Warrior Heart Ch. 2 (Commission for KulStudio)

Ma Chao did as he was ordered.  He immediately sought out Zhao Yun and found him in the fields, collecting the last of the dead.  As Ma Chao approached Zhao Yun looked up and addressed him, “Ma Chao, has Liu Bei given us orders to move out?”
“You have orders to move out.”
Zhao Yun gave him a questioning look, “What do you mean?”
“Liu Bei has ordered me to stay and protect the wounded.  It appears many of the enemy's weapons had been laced with a poison.  It’s dangerous to move them.”
Zhao Yun nodded, “I assume I am to accompany him and help guard the convoy?”
Ma Chao nodded.  In the back of Zhao Yun’s mind however, he felt a pang of remorse.  He had no idea what had happened to Ling Yi.
“She’s okay.” Ma Chao told him, shaking Zhao Yun of his thoughts.
“What?”
“Ling Yi.  She’s ok.  She was injured.  It wasn’t lethal, little more than a scratch, but there was the poison to deal with.”
Zhao Yun nodded in understanding.
“Maybe you’d prefer to stay and protect her?” Ma Chao ventured.
Zhao Yun shook his head, “No, I’ve been given orders.  I must follow them.”
Ma Chao scowled, “Very well.  You should go visit Liu bei in the command tent then.”
Zhao Yun nodded, “Thank you for bringing the news,” he said, before leaving.
Pushing aside the flaps of the command tent, Zhao Yun stepped inside and saluted Liu Bei.  “At ease,” said his commander, “You’ve been informed of what we intend to do?”
Zhao Yun nodded, “Yes, my lord.  I’m afraid it may not be as safe as we might believe though.”
Liu Bei gave him a questioning look, “What do you mean?”
“The path around the mountain…” Zhao Yun began, approaching the map of the area.  He pointed to the area east of the mountain.  “This river here, it has only one bridge.  The enemy could do one of three things.  Burn it down, use it as a choke point, or nothing at all...however I doubt they’ll simply ignore the fact that they could be flanked in such a way.”
Liu Bei nodded, “But to go to the west would cause us to lose, not just one day, but several…”
“The bridge, if it still exists, “Zhao Yun said, “is our only option.”
“If we are ambushed at the bridge, our advance would be halted.”
“I still believe that the enemy expects us to move through the pass.  They’ll likely post scouts before the bridge which will warn the ambush force at the bridge before bringing reinforcements from the rest of the army.”
“Then we must locate and eliminate the scouts before they see us.”
“Yes.”
“How do you intend to accomplish this?  The amount of land you’d need to cover...it couldn’t be done.”
“The area before the bridge, and after it is leagues upon leagues of hills and plains.  We can watch from one of these hills for the shifts to change, locate them, and then eliminate them.  Our forces will have to move quickly after that though.”
“Agreed...when will you do this?”
“As soon as we begin to make our preparations to move out.”
“Very well...I trust you to accomplish this Zhao Yun.”
“You can trust me, my lord.”