The Daughter of Lu Bu
Ye Chae, the daughter of Lu Bu, Chapter 17.
Seo Jun briefly glanced around to see what the other customers were eating. The dishes were varied, but none seemed to stand out as particularly well-made specialties. “Just something light to fill the stomach and a room for two nights, please.”
“The basic morning meal is plain noodles at two coins, lodging is four coins, for a total of six coins per day. For two days that’ll be twelve coins, paid in advance.”
After paying, Seo Jun waited for his food and listened to the various conversations flowing through the inn.
“Did you hear? The atmosphere around Taihang Mountains has been strange lately.”
“You heard it too? Word is the remnants of the Yellow Turbans and bandits are gathering forces.”
The voices came from a table that looked to belong to merchants.
“I heard the female colonel was promoted to chief administrator this time.”
“She’s a military officer, why would she become a civil administrator? Does the new Inspector not know who she is?”
Who is this female colonel? She must be a military officer from Bing Province.
Quite a lot of new information reached his ears. After finishing his meal with the market’s side dishes, which tasted surprisingly good, Seo Jun returned to his room and lay down on the bed.
I’ll rest properly today and start gathering real information tomorrow.
The next day, he ate on the first floor again while continuing to collect information. That was when he learned that the Jeong clan, which mainly traded horses with the Xiongnu, had the worst reputation of all.
Xiongnu tribesmen or merchants coming to trade horses would suffer suspicious deaths, or the horses would mysteriously be swapped out at the last moment. Sometimes they used force to slash the price. The clan committed all sorts of evil deeds.
The Jeong clan! You’re the one.
Once he was certain they were villains, his mind felt at ease. Seo Jun strolled around the Jeong clan’s residence like someone out for a walk, carefully observing the basic layout of the buildings. It was a typical siheyuan-style mansion. The head of the family would likely be in the main northern building, and most of the valuable assets would be stored there as well.
I’ll come back at night.
In the hour between late night and early dawn, when most people were deep in sleep, Seo Jun appeared at the northern wall of the Jeong clan’s compound. After quietly scanning his surroundings, he pulled a hood to cover his face and an axe from his subspace. He stored his usual spear and saber inside the subspace and took out the axe he had never used before, tucking it at his waist to avoid suspicion.
Climb the wall here, get onto the roof, then drop down between the rear wall and the center of the main building.
Swish— Whoosh!
Aside from the faint rustle of his clothes, Seo Jun disappeared onto the roof without making a sound. He moved along the rear windows of the main building until he reached one, quietly sliding it open. His body slipped through the gap like flowing water.
The room he entered contained a man who appeared to be in his forties and a woman who seemed to be his wife, both asleep on the bed.
At least he’s not sleeping with a young concubine.
Now, where would they keep it…
This was the moment when Seo Jun’s unique trait, the Third Eye, shone brightest.
It feels like it’s over there.
There was nothing to see or hear, yet the sensation simply came to him. On the wall directly across from the door hung a portrait of a respected scholar. Seo Jun walked over and gently pressed down on the yellowish bricks that made up the floor with his foot.
Click!
One brick shifted slightly.
Bingo!
He removed the brick that had lifted under his foot. Beneath it was a fairly spacious underground storage area accessible by a small ladder. Seo Jun quickly swept every valuable item he could reach into his subspace. A wooden box containing about a hundred taels of gold, ornaments made of gold, silver, and jade—anything that looked valuable, he took it all.
Finally, he carefully collected about ten thousand Wu Zhu coins to use at inns or for buying food. Since the value of Wu Zhu coins kept falling, carrying too many had become nothing more than dead weight lately.
All together, this should come to around three hundred thousand coins.
Hmm. That’s less than I expected. I thought robbing a clan like this would net me several million. Looks like I’ll have to hit quite a few more.
The total assets of most respectable clans easily exceeded several million coins, but that figure included real estate and other properties. Very few families held that much in actual liquid wealth. Especially in Bing Province, where the environment was harsh and the economy small, even a wicked clan would find it difficult to accumulate such riches.
Seo Jun quietly erased all traces of his presence and slipped out of the house. Not a single person in the clan noticed his intrusion or existence while he escaped.
After staying a few more days and visiting two other clans with similarly bad reputations, Seo Jun prepared to leave the area.
I made about seven hundred thousand coins in Wuyuan Commandery.
He gathered his belongings and headed down the stairs when commotion erupted outside.
Hiiiiiiing— Crash! Bang!
“Hey! Hold him tight!”
The noise came from the stable where the inn’s guests kept their horses. When Seo Jun arrived, the scene before him left him utterly dumbfounded.
What the hell are these crazy bastards doing?
In broad daylight, they were openly stealing. Three soldiers who looked like private troops rather than official guards were struggling with his horse, Black Dragon, trying to drag it away.
“You bastards! Stop right there!”
Thud thud thud— Boom!
Swish! Bang! Pow!
Seo Jun sprinted forward and slammed his knee into the closest man’s jaw, then hammered the stomach of the one holding the reins with rapid punches. The last man was sent flying with a spinning roundhouse kick.
“Trying to steal horses in front of me? You must be tired of living!”
Clang!
Seo Jun drew his saber. The situation didn’t yet warrant killing, so he had used only fists and feet. But if they continued to covet Black Dragon or push their luck, they would have to stake their lives.
“Ughhh… That’s…”
One of the soldiers slowly got up with a troubled expression, about to say something, when he suddenly stopped.
“Handsome big brother, please forgive the soldiers. I was the one who ordered them to bring the horse.”
A rather pretty girl who had quietly approached from behind Seo Jun spoke up.
Now what is this?
The girl appeared to come from a prominent family. She wore luxurious clothes and was accompanied by a large number of guards.
“You ordered them?”
“Yes!”
“Why would you order someone else’s property to be taken without the owner’s permission?”
“Because I liked that horse and wanted it. If I want something, I take it first, look at it, and if I like it I pay, if I don’t I return it. That’s all.”
The girl seemed to have received poor character education; her way of thinking was quite unique.
“You’re insane. How can you be so brazen while committing outright theft?”
“Normally I’d have them bring the horse, inspect it, and then pay, but since I like it so much I’ll pay right now. Five thousand coins should be enough, right?”
“When did I ever say I would sell him?”
“If I want it, you sell it.”
Should I just kill this bitch?
It seemed the girl genuinely believed that if she wanted something, she could do anything to get it.
She’s exactly like those spoiled rich daughters from old dramas. Wait… is she actually one?
“I’ll be generous and give you five thousand coins. Hand him over while I’m still being nice.”
“Little girl, not everything in this world goes according to your wishes. I have no intention of selling, so go back quietly before you get hurt.”
Considering that ordinary warhorses went for around two thousand coins and good ones around four thousand, the girl had actually offered a fairly thoughtful price. However, as Seo Jun continued to refuse to follow her will, her expression gradually hardened.
“You must not know who I am, which is why you’re resisting. Our family is the Ye clan of Wuyuan. And my father is Bing Province’s greatest warrior, Ye Bong-seon. Do you really think you can refuse to sell now? The price is now two thousand coins.”
Ye Bong-seon? That’s Lu Bu! So this ill-mannered brat is Lu Bu’s daughter?
“Bong-seon’s daughter has been terribly spoiled! A wild filly who only knows how to run wild on the strength of her father’s name!”
“Wild filly? This guy talks nicely and suddenly you can’t see anything anymore! What are you all doing? Grab him and force him to kneel before me!”
Thinking both she and her father had been insulted, Lu Bu’s daughter Ye Chae flew into a rage.
“It’s fine if you want to come at me, but you’d better be ready to risk your lives! I’ve almost never spared anyone who dared challenge me.”
At Ye Chae’s urging, the soldiers who had been slowly advancing toward Seo Jun flinched and hesitated at the thick killing intent in his voice.
“Hmph! Catch him already!”
“Attack!”
The guard captain standing right beside Ye Chae gave the order once more.
Clang! Clang-clang! Clang-clang-clang!
Seo Jun’s saber drew a large circle, deflecting the weapons of the charging soldiers. He leaped into their formation, his blade flicking left and right in ever-changing patterns, slicing and stabbing through their arms and legs.
Splurt—
“Aaaargh!”
“Spare me!”
Swish!
Seo Jun’s final strike sent his saber slicing through the right arm of the guard captain who had been shielding Ye Chae. When all the guards who were supposed to protect her collapsed so unexpectedly, Ye Chae’s pupils trembled violently with panic.
“Oh dear, all the soldiers who were supposed to protect you have fallen.”
“Th… that doesn’t mean you can do anything to me!”
Though terrified by the first crisis she had ever faced, Ye Chae grit her teeth and held onto her pride.
“My father will never let you get away with this!”
“Unless Bong-seon himself shows up right now, he won’t be able to save you!”
Seo Jun’s saber rose high overhead, as if preparing to deliver the final blow.