Bloody Tales

EPISODE XIV: Hua Mulan

SUMMARY: 
Set during the Northern Wei Dynasty of Ancient China, a group of wayward Huns are on an expedition into the Himalayas in search of a great prize any one of them could ever want; the mythical Jade Eye which is kept locked away in an abandoned monastery temple high in the mountains that appears once every 15 years during the spring. They pass a wall of monoliths with symbols carved on them to supposedly keep evil spirits at bay and enter the temple. After an hour, they discover the Jade Eye in the hands of one of the dead people who tried to obtain it. Before they can, however, the group erupts into an argument over who should possess it and a massive, brutal fight ensues with the Huns killing each other over the treasure. One of them manages to survive the carnage and grips the Jade Eye with his bare hands, but in doing so, the Dragon Spirit from within the gem possesses him and escapes the temple it was trapped inside.

One week later, when a band of Rouran invaders set their plan of attack in motion, Emperor Yang of Sui orders his armed forces to send all of China's men into battle against the enemy. In one Chinese village far beyond the city, a young woman named Hua Mulan is traveling through the market when he is caught by the possessed Hun who grabs her arm and burns it before he convulses and dies before her eyes. As a result, Mulan becomes imbued with the Dragon Spirit's power, along with a large dragon tattoo on her arm where the Hun grabbed her. She brushes this off and returns home to find that her aging father, Hua Hu, has been enlisted into the army by the Emperor's orders. Because of Hu's frail and weak condition, he would stand a chance out on the battlefield. So Mulan, fearing for her father's life, aptly decides to take his place in the army as she is already self-taught in martial arts, sword-fighting and archery. As soon as she soon rides off on her steed, she begins hearing a dark voice in her head, showing her that she possesses some strange supernatural abilities, much to her shock. Before enlisting into the army, she disguises herself as a man. At first, her fellow soldiers don't take her seriously, but her abilities combined with her combative prowess proves her to be a formidable warrior, which even impresses the no-nonsense general, Yao Shin. That night, the Dragon Spirit speaks to her in her sleep, persuading her to use more brutal tactics on her enemies if she is to further prove herself. The next morning, Mulan and the army forward march through the Himalayas before they are intercepted by the forces of the Xia king, Dou Jiande and his warrior daughter, Xianniang, who have heard tell of Mulan's skillset and hope to strike a friendship with the army. However, Yao Shin denies their offer in a prideful manner and all of the sudden, the Rourans ambush both parties and an all-out battle ensues. Mulan demonstrates her immensely powerful abilities like breathing fire, telekinesis and firing sonic blasts from her hands. She even saves Xianniang and they become allies. Then Mulan allows the Dragon Spirit to exit her body in smoke form before he vanquishes the Rouran forces single-handedly. Although at this point, her fellow soldiers are afraid of her, even believing her to be a witch, but she forces all of them to continue the mission.

Upon arrival at the city, they discover too late that the Rourans have already gotten there first. The entire army battles their enemy while Mulan goes to protect the Emperor, who has been found by the Rouran leader, Duriou Khan. While he possesses some black magic of his own that bends to his will, Mulan fights back with the Dragon Spirit, who eats alive the Rouran warlord from the inside. With the Rouran threat eliminated, Mulan is offered a reward from the Emperor, but she refuses, saying she would rather retire back to her home. She returns back to her village to reunite with her family, only to learn that her father had died of a heart attack and her mother had remarried. Devastated, Mulan runs away back to the city where the Emperor requests her to be his concubine and she agrees.

Despite all of the wealth and luxury she is gifted during her stay at the palace, Mulan is disillusioned and grieve-stricken. One night, Mulan commits suicide by drowning herself in her bath and upon her death, the Dragon Spirit takes full control of her body and transforms into his true form as a giant, fire-breathing dragon that immediately lays waste to the city and the entire land surrounding it.

CAST:
Hua Mulan, a brave and strong girl with sword-fighting proficiencies who enlists in the army to save her aging father's life.

General Yao Shin, the general of the army who is ordered to train the new recruits to fight against the Rouran invaders.

Emperor Yang of Sui, the current emperor of China's Sui dynasty who orders enough warriors to combat the Rouran threat.

Dou Jiande, the temperamental Xia king.

Xianniang, the warrior daughter of Dou Jiande.

Duriou Khan, the ruthless leader of the Rouran army that attacks China.

Hua Hu, Mulan's aging father.

Hua Zou, Mulan's mother.

The Dragon Spirit, an ancient dragon god of unimaginable power who latches himself onto Mulan's soul.