Chapter 7: Zhao Yun's Life & First Night in Another World

Lucian's stomach began to rumble, a sign that he was hungry.

'Shoot! I forgot to have a meal. Oh yeah, my summoned peasants and general haven't had anything to eat too. Hmmm. I remember now, I still have the rations from the knights in the fortress. I'll have one of the soldiers go and get them.'

Lucian walked towards the barracks where he could hear the sounds of practice. He saw Zhao Yun looking toward the soldiers as he instructed them in using their spears. The soldiers all held onto a wooden spear that was 9 feet long with one hand towards the middle of the spear and one near the end.

The soldiers followed a pattern, from a simple two-handed thrust to a downward slash to an upward strike to a diagonal cut to a sideways sweep and a defensive block. They were all sweating while staying in place as they used their spears and showed signs of being tired. They looked to the side and their eyes met Lucian's.

"Lord Lucian!" Shouted the soldiers as they stopped their training and saluted Lucian. Zhao Yun, noticing this, also turned around and saluted as well.

"How is the training going, General Zhao?"

"It is coming along well, Lord Lucian. I have seen what they are capable of and their skill level. They only had the basic skills of using the spear, thrusting and blocking. I am training them in using the spear in different ways as the spear is a versatile weapon which is why it is called the king of weapons."

"I see. I would have to ask you, General Zhao, to train me as well in the ways of the spear if you can spare me the time. Right now as it's night and our first day in this world, you all should go and rest. Of course before that I would like you all to gather at my house and have a meal together."

"Of course, Lord Lucian. Soldiers, at ease. Go take a break and put back the training spears. Come back after doing so."

"Yes, General Zhao!" The soldiers sighed in relief as they could finally rest. They had been training for many hours already and their hands were sore. They took a moment to catch their breath before going into the barracks to place their training spears down. After doing so, they stood still waiting for instructions from their lord and general.

"Ping Kan, as we do not have any food in the village, I would like you to go to that fortress and retrieve the rations inside it. Zhang De, I would like you to go inform the other villagers to gather at my house. As for the rest of you, we would need some firewood to cook the food so go and gather some at the entrance of the forest."

"Understood, Lord Lucian!" The soldiers each went their own ways. Ping Kan ran towards the Red Fortress while Zhang De ran towards the normal houses to inform the peasants there. Hong Gan, Lin Ping, and Ling Bao all ran towards the forest to gather some firewood.

"What would you like me to do, Lord Lucian?" Asked Zhao Yun.

"Follow me as I walk towards my house. I would like to ask you about your world and yourself if you can, General Zhao."

"About me and my world?"

"Yes. As you probably know, I came from a different world than yours and this world. In my world there was the era of the Three Kingdoms but there was no special energy like spirit qi or the energies of this world. So I would like to learn more about you and your world if you can tell me."

"I see. If that's the case then I'll gladly tell you about it, Lord Lucian." Zhao Yun began to follow Lucian as he recounted the memories of his life and of his world.

"As you know, my world always had legends of the energy called spirit qi. It was always around from the beginning of the creation of our world but one day it just disappeared and many ancient cultivators fell. The cultivators who were strong enough to fight back the spirit qi deprivation gathered together and created families. These families began to influence the world and some created kingdoms of their own while others created schools of thought. I'm sure you have heard of the 7 major kingdoms of the period before the Qin Empire, the Chu, Han, Qi, Qin, Wei, Yan, and Zhao states. These 7 had very strong ancient families which absorbed the rest of the other ancient families and fought for supremacy. Ultimately, the Qin state won and as you know created the first empire."

'Wow! So this is where my knowledge of ancient China deviates. So spirit qi was around from the beginning of their world, I wonder why it disappeared. It amazes me how it seems so similar to mine but is different at the same time. So these ancient cultivators created the foundation for the Spring and Autumn period as well as the Warring States period and created powerful families to control each state. So when does the spirit qi come back as it was rejuvenated in their world right?'

"So when did spirit qi rejuvenate in your world, General Zhao?"

"According to transcripts and scrolls, it seemed as if it came back the same day the Qin Emperor was crowned and received the Mandate of Heaven. It is said when he was crowned emperor, a burst of spirit qi came out from the ground and the skies flowing towards him. A special aura wrapped around him in the shape of a dragon which was to be called the Mandate of Heaven. The Qin Empire was prosperous because of the rejuvenated spirit qi and it wasn't until the obsession of the emperor, Immortality, that the empire fell. Due to his obsession, all resources went towards creating an elixir or pill that could increase his lifespan using spirit qi but he died failing to create such items. His death signified the death of the Qin Empire as the empire deteriorated and was destroyed. The lands of the empire were broken up into 18 kingdoms and were united once more under the Han Emperor, Emperor Gao, Liu Bang."

'I see, so that's how spirit qi is rejuvenated and how their history played out. That means with the first person announcing themselves as emperor, spirit qi would come to their world once more and grant them the Mandate of Heaven meaning that they could rule the lands. So now it comes to the history of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era.'

"Well for the Han Empire, it was even more prosperous than the empire before it. The usage of spirit qi became more normal and it helped in many ways. Cultivators became more widespread and the empire using them opened long roads of wealth making the empire even more prosperous. Due to a usurper of the throne, that long lasting period of prosperity broke until it was restored after the death of that usurper. The prosperity continued until the fall of the Han Empire. The start of the fall was due to the emperor being too young and was controlled by eunuchs who only wanted to satisfy their own needs and of course the famous Yellow Turban Rebellion. You could say that the Yellow Turban Rebellion was in fact the start of the downfall of the Han Empire. Once the eunuchs were killed and the warlord Dong Zhuo took control of the empire, many other warlords came together to defeat him and bring peace to the Han Empire. After his defeat, peace never came and war ravaged the lands as all other warlords had their own ideas as they could all see the fall of the empire. Only three warlords came out of the fight for dominance and they were the lord of Shu Han, lord Liu Bei, the lord of Cao Wei, lord Cao Pi, and the lord of Sun Wu, lord Sun Quan. For what came after that, I do not know."

'Huh, it seems very similar to my knowledge of the Three Kingdoms era. It plays out almost the same way. So the only change would be the influence of spirit qi in their world. As there are the ancient families of cultivators who after the loss of spirit qi influenced the creation of the first empire. I wonder if I would be able to summon some of them to this world. There could be some names that I would know in their ranks.'

"What was your life like in that world, General Zhao?"

"Well, my family wasn't anything special. We were a family of martial artists who settled in a town. As we get paid in food and money, we would teach the young of the town how to fight using their bodies and the spear. My family also owned a copy of a spirit qi cultivation manual but it was only taught to family members or outstanding members of the students. I grew up with my father and brother, helping out when I could. I never knew my mother as she died after she gave birth to me but according to my father, she was very kind and hardworking. When the warlords defeated Dong Zhuo, they all came back to their lands and remade their armies recruiting from their lands. I was given a recommendation to join the government at the time as my family's name was known around the province. I was the only one of my family to serve a lord as my father was too old and my brother had to continue the martial arts teachings. So I decided to join Gongsun Zan, a warlord known for his cavalry, with some of the students. As I had a recommendation, I easily joined his army and he became my teacher. He taught me the ways of cavalry and tactics. I became one of his trusted soldiers until I met lord Liu Bei. I met him when he sought refuge with lord Gongsun Zan and we had a great chemistry."

"So that's when you decided to follow Liu Bei instead?"

"That was part of the reason, Lord Lucian. When I went on a campaign with lord Liu Bei, I had received the news of my brother's death. Lord Liu Bei allowed me to go attend his funeral and mourn for him. At that moment, all I wanted was to repay him for his kindness but I ended up following him to the end. We went on many campaigns, losing some and winning others. I met my wife during one of these campaigns and we had a child. Lord Liu Bei ended up creating Shu Han after lord Cao Pi created Cao Wei. After helping out lord Liu Bei's child, lord Liu Shan, after his death I decided to retire at my old age and passed down both my spear technique and cultivation manual that I created myself to Shu Han. In the end, I passed peacefully. These are all my memories of my life and of my world. When you summoned me, I was very shocked when my soul came into this world and a new body was built for me. A new energy that I never felt before enveloped me and my spear technique and cultivation technique were upgraded to fit into this world. Then as I walked out of the portal, I saw you my lord."

'That is a lot to take in. So the System created new bodies and pulled their souls from their world. The System would also upgrade their techniques and cultivation manuals to fit this world. It seems like Zhao Yun came with memories up until he died which could mean all others that I summoned could have them too. That is perfect! They are really the perfect Warriors, they have the experience and also a new strong body meaning all they need is to get used to this world and they could conquer this world. Wait, let's not get too hasty. In this world anything is possible. Oh, it seems like we have reached my house.'

"Thank you for telling me all this General Zhao. It seems that we have reached my house. Would you mind getting out the pot in the kitchen for me?"

"Certainly, Lord Lucian." Zhao Yun went into the Village head's house and after a while brought out a big pot. He placed it down near Lucian and stood there.

30 minutes passed before the sounds of footsteps could be heard as the peasants and soldiers came. The ones who gathered firewood placed them down and started to create a fire while the one who picked up the rations opened up the sack, pulling out many food items. There were dried meats, long rolls of bread, some small bottles of spices, some jars of water, and what seemed to be a wheel of cheese. The amount of food inside the sack was huge as even though a lot was taken out, it only slightly became smaller. It seems that it had enough to last for at least a month. The peasants all carried wooden bowls and utensils as they came knowing that food would be served.

"Welcome, everyone. I gathered you all here tonight because I wanted to have a meal with you all together. I want us to enjoy this time as we live together and help grow this village into a grand empire. It is with your help that this wish of a grand empire is granted. You are the first of this village but through the years many will come and I hope that you'll be able to show them the fruits of your hard work."

"No, thank you lord Lucian for granting us the opportunity to live in this land. We'll of course help in creating your dream empire and we'll gladly work for you. Thank you lord Lucian for allowing us to have a meal with you." Said the villagers.

"Zhou Jia, I know you have a cooking skill. Would you mind cooking us a meal?"

"It would be my honor, lord Lucian!" Said Zhou Jia as she saluted Lucian. She was a fair maiden with black hair tied up in braids and had glistening black eyes.

Zhou Jia got to work right away and picked up the pot, placing it on the fire. She took a few jars of water and opened them, putting the water into the pot. As the water began to boil, she put in some of the dried meats and some spices such as salt and pepper. Then she added a piece of cheese she pulled out from the wheel of cheese. As the soup simmered, it was ready. The villagers lined up as Zhou Jia began placing the soup into the wooden bowls. They each grabbed a piece of bread to go with the soup and sat down on the ground. Lucian, seeing that everyone already got a bowl finally came to have one. The villagers and Zhao Yun all waited for Lucian to eat before they all dug into their soup.

Lucian first placed his hard piece of bread into the soup at its side before taking out a spoon to eat the soup. The soup was a golden color due to the cheese and the oils of the dried meat seeping into the soup. As he took in his first spoonful of the soup, he exclaimed surprised at how delicious the soup was. The cheese added a sharpness to the soup and the meat added flavor and texture to it. It made Lucian warm and wanting for another spoonful. After finishing half of the soup in his bowl, he placed down his spoon in the bowl and started to eat the bread. It became soft due to the soup and tasted great. He used it as a spoon grabbing hold of the pieces of meat and melted cheese before placing it into his mouth. He bit down and a burst of flavor came into his mouth before the taste of the bread mellowed it out. All in all, Lucian was satisfied.

As the night was getting late and everyone had finished their meal, they cleaned up the area. They then said their goodbyes to their lord after finishing and went to their houses. The peasants going towards their houses, the soldiers heading towards the barracks, and Zhao Yun heading to his General's House. Lucian stayed looking at the backs of the people leaving. As they got out of sight, he went into his house and into his bedroom. He fell down towards his bed and closed his eyes, falling asleep.