Sorry that this is verylate and very short, but I have gotten so busy and my schoolwork isn't good and the worst part is that I'm about to get even more busier... -sigh- My life's a wreck right now, I'm twelve and yet I fell sixty. Expect slow updates for now, butI swear I will get this fic done. Don't expect action until the next chapter, I don't mean to drag stuff out.

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Ma Chao quickly raised his own spear to knock the one in his face away. He stared into the eyes of what looked to be an experienced Nanman warrior. But he didn’t have that much time to think for the Nanman was already attacking. Why were the Nanman this close? If this kept up, there would be an unofficial battle going on. He’d have to think on this later, he needed to concentrate on fighting.

“My blade shall deal with you!” “Dong Tu Ne will defeat you!” Their spears clashed. “And just what do you fight for?” Ma Chao asked, moving out of the way of Dong Tu Ne’s spear. “I fight to keep you invaders out, to keep our peaceful lives the way they are.” Ma Chao brought his spear up and deflected a blow; maybe, just maybe, he could get this guy to defect. “Change is necessary and comes whether you like it or not. Our kingdom is trying to regain the peace and bring justice to all!” “Justice? Peh. The likes of you are going to put us all into slavery and misery to obey your every command.” He steeped to the left and missed the blow from the angry Nanman.

“You’ve got it all wrong. Lord Liu Bei is a virtuous man! It is the evil Cao Cao of Wei that seeks to rule the land in chaos! We need to overcome his forces to restore the Han. We wish no ill feelings from you.” Ma Chao wasn’t much of a speaker, but it was possible he got the message through. Dong Tu Ne finally stopped his ongoing attack and pondered over this. “I will take some consideration over your words; you are wiser than you appear to be.” With that said, the Nanman general fled back into the forest.

Ma Chao sighed before looking up to the sky. How does he keep getting himself into all kinds of trouble? Jiang Wei must be rubbing off on him. Speaking of Jiang Wei, when was the wedding going to be? He had a feeling that she didn’t even know who she was marrying.

“Arg! Who the heck is the husband-to-be?! And why won’t anyone tell me?!” Huang Zhong looked on with amusement at Jiang Wei’s misfortune. “She…funny.” Oh, and Wei Yan was also amused. Jiang Wei sighed in defeat before slumping down next to Huang Zhong, or as Gan Ning liked to call him, “Old dude.” He gave her a brief look of sympathy before patting her roughly on the head. “I have no idea who the groom is, but once I find out, I’ll give the whelp a good beat’n for you.” Jiang Wei gave him a thank you before taking off.

Maybe she could go read to pass the time, but she should probably go see how pyro-boy’s doing. She felt kind of bad about thinking those things about him. As she entered the tent, she noticed Da Qiao slouched over Lu Xun with a worried expression on her sleeping face. She smiled softly before going over to Lu Xun and gently placing her hand over his and said, “Lu Xun, you need to get well soon, Da Qiao, Gan Ning, and even Lu Meng are worried sick over you. If you don’t wake up soon, I fear Da Qiao’s fragile heart shall break.”

Little did she know her words didn’t fall on deaf ears; Lu Xun heard the whole thing, or subconsciously really. Casting a final glance at the two, she walked off. Lu Xun wouldn’t mind her taking a peak at that Sun Tzu: Art of War book he’s always reading, right?

Lu Meng shook his head at Gan Ning. Gan Ning and Zhang Fei were having another drinking contest. The last one they had, had ended in a tie; they both passed out at the same time after drinking up almost all the wine Shu and Wu had. His friend’s attempt at besting Zhang Fei was rather irritating. Would you like a drunk Gan Ning singing off-key pirate songs hours long and beckoning you to join at the same time all night long?

He was also very worried about Lu Xun; the kid may not know it, but he was like a little brother to Lu Meng and Gan Ning. In fact Lu Meng worried about a lot of things, like Xiao Qiao for instance. She is so quiet, negative and depressed, it not only worrying and scaring Zhou Yu, but everyone, including Lu Meng, too.

He put a hand to his head; he really didn’t need this. The only other thing on his mind was Lady Yue Ying and he didn’t even know why. He had already told Gan Ning his worries and the only thing the ex-pirate said was, “Ah, don’t be such a Lu Xun!”

But with no Lu Xun, someone had to worry and unfortunately that someone had to be Lu Meng. He came back to reality and hearing two big thumps. Looking around, he saw that both of them had finally passed out. Lu Meng hefted Gan Ning onto his shoulder. This was going to be a long campaign.

Yue Ying glared from her corner in the main tent. Zhuge Liang took a second to glance at her before going back to his work. He was very aware that she hated him. But not just him, she hated them all. To her, men were no good scoundrels that had a narrow mind with only one thing in it; they were only looking for a good time. But, if she hated them, why was she thinking about one? Ever since that ‘incident’ she couldn’t stop thinking about Lu Meng. She never even noticed him before, so why is he always in her mind?

She remembered that she had made lies about herself, that she was a hideous beast, even though Yue Ying didn’t look bad at all. Making those lies about herself wasn’t an easy task for her to do, but she had to do it. At least she got a husband that somewhat respected her and gave her, her freedom.

So what if she was no Diao Chan, for all she cared, men could fall off the face of the earth and she would do nothing but laugh. She could probably get along with that Zhu Rong woman. Maybe she could sneak out and go join the amazons…nah, that would never work out, she was too loyal to Shu. But she couldn’t help but wonder, ‘How will this battle turn out?’

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Yep, very short. But it was all I could do just to write this bit. I was suppose to be doing schoolwork but instead wrote this down on paper. Oi, my hand hurts...oh well, I'm in a good mood, I have a new baby cousin! Not to mention my birthday's in two months, need to make up a birthday wishlist...I'll try my best to get up another chapter soon and hopefully it'll be way longer. Now for that birthday wishlist, lets start by putting down a tank, and maybe a flame-thrower or two...

A. Xiang Lian: Why would I get Lu Xun to burn fangirls? I don't wanna be burned. Whether he dies or lives, I'm still thinking that over. -backs away slowly- Uh, there's a Ma Chao plushie right through this steel door, and if you put on this special white jacket with very long sleeves and buckles you can get a, um...Ma Chao action figure!

Fanofdynastywarriors: That's okay, I've been busy too. Sorry that this chapter is even shorter than the last.

Pyrodragon88: What? Can't I be cruel from time to time? I know I'm insane, but I can also be mean. It's really no secret, who else would Gan Ning pick for Lu Xun to marry? That is if he survives...and I'm looking forward to that next chapter, you're a good writer.

CrazyInsanity: Ya' won't know if he lives or not until something happens, and let me guess, obsessed with Ma Chao? I agree with Zhou Yu, I don't think you have any sanity left, wanna join Xiang Lian in the nice room through that steel door? Jiang Wei will probably not, but I dunno, I'm making this up as I go along and it somehow fits together.