The Heavenly Swords’ Journey - The Fall

In Pingyuan

Tien Shin had just returned from his daily patrolling duties and was now, reluctantly, returning home to help Mei Lin with the chores that might’ve piled up. It had been windy all day, so more than likely laundry duty had been postponed to avoid any accidents - last time they tried to do it in these conditions, Tien Shin had to jump over the manor’s roofs to find Zhang Fei’s underpants… which of course was NOT a welcome chore for the young man.

When he walked through the gates, he was greeted by the servants and guards with their usual simple cordiality. Tien Shin had grown used to the household staff leaning on him for help with the more complicated tasks. He still didn’t quite feel like he should help them out, but whenever he even tried to voice his arrogant opinion, Mei Lin would brandish her ladle and stare him down - he didn’t complain openly about helping out again.

Still, the Heavenly Sword of Freedom felt like he was still wasting away. He tried to pass the time by training along the other soldiers that fought alongside them. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei would join from time to time for their sakes to boost morale and help Tien Shin’s skill grow. The boy was always at his happiest whenever he faced people of great skill like Liu Bei’s Sworn Brothers.

On the other hand, Liu Bei was always busy. Always talking with government officials. Always sending letters to the capital. Always listening to the needs of other neighboring warlords. And always too busy to talk to him anymore. Ever since his Big Sis had joined the Boss’ household staff he’d been more absent than ever in his life. Not that he minded. It’s not like Liu Bei was his father or something like that. But the more he thought about it, the more it seemed like the Lord he had chosen to follow no longer wanted to hear his opinions.

The young man felt an unpleasant pang of doubt and guilt whenever he thought that maybe… just maybe, he might’ve made a mistake.

“You’re very quiet this afternoon, Xiao Long. Someone knock the wind out of you?” Mei Lin’s voice suddenly dispelled the boy’s dark thoughts. The young woman was hauling her usual basket of “chores-to-do” with her as she looked at him.

“I’ve just been thinking, that’s all.” Tien Shin said those words as if they were the most normal thing.

“You? Thinking!? Hah! Whatever you say, Xiao Long. The only time I’ve seen you so deep in thought was when Lord Guan Yu was trying to teach you how to play Go. I swear I could hear the inside of your head steaming.”

“I did my best!” Tien Shin roared out as Mei Lin laughed and handed the basket over to the angry boy, who instinctively picked it up even without her saying a word.

“Well you can still do your best by helping me with the laundry again.” Mei Lin rubbed her shoulder softly as she walked towards the courtyard.

“What? It’s windy right now! Please tell me this isn’t Uncle’s pile of clothes!” Tien Shin sighed heavily and obediently walked behind her.

“Have no fear. We dealt with his pile first thing this morning. Besides, we still have to do it. But with you here? If something does fly away, I’m sure you’d catch it without a problem.” Mei Lin smiled knowingly at the young man who grumbled low under his breath.

When they arrived at the courtyard, the laundry poles and other baskets were already set and waiting. The wind was still blowing strong, but they had to finish this chore before moving on to more pressing matters. When the other servants saw Mei Lin arriving with Tien Shin, they breathed a sigh of relief. They knew they had the extra hand of a capable and quite agile aide for this task. As Mei Lin reached her spot, Tien Shin approached and waited with the basked safely in his arms.

“So, what’ve you been thinking all this time, Xiao Long?” Mei Lin’s voice called out as she took some laundry pieces from the basket.

“Nothing really…” For once, Tien Shin didn’t feel like sharing his inner thoughts to his Big Sis.

“What’s with the mystery? I’ve never known you to keep your thoughts to yourself. Unless…” She tapped her chin and her face turned into a horrified expression. “Heavens, no! You’ve found a girlfriend haven’t you!?”

“What!? Are you kidding me!?” Tien Shin exploded from his place with a head full of steam! “I’m not that kinda guy, you know that! I’m not chasing after any girls!”

“Are you sure? ‘Cause if you are, I will have to know her before I give you my approval. For all I know she’d be taking advantage of your foolish antics.” The young woman huffed in an exasperated way. But thankfully, he wasn’t looking at her to notice she had blushed a bit and held a soft look of triumph in her face.

“Spare me! You just don’t want me to find a wife before YOU find yourself a husband. But by the looks of things, I guess I got a headstart.” Tien Shin smirked at his jab. He didn’t notice until it was too late that Mei Lin had thrown a wet shirt at his face.

“Keep talkin’ nonsense, Mr. Heavenly Sword of Idiots! I’ll smack the sass right outta you!” She stormed over to Tien Shin and punched him in the shoulder. To her surprise, the boy fell to his knees. “Xiao Long?”

“Hey! The wind has died down!” One of the servants cried out which made the others cheer.

Mei Lin looked around and realized it too. The wind had fallen silent in an instant. The laundry was steady. The banners on the manor’s walls were still. The flags that had been rattling in the air all day now fell lifeless like dead birds.

“What in the-” Mei Lin suddenly heard that Tien Shin was choking. She immediately looked at him and saw that he was heaving for air but seemed obstructed by the shirt that she’d thrown at him. “Tien Shin! What’s wrong?”

She hurriedly helped him pull the wet shirt from his face only to see something she’d never seen in Tien Shin before…

Distress. Confusion. Fear.

He looked like he was literally running out of air. His eyes were frantically staring westwards.

“Tien Shin! Hey! Look at me! Stay with me!” Mei Lin, seeing the frenzied look in her childhood friend’s eyes cupped his face and sank to her knees, trying to steady him. “It’s alright, Shin… just look at my eyes.”

The Heavenly Sword of Freedom was struggling to breathe, to understand what was going on. He felt it… as if the wind of the entire world had suddenly been forced to be silent… only stillness and a deep sense of loss remained… something horrible had happened.

“It’s… so quiet… too quiet… the world… is… quiet…” Heaving through his desperate attempts to control himself, his eyes finally found Mei Lin’s grounding presence. His chest was rising and falling abnormally fast.

Then he felt Mei Lin’s arms wrapped around him. He felt the insufferable silence being replaced by the warmth of the one person who could keep his feet on the ground.

“What’s wrong, Xiao Long? Please tell me…” Mei Lin’s soft voice helped to calm down the boy.

“Something terrible has happened… in the Capital…” He clung to Mei Lin. Feeling that the cosmic order of things had suddenly shifted.

In Changsha

Within the walls of the courtyard of Sun Jian’s manor, it had become a normal sight to see the three children Sun Ce, Sun Quan and Sun Shang Xiang diligently training under the tutelage of the good Doctor, Khan Bei. The servants and soldiers that constantly moved within the house always watched with great interest how the students were performing feats of martial skill with renewed vigor whenever their teacher encouraged them.

During the lessons regarding philosophy and strategy, it was usually Sun Ce who was reprimanded for falling asleep. Sun Quan excelled during these lessons, but the boy wasn’t too thrilled about the notion of being another one of those “know-it-all” old men who talked rather than fight. Sun Shang Xiang did her best to absorb as much information as she could and was usually guided by her teacher on how to make the most of her abilities.

Combat drills were where Sun Ce usually shined, but was quickly knocked down a peg or two by Khan Bei whenever he got too conceited. Sun Quan was often overshadowed by his older brother when he went on the offensive, but continued to work on his solid defensive style which often helped him succeed in battles of attrition. Sun Shang Xiang was quick to pick up some good habits from her brothers and adapted them to her own style.

Whenever they went to the shooting range, that’s when the Sun children would have a revelation that would help them come together. Sun Ce and Sun Quan performed well in archery and were usually on target at least seven times out of ten. But when Sun Shang Xiang took her bow and began to show her talents, she proved to be the better archer of the three. Nine times out of ten she’d always hit the target, and often she’d score several bullseyes. Seeing her teacher smile and nodding at her proudly made the young lady beam with joy.

Khan Bei observed how his three students were steadily growing despite the relatively short time he’d been instructing them. In his mind, he was planning on how the three of them could be the balancing forces that helped each of them achieve their future goals for the sake of their family. And while each of them were still learning, they were already showing their inherent talents. Alone they were formidable, but incomplete. Together, they’d be unstoppable.

It all depended on whether they learned to work together and achieve balance together.

On that particular afternoon, the three students were allowed to practice on their own in whatever fashion they chose - Khan Bei believed it was necessary to let them play from time to time.

Sun Ce was practicing his combat forms with his usual ferocity, but he was keeping himself controlled and balanced. He had stumbled too many times already when he sparred against Sun Quan when he adopted that “absolute defense” stance of his. He had to be more mindful. So he kept practicing his sword techniques on a fully armored dummy wearing pieces of discarded armor from the Imperial Army.

Sun Quan was reading a specific document his master had suggested that would help him widen his perception and think of new ways to wage battle against overwhelming odds. To his puzzlement, it was a document giving details of all the properties of the Yangtze River and how one could gain victory if you took the terrain and the elements into consideration. The boy wasn’t too sure why, but he felt oddly interested in this map and its explanations. If master Khan Bei believed it could help him, then he’d read it. He was sitting by a calm fountain as he read silently.

Sun Shang Xiang was trying to perfect her bow skills and continued to practice her shots over and over again. Every time she scored a bullseye she’d cheer and giggle. Her energy was limitless since she always picked up all of her arrows and repeated her shots without missing a beat. It seemed she’d find something she was quite eager to master more than combat forms or strategy. She lived to receive the praises of her mentor, Master Khan Bei, the only man who encouraged her to “be herself”.

While the three students practiced, the master sat in the middle of the courtyard in deep meditation. His senses could easily keep track of what each of his students were doing and within earshot to answer their inquiries if necessary. They usually didn’t bother him when he was in deep meditation, but he encouraged them to do so whenever necessary.

During this deep meditation however, he felt uneasy…

Despite his deep concentration and the slow breathing he practiced, he couldn’t help but feel in his bones like something was fading.

He could hear it… a heartbeat… weak… slowing down… losing strength…

He could feel it… the warmth… it was fading… losing vitality…

He could see it… the light… once bright in the realm… dulling… falling into darkness…

Then… silence… Khan Bei’s eyes opened up abruptly.

“It’s finally happened…” He whispered to himself.

Suddenly, from Sun Ce’s area a loud clattering of metal falling was heard and the young man crying out: “Hey! My sword just snapped in two!” Sun Quan gasped loudly as the sound of a cloth ripping apart was heard and the boy quietly said: “The map… it tore…” A loud cry was heard from Sun Shan Xiang as she came running towards Khan Bei: “Master! My bowstring snapped! I was just knocking my arrow and it just snapped! No tension or nothing! Just went *TWANG!* and now…” the girl looked crestfallen.

When the three arrived to look at their master, they saw on his face a look of a man who was looking at something from a long distance. His eyes began to focus again, his gaze falling on a stone emblem that had the symbol of the Han Emperor.

There was a sudden tremor that shook the entirety of Changsha for a split second, then the symbol of the Emperor cracked perfectly down the middle.

“What the… hell? Master, I dunno about you but… these look like bad omens to me.” Sun Ce looked at his broken training sword.

“Your sword. My document. Shang Xiang’s bowstring and now the Imperial symbol…?” Sun Quan looked at the map he had been studying, now torn in two. “This isn’t a coincidence.”

“Master… this is getting a little scary.” Shang Xiang dropped her bow and clung to her mentor who wrapped his arm around her in a protective manner. “What does this all mean?”

Khan Bei could hear it, feel it and see it. His students were afraid… and they should be. For something terrible had happened. But he couldn’t add to their fears now. They needed him.

“Fear not, students. It is only the merciful end of a life that has suffered for too long.” The Heavenly Sword of Balance couldn’t help but offer a silent prayer. “The patient is gone…”

In Puyang

It had been several weeks since Cao Cao had visited the tea house where Lady Ming Yue lingered. Their meeting had been both enlightening as well as troubling. Ever since that day, he had doubled his surveillance on the establishments, but he had been getting reports lately that his spies had been disappearing without a trace.

While this was concerning, his mind was much more preoccupied by reports he had been receiving lately regarding the Emperor’s health - they weren’t good. For many months now, he and some of his close acquaintances and allies had been debating on what to do in the event of the Emperor’s death. They all knew that the Ten Attendants would be circling the Emperor’s deathbed like vultures waiting to claim the best bounty for themselves.

His old friend, Yuan Shao, a highly respected member of the nobility, had claimed he was in talks with the Lord He Jin, the Grand General of the Imperial Army, who had asked him to gather allies in the event of the Emperor’s death to aid him round up the Ten Attendants to be imprisoned. Cao Cao had agreed to render aid ever since he had been constantly harassed by the Ten Attendants’ attempts to assassinate him in the capital of Luoyang.

While Cao Cao began to concoct his newest schemes on how to take advantage of the coming events, his spymaster arrived with all haste.

“My Lord…” His voice was one of great urgency. He didn’t want to linger for too long it seemed… like someone who was being chased by ghosts.

“Speak.” Cao Cao answered with an irritated expression.

“We’ve lost all the spies that were watching over the tea house you told us about.”

“All of them? Hmph! Incompetent fools. They were most likely too clumsy and were captured by my enemies.

“No, my Lord. They were cut down.”

“What?” The Warlord’s irritation grew so intense that he began to get a headache.

“They were slain. We do not know who or how. I inspected them… their weapons were never drawn. They simply lost their heads as if the wind had cut them.” The spy began to grow more anxious by the minute. The air in the room suddenly felt heavy.

“No signs of a fight… no struggle… simply… cut down…” Cao Cao felt a pinch of fear adding to his headache. Only one person could kill expert warriors and spies with such ease…

“Forgive me, my Lord, but… we can no longer serve you…” The spy didn’t wait for Cao Cao to answer, even when his fury was mounting up. The man simply bowed and ran away as if he felt Death itself creeping towards him.

“Cowards… the whole lot of them!” His anger grew along with the pain in his head. Just when he was about to roar out in frustration, the door of his study opened. “I do not wish to be disturbed!”

The person at the door was Kai Jin himself. This made Cao Cao’s fury vanish in an instant replaced by anxiety.

“Am I disturbing you, Lord Cao Cao?”

The Heavenly Sword of Order spoke low and without emotion. His eyes stared at the warlord with cold indifference towards him. His red eye was glowing with restrained fury. Kai Jin’s face was a mask of complete stoicism, even when his cheek had fresh blood trickling from it. Cao Cao noticed that the swordmaster’s clothes were stained with blood… clearly he had just killed someone.

“No! Of course not, Kai Jin. I’ve just been stressed over these reports I’ve been receiving.” Cao Cao had to calm himself down or else his thoughts would not match his intentions. He knew Kai Jin had eyes that could see through deception.

The Heavenly Sword stepped closer towards Cao Cao’s desk. For a moment, the warlord felt a chill in his spine… it was the same walk he had whenever he was engaged in battle. The guards watched as the Blade from Hell kept closing in to their Lord and stopped within range of his sword. His left hand rested gingerly over the sheathed sword while his right hand hovered leisurely over his side.

“What sort of reports?” Kai Jin’s laconic question made Cao Cao gather his thoughts quickly.

“The Emperor’s health is in decline… as we’ve been expecting for a while now.” The cunning strategist sat down feeling somewhat calm as he delivered his answer. “More importantly, you look like you’ve been involved in another ‘unnecessary slaughter’, as you call it.”

“No.” Kai Jin’s sword had suddenly materialized in his right hand. Only Cao Cao caught a glimpse of how the Heavenly Sword had gripped his sword and unsheathed it in less than an eye blink. “I simply ended the lives of people who made me… upset.”

Cao Cao’s heart suddenly skipped a beat out of worry. Kai Jin, the Heavenly Sword of Order, the Blade from Hell who killed without emotions and without hesitation had killed people… who made him upset. If this was true, then Kai Jin would be capable of feeling one way or another about his plans or his ambitions. This was bad news.

“Someone was able to make you, of all people, upset?” Cao Cao kept the charade going. He wasn’t worried about the people who had been slain. Unless… “Who were they?”

“Rats.” Kai Jin inspected the cold steel of his sword, caressing the edge of the blade with interest. “They were lurking near a tea house I visit often. They were disturbing the peace and silence.”

The guards who were privy of who those men were suddenly felt afraid…

Cao Cao adopted a thoughtful expression even as a pit began to form in his stomach. He knew where this was going…

“Rats… you mean spies? Could it be that the Eunuchs are trying to gather information about you?” He had to spin this in a way that pinned this intrusion entirely on the corrupt officials. They had already tried to kill them in Luoyang. It wouldn’t be too difficult for them to try something in Puyang either.

“I don’t know. Whomever sent them must be afraid.” Kai Jin held his sword in both hands, tightening his grip on its handle. “They were watching a musician, waiting for… something or someone.”

Kai Jin took another step forward. Cao Cao could see it… Kai Jin’s red eye suddenly flared up even as he sheathed his sword as slowly and elegantly as a musician holding the bow of their erhu. The warlord felt stared down by a viper. Even the guards that were supposed to protect Cao Cao were frozen in fear of the sudden killing intent they felt from the swordmaster.

“And they should be afraid. Because if anyone disturbs the peace of that place again… I will not stop at just killing rats. I will destroy the entire nest.”

Everyone remained perfectly still for a moment. Then, as if someone had just put out a candle, the killing intent vanished.

Kai Jin’s expression suddenly changed as if something within was in pain. His face immediately turned towards the window, in the direction of the Capital. Deep in his mind and soul he felt it- the inner lake he always envisioned as a still and cold body was now being disturbed by a deep void… something that weighed heavily in his very soul. He hadn’t felt this amount of turmoil in his soul ever since he saw Ming Yue so distressed after her meeting with Cao Cao.

This void… this insufferable VOID…

Still reeling from the intense fear he now felt towards Kai Jin, Cao Cao had to recover his senses as he saw the confusion in the face of the Heavenly Sword. Whatever had distracted Kai Jin, it was enough to break the stoic face he always carried.

“What is it, Kai Jin?”

“... The Emperor is dead.”