Disorder in the Palace, Love Blossoms

Chapter 3

"You wanted to see me?" Guo Jia asked apprehensively. "How are you feeling?" I hope those two didn't get into a fight. I swear I will never hear the end of it.

"Yes, and I'm feeling much better. I summoned you here because there is something that I wish to talk to you about," Guo Jia curiously eyed his Lord as he wondered if he told Xun Yu about it, or if he wanted to talk about Xun Yu. Either way, he assumed that it would deal with Xun Yu in some way. "When I passed out, I had a strange dream, and I didn't want to mention it to Xun Yu because he's already exhausted and I don't want to add to his burden; however, I wanted to talk to you about it because you're one of the few other people that I can trust."

Guo Jia nodded, feeling proud that his Lord trusted him, and signaled for him to continue. The Lord then described what he was able to remember of a dream he had while passed out. He described how he, Guo Jia, Xun Yu, Xiahou Dun, and Xiahou Yuan went to Luoyang to try and put a stop to the supernatural things that were happening there. He said that they were doing well at first; however, mid-way through the battle, something went horribly wrong. A look of immense sadness and despair now rested upon the Lord's once calm face as he continued his story. He said that Xun Yu was badly injured by Bixie, and that he tried to help him. He said that he panicked. He described how pale he looked, the look of pain he had on his face, and the blood that was pouring out of him. He said that it was too real and seeing Xun Yu like that was his worst nightmare. Guo Jia gave the Lord a sympathetic look. The Lord said that the image of a pale, deceased Xun Yu still haunted him, even now, and a look of desperation befell his face as he looked towards Guo Jia once again.

"I could never work up the nerve to tell him that I can't bear the thought of losing him, but Fengxiao, please promise me that you won't ever tell him about any of this. Please." The Lord begged, desperate for some sort of reassurance from the blonde man in front of him. Guo Jia smiled.

"I wouldn't dream of it. That's for you to do when, or if, you ever think the time is right. But do you think it's some sort of premonition?" Guo Jia inquired, he was interested in what his Lord had to say on the matter.

"I honestly can't say. I doubt that it was some sort of premonition though. It was just a terrible dream, that's all." Cao Cao replied, desperately hoping to eventually forget about the dream.

Guo Jia shook his head. His Lord was obviously torn by the awful image that he saw in the dream, and Guo Jia didn't know what to say or how to try and comfort him. Guo Jia knew that their Lord was against telling Xun Yu his feelings, so he told the man not to tell Xun Yu about it if he deemed it wasn't important, since it was obvious how much he cares about him when describing that horrible scene in his dream. Then Guo Jia went on to tell him that he should avoid telling him about it until he's ready because Xun Yu, as everyone knows, couldn't really understand emotions, especially ones involving love and liking someone. Guo Jia emphasized that he should tell Xun Yu if he believes there is a possibility of him getting hurt, and the Lord's face became full of some unreadable emotion. Guo Jia then gave a disclaimer, saying that he was only suggesting what he thought would be a good idea to do, and he hoped that his advice had helped their Lord in some way.

"I see... Thank you for your advice, Guo Jia. I'm glad that I have someone like you by my side." Cao Cao said.

Guo Jia turned to leave the room and a slight smile formed on his face. He felt glad to receive such praise from his Lord, the one he adored but could never have.

"Thank you for your kind words." Guo Jia whispered before leaving the room.

Meanwhile, Xun Yu sat in his room and pondered what Zhang Jiao said earlier: "Everything is not as it seems." Just what did he mean by that? It could mean so many things, and after dwelling on it for several minutes, Xun Yu decided to go for a walk to try and clear his mind. He hoped to find clues, or anything that could help him figure out how to stop what was going on, but he knew that he was being too optimistic and that he, most likely, wouldn't find any sort of clue. Nonetheless, Xun Yu quietly tiptoed out of the palace, making sure to leave no trace as he went, because the last thing he wanted to do right now was run into Guo Jia or Cao Cao. They would growl at him for leaving the palace, warning him that the world outside was dangerous and people would try to hurt because of his beauty. Xun Yu smiled at their cautiousness, he didn't think that he was that good to look, but those two, and quite a few other people, seemed to think so. Xun Yu shook his head to clear his thoughts and resumed trying to sneak out of the palace.

As he walked down the bustling streets of Xuchang, Xun Yu didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. People were buying and exchanging goods at the market stalls, some people were drinking tea with friends in the tea houses that were placed on every corner, and farmers were riding in on horse drawn wagons to sell their crops. Overall, nothing seemed out of place – it was just another busy day in Xuchang. However, Xun Yu's eyes eventually locked on something unusual at one of the stalls. A strange looking man was buying an unusually large amount of incense from a merchant. He was wearing a black cloak and frantically glanced around to make sure no one was watching before putting on his hood and walking away in a hurry. Xun Yu decided to secretly follow the suspicious man in case he was up to no good. Once the guy made it to his destination, he turned around to make sure no one was following him, and Xun Yu managed to quickly hide in the crowd as the man vanished into the sewers. Xun Yu decided to follow him, and he quickly followed the man into the sewer, taking extra effort to avoid making sound.

He watched as the man sat down before what appeared to be an altar in the middle of a large, open room. Xun Yu had no idea that this existed in the sewers of Xuchang, and he watched as the man lit the incense and began chanting something. As he allowed his eyes to explore the dark room, Xun Yu noticed that there were illuminated pictures of Dong Zhuo, Lu Bu, and the palace in Luoyang; however, despite the altar's lack of a Bixie picture, Xun Yu knew that the man was responsible for Dong Zhuo's and Lu Bu's appearance in Luoyang. He knew that he had to return to his Lord and get backup before the man finished his ritual, lest he risk the possibility of not being able to find the man again. Xun Yu quietly exited the sewers and ran back to the palace as fast as he could.

"Lord Cao Cao, I bring urgent news!" Xun Yu exclaimed, bowing as he ran into his Lord's room. He was struggling to breathe after running the entire way back from the sewers.

"Very well, state your business." The ruler replied without looking up from what he was writing. He sounded stressed.

Xun Yu did his best to relay what he saw in Xuchang, and Cao Cao glanced up from his work, giving the man a concerned look. Xun Yu averted his gaze to the floor and described how he followed the strange man and discovered that he was the one responsible for the current situation in Luoyang. Cao Cao sighed. He was trying his best to avoid scolding Xun Yu for venturing out of the palace without his permission or someone to accompany him, but since nothing bad happened to him and he discovered valuable information, Cao Cao decided not to scold him.

"Xun Yu, while I loathe the idea that you put yourself in a potentially dangerous situation, you have done an excellent job. Do you think that you can lead me and a few other men to this location? We need to capture that man." Cao Cao stated as he got up and walked over to Xun Yu.

"Of course, my Lord." Xun Yu replied. He was surprised when Cao Cao placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You have done well again, Xun Yu. I know that I can never thank you enough for all that you have done and continue to do, but you never fail to impress me and I'm thankful for your continued support." The ruler stated. He was proud of Xun Yu, so full of affection for the man that it was bursting at the seams of his locked heart. He always failed to tell the man in front of him how much he cared and cherished him because he couldn't bear the thought of telling him and loosing him because of it. What would he think if he found out that his Lord harbored romantic feelings towards him? Cao Cao just wasn't willing to take the chance and risk losing his happiness, his meaning in life.

Xun Yu blushed at his Lord's generous praise and his heart started to beat extremely fast as his stomach did flips. His body tensed up when the Lord's hand left his shoulder, and he did his best to find his voice and thank the man before him for his generous praise.

"Th-Thank you, my Lord." Xun Yu replied, unsure of why his Lord's words made him feel so strange.