Seal of Joy (Zhu Ran/Invited)

[Mikey]

Boluotan baked in the sun. People here were carefree, peaceful, seemingly disconnected from the chaos on the mainland. For some, Liu Qi was heaven. For the past few months, all Ba Zeng had done was fish on a small canoe-like boat. It was shaped like the beak of a bird, and was fast, mobile. On it, he visited tinier, exotic islands. Oddly enough, Ba Zeng's company was enjoyed by all of the locals.

Perhaps it had to do with him saving King Keladou's life at a celebration banquet.

Ba Zeng, of course, was an honored and serene guest from China (or so he told the locals). During the ceremony, Keladou began to choke on particularly crunchy piece of bread. Everyone surrounding the King panicked and jumped, yelling for help. The King's personal physician had the night off, apparently. Ba Zeng was trained in medicine by the best teachers in the far east, in the Indian subcontinent, under the masters of Kashmir Empire. Rather calmly, he rose, and preformed a manuever that sent the dreaded piece of bread flying across the table into an unappetizing plate of octopus.

Today, however, Ba Zeng was not in Keladou's court. He was in the marketplace, and despite trying to find comfort in a disguise, he couldn't. Since his departure from Wei, Ba Zeng had been in possession of the Imperial Seal. It had been recovered by none other than Lu Ling Qi, who had left Jian Ye only hours before Yuan Shu sent men to find and kill her. It was a time where Ba Zeng was seeing the true light of his future, and his conscious told him that it was his duty to take the Seal and transport it far, far away from China. Ba Zeng asked Lu Ling Qi if she would accompany him on the journey. She declined, saying rather that she would stay in China, and live as a fugitive.

They were both fugitives, Cao Cao only spared Zhang Liao, but whether or not he would've been kind as well to the other former officers of the Xu Empire was never to be seen.

The trouble with Ba Zeng's quest was simple: he didn't want to sell it to the merchants of Beloutan, they were greedy and corrupt. For a society as peaceful and pure of Liu Qi's still had the standards. The merchants would no doubt just try to sell the marvelous piece of jade to someone in China. The reappearance of the Seal would spark another war, no doubt. Something Ba Zeng wished to avoid.

Suddenly, a hand grasped his shoulder. Ba Zeng was cloaked, shrouded in a heavy green cape. A loose hood flowed over his head. He recoiled backwards, which was hard to do in a such a large crowd, when he heard someone say amongst the local dialogues: "Excuse me sir, I'd like to buy that Jade you showed the vendor back there..."

"It's not for sell." Ba Zeng said quickly, slightly flustered, he turned again and began to walk faster. Which was, unfortunately, difficult to do in a large crowd.

"But everything has a price--you were just bartering with that man back there!"

Ba Zeng kept walking.

"Now hold it!" The man reached for Ba Zeng's shoulder once more, it wasn't a threatening gesture, but Ba Zeng overacted. After all he was carrying the Imperial Seal of China in a foreign land.

"I said I changed my mind!" Ba Zeng grabbed the man's arm, holding him in place whilst his other hand connected to the merchant's chest. Ba Zeng's open palm sent the merchant backwards through the crowd. The merchant yelled in pain, and suddenly the crowd was quiet, a small circle formed around them.

His eyes scanned the area, not knowing what to do, he ran. Darting into an alleyway seldom visited was his best option, and he chose to do so when the opportunity arose. It was the best kind of alleyway. A place between two food vendors, a place only rats and other vermin shared company.

He sat down next a few boxes which guarded him from the eyes of the main road. Once again he took the ornate box which held the seal into his hands. With a click he unhinged the lock, and peered inside. There was the Seal, in the condition that it was in when Lu Ling Qi gave it to him.

Now, what the hell was he supposed to do with it?

[Kyle]

Zhu Yifeng found himself once again in Boluotan, capital of Greater Liuqiu. It was only his second time to visit the island nation, but the Prime Minister of Wu felt relatively comfortable making his way about the city. Yifeng enjoyed the atmosphere of Boluotan; it was not some scummy backwater, nor was it as chaotic as the larger cities of the mainland. Everything seemed so undemanding on Liuqiu; the pace was lax and everyone seemed to enjoy simply existing on their island paradise.

The Southlands statesman was there on official business, of course. The chances of Zhongmou ever allowing Yifeng a vacation were effectively nil. That aside, Yifeng certainly did plan on enjoying himself while he was away from both Zhongmou and his burdens on the mainland. He may have patched things up with his lifelong friend, but things were still tense. He needed time to clear his head, to fit himself into the mold that Zhongmou had made for him -- whether he liked it or not. This was the perfect time to do so.

His goal on Liuqiu was to meet with King Keladou once more, this time to etch out a, hopefully, more binding agreement between Wu and the island nation. The King was certainly an intimidating man, but Yifeng had achieved success last time, and he was not planning on failing this time. However, for whatever reason, the King was not holding court for a few days. Seeing this as an opportunity to do some of that relaxing he had in mind, Yifeng wrote Zhongmou a letter explaining the situation and then proceeded to squander the time away carelessly.

On this particular day, he found himself wandering through the market district of Boluotan. The streets were busy, as one would expect from the center of commerce in any nation. Yifeng did not particularly enjoy being surrounded by a bunch of commoners, but he understood that this was a necessary sacrifice he had to make if he wanted to buy anything, unfortunately. As he weaved through the crowded street, trying his best not to let his robes get dirtied by any poor people, a large commotion just a ways before him broke his intense concentration.

The traffic had stopped and Yifeng bumped into the man in front of him, as others pressed into him from behind. Immediately frustrated, he tried to weave his way through the crowd, not knowing why they stopped, nor caring about the reason either. As he reached the edge of the now circle of onlookers, Yifeng noticed the hooded man that everyone was looking at. There was a seemingly injured man on the ground across form the hooded figure, bystanders checking on him.

Hm, that's odd. Yifeng thought to himself gazing at the hooded man. Hood are an awfully conspicuous clothing choice. That aside, I might be imagining things, but from what I can make of his face, he looks like one of Han blood. Why would a hooded Han man be causing problems and attacking random locals?

The man looked flustered, concerned, and he quickly fled the scene, breaking through the circle of onlookers. Yifeng was not normally one to go around looking for trouble, nor was he one to involve himself in the disputes and affairs of others, but something nagged at him about that hooded figure. Something told him that he should follow, and that was what he did. I'll probably end up regretting this, oh well, I'm already moving.

The man was fast, surprisingly so, but Yifeng managed to keep him within his sight despite trailing behind the man. Weaving in in out of the crowd, Yifeng made sure to not draw too much attention to himself; he did not need this strange man to become aware of his presence just yet. Eventually the hooded figure ducked off into a particularly disgusting alley, no doubt hoping to remain out of sight.

Sighing heavily, Yifeng reluctantly moved toward the alley. It reeked of rotten foodstuffs and discarded trash. Of all places, of course he would choose here. Yifeng could no longer see the man, but the alley ended with a dead-end; there was nowhere the man could have gone. Yifeng gripped his jian's sheath and the handle; this was to prevent it from making noise, as well as to be ready should the man attack like a cornered animal would.

Why am I doing this again? Oh right, absolutely no reason. Great.

He proceeded slowly and cautiously. There were some boxes that blocked his view, and Yifeng figured that the man was likely hiding behind them. That would be his only option. I certainly hope that he is not expecting me. As he neared the boxes, his adrenaline began to release into his bloodstream. His breathing quickened and time slowed. He could hear his heartbeat and feel his blood course through his jugulars as he stepped nest to the boxes. However, instead of being greeted by an assault by a feral fugitive, Yifeng was stunned by the sight he was beholding.

Could it be?

"The Im-" Yifeng caught himself, his eyes wide at his terrible blunder. He steeled himself for the man's reaction, while trying not to seem threatening. Ready for any violent measures, Yifeng decided he should address the man. "What could a man of Han blood be doing stalking about in Boluotan so clandestinely?

[Mikey]

The gold dragon had an unnatural shine. Ba Zeng could see the reflection of his eyes in the dragon's belly, his past, the present and the future laid out for him so delicately. The Imperial Seal had a plan of its own, and its plan called him here to Boluotan. It wanted something, perhaps just a little air, or to be found and unleashed yet again. The Seal held immense power, power to cause grief, destruction, turn faction against faction, brother against brother.

The Jade was different, Ba Zeng only saw himself in the Jade that was clenched tightly in the dragon's mouth. The Jade was blacker than night, colder than the abyss, and unyielding in its will. It called to him, it wanted him to use it. The Jade wanted to give Ba Zeng the power that it held. Perhaps it was destiny that Ba Zeng, a person who was once a merciless manipulator of men to have come upon the Seal. In the Jade, Ba Zeng saw only selfishness, greed and the unstoppable lust for power. This was not the first time that the mystical Jade tested Ba Zeng's will, and it would certainly not be the last.

There--in the belly's reflection, another set of eyes, an intruder. Someone who wanted the seal for himself.

It was a palpable enough whisper: "The Imp-"

Whatever his intention, he knew too much.

The box was shut almost instantly by Ba Zeng's nimble hands. Quickly on his feet, Ba Zeng turned and rose, it seemed only a second's pause before there was a hand-crossbow pointed in Yifeng's direction. It was loaded with a single, deadly bolt. This man was different, but Ba Zeng only knew that when the man began to talk.

"What could a man of Han blood be doing stalking about in Boluotan so clandestinely?

Ba Zeng was baffled, his mind began to play tricks on him instantly, "I see, you're an agent from the mainland."

The elegant box was held close to his body in his other hand, "You already know what's inside here don't you? So why should I confirm your suspicions?"