Chapter 20
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Betray My Father?
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After entering the city gates, I paused for a moment and approached the arrogant man who had just cleared a path for us.
I didn't like owing debts. Even if it was just formal, I should express my gratitude.
"Thanks to you, I saved some trouble. I owe you one."
But the man waved off my greeting with a hand. Flashing a bold, unreserved smile as if opening Yan Province's gates for us was no big deal, he said,
"Ha, what debt? Looking at you, you seem like a warrior from the borderlands. Do folks out there give thanks for something this small?"
He lightly clapped my shoulder.
"Opening the gates for someone without issues is less than kicking a pebble off the road. If I accepted thanks for this, what would the people of the realm think of me?"
His bold yet arrogant demeanor left me speechless, but at the same time, it piqued my curiosity about the source of his confidence.
What the hell is this guy's deal?
It was while we stood there like that. One of his thug crew hurriedly pushed through the crowd and whispered urgently into the man's ear.
At that, the man's bold smile vanished completely.
In its place rose a murderous, icy rage incomparable to before.
"What?"
His voice was exceedingly low, but the fury within burned hot.
"Those sons of bitches dare touch that after I warned them?!"
Ignoring me and everyone around, he spat in outrage.
He immediately bellowed at his crew, "We're going to cut those bastards' throats right now!" Then, glancing back at me with annoyance, he added,
"Hey, I've opened the gates, so don't get lost in this big Yan Province. Go achieve whatever you came for, border warrior."
With that, he swiftly led his thugs into the crowd to vanish. Every movement reeked of haste and anger.
I shouted at the man's retreating back as he disappeared into the distance.
"Wait! At least tell me your name!"
The man paused and turned to look at me.
His face bore a smile of disbelief, as if to say, You don't even know that?
"Tch."
He clicked his tongue sharply, then pulled a small wooden plaque from his bosom and tossed it at my feet.
The plaque was hefty, made of fine material. Etched upon it in powerful, elegant script was a single character.
—Yuan (袁)
"If you run into something power alone can't solve in Yan Province, come find me or flash that plaque. It'll help you once."
With that, the man fully melted into the crowd.
After parting with the man, we headed toward the imperial palace, the heart of the realm.
The massive walls and stern grandeur displayed the Son of Heaven's majesty, but our goal wasn't to sightsee—it was to submit a memorial to the emperor.
"I am Military Affairs Attendant Lu Bu, bearing orders from Bing Province Governor Ding Yuan as envoy. I wish to submit a memorial regarding the suppression of the Yellow Turbans."
The palace guards took my credentials and the memorial, giving them a cursory glance.
"An official from Bing Province... We'll accept the memorial. However, with the Yellow Turban chaos, His Majesty and the court are overwhelmed. We can't guarantee when you'll be summoned. Wait at your assigned quarters."
The guard turned away after those words.
His attitude made it clear there was no point in further talk. The vast palace gates remained shut before us.
We were little more than messengers delivering Ding Yuan's memorial to the gatekeepers before being dismissed.
The court-assigned quarters were better than expected.
Though worn, they were spacious and clean. Newcomers Cheng Lian and Wei Yue gawked like country bumpkins, saying, "As expected of the capital—it's different."
But for Wei Sok, it was all torment.
The first day or two, he was thrilled sightseeing, but as the indefinite wait dragged into days three and four, he was crawling out of his skin.
"Brother! How long do we have to sit here twiddling our thumbs?!"
"Hm? You were raving about how great the capital was—bored already?"
"Come on, it's only fun if there's something to do."
With our funds depleted by Yan Province's high prices, Wei Sok could only pout. His only pastime was swinging a wooden sword in the courtyard to kill time.
Watching him, I felt pity mixed with amusement.
Wei Sok itched because he lacked coin for the brothels; I simply awaited the right moment to hit the battlefield.
To pass the time, I sat in the tree shade at the courtyard's center, leisurely unrolling and reading bamboo slips. It was the Annals of Xiang Yu, which I'd read countless times.
Ding Yuan, that old fox, wouldn't send me all the way here just to rot. He must have some plan in place. So... I just wait for the moment.
That crafty geezer was no patient merchant.
Ding Yuan never did losing deals. Sending me here meant he'd prepared something.
"Attendant, aren't you too relaxed?"
Zhang Liao approached and spoke.
"Is wasting time like this really worthwhile? Perhaps—"
"Wen Yuan. Haste ruins endeavors."
I replied without lifting my eyes from the slips.
"Now, we simply wait for the right time."
As Zhang Liao furrowed his brow at my cryptic words, the quarters' gate opened. An official shouted urgently,
"Attendant! A guest from the palace!"
Hm, he's here.
I quietly closed the bamboo slips. It seemed Ding Yuan's "means" had arrived.
Entering the courtyard was an eunuch in ornate robes, his face somehow sinister despite the finery.
The eunuch scanned us, then asked in a cloying voice,
"Which of you is the Military Affairs Attendant from Bing Province, Ding Bu?"
—Ding Bu.
A vein throbbed at my temple. But this time, instead of rage, I bowed low and stepped forward.
Everything was proceeding as planned.
"I am Military Affairs Attendant Lu Bu."
I emphasized "Lu Bu," but the eunuch didn't blink. With a thin smile, he said,
"Whatever—Ding Bu or Lu Bu, makes no difference to me. The Chief Attendant seeks you. Follow."
Chief Attendant? An unexpected name.
I'd figured Ding Yuan had connections to some mid-level eunuch upon learning it was one. But the head of the Ten Attendants?
Hiding my shock, I followed the eunuch as my mind raced.
Chief Attendant? How much did that old fox Ding Yuan grease to reach the Ten Attendants' leader? How'd he scrape together that much coin from barren Bing Province?
I gave a subtle nod to the worried Zhang Liao and silently trailed the eunuch.
The eunuch led me deep into the palace, to Chief Attendant Zhang Yang's chambers.
Zhang Yang's room glittered with colorful Western glassware everywhere, chests half-open spilling gold like waterfalls—a scene of opulence indifferent to starving masses outside.
Lounging askew on a luxurious silk chair, Zhang Yang didn't even glance as I entered. In a languid voice, he began,
"So you're the bumpkin son that fool brags about so much, 'Ding Bu'?"
Again with Ding Bu. Damn it all.
Irritation surged, but I suppressed it. This wasn't a battlefield where I could spear my way out.
"I am Lu Bu."
Only then did Zhang Yang slowly sit up. A serpentine smile slithered across his pallid face.
"Hm. That fool Ding Yuan praised your martial prowess as unrivaled under heaven, foaming at the mouth."
Zhang Yang popped a grape handed by a young eunuch and continued.
"But I don't trust merchants' bluster. I must see for myself."
—Clap.
Zhang Yang lightly clapped.
Five or six imperial guards emerged soundlessly from the shadows, surrounding me. The gleam of their armor and blades was no joke.
Hm. Fitting for imperial protectors.
One extended a sword.
"No need."
My firm refusal twisted their faces.
"This bastard—!"
Ignoring their fury, I addressed only Zhang Yang.
"If I possess the world's finest martial skill, drawing a blade against mere guards would be the real shame, no?"
"Ho?"
Zhang Yang chuckled, amused.
"Haha, bold claims! Fine! Let me witness the truth with my own eyes."
Popping another grape, he added,
"But don't kill them. My dogs are expensive."
No sooner said than the guards charged as one.
Interesting.
I twisted aside from two thrusting swords head-on. As one grazed my cheek, I shot out both hands, seizing their wrists.
"Gah!"
"Urk!"
I wrenched their wrists, smashing their heads together. A dull thunk, and they reeled.
"Guarding the emperor with this skill?"
I kicked one in the back, hurling him into another charging from the side.
"Guh!"
The guards tangled pitifully on the floor. Seizing the gap, I sensed killing intent from behind and spun.
I didn't stupidly grab the oncoming blade. Instead, I smashed the sword-arm's elbow with my hand-ridge.
—Crack.
The guard's arm bent backward.
"Aaaargh!"
His scream filled Zhang Yang's chambers.
Two remained. Fear glazed their eyes. They hesitated to charge.
"That it?"
I smirked mockingly.
"Ha, a disgrace to the guard title. Protecting His Majesty with this? The Han is done for."
"Y-You dare insult the imperial house?!"
The two charged in fury.
Didn't they see what happened to the others?
I plunged straight in.
I leaned into the left one's thrust, the blade whiffing past. I snatched his collar.
Yanked him into the path of the right one's sword—as a shield.
—Stab.
"Aaaargh!"
The scream erupted as the blade sank into his comrade's back.
"Y-You bastard! Cowardly...!"
"Cowardice on the battlefield? Victory is justice."
I released the collar, grabbed his hair, hoisted him, and slammed into the face of the sword-swinging foe—
—Boom!
Both crumpled unconscious.
"........."
The room fell silent.
No guards stood. The floor was a mess of moaning broken-limbed men and the fainted.
I brushed dust from my clothes.
Zhang Yang calmly ate another grape, as if he'd watched entertaining street theater.
"Hm. What do you think?"
Zhang Yang slowly chewed and swallowed. For the first time, his languid smile was gone.
He rose, eyed the sprawled guards, then fixed on me. Awe and greed mingled in his gaze. Slowly, clearly, he clapped.
—Clap, clap, clap.
"Indeed... that bumpkin had reason to boast."
Zhang Yang waved lazily at the fallen guards.
"Useless trash. Drag them out."
Other eunuchs hauled the groaning guards away. Alone with me now, Zhang Yang stepped closer.
"Lu Bu."
"......"
"Your 'father' wants to use you for merit, then leverage it to enter the center. But he's just a border governor."
Zhang Yang's eyes gleamed.
"The stage he offers is some backwater. Isn't it?"
"......"
"But I'm different. Want a battlefield? I can arrange as many as you desire."
He whispered,
"So how about dealing directly with me, bypassing that old fox Ding Yuan?"
"Hmm..."
My mind whirred.