Mulan (More Than a Story Book 2)

Best Served Cold

"Have you seen Tadashi this morning?" Poe asked looking around.

"No." Li replied. "Have you Ping?"

I just shook my head looking around me as well. We were leaving really soon, and I wanted to apologize before we marched into battle like this. The general announced it would only take a couple hours to reach the mountains, which would explain why it is so cold where we were. The whole thing was making me anxious. All I wanted to do was apologize to my friend before
walking into what could possible be my death.

"Im going to ask the Captain to wait a few minutes." I didnt wait for them to reply. I made my way to the head of the crowd, were Li, Shang stood proud and strong overlooking his undersized army. When I approached him, he looked me up and down and motioned me to stand away from everyone else.

He crossed his arms and waited for me to talk, an impatient look on his face. I looked over my shoulder nervously, suddenly thinking this was a bad idea. "Um...could we possible wait a few minutes before departure?" He raised an eyebrow and I mumbled. "Sir?"

"Why?" He shifted his weight.

"Well, I can't find...someone. My friend. I think he may be in trouble."

Shang made a thinking face. "A man has a right to be alone, yes?"

"Yes but...no one has seen him since yesterday. I'm just getting worried that...maybe-"

"General!" A man ran towards us, waving his hand to catch Shang's attention. "There's...something...you need...to see." He tried to catch his breath.

"Well what is it?"

"Its...well....its a body we found in the woods."

Shang looked between me and the messenger suspiciously. I sent him a pleading look, begging him to let me investigate. Finally he nodded his head in the direction the man came out of. "Lets go." He looked at me, telling me it was okay for me to come too.

-------------------------------------------------------

He was....dead.

I stood with my mouth gapped open looking down at Tadashi's body. He was laying on his stomach with one hand underneath him, the other was limp at his side.

The messenger moved his corpse on his side so we could see him from the front. His eyes were still open and his mouth was covered in dirt. With both his arms moved out the way, we could clearly see the knife jammed into his stomach. His body was covered in a coating of red bloody soil.

I couldn't stand the sight of it, but I couldn't look away.

"Suicide?" Asked Shang.

"I...It seems like it." Said the messenger.

Their voices were fading and I began hyperventilating. I could barely hear Shang call out to me over my heavy breathing.

"Ping!" He grabbed my shoulder and shook me.

"Its...its them. They did it!" I screamed. "He...he didn't kill...no it was them."

"Ping calm down." I looked at Shang in his eyes and I could see so much pity for me. "Sometime...People aren't happy where they are in life, so they only look forward to death." He licked his lips, trying to find what to say next. "We...we can only hope he is at peace now. He will be greatly missed." I broke free of his grasp and backed away. Time seem to slow down as I over looked the entire seen. My heart radiated pain in my chest, but not just from the sadness, but from the anger and hatred growing in my heart.

I turned my attention back Shang, who studied my every movement. I bowed low in front of him and tried to find words to say but they were stuck in my throat. Silently I walked away and let the tears fall down my face.

How fitting it is for our battle to play out in the snowy mountain tops.

Because revenge is a dish best served cold.

---------------------------------------------------

I somehow regained the ability to talk long enough to be able to tell Li, Poe, and Yao what happened. They were as confused about the loss as Shang was, believing it was suicide and Tadashi must have been secretly depressed.

"He was...such a happy guy." Li stated. " I wish he just talked to someone."

"Maybe...he just missed his wife too much." Added Poe. "He wasn't really the same after...." He trailed off. He was probably referring to when the villages were burned to the ground.

"Ping." Said Li. "He was like your best friend....did you know about this?" I didn't wait for him to even finish his sentence before I stormed off.

I didn't care what they thought of me anymore, but I'm not going to let them insult Tadashi like this to my face. He was not weak minded or depressed or whatever it is they think he was. He was a courageous, loyal, most outstanding friend anyone could ever hope for. And I don't care what evidence they think they have, Tadashi was murdered. End of story. No one may ever believe me, but they don't have to. All that matters to me now is winning this war, and further more, stabbing my own sword through Shaun Yu's heart....preferably multiple times. Unless he doesn't have one. Then I guess his cold mutilated corpse will have to do.

The march to the mountains was a silent one. Everyone was caught in their own thoughts. No doubt playing out different scenarios in their heads to mentally prepare themselves. As for me, I spent my time trying to remember every detail of Shaun Yu's face so I could easily spot him in the crowd. My goal was to get into as little confrontation as possible. I didn't want to waste time on anyone else. He said he couldn't wait to meet me, so lets see if he is a man of his word.

Poe, Li, and Yao threw me worried glances every now and then, and even Mushu kept his distance. I havent looked at my own reflection in weeks, but I must have looked pretty rough. 

Soon, I could see my own breath in the air and the hairs on my arms stood at attention. I was chilled to the bone, even through my layered clothes and armor, but still the fire in my core was not put out.

"Ready yourselves, men." Everyone withdrew their swords and got into position. Some men stood out in the open with the battle stance, others ran behind rocks to act as a surprise attack. Me and about 30 other men (and Mushu) mounted our horses and stood at the front line with Shang in the direct center. "Canons?"

"Ready when you are, Sir." Answered someone from the last row. I noticed a small group of men on either side of us surrounding a few canons, firecrackers and other weapons that could kill a larger area at a time.

Shang's shoulders seemed to tighten as he turned his head forward. Now all we had to do was wait.

Fortunately, we didn't wait very long