The Fifth Move of Zhuoye -Summoner of dark energy

5. Meeting the Yellow Dragon

When Wu Li entered the study, he was greeted by his father, Cheng Yi, and of course, the Emperor himself. The dragon had changed from his elegant and elaborate official costume into a more relaxed red tunic with a beautiful golden dragon embroidered on the chest. Emperor Ziming sat with a straight back, and his wide sleeves were elegantly placed at his side. Wu Li swept his skirt out of the way, kneeled and cupped his hands, bringing first his hands and then his head to the floor in a traditional kowtow.

"Cui Wu Li salutes the Emperor. May your life be without end for ten thousands years," Wu Li said, then he waited for permission to rise. Emperor Ziming rose from his seat, walked up to Wu Li, and took him lightly by the arm as a sign that he could rise.

"I have heard so much about your accomplishments in the last years. It's a pleasure to meet you again," said the Emperor, while studying Wu Li from head to toe. "Your father and Yi'er say you are quite spectacular, and I can see they didn't lie. You are an impressive specimen of a man," he praised. "I expect great things from you in Xiandu. From both of you," Ziming said and nodded toward Chang Yi.

"The Emperor is too kind. I do not deserve this praise. It is my honor to serve the Emperor and the Empire. I will do my very best and offer my life if necessary". Wu Li's voice was unexpectedly steady, and he received an appreciative nod from Yi'er as confirmation that he had done well. The 'Dragon' was fed and satisfied.

"I hear that spears are your weapon of choice," the Emperor continued, waving his hand.

Eunuch Wang approached Wu Li with an oblong wooden box, decorated with the most beautiful wooden carvings of two dragons wrapped around each other. Wu Li gasped and shot a surprised glance at his father, who nodded almost imperceptibly. It was, of course, a great honor to receive a gift from the 'Dragon' himself.

Wu Li fell to his knees again, thanking the Emperor, bursting with curiosity about what was hiding inside that box. He wished Yi'er had warned him about this so he could have been better mentally prepared. Still kneeling, he clumsily accepted the box with slightly shaking hands. At the Emperor's command, he rose and opened the box with the help of Eunuch Wang. Inside was a bronze-colored staff with a shiny metal globe at one end and a robustly crafted but sharp sword tip at the other. With trembling hands, Wu Li took the staff out of the box and weighed it in his right hand. It was perfectly balanced. He had never seen such a beautiful staff in his life. It was exquisite.

"Flick your wrist," the Emperor instructed.

Wu Li raised his brows to the unusual instruction but tried a flicking movement with the staff, and it immediately became longer at both ends. Wu Li was amazed at the level of craftsmanship. Even Chang Yi was surprised by this special weapon.

"It suits you," Ziming said with satisfaction, and his father and Chang Yi nodded in agreement.

"I absolutely love it!" WuLi exclaimed and then covered his mouth. He had spoken without permission in the presence of the Emperor, which was a bit of a mortal sin.

Emperor Ziming let out a roaring laugh which Wu Li's father immediately joined in. Wu Li breathed a sigh of relief. His mistake was forgiven.

"When you return from Xiandu in triumph, I will tell you who used to own that staff," promised Emperor Ziming. "You youngsters leave now. We adults have a few things to talk about in peace and quiet".

The Emperor waved them off, and they retreated three steps with cupped hands before leaving the study. Eunuch Wang handed the wooden box with the staff over to WuLi, and then closed the double doors right before their noses. The moment the doors slammed shut, Cheng Yi burst into a wild chuckle and threw himself around Wu Li's neck with a force that almost made him drop the valuable box.

"You should have seen the look on your face in there. It was like, 'I'm going to be a head shorter any second'." His body shook with laughter as he danced around Wu Li, tugging at his sleeve.

"Stop it!" Wu Li pushed his friend away, feeling slightly wronged. It was easy for the prince to laugh at such a situation, he who met the Emperor all the time. Chang Yi couldn't possibly understand how big this moment was, and how special this gift felt to Wu Li.

"Loosen up, will you. I'm just kidding." Cheng Yi tilted his head slightly and touched Wu Li's shoulder. "Come on, let's have a few drinks. This could be our last chance to relax for many months".

Wu Li instantly relaxed. A'Yi could always put him in a good mood, and he knew his friend was only teasing him. Still, a slight pang would tug at his soul whenever he felt reminded of his humble origins.

"Of course, we must celebrate tonight. Let's drink until we drop," he smiled and grabbed Chang Yi's arm.

Wu Li led the way to his courtyard in the summer residence. Tonight seemed perfect to drink the wine his grandmother had made and gifted him before she died. Wu Li had kept it buried under the cherry tree the past two years. Grandmother's only request before she died was that the wine should be drunk with a good friend, and who better to fit that description than his dear A'Yi?

The next day, Wu Li was woken up by Master Lin of all people. This had not happened since he was a little boy and it made his earlobes red. It was already midday, and the sunlight that peeked through the curtains didn't help his excruciating headache, and he groaned. Master Lin chuckled and held out a bowl of medicine.

"For your headache, young Master Cui."

"Thank you."

Wu Li had always been healthy and rarely took medicine, which made the extremely bitter, brownish-red liquid extra hard to deal with. After he swallowed the last sip he wiped his mouth with the napkin thoughtfully placed next to the bowl. Wu Li's eyes swept the room, a movement that Master Lin noticed.

"Prince Ying left the residence two hours ago. He asked us to let you sleep a little longer," he informed Wi Li. Master Lin pursed his lips slightly at the thought of such pampered luxury, but the prince's words were equal to the law for the aging monk.

"He left this for you."

Master Lin held out a brown envelope which Wu Li eagerly snatched from his hand. He quickly read through the short message, and the headache vanished. It was unclear whether it was due to the medicine or the letter's contents. In any case, Wu Li's smile grew wider and wider.

"Tell them to prepare my horse. I'll ride out to the military camp right after I've eaten."

The monk hurried off with the empty medicine bowl to pass on the young Master's orders.

     ****

An hour later, his black mare thundered through the gate of the military camp, stirring a cloud of dust from the hard dry soil. Suliwei was WuLi's absolute favorite horse, and he had been riding her for six years. He had broken the mare in himself and trained her until she was the perfect horse for him and his riding style. Suliwei had a very smooth and steady canter well suited for archery at full speed.

Whistling, Wu Li threw the reins to one of the stable boys and walked with swift steps towards the general's tent. As he had predicted, Prince Ying was already waiting outside.

"How are you feeling, Li'er?" Chang Yi's grin widened, well aware that WuLi rarely drank alcohol and was therefore suffering greatly.

Wu Li countered with a grimace and faked a blow to his friend's temple, only to turn the blow into a wrestling grip around his neck.

"Mercy, mercy," the prince laughed and tried to wriggle himself out of it, but as usual, he didn't stand a chance against his much taller and stronger friend. Fortunately, the wrestler's grip soon turned into a ruffle of his hair instead.

A loud harrumph from the tent's opening caught their attention, and when Wu Li looked over, he found his father's aid Peng Ning were waiting for them. They had to work for a few hours before he and A'Yi were free to enjoy the more pleasant part of their plans for the day. They brushed themselves up and entered the tent to meet General Cui and get the intel and instructions for their very first military campaign.