The Heavenly Swords’ Journey - Uncertain Future

After the fall of Zhang Jiao and the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the leaders of the coalition rewarded the generals and lords that joined quite handsomely. Many were given official ranks and governorship of regions across the land to ensure that they would keep a watchful eye over any potential rebellions that might still be brewing.

In the volunteer army camp, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were chatting with Tien Shin about the battle they had just fought in. There was the occasional boasting from Zhang Fei, a stern shaking of the head of Guan Yu and the loud laughter of Tien Shin as they spoke amongst each other.

“That was a hell of a fight! Feels good to put down those yellow bastards after all their raiding and threatening of the small folk.” Zhang Fei was grinning widely as he took a drink of ale and looked at his sworn brother.

“It was a hard fought battle, I’ll admit. But let’s not forget that they were also part of the small folk not too long ago, much like us.” Guan Yu stroked his long beard for a moment in deep thought. “What’re your thoughts, boy?”

Tien Shin was caught off guard by Guan Yu’s question. He had been swaying back and forth as he watched the sky and felt the wind on his messy hair.

“I guess they thought they were in the right and we were in the wrong, Pops. Still, I agree with Uncle! Beating them down for hurting the people felt pretty good! I could be doing that all day!” The infectious grin of the wild boy was caught by the other volunteers who were passing by and laughed. “I wonder what’s keeping the Boss so busy? You don’t think he’s being told off by Lord Pork or any of the other fat lords?”

“Beats me! I only heard that some of the generals were praising our volunteer army and wanted to talk to him. Maybe there’s a reward in it for us?” Zhang Fei rubbed his chin in thought, which was rare in him.

“If the leaders of the coalition wish to speak to Liu Bei, then it must be important. In any case, we should be expecting our volunteer army to disband soon enough.” Guan Yu’s eyes looked to the distance where the coalition main tent was raised.

“Wait… the volunteer army’s gonna disband? What’re all of us gonna do then!?” Tien Shin suddenly felt a bit troubled. He had joined Liu Bei and his sworn brothers out of their shared desire to protect the people and see them enjoy freedom. But if the Boss was calling it quits… What would that mean for him? Would he have to go looking for someone else to take him in? He’d found it entertaining to fight alongside people who shared his ideals. He didn’t want that to end…

A few minutes afterwards, Liu Bei was seen approaching the volunteers. His sworn brothers and Tien Shin stood up which the rest of the volunteers emulated.

“My friends, I apologize for keeping you waiting.” Liu Bei’s smile was bright and full of hope. This was a good sign, it seemed.

“Brother, we’ve been expecting you. What did the leaders of the coalition say to you?” Guan Yu’s gaze fell on his sworn brother.

“Yeah! Did they give you some reward? Maybe a feast for all the men?” Zhang Fei rubbed his hands with anticipation.

For once, Tien Shin remained silent. His mind still remained fixed on the possibility that his days fighting alongside the Three Brothers had come to an end.

“No, Zhang Fei. There won’t be a feast and our reward isn’t that substantial.” Liu Bei’s words made some of the men groan with dissatisfaction. “However…”

Once again all the volunteers turned to look at Liu Bei with anticipation.

“I’ve been granted a position as the magistrate of Anxi county.” The brothers and the other volunteers murmured amongst themselves with amazement. “So, that means that we’ll have to disband our volunteer army.”

Tien Shin’s heart suddenly sank. This was what he feared might happen, and now it was a reality.

“Wait, so what’s going to happen to all of us now, Brother?” Zhang Fei’s question was the same everyone was too afraid to ask.

“Well I can’t very well go off into some fancy government position without taking care of the people who risked their lives while following me.” Liu Bei stepped forward and addressed the volunteers. “Friends! Our volunteer army has gone and done their duty of protecting the people. I cannot ask anything more from any of you. However, I will need help from people I trust as I take this new role as magistrate. If anyone wishes to come with me, I will welcome you. I am inexperienced and a bit clumsy, so I might need all the help I can get.”

The volunteer army cheered for Liu Bei and shouted their desire to follow him.

Tien Shin’s fears had finally abated and a soft smile appeared on his lips. Then he felt someone’s hand over his shoulder. It was Liu Bei who was looking down on the boy along with the welcoming gaze of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

“I will need your help as the Heavenly Sword of Freedom, Shin.” Liu Bei smiled at the boy who was on the verge of tears. “Will you continue helping us, Little Brother?”

“Y-You got it, Bos- I mean…of course Lord Liu Bei!” Tien Shin finally bellowed out with embarrassment.

“It might be best if you just keep calling me ‘Boss’ for a while. Lord Liu Bei doesn’t sound that good coming from you, Shin.” Liu Bei laughed softly and held Tien Shin’s hand. Soon enough, all the former-volunteer army members were laughing along the Smiling Dragon.

Cao Cao had been watching from afar how this man, Liu Bei, had been given a rather insignificant position in a rather small county and acted like he had been granted the Imperial Throne. The way his men seemed to worship him made the cunning warlord consider him a potential player in the future, if he showed any degree of cunning and political knowledge.

Returning to his own camp, the men were making haste to pick up camp and head into Puyang, where Cao Cao had been granted Governorship of the region. A reward for his expert control of the flow of battle, his strategic acumen and the talented loyal soldiers under his command.

As he was walking towards his tent, he met with Xiahou Dun.

“How long until the men are ready to march?” Cao Cao’s question was made as he kept walking. His cousin knew that he’d have to answer with expedience.

“At least four more hours, if we don’t miss a step.” Xiahou Dun’s exasperation was clearly visible on his stern expression and angered tone. “Must we hurry this much? The men are still tired from the battle and there are no enemies in front of us, Cao Cao.”

“It’s not the enemy in front that forces me to make haste, Xiahou Dun. It’s the unseen enemies that worry me. The Yellow Turbans were not the source of this chaos but a result of it. To remedy this, we must make preparations and build our strength.” Cao Cao’s mind was already thinking about the future. The fall of the Han was close by and none of them were ready for the eventual wave of chaos this would bring to the land.

Xiahou Yuan was giving orders to some of the soldiers when he caught sight of Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun walking fast towards the main tent. He joined them as they spoke.

“My Lord, some of the men have been whispering amongst themselves that ‘he’ hasn’t moved from his seat all day since we returned from the battle. Something tells me he’ll only listen to you.” Xiahou Yuan looked quite worried about these comments since it was clear none of the men were approaching the tent that had specifically been raised for Kai Jin.

“I will go talk to him.” Cao Cao’s mind had to consider what it meant if the Heavenly Sword of Order refused to move. Was he unsatisfied with this battle? Will he refuse to follow him any further? No. He still had a bargaining chip to play…

Cao Cao commanded Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan to leave him to speak with Kai Jin in private. As he walked into the tent, he noticed that Kai Jin was indeed sitting on a simple chair, a small table nearby with an empty cup of tea beside him. Other than that, his entire baggage was already packed, tied up and ready for transport… or rather it hadn’t been unpacked at all.

The Heavenly Sword of Order’s eyes were closed. His breathing was slow and rhythmic. He wasn’t asleep, Cao Cao knew. But he had to get the swordmaster’s attention.

“Kai Jin.”

Both eyes of the Heavenly Sword opened. As usual, his right eye was dark as night while his left eye was red as a ruby with a dulled glow like the flame of a burning candle.

“Is something troubling you, my friend?”

As usual, Kai Jin’s face was impossible to read. He simply stared at Cao Cao as if he were staring at his very soul.

“It seems there were no worthy opponents amongst the Yellow Turbans.”

This answer worried Cao Cao. It was clear that Kai Jin was calling out to the promise that had been made to him - he would follow Cao Cao as long as he found worthy opponents to fight. With the rebellion quelled and leaderless, Kai Jin was now without a clear opponent to fight.

“The rebels were only a small fraction of the opponents that might appear before us, Kai Jin. As I’ve said before, the land is vast and new opponents are bound to appear. Some might need to be born, groomed and trained before they could meet you in battle.” Cao Cao was careful not to reveal his master strategy. He needed to measure the reactions of the Blade from Hell, his most powerful weapon.

“Be that as it may, I have not found anyone worthy of my blade.” Kai Jin closed his eyes again. Took a deep breath and stood up. Cao Cao saw in the young man’s body language that he was preparing to leave.

“You mentioned to me before that you had found a reason to stay… when we were stationed in Puyang for a while.” Cao Cao’s strategy was now in place. He was hoping this would be enough to stall the unstoppable storm that he was about to face.

The eyes of the Heavenly Sword opened once again. His red eye was now glowing with aggressive intensity.

“I have been granted the position of governor of Puyang. I plan to make this the seat of my powerbase as my influence grows.” The cunning warlord paced inside the tent as the eyes of the Heavenly Sword followed him. “If you’ve found something of interest in this city, why not stay for a while and continue to work with me as you indulge in its beauty while I find more opponents to defeat. These rebels are not the only adversaries we will be facing, Kai Jin.”

“The Capital.” Kai Jin said simply.

“Yes. We must prepare for what will eventually be a confrontation against the real cancer in these lands. And for that, I need the strongest warrior with me. Stay with us, Kai Jin. Puyang can be your home while you continue to hone your skills and strong opponents are being challenged.”

Cao Cao knew that Kai Jin’s sole purpose was to find the strongest opponents. As such, should he fail to feed the Heavenly Sword’s hunger, he might turn his blade against all he hoped to build. But, knowing what he knew, the offer to live in Puyang was his last option to keep his “sword” close by.

The Artist was the perfect reason outside of battle for the Heavenly Sword to linger.

Once again Kai Jin stared at Cao Cao with that soul burning gaze of his. After several heartbeats, the swordmaster let out a long sigh and nodded.

“Very well. I shall continue fighting for you.” Kai Jin didn’t wait for another word from Cao Cao and left the tent.

Once alone, Cao Cao was able to let out a very heavy sigh of relief. He would have to investigate who that Artist truly was, what was her power to sway Kai Jin’s interest and if she would be a problem in the future.

Sun Jian had finally finished talking with the Imperial officials and receiving their praise for the way his men fought with discipline and the ferocity of a tiger. He had grown somewhat embarrassed and even annoyed by all the attention he was getting from these men since he knew that they were only trying to get on his good side or earn some kind of favor for the future.

Thankfully for him, he preferred to remain in the South where the machinations of these politicians and bootlickers couldn’t reach as easily. Still, he would have to navigate them despite their distance. If what he had heard was true then the corruption that had creeped into the Imperial court was the reason why this rebellion came and brought more chaos to the land.

They’d be better off avoiding it entirely.

As he reached his camp, the men were sharing stories of the battle against the rebels, how their cavalry had smashed through the rebels’ defenses and managed to reach their main base with few casualties. Some of them spoke how they stood together with their Lord and his most trusted advisors in the thick of the battle.

Then the conversation turned towards the Jade Tiger, the Doctor, Khan Bei. Whenever Sun Jian heard people speak of the Heavenly Sword among them, he always took care to listen to their concerns, their fears and even their awed comments. Khan Bei had been instrumental in protecting the rear of their entire army and allowed them to focus on the enemy in front rather than the one behind.

Thanks to this singular warrior, they would return home in triumph.

When he reached the training ground, which was being dismounted for their eventual departure, he noticed that Khan Bei was instructing several soldiers in the way to properly use their swords and spears in battle. It didn’t matter if he was idle or in the middle of combat, the Heavenly Sword of Balance was always aiding someone become a better version of themselves.

When the soldiers noticed their Lord, they all stood at attention and saluted him respectfully.

“Welcome back, Lord Sun Jian!” They all spoke in unison, which drew a smirk from the warlord. He also saw that Khan Bei nodded with approval at their disciplined and well trained greeting.

“Stand at ease, men.” Sun Jian raised his hand towards the men who relaxed at this signal. “You’ve all brought great honor and pride to the warriors of Changsha. When we return home, you will all be properly rewarded.”

The soldiers felt pride swelling in their chests at the words spoken by their lord. Khan Bei approached Sun Jian and nodded.

“We’re ever grateful for your generosity, Lord Sun Jian. These noble warriors are truly blessed by the Heavens to serve a worthy lord.” The Doctor bowed his head respectfully towards Sun Jian. This was immediately emulated by the rest of the soldiers that were nearby.

For once, Sun Jian was left speechless. Khan Bei had not spoken so positively about him in public before, let alone in front of the men after the battle. Now it was his turn to feel pride in their achievements.

“Come, my friends! Let’s pack up and head home! I miss the warmth of Changsha!” The men cheered at Sun Jian’s declaration and moved with all expedience to fulfill their Lord’s task. Khan Bei was about to leave the area to aid in preparations to leave, but was stopped by Sun Jian.

“Do you have a task for me, Lord Sun Jian?” The Doctor asked.

“My friend, we couldn’t have achieved this victory without your aid. When we return to Changsha, I wish to reward you accordingly. Name it, and if it’s in my power, I shall grant it.” Sun Jian’s earnest smile and firm grip on Khan Bei’s shoulder conveyed the trust he had for the Heavenly Sword.

With a smile of his own, Khan Bei reached with his own hand and placed it on Sun Jian’s shoulder.

“There is no need for such a reward, Sun Jian. You’re a worthy warlord, a good leader and if I may call myself your friend, that will be enough reward for me.”

And thus the Yellow Turban Rebellion was quelled.

Although their remnants would continue to plague the land, without their leaders, they would easily fall under the power of the warlords of the lands.

But the future is still uncertain… and until the Heavenly Swords’ task is complete, then the world will continue to be struck by the chaos of war…

The Heavenly Swords will return… at the rise of a tyrant… at the fall of a God of War… when Fate is violently changed…

End of Vol. 1