Safe Passage (Lu Lingqi)

[Sima Yi]

An old grandee of the Han Imperial Court had written to Yuan Shao seeking his help. This man, known as Qiao Xuan, was traveling to the captial, and as the times were uncertain and the roads dangerous, the elder asked Yuan Shao to provide an escort. As he did not truly wish to spare any of his elite warriors for a task he deemed beneath the dignity of his forces, Yuan picked from among his more recent recruits. The officers chosen were Sima Yi and Lu Lingqi.

Sima Yi's jaw was tight, his lips pursued so tightly that they almost disappeared into his pale, delicately-featured face. He had only just begun his work in the office of the Senior Clerk for Literary Scholarship when he was summoned by Yuan Shao to lead a group of soldiers--newly trained recruits by the looks of it--on a task that he considered worthless. He did not mind serving in this demeaning capacity alongside Lu Lingqi, but he would much rather have been at work, scurrilously devising a way to surpass his superior, whom he felt was undeserving of the office he occupied due to his lack of vision. 

As they rode their horses down the path, Zhonged eyed Qiao Xuan's retinue in the distance. Sima Yi rode astride a black horse, the same he had ridden when he first arrived. He had taken a liking to the beast, as it seemed an outsider like himself. He waved quickly to one of Qiao Xuan's men to let them know that they were the ones Yuan Shao were sending.

Sima Yi sighed audibly, rubbing the back of his neck with a free hand. "You realize that we are merely doing this because Yuan Shao does not wish to spare any important men? He simply sees us as expendable." Sima Yi said, casting a glance at Lingqi. "I will tell you who is expendable...those baboons, Yan Liang and Wen Chou. I doubt there is much brain between them." Sima Yi snorted derisively.