Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 3 2018 | Page 228

The Story of the Three Adventurers
Shanghai Singapore Internatinoal School, Hegde, Sathvik – 12
T
he peaceful quiet of the night gave no indication to the actual mood of the townsfolk. After decades
of cruelty and mistreatment of the people by the Emperor, they had had enough. Plows and hoes
were exchanged for weapons of warfare and farmlands were cleared to make way for barracks. A
meeting had been arranged in the middle of the night, and the townsfolk started for the town hall. Their
chief, a wise old man, was nearing his nineties and wanted to give a final speech on his dream that he had
the night before. The details were unknown, but the dream was apparently of great significance. The
butcher, a man named Grim, was, well, grim. He was the first to arrive and did not look too happy about
being rudely awakened in the middle of the night for some meeting. As the others began filtering in, the
chief finally arrived. He wasted no time with pleasantries and promptly started. “As many of you may know,
I had a dream last night. I saw the monk Xuanzang, the one who is getting the Buddhist scriptures, in grave
trouble. We are the only ones who can help him and it is crucial that no one else gets word of this. They
will surely kill the monk and end all hope for peace in this land. We need three people who are willing to
go and sacrifice their lives if need be.” He coughed a bit then continued, “We have already decided on who
will go on this quest. Liu, Ming and Sun, get ready to leave at the break of dawn. You have no time to
spare.” The crowd started chattering as they cleared out of the hall. This was the most exciting news they
had heard in decades and it gave them a light in these times of darkness.
Before we continue, I will have to introduce you to our adventurers. Liu was a rather brash young
man who fancied himself as the greatest swordsman of the neighboring towns. He had little wits about him
and was inclined to making rather moronic decisions. Ming, the one who had wits but no courage or skill in
arms, was the exact opposite of Liu. Where Liu was brash, Ming was humble and cautious. The last member
of this adventuring trio is Sun. The one word that would describe him is average. Average intelligence,
average strength and average speed. These heroes do have their flaws, but heroism can come out of the
foulest creature, as long as they do the right thing at the right place at the right time. But I am keeping you
from the story, so let’s continue. They gathered their gear and sat down to discuss the quest and have a bit of
wine. “Ah, my friends, let’s enjoy this last moment of peace before we go on our quest,” said Liu, “After all,
we may never make it.” As he said this, lightning flashed in the distance, as though it were confirming his
statement. Rain drops started pattering against the roof of their dwelling, forming a sonorous tune. Ming
asked timidly, “Maybe we should go see the chief and have him give us more details about our quest. I
mean we….” He was interrupted midsentence by Liu, who said ignoring Ming’s words, “Instead of sitting
down here and drinking, we should go save the monk! We will save some time this way and we can come
back here a little bit earlier.” Sun, who finally spoke up exclaimed, “That’s a brilliant idea!” Ming stuttered
nervously, “But we don’t know where we are g…. – “That’s it! You will not be speaking another word
unless you wish to be bound in a rag!” said Liu. “But...,” Ming protested to no effect, as he was swiftly
silenced with a foul rag in his mouth. “On we go!” shouted Sun with excitement distorting his voice, “We
shall be back before we know it!”
Stupidity sometimes overrules prudence and common sense, yet some good can come out of those
deeds and take your opponent by surprise. As the trio hiked up the trail leading beyond the town, a
shadowy figure could be seen trailing them from a distance. The figure would disappear as soon as someone
looked behind and none of them noticed him. As soon as the quest had begun, their enemies had mobilized
and taken up positions. They were ordered to shadow and harass the adventurers and then imprison them
along with Xuanzang, which would kill two birds with one stone. Xuanzang was hidden away and when
the three came, he would reveal himself. So, this particular night, the adventures were supposed to be
attacked and have all their gear stolen, which would leave them demoralized and weak. As the sun creeped
over the far horizon, the adventurers could go no further and plopped down in a deserted clearing, setting
up camp. They had just realized that they did not know where they were going and would have to head
back. Ming was right all along. Perhaps intelligence is really important. Maybe we should all be intelligent
rather than being strong and brawny.