The Mountain King (Queen)

A few hours later Bajiou returns and motions for us to follow him once more. As we move through the corridors leading to the throne room we pass several murals depicting the achievements of this tribe and the mountain kings in general. One specific mural drew my attention. It depicts someone who looks like a mountain king standing in the middle of of a group of mountain people who are kneeling and crying while piercing his own heart. The thing that stood out to me the most was the peaceful smile adorning the kings face as he killed himself.

" What is this painting of " I ask while maintaining my gaze on the mountain king with a peaceful smile.

" That is the previous leader of our tribe as well as the previous mountain king " replied Bajiou who stopped walking to look at the mural as well.

" He died so that the tribe could live " he continued before stopping clearly not intending to finish the story.

Despite being intrigued by the story behind the mural I decided to stay quiet knowing that he wouldn't say anything else on the subject. After a few more minutes of walking we find ourselves in front of two large doors that separate us from the Mountain King. I glance over at the king to see if his mask ahs cracked only to see him staring resolutely at the doors in anticipation of what is to come. ' He really does have mettle ' was all I could say in this situation regarding Ei Sei.

We waited for a few more minutes in front of the door before the doors began to slowly open from the inside revealing a contingency of what I assumed to be the royal guard based on their clothing and matching masks and weapons in two lines facing the center aisle stretching all the way to the throne upon which the Mountain King was sitting. The mountain king struck an imposing figure with animal pelts covering her, two wolves growling at her feet , a mask that could strike fear into even the most brave adults and a fearsome aura that surrounded her giving off the impression of an untamable wild beast.

" I am the Mountain King Yo Tan Wa" stated Yo tan wa using the raspy tone the bajiou had previously used in order to hide her gender.

" Ei Sei the 31st King of Qin who was overthrown by his own brother and forced to escape into the woods with no power of his own" she continued with a mocking tone " For what reason have you come here O' King of Qin" she finished before pausing to let Ei Sei answer.

"I have come here to borrow your strength" responded Ei Sei with a voice of confidence causing many of the royal guard to break out laughing at the boy-king.

" It seems as though you will be disappointed then" said Yo Tan Wa using a more regular tone while still disguising her true gender.

"You see we didn't bring you here to hear your plea but to judge you" stated Yo Tan Wa her voice suddenly becoming much more menacing than before losing its original playfulness.

"For what reason am I being judged" asked Ei Sei still remaining calm even as he is being laughed at by the spectators.

"For the crimes of your people who massacred us and committed unspeakable atrocities just because we were different. We had an alliance that was torn apart by your people's malice which is why we will appease our ancestors spirits by offering them your head" stated Yo tan Wa pointing her finger at Ei sei while raising her voice towards the end of her statement.

"Taking my head will do you no good" replied Ei Sei staying remarkable calm in the face of a death threat.

"And why is that" taunted the Mountain King.

"Because killing me won't solve your problems and because the hatred will never end if you put revenge before the good of your people" responded Ei Sei while closing his eyes.

"Lets see if you can say the same after seeing your people being murdered right in front of your eyes" shouted the mountain king before beckoning at the people at the door to open it once more revealing Shin, Ten, and Heki being carted in with their heads locked in place.

"There is no need for that" said Ei Sei not taking his gaze away from the mountain king before continuing " I already know the pain very well which is why I know the importance of what I am saying" in a melancholic tone most likely remembering Shika the merchant who sacrificed her life to return him to Qin from Zhao where he was being held hostage.

"Mountain King you should take the path of preserving lives instead of taking them if you want to escape the whirlpool of hatred" stated Ei Sei

"That is why I will abolish all borders and create a unified state of China" Ei Sei continued while raising his volume and gaining a deadly serious look in his eyes that shut up the royla guard who were previously laughing at him.

Yo Tan Wa noticing the change of atmosphere decided to further question the king on his dream " That doesn't sound like preserving lives, to me it sounds you want to end them".

"You're wrong only by unifying all of the states through war can we truly usher in a period of peace, these wars that we currently wage are nothing but meaningless squabbles in the face of time but they continue to drown the seven kingdoms in blood which I mean to stop" Ei Sei declared while further raising his voice.

" I will unite these lands and expand the worldview of all of China" finished Ei Sei who was now staring intently at the Mountain King waiting for a response.

Just as Yo Tan Wa was about to answer the two elders who had a death grudge with Qin came in.

" What are you waiting for your majesty this is the opportunity you have been waiting for to wipe away much of our ancestors regrets in this world" rasped the elder in black causing Shin to start yelling at him.

The elder in black tired of waiting signaled one of the warriors standing by him to kill Shin promptting Shin to make a complicated maneuver escaping from the cart and kicking the warrior backwards on top of of the elder in black. What followed could only be described as a much more unrefined version of talk no jutsu in which Shin managed to insult everyone in the room, take a hostage and use all the key vocabulary from the previous argument despite me knowing for a fact that he wasn't listening to or couldn't comprehend most of what was said.

Yo Tan Wa who had been insulted, complimeted and been asked for favors all in one speech turned back towards Ei Sei seemingly have a made a decision.

"Our soldiers fight messy would you be fine with that" questioned Yo Tan Wa without any hnt of malice in her voice making you question if it was ever there in the first place.

"That was how it was taken from me so I have no problem returning in the same manner" affirmed Ei Sei who closed his eyes once more though I could see the sigh of relief he made after succeeding in his quest.

The Mountain King seeming satisfied with his answer brought her hand to her face taking off the mask surprising all of allies including myself not expecting her to be so beautiful finding the second thing that the manga didn't do justice. I even have a little blush on my cheeks which I quickly get rid of but not without carefully looking her over.

"Everyone listen to me, I Yotanwa king of the mountains hereby declare an alliance with King Ei Sei of Qin stronger than any alliance formed before" shouted Yo Tan Wa causing many of the mountain people in the room to shout and cheer in excitement.

'The end is near' is what I think about our current situation as we will soon march of the capital of Qin the city of Xiangyang.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thanks for reading this and if you enjoyed please leave a powerstone, comment or review letting me know what you think. I would greatly appreciate it.

I released this bonus chapter for entering the top 20 in monthly ratings something I never expected to happen so thank you to everyone who helped.

This chapter covered manga chapters 20-22

(1442 words)