Zuo Ci
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Zuo Ci (左慈) is a legendary personage of the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. As described in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms he was a Taoist known under the name of Master Black Horn who was allied with no one.
[edit] Attainments
He wielded amazing Taoist power and was described as psychic. He studied on the Mount Emei in Sichuan, where he found The Book of Concealing Method or Book of Magic from which he learned to ascend to the clouds astride the wind, to sail up into the great void itself; and how to to pass through mountains and penetrate rocks; from the third, to float light as vapor, over the seas, to become invisible at will or change my shape, to fling swords and project daggers so as to decapitate a man from a distance.
[edit] Challenges
Zuo offered Lord Cao Cao of Wei the books if Cao Cao himself became a disciple of Taoism. Cao Cao responded "Oft have I reflected upon this course and struggled against my fate, but what can I do? There is no one to maintain the government," when Zuo Ci suggested Liu Bei, Cao Cao accused Zuo Ci of being one of Liu Bei's agents, and threatened him. Zuo Ci openly mocked Cao Cao in court and Lord Cao had him arrested; the guards beat Zuo Ci cruelly, but the Taoist then fell asleep and slept soundly through the night. This enraged Cao Cao who ordered Zuo Ci to be starved of food, this also failed as Zuo Ci quite happily went seven days without food or water. After this Cao Cao could think of nothing else to punish Zuo Ci. When Zuo Ci appeared at Cao Cao's banquet, Cao Cao tested him by asking to get among other things a dragon's liver, a peony and perch from the River Song. Zuo accomplished everything, which drew further suspicion from Cao Cao. Zuo then offered a cup of wine to Cao Cao, who said that Zuo should taste first. Zuo took a stick and divided the wine in half, and drank one half. Cao was then enraged.
As a result, Cao Cao ordered Zuo Ci to be executed, but Zuo Ci had disappeared. Hundreds of men matching the exact description of Zuo Ci were found, and Cao Cao ordered them all executed. When they were all executed black vapor rose from their necks where they joined to form another image of Zuo Ci who predicted the death of Cao Cao, and this prediction came true when in the year 220 Cao Cao died of a suspected brain tumour (see also Hua Tuo).
[edit] Modern references
Zuo Ci was added to the Koei Romance of the Three Kingdoms-based video game series Dynasty Warriors due to popular demand, despite never actually taking part in direct combat. Similar to his novel counterpart, Zuo appears as an old man who would likely be assumed by others not to pose any form of threat or danger. He wields five elaborately decorated, coloured cards known as the "Trump Deck." These mystical cards conjure various elemental attacks capable of annihilating opponents swiflty and with relative ease, even without the slightest increase in statistics. As the legend states, he morphs into a white crane following the death of Liu Bei, destined to return upon the appointment of a truly virtuous leader capable of following in Liu's footsteps.
Zuo's "Musou Mode" revolves around his attempts to turn the villainous Cao Cao towards the path of true virtue, believing that Cao's methods and ambitions would only guide the country back to the greedy, oppressive and decadent ways of the Later Han government that Cao, himself, had assisted in toppling. Appearing before Cao Cao at several key turning points in his life, Zuo warns Cao to be wary of his actions, as he would one day become the villains he had worked to destroy (Dong Zhuo and Zhang Rang). Cao, still a young and idealistic warrior at this time, defends his honour vigorously, vowing that he will never become a scourge upon the land. However, just as Zuo Ci had predicted, Cao ultimately opts for power and ignores virtue. Initially, Zuo merely concedes Cao to be a failure, another promising and gifted individual corrupted by his ambitions and seduced by his lust for power and glory. Zuo takes solace in the fact that Cao will soon fall to sickness, and will one day no longer pose a threat to the land. In every other character's story, this proves true, and Cao eventually dies of sickness. However, in Zuo's story, his direct intervention appears to spurn Cao Cao's will to survive, prolonging his life considerably. By the time the Battle of the Wu Zhang Plains against Zhuge Liang of Shu Han occurs, Cao has already outlived Zuo's predictions by fourteen years. Seeing this as a travesty of justice and the work of some dark, unnatural force, Zuo takes it upon himself to kill Cao before he can destroy the virtuous kingdom of Shu Han and rule over all of China. Zuo succeeds, transforming into a crane and flying into the sunrise to await the return of a truly benevolent leader.
Zuo Ci, despite being the oldest character in the game, is the strongest and one of the most agile. He is the first character to surpass the overall ability of the mighty Lǚ Bù in a Dynasty Warriors release.
