The Sword of the Gentleman
"Kim Gong is a man who wields the sword of a gentleman."
"Puhahahahaha!!"
Dong Zhuo burst into booming laughter at the sudden absurd spectacle.
"Uhahahahaha!!"
The other Xiliang soldiers joined in, erupting in unison and choking on their guffaws.
"Ah. Sorry about that."
Dong Zhuo soon reined in his laughter a bit and turned to Liu Bei.
"Now that I'm a Zhonglang General myself, I can't just act like a total barbarian. Ahem."
He cleared his throat and composed himself.
"I, Dong Zhuo, won't forget that you saved us. I will repay this favor."
He spoke politely. His attitude had flipped in an instant. What the hell? This guy.
One second he's being a total asshole, and the next his whole expression changes?
"My speech just now might've come off a bit rude... I'm just a country bumpkin from Xiliang, not great with social graces. I hope you understand there was no malice from me, Dong Zhuo."
Dong Zhuo smiled as he looked over at us.
"No, think nothing of it."
Liu Bei looked slightly surprised for a moment, then broke into a gentle smile.
"Heh. Well then, we'll head to the outpost first. I have business there as the Northern Zhonglang General."
Dong Zhuo chuckled good-naturedly, as if there were no hard feelings, and promptly urged his soldiers onward.
"The outpost... Northern Zhonglang General?"
Liu Bei seemed to sense something off, but he maintained his courtesy and saw Dong Zhuo off with a nod.
And once everything had wrapped up...
"Hey! Kim! What the hell was that, charging in and taking a spit to the face?! You hit your head or something?!"
Zhang Fei immediately yelled at me.
"K-Kim... you into that kinda thing?"
Guan Yu wore a look of clear disgust.
Ah. How do I even explain this?
"Th-that... Kim family. Would you like some of my spit? I-I guarantee it's better than that woman's!"
Bu Yong-hwa suddenly flared up with competitive fire. Damn. Her love doesn't cool even from this? How desperate is she?
I was racking my brain for an excuse when...
"Hahaha! Yide and Yun Chang still haven't grasped the profundity of Kim Gong's intent."
Liu Bei chuckled heartily, looking at everyone.
"Profundity? In taking a woman's spit right to the face?"
Zhang Fei tilted his head, genuinely clueless.
"Just now, Kim Gong deliberately made himself the butt of the joke to defuse the situation smoothly."
Liu Bei winked at me. I get you, buddy, that tone said.
But he was totally off-base. Still, he seemed utterly convinced, which kinda pissed me off in a weird way.
"If we'd fought right then, we'd have taken heavy losses. And even if that guy seems crude, he's an official—we can't strike imperial troops. But we were disrespected, that's a fact. In that moment, Kim Gong turned himself into the laughingstock to jog Dong Zhuo's emotions."
Liu Bei started spinning his yarn. No, that wasn't my intent at all! But hey, thanks for the cover!!
"Laughter clears the mind. Dong Zhuo must've realized right after that he'd been too rude himself. That's why he straightened up immediately. This whole scene was Kim Gong's masterpiece."
Liu Bei finished with a grateful fist salute toward me.
"Ooooh!!! So that's what it meant! I thought Kim was just some pervert!!"
Zhang Fei bought it hook, line, and sinker.
"I see. Kim's got hidden depths, after all."
Guan Yu nodded in full agreement.
"As expected of my husband!!"
Bu Yong-hwa gazed at me even more adoringly. No, it wasn't like that! But anyway, I was grateful to Liu Bei. I didn't want looks of contempt from Bu Yong-hwa or Guan Yu—that would've stung a little.
"Yide. Your willingness to throw down for me was brave, but it was the sword of a brute. Kim Gong's sword is different. It subdues foes without enmity. That is the sword of a gentleman."
Liu Bei wrapped my spitbath in the most badass packaging imaginable.
".....Ooooh!!!!"
Zhang Fei's eyes sparkled as he closed the distance to me in a flash.
"Kim!!! Sorry!! I misjudged you!"
He stared at me with starry-eyed admiration, snorting through his nose like an excited bull.
"Ah, n-no... it's fine."
Liu Bei's bizarre cover story had apparently kept my reputation intact. Yeah. Dodged a bullet there.
"Ooh... Kim... oooh!!"
"Ooooh....!"
The volunteer soldiers in the back, ever the reaction squad, nodded along in convinced awe. What do you guys even know to react like that?
Meanwhile, Dong Zhuo, riding ahead, still wore a grin.
"The Central Plains really are better than backwater Xiliang. So many entertaining folks."
He chuckled to himself, clamping his sturdy thighs tight around his horse's flanks—a basic skill for any rider back then. Horsemen's legs naturally bulked up.
"That spit guy, you mean? Ha. Hilarious."
Li Jue snickered beside him.
"Suits our lord's tastes, though. A bit wild... but his face is kinda pretty. Uhihihi."
Guo Si guffawed, glancing at Dong Zhuo.
"Tch."
Seo Yeong clicked her tongue at the sight.
"Ha! Seo Yeong's just too into our lord. Jealous he's eyeing someone else?"
"So cute!"
Li Jue and Guo Si teased her immediately.
"Shut up!!!"
Seo Yeong snapped back, fussing over her beloved carriage.
"Yeah. Real fun. That guy."
Ignoring his men's banter, Dong Zhuo licked his lips subtly and murmured.
"Wonder how he'd fare on the battlefield."
He smirked seductively. The moment his subordinates saw that smile, they silently pitied the stranger named Kim, whom they'd never met. Once their lord Dong Zhuo fixated on something—be it man, sacrifice, or office—it never ended intact. He had to claim it, ruin it, and only then was satisfied.
And Dong Zhuo had started taking a liking to this Kim fellow. Unlucky for him.
Back to Liu Bei's army. We followed the procession Dong Zhuo had led, heading for the outpost.
"By the way, isn't the Northern Zhonglang General Lord Lu? Why'd that Dong Zhuo bitch call herself one?"
Zhang Fei had questions. Yeah. The Zhonglang General posts went to Lu Zhi, Zhu Jun, and Huangfu Song. Dong Zhuo wasn't one yet—that's why the suspicion.
"I have a bad feeling about this."
Liu Bei, sensing something, gazed uneasily at the outpost ahead.
'Lu Zhi... it's time for your downfall.'
He'd fallen out with the Ten Attendants' faction for not bribing their personnel guy. Could've persuaded him to pay up and keep the post if we'd gotten there sooner... but delays in Nanpi and Qing Province had cost us time.
Dong Zhuo's words weren't lies. He'd already been appointed and was heading to the outpost for handover.
"....."
Liu Bei looked a bit down, but it couldn't be helped. I'd comfort him later after he faced the harsh truth. Or something like that.
'I can't save everyone just 'cause I know the Three Kingdoms lore.'
I sighed and peered beyond the outpost. And there... Lu Zhi sat bound in a wooden cart like a criminal.
"M-Master!!!!"
Liu Bei spurred his horse straight toward him.
"Halt!!!"
"Official business in progress!!"
The soldiers blocked us, spears raised.
"Gah!! Outta my way! Outta my way!!"
Zhang Fei snapped the soldiers' spears barehanded like twigs.
"......"
Damn. Is Zhang Fei a gorilla? The thought slipped out. That wasn't human strength.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Guan Yu glared at the soldiers with righteous fury. If their answer didn't satisfy, heads would roll—no questions asked.
"Xuan... "
Lu Zhi stared at Liu Bei in shock.
"Master!! This unworthy Xuan has led the volunteers to aid you!!!"
Liu Bei cried out, tears streaming.
"Ha. I'd hoped to fight alongside my disciple... but fate turned sour."
Lu Zhi sighed.
"The Ten Attendants hold a grudge for my refusal to bribe them. They nitpicked endlessly; I ignored it, and this is the result. Stripped of office and exiled. If I'd held out a bit longer... we could've crushed the Yellow Turbans en masse."
He bowed his head, tears falling.
"Filthy bastards...!!"
Zhang Fei roared his rage at the court officials, glaring around wildly.
"Brother!! Just give the word!! We'll wipe these scum out and save Lord Lu!!"
Shing. Guan Yu drew her Green Dragon Crescent Blade, stance ready—tacit agreement with Zhang Fei. One order, and they'd slaughter.
"No!!!!"
Lu Zhi lifted his head, rebuking us all.
"What disloyalty is this?! You're volunteers, but still sworn to the Han court!!! And you'll obstruct official duty? What makes you different from the Yellow Turbans?!"
Lu Zhi thundered his pure Confucian stance at us.
"Xuan. I always taught you: the greater cause before the lesser. Matters of the Yellow Turbans are grave; my exile is trivial. Don't misjudge. Think properly what must be done for the people!"
He fixed Liu Bei with a stern glare.
"......."
Liu Bei shut his eyes tight.
"Yide, Yun Chang. Stand down."
Everyone awkwardly lowered their weapons.
"I'll clear your name one day, Master. Until then... please..."
Liu Bei gripped Lu Zhi's hand through the wooden bars.
"Mm. I trust you."
Lu Zhi gave a bitter smile, looking at Liu Bei like a son. And so, we watched his exile procession with tears. No big deal in the game, but seeing it live hit different. Truly a rotten era deserving ruin.
As bitter sorrow and clenched fists lingered, a somewhat flippant yet beautiful voice shattered the mood.
"That melodrama over? Time for business, then."
Dong Zhuo strode up grandly with her men, having arrived first.
"You... "
Zhang Fei glared daggers.
"As I said, I'm Dong Zhuo, succeeding Lord Lu as Northern Zhonglang General."
She grinned at us. Her gaze lingered on me longest. A chill ran down my spine. Goosebumps. Caught a cold? From that cold spit? As I pondered, Guan Yu and Bu Yong-hwa suddenly pressed close to my sides.
"Hmph."
Dong Zhuo smirked amusedly and announced like we had no say.
"So, let's talk hitting Zhang Jiao. Can't drag this out forever."
Dismissing Lu Zhi's exile as "melo," she assumed total command, dictating the plan unilaterally.
"......"
Liu Bei flashed brief anger but schooled his face, listening intently. The Yellow Turban Rebellion's endgame—no room for personal grudges, only action for the people. His resolve shone through.