders and hands cannot bear anything heavy. If all young men of the Northern Empire were like them then within three years the Northern Empire will be lost,’ Chen Quan Ran said.

Chen Quan Ran didn’t raise his voice, but his table was near the two young men’s table and Chen Quan Ran’s natural speaking voice was loud from years of giving orders.

The two young men turned around and they looked at Chen Quan Ran. Chen Quan Ran eyes were focused on the young man in white who looked at him for a long time as if the young man in white was judging him, it made his skin itchy. Chen Quan Ran didn’t get a chance to react when the young man in white glared condescendingly at him.

Xiao Ha was sitting next to the general. He laughed because the young man in white dared to dismiss the general. ‘General, the two young men do look small and weak, but their glares are powerful.’

Mo Lan ignored Chen Quan Ran’s mockery of her body. She suppressed her anger and she greeted his mockery with a glare.

Chen Quan Ran rubbed his chin and he stared admiringly at the young man in white. Chen Quan Ran felt the young man in white’s glare contained allure and anger. After a long time Chen Quan Ran reasoned the young man in white’s skin was too snow white and too smooth for a male… perhaps those two young men were not males. ‘Those two young men look like weaklings. But the gentleman dressed in white is too beautiful.’

Xiao Ha wasn’t ugly, but he envied the young man in white. ‘We’re both males, but why is there a big difference between my face and the gentleman dressed in white’s beautiful face?’

Chen Quan Ran glared at Xiao Ha. ‘Xiao Ha, you are the kind of person who has no sense of what is valuable. Why are you envious of a stick’s uselessness? Look properly, their arms and legs are twigs and if squeezed twice their arms and legs are likely to become disabled.’

Chen Quan Ran spoke truthfully without malice. He was used to jesting with his men. But outside the army, his jests were easily seen as insults.

‘Master, those men sitting at the table opposite to us are despicable. They used appalling words to describe us. I think I need to make them see reason-’ Cheng said.

Mo Lan opened her fan and she stopped Cheng from confronting Chen Quan Ran and Xiao Ha. Mo Lan laughed politely. ‘They are speaking like chicken bock and duck quack. They are related to the miller and his son’s donkey.’

(Mo Lan is implying there is no need to argue with Chen Quan Ran and Xiao Ha who are not speaking on the same wavelength as them i.e. chicken and duck talk different languages. Mo Lan is implying Chen Quan Ran and Xiao Ha’s criticisms are similar to Aesop’s fable about ‘the miller, his son and the donkey’ i.e. criticisms stem from a difference of opinions.)

Cheng laughed because of her mistress’ wittiness.

Xiao Ha wasn’t a scholar, but his elders forced him to learn some proverbs when he was a young boy. He heard the young man in white’s insult and he was displeased. ‘General, that young man is disrespectful toward his seniors. We spoke truthfully, but the young man insulted us. He called us chickens and ducks and he said we’re donkeys instead of humans.’

Mo Lan wasn’t intimidated by the implied threat from Xiao Ha’s tone of voice. Mo Lan’s glare aimed at Chen Quan Ran was darker than obsidian, it didn’t conceal her anger. ‘Perhaps in their eyes they are heroes. But in my eyes their insults are no different from a donkey’s insult.’

‘You disrespectful junior. Do you know who we are?’ Xiao Ha said.

Xiao Ha wanted to teach the two weaklings they should be respectful to their seniors, but the general’s dangerous smile stopped him.

‘Weak scholars are useless, only their tongues are sharp. If they encountered bandits… won’t they be scared of death and beg the bandits to spare their lives?’ Chen Quan Ran said.

Chen Quan Ran and Mo Lan momentarily halted their battle of wits, because a group of bandits who carried blades walked into the inn.

‘Fuwu yuan, give us your best food and service and we will reward you. But if your service is poor, be careful of your head,’ a bandit said.

The fuwu yuan panicked and Xiao Ha whispered into the general’s ear. ‘They don’t look like kind citizens.’

Chen Quan Ran laughed coldly. He picked up his cup of tea and drank a sip. Then he stood beside the young lady in white. ‘Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrives. Are you scared? Don’t worry, I’m someone who is easy to talk to. Young lady if you beg me now it’s possible I’ll kindly help you chase away the bandits who are likely to cause you trouble first.’

(Chen Quan Ran is referring to Cao Cao who was a warlord during the Three Kingdoms period i.e. proverb is equivalent to ‘speak of the devil.’)

Mo Lan glared at Chen Quan Ran and she silently sat as if the bandits’ arrival didn’t affect her.

Chen Quan Ran frowned. He was certain the young lady and her maid travelled together unprotected. He wasn’t concerned about their weak bodies as much as he was concerned the young lady and her maid didn’t own any kung fu skills. He reasoned the young lady knew she was a beauty so he didn’t understand why she wasn’t scared to encounter bandits.

Chen Quan Ran noticed the bandits were walking toward the young lady and her maid. He wasn’t surprised, because the young lady’s silk clothing would attract any bandit’s attention. A bandit’s blade was used to threaten the young lady’s slender neck.

‘What beautiful gentlemen you two are. If you two are wise as your beauty then give us some protection taels and your journey will be a safe one,’ a bandit said.

Xiao Ha couldn’t stand idle and watch the bandits rob the two juniors. He stood to help them, but the general signalled him not to interfere. He didn’t understand why the general whose tolerance of bandits was less than him would stop him from helping the two juniors.

Chen Quan Ran shook his head and he smiled. ‘No one asked us for our help. We don’t need to interfere.’

Chen Quan Ran hated bandits. But he wanted to see if the beautiful demoness would bow her head and beg him to save her. He judged the bandits were easy to subdue so there was no rush for him to do a good deed. He thought it was an opportunity for him to see a good performance.

***

Chapter One (Part 3 of 3)

Chen Quan Ran was amused the beautiful demoness waved her fan under her chin and she acted like the bandits were insects.

‘Brothers, if you want taels there is no need to threaten us. We don’t have silver taels, but we have many jewellery gifted by the emperor and silver ingots,’ Mo Lan said. She smiled and she signalled Cheng to pa.s.s the bandits their bags. ‘Brothers, do you want the silver ingots or the jewellery?’

The bandits’ eyes were bright, they thought it was a prosperous day.

Xiao Ha widened his eyes, he couldn’t believe the young man in white wanted to be robbed instead of asking for help.

‘Jewellery? Silver ingots? We want both,’ a bandit said.

Mo Lan shook a finger. ‘The bag fabric used to protect our jewellery, silver ingots and clothes can’t be cut opened by a blade. A powerful master told me if this bag isn’t opened the right way perhaps the opener’s fingers will be injured. Brothers come here and see for yourself.’

The bandits’ greed for silver ingots and jewellery overpowered their suspicious minds. They all approached Mo Lan’s table. Mo Lan opened her bag and a cloud of powder was released into the air.

The bandits forgot about their greed, because they were rolling on the ground and scratching their bodies.

‘Itchy! Itchy everywhere!’ the bandits cried out.