Tied by fate: Love or revenge

"Dad! How possibly did you become the most powerful man in the martial arts world?"

The question my son asked made me smile and remember the past.

"A lot of things happened actually and I fail to remember everything sequentially," I said to my little son.

"I'm willing to start hearing your story from any point. I'm guessing every point in it will be very mysterious and adventurous,"

Seeing the look of desperation in my little boy's eye as he said those words, I had to give in.

"Okay, I'll tell you all about it. Although, I was also told a part of it during my curious days," I said to my son.

"Ensure you include how we met and came to be together," My wife said loudly from the kitchen.

"Okay," I responded.

Not long after, I began to stare at the ceiling as I began my story.

"This is how it all began..." I said and began the tale.

....

Thousands of years ago, there was a land of myth - the kingdom of Wushu. It was a land blessed by the gods as the people believed. You can find the most powerful warriors and martial artists in Wushu.

It was a land prospering and flourishing, with countless battles won and many nations conquered. All surrounding lands and villages trembled in reverence before Wushu.

Emperor Ye Xinlong was the voice of the kingdom, fierce yet benevolent. With his acts and wisdom, the land continued to prosper and flourish.

Right next to him were his two most trusted men, Captain Fan Xian and eunuch Wu Wang. Captain Xian popularly renowned as the "Wolf warrior" alongside eunuch Wang was both trusted with the safety and well-being of the emperor. However, only Captain Xian was truly faithful to the emperor.

For many years now, captain Xian has been unrivaled and known for his combat skill and extraordinary power which he possessed. It was rumored in the entire kingdom that he was the only survivor left with the 'Wolf bloodline'.

The wolf clan was renowned as the Wolf warriors. They possessed great strength and combat skills. History had it that from the beginning of time, these people were once humans trained by wolves, and the rumors happened to be true.

Captain Xian was still a mystery to his people. Despite the unmatched strength which he possessed, he was a simple and loving human. In all the lands, he was feared and known for his strength and bravery. Countless assassins have been tasked with the mission to eliminate him, but they all failed.

He was known as the strongest martial artist in all of the Wushu kingdoms. It was for his sake that the neighboring kingdoms dare not declare war against the land of Wushu, for they feared him. Despite his greatness, he had an enemy in the shadows. It was Eunuch Wang.

Eunuch Wang was the second closest to the emperor. He was a devious man who harbored evil intent toward the emperor. Despite his outward show of devotedness and loyalty, deep down he lusted after power and for this reason, Captain Xian was his mortal enemy since he couldn't carry out his evil plot with him around.

For years now, he has been plotting schemes and hatching plans on how to wipe out the entire family of captain Xian, though he knew it wouldn't be an easy task.

Captain Xian was aware of eunuch Wang's lust for power, but he took it as nothing serious as tried to bridge the gap in their relationship. Eunuch Wang as despicable as he was also pretended to be on good terms with him. But day after day, he built and structured his plan, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike being aware that the wolf warrior was a very cautious person.

He stealthily cooked his evil plan and although the wolf warrior knew of this, he didn't act, but still observed the play. The wolf warrior continued with his meritorious service to the kingdom, serving the emperor faithfully. Since he was chosen as the captain of the troops, it was his duty to protect the emperor and safeguard the people of the kingdom.

The wolf warrior was married to a beautiful wife named Fan Meng. She was one of the most important and priceless things in his life. Their love and bond grew with time. After two years of marriage, they were blessed with a boy child and they named him Fan Xiaotian.

He was of the wolf bloodline and although a baby, he was full of life and energy. A very spirited Child. They were both happy for their son and loved him more with each day that passes. People always attributed that the baby had the looks of his mother and possessed the life force of the father.

On the day the baby was born, it was a joyous noise all over the kingdom. The emperor and the people of the land gave the child their blessings. In that same month, Fan Xiaotian was born. The empress also gave birth to a girl child named Ye Ying, the amazing thing is that they were both born on the same day. Months rolled by and it was finally the coming-of-age ceremony for the captain's child. Preparations were geared towards this event.

Meanwhile, Eunuch Wang embraced the opportunity and made plans to wipe out everything and all that is left of the wolf warrior’s bloodline. He made all the necessary preparations for that day. He also ensured he was on the right terms with the wolf warrior, to avoid suspicion when the deed is done.

The affairs of the kingdom went on smoothly as they should go. The kingdom continued to flourish awaiting that day.

Eunuch Wang was full of life waiting for the day to put an end to his biggest enemy. Before now, eunuch Wang had made arrangements with skilled assassins from the underworld to help him carry out his plan. Captain Xian, the wolf warrior was always cautious as he should be, and went about his official duties. Days were counted as the celebration ceremony drew closer.

Finally, that fateful day came. The sun shone as always and things appeared quite normal. It was the day for the celebration of the coming-of-age ceremony of the young wolf warrior. While preparations were ongoing, eunuch Wang was busy scheming his plan.

The event finally began with the arrival of the emperor. It was celebrated in the manor of the wolf warrior. Men came from far and wide due to their prestige and fame. The celebration began in earnest and it was indeed a joyous one. Everyone drank in a stupor and celebrated since another child with the wolf bloodline has been born.

Eunuch Wang pretentiously celebrated with them, and as part of his scheme, he ensured captain Xian drank to a stupor till he couldn't get a hold of himself. Things were playing out well for eunuch Wang and going perfectly as he planned. The ceremony was celebrated from noon till evening. Night descended and most people had to retire to their various homes, while the guests stayed at the guest house.

Unknown to the wolf warrior, the particular wine which he drank had been drugged including that of his entire soldiers. They all ended up sleeping very deeply being weak.

With the captain's guard down, the assassins struck and slayed all the guards. They moved into the room.in an attempt to slay the wolf warrior. Although Captain Xian was weak, he could sense danger.

When the assassins came to his room, he tied to fight back but was weak all over due to the heavy drugging. It took a team of five assassins to take him down after which they killed him.

His wife who didn't partake in drinking the drugged wine got a report from her chief maid that a massacre was going on in the household. She happened to pass by captain Xian’s chamber and sighted the assassins, so she quickly came back to report without raising an alarm.

Upon getting the report, she knew this must have been a perfectly planned plot. Without wasting a minute, she quickly handed over her one-year-old child to her trusted maid, Xiaomi, knowing that the assassin would come for her soon. She instructed Xiaomi to flee as far as she could and not return to the residence sooner.

She also handed over the jade token of the wolf family to her and made her escape through a secret tunnel in the room. Just as Xiaomi left the room, the assassins came in. They discovered the secret door which was opened and knew someone must have escaped through there. After killing captain Xian’s wife, they chased after Xiaomi.

The secret passage led straight outside the woods. Xiaomi ran as fast as her legs could carry since she knew the assassins were no doubt on her trail. The assassins who were skilled warriors did not take long before they discovered Xiaomi.

They chased after her not wanting anyone to escape death that night. According to eunuch Wang’s instruction, no one was to be left alive. Xiaomi although her legs were frail, kept running for her life hoping to save the child.

She kept running along the dark path. She didn’t mind the thorns which inflicted wounds on her legs as she ran. She was getting weary, but she continued to run. Behind her, she could sense that the assassins were getting closer with each passing minute.

Xiaomi knew she needed to do something, even though it meant sacrificing her life and keeping the baby alive. Since the young child was entrusted to her, she knew it was her duty to protect him. She suddenly came up with a great idea that could help save the baby.

After running some distance, she took a detour, and within that time frame when the assassins couldn’t see her movement. She dropped the child in the forest and left the jade token with him since that was the only thing his family left for him.

After doing that, she quickly ran in the opposite direction to divert the attention of the assassins and save the child. She was able to successfully lure them away making herself the bait.

The assassins finally caught up with her and killed her. To cover up their tracks, they buried her right there in the forest. It was a bloody bath in Fan Xian's household. Only the last bloodline of the wolf warrior survived this slaughter.

Upon hearing the news of the Wolf warrior's family massacre, the whole kingdom mourned. The emperor and the people of the land mourned since it was a great loss for the kingdom at such a time. Eunuch Wang who masterminded the whole incident also wept sore in pretense as though he knew nothing about his death.

He starved himself the day he claimed to have received the news.

Right there in the palace, he was wailing and crying;

"I drank wine with him that night,"

"Our warrior is dead! I can't believe this is real," He said.

The wolf warrior's death was a shock to the whole kingdom and made people wonder how the historic and legendary wolf warrior was killed in his own home. The wolf warrior's troops mourned him for over a month. However, his legacy was never to be forgotten in their hearts.

Eunuch Wang although achieved his aim, he was still troubled. On the day their dead bodies were confirmed, the body of the maid and the newborn child were nowhere to be found. Having been secretly told that the maid had been eliminated, he was bothered about the survival of their son.

A month passed and the mourning of the wolf warrior finally came to an end. A new captain was appointed to lead the troops. Although the troops were not happy with it, they decided to play it by ear. The new captain assured them that he would get to the root cause of the wolf warrior's sudden family massacre.

Lots of events snowballed in the kingdom. Neighboring kingdoms who heard of the death of the wolf warrior were happy and drank in a stupor, jubilating that their greatest obstacle had been eliminated.

In the village of Ciafa which bordered the Wushu kingdom, there lived a hunter named Gui Wei. On that fateful night when the massacre occurred, he went to the forest to check out one of his traps.

While moving about in the forest, he stumbled on a baby wrapped in a cloth. At first, he couldn’t believe his eyes, but after observing for some minutes, it dawned on him that it was the reality in play.

The baby was sleeping soundly with a jade token about his neck. The hunter knew the child was abandoned. Out of pity, he took the child back home. He knew leaving a child out there would be more dangerous, so he resolved to do that.

He took the baby home that day and had his wife nurse it. Seeing the child was full of energy, both he and his wife agreed to make him their son.

They named him Gui Shan and loved him like a child from their bowels. Back in the Wushu kingdom, the disappearance of the maid and the baby was still a mystery. However, days rolled into weeks,