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dancingthesambaa · 3 years ago

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The Smell of Plum Blossom Tea Ch 3

Summary: Just like a butterfly wing, a single act of kindness can change the course of the future, it certainly did for MK as a black-furred monkey put out a hand towards him.

Rating: Teen and up

Chapter 3: Shadows of the Past

“Mhmmmmm,” Mei's eyes sparkled as she munched on the moon cake on the outdoor patio. “This is the most amazing thing I have ever eaten, I don’t even think the chefs can top this.”

“I seriously have to ask your parents what they do one day,” Macaque said as he ruffled her hair and picked up the empty plates with his hands and used his tail to set down the plate of mooncakes right beside an assortment of origami made by both Macaque and the kids. They were in the shapes of people, a vulture, monkey, jellyfish, rabbit, lion, and other varieties of animals and objects. They had a little too much fun making them all. After he put the dishes in the soap-filled sink he took off his apron and sat down next to MK, who was stuffing his face, “cause there is no way they can have normal jobs to have a chef.”

“I think they dig stuff up,” Mei shrugged her shoulders.

“Archaeologist,” he mused as he snatched up a sugar ring from MK plate, receiving an outraged ‘Hey’ from MK, “Didn’t think they were the down and dirty people, though...” The first time he met them was when Mei wanted to go visit MK at their house for his tenth birthday. Nice people, a bit cutthroat and sharp tongue, but nice people, especially when it comes to the safety of their daughter. “I have been wrong before.”

“It’s nice to hear you admit that,” a deep voice chuckled as both the kids jumped up in fright at the unexpected voice.

“Yeah yeah yeah, can it kitty cat,” Mac grumbled as he took a bite of the sugar ring, then wrinkled his nose at the sweet taste. “Can’t afford Raki to hear that.”

A figure softly leaped down from out of nowhere and by the lanterns' soft glow, they saw that the figure was dressed in an extravagant red robe that had rings of gold displayed all across, but the kids were more focused on the figure being a giant lion demon than anything else.

“I brought Eight Treasure Rice Pudding,” he tempted him as he held up the dessert in one hand and a floating lantern in the other.

“Well then you're more than welcome to join,” the monkey jokes, “Happy New Year kitty.”

“Happy New Year,” he said as he put the tray down and gave a smile as he noticed that Macaque was not alone, “and a Happy New Year to the both of you as well, I’m Ahmed.”

“MK!” The boy greeted him as his eyes went from the figure to the pudding.

“Mei the name and let me say that the pudding smells really good,” she drooled a bit.

“Well I hope it is, here,” he cut a slice for the two of them and sat down on the other side of Mac once the two began to dig in.

“Delicious!” They both said in glee.

“Bottomless pit I swear,” the monkey demon muttered.

“Your food is just that delicious,” Ahmed teased and gave a small nudge to his shoulder.

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” Mac then took notice of his mane and gave a small eye twitch, “oi when’s the last time you took care of that mane of yours?”

The lion stiffens as he avoided eye contact, “oh not too long ago.”

“How long?”

“I don’t quite remember it could have been-,”

“How. Long.”

“....a few months ago.”

“I swear-what is with you guys and not taking care of your goddamn fur,” Mac grumbled as he forced the lion head to lay down on his lap as he began to fix his fur, “only can count on Bohai to take proper care.”

“But he doesn’t even have any fur,” the demon tried to refute, only to be met with a stink eye.

“And he can still take better care than the rest of you lot.”

“Does this happen a lot?” Mei pointed out the scene and MK nodded.

“Tons, usually it’s with Daiyu since she tends to get blood in her wings, the monkeys, or even me.” He can’t remember the first time he had his hair played with, but once it began it just never stopped. “He said that monkeys tend to the other fur when they care for the other.”

“Ohhh,” then Mei's eyes widened, and had to hold back a large smile as she realized that Macaque had been messing with her hair for the past month. He may be gruff, but he is just one big softy on the inside. Though she couldn’t help but take a longer look at the pair and noticed that the lion's eyes were closed in pure content...like a cat, she couldn’t hold back a giggle.

Ahmed's ears perked up and looked towards her, Mac's eyes didn’t even move from his grooming as he was used to both children's strange outburst, and he saw the young child just eerily smile at him. He decided that it would be better if he just ignored all of that.

Almost an hour later, Mei noticed that a soft glow of light was slowly flying above the forest. “Hey what’s that?”

They all looked in the direction of her pointed finger and it was MK who reacted first.

“Someone released their lantern! Can we do it now!” He eagerly said as he watched many more lights begin to emerge from the treetops.

Mac laughed as he pushed the purring cat off his lap, who didn’t take any offense as he stretched, and grabbed the lanterns, “yeah we can.”

“Yes!” He grabbed his lantern and waited by the edge of the patio with Mei.

“Don’t forget yours as well rocky,” he handed a lantern to the surprised Mei.

She blinked, a bit taken aback by the sudden action, but smiled brightly, “thanks fluffy!”

“Not fluffy,” he muttered as he slapped his tail at the back of the laughing lion's head. The two joined them with their lanterns and at once they all released it in the air as they all joined the small trove of floating lanterns in the air as the light almost illuminated the pink forest in its entirety.

They watched the scene until they could no longer see it anymore and when they thought it was all done they diverted their attention to the first crackle of fireworks and the kids cheered loudly as much more came.

“If I was a snake, where would I be?” MK hummed as he looked through the trees, hoping he didn't run into any creepy crawly spiders, as he tried to find his slithery friend.

The Qilin merely snorted as he laid down against the Yao grass, MK met him one day when he was visiting Whatever. He tried so many times to call him Shui Gui or Kappa, but the webbed spirit would just ignore him, and the horse-like creature trotted from across the lake and up to him, and after a moment of staring, just decided to take a nap next to him. Ever, MK managed to haggle that nickname out of him, once again busted out laughing and left a confused eleven year old.

“They have to be around here somewhere,” he grumbled as he searched further through the woods only to stumble upon an open clearing with an old house in the middle. “Huh, didn’t know anyone lived here.”

He walked closer to the home and he gave a cheerful yell “Hello! Anyone home?!”

No response.

“Doesn’t seem like they're here right now...let’s take a closer look,” he mischievously scurried over to the open window and peeked inside to see that it almost looked like he traveled back to the Tang Dynasty, see he has been paying attention to history, take that Dad.

“I wonder who could live here?” He pondered as he looked through the clean wooden and sun dried brick structure. “It actually looks clean, but everything is just so...well old?”

“What are you doing here kit?” He jumped up at the melodic voice.

“You scared me Ní!” He yelled at the Huli Jing, the brown nine-tailed fox.

“Well everyone needs a good scare every once in a while,” they said with a grin as they walked forward.

“Course I did,” he grumbled as he turned to face the shack, “so do you know whose house this is?”

Sadly, the fox smiled, “just one filled with fond memories kit, now come,” they nudged him away from the old home. “I heard that you were looking for our lost slithery friend of ours.”

“Yeah, they took my fidget spinner after learning that they could spin it on their tail,” he huffed as he once again.

“I presume you mean our Xian,” she hummed as they walked back to the trees.

“Who else?”

“Well there are our many reptilian friends amongst the trees, for all I know you could mean our biggest companion,” they teased.

MK looked at the fox as if they were crazy, “I don’t think that there even is a fidget spinner big enough for her.”

“You never know,” they swished their tails as they made it back to where the Qilin was and they took on a grin, “oh, it seems that we have found them.”

MK's eyes twitched as he saw that the snake was just chilling next to the horned horse beast as they played with the spinner, “Hey!”

All nine snakeheads lift at the voice and with a unison hiss, they promptly slither away with fidget spinner in hand, or rather tail in their case.

“Don’t you dare run! Get back here with that! I need it for class!”The boy yelled as he ran after the Xiangliu with much fervor.

“-but how?!” MK threw his hands in the air, “Monkey King has all these amazing powers, it doesn’t make sense that he can’t use them underwater.

“He is a stone monkey!” Mei pointed out to a section of the book as she leaned against MK’s bed, “stone sink, not float!”

“But he can still transform into all these different animals, can’t he just make himself a fish or something?”

“He is still stone!”

“But he can fly!”

“I don’t know magic,” she was half tempted to throw her book at her friend, she doesn’t have all the answers either.

“Then why can’t he use it underwater then?!” He was then hit by a thrown book as he fell off the bed, “you didn’t have to throw it at me.”

“Well maybe I did,” she crossed her arms and just laid down on top of him, “this is so confusing...maybe we can ask Mac, he knows a thing or two about magic.”

“He does,” the thirteen year old shot straight up, knocking Mei off, but then he slumped down when a thought occurred to him, “but he’s currently helping Ning right now.”

“Ning?” She asked as she sat back up.

“She’s a client,” he added.

“Oohh...I wonder what she’s in for?”

“When she sneezes or burps, she breathes fire,” MK easily answered. He already saw this happen when she first crawled in, she gave a wave to him, but quickly turned away when she sneezed. He is glad that the wood in the house has been enchanted to be fireproof, cause he doubted that there would have been a house standing after that fireball.

“She’s a dragon!” Mei got in his face, if there was one creature she loved it would hand down be the dragons.

“No, just a lizard demon.”

“Well technically dragons are reptiles,” she slumped down, her dreams of seeing the magnificent beast being thoroughly crushed. She then picked up the Journey to the West book and she gave an amused huff as she saw what page it landed on. “I still find it funny that your dad shares the same name as Monkey King rival.”

MK shared her grin, “it is pretty funny, like can you imagine him going toe to toe with the Monkey King.”

Mei’s grin widened, “the same monkey who let me put braids in his fur with ribbons!”

“The one who has a heart attack each time I get a bruise out in the forest,” he joined in.

“Who wears aprons when cooking food!”

“Let the baby monkey cling onto him!”

“He makes medicine for any demon or human that stops by!”

“He uses scented shampoo cause he likes the smell and it makes his fur soft,” the two couldn’t help but roll on the floor laughing.

“Do you want to hear something even more hilarious,” MK grinned.

“What?!” Mei asked after her laughter died down.

“There are some customers who even call him the Six-eared Macaque,” he snorted even louder.

Mei's face completely froze, “Huh?”

“Yeah,” he vigorously nodded, not taking any notice of his friend's change of mood, “I heard them call him with full respect and everything!”

“...what?”

“And what’s even better, he has six ears!”

“What?!” MK jumped up at Mei’s outburst.

“What was that for?!”

“You just told me that he has six ears?!” She began to shake him. “Do you not realize what you just implied?!”

“NoOoOo,” he shakily answered.

Mei then dropped him as she reached back towards the book and flipped through the pages until she found another, “oh my god, how could I have not realized it before!”

“What?” He asked as he managed to sit back up.

“Shadow manipulation, clones, stealthy,” she read out some of the powers, “they both share almost the same abilities! Hell, he even is a black-haired monkey!”

“Fur, but yeah and?” He still didn’t get what she was implying.

“And doesn’t he have super hearing?” She pressed further hoping that her dense friend would get it.

“Yes andddd?” He didn’t.

She pushed the book to his face, “Your Dad is the Six-Eared Macaque from the book!”

“What?! No he isn’t,” he snatched the book from her hands, “I mean it doesn’t make any sense, he may be grumpy, but he is not anything like the one from the story! He is downright mean and cruel!”

“Well, maybe he changed?!” She threw her hands in the air, “it won’t be that big of a stretch, I mean 500 years is a long time.”

“But I have never seen him fight before, not even when Daiyu would plead to him for a spar, he would just roll his eyes.”

“Maybe he just doesn’t fight when you're around,” she threw in her answer.

“But, but, but it just can’t,” MK threw the book away from him, “it just can’t.”

“MK,” Mei worriedly put a hand on his shoulder, “are you okay?”

“Yes-no-I don’t know,” he leaned on the ground with a groan. “He just can’t be the same one from the book okay.”

“Well, why not?”

“He can’t, he can’t because if he is then he has purposefully kept this a secret from me,” he whispered out.

“Then that’s more reason to ask him,” Mei insisted.

“No!” He shot up and grabbed her shoulders, “we can’t!”

“Well why not!”

“It might not even be him!”

“But what if it is?!” She countered back.

“But what if it's not,” he firmly stood his ground.

“And if it is?”

“It’s not!”

“It is!”

“It’s not!”

“It is!”

“It’s not!”

“MK, we have to ask him.”

“Ask me what?” They both scooted back in shock when the said monkey demon walked into the room. “I’m hoping by those reactions that you were just startled and not guilty of doing something you weren’t supposed to.” He decided to check out their yells after he had finished with his patient.

The two shot a look at one another.

“Right?”

“Yeah, nothing bad, nothing and at all,” MK nervously said as he scratched the back of his neck and avoided his golden eyes.

“You know that right there isn’t helping your case,” Mac deadpanned.

“It's just that we have a question,” Mei butted in as she grabbed the tossed book.

“Mei no,” MK tried to stop her, but she was determined to get her answers.

“Are you the same Six-Eared Macaque from the book?!” The pigtailed girl showed him the Journey to the West book up to him.

Macaque stilled at the question for a moment before easing down as he took a look at the book, “Huh, haven’t read this book in a while,” he said noncommittally.

“Well? Are you?!” Mei pushed him for the answer, she was not leaving until she got one.

Even MK was silently watching this whole interaction but didn’t move an inch, because deep down, even he wanted to know.

The monkey demon let out a sigh as he nodded, “yeah, I am.”

It was silent as the two kids took in that information.

MK's mind was racing, he didn’t know what to even think. The cruel demon in the story, the one who constantly attacked innocent people, killed so many, clashed fiercely against the Monkey King, is the same one who found him all those years ago and took care of him. It just doesn’t make any sense!

“Want to talk here or in the living room?” Macaque’s voice pierced through the silence.

It took a moment before MK finally responded, “living room.”

“Alright, I’ll go make some tea. This won’t be an easy talk,” he said as he began to reach out to ruffle his hair only to stop at his child's nervous stare. He puts his hands down and promptly walks out of the room and turns away to the kitchen, while he ignores the tight squeeze in his chest.

“So,” Mac sat down on the opposing chair from the couch that had the two kids on it as the pot of tea and a bowl of peeled mangos sat in the middle of the table, “where do you want me to start?”

“Were you ever gonna tell me?” MK blurred out first as he clenched his fist. “Or was this gonna be kept in the dark.”

“When you turned 18, I was gonna sit down with you and talk about this,” he firmly told his son. “I had no intention in hiding this from you forever.”

MK didn’t reply as he lowered his head.

“The beginning is usually a good place,” Mei tried to joke, but only the demon gave a small smirk as MK stayed silent.

“That’s as good a place as any, well before that book ever took place, before even the thought of the Journey took place, me and Sun Wukong were friends.”

“You were friends?!” This time MK didn’t stay silent as both kids shouted.

“Surprising right,” he mirthlessly chuckled.

“It never said anything like that in the books!” Mei exclaimed as she held up her book.

“Well first that’s a kid-friendly book of the story,” he pointed out the childish cartoon design on the front cover. “Don’t think they want kids reading books about graphic violence, especially with the disembowelment and all types of gore,” he muttered the last part quietly to himself. “And second, not everything you read or hear is correct.”

“Huh?”

“History is told by the victors and survivors, not by those who lie dead,” he softly said.

“Oh,” Mei shuffled at the uncomfortable thought.

“So how did you two meet?” MK prompted.

“When we first met, he looted some food from a shrine and got caught like an idiot, which pissed off the mountain god.”

“He did?!”

“Yeah, this was way before he met Subodhi, the one who taught Wukong about how to take on immortality.” He reminisces back to the scene where he met his first friend.

‘Shit! Shit! Shit!’ Sun Wukong leaped from rock to rock as he tried to get as much distance as he could from him and the deity. He spotted a cluster of rocks that looked like it had some amount of cover as he leaped behind it and waited. “All I wanted was some damn food! How was I supposed to know that it was supposed to go to a God?! It makes no damn sense to just leave food lying out!” He whispered angrily.

“So you're the one who pissed him off,” Wukong managed to suppress a yelp as he noticed that he wasn’t alone in his hiding spot. It was a bit surprising to see that it was a Monkey demon like him, only with black fur and a red scarf hiding the bottom of his face. “One would think that you shouldn’t piss off a deity, but that is just my opinion,” he snarked.

“Well one shouldn’t leave food lying out like an idiot,” he shot back.

“So you decided to steal from a mountain God? Yeah, real smart,” Macaque drawled out. “Usually I steal from fields, but you took the idiot crown today.”

“How was I supposed to know that it was for someone!” He retorted.

“Just by looking at it dumbass, have you never seen a shrine before?”

“What’s a shrine?” He questioned.

“I’ll take that as a no,” he deadpanned. “How can you not know? Were you living under some kind of rock before?”

“No, I was born from one!” He cheekily grinned.

“...I don’t know if you're insane or if that’s just the weirdest thing I heard,” he then froze as he dragged Wukong closer to the rocks.

“Wha-,” he was about to break free but was hushed by his fellow hider.

“Shhh,” he silently pointed to the right of them and after a moment noticed that a shadow was getting larger. Wukong smartly decided, for the first time, to keep his mouth shut.

It was only after the shadow left did the two relax.

“So I guess we’re stuck here for awhile,” the brown-furred monkey sprawled against the rocks and made himself comfortable, “I’m Sun Wukong, but people call me the Monkey King.”

The other monkey let out a burst of laughter at his ridiculous name, “Ha! Yeah, no I’m not calling you that. I’m Liu Er Mihou.”

“Pfft, boring,” he grumbled back as he then got curious, “so why are you hiding behind this rock anyways? You certainly were here long before I was.”

“Well unlike you, I was taking a nice nap before this happened,” he smirked as he leaned back.

“Just napping you say,” his eyes happen to spot a bag filled with different goods and food.

“Well napping after I nicked off some things from the fields and market and unlike you, I didn’t get caught.”

“Would have been helpful, but-,” they were cut off when a huge explosion erupted from underneath them.

“You thought you could run from me you little ape!” The mountain God’s echoey voice boomed out. “I am one with all upon this mountain! Every pebble is my ears! Every rock is my voice! You can-,” he was cut off by a voice angrily yelling at him.

“I’m not an ape!” Wukong screeched as the two of them started to run.

“That’s what you're concerned about?!” Liu Er confusedly asked though it was laced with a twinge of amusement and fear.

“I have a tail!” He emphasized the tail carrying the bag of food. “Obviously not an ape!”

“You can’t run forever little ape,” the voice snarled out with every crushed rock booming behind them.

“You got one more time to call me an ape!” He yelled out as his eye twitched.

“And what are you gonna do about it little. Ape.” The voice mockingly said with a toothy grin.

“That’s it!” The angered monkey stopped in his tracks as he flung the bag over to Macaque, “hold this!” And with that, his eyes started to glow bright yellow as he flung himself at the God.

“What are you doi-,” he cut himself off as he noticed that the impulsive monkey that he was hiding with had suddenly begun to shoot lasers from his eyes. “Huh, maybe there was something about him being born from the stone that was true.”

“GHA stop that!” The Mountain God wheezed out as he was hit by another bludgeoning punch from the mortal monkey.

“Not so tough now are you!” He mocked as he sent a flying kick towards the immortal being, only for him to slink down into the mountain. “Oh now who's the coward! Come out and fight me!”

“This dumbass,” Macaque grumbled as he was half-tempted to just take the bag and run, but even he doubted that he would hold up against the enraged monkey like this. His ears twitched as he heard the lingering God about to move so he yelled to Sun, “you might want to duck, he’s about to strike from the left.”

Sun Wukong heard him and managed to leap high enough to avoid the Mountain God claws, “got you now fucker!” And with a couple of spins, he struck down upon the God and landed a killing blow upon his head. “That’s what you get.”

“Remind me never to piss you off,” Macaque said as he casually walked up next to him, tossed his stolen bag of food, and examined the dead God.

“Thanks!” He cheerfully reverted from his enraged form once he got his food and happily began to chew on an apple as he sat down against the fallen God. “So how did you know that the God was there?” He curiously asked as he took another bite.

Liu Er blinked at the odd scene and let loose a snort as he sat down a little ways away from him. “Well seeing that you managed to kill a God with your bare hands, mine is definitely not weirder than yours,” he said as he pulled down his scarf to reveal his two extra pairs of ears.

“Cool!” Wukong's eyes glisten as he immediately began to touch his ears.

Macaque only flinched for a moment at the unexpected touch, but became a little more at ease when he didn’t feel any sharp pulling or twisting the longer he touched them, but he batted his hand away, “Heard of personal space?”

It was after the two had eaten that Mac decided to speak again, “alright let’s make a deal.”

“What kind of deal?” Wukong hesitantly asked.

“You are shit when it comes down to stealing,” he bluntly told him.

“Rude, fair, but rude.”

“But I can.”

“Where are you going with this?”

“How about we team up for a bit, with your strength and my stealth, I think the two of us make out with a lot more goods than this,” he tossed up their near empty bags.

“Hmmm, I don’t know. How do I know that you can actually steal,” Wukong pointed out, but the six eared monkey smirked.

“Well you haven’t noticed this,” he tossed up the half eaten apple in his other hand.

“Wha-,” his eyes widened as he now noticed that the apple in hand had disappeared in a poof of violet energy. “How did you do that?”

“Misdirection,” he tossed his apple back to him.

Wukong blinked as he caught the apple then a large grin took up his face as he wrapped an arm around his shoulder, “I think that this is the start of a beautiful relationship.”

“And the start of so many headaches,” Mac couldn’t help but grumble out.

“Well you can only blame yourself.”

“I already am.”

“So you two had stuck together from that moment,” MK said as he stayed in his seat with his knees covering his face.

“For all of nine years, until he left to learn under Subodhi, then I was free roaming once more. Though I did learn a few things from Wukong as it made my travels a bit easier,” Mac said as he took a sip from his lukewarm tea.

“And he probably learned a few things from you...like how to steal so many things from the celestial realm,” Mei's eyes widened as the realization hit her. “Now that’s how he managed to do that! You taught him how to steal!”

The simian paused as that hadn’t occurred to him in the slightest, “...to be fair I didn’t teach him shit, he simply watched what I was doing and used it in practice. All the havoc he managed to cause in the celestial realm and below was his reckless ideas, I had nothing to do with that...for the most part.”

“But the Monkey King is an immortal being,” MK interjected, “and you're not...unless.”

“Yeahhh, I’m immortal too,” he sipped his tea at their dumbfounded stares.

“How?!”

“Once again, blame Sun Wukong for that.”

“I’m sorry, run that by me again,” Mac let the book hang freely from his hands as he listened to Wukong.

“You're immortal! You can thank me with words of praise and/or delicious food,” he cheekily grinned at him as he hung upside down from the tree branch above.

The monkey demon had to blink for a moment and take a deep breath before closing his book and putting full attention to his friend, “I’m almost scared to ask how the fuck you managed to pull that off, but also dying to know.”

“Well,” the simian jumped down to the same branch as Macaque, “I was kidnapped by Yama lackeys, which was uncool you know, I earned my immortality fair and square,” he huffed out.

“You got kidnapped by the emissaries of the God of Death...okay that’s kinda funny,” he cracked a grin.

“Well it wasn’t for me,” he crossed his arms, “so I kicked all of their asses and spoke with some old folks, who call themselves the ten kings which is a stupid title itself, to get things straight you know and they tried to do? They tried to pull a fast one on me and say that they meant to take another Sun Wukong, which I call bullshit on. I mean who else is a stone monkey that’s name is Sun Wukong?”

“No one,” Mac snorted as his partner threw his hands in the air.

“Exactly! So they take me to the place where they keep track of the ones dying and we all look around to find where those names happen to be and lo and behold, I found my name and you want to know what I did?”

“You erased your name,” he was getting more and more amused by this, he can only imagine the chaos that must have happened due to Wukong antics.

“I erased my name! And I also decided that I wasn’t gonna be alone in this so I decided to erase some of the other monkeys back at Flower Fruit Mountain and I found your name and I erased that too,” he proudly grinned. “You can’t believe the sheer amount of panic that was on all of their faces when they realized what I did.”

“I really can’t,” he chuckled as he then scooted over and wrapped his arm around his neck in affection, “thanks for immortality I guess, never thought I would ever get anything close to that.”

“Well a little more praise than that would be nice,” he teased as he felt the back of his head get slapped.

“Oh, I’m sorry your royal highness, did that harm your oh so precious fur of yours?” Mac took on a haughty tone, “let me be the first to go to my knees and bow for your kind gesture that you have bestowed upon me.”

“Shut up,” Wukong snorted as he nudged his friend's shoulder.

“You asked for it,” the black furred monkey tone returned to normal as he grabbed his book and began to read it once more. Though he was interrupted by Sun sprawling over his lap all of a sudden, “can I help you?”

“Read to me!” He demanded.

“Don’t you get bored with stuff like this? Actually, I’m surprised you haven’t already left to cause some sort of chaos at this point Sunny?”

“Meh, don’t feel like moving now, so read to me!”

Mac knew that when he got like this there was little to change his mind, so with a mockingly reluctant sigh he said, “As his highness wishes,” and began to continue where he left off. It was during that, when Macaque was lost in the book and Wukong was lost in the soft words, did two tails slowly curl up and intertwine with one another.

“You know, it’s a bit surreal to hear that the Gods are real,” Mei hummed out. “I mean reading about it is one thing, but knowing someone who actually met with a God is another.”

“If you think that’s surreal then that’s nothing compared to actually meeting one,” Mac pointed to her.

“Trueeee.”

“So what happened next?” MK spoke up as he managed to get out of his curled up position halfway through the story and was instead leaning in close.

“Well you know what happens next, he gets a position in the heavens, his infamous havoc in heaven, left the heavens, fought some gods, got tricked by Buddha and he had the mountain pin him down for 500 years or so,” he casually said.

“Only you would manage to screw it up big time huh peaches,” Liu Er said as he jumped off the top of the mountain and back down next to his friend. “I mean, what were you thinking?”

“Heyyy mango,” Wukong nervously chuckled, “I might have pissed off all the gods in the heavens, you know how it goes.”

“Yeah I heard, but how did they do this,” he gestured to the entire mountain.

“Well, that was maybe...Buddha,” he softly said the last part, but Macaque didn’t have six ears for nothing.

“You managed to piss off Buddha themself,” he said incredulously. “How in the fuck?!”

“I didn’t piss him off!” He said in defense, “I just maybe lost a bet with him.”

“You lost a bet with Buddha.”

“Look, it's complicated!” He huffed as he tried to wiggle under the mountain, “look there’s a seal on the top of this mountain, if you can just rip it off I can easily-,”

“Already tried that,” he showed him his blackened fingers, “didn’t quite work for me.”

“Well shit there goes that idea,” he muttered as a horrible thought occurred to him, “Flower Fruit mountain! The tribe-you have to-,” he was cut off once again.

“Already have a few clones stationed there since you got that position in heaven dumbass,” he whacked his head, “you don’t have to worry about them, now let’s think of a way to free you.”

Wukong let out a breath of relief as he lay his head against the ground. “It ain’t gonna be easy you know.”

Macaque grinned cheekily at him as he sat down next to him and his dark purple daxiushan flared out underneath him, “who said it ever was,” he joked as he began to groom his friend's fur.

“Might have to go against the Gods,” he said as he relaxed to the grooming.

“You can’t have all the fun,” he retorted back.

The Monkey King merely hummed as the grooming went, they can discuss more later, but he sorely needed this.

“But you didn’t free him,” Mei quietly pointed out.

“No, I didn’t,” he shook his head as his tail silently swooshed behind him.

“But you did something,” MK noticed that something was amiss by his relaxed position as he ate a peeled mango.

“Welll, let’s just say that there was a reason why Guanyin happened to find Wukong.”

“You tricked Guanyin,” Mei deadpanned.

“I wouldn’t say trick, more like a gust of wind in the right direction,” he knew that he teetered along the line when he subtly diverted the God's attention to his friend. He heard through some of his contacts that they were looking for immortals for the Journey, so he managed to arrange some coincidental happenings that maybe got the Goddess of mercy to float in Wukong’s direction.

“You tricked Guanyin,” Mei still bluntly told him.

“Anyways,” Macaque ignored Mei as he picked up his empty cup, “then you all know the rest, Wukong infamous Journey to the West and all that.”

“But that doesn’t explain how you went from friends to enemies in the book,” MK pressed and watched as his father's shoulder slightly slumped.

“I-,” he looked down to his empty cup and sighed, “I was an idiot, I-I thought he was being tortu-something cruel was being done to him. When Tripitaka used that sutra, I thought they had managed to enslave my friend and harm him,” he gripped his cup before setting it down, he refused to dive further in that memory. “Clearly I was wrong and you know how that went down.”

The two once again became silent as they took in the information.

“Okay, okay,” Mei nodded as she crossed her legs, “but here’s what’s confusing me. In the Journey to the West, it told you were ruthless, but I know that in some other books it is said that you are a minor deity of trickery and medicine and that you would help wandering travelers by giving them medicine and give them protection by tricking the bandits and Gods. So what is that about?”

“Okay that minor deity thing is just not true,” Mac pinched his nose, “I still don’t know who even put that down in the first place.”

“How did you change?” MK added as well.

“Well,” he let out a soft smile, “I met someone.”

“Ooooo,” the two couldn’t help themselves.

“No,” he firmly told them, “No. No-fuck no. Hell no. Hell to the no. By all the Gods-no just no,” he shuddered. “It’s not anything like that at all.”

“Who was it?” MK asked.

“It was a weird man named Ping who found me on the side of the road somehow and decided to just drag my body to his house,” he snorted at their confused faces. “Yeah, that was me when I first awoke.”

Macaque groggily came to as he heard the faint sound of clinking metals coming a little ways away from him, but as he got up a sharp pain emerged from his entire body as he fell back to the bed.

“Shit, what the hell knocked me ou-...oh,” his memories came back to him in a rush as he remembered just who exactly did this to him. “Fuck, but why? Why, why why!” He gripped his fur and then his right eye as he noticed that there was a distinct lack of sight from that one, “it doesn’t make sense! Why the fuck would he, just why?!”

“So you're finally awake,” he had to freeze as for the first time in a long while, he was snuck up on, “you were knocked out for quite some time.” The monkey turned to see a graying middle aged man wipe his hands on the cloth.

“Who are you,” he went on the immediate defense. He doesn’t sense any celestial or demonic aura coming from him, but he knows it better wary than dead.

“People call me Ping,” he gave a small bow to him, “it’s nice to see you awake.”

“...Are you blind by any chance,” Macaque couldn’t help but blurt out. “Cause there's no way in hell would someone be happy on seeing a demon alive unless they were a goddamn monk…” he couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.

“Ohoho, believe me, I am no Monk,” the man chuckled as he began to pick up some materials from the side, “I have very little patience for just sitting around and meditating all day.”

“Can’t front ya there,” he grumbled as he tried to get back up only for him to wheeze in pain and cough viciously.

“Here, this will help your throat,” Ping handed him a steaming cup of tea that was next to a brown rabbit, which was a bit strange as he didn’t even notice it before.

The monkey hesitantly accepts it, he was unsure if the tea had poison in it, but decided that the human literally could have left him on the side of the road to die and spare him the troubles of killing him himself, so he took a sip of the tea and his nose scrunched up, “why is it sweet?”

“Not to your liking,” he chuckled as he sipped on his own cup.

“You know people-humans are usually terrified when encountering a demon,” he deadpanned as he realized that not only was he half clothed, but his six ears were out in the open. “Just saying.”

“And usually, most demons would have tried to take a bite out of me,” he retorted

“And that is usually enough to not even get close to one of us, let alone bring one to your home,” he emphasized.

“Well we're all a little bit crazy in this world,” Ping chortled as he ambled off to the other room. “You can leave when you want to!”

Macaque could only watch dumbfounded at what just took place as he loosely cradled the teacup in his hand. Though he could do without the rabbit gaze boring into him.

“So what happened next,” MK asked.

“I left,” he shrugged his shoulders.

“You just left?!” Mei shouted as she squished the fruit in her hand.

“Yep.”

“Why?!”

“I had no reason to stay with a man who just up and saved me for no reason, especially one who was so confident in his capabilities that I wasn’t going to attack him,” he pointed out.

“So where did you go?” MK asked next.

“A little bit of everywhere,” he lied a little, he may be spilling his secrets, but even he has a hard stop on some of his more personal ones. He was not about to tell them that he essentially stalked Wukong and his friends for a good portion of the Journey. “But, for some damn reason, I went back to Ping.”

“You went back?” Mei said as MK asked, “Why?”

“Curiosity? Boredom? I honestly still don’t know,” he sighed and leaned back in his chair. “But I just kept going back every few months and the strangest thing is, he would just give a slight wave and give me some tea. Each and every time, until eventually I stayed a bit longer.”

Macaque watched in interest as Ping began to crush some herbs together and mix them. He knows some of those plants and they tasted downright horrible. “What’s the point of making that? It doesn’t taste any good with food, old man.”

Ping simply chuckled as his rabbit laid silently to the side, “I'm not that old, unlike you. It helps with backaches, I know many of the elderly will need it in the coming winter, so it’s always good to prepare ahead.”

“Oohhh, that’s medicine,” Mac hummed. He hasn't seen much of it since he was able to heal fairly fast and also that usually medicine is one of the hardest items to steal due to it usually being hidden or secured.

“Would you like a closer look?” The graying man asked as he stepped a little to the side.

“Sure, why not,” he shrugged his shoulders as he watched with rapt attention to how the medicine was being made.

“He must have a lot of patience to be able to teach you,” Mei grinned.

The monkey huffed in amusement, “I honestly thought the same thing.”

“But how was he different?” MK hesitantly asked as all he heard was of Ping doing completely normal things. “How did he get you to...well change?”

“Does it matter that he was supposed to be some amazing being with special abilities,” he gave a small smirk.

“Well no,” he deflated a bit.

“Cause let me tell you that Ping was one of the farthest things to have anything godly about him. The only thing special about him was his strange ability to practically befriend anyone that passed him and that was it. He never went on any magical adventure, wasn’t appointed a great duty by a God, hell the man has never taken a single martial art or learned under any great sage before,” he couldn’t hold back laugh at their confused looks. “He never tried to force me to change into what he believed to be good.”

“Then why did you keep going back?” Mei jumped off the couch and leaned over the table. “If he didn’t have anything mystical about him, why did you keep going back?”

“Have you ever heard the age-old question on if you can teach a monster how to love?” He suddenly asks, throwing them all off guard.

“No?”

“Cause the answer is no, but rather you have to show them,” he smiled fondly.

“...what does that have to do with this?” MK whispered out.

“He may not have any special abilities, but there was something about him, something- I can’t say good because it’s not strictly subjective in that, but just something comforting about him. About the way he wouldn’t bat an eye at my appearance, the way he would simply give me a cup of tea, the way he would let me stay when I had my bad days, just the way he was just was comforting,” he breathed in as he unhooked his fingers that he unconsciously grabbed together. “He was just Ping and that was enough for a monster to change.”

“You're not-/Don’t believe-,” he cut off both kids.

“I know I did...horrible things in the past, things can’t be redeemable no matter how many times I may help those, I couldn’t forgive myself, but he showed me that I could.

“How?”

“I planted a seed.”

“What?”

“Oh yeah, I was just as confused as you guys were too,” he smiled as he leaned back. “He straight up told me to plant a seed each time my anger or frustration overwhelmed me.” He threw his hands in the air, “I didn’t know what he meant, by the Gods know how many of those things I planted even long after he passed.”

“So he did pass away,” Mei said underneath her breath.

“Humans tend to do that, especially with one as old as him,” he said with a small smile.

“You still kept planting,” MK huddled together as he wrapped his arms around his knees.

“...Yeah,” he wrapped his tail around his waist in comfort, “I didn’t know what else to do and I know I raged and cried, but I couldn’t just go down to Yama and demand his soul back or up to the heavens and just steal a peach. Not even the drunk old man could change fate,” he whispered that last part quietly. “I’m not that strong, so I did the only thing I could and just planted the seeds and plant and plant until one day I was interrupted.

“I’m terribly sorry to bother you, but did you happen to grow these yourself?” The woman asked as she carried her child upon her back.

“Yeah, and?” He didn’t feel in the mood to even attempt to snark back against a human as he tended to some of the flowers.

“Well let me tell you that they're simply beautiful,” she smiled at him.

“Huh?” Mac froze at the sudden compliment.

“Yeah!” He looked down to see a young girl with a wide smile, “they are super pretty.”

“Very pretty,” another child shyly piped up as he peeled from behind his mother's skirt.

The monkey demon could faintly remember their goodbyes as they proceeded to walk away from him. “What beauty is there in a bunch of seeds?” He turned to look at his plants and for the first time, he realized that they haven’t been seeds in a very long time as they sprouted into a giant, pink, flourishing Plum Blossom trees-no not trees a blossoming forest.

“Oh.” He then decided to slowly walk through it all as he plunked a plum from one of the branches. “Damn, I must have been really out of it for so many years that I didn’t even realize that it...that it grew…during all these years it grew and grew into something beautiful.” He paused as he now realized what Ping was trying to show him for all these years, that even when he got angry and made so many mistakes, they can turn into something beautiful. He let out a full body laugh as he just screeched and screeched.

“Only you, you fucking coot! Only you would think of such a weird ass idea and actually be of help, I swear if you weren’t already dead I would be yelling at you for this!” He screeches as tears or amusement and anguish filled his eyes, “you made me plant a forest of mistakes and did a fuck you and made it something worthwhile, something beautiful!”

He eventually laid down with plum in hand, ears out as he listened to the chirps of the bird and rustles of the leaves and his heart didn’t feel as empty as before. “Couldn’t have told me straight out his thoughts,” he huffed with a watery smile as he took a bite out of the plum.

“You made this forest-the Plum Blossom forest?!” MK asks shockingly despite listening to the story.

“A good portion of it, yes, the rest done simply by Hòutû herself.”

“So what happened next?” Mei said as she kneeled and put her elbows on the table.

“Life happened and time slowly crawled forward and I slowly began to change and probably still will,” he shrugged his shoulders.

MK fidgeted in his seat before finally speaking up again, “so...what happens now.”

“That’s for you two to decide,” he stood up and stretched, “You're the only ones who can decide for yourself.” He picked up the empty plates and cup, “Take as much time as you need kiddos,” he began to walk away with a heavy heart.

He knew that he couldn’t force their minds into completely accepting him, but he prays, one of the very few times he does, that he didn’t fuck two of the few good things he had. He can accept that they may not forgive him, but he damn hopes that there is still a sliver of affection-he stiffen as he felt two pairs of arms hug tightly around his waist. “Wha-?”

“You can’t get rid of us that easily Goldilocks,” Mei smiled as she cuddled her face in his soft fur, “No amount of scares can force us away from you.”

“Mei-,”

“At first I was angry,” he heard his son's voice even when it was muffled against his fur. “You kept secrets and I didn’t like that, but you told me and I was so confused, still am, but you aren’t the same mean monkey in the past, I don’t think you would have saved me if you were the same as your past self and I am happy about that. I am happy that I know you now, because I may have not liked you and if I didn’t like you then I would have never stayed with you and I really don’t like that,” MK looked up at him with tears in his eyes as he hugged him tighter. “I really don't like the idea of never being here, being with you Dad, so thank you for being you, thank you and I love you so much.”

Liu Er barely had the forethought to place the dishes down before wrapping his arms around them both with a tight grip. “Well I guess you're stuck with me.”

“Like old gum stuck in your fur,” MK squeezed out through the fur.

“I swear you spend way too much time with Minsheng…love you too Starlight,” he huffed as he ruffled his child's hair.

“And besides,” Mei started, “you may be a grump but you're our grumpy monkey demon now. And if anyone tries to say otherwise then I would need to have a few words with them,” she ended with a wide creepy smile on her face as her eyes promised vengeance.

“I’ll direct them towards you little newt,” he chuckled as he also messed with her hair as well and gave them both a gentle kiss on the forehead.

“Fuzz butt,” she shot back then got a gleam in her eyes, “a fuzz butt who can teach us how to fight.”

“No.”

“I’ll wear you down eventually,” she grinned, “sooo can we see what you really look like?” MK’s head shot up at that and shared the same gleam as well.

“Nosy, all of you,” he said as he gently pried them off of him, and in barely a flicker, he had transformed and he looked more...dangerous. His nails and teeth have become sharper, a few scars were more visible upon his hands and feet, the scar on his right eye was very prominent as it displayed a dull yellow pupil, even his ears seemed to add to his threatening appearance as the middle violet ear on the right was missing a portion of the upper cartilage.

“You look badass/So Cool!” Though he didn’t have to worry about scaring those two off as their eyes sparkled at his appearance and rushed to touch his fur as MK happily exclaimed as he put his face on his fluffy chest, “why does your fur feel even softer than before?!”

Macaque snorted loudly as he sat down on the floor and let them have a better reach, “shouldn’t even be surprised that was what you took away from this.”

“Seriously, now it looks like you actually know how to fight,” Mei ‘ooed’ as she felt some of his scars underneath his fur. “How’d this one happen,” she felt a faint scar right above the left shoulder.

“Well let me tell you that it all began by a river and I just found out that a certain monkey can’t fight underwater,” the two teenagers leaned in close as he began to tell the tale of the blood demon beast that rested underneath the river.

#monkie kid #mk #macaque #PlumTeaAU

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bookofjin · 4 years ago

Text

Annals of Chuping 1 (190)

[From Yuan Hong’s Houhanji 28]

Annals of Emperor Xiaoxian [“Filial and Offering”], Part 1

1st Year of Chuping [“Beginning Peace”]

[23 February 190 – 11 February 191]

Spring, 1st Month, xinhai [4 March], a great amnesty Under Heaven.

Palace Attendant Zhou Bi and Colonel of the City Gates Wu Qiong, argued to Dong Zhuo, saying:

In all cases the affairs of deposing and installing are great, and not attained by regular people. Yuan Shao did not comprehend the greater structure, and fearful and afraid set out and ran without having other aspirations. Now with the urgency of a bounty, circumstances are certain to make him change.

The Yuan clan have planted kindness for four generations, the students and former functionaries from their gates are everywhere Under Heaven. Suppose they gather the prominent and outstanding so as to assemble a crowd of followers. The gallant and bold will follow them and rise up, and East of the Mountains will not be possessed by Your Excellency. It is not as good as forgiving him, and designate him the Warden of a single commandery. Then Shao will delight in avoiding punishment, and there is certain to be no worries.

Zhuo considered it to be so, and therefore used Shao as Grand Warden of Bohai.

On guichou [6 March], Zhuo killed the King of Hongnong.

Zhuo sent the Prefect of the Gentlemen of the Palace, Li Ru, to advance with poisoned wine to the King, saying:

Ingesting the drugs can expel the foulness.

The King said:

I am not ill. In truth [you] wish to kill me this way.

He was not willing, they forced him. And so the King was together with Concubine Tang and the palace people to drink the drugs. The King himself sang, saying:

Heaven's Way is easy, and destiny why so hard.

Forsook the ten thousand vehicles, and withdrew to guard the border.

A traitorous subject is coercing, and fate will not be delayed.

Going away [I am] about to leave you, and depart for the hidden darkness.

Concubine Tang rose up and danced, she sang, saying:

August Heaven collapses, and Sovereign Earth crumbles.

Somebody is Emperor or King, and fate is cut short and swept away.

The dead and living have different paths, and following this [will] turn aside.

Dismayed, I am alone and solitary, and within the heart is sorrow.

Following that she wept, and those sitting there all grieved. The King spoke to Concubine Tang, saying:

You are the former consort of a king, and in the circumstances will not become the wife of a functionary or commoner. Take care of yourself, from that [I] bid farewell with you.

Thereupon he drank the drugs and died. The Emperor heard about it, he came down from his seat and thoroughly grieved.

At that time, the Inspector of Ji province, Han Fu, the Inspector of Yu province, Kong Zhou, the Inspector of Yan province, Liu Dai, the Grand Warden of Chenliu, Zhang Miao, the Grand Warden of Bohai, Yuan Shao, the Grand Warden of Donghai, Qiao Mao, the Grand Warden of Shanyang, Yuan Yi, the Grand Warden of Henan, Wang Kuang, the Chancellor of Jibei, Bao Xin, the General of the Rear, Yuan Shu, the Consultant Gentleman Cao Cao, and others all rose up with righteous troops, wanting to execute Zhuo. Their multitudes each numbered several tens of thousand people, and they pushed forward Shao as master of the oath. Shao titled himself General of Chariots and Cavalry. Cao was Acting General who Exerts the Martial.

The Grand Warden of Changsha, Sun Jian, likewise raised troops to execute Zhuo, and by the time he arrived in Nanyang, his multitude numbered several tens of thousand people. Zhuo used Jian as General who Routs the Miscreants, hoping he would be agreeable and restrained. Jian denounced Zhuo as being past his prime, and advanced to station at Yangdui. Zhuo was greatly angered, and dispatched Hu Zhen and Lü Bu to strike Jian. They fought at Jianping, and Jian greatly routed them.

Zhuo, since the troops East of the Mountains were abundant, wished to move the capital to Within the Passes. He summoned the Excellencies and Dignitaries to discuss it, saying:

Gaozu's capital was Within the Passes for eleven generations. Later during Han's middle flourishing, the eastern capital was Luoyang. From Guangwu until now there then has been twelve generations. Leaning on the the Stone-Wrapped Chamber Prophecies, [we] ought to again return the capital to Chang'an.

Among the hundred officials there were none who dared to respond. The Minister over the Masses, Yang Biao, said:

Moving the capital and changing the regulations are the great affairs of Under Heaven, and always must follow the heart of the people and ensue from what is proper for the times. Formerly Pangeng made the fifth move, and the people of Yin where altogether resentful. For that reason he composed three chapters to shed light on and explain it.

In the past when Wang Mang usurped and rebelled, he disarrayed and made chaos of the Five Constants. And in the disarray of Gengshi and the Red Eyebrows, they burnt down down Chang'an and harmed and wounded the hundred families. The population drifted away and absconded, and out of a hundred not one remained. When Guangwu accepted the instructions, he altered the capital to Luoyang, and this was appropriate for it.

Just now [we] have established and installed a sagely ruler, brilliantly raising high Han's benediction. But then for no reason to give up the ancestral temples and palace halls, abandon the former emperors' parks and mounds, the hundred families will be frightened and alarmed and not figure out these intentions. There will surely be boiling gruel and an assembly of ants, and so cause disturbance and chaos. The Stone-Wrapped Chamber Prophecies is a book of bewitching perversity, how can [we] trust and make use of it?

Zhuo changed colour and said:

Excellency Yang wishes to obstruct the strategies of the House of State? East of the Mountains, the Yellow Head-scarves make chaos, and is where thieves are rising up. Chang'an's strategic points of Yao and Han are firm, they are the important defences of the state.

Also from Right of Long [one] obtains timber, the work is not difficult. And below the Southern Mountains of Duling there are Emperor Xiaowu's old place for kilns to make brickwork, in one morning and one evening it can be managed. The palace houses and official storehouses, how are they not sufficient to talk about! The hundred families and small people, how is it sufficient to discus with them! Suppose there are [those who] go forward and come back, [we] will use our great troops to spur them on, how will they get to be by themselves?

The hundred companions all lost colour. The Grand Commandant, Huang Wan, said:

This is a great affair. Excellency Yang' speech, might it not be [you] could think about it?

The Minister of Work, Xun Shuang said:

How is the Chancellor of State enjoying moving the capital? Now East of the Mountains, troops are rising up, it is not possible to corral them in in a single day. But West of the Passes is still quiet, and for that reason we will move there to plan, as in the circumstances of Qin and Han. Stand firm and fight, without stop, and misfortune is certain to be what comes back. I will not do that.

Zhuo caused to have the ministers memorialise to dismiss the two Excellencies.

2nd Month, dinghai [probably a mistake for yihai, 28 March], the Grand Commandant, Huang Wan, and the Minister over the Masses, Yang Biao, were retired by bamboo slips.

Earlier, Zhuo made use of the opinions of Wu Qiong and Zhou Bi and selected the famous scholars of Under Heaven. When Fu and others had set out, they all raised up troops to plot against Zhuo. Zhuo considered that Qiong and Bi had sold him out, and in his heart was angry with them. Reaching the discussion on moving west, Qiong and Bi firmly admonished. Zhuo, greatly angered, said:

You Lords said [we] must draw out and employ good scholars. Zhuo followed the two lords' scheme, and did not dare to disobey the heart of Under Heaven. When the various lords arrived at their offices, they raised up troops and plotted, how can Zhuo count on [you]?

Thereupon he beheaded Qiong and Bi.

Biao and Wan were fearful and afraid, and hastened to Zhuo to apologize, saying:

It was because of small people's fondness for the old, not a wish to obstruct the affairs of state. [We] request to consider [our] shortcomings as accepting punishment.

Zhuo was not fully furious with them at the time [?], and when he killed Qiong and Bi, he had come to regret it, so for that reason the petitioned for Biao and Wan to be Brilliantly Blessed Grandees.

Zhuo used the Governor of Henan, Zhu Jun, as Grand Coachman, to be considered as deputy for himself. Jun was not willing to accept, and because of that advanced to say:

The state ought not to move, it is certainly undeserving of Under Heaven's expectations, and will complete the rift with East of the Mountains. Your Subject does not see that it is possible.

There was a minister who said:

The summons to audience was for you Lord to accept the designations, but you Lord resisted it. [We] did not ask about the affairs of moving, but you Lord put it forth. Why so?

Jun said:

To be deputy for the Chancellor of State is extremely weighty and is not something Your Subject is capable of. That moving the capital not be planned is what is pressing for Your Subject. To decline what he is not capable of, and advance what is urgent for him is what is proper for a subject.

There was a minister who said:

The affairs of moving the capital, earlier there were no plans for that, and even if there are, they have not yet been exposed. How did [you] gain knowledge of it?

Jun said:

The Chancellor of State, Dong Zhuo, arranged to make Your Subject talk about it.

The ministers were not able to bend [him] and so the great subjects of the court, and the Gentleman of the Masters of Writing, Hua Xin, and others all commended him.

Owing to that, they desisted and did not make him deputy to Zhuo. Zhuo increasingly hated him, and he feared he would certainly be destroyed by Zhuo, he therefore ran to Jing province. The Intendant of the Brilliantly Blessed, Zhao Qian, became Grand Coachman. Wang Yun became Minister over the Masses and caretaker Prefect of the Masters of Writing.

On dinghai [9 April], the Son of Heaven transferred the capital to Chang'an. Zhuo stayed behind to station at Luoyang, he thoroughly burned the palace houses, and moved the people to Chang'an.

On renchen [14 April], a white nimbus passed through the sun.

3rd Month, jisi [21 May, possibly an error for yisi, 24 April], the Chariot Drove to arrive at Chang'an. During the chaos of the Red Eyebrows, the palace houses had burnt down completely, and there was only the Exalted Temple and the Jingzhao office buildings. Thereupon they went and made the capital there.

On wuwu [10 May], Zhuo killed the Grand Tutor, Yuan Wei, and his three sons.

At that time, Yuan Shao was stationed in Henei. The Grand Warden of Chenliu, Zhang Miao, the Inspector of Yan province, Liu Dai, the Grand Warden of Dong commandery, Qiao Mao, and the Grand Warden of Shanyang, Yuan Yi, stationed at Suanzao. The General of the Rear, Yuan Shu, stationed at Nanyang.

The Inspector of Ji province, Han Fu, held a great assembly at Suanzao, wanting to make an oath. The various provinces and commanderies in turn pushed forward and yielded to each other, nobody was willing to be the one in front. The Board of Merit Official of Guangling, Zang Hong, climbed the altar holding the blood, and said:

The House of Han is ill-fortuned and the kingly guide-ropes have lost control. The traitorous subject Dong Zhuo exploits feuds to indulge in harm. Calamity is inflicted on the most venerable, cruelty flows to the hundred families. There is great fear for the loss and destruction of the altars of soil and grain, and the shearing away and overturning of the Four Seas.

The Inspector of Yan province, Liu Dai, the Inspector of Yu province, Kong Zhou, the Grand Warden of Chenliu, Zhang Miao, the Grand Warden of Dong commandery, Qiao Mao, the Grand Warden of Guangling, Chao, and others, have brought together and joined righteous troops, and together hurry to the state's difficulties.

All of us in the same oath must unite our hearts and join our strength, so as to cause a subject be steadfast, and that perished heads and lost principals are certain to not cause division. [If] there are those who pull out from this oath, they will tumble to their fate without having offspring. August Heaven and Sovereign Earth, the founders, ancestors and luminous spirits, will truly all oversee it.

The spirit of Hong's speech was sorrowful but strong, with weeping tears flowing down. Of those who heard his words, even among the squads of footsoldiers, the servants and cooks, there were none who were not excited and brought up.

Zhuo's troops were strong, and Shao and the others did not dare to be the first to advance. Cao Cao said:

[We] raised up righteous troops to punish violence and chaos, and now the multitudes have already joined together. How can you Lords be doubtful afterwards? [When we] caused Dong Zhuo to hear about the troops of East the Mountains rising up, [if he] had relied on the veneration for the kingly house, occupied the defiles of the Two Zhou, and turned to preside over Under Heaven, then even though he was without the Way in how he acted, it still would be enough to troublesome.

But now he burns down the palace houses and forcibly moves the Son of Heaven. Within the Seas shake and stir, and do not understand where to resort to. This is the time when Heaven destroys him. With a single battle Under Heaven will be settled, [we] cannot neglect it.

He guided his army to go west and fight at Xingyang. Cao's troops were greatly defeated.

At that time, the Inspector of Qing province, Jiao He, also raised troops to chastise Zhuo, [but] He and the various generals when they travelled west, did not make protective defences for the common people. When they started to cross the He, the Yellow Head-scarves had already entered their region. Qing province was flourishing and wealthy, and the army strong, [but] He looked at the robbers and ran north, not once catching the wind and dust, or mixing with the banners and drums. He excelled at divining with stalks and trusted ghosts and gods. When one enters to see his [kind of] person, Pure Talk impinge the sky. When one sets out to observe his government, rewards and penalties are in smashed disorder. The province thereupon is barren and bleak, and thoroughly becomes hills and wasteland.

Soon after, He became ill and passed on. Yuan Shao sent Zang Hong to take charge of Qing province. He consoled He's people and multitudes, and the thieves and bandits ran off and fled. Shao admired his ability, and moved him to be Grand Warden of Dong commandery.

Summer, 4th Month [22 May – 20 June], used the Great Minister of Horse, Liu Yu, as Grand Tutor.

The Prefect of the Masters of Writing, Wang Yun, memorialised, saying:

Grand Scribe Wang Li explains the Classic of Filial Piety' Six Secret Affairs. Make the Imperial Court act on them, to dispel and hold off calamity and evil. He has increasingly the body of a sage.

A decree said:

[We] have heard a king must study virtuously. [We] have not heard that Master Kong made the Classic of Filial Piety to be [like] this, and then held off evil.

Yun firmly memorialised his request, saying:

Li's studies are deep and substantial, these are the confidential mysteries of a sagely person. Act on them without reduction.

The Emperor therefore followed it. Often on auspicious days, Wang Yun, together with Wang Li, would enter to make the Emperor recite one section of the Classic of Filial Piety, and use canes and two bamboo mats to delineate the Nine Palaces on top of them [?]. On subsequent days, [he?] at times then set out from and entered them. When Yun came to harm, he then did not again act it out.

Yuan Hong says: The gods in truth are perceptive, bright, principled and straight, they comply with people and then act. For a king who esteems virtue, to abundantly make offerings to be used as banquets for Heaven and Earth can be said to be the utmost. Suppose in all regards the affairs of the Six Secrets was not the Way of a sagely person, and for a regular fellow it is in the same way still not possible, then how is it with the fates of emperors and kings!

5th Month [21 June – 19 July], the Minister of Works, Xun Shuang, passed away.

Shuang, courtesy name Ciming, was the son of the Prefect of Langling, Shu. Aged twelve, Grand Commandant Du Qiao taught him. He was recommended as Filial and Upright, and Worthy and Good. During the partisan affairs, he was proscribed and forbidden, and went in seclusion by the sea. He again went south to hide at the banks of the Han. When the partisan affair was loosened, nominations and instructions arrived criss-crossed, there was summons to be [Scholar] of the Way and Broad Scholar. In all cases he did not go.

At the beginning of Emperor Xian's reign, Dong Zhuo endorsed Shuang as Chancellor of Pingyuan. He had not yet arrived at his post, when he was summoned to be Intendant of the Brilliantly Blessed. After being in his office building for three days, he moved to Minister of Works. At that time, those who were loyal and proper had a brave forbearance, and those who held close the Way were deeply silent. Shuang had dispersed calamity at the court of Dong Zhuo, and also in the space of a ten day ranked at the pinnacle of subjects, a lordly person would use this to deride him.

Earlier, Shuang and his brothers, eight people, were titled as the “Eight Dragons”, and Shuang most of all was praised as a Ruist and for his refinement. His older brother's son Yu's fame carried weight in his generation.

6th Month, xinwei [22 July], the Brilliantly Blessed Grandee Zhong Fu became Minister of Works.

Zhuo opened up the various mounds of Luoyang and the graves and tombs of the great subjects. He destroyed the bells and bell frames that were within Luoyang city, and melted them down as coins. In all cases they did not complete the engravings. Furthermore he melted the Five zhu coins, the engravings and the outer rim were impossible to hold on to. Hence money became cheap and things expensive. One hu of grain reached several millions.

The Grand Warden of Liaodong, Gongsun Du, titled himself as Shepherd of Ping province, and erected a Temple of Shizu of Han.

When the Chanyu, Qiangqu, had been killed by the people of his state, his son Yufuluo should have been installed, [but] the people of the state installed Xubu as Chanyu, and Yufuluo went to the imperial palace to lodge a complaint. It happened that Emperor Ling collapsed, and the kingly house was in chaos. Yufuluo brought along several thousand cavalry, and, together with the White Waves thieves, he robbed the region of Ji province. The hundred families had all made tall walls and emptied the countryside, so there was little to obtain by plunder and robbery. He wished to return home to his state, but the people of state did not accept it, and he thereupon halted in Hedong.

#hhj26

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tema-makes-art-sometimes · 3 years ago

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Masterpost of AU's OC's and Main Muses!

AU’s:

Cardverse (General, Remixed and Fashion)

2p Hetalia

Heta-Android Entertainment Center

Lemon and Tema’s College AU

Lemon and Tema’s Coraline AU

Lemon and Tema's Prince AU

Snow and Roses AU

CinderLudwig AU

DBH AU

Bellwick AU

Seven Sins AU

DDLC AU

Hetalia-Undertale AU

Siren AU

Mer AU

Original Characters/Species/Worlds:

Traumwebers (Aster)

Briomanges (Vic, Lei, Ro, Aphrodite)

Fae (Faer, Andromeda, Dyncer, Annalise, Loralye, Lyerine)

Arrabamboles (Pin)

Fralys (Multitudes)

Sava (Kira)

Arcana (King, Dame, Jack)

Crystallines (Crys)

Kingdom of Illias (Benjamin, Ven, Valentino, Ray, etc.)

Moonstone and Starburst-Jasper (Crystalline Gems)

Jessibelle Leotie Flores (Republic of Texas OC)

Carolynn (Winter Spirit)

Syx (God Killer)

Noah (Hetalia OC Background Character)

(DND) Theo

(DND) Rhythm (Rune) and Melody

(DND Romano)

Nations Available: (Or others these are either main ones I like)

North Italy - Feliciano Veneziano Vargas

South Italy - Matteo Romano Vargas

Germany - Ludwig Becker

Prussia - Gilbert Weiss

America - Alfred Fredrick Jones

Canada - Matthew Elijah Williams

England - Archibald Kirkland

France - Francis-Jean Epine

China - Yao Wang

Japan - Kiku Honda

Russia - Ivan Braginsky

Belarus - Natalya Kovalena

2p Hetalians:

2p North Italy - Lorenzo Veneziano Alfonsi

2p Romano - Frederico Romano Alfonsi

2p Rome - Brutus Romulus Alfonsi

2p Germany - Lutz C. Krause

2p Prussia - Gwenneg Schroder

2p HRE - Callum Schroder

2p Hungary - Hanna Eros Fodor

2p Switzerland - Neil Gubler

2p Liechtenstein - Isabella Rhyne

2p Austria - Tobias Muller

2p England - Olivander Ayrwyn Casimir

2p Scotland - Maxwell Stewart

2p France - Louis Casimir

2p Spain - Francisco Javier Sánchez (Goes by Javier)

2p Canada - Nathanael Ethan Lambert

2p America - Alexander Jay Lewis

2p Belarus - Sofiya Tarasevich

2p Ukraine - Daria Dolya

2p Russia - Maxim Renat

2p China - Bohai Han

2p Japan - Akio Naozumi

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the-archlich · 4 years ago

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DW Potential Additions Tier List

So I made some spreadsheets but decided I was putting in too much work so here’s a quick summary.

I was grading on a scale of 1-5. 1 was characters I really don’t htink would add anything good, but who I thought some might suggest (like Cao Zhi, Jia Nanfeng, Pan Zhang, Zhao Guang, Zhang Ren, etc.) 2 is people who could maybe work under very specific circumstances, like a big narrative shift or a lot of related characters being added, or who might be fine but aren’t nearly as good as some other options (like Cheng Yu, Cao Xi, Wu Jing, Mi Zhu, or Gao Gan). These don’t really make the cut for discussion, so if you don’t see a name you’re expecting, I probably put them in one of those tiers for some reason.

Tier 3 are characters who would be fine. Just fine. They either did enough to make themselves noteworthy, or have enough of a connecting to existing narrative and cast that they’d probably add something worthwhile. Not the ones I’d be most excited about, but the ones I couldn’t make too many complaints over.

Tier 4 are great adds. Characters I really want to see, who could really expand the cast in worthwhile ways.

Tier 5 are characters I forget aren’t in these games already because why are they not here?

I’m not going to explain every decision here because I’m sure there will be followup questions. Yes, I’m aware that Jin is overrepresented, because it’s the smallest of the main factions.

TIER 5

Lady Bian (Wei)

Zhang Xiu (Wei; previously Dong Zhuo, Liu Biao)

Zang Ba (Wei, previously Tao Qian, Lü Bu)

Cao Zhen (Wei)

Zhong Yao (Wei)

Xiahou Xuan (Jin)

Xun Yi (Jin)

Chen Tai (Jin)

Guanqiu Jian (Jin)

Wen Qin (Jin)

Yang Huiyu (Jin)

Hu Lie (Jin)

Hu Fen (Jin)

Lady Wu (Wu)

Zhang Zhao (Wu)

Zhuge Jin (Wu)

Lü Ju (Wu)

Zhu Yi (Wu)

Zhuge Ke (Wu)

Zhuge Zhan (Shu)

Jian Yong (Shu)

Zhang Ni (Shu)

Fei Yi (Shu)

Liu Biao (Other: Liu Biao)

TIER 4

Wen Pin (Wei; previously Liu Biao)

Xiahou Shang (Wei)

Cao Hong (Wei)

Jiang Ji (Wei)

Zhu Ling (Wei; previously Yuan Shao)

Dowager Guo (Jin)

Cao Shuang (Jin)

He Yan (Jin)

Pei Xiu (Jin)

Sima Fu (Jin)

Fu Jia/Gu (Jin)

Wang Ji (Jin)

Wang Ling (Jin)

Du Yu (Jin)

Sima (Gaoling) (Jin)

Sima Wang (Jin)

Shi Bao (Jin)

Sun Luban (Wu)

Sun Ben (Wu)

Sun/Yu He (Wu)

Jiang Qin (Wu)

Lü Fan (Wu)

Zhu Huan (Wu)

He Qi (Wu)

Quan Zong/Cong (Wu)

Zhuge Jing (Wu)

Tao Huang (Wu)

Wu Yan (Wu)

Lady Gan (Shu)

Liu Feng (Shu)

Ma Zhong (Shu)

Wang Ping (Shu)

Yuan Tan (Other: Yuan Shao)

Qu Yi (Other: Yuan Shao)

Tadun (Other: Yuan Shao, Wuhuan)

Shen Pei (Other: Yuan Shao)

Xu Rong (Other: Dong Zhuo)

Gao Shun (Other: Dong Zhuo, Lü Bu)

Gongsun Zan (Other: Gongsun Zan)

TIER 3

Cao Rui (Wei)

Guo (Nuwang) (Wei)

Chen Deng (Wei; previously Tao Qian, Lü Bu)

Zhang Changpu (Wei)

Wang Lang (Wei; previously Tao Qian, Liu Yao)

Sima Lang (Wei)

Jia Kui (Wei)

Du Xi (Wei)

Li Tong (Wei)

Cao Zhang (Wei)

Zhao Yan (Wei)

Cao Jie (Wei)

Li Feng (Jin)

Zhong Yu (Jin)

Qin Lang (Jin)

Wang Chang (Jin)

Sima Liang (Jin)

Sima Zhou (Jin)

Sima Jun (Jin)

Yang Hu (Jin)

Sima Yan (Jin)

Wei Guan (Jin)

Zhang Hua (Jin)

Tang Bin (Jin)

Jiang Ban (Jin)

Hu Zun (Jin)

Pan Shu (Wu)

Sun Luyu (Wu)

Sun Jing (Wu)

Sun Yu (Wu)

Sun Jiao (Wu)

Sun Shao (Bohai) (Wu)

Widow Xu (Wu)

Gu Yong (Wu)

Gu Tan (Wu)

Bu Zhi (Wu)

Chen Wu (Wu)

Dong Xi (Wu)

Zhu Zhi (Wu)

Zhu/Shi Ji (Wu)

Yu Fan (Wu; previously Liu Yao)

Lu Kang (Wu)

Lü Dai (Wu)

Pan Jun (Wu; previously Liu Biao, Shu)

Lu Kai (Wu)

Teng Yin (Wu)

Sun Jun (Wu)

Zhang Ti (Wu)

Wu Yi (Shu; previously Liu Zhang)

Wu Ban (Shu; previously Liu Zhang)

Zhang Shao (Shu)

Lady Ma (Shu; previously Liang Warlords)

Mi Fang (Shu; previously Tao Qian)

Lady Mi (Shu; previously Tao Qian)

Dong Yun (Shu)

Ma Liang (Shu)

Ma Su (Shu)

Chen Zhi (Shu; previously Liu Zhang)

Huo Jun (Shu; previously Liu Biao)

Huo Yi (Shu)

Luo Xian (Shu)

Yang Yi (Shu)

Li Hui (Shu; previously Liu Zhang)

Jiang Wan (Shu)

Deng Zhi (Shu)

Zhang Yi (Bogong) (Shu)

Liao Hua (Shu)

Lady Liu (Other: Yuan Shao)

Yuan Shang (Other: Yuan Shao)

Tian Feng (Other: Yuan Shao)

Ju Shou (Other: Yuan Shao)

Li Jue (Other: Dong Zhuo)

Cai Yong (Other: Dong Zhuo)

Liu Qi (Other: Liu Biao)

Cai Mao (Other: Liu Biao)

Lady Cai (Other: Liu Biao)

Kuai Yue (Other: Liu Biao)

Huang Zu (Other: Liu Biao)

Gongsun Yuan (Other: Yan)

Yong Kai (Other: Nanman)

Gaoding (Other: Nanman)

Liuzhou (Other: Nanman)

Liu Yao (Other: Liu Yao)

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bloojayoolie · 5 years ago

Photo

Food, Friends, and Best: 109 FPS ATTITUDE OWNERSHIP SPRING 206 NONE DIPLOMATIC STATUS WEALTH POPULATION PUBLIC ORDER FOOD TOCCLE MAP PINS 12K (3207) |Unfriendly Best Friends | Very friendly | Very Unfriendly MARQUIS 130 BLOOSNOOPEE Friendly Hostile Neutral Current Faction COMMANDERIES (33) ZHENG JIANG 66(-16) G 8 1039 CONCSUN ZAN 808K SHANCDANC ZHANG YAN ? r 94 (+7) -14 951K TAIYUAN STo(+5) 1208 -6 O 795K XIHE KONG RONC -25 (-4) 433 969K YANMEN LIU BEI 1 78 (+6) 415 C 658K ZHONCSHAN (2> 12 (+4) 388 O CONTESTED COMMANDERIES 48K BOHAI DONC ZHUO 2 -20 (-20) 636 548K DAI 1 72 (+8) 604 YUAN SHU 380K LUOYANC CAO CAO 267 Unknown Commandery: Chengd Hilly Grassland Trespassing may have diplomatic repercussions! LIU YAO M o at O O 94 O O O O O O O Nothing like 10pm Three Kingdoms!

#funny #lol #humor #memes #meme #memehumor #dank memes #funny pics #rolf #lmao #Food #Friends #and Be

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tripstations · 5 years ago

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Walking the Great Wall of China: How did Dong Yao-hui cover it all?

Luanping, China (CNN) — On a warm spring morning in 1984, Dong Yao-hui and his two young friends, Wu De-yu and Zhang Yuan-hua, pulled on military surplus backpacks and boots and set out on a hike along a stretch of the Great Wall of China.

Their walk began at Laolongtou — or the Old Dragon’s Head — in Shanhai Pass, where what was once believed to be the easternmost stretch of the Wall reaches into the Bohai Sea. From there they forged westward toward the mountains of Hebei province and the vast Chinese territory stretching out beyond.

By sunset the first night, they’d made good progress and took shelter in a crumbling fortification that, centuries ago, had accommodated the men who once stood guard on the Wall, perhaps watching for invaders from the north.

There they contemplated the journey ahead of them — a walk of 17 months and 8,850 kilometers (5,500 miles) that would test their endurance, but also take them into the record books as the first people ever to walk the length of the wall.

It was a trip that would not only change the lives of the three friends but would change the fortunes of the wall itself, helping preserve it and elevate it to the revered status it holds today.

First Great Wall expedition

Dong Yao-hui has spent the last three decades protecting and promoting China’s Great Wall.

Harry Forbes

“It was the first time ever for humans to go on an expedition of the entire Great Wall, leaving the first complete set of footprints,” recalls Dong, now 62. “It was a nonstop uphill and downhill journey.

“The heat from summer, the snow in winter and the exhausting hikes were all challenging but they weren’t insurmountable. We just walked and walked and we made notes of what we saw. It was very repetitive like how a farmer tends to his farms.

“Little did we know when we were on the journey that it would end up becoming a lifelong project.”

Back in May 1984, the Great Wall was famous beyond China as the structure that could — so the legend goes — be seen from space. At that time, however, more was perhaps known about the surface of the moon than the contours of the wall.

Work on it began more than 2,500 years ago, its origins dating back to China’s Spring and Autumn Period of around 770 BC to 476 BC. Various sections were added in subsequent eras as competing dynasties and factions sought to exert their control.

Work eventually stopped in the 17th century. Today the wall reaches over 21,000 kilometers, winding its way through 15 provinces, 97 prefectures and 404 counties.

And while certain parts had long attracted tourists, both from within and outside of China, such was its size that by the 1980s — when the country was emerging from the turmoil of its 1949 communist takeover and the excesses of the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and ’70s — many sections had slipped into obscurity, disrepair and sometimes oblivion.

Dong Yao-hui, Wu De-yu and Zhang Yuan-hua were the first men to walk the entire length of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall.

courtesy Dong Yao-hui

This is where Dong enters the story. At 25, he was working as a power cable technician — and poet — in his hometown of Qinhuangdao, close to the Shanhai Pass, where he would later start his odyssey.

“I climbed power towers, often next to the Great Wall,” he recalls. “Slowly, I developed an interest in the Great Wall. ‘Who built it? When was it built? Why was it built?’ I had all these questions but there weren’t a lot of books you could read about it — not even the government had such a record then.”

Soon Dong’s interest formulated into a plan. And after two years of preparation, he and his two friends embarked on the epic trek that they thought would take them three years, but would in fact be completed in just 508 days.

An unexpected lifelong project

Dong, Wu and Zhang decided to focus only on the 8,851.8-kilometer Great Wall stretch that was restored and built during the Ming Dynasty — around 600 years ago. It’s the most well-preserved section and the part most commonly referred to when we talk about the Great Wall today.

“Our hiking outfits were military uniforms provided by troops stationed at each area,” recalls Dong. “Our rucksacks were donated by China’s Mountaineering Association — which were used during their expedition to Mount Everest. We were considered well equipped in the olden days.”

Instead of referencing a map, they simply followed the wall and recorded their own path on paper as well as their observations on the wall’s condition. At night, they usually slept inside the wall’s gates and fortresses, which were physically separated from the main structure, so they could document them too.

“Just think how tiring it was for us to walk the Great Wall… But today we keep taking it apart, so is society more civilized now? Or more idiotic? ”

Dong Yao-hui

“Little did we know when we were on the journey that it would end up becoming a lifelong project,” says Dong.

On completing their journey, the expedition team spent the following two years consolidating and publishing their experiences in a book titled “Ming Dynasty Great Wall Expedition.”

But what they initially thought would be the end of their obsession with the Great Wall would transpire to be just the beginning as the repercussions of their journey rippled much further than expected.

Prior to their expedition, Dong couldn’t find much documentation about the Great Wall.

courtesy Dong Yao-hui

“We had another plan originally to trek along China’s 18,000-kilometer seashore,” says Dong. “But our affair with the Great Wall was unstoppable once ignited.

“The further I went, the more it became a responsibility to society rather than just a self-fulfilling project.”

As they shared tales of their adventures, it became clear to the trio that it was not just the physical demands that left lasting impressions, but also the emotional impact of seeing how much of the wall had fallen into ruin.

So much so that they alerted authorities.

“When we told the ruling officials they said, ‘Right. Right. Right,'” Dong says. “But actually no one took it seriously, so we felt pain.

“Just think how tiring it was for us to walk the Great Wall, let alone how it must have been to build it. But today we keep taking it apart. So is society more civilized now? Or more idiotic?”

Today Dong comes across as a gentle, scholarly figure, one who has dedicated more than half his life to the study and preservation of the Great Wall, but contemplating its parlous condition revives the youthful indignation that propelled him on his original quest.

“Yes, I admit I can be reckless and emotional when talking about the damage sometimes,” he says. “It’d be better if I could deliver my message in a more rational and gentle way.

After trekking 508 days, the trio arrived at Jiayu Pass in 1985.

courtesy Dong Yao-hui

“But I can’t control it. I’m so upset — it’s a pain that comes from the bottom of my heart.”

Dong’s anguish isn’t without justification, with the wall continuing to face threats. In 2014, the Great Wall Society, which Dong founded and is now vice president of, reported that only 8.2% of the structure was in good condition.

Dong tries to put such stories in a positive light, saying the fact that these issues are even appearing in the news suggests there’s been a change in attitude regarding the Great Wall.

“In these 35 years, the effort to protect the Great Wall has changed [immensely],” he says.

“Before the nation reformed, every village was destroying the Great Wall so it wasn’t considered news. Today, the media fights to report on it and people condemn it. The overall awareness of Great Wall preservation has improved.”

Witnessing the damage being done to the Great Wall, Dong devoted his life preserving it.

Harry Forbes

Cable technician-turned-‘Son of the Great Wall’

Dong can, of course, take a lot of credit for this. These days he’s known as the “Son of the Great Wall,” with a reputation as its leading authority. When US Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton visited the wall, he was their designated expert guide.

The respect conveyed on Dong is on display on another spring day earlier this year as CNN Travel joins him during a visit to the Jinshanling section of China’s Great Wall, in Hebei province, about two and a half hours northeast of Beijing.

Wearing a modest checkered shirt and a pair of dress pants, he is welcomed by a village of local officials and managers, before putting on a red hiking jacket to climb up the wall’s stairs, his agile frame always a step ahead of the crowd.

“Mr. Dong hasn’t been here for a while now,” one of the managers says with a broad grin, before updating the special visitor on the status and conservation works happening along this section of the wall.

The bespectacled scholar quietly nods and occasionally whispers short inquiries.

A survey carried out in 2014 found that only 8.2% of the Great Wall is in good condition.

Yong Xiong/CNN

Work to preserve the Great Wall began in earnest in 1987 — three years after Dong’s hike — when UNESCO inscribed it was a World Heritage Site. Since then, China has implemented a number of measures to protect the world-famous attraction.

The Cultural Relics Administrative Department was given control over the overall protection of the Great Wall.

Meanwhile, a new daily visitor cap of 65,000 has recently been implemented at the popular Badaling section of the Great Wall to improve the overall experience and prevent deterioration. A three-grade warning system will also be deployed to warn tourists about the size of the crowd on the wall — all in real-time.Other measures include the demolition of a heavily commercialized tourist market at the foot of Badaling. It’s to be replaced with a Great Wall-themed cultural square by 2022.

China’s Great Wall was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

Yong Xiong/CNN

Great Wall tourism: Turning the poorest into the wealthiest

“Great Wall tourism gives the local community a tremendous push as it develops,” says Dong.

“Look at Mutianyu, a village at the foot of the Great Wall. It was once the poorest village in Huairou district. Some 30 years after it has tapped into Great Wall tourism, it’s now the wealthiest village.

“How did it go from the poorest to the wealthiest? It didn’t steal and sell a single brick from the Great Wall — what it sells is the culture of the Great Wall.

“We must develop local economies so the local farmers can enjoy the benefits and fruits of Great Wall preservation. Then you don’t even need to ask them to stop damaging the wall or stealing bricks — they just wouldn’t do it.”

Dong places his palm on the weathered wall, still contemplating it as he did 35 years younger. But today, he ruminates on a mission grander than his own journey.

“Someone, once upon a time, dug up some earth, molded it into a brick,” he says. “Someone else brought it all the way up the mountain and built a wall. Then many people guarded the wall for hundreds and thousands of years.

“The Great Wall is definitely alive. It isn’t just a cold, stone wall. When you put your palm on the wall, you’re holding hands with countless of ancestors from over the years.”

The post Walking the Great Wall of China: How did Dong Yao-hui cover it all? appeared first on Tripstations.

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ycungwings-archived · 6 years ago

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( UPDATED SHIPS LIST )

BECAUSE I’M too lazy to actually update the list itself on my blog ( i will eventually ), here’s the updated list. if i’ve missed any, lemme know !! or if the status has changed, lemme know !!

TAKEN ( muses i will no longer take ships for )

asher won → wonjae go chungha → changho devin chae → shaofeng hayden cheon → felix / luca hayden cheon → minwoo min hyesung → namgi lee jiho → sunny park jihyo → jiseok cho jungwoo → noah zhen linong → taken hua meilin → daeshim kim minhee → taken rigel → jiseok kim sua → taken sunny yao → shaofeng taiyi → yuetu theo choi → jiseok vita → lirka wu weina → minghao liu yijun → daniel fang yinghua → yanjun yu zhangjing → haneul baek hajoon → lincoln yoon jaehyun → lucas adela seo → isaac riley jeon → isaac earlene cho → duke camilla jung → conley tate baek → taeyong caleb lee → jingyi wilfred lim → jangjun jamie seo → jisung althea fan → arzer won heejun → hwaseong

RESERVED / SELECTIVE MULTISHIP ( still open for shipping but v selective )

byun haeju → eros kaelan han → changbin won karin → taeil won karin → myungdae cao lifen → byungchul mars hwang → kibum kim seola → hyunseob jo yejun → jihoon michael jeon → joowon baek juwon → daesun kang dohee → taeyong kwon daeyeol → xiaolong w. junseo → wonho maverick wutthipong → zitao li guiying → sicheng huang liwei → jinfu nate song → raizen chae jaemin → rodger edgar yoo → hajoon chen luxun → delun / chanyeol chen luxun → shouhei lin delun → reserved for @hcurcux seven chen → kevin caden lee → anthony heo eunju → duckie noh kitae → minchul jung dohyeon → alvin yang huijin → alvin zhao mingjie → bohai

MULTISHIP

alaina son → sven alessandra kang → nova bailey hong → aries carina yeo → kangta

#( updates. )

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dancingthesambaa · 3 years ago

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The Smell of Plum Blossom Tea Ch 4

Summary: Just like a butterfly wing, a single act of kindness can change the course of the future, it certainly did for MK as a black-furred monkey put out a hand towards him.

Rating: Teen and up

Chapter 4: Ramen Noodles for the Soul

There was a battle commencing as two shadows faced off against each other, one being a ghastly figure that had the body of a tiger, but nine human heads with elongated necks and the other was a petite woman and all she had with her was a fan. The dark area surrounding them was riddled with buildings ripped apart and the still bodies of people then the beast lunged at her with a silent roar.

“The Kaiming Shou ran first as they viciously tried to strike the Geisha down,” the voice said as the creature was about to tackle her down, “but she was too quick for him,” the woman elegantly dodged as she leaped into the air.

“The woman was through with the beast wanton destruction so with her aim true she cut off the first head,” the woman fan opened and it had cut off one of the creature heads. “And then the second,” the next head soon plopped to the floor as she continued that action until she was left with only a headless body, “until finally none remained and with a flick of her fan,” The Geisha’s eyes seemed to narrow minutely as she gently waved her fan to the beast and it erupted in a gulf of blackened flames. “they had burned into the nothingness.”

The scene then transformed into one of peace, the bodies and destruction vanished and in its place, a field of flowers had grown next to a rustling town.

“No one knows exactly where the Geisha had gone nor who she was, but that had no purpose in the townspeople's eyes as they were grateful for saving them in their time of need,” the voice continued as the villagers all bowed to the field of flowers. “So they tell this story, not in hopes of finding who she was, but rather to tell all that if you ever happen to meet the valiant woman that saved them from ruins, to kindly welcome her with open arms.” The scene faded to black and a few seconds later a round of applause erupted with cheers quickly pursuing.

The voice took off his hood and gave a mock bow to the audience as made his way off the stage to let the next person go.

“Mac, why are you such a hard act to follow,” one of the performers sighed as he walked towards the stage, “you know everything after yours is gonna be less than mediocre.”

“Then get good,” he smirked.

“Maybe you're just too good,” he playfully punched the monkey's shoulder as he went to the stage to set up.

“That was awesome!” A young boy bolted from his seat as he collided into Macaque, “super cool!”

“Thanks kiddo,” he said as he lifted him off the ground and tucked him under his arm, “now let’s find your sister before she rips off your head.”

“Pfft, Yan Yan won’t be too-,”

“BAO!” A voice sternly called out and he could feel the boy shrink.

“Shit,” he muttered as he soon saw his sister followed by his brothers and sisters and a certain Jellyfish demon, “double shit.”

“Thank you for finding him Mackey, your plays are marvelous as always,” the bluenette woman gave a quick smile to her former teacher and her eyes pivoted on her idiot brother as it tightened, “as for you.”

“I love you very much,” Bao said with puppy dog eyes and a pout as soon as he was let down.

“Really,” Bohai deadpanned as one of the children began to play with his tendrils.

“Cute, but that stopped working a long time ago,” she instead began to lecture him on the dangers of leaving without telling anyone as they all left, some even complimenting him on his play as they walked by.

“Yan is really protective when it comes to them,” Mei hummed out as she dragged MK by the sleeve of his purple jacket, who was morning.

“You should see when they go out in the street, that’s a right nightmare,” he said as he tied his fluffy mane of fur back up in a ponytail. “Swear the only reason she is friends with Bohai is that he can help wrangle all those kids.”

“Soooo, I didn’t know you were such a theater nerd,” she mischievously grinned. She was excited to find out that the tough, grumpy monkey actually had a love for the theatrics and voluntarily went out from time to time to play at the theater. She teased him endlessly for this the second she found out about it.

“Dad likes his dramatics,” MK unhelpfully replied as he crossed his arms.

“What’s got you so moody,” the father asked and all he got was a groan in response.

“Someone dropped all of his snacks and he won’t stop whining about it,” she teased him.

“My caramel popcorn was in there!” He dramatically cried out and fell to his knees. “All that delicious goodness! Gone!”

“How about ol doc over here can take us to this amazing noodle shop I know,” Mei patted his shoulder.

“Really?” He looked up at her with hope.

“I am?” Mac quirked one of his eyebrows.

“Yes, because you don’t want two poor children to go hungry,” the fourteen year old put her hands on her head in a faint.

“I am soo hungry,” MK flopped on the ground to emphasize both of their points.

“I guess if I have to,” he begrudgingly agreed in a mocking tone as the two teenagers cheered.

“I’m telling you, this place's noodles are simply to die for,” Mei said as they approached a restaurant called Pigsy Noodles.

“I’ll take your word for it,” the monkey demon shrugged as Mei opened the doors wide open and they heard a friendly voice greet them.

“Welcome to Pigsy Noodles!” They saw a short pig in an apron turn around to face the group, “How can I help-,” he paused for a moment as he stared not at the kids, but rather at the monkey that was accompanying them. He didn’t know why, he never met the chimp before, but something felt a bit...off about that simian.

He wasn’t the only one as Macaque felt almost a tinge of tension, now he met all types of Pig demons, but he has never felt one so similar to Zhu Baije before.

It was a tense stand-off before Mei butted in, “We are here for your finest noodles! I promised MK here that yours is simply the best!”

This snapped the pig out in an instant as he smiled at the two, “well of course it is, come and sit. I’ll have the menu out in a jiffy,” he gave a nod and turned to grab the items.

The three sat down and the monkey gave a quick once over on Pigsy, both physically and spiritually, and relaxed once he realized that, no this was not the original Zhu Baije, it was just someone that had an eerie likeness to him. But he still kept a careful eye out to him and he knew that Pigsy was doing the same as he kept glancing over to him from time to time as he prepared another customer's food.

“Mmmm, this is good!” MK said as he slurped some of the noodles.

“What’d I tell you,” Mei said with her mouth full of Yao mein.

Macaque mentally agreed as he sat in between the both of them and silently ate his food.

“Many thanks from such esteemed customers,” the pig demon jokingly said.

“It’s quite good,” another voice added, though this time Pigsy's smile quickly turned to irritation at that voice.

“It's better to be the best damn thing you have eaten with the number of times you don’t pay freeloader,” he said.

“Ah, but isn’t the knowledge of my experience of my worldly knowledge of the unknowns, myths, and truth that surround our world. Whether it comes from the depths below to the heavens high in the sky, truly that is the greatest substance of all ” the man mysteriously says as his glasses almost glinted.

“Is it money,” Pigsy deadpanned.

“No,” the aura of mystery that surrounded him suddenly dissipated as he sheepishly grins.

“Then I don’t care!”

“What kind of unknown?” MK perked up as he turned to look at the stranger. “Is it cool? Are they adventures?”

“How about fights? Are there lots of action packed ones filled with danger and mysteries?!” Mei joined in as she got interested as well.

“All of that and more,” the stranger hopped into the chance to tell some of the stories that he had uncovered. “You have all heard the tale of the Legendary Monkey King, correct?”

“Yeah!” They both excitedly cheered but paused as they glanced back to Macaque who was still eating.

“As long as you don't up and leave the restaurant, you can listen,” he waved them off very much knowing why they looked to him in the first place. “Get me another bowl please,” Mac said to Pigsy as he handed him some money.

The pig just nodded as he turned his back to start up another bowl.

The two smiled at him and rushed off to hear the stories on the other end of the counter and that left both Pigsy and Macaque alone together, who both silently decided that it would be best to passively listen to the story than talk to each other.

“-and legends say, that only one with vast knowledge and strength are the only ones they can create the mystical pills of immortality,” Tang mysteriously said as the mythical book was laid out between them.

“So only people with amazing powers can do that!” MK’s eyes widened. “So cool!”

“Or they can just steal it, like the Monkey King,” Mei grinned.

“Or that too,” Tang nodded to her, “but even that was a feat in itself that he had managed to successfully procure such valuable items in that time frame.”

“Man it must be tough to find them all,” MK said.

“It is, some are deep under the seas where only the legendary dragons dwell, another is high up on the mountain tops where you have to pluck it just right or else you have to wait for eons before trying but want to know a secret,” Tang leaned in.

“Yeah,” they whispered and followed suit.

“There is said to be a plant in the Plum Blossom forest that is an ingredient to make the Pills, but no one has yet to find it,” the man happily stated as he began to talk, not knowing of the two nervous glances as they forced themselves not to turn around to a certain monkey.

Macaque only grinned into his cup once he heard that, but Pigsy scoffed.

“Sounds like a bunch of nonsense to me,” he said as he wiped down the counters.

“Well every myth has a fraction of the truth,” he rebutted, “so I’m not giving up my exploration yet.”

“You visit the forest?” Mei curiously asked.

“I try to go as much as I can, but not just for the plants, there is rumored to be all types of different mythical creatures and spirits that wander in the forest,” Tang excitedly said.

“Oh really,” MK forced out with a pained grin, Mei was the same as she had seen some of them when she slept over one day. “That sounds really cool.”

“So,” the pigtailed girl tried to redirect the conversation, “I want to hear more about the Monkey King or any other gods, please.”

“Well I do have one in mind,” the man's eyes lit up as he flipped through the pages.

The two kids have a sigh of relief.

“The Six Eared Macaque is an interesting one.”

And immediately they both tensed back up.

“He is a demon that has caused mass confusion throughout history as no historian can agree which version is correct,” he landed on a page with a shadowed monkey with glowing violet eyes that seemed to bore into them.

“Oh, well-,” MK was cut off by Tang as he went on.

“Is he this one-note villain that simply stood in the Monkey King way or is he more of the mischievous trickster that helped wandering souls against vengeful beings and healed those when they asked. Is he both? If so, was he the healer before or after the Journey? If before then why did he decide to attack the Monkey King? If after, how did he survive that last attack? There are just too many questions that surround the origin of the Six-Eared Macaque, it’s truly quite fitting due to his nature.”

“It really is,” Mei gritted her teeth and slowly turned to face said Monkey demon, “hey Ma-I mean fluffy, I think it’s time we head home, right MK.”

“Yes we do,” he robotically said as the two made their way back to him.

“Oh is it getting late?” Tang blinked, “I didn’t even realize it.”

“It’s all good,” Macaque smirked as he ruffled the two heads, “nice stories.”

“History you mean,” he gave a wide smile, “besides, they were very good listeners…sorry I didn't catch your name?”

“Macaque,” he happily ignored the kid's panicked stares at him.

The man looked at him for a solid minute before laughing, “like the Six Eared Macaque! What a strange coincidence.”

“It sure is,” he smirked.

“Your parents must have loved the myths then,” he wiped a tear.

He shrugged, “it came along the way.”

Tang was a bit confused by that, but before he could ask the monkey he put a hand on both of the teenager’s shoulders and they seemed to vanish the next moment.

“…alright I’m not even gonna question how,” Pigsy grumbled as he continued cleaning.

“He vanished like a thief in the night,” Tang said in amusement.

“At least this thief paid for his food,” the pig grumbled then he noticed that there was some money with a note. Pigsy took a glance at the message and he gave a slight grin, “congratulations Tang, I won’t be on your ass today about your meal.”

“Huh, but you never let go of a chance to put it over my head?” The historian questioned as he walked over.

“Well you can thank their dad,” the pig demon showed him the note and he read it.

Thanks for keeping them entertained, food is on me.

“Well that is nice of him,” he smiled, “I hope they come back sometimes.”

“Hmph, any paying customers are more than welcome,” the pig said as he continued his cleaning, while the historian was more than happy as he continued to eat.

It was the middle of the day and both kids had their designated classes, whether online or home tutoring, and he was currently plucking out some of the weeds from a batch of Morning Glories when he saw the flowers bloom. “Back again already crackpot,” he called out as he took out one of the longer weeds he was plucking out of his mouth.

A croaky voice with a laugh, “what can I say, I can’t stay away from your glowing personality.”

He rolled his eyes as he stood up and turned to meet a balding old man with frizzy red hair and no shoes on his feet, “fuck off.”

The old man gave him a toothy grin as he flopped to the ground, poured a cup of wine, and held it out to the monkey.

“A bit too early for a drink there Shen,” he mused as he took the cup from his hand and sat next to him.

“It’s late somewhere else,” he chuckled and leaned back against one of the Plum trees.

“Yeah yeah,” he waved him off and took a sip of the drink, “don’t you get tired of drinking the same shit every time?”

“Yep,” Shen said.

“And you're still not gonna switch it out any time soon?”

“Nope,” he grinned and took a swing.

“You know one day you’re gonna tell me what the hell this is,” he grumbled in his drink.

“Not on my life.”

“Thought so.”

“Hey Dad,” MK called out as he entered the infirmary, “do you know where-,” he paused as he saw that he wasn’t alone.

“Didn’t expect you to have a hatchling,” the large alligator demon said, or what he assumed was an alligator as he looked almost similar to a ghost but in blue.

“Not most do,” Mac said as he picked out a violet plant and started to look it up in a book.

“Uhhhh,” his mind was running a mile a minute trying to come up with what was happening. “Sorry?”

He waved him off, “just be glad it wasn’t surgery.”

“So what is going on?” He asked as he slowly closed the door behind him.

“Just whipping up an antidote for him,” he hummed out.

“I didn’t know ghosts needed medicine.”

“Not a ghost,” the alligator muttered.

“Huh?”

“What he means is that he’s in his corporeal form,” Mac further explained as he began to dice up the plant. “Had to with the amount of poison in his system, so I just placed him in the lamp as usual.”

“Poison!? Lamp?!” He said in alarm.

“…oh I guess you have never seen it before, hold on.” Mac finished placing the last ingredient inside, stirred it, and let it simmer. He turned to the alligator, “want to rest or free roam?”

“Rest,” he said.

The monkey complied as he used his tail to grab a lantern and in the next moment, the transparent demon was gone.

“What is that?” MK went forward to get a better look.

“This is the Shadow Lamp, it allows me to store people's bodies in there, which puts said bodies in a stasis thus allowing me plenty of time to make the medicine needed.”

“Oh, so it’s like a fancy tool to help patients! Why don’t all doctors have this?”

“Cause originally this was not a medical tool,” he explained as he carefully set the lamp down.

“A weapon? How?” He tilted his head, he didn’t see how a lamp can cause harm.

“It was used to suck the bodies in the lamp, but be able to control their shadow against their own will,” he inwardly chuckled at MK's shocked face.

“What?! That can happen?!”

“Yep.”

“But wait?” He backtracked as he looked at the lamp, “if it’s so dangerous why are you using it?”

“At the end of the day, a weapon is just a tool,” he quietly said, “it doesn’t have any emotions, no attachments, no moral conceptions, it’s just a tool that anyone can use. It’s the one who uses the weapon that determines how the tool can be used.”

“Really?”

Macaque paused as he looked into MK bright eyes, he gave a small smile.

“Really.”

He put away his supplies and safety materials before ruffling MK’s long hair. “Now how about you tell me what you were originally here for nightlight.”

“Oh right! Do you know where the spare water bottles are? The others have holes punctured in them.”

“Damnit Minsheng,” Mac pinched his nose, “they should be in the bottom cabinet by the fridge.”

“Thanks!” He said as he left the infirmary, “Want me to bring you anything?”

“No, I’ll be a bit busy,” he muttered as he took out his phone, “I have a few arrangements to make, specifically with some glue, rope, and a whole lot of glitter.

“Hey Pigsy!” MK hollered out as he walked into the shop, “the usual please!”

“Coming right up,” the pig grinned as he was already preparing his order.

The fifteen year old grinned as he sprawled over the counter, “Tang not here today?”

“Surprisingly no, he’s probably off at the library or some antique store,” the pig demon then noticed that he was alone, “surprised I don’t see Macaque or Mei here.”

“Well Mei wanted to pick out her future bike, so she dragged Dad over to the auto shop.”

“Auto Shop? For a bike?”

“Motorcycle,” he explained.

“Ah,” he nodded and placed his food in front of him, “bon appetit.”

“Thank you!” He cheerfully replied as he dug into his food.

Pigsy just grins at the boy as he was about to go back to cleaning up since MK was the only one in, but he paused as a probing thought couldn’t leave his mind. He knows it wasn’t any of his business and he hasn’t seen anything damaging nor even concerning, but his damn gut has been bothering him ever since he laid eyes on him. “So kid.”

“Hm?” MK looked up as some noodles were hanging from his mouth.

“I'm a bit curious about your old man, he isn’t the chattiest bunch and I’m a bit curious at what he does,” he casually asks.

“He’s a doctor!”

“Really?” Now that was a surprise, he was betting on being some sort of martial arts teacher.

“Really! He’s super smart and a bunch of people and demons go to him, he’s even had a student before.”

“Huh, doesn’t seem like the type to take on a student.”

“No, but she was really persistent,” he grinned at the understatement.

“I bet.”

“Though he is a bigggg worrywart,” he leaned back from his chair.

“He is?”

“Oh yeah, like there was this one time when I was ten that I scraped my finger against a really thorny plant and when I yelled out, he instantly picked me up and started to treat my entire arm as he tried to find out if the plant was poisonous while asking me if I had a fever, nausea or any other symptoms and during that entire time I was not let down,” he deadpanned.

He snorted at the image, “that certainly is unexpected.”

“He also sometimes performs shadow plays at the theater.”

“Flair for the dramatics,” he quirked his eyebrow.

“Like you wouldn’t believe it,” he nodded.

Pigsy chuckled, “makes me wonder how he met your mother then.” Though he stopped as he saw MK fell silent and his face flushed. “…did I say something wrong?”

His head shot up and he shook his hands, “No! Nothing! You said nothing wrong! Well-actually a bit, but not anything mean! It’s just that-well he…adopted me.” He couldn’t help the grin that formed on his face.

“Oh-shit, I’m sorry that was really callous of me,” he winced, “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“My loss?” His grin faded at the unusual statement.

“Your parents,” he clarified.

“Oh,” face completely slack and blank, “they're not dead.”

Pigsy’s eyes blinked, “Oh,” then he came to the realization of just what he meant and his voice and face dropped, “oh.”

MK gave a sad little smile, “Yeah, he actually found me in a back alley when it was about to rain and he adopted me from that point on. He may not be blood related to me, but he’s still my dad.”

The pig smiles and begins to heat some noodles, “and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Now, you want some more? This one is on the house.”

“Yes please!” He perked up.

Pigsy couldn’t help but give a wide smile at the child's affectionate nature, it was contagious.

‘Glad for my gut to be wrong for once,’ he mentally thought as he poured the soup in, ‘he just looks like the usual jackasses you see in the underbelly, but he’s just a protective bastard for his kid…kids, half sure that he practically adopted girlie.’ He should ask the monkey next time he comes in, it would be hilarious to see his reaction…damnit Tang has infected him.

Macaque was standing in front of the two teenagers in one of the forest's many clearings, “So after much deliberation, I decided to finally teach you how to actually fight.”

“I told you we would wear him down eventually,” Mei nudged MK, but they were both caught off guard when their feet were swept under them and they fell on their butts.

“First lesson, don’t let your guard down,” he said as his tail gently swished behind him, “that is the height of stupidity that will get you killed.”

“Noted,” they both groaned.

“Now,” he waited for a bit for them to get on their feet, “I can’t promise you that I am an expert on martial arts, most of my moves are just street fighting, but I can promise you that by the time I’m done with you guys, you will actually have a chance to put up a fight.”

MK and Mei listen intently.

“Mei,” she perks up, “I know your family has some sort of dragon ancestor right?”

“Oh yeah! The Great Dragon of the West Sea,” she proudly stated.

Macaque could only blink at the irony as he quickly realized just who her ancestor, or rather the son of the said ancestor, was, “Nope, not going to open that can of worms,” he muttered. “But yes that, and I believe that you have already looked through some of the martial arts teachings that was formed by him?”

“Yeahhh, but I’m having real trouble with actually learning some of the moves,” she nervously chuckled.

“That’s cause it shares the same qualities as Tai Chi, though with much serpentine movement, I have fought quite a few with that kind of style and usually two things stand out to me, they are quick and accurate.”

“Like a snake,” she nodded.

“Like a snake,” he agreed, “I can definitely teach a few off of the top of my head, but it would probably be best if I see a few of your scrolls at a later point so I can demonstrate.”

“Hell yeah!” She pumped her fist in the air.

“Alright, MK,” his head perked up at the call of his name, “you have zero knowledge of any type of fighting.”

He deflated at that.

“Which makes it easier to incorporate my style onto you.”

He instantly inflated back up.

“If there is one thing I have learned in all my years of fighting is-,” he vanished from view and both kids scrambled forward to escape being surprised from behind, only to be startled when they found their heads being gently pushed down from above and they were once again sprawled out.

“Be unpredictable,” he cheekily stated as he landed back down.

“Why do I get the feeling that we’re going to be falling down a lot,” MK said as he lifted his face off the grass.

“I have a feeling you're right,” Mei muttered as she laid flat on her back.

“Like I said, welcome to your first class my unruly disciples,” he gave the most shit eating grin, “you have a lot to learn.”

#monkie kid #mk #macaque #PlumTeaAU

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bookofjin · 5 years ago

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Biography of Sima Xiuzhi

[From WS037]

Sima Xiuzhi, courtesy name Jiyu, originally a native of Wen in Henei, was a descendant of Emperor Xuan of Jin's third younger brother the King of Qiao, Xun. [Sima Xun was the son of Sima Fang's sixth son, Sima Jin]. When Sima Rui usurped the establishment South of the Jiang, he again used Xun's sons and grandsons to inherit the fief. Arriving at Xiuzhi's father, Tian, he was Sima Changming's General who Garrisons the North and Inspector of Qing and Yan provinces.

5th Year of Tianxing [402 AD], Xiuzhi became Sima Dezong's General who Pacifies the West and Inspector of Jing province. He was pressured and expelled by Huan Xuan, and thereupon ran to Murong De. After Liu Yu executed Xuan, he returned to Jianye, and Yu again used Xiuzhi as Inspector of Jing province. Xiuzhi quite obtained the hearts of the people of Jiang and Han, Liu Yu suspected he had different aspirations. And Xiuzhi's son Wensi, who continued Xiuzhi's elder brother Shangzhi as King of Qiao, planned and plotted against Yu. Yu arrested and sent him off to Xiuzhi, ordering him himself to act on him. Xiuzhi petitioned to depose Wensi, and also sent Yu letters to lay out his apologizes.

At the middle of Shenrui [414 – 416], Yu gathered Xiuzhi's son Wenbao and his elder brother's son Wenzu, and killed them both, and then led the multitudes to chastise Xiuzhi. Xiuzhi sent up a petition to explain himself to Dezong. He, together with the General who Garrisons the North, Lu Zongzhi, Zhongshi's son, the Grand Warden of Jingling, Gui, and others, raised troops to chastise Yu. Yu's army arrived at Jiangling. Xiuzhi was unable to stand against him, and thereupon ran with Gui to Xiangyang. Yu then advanced the army to chastise him. Taizong dispatched Zhangsun Sun to station in Hedong, commanding him to be of aid to him. At the time Yao Xing's General who Conquers the Caitiffs, Yao Chengwang, and the General of the Best of the Army, Sima Guofan, likewise commanded troops to relieve him, but did not catch up and turned back. Xiuzhi thereupon, together with his son Wensi, Zongzhi and others, ran to Yao Xing.

Yu exterminated Yao Hong. Xiuzhi, together with Wenzi, Dezong's King of Hejian's son Daoci, the General who Assists the State, Wen Kai, the Interior Clerk of Jingling, Lu Gui, the Within the Seats of Jing province, Han Yanzhi and Yin Yue, the Army Advisors who Pacifies the West, Huan Mi and Huan Sui, Huan Wen's grandsons Daodu and Daozi, Diao Yong of Bohai, Yuan Shi of Chen commandery, and others, several hundred people, all brought along their wives and children to go to Song and surrender. During what was the left of the month, Xiuzhi passed on at Song's army. A decree said:

Sima Xiuzhi led his compatriots in righteousness, and from ten thousand li returned to sincerity. His courtly style was not fulfilled, in his middle years he languished and fell, We very much pity him. Thus posthumously confer on him Great General who Conquers the West, Brilliantly Blessed Grandee of the Right, his posthumous title the Public [sheng] Duke of Shiping.

Wensi was not at peace with the Duke of Huai'nan, Guofan, and the son of Chiyang, Daoci, yet pretended to be intimate with them, and called on to drink and feast with them. Guofan by nature neglected straightness, and because of that got drunk with alcohol. He thereupon explained to Wensi, telling that he himself wanted to go outside with Wen Kai and the Hu chieftains of Sancheng, Wang Zhen, Cao Li and others and rebel. And following that explained that the prominent and strong of the Imperial City who could be planning with him were several tens of people. Wensi informed on them, and all were convicted and executed.

Used Wensi as Commandant of Justice minister, and bestowed the feudal rank of Duke of Yulin. He was good at his duties, he listened to accusations and passed judgements on lawsuits. The hundred families did not again hide their feelings.

Liu Yilong dispatched general Pei Fangming to strike Yang Nandang in Chouchi. Shizu used Wensi as Acting with the Tally and Great General who Conquers the West, and advanced his feudal rank to King of Qiao. He supervised the various armies of Luo and Yu, and pressed on south to Xiangyang to intercept his return journey. He returned to the capital, and became Garrison Commander of Huaishuo. At the beginning of Xing'an [452 – 454], he passed away.

His son Mituo inherited the feudal rank. He was accordingly selected to wed the Princess of Linjing, but declined due to previously taking the daughter of the Duke of Piling, Dou Jin. He and Jin were both convicted of invoking curses and were sentenced to execution.

#ws037

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bookofjin · 5 years ago

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Annals of Taizu of Later Wei, Part 4

[From WS002. Covers 399 - 400.

Tuobai Gui campaigns against the Gaoche, builds a hunting park, worries about omens and lectures on history.]

[Tianxing 2, 22 February 399 – 10 February 400]

2nd Year, Spring, 1st Month, jiazi [28 February], first worshipped the High Deity at the Southern Suburb, using Shizu, August Emperor Shenyuan to pair with him, descended the altar and inspected the burning, completed the rites and turned around.

On yichou [1 March], an irregular amnesty for the Imperial City. First arranged the rules for the Three Carriages.

On gengqwu [6 March], the Chariot Drove on a northern tour. Separately instructed the various generals of a great assault on the Gaoche. The Great General and King of Changshan, Zun, and outhers with the Three Armies, to follow the eastern road and set out for Changchuan. The General who Garrisons the North, the King of Gaoliang, Lezhen, with the the Seven Armies, to follow the western road and set out for Niuchuan. The Chariot to Drive and personally direct the Six Armies following the middle road north-west from Boran River.

2nd Month, dinghai [23 March], New Moon, the various armies assembled together, and routed the Gaoche's more than 30 sections of diverse kinds. Captured more than 70 000 people, more than 300 000 horses, and more than 1 400 000 cattle and sheep.

The Great General of Agile Cavalry, the King of Wey, Yi, directed 30 000 cavalry to separately follow to the north-west and cut across the desert for more than 1 000 li. He routed 7 sections of their cast away and dispersed, captured more than 20 000 people, more than 50 000 horses, more than 200 000 cattle and sheep, more than 200 000 tall chariots, and also clothes, curios and various things.

Turned back to stay at Niuchuan. On reaching Bo Mountain also carved in the stone a record of the achievements. Distributed and bestowed the accompanying subjects each proportionally.

On gengxu [15 April], the General who Conquers the Caitiffs, Yu Yue, routed Zhang Chao in Bohai. Chao fled to Pingyuan and was killed by his partisans.

Used the captured Gaoche multitudes to erect a deer park, to the south it followed Taiyin, to the north it reached Changcheng, to the east it included Baideng, and it linked up to the western mountains, its breadth and length was several tens of li. Dug out a channel to guide the Wuchuan river and pour it out within the park, spread it apart into three ditches, to separately flow inside and outside of the palace walls. Also dug out a swan-goose pool.

3rd Month, jiwei [24 April], the Chariot Drove to arrive from the northern invasion.

On jiazi [29 April], began order the group of books of the Five Classics each to set up a Broad Scholar. Added to the Grand School of the Sons of State's teachers a staff of 3 000 people.

This Month [22 April – 20 May], Li Bian, a native of the Di, rebelled against Murong De, and requested aid from Ye. The Master of Writing of the Acting Tribunal, He Ba. Ba went with light cavalry to respond to him, he overcame Huatai, he gathered De's palace people and office stores. He also routed De's King of Guilin, Zhen, and gentlemen, magistrates, generals and soldiers, more than 1 000 people.

On bingzi [11 May], dispatched the General who Establishes Righteousness, Yu Zhen, and the Colonel of Outriders,Xi Jin, to chastise the Kudi's section's leader Yeyigan, and the Youlian section's leader Douyuni at Taihunchuan. They routed them. Kudi Qinzhi's son Tayigan [?] led his section groups to adhere to the interior. Zhen and others advanced to rout the Houmochen section, and captured more than 100 000 horses, cattle and sheep. They pursued and exterminated the cast away and dispersed, and entered Da'e Valley.

The Grand Warden of Zhongshan, Chouru, absconded to hide in Zhao commandery. He pushed forward Zhao Zhun from the crowd of bandits to be the ruler, with the title Envoy Holding the Tally, Great General who Conquers the West, Shepherd of Ji and Qing province, and Duke of Julu. Chouru became Zhun's Senior Clerk. They assembled partisans to fan confusion. Decreed the Army Leader of the Centre, Zhangsun Fei, to chastise and pacify them.

Summer, 4th Month [21 May – 19 June], the former Grand Warden of Qinghe, Fu Shi, assembled more than 1 000 families of partisans, titling himself General who Consoles the Army.

5th Month, guihai [27 June], the General who Conquers the Caitiffs, Yu Yue, routed and chastised him.

Autumn, 7th Month [18 August – 15 September], erected the Heavenly Splendour Hall.

On xinyou [24 August], a great hunt at the Deer Park. Hosted and bestowed to each proportionally-

Refugees from Chen and Henan, more than 10 000 people migrated inside. Dispatched messengers to look after and reassure them.

Yao Xing dispatched a multitude to besiege Luoyang, Sima Dezong's general Xin Gongjing requested aid.

8th Month [16 September – 15 October], dispatched the Grand Commandant, Mu Chong, to lead 6 000 cavalry to go and hurry to him

Added and began the Imperial City's twelve gates. Build the Western Military Arsenal. Removed half of the province and commandery population's rents and taxes.

On xinhai [13 October], decreed the rites officials to prepare an compile the multitudes' rites, and publish them with the new orders.

Lu Pu, a native of Fanyang, assembled multitudes at the sea shore, and declared himself Envoy Holding the Tally, Great General who Conquers the North, and Inspector of You province. He attacked and robbed the commanderies and counties, and killed the Inspector of You province, Feng Tagan.

Murong Sheng's Grand Warden of Liaoxi, Li Lang, raised up the commandery to belong to the interior. A leader of the Xihe Hu, Hunuoyu, a leader of the Dingling, Ditong, and a leader of the Shu, Han Long, all lead each other to adhere to the interior.

Winter, 10th Month [15 November – 13 December], the Great Temple was completed. Moved August Emperors Shenyuan, Pingwen, Zhaocheng, and Xianming's spirit tablets to the Grand Temple.

12th Month, jiawu [24 January], Murong Sheng's General who Conquers the Caitiffs and Grand Warden of Yan commandery, Gao Hu led 3 000 households to belong to the interior.

On xinhai [10 February], decreed the General of Gifted Officials, He Tuo to chastise Lu Pu.

The Heavenly Splendour Hall was completed.

This Year, Lü Guang established his son Shao as Heavenly King, and declared himself Grand High August. Guang died, his concubine son Zuan killed Shao and usurped the establishment. Tufa Wugu died. His younger brother Lilugu was established in replacement, he dispatched envoys to court with tribute.

[Tianxing 3, 11 February 400 – 29 January 401]

3rd Year, Spring, 1st Month, wuwu [17 January], He Tuo routed Lu Pu in Liaoxi. He captured Pu and his son Huan live, and transmitted and sent them off to the Imperial City. Tore them asunder.

On guihai [22 February], had affairs at the northern suburbs. Separately instructed various officials to travel and inspect the provinces and commanderies, to observe the people's manners and customs, and examine and expose the unlawful. Bestowed on the crowd of subjects cloth and silk each proportionally.

2nd Month, dinghai [17 March], decreed to have the minsters sacrifice daily at the eastern suburbs. Started to plough the sacred field.

On renyin [1 April], imperial son Cong passed away.

3rd Month, wuwu [17 April], established August Empress Ms. Murong.

This Month [10 April – 9 May], pierced the southern wall for a channel to pass through to within the city, and built the Eastern and Western Fish Pools.

Summer, 4th Month [10 May – 7 June], Yao Xing dispatched envoys to court with tribute.

5th Month, wuchen [26 June], decreed the Supervisor of Visitors, Zhang Ji, to envoy to Yao Xing.

On jisi [27 June], the Chariot Drove on an eastern tour. Thereupon favoured Zhuolu. Dispatched envoys to use a grand animal sacrifice to sacrifice at the Temples of Emperor Yao and Emperor Shun. Went west to favour Mayi and observed source of Lei.

Autumn, 7th Month, renzi [9 August], the Chariot Drove to return to the palace. Raised the Middle Heavens Throne-Hall, the Mica Fore-Hall, and the Golden Splendour Room.

11th Month [2 December – 31 December], the Gaoche's separate leader Chilijian led more than 900 groups to belong to the interior.

12th Month, yiwei [19 January], a decree said:

For generations it has been custom to say Gao of Han rose up in cloth clothes and yet had Under Heaven, this is to not have insight into its reasons. As for the Liu inheriting Yao's government, and for extensive generation continued with virtue, there were the summons of snakes and dragons, the coming of the bright hue cloud's response, the Five Wefts above assembled, the Heavenly Persons united together and clarifying the master of the modified instructions, the great rotation being rung. They cannot be considered not to to anticipate and beseech.

As such, the followers of the crazy and crafty, by means of those who stumble at the top yet do not stop, were truly misled by the explanation of the chasing the deer, and bewildered by Heaven's instructions. For that reason they are following the tracks of turning over the chariot, stamping the path of hostility and confrontation. Those whose poison are considerable overflow the provinces and commanderies, those whose damage are small wither in the districts and villages. Arriving therefore at a person dying with his name crumbling, misfortune reaches the nine clans, accompanying chaos and following the flow. To die with no remorse, how is not anguishing!

The righteousness of the Spring and Autumn is the beauty of the great unified command. Wu and Chu usurped titles, and after a long time were inflicted on execution and sundering. The lordly master belittles their bogus fame, and compares it to dust and dirt. To not oneself maintain the sagely and carry virtue, when the Heavenly persons combine and assemble, the legacy of emperors and kings, is it not useless to respond. As successively seen past and present, those who are not righteous yet seek with no anticipation, the followers lose their way of protecting the family, and submit to execution by blade and saw.

There are states and there are families. To truly be able to have the appointed time for pushing forward discarding and rising up, to scrutinize the unchangeable of Heaven's instructions, to notice the hidden conferral of a summoned response, to stop the perverse words of the competing contenders, cutting off the presumptuous indulgence of the opposing and outstanding, to ponder the many blessings of stopping when sufficient, then it is near to divine wisdom. If it is like this, then it can be considered to protect the glorious blessings for the Heaven [appointed] years, the flowing the remaining felicity to later generations. And so as such, if the reasons for calamity are contrary to having no chance then to live, how are troops and armour the causes then for rising up? In all their coming generations, [if you] do everything indeed to caution them, can [they] be unheeding!

At the time the Grand Scribe frequently memorialised the Heavenly Patterns were disorderly and chaotic. The Emperor personally inspected the classics on divinations, and often talked of changing the kings and altering he government, for that reason he several times modified the officials' titles. Firstly he wished to guard against and restrain the fell and crafty, secondly he wished to dispel the calamity in response to the mischance. Soon he worried about the crowd of subordinates being suspicious and confused, in their hearts vilifying and in their bellies criticizing.

On bingshen [20 January], then decreed, saying:

In the government of high antiquity, they placed above virtue and put down fame, they had duties yet had no feudal ranks, it was easy to govern and affairs were in order. For that reason perverse plans were put to an end, and did not rise up, the offending depravities were put to an end and did not flourish.

At the end of the Ji [clan] of Zhou, the subordinates transgressed and the sovereign declined. They used titles to settle themselves, and used ranks to arrange the blessings. The ministers for generations [had] their offices, the grandees carried out affairs, yang's potency was impeded, they discussed sending out families to accompany. For that reason covenant carried out like this rose up, war carried out like this flourished.

The ruin of Qin and Han was to let go of virtue and esteem extravagance. The able and not mixed and blended, the worthy and stupid were disturbing each other. The numerous officials were out of sequence and trusted not their people. Hence the way of the loyal and righteous being put to rest, the steadfastness of upright and shameful being discarded, the wind of withdrawing and yielding being cut of, the righteousness of blame and praise flourishing could not but to follow from the noble putting above fame and rank, yet calamity and defeat caught up with them.

In the past set up the Three Excellencies, the duties were great and the worries were heavy, for that reason it was said “there waited punishment for stewards and chancellors”. They wanted appointments and assignments to do their duties successfully, not empty favour and blessing. Yet the customs of the present generation in all instances consider assisting in government glorious and prestigious, they tiptoe with yearning and request it.

As for these postings as Ministers, they are assigned by the ruler of men, that is all. If he employs them, they are weighty, if he let them go, they are light-weight. As such, if officials are without regular fame, and rely on it being settled and divided. Thus if those who are worthy arrive, [they] can take away the empty designations of the honoured ministers [?].

As for Jie [of Xia] and Zhou [of Yin], they were facing south, but though exalted, they can be scorned. Ji Dan [the Duke of Zhou] was a subordinates, but though humble, he can be venerated. One official can be considered a model for wisdom, a wicker gate can be considered hanging down the law.

Regardless, considering the Way and the Virtue as fact, the worthy at overturning the cauldron, veils the house. Formerly, those who measured themselves, when brought to an end, then were righteously maintained. Those who braved to profit [?], when they were lost in person, then their fame was wiped out. The gains in fame from profit are the are the blemished disputes of praise and blame. The gains in virtue from the Way are the family treasure of godly understanding.

Thus for these reasons the Way and righteousness are the foundation of government. Fame and ranks are the end of government. Fame does not originate with the Way, and cannot be considered suitable. Ranks have no improvement for the times, and cannot be be considered usable. To make use of and not forbid is to be deeply ill. One who is able to control his mischances and not lose his propriety, is he alone a sage?

If those who come truly think of the reasons for success or failure, examine the causes of order and chaos, reflect on mistakes of Yin and Zhou, and strip off the evils of Qin and Han, then they are near to the government.

This Year, Qifu Qiangui was routed by Yao Xing. Li Gao privately appointed [himself] Shepherd of Linag province and Duke of Liang.

#WS002

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