Thirty Six Stratagems: Was a set of Chinese essays used to discuss and ill.u.s.trate different tactics that could be applied in politics, governing people and war.
Dong Zhuo: This man was a top ranking general during the late Han dynasty. Thirsty for power this a.s.shole murdered the empress dowager and killed the child emperor.
Idiom: Tou Shu Ji Qi (投鼠忌器) hold back from shooting at a rat incase you may break vases means you shouldn’t fight against evil if innocent people will come to harm.
Dim Mak (Cantonese p.r.o.nunciation because I am too lazy to look up the Chinese equivalent). Bear with me here, this concept may be a bit hard to understand. Many of you guys would have heard of acupuncture. It is a traditional Chinese medicine practice that involves making you a human pin cus.h.i.+on. In the human body, there are pressure points that run throughout in lines. Most of these pressure points are nerve cl.u.s.ters. In Chinese medicine needles are accurately tapped into position to help channel energy.
Dim mak can be used in martial art too. If someone attacks the correct area, the blow can sap the energy out of someone. A highly skilled martial artist would work towards targeting specific nerve points to disable their opponent. One fine example you might be able to relate to: When you hit your funny bone, you sometimes experience a rush of energy that flows from your arm and into your arm and you’ll struggle to move your arm for some time. Another example, when you sit too long and you end up with body parts that have fallen asleep with pins-and-needles.
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Now that matters have escalated to this stage Miao Guang’s intentions were transparent. Upon hearing he was merely a ‘merit’ point she will earn set him trembling with anger. For the first time in his life, he wholeheartedly loathed a woman.
The caravan troop set off eastwards. Unbeknownst to the people of Xi Rei, Feng Ming had fallen into the enemy’s hands.
Miao Guang grinned ear to ear. ‘When brother sees King Ming, he is bound to be ecstatic!’
Feng Ming s.h.i.+vered. ‘Ruo Yan?’
The mention of Ruo Yan’s name triggered distasteful memories. Especially, the man’s overbearing gaze. Feng Ming trembled, wasn’t he better off dead than to be imprisoned by that man?
He held eye contact with the Princess but remained quiet. Meanwhile he secretly slipped his right hand behind his back to search between the folds of his belt.
His fingers met with the small dagger Rong Tian had acquired from the Empress’ treasures. Feng Ming was accustomed to carrying it around for protection. Today was the day he’d finally put it to use.
‘I’m afraid rather than joy, he will be furious with the Princess.’ He tightly gripped the knife in his hand. There was a glint in his eyes, he was full of determination.
He stayed calm, ‘Has the Princess heard of The Thirty-Six Stratagems?’ **
Miao Guang knew it wasn’t in Feng Ming’s nature to plot against others. But with his intelligence, he would certainly have a few brilliant plans up his sleeve.
She loved entangling her mind with such matters, naturally her interest was perked. She wanted to hear about more cunning and outlandish tactics. ‘The Thirty-Six Stratagems?’ She repeated curiously.
‘That’s right, The Thirty-Six Stratagems was written by a genius. It is powerful enough to conquer every realm under the heavens. One of the most famous tactics is called the ‘honey trap’. Long ago there was an unscrupulous General who craved for power. His name was Dong Zhuo, under his command was an outstanding soldier called Lu Bu. The bond between them….’As Feng Ming spoke his words became softer, it sounded like he was overexerting his lungs.
Miao Guang eased closer so he didn’t need to strain his voice. The instance Miao Guang shortened their proximity he shook his head. ‘Oh, actually sc.r.a.p that, today’s lesson won’t be about the ‘honey trap’ but rather on ‘Tolerating a rat avoids broken vases.’ **
The volume of his voice increased then he abruptly jumped from his seat, brandis.h.i.+ng a knife in his hand. He seized the opening; she wasn’t so tough after all.
‘Don’t move!’ he barked.
Feng Ming had caught her off handed, the blade of the dagger rested on her delicate neck.
‘Quickly give the order to your men to turn back to Xi Rei. Otherwise I will kill you.’ he ordered sharply.
The thought that a naive person like Feng Ming would even carry a weapon never crossed her mind. She scolded herself for being careless. She should have had him searched. Her eyes peered down towards the pressure on her neck. The blade was very sharp indeed. She smiled faintly before shouting to her servants, ‘Stop the carriage.’
Outside the horses neighed in unison. The entire entourage was brought to a halt.
Feng Ming couldn’t contain his excitement. But he kept track of Miao Guang’s movements.
Not long after her servant’s voice could be heard, ‘What are master’s orders?’
‘Cai Si, come in.’ she beckoned unhurriedly.
Cai Si was the attendant who met and led Feng Ming from the marketplace. Cai Si had served under Ruo Yan directly for years, so he was astute and experienced. Ruo Yan had trusted him to oversee his sister and help her arrange the kidnapping. Once he stepped onto the carriage the situation was obvious at a glance.
Feng Ming had switched from the guest to the host. The Princess was now the captive. Cai Si was momentarily stunned before he persisted as normal. He cupped his hands and gestured a greeting, ‘Is the Princess well?’
Miao Guang rolled her eyes, ‘Not in the slightest way’.
The two were strangely cool-headed given the reversed scenario. It really lacked a tense atmosphere.
Feng Ming growled, ‘Return to Xi Rei or I’ll…’
Miao Guang interrupted him, ‘Cai Si, listen to my orders.’
‘As you bid!’ her attendant replied loudly. ‘I will adhere to your words.’
‘I’ve met with a difficult problem. I’m leaving everything in your care, continue our plan. Bear in mind to tell my brother, disregarding the cost I sacrificed everything to secure King Ming into his possession.’ Miao Guang’s voice was hard as iron, she turned to look at Feng Ming smugly..
‘King Ming, you can make your move now.’ She smiled.
Feng Ming was dumbfounded. There was a big disparity between the mindset of ancient and modern people. Their value on life and death was imbalanced.
Despite of Miao Guang’s readiness to throw away her life, Feng Ming gritted his teeth and threatened, ‘Don’t you dare think that I would spare your life!’
‘Miao Guang is willing to take the gamble.’ She chuckled.
‘You…’ he cursed.
‘You should go ahead and do it.’ The Princess displayed no sense of fear, in fact she pushed herself against Feng Ming’s blade urging him to finish her.
Feng Ming had never killed anyone in his life. When the blade grazed the Princess’s skin, droplets of warm blood spilled from her wounded flesh. Feng Ming released a frantic scream drawing the dagger away.
As soon as the dagger posed no threat to the Princess, Feng Ming felt a sudden burst of pain in his wrist. Enough to make him release his grasp on his only protection. The dagger dropped and made a loud ‘clang’ as it was caught by a porcelain tea tray.
A golden needle as fine as thread had penetrated his hand.
Like a fierce tiger pouncing on a meal, Cai Si moved at a lightning speed. He gave Feng Ming’s abdomen a reeling punch. Before Feng Ming could recover, he was quickly bound by rope.
When he woke his head was cloudy but he quickly realized his arms were tied behind him and they had placed him in the corner of the carriage. His stomach ached. Cai Si and Miao Guang sat to the side monitoring him with interest.
The Princess was toying with Rong Tian’s gift in her hands. She giggled with delight.
‘This must be the famed ‘leaf blade’. It is said the blade appears like a delicate sliver of a leaf yet it possesses the sharpest cutting edge with no equal. Even after killing a person the blade will not be stained. The King of Xi Rei treats King Ming with favor to award such a precious item.’
‘Humph!’ Feng Ming snorted.
‘Unfortunately, King Ming is too soft-hearted. You can’t even stand to raise your hand against the enemy.’
Miao Guang tilted her head to show Feng Ming her wound. ‘Next time remember not to make a small cut. You need to be more vigorous and thrust deeper.’
Feng Ming retorted coldly, ‘Rest a.s.sured Princess, Feng Ming will remember your exact words.’
‘Princess, we shouldn’t lower our guard we must keep him constrained.’ Cai Si advised.
‘There’s no need. As long as I use my needles on several crucial nerve points, he will be unable to move a finger. Afterwards, we will alter his appearance. We will exchange his clothing for mine. If anyone stops us along our journey I will claim that we are sisters. But my sister has been ill her entire life, she can’t speak nor is she able to move without a.s.sistance. It is such a pity.’ **
Miao Guang was one of the best masters in acupuncture points. However, she seldom employed her needles as a weapon so only a handful of people knew of her lethal skill.
The carriage began to move again.
Sure enough, Miao Guang produced plenty more gold needles and positioned them into specific spots on Feng Ming’s body. After she was done, she forced Feng Ming to swallow several strange pills.
Feng Ming was helpless. He couldn’t put up much of a fight so he sat docilely as Miao Guang pushed and prodded him. As a result Feng Ming’s body went numb, he lacked the energy to prop himself up. When he opened his mouth to curse how shameless and despicable she was, he was shocked to find he had lost his voice.
‘King Ming, don’t be scared. The pills will only have a temporary effect on your vocal chords. For each day we remain within Xi Rei’s borders, you should compliantly take a dosage.’
Feng Ming was not happy and if looks could kill! However, his death glare quickly turned into one of shock.
Brazenly, Miao Guang begun to carefully strip off his clothes.
‘What a beautiful body, not to mention brother, even I am tempted by it!’
She continued to tease him as she helped him into his disguise. Later she ordered Cai Si to step outside and incinerate Feng Ming’s clothing.
Feng Ming sat blankly as Miao Guang meticulously applied make up on his face, it wasn’t long before she was finished.
Next she eased him up against a cus.h.i.+on and produced a bronze mirror so he could inspect her work.
‘Take a look, my older sister is absolutely stunning! If the King of Xi Rei was to lay eyes on you, he’d s.n.a.t.c.h you up and make you his Queen. But there is no need for concern! The King of Xi Rei must be scrambling within the city walls trying to locate his precious King Ming. Owing to the fact that he’d never antic.i.p.ate King Ming would stroll out of the city alone for a rendezvous.’ She clicked her tongue as she admired Feng Ming’s appearance.
Feng Ming studied his reflection and indeed Miao Guang’s words were truthful. Under a woman’s disguise he could easily bring a nation to his feet. As much as he was amazed, his heart was in panic. At this rate he’d be s.h.i.+pped out of Xi Rei without any hindrance.
Dear G.o.d, I don’t want to end up in Ruo Yan’s hands!
It was too late to cry over spilt milk, he chided himself for being so gullible. He should have heeded Cao Cao’s famous line. Next time, he would rather let the world carry his burden than bear the world’s problems! Sadly, for this round he was too late.
Miao Guang also spent time on her own cover, quickly applying make up suitable for a rich merchant’s daughter. She then joined Feng Ming’s side so to appear as ‘close sisters’.
The party traveled without any rest for a full day. However, from time to time they were momentarily stopped by Xi Rei’s soldiers at checkpoints. Each instance, Xi Rei’s soldiers would draw back the curtains to check the pa.s.sengers and contents. Without fail Feng Ming would catch their eyes with his breathtaking appearance. However, as the product of Miao Guang’s cosmetic trickery he only resembled his ‘male’ portrait.
No one could recognize him.
If Rong Tian, Li Er, Chiu Lan or the other girls were to personally inspect him, it would have played out differently.
Without any setbacks, two days pa.s.sed. Another three days would have the group pa.s.sing Xi Rei’s borders.
Cai Si opened the curtains and slipped into the carriage with a report, ‘Princess, it is as you’ve predicted! The hurdles at the border will be easier to pa.s.s. King Rong has withdrawn many of his men from their posts to patrol the capital. Measures he is setting up to prevent ‘unknown’ a.s.sailants from smuggling King Ming out of the city.’
‘We were lucky, had King Ming slipped out half an hour later there would have been an inescapable drag net placed over the capital. We would have been caught red handed.’ She threw a glance at the motionless body next to her.
Leaning in, she whispered in Feng Ming’s ear, ‘Sister, your dear Rong Tian seems very anxious but so is my brother.’
She could feel Feng Ming slightly tremble at her words. She giggled and enticed him, ‘There’s no need to fear, my brother won’t make things hard for you. If he does, big sister will have me standing on her side. I want my brother to treat you better than Rong Tian. Then you won’t escape. ’
Her innocent appeal no longer fazed Feng Ming. He decided he would no longer believe a word that left her mouth because there was likely a motive behind it.
He ignored her.
Evening quickly settled in, the attendants repeated the pattern of forcing food down Feng Ming’s mouth. Feng Ming resentfully swallowed his dinner but suddenly he became very pale. Before he could digest his meal he coughed and vomited the contents of his stomach.
‘What’s wrong?’
Miao Guang hastily dropped down to investigate her companion. Feng Ming was trembling, his face distorted with pain.
Cai Si hurried to the rescue, he looked surprised, ‘The Fuyan poison could be acting up…but the first episode of its effect shouldn’t happen for another four or five days. Could this be an act?’
Miao Guang studied Feng Ming. She shook her head. ‘No it’s real. He has been under immense stress and has been emotionally unstable. I’ve also embedded countless pins in him which would impact his health. His body is too weak to fend off the poison.’
Pain seared every cell of Feng Ming’s body, not long after he started to seizure. He had no control. His large black eyes were hollowed as he screamed silently.
Rong Tian save me!
‘Cai Si, hurry and fetch some pain medicine.’
Her servant quickly retrieved a vial and the Princess tipped several pills out to crush between her fingers. She dissolved the medicine in a cup of water before carefully delivering it to Feng Ming’s lips.
‘Quickly, drink this. It will dull the pain. Once you meet with my brother we will start curing you.’
The drug trickled down Feng Ming’s throat, his onlookers waited for improvement in his condition but it didn’t come.
He was still twitching and his face was turning blue. Noticing something was horribly wrong Miao Guang brought out her needles and quickly stabbed at several pressure points on his body.
Feng Ming could move again.
It hurts…
The pain remained. It felt as if Feng Ming was a punching bag which took hundreds of blows to the head, chest and abdomen. His energy was in deficit. His limbs were ice cold and the trembling didn’t cease. His eyes stared emptily back when Miao Guang’s face hovered over him. Suddenly, he threw up blood. Fresh red blood splattered onto Miao Guang’s body.
The Princess and her servant were completely startled.
‘How could this be? He definitely drank the medicine.’
Cai Si pondered for a second before warning, ‘Princess, with King Ming like this it seems the poison’s toll is in the final stages.’
The Princess refused to believe it, ‘Impossible, my brother said the poison was exposed to him in Fan Jia. The terminal stage of its toxicity should take twelve months. That date is still a long way away.’
She peered down at their patient, ‘Hey, what’s wrong with you?’ Feng Ming’s complexion was turning purple. He couldn’t give her an answer. Blood continued to spill from his mouth. Even worst blood was flowing from his nose.
Miao Guang’s thought processor was on override. She thought of all the possible reasons for this outcome. Then it clicked. She grabbed Feng Ming by the shoulders and gently shook him. ‘King Ming! Did you eat any peculiar fruits while you were in Xi Rei?’
Cai Si was mortified, ‘Princess, are you suspecting he ate a moon fruit?’
‘Moon fruit accelerates the effects of Fuyan poison. He must have eaten it unknowingly.’ Miao Guang’s face paled. ‘Consuming one fruit pushes the detrimental effects to advance by one month. He must have eaten more than one!’
‘The moon fruit is a valuable treasure in Xi Rei, ordinary people eat it to boost their strength and immunity to poisons. King Ming, how were you able to have access to more than one?’
Feng Ming state worsened by each pa.s.sing moment, blood started to seep from his ears.
Miao Guang cried out in distress, ‘Oh dear! Your Rong Tian spoiled you with rarities! This time he has caused more harm than good!’
Feng Ming was struggling to breath but he was still conscious. After hearing his captors’ words he could almost conjure a bitter laugh.
The moon fruit was presented to him as a gift. Feng Ming didn’t give the fruit a second thought. Using this prized delicacy Rong Tian intended to help him fortify his immune system. The King avoided arousing Feng Ming’s suspicions by keeping him company and dining on them casually too.
Sadly, Rong Tian didn’t know the severe adverse effects when combined with Fuyan poison. Instead of providing resistance it was a powerful catalyst.
If Feng Ming died it would be difficult to determine who was accountable.
The young man’s chest was barely heaving. Miao Guang reached down and placed her hand close to his nose. She could just feel tiny whiffs of air being drawn in and blown out.
His eyes were fully dilated.
Prior to leaving her homeland, Miao Guang had boasted to her brother that she’d bring home their prize. How could she let Feng Ming die on her watch? Moreover, Feng Ming was such an intriguing man with a perplexing mind and a heart that was generous and sincere. It was the first time she’d met anyone like him.
She weighed up his worth before she suddenly snapped her head towards Cai Si.
He was frozen on the spot until she barked her orders.
‘Fetch my trinket box. Open it and take out the purple colored waxed pill on the right. Break it up and throw everything into water.’
Her servant scrambled and acted out according to her instructions.
Miao Guang s.n.a.t.c.hed the concoction and brought it towards Feng Ming’s bloodied lips.
‘Drink, otherwise you’ll lose your life!’
Feng Ming’s jaw had locked, his teeth were clenched. Miao Guang and Cai Si worked in tandem, one squeezing his jaw and the other tipping a thick black liquid down the King’s throat. Most of the liquid trailed out from the corner of his lips.
Miao Guang watched on nervously and only breathed out a sigh of relief when the twitching stopped.
During their earlier interactions Feng Ming left a good impression and Miao Guang had developed a soft spot for him. She really held no malice against him but there were tings she had to do to secure him. She took out her handkerchief, dampened it with water before gently dabbing away the coagulated blood on his face.
It was a bittersweet experience, she forced herself to laugh,’ Sister sure knows how to frighten the life out of me, look at this mess! It’s horrendous. Now I’ll have to fix your makeup.’
She called for a maid to bring a new set of clothing. She removed his blood stained clothes before fitting him into a fresh outfit. With as much dedication as before, she reapplied cosmetics to make him less distinguishable. As she was putting on the finis.h.i.+ng touches she exclaimed, ‘Oh! I almost forgot!’
Reaching into her hidden stash, she pulled out some familiar needles and p.r.i.c.ked them gently into Feng Ming’s body.
Feng Ming had hoped she was too occupied to remember her restrictive measures. He had hoped to gradually regain his strength before making a break. Now his opportunity was crippled. The disappointment was evident in his eyes.
Miao Guang was not taking any chances. She increased her guard and rested Feng Ming in her arms like a doll. She coaxed, ‘You can’t escape.’
‘Actually, my brother is a very pleasant person. You’ll easily forget about Rong Tian once you are used to being with my brother. At that time, you’ll be thanking me for taking you away!’
If Feng Ming had any energy to spare he would have given her a mouth frothing look of disgust. It was wishful thinking on her behalf if she thought he would forget Rong Tian and fall in love with Ruo Yan.
Miao Guang had talent in masterminding shady tactics but when it came to relations.h.i.+ps and feelings her understanding was still child-like.
It seems that Miao Guang rarely had the opportunity to be close to people around her. In the past few days, although it was one-sided she felt as if she was growing a bond with Feng Ming. She was nurturing him back to health and held his hand along the way.
She softly murmured, ‘King Ming, Miao Guang has saved your life. You shouldn’t forget my act of kindness.’
Rather than a code of understanding between the two, it was more like a child dictating her playmate.
Feng Ming couldn’t even force a bitter smile.
Without command of his body, Miao Guang cradled him in her arms. He had to endure her childish game.