The Flower Among the Flames

Chapter 5

Sǐ Chéng; Sheng Stronghold

Zhu was laughing merrily in the company of his subordinates and his guest –or rather prisoner– Seulgi. It was quite the surprise even amongst his officers to allow the man from Joseon to join them, but it was a decision no one questioned openly. Zhu had invited them into his lavish quarters for tea and was obviously enjoying himself despite the awkwardness of the situation. The room was filled with cloth of expensive linen and silk dangling from the ceiling. In the middle of the room was a table made from solid mahogany with elaborate engravings of dragons accompanied with soft silk covered cushions on all sides.  A rather expensive looking tea set graced the center. There was surprisingly a sense of tranquility in the room despite the chaos from a couple days ago. Seulgi believed it to be artificial, however. How could there not be any concern as to what took place that night? There was no hiding the bandages on Zhao Meng's reddened bruised face after all. Whatever the case, Zhu made no inclination of his thoughts towards the subject.

Contrary to the peace in the room, the past few days were ominously quiet to say the least with no mention of the supernatural phenomena. However, it was abundantly clear that the event put a damper on the Sheng force's morale. There was no one to discuss the matter with though and even more so considering he was their enemy. In fact, the only interaction Seulgi had with anyone was with Zhao Meng. Unfortunately, she would only come to check on his condition and bring him food. Nothing more and nothing less. To be brought into this little gathering out of the blue definitely raised some questions for the man.

Zhu took the head of the table with Li Long at his left and Zhao Meng at his right. Seulgi was seated next to Zhao Meng despite some minor protest from both of them. Zhu declared, "Do not ruin this atmosphere. I invited you here as equals– not as warriors from opposite sides. Put aside your warmongering at least for today. Drink some tea! Eat! Laugh! Make conversation!"

And that was the end of that.

Seulgi was impressed towards Zhu's calmness and politeness despite the fact that he was his enemy. But he did feel as though Zhu's kindness may have been forced. There was absolutely no warmth in his words; it was as if they were empty statements and his compliments were full of air. Seulgi understood; however, Bao He, who sat next to Li Long, was anything but polite or humble.

"My men are legendary for their prowess in battle," Bao He declared proudly. "In the battle of Hónggǔ, we were outnumbered ten to one, and we still defeated the Ming forces."

Seulgi grunted in response. He heard of the battle and the fight for control of its iron mines and quarry. But his knowledge and accounts he heard contradicted Bao He's little story. It was true that the Sheng were able to gain control of the mine, but it was not because they defeated Ming forces in battle. The Ming, in fact, gave up the mine since all the resources there were depleted anyway. It was a win without spoils or any advantage in the long run. If anything, the conflict displaced everyone who lived there. He kept quiet over that fact and realized that the man was, unfortunately, still talking.

"I heard many things about the great Seulgi of Joseon," Bao He had said pressing his elbow on the tabletop and his fist resting against his chin. "Your feats of triumph and victory on the battlefield are as legendary as the king you fight for. To think that a man such as yourself would be captured by my men, it should have been a great honor for you to have witnessed the power and strength of my forces!"

"Sure." Seulgi wore a fake smile. "Except for the fact that you did not capture me– Zhao Meng did."

Admittedly, there was some truth to Bao He's statement, but Zhao Meng thought it irrelevant. About less than a third of her force that day she did borrow from him, but Bao He had no physical part in the offensive in any other way. In fact, he flatout refused to meet Seulgi on the battlefield after the first wave of soldiers were annihilated. Bao He returned his answer with a smirk and a loud snort, "It was my decision to send Zhao Meng out to meet you. The credit to your defeat is mine."