With the sun sinking below the horizon,the sky was gradually painted by an orange hue,an indication of the sun's daily farewell. The military camp was bustling with soldiers moving around carrying large pots of wines setting them on tables. The tables were adorned with wine pots and wine cups arranged in a similar pattern adding flavour and anticipation for the party that was about to begin in a few minutes. The ambience was quite lively as the soldiers chatted happily in pairs,trios while others in groups. Such kind of parties were usually held before war to boost their morale but sometimes it was regarded a way of paying respects in advance to deceased soldiers as death was absolutely inevitable in the battlefield.
Yang Zhi , the idolized general of the Xiang state was occupied verifying the military supplies required for the following day. It was her duty to do so to make sure there were enough weapons and replace faulty ones with new ones. A slight mistake would lead to grave consequences,massive death of the soldiers being the major one.
Yang Zhi had dedicated her life into nurturing and training Yingdui army at An City. After her Shifu died in war three years ago,she took over the position of the new general. Though many didn't approve her inheriting the position because she was still seventeen years then and the fact that she was a female she was at a disadvantage.
She proved them wrong by leading the troops in a war against the Huang State and achieved victory for two consecutive years . The soldiers respected her and adored her spoiling her with full service at the camp.
"Miss, someone sent this to the camp,"her male assistant Zu Mo rushed in to the tent holding a folded scroll in his hand.
Yang Zhi paused whatever she was doing and took the script from his hand and rolled it out. It was a painting of a uniquely crafted small bell, something she had never seen before neither did she have the faintest idea what kind of bell it was. She examined the painting with much scrutiny looking for further clues. At the bottom of the painting there was something written there.
"Mystic Bell?" Yang Zhi read furrowing her eyebrows confused about the strange painting.
"I think it's the name of the bell,"Zu Mo commented.
Meanwhile the soldiers outside were cheerfully singing war songs with a group of them gathered around a large fire roasting meat. The fusion of the meat's sweet aroma and the wine's aroma in the air created a special kind of excitement. Yang Zhi had lost the morale to celebrate. She was worried about the mysterious painting.
It was against the rules to leave the camp a day before the war. That time the gate to the camp was locked to avoid accidents before the day of the war. Yang Zhi had no choice but to sneak out of the camp and had Zu Mo feign an excuse for her absence.Zu Mo hyped them with the war songs and encouraged them to eat their fill to distract them from prying further about his master's whereabouts.
Yang Zhi stood at the highest point in An City which was the city's gate. An City was prone to wars and was sparsely populated with residents migrating during war seasons therefore people didn't invest much in construction of decent buildings. The moonlight shone directly on Yang Zhi's beautiful face,the cool night breeze blew her hair gently while she enjoyed the view outside the city gate.
"Why are we having an impromptu meeting?"a female velvety voice asked. The woman was dressed in a black tight dress blending with the night and her hair was tied up into a bun. She held her hands behind her back and walked confidently towards Yang Zhi.
"Tell me what's the problem?"
Yang Zhi turned around to face her ,a worried expression on her face. She rolled out the painting displaying it to her friend.
"Do you know this bell?"
"This? Oh..."she hesitated for a second as if finding the right words to explain it,"Mystic Bell is used to control puppets in the Huang State. It's said that there is a renowned sorcerer in the Huang State who is able to turn living people into puppets,"Yi Nuo explained.
"So you mean they will turn the soldiers into puppets?"
Yi Nuo nodded in agreement.
"But where did you get the painting from?" Yi Nuo asked inquisitively.
"Aren't you the one who sent it?"Yang Zhi questioned back in confusion. Yi Nuo hadn't sent the painting neither had she seen the mystic bell in real life. The knowledge she had about it was only from stories and rumours.
"We can identify the sender by looking at their painting style,"Yi Nuo proposed,"Leave the painting to me I will find the one who sent it,"She concluded.
Yi Nuo was an agent of Tower of Stars,a famous agency known for selling intel. Its headquarters was situated at the capital with several minor branches located in different cities to gather information nationwide .
Yi Nuo was stationed at An City along with other secret agents whom she communicated with through codes and relaying secret messages. She and Yang Zhi were childhood friends who got separated in their early teens and reunited in An City a few years later. They were each other's confidant despite their difference in background and status. Yang Zhi was from the royal family whilst Yi Nuo was the daughter of a courtesan.
As for the Huang State army,they had camped temporarily at the border of the two states. The place was deafeningly silent with little to no movement. Cheng Lei,the sole prince of the Huang State had stepped up to lead the troops in the war against the enemy state. He was a spoilt brat and his presence there was merely his father's order. His useless son was often criticized and so he created an opportunity for him to earn merit and prove his worth to the ministers and the citizens in attempt to gain their trust considering he was the only heir to the throne.
Paradoxically,Cheng Lei indulged in pleasure completely disregarding his father's instructions to curb his desires and conduct himself well before the war. There he was in a large bathtub taking a scented bath surrounded by girls. Each of the girls took turns to scrub his body while competing for his attention.
"Sir,your skin is so soft and your face...."she shook her head in disbelief. He was handsome with striking and well proportioned features. The girl traced his jawlines staring at him lustfully. Cheng Lei lowered his lustful gaze meeting hers. The girl bit her lower lip and fluttered her eyelashes at him. She had caught his attention. He wrapped his hand around her waist and pulled her close. The girl fixated her gaze on his lips and he noticed it and smirked in response. He knew he was good looking but no one had ever feasted on him with their eyes before like the girl did. He loved how shameless and bold she was displaying her desires without holding back
When he was hundred percent sure that the girl was dying to kiss him,the girl sneakily made a move on him elsewhere. With their bodies covered with water to waist level,she dipped her hand in the water and grabbed his member earning a gasp from him. She smirked at his reaction and started moving away with a smug expression as if she had achieved something big.
"Hey beauty why are you in such a hurry?"He grabbed her hand and pulled her back. While looking into her eyes,he took her hand and lowered it into the water and placed it on his half hard member that yearned for touch.
"Why don't you continue with what you started?" He said with a lustful smile and the girl complied with this command. She stroked his member giving him pleasure. He moaned shamelessly with all the girls watching him. They covered their mouths still in shock and not sure how to react.