The Horse's Bones
"You little brat!" Lord Pingyuan's voice thundered. "Do you even know where you are right now?"
The sudden outburst drew a crowd at once. The guards patrolling Handan appeared almost instantly. As the residence of Lord Pingyuan—one of Zhao's most vital figures—it was a zone the guards were ordered to protect at all costs. They moved to suppress the disturbance the moment it erupted. They were only doing their duty, something that deserved praise, yet today their efficiency grated on my nerves.
Just slack off a little, would you?
The complaint I dared not voice echoed bitterly inside my chest. The guards hesitated briefly upon seeing my fine silk robes, but they did not stop. I could have fled, yet I chose not to. Escaping them would only lead to capture soon enough, and it would carry me in the exact opposite direction of my goal. Instead, I bluffed.
"Halt! Do you know who I am?"
"You certainly look like a young master from an esteemed house, but if so, why would someone who ought to know better stir up such a commotion?"
"We have no desire to spill blood, so come quietly. If you wish to send word to your family, speak up."
Yet the capital guards had clearly dealt with many who relied on status to act defiantly. They handled the situation with practiced ease, moving to take me into custody. No matter how much I shouted, they remained focused on their task. With both arms seized and my feet dangling uselessly above the ground, all I could do was yell. Struggling did nothing but make my short legs kick futilely in the air. Breaking free from their iron grip was impossible.
Is this how it ends? Damn it... If you're going to reincarnate someone into a strange new world, shouldn't you at least grant some kind of special ability?
In stories, characters always received superhuman strength or a status window full of cheat powers. Why had I received nothing? A wave of futility crashed over me. I had fought so hard to carve out a path, yet I was about to fail before truly beginning. Would I now have to throw myself at the feet of Lord Jianxin or the King of Zhao and beg for mercy?
Just as despair swallowed me and my struggles ceased, a voice cut through the darkness like sunlight piercing storm clouds.
"Gentlemen, what is the meaning of this? This person is a guest of Lord Pingyuan. Release him at once."
Neatly dressed with a refined, handsome face that had aged with dignity. At a glance, one could tell he was a scholar. The guards recognized him immediately. They set me down as instructed and asked with deference,
"Master Zou Yan? You say this person is truly a guest invited by Lord Pingyuan?"
"Come now, would I casually invoke Lord Pingyuan's name for my own purposes? He awaits within."
Zou Yan. I knew that name. Not from my research on Lord Pingyuan, but from my previous life—and not from dry history texts, but from the tale of a young magician bearing lightning-shaped scars.
In that story, he appeared as an alchemist from the East, didn't he?
The great master of the Yin-Yang School who had established the theory of the Five Elements. The dynastic cycles based on those elements, so prominent in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, all stemmed from this man's philosophy. Perhaps because I had known of him in my previous life, seeing the man in the flesh made the reality of my situation strike me with sudden force. For a moment, I stood dazed.
By the time I recovered, the matter between Zou Yan and the guards had been settled. They released me fully and stepped back.
"Ahem. So you are the young master from Yan? In the future, refrain from such rash behavior. Simply state at the outset that you are Lord Pingyuan's guest."
"Ah... yes, of course. I apologize for today's impropriety."
My courteous response seemed to satisfy them. The guards bowed with renewed respect before withdrawing.
"Shall we proceed, young master?"
"We are truly going to see Lord Pingyuan?"
"Haha, were you not the one seeking him? When a guest calls for the host, the host must receive him."
It had worked. I had worried the ploy might fail, but hearing Zou Yan declare that I would meet Lord Pingyuan sent a rush of relief through me, as though all my earlier anxiety had been repaid in full. As I exhaled a long breath, tension draining from my shoulders, Zou Yan spoke again.
"So you are the young master of Yan."
"Yes, that is correct."
"Being a hostage is a difficult fate. One lacks freedom, and overcoming external pressures through personal strength alone is no easy task."
Zou Yan seemed intimately familiar with my circumstances. Had he heard details about Yan's hostages from others, or had he deduced them himself? Either possibility was worth noting. The first suggested strong connections within the ruling class or an impressive intelligence network—his social acumen demanded caution. Throughout history, in every era and land, personal networks had always been a formidable power. The latter required no explanation. As expected of a man who had left his mark on history as the head of an entire school of thought, he was no ordinary figure. And if Lord Pingyuan kept such men as retainers, how formidable must he himself be?
Fresh tension coiled in my gut.
"One might hope for Lord Pingyuan's assistance, but it will not be easily won."
"I came prepared for that."
"Did you? Yet from what I observe, your resolve appears somewhat lacking."
Zou Yan's steady gaze seemed to pierce straight through me, pointing out exactly how quickly my tension had dissolved. But I had not come blindly. My determination to save my people was no light thing.
Those who shared my life as hostages had been under my care since I was very small. They might not realize I remembered those days, but I recalled them with perfect clarity. Without their help, I would never have adapted to this alien world. I might have retreated into escapism entirely. Even if their loyalty stemmed from the inescapable chains of status, the fact that I still drew breath in this place because of their support was undeniable.
To have my resolve to protect them dismissed so casually was difficult to swallow. Displeasure I could not hide rose clearly to my face.
Reading my expression, Zou Yan calmly delivered a sobering truth.
"Are you aware that Lord Pingyuan once planned to attack Yan?"
"Pardon? When do you mean?"
His unexpected words drove my irritation from my mind.
"Immediately after the tragedy at Changping, when even Handan stood threatened, Lord Pingyuan anticipated that Yan would seize the opportunity to strike at a weakened Zhao. He therefore contemplated a preemptive assault."
In essence, Lord Pingyuan had prepared for a preventive war. Yet while a defensive stand behind fortifications might have been feasible, Zhao's internal conditions made launching an offensive far more difficult. In the end, he had abandoned the plan and chosen to strengthen defenses instead.
"Although we lost Changting due to the swiftness of Yan's attack, even if the previous King of Yan had not met an early end and pressed the campaign further, he would not have captured additional cities. Given Lord Pingyuan's deep wariness toward Yan, fulfilling your wishes will not be simple."
"I had anticipated as much."
That Lord Pingyuan had once planned a preventive war was new information, but I had already assumed he would not look favorably upon me. After all, why would a royal prince of Zhao feel any warmth toward someone from the state that had stabbed his country in the back? The difficulty had increased, yet my task remained unchanged. I would simply exert every effort to persuade him, just as I had originally planned. Should circumstances shift, however, my approach would have to adapt as well. I deliberately slowed my steps and continued the conversation with Zou Yan.
"Then why did Lord Pingyuan ultimately abandon the preemptive strike? Forming such a plan in the first place suggests he saw some feasibility in it."
"An excellent question. Lord Pingyuan believed that by applying the principle that speed is paramount in warfare, even limited resources might allow him to thwart Yan's invasion preemptively. However, someone opposed this view."
"Might I ask that person's name?"
"It is no secret. The man who dissuaded Lord Pingyuan was Feng Ji."
"Feng Ji..."
I knew Zou Yan from novels and the theory of the Five Elements, but Feng Ji was a new name. I etched it into memory. Opposing war with Yan had likely been a rational assessment of Zhao's precarious state, yet it gave me hope that the man might prove reasonable. Anyone capable of swaying Lord Pingyuan would carry considerable weight among the retainers. Gaining him as an ally could prove invaluable.
The main gate was now in sight. It seemed my fruitful conversation with Zou Yan had reached its end. Before we passed through, I posed one final question.
"May I ask one more thing?"
"If it is brief, I shall answer."
"Why are you helping me?"
Zou Yan had volunteered information I had not requested. Even when I deliberately slowed my pace to draw out more details, he had allowed it without comment. His attitude was unmistakably friendly.
He smiled, then abruptly changed the subject.
"Guo Wei, Yue Yi, Ji Xin. The world called them the Talents Gathered by Buying Bones."
Famous names, all. In truth, only Yue Yi had lingered in my previous life's memories, but Guo Wei and Ji Xin were names frequently heard even within Yan's royal court. King Zhao of Yan—the enlightened ruler who had ushered in Yan's golden age. Grand Tutor Guo Wei, who had served as his strategist. When the king sought talent, Guo Wei had replied with a historical anecdote: if one desires a thousand-li horse, first pay a high price for the bones of a dead one. The story of buying the bones of a dead swift horse. When a man of Guo Wei's caliber received such treatment, the realization that even greater rewards awaited drew talents from across the realm to Yan. Among them, Yue Yi had stood above all others. His abilities were so exceptional that Zhuge Liang would later compare himself to Yue Yi in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, placing him among the greatest minds of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States eras. Ji Xin, though lesser in talent than Yue Yi, had become a leading figure in Yan's military after Yue Yi's departure.
The exceptional men recruited through Guo Wei's anecdote were known throughout the land as the Talents Gathered by Buying Bones.
This much I already knew. What came next, however, was new to me.
"I, too, followed those horse bones all the way to Yan. Did you know? You bear a certain resemblance to His Late Majesty King Zhao. One might say you possess the bearing that draws men to you."
Zou Yan spoke as though recalling cherished old memories. Only then did I understand why he had approached me with such goodwill.
So Zou Yan had been one of those drawn by the bought bones as well.
For the first time, I felt the distant echo of my great-grandfather, King Zhao of Yan.
"Oh dear, I have spoken too long. I became lost in nostalgia. Come, let us enter. The time has come for you to meet Lord Pingyuan—the man you have so desperately sought."
I pushed the faint stirrings of emotion regarding my great-grandfather aside and looked directly ahead. The gates opened. Inside stood Lord Pingyuan.