The Tiger General (On Hold Due To Lack of Good Sources)

Prologue

Looking at himself in his mirror, Zhou Yan could barely believe his face was his own. Once young and fresh, full and youthful, it now had begun to crease with age. His hair had begun to turn grey, flecks of silver stood out pronounced upon the remaining black hair that once dominated his head. His eyes seemed older now, as well; no longer did they seem full and shining as they did when he first entered service under the late Emperor Wu (Posthumous name of Cao Cao given to him by his son) so many years ago. Age was taking its toll.

Once he had been a mighty general when he looked in the mirror. Now he saw a man outliving all of the greater men that had come before him, a man who shouldn’t be fighting, but did it for the sake of his pride and a man he honored. ‘The Tiger General’ was the title Cao Cao himself had bestowed upon him, before that, Xiahou Yuan had called him the ‘Tiger Cub of Wei’ after fighting the infamous Lu Bu before he had obtained any true rank. He fought many great men and was proud of every single battle: Zhang Fei, Guan Yu, Lu Bu, Zhou Tai, Taishi Ci, the list went on and on.

He smiled; perhaps ageing was not as bad as he thought. He had seen and done many great things, met and fought many great people, married a lovely young woman and blessed with a beautiful son, yet he couldn’t help but feel nostalgia as he reminisced the glory days. Yun Zi, the love of his life, had died at Wuzhang bearing his son, Zhou Shitou, who was now a young officer himself. He straightened his armor automatically, an old habit, and took the jade rabbit clutched in his hand and slipped it under the armor and over his heart, examining it before slipping it completely away. It was as scarred as he was; small dents where it had kept arrows from piercing his flesh were prevalent. The reason why he always wore it was due to something his father had once told him: ‘Love has the power to protect you from everything, even luck has no place when compared to love.’ The rabbit was a symbol of Yun Zi’s love for him, her love kept him safe everywhere he went.

Exhaling, the fit yet ageing general stood, slipping on his helmet, he glanced once more in the mirror. Smiling, he tied his cape just a little tighter about his shoulders and smoothed the wrinkles in his tunic. Striding towards the door of his house, he plucked up his set of swords, the same ones he used to duel with Lu Bu, and set out to the stables to find his mount. He mounted Hansong, his red Ferghana stallion, stroking the animal’s broad neck as he did, “Well, my old companion, I say it’s about time we moved out. Master Zhongda (Courtesy name of Sima Yi) will get mad if we are late.” With a click of his tongue, the horse reared slightly and shot off across the city, clear out of the gate like a streak of fire. Even if it would be only a moment or even his last, Zhou Yan savored the feeling of freedom. Even if only for a fleeting moment, he was free.