Xiomi the warlord of the Ming Dynasty

The pride of Ming Dynasty Xu Wei and Xiomi

The bodies of both men and women were scorched black, but their faces were unidentifiable. However there were no survivors, only their uniforms left behind as evidence that a battle had broken out here.
Xu Wei looked around anxiously and asked, “Is there anyone else in this vicinity? Can you feel if someone is watching us? If we are discovered by the rebels, there will surely be trouble! This place is surrounded by the enemy!” She pointed to the surroundings, indicating that the rebel soldiers must have seen them arrive here and come over to investigate. After pondering for a while, Hao Yu took out his mirror and examined himself carefully, “No worries my beloved sister, these rebel soldiers don’t know how to properly hide themselves.” He then turned to Xiang Yuan, “Grand Marshal Xiang, could you scan the nearby hills and forests? If possible search out those that may be hiding.”
“I will do that now” Xiang Yuan nodded and took out his mirror. He scanned the entire area in front of him, but still couldn’t detect anything. It was at that moment that he suddenly remembered a scene from his childhood.
It was a sunny summer day, and he was playing in the backyard of his house.  There was a large tree at one corner of his yard and behind that tree was a small brook. He had always liked to play outside whenever he could and so his friends never made him leave when he played there, because he would always get lost in the woods and wander around. So, he never minded playing alone in the woods. As a child, all the trees and bushes looked alike to him, making it impossible to distinguish between different kinds of leaves. Sometimes he would get distracted and forget about the important mission he was supposed to finish. Other times, he got scared because of a particularly vicious animal lurking in the woods. But in the end, he always managed to remember it eventually.

However today, he had wandered too far from home, so he was afraid that he would get lost and be forced to call the adults to bring him back home. He looked around nervously, hoping that he would spot his parents calling for him or at least hearing people yelling for him. And that’s when he spotted a small boy running along the brook in his direction. He wasn’t sure whether that small boy was really a friend of his or someone who might hurt him. When the boy reached him, he stopped running when he saw the little boy staring at him fearfully. He then smiled "Here it is Xiomi the best warlord owned by the Ming dynasty I am your fan "The little boy replied excitedly "Thank you for protecting me, you are very handsome"Xiomi's smile faltered slightly for a split second, before returning full force, while also giving Xiao Hui a slight kick."
After speaking to him some more, Xiomi continued to run forward toward the village. As Xiao Hui followed behind him, he thought how nice it was when Xiomi ran ahead of him as he always wanted to explore the area even though he never dared to go anywhere close. He wondered what he would see in the village later, and whether he could buy lots of sword and take a bath and have a meal with the girls in town. Then again, he hoped they would buy him a few swords. His thoughts quickly turned to what he would do when he was able to buy some, so he quickly began thinking about which type of toy he would like. Then he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. Xiomi was currently walking on the path leading to the village. Seeing the sudden movement, Xiomi immediately stopped moving forward. Looking back towards Xiao Hui, he noticed that he had disappeared from his sight, causing him to turn around and run back into the woods.
Xiao Hui had gotten bored playing on the path, so he climbed up the hill and hid under a large tree. While doing that, he was suddenly overcome by excitement
All his attention had been focused on running away from Xiomi, so he had forgotten why he was originally following him in the first place. Now that he could think about it clearly, however, all he knew was that he wanted to follow Xiomi, so he didn’t dare make a sound.
After waiting for Xiomi to disappear from view, Xiao Hui quickly climbed down from the tree and began following him. As the distance between him and Xiomi grew larger and bigger, Xiao Hui began getting more excited, hoping that Xiomi would discover that he was following him.
Xiomis footsteps seemed to slow down slightly, but that only lasted for an instant before he started rushing forward faster than ever. Xiao Hui was extremely curious about what Xiomis destination was and followed closely behind. Finally, Xiomis feet came to stop once again. After contemplating for a moment, Xiomis steps started moving again as he headed toward the north. As Xiao Hui followed closely behind Xiomis footsteps, he was amazed to discover that he kept walking straight forward. The more Xiomis footprints grew, the longer he walked. Xiao Hui was shocked, not expecting Xiomis destination to be the northern side of the imperial city, and not the southern border. He then recalled that Xiomis name sounded very similar to ‘Liu' or Liu Xiu. Could he possibly be trying to go westward and cross the frontier of the empire? This realization caused Xiao Hui’s mind to buzz and blur.
After a good 20 minutes of walking, Xiao Hui still hadn't been able to catch up. He was starting to feel rather depressed when finally he noticed a small hut located within a grove of woods on the horizon. The hut was built beside a small river where water gurgled out of the hole in the ground and splashed onto the surface of the river. At that point in time, the water was sparkling with a dazzling golden glow under the evening sunlight. The reflection of the orange rays shined brightly off the clear water and glittered in the air before disappearing with the gentle breeze. This sight gave him such an irresistible desire to rush forward and jump into the water, so he ran forward without hesitation.
Just when he was about to leap into the river, a figure stepped in front of him blocking the way and preventing him from entering the river. Xiao Hui was startled at first then he glared angrily at the stranger standing right in his path. He didn't notice until now that there was a long knife protruding out of the stranger’s belt. He immediately backed up in fright "Xiaomi your sword is amazing, really the ability to lead troops is very cool. You deserve the position of warlord of the Ming dynasty, "said Xu Wei with a wide smile, as he admired the beautiful blade in his hand.
"Oh, thank you brother" replied Xiomis happy voice, "Now if only I can get my hands on the sword, that would be awesome!"
"Hey hey let's not fight over the sword" interrupted Xu Wei, laughing "But you should probably get your hands on something better to protect yourself with first."
"Why?" asked Xiomis confused, "How about a bow? Or arrows?"
"Well that would depend on how powerful you want to become" answered Xu Wei shaking his head, "If you're determined enough to learn archery, just pick any of the three types. If you're going to become stronger, you need to build up your strength and learn the three types of weapons, so that you'll be able to wield them safely. I suggest you choose a sword because you'd be much easier to kill with one, or you can find a shield since a man like you probably has tons of money to buy whatever you need. But if you want to be strong enough, you need something more durable and heavy than a shield."
"Hmm, what about a bow or arrow? How does one use these?" Asked Xiomis curiously.
Xu Wei sighed helplessly, "To be honest, I don't know about this either. I've heard that the most effective method used in battles with humans is bows, and they are usually the quickest way to defeat their enemy"
"Hmm… Alright, alright! I'm sorry that I interrupted you brother. Tell me another story" pleaded Xiomis in disappointment.
He was now a big man, almost six feet tall, and was completely covered in thick layers of armor, with an impressive physique and a ferocious look in his eyes. Even when he stood next to Xiao Hui, the latter could only look at him in awe and wonder; he had never seen a person so tall, muscular and scary before. Suddenly he thought that being a warlord might not be too bad after all.
"So I hear that you like to go hunting, this true?" Xu Wei asked
Xiomis eyes brightened as he said happily "Of course it's true! My favorite food is venison. Every year I go out to hunt for it. If I can hunt down a deer every year, then we can live comfortably for many years."
Xu Wei laughed, "That's great kid! That's truly great!! But sadly, venison isn't a lot of money, so you mustn't go too crazy in order to keep it alive. You need to remember that you're only allowed two meals a day. Otherwise I'll have to punish you. Do you understand?"
Xiomis expression changed as he nodded obediently, "Yes, I understand" he said softly.