Chapter 30
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: The Path After Huaiyin
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Our army returned to the main camp.
The tip of my spear bore the severed head of General Who Levels the Earth, Zhang Bo, fluttering like a banner proclaiming our victory.
The three thousand soldiers were caked in blood, dust, and black ash, but not a single one showed any sign of fatigue.
As we drew near the main camp, the Northern Army soldiers who spotted us went wide-eyed in shock.
Their gazes, which had once held us in contempt as "the Ten Attendants' dogs" or "barbarian yokels from the borderlands," now shifted to awe upon seeing Zhang Bo's head impaled on my spear.
"I-Is that really the head of General Who Levels the Earth, Zhang Bo?"
"No way... They said they were just going to harass the rear, but they came back with the enemy commander's head..."
The Northern Army soldiers gaped in astonishment as they cleared a path for us. Wei Sok, grinning from ear to ear as we passed through, shouted proudly to the soldiers around us.
"Did you see that? Our big brother cut off the head of that rebel scum—their leader, General Who Levels the Earth, Zhang Bo!"
"Ho ho..."
Hearing the commotion, Northern Army Commander Zhong Yuan emerged from his tent.
Zhong Yuan alternated his gaze between Zhang Bo's head on the spear tip and my face.
'Hmm, is he about to try and keep me in check somehow?'
I tensed slightly, but his reaction completely defied my expectations.
"Heh, I thought you were just venting your frustrations. But you actually bagged a tiger."
Zhong Yuan burst into hearty laughter. His voice carried pure admiration and intrigue, free of any envy or jealousy.
'Hmm, this guy's no ordinary fellow. He doesn't resent another's achievements at all—he can celebrate them purely. That's the mark of a true magnanimous hero.'
"I'm grateful for your kind words, Commander."
"What do you mean 'kind words'? It's all merit you earned yourself. Still, it's a bit regrettable. I just grumbled and ran off."
"No, Commander. If you hadn't drawn their attention, I never could have claimed this victory."
"You Han people are too quick to praise others. Take pride in your own abilities!"
"Thank you, Commander."
I lightly bowed my head from horseback in respect.
That was the end of our brief exchange with Zhong Yuan. Now it was time to report this tremendous feat.
I spurred my horse straight toward Northern Army Commander Lu Zhi's tent, following the path cleared by the awestruck Northern Army soldiers.
I entered Lu Zhi's tent.
"I-Is that..."
"Isn't that Zhang Bo's head?"
The other captains in the tent buzzed with shock at the sight of me.
Ignoring their stares, I walked to the center of the tent and pulled Zhang Bo's head from the spear, placing it at Lu Zhi's feet.
—Thud
A dull sound echoed as the bloodied head hit the tent floor.
"Unit Commander Lu Bu, reporting as ordered. I disrupted the enemy rear, burned their main supply depots, and severed the head of enemy General Who Levels the Earth, Zhang Bo."
"......."
Lu Zhi said nothing after my report.
He simply stared down at Zhang Bo's head by his feet. A long silence stretched on before Lu Zhi finally spoke.
"Everyone else, withdraw. I have business to discuss with the Unit Commander alone."
At Lu Zhi's command, the other captains left the tent reluctantly, their faces tinged with disappointment.
Now only Lu Zhi and I remained, the air thick with tension. Lu Zhi spoke first.
"...Did you disobey my orders just to take Zhang Bo's head?"
"I did not."
"Did you chase glory and drive your men into a death trap?"
"No."
Lu Zhi pursued no further after my firm replies.
Instead, he rose from his seat and slowly approached me. The sternness faded from his expression, replaced by a complex swirl of deep emotions.
Lu Zhi began to murmur, almost to himself.
"...When I heard you were Bai Gai's disciple, I was actually worried."
"What do you mean?"
"Bai Gai was an upright scholar. But he didn't know how to bend. In trying to drive out corrupt officials, he fell victim to their schemes and was exiled to Saibang. I was different. I resigned my post voluntarily to keep myself unsullied by the filthy world."
Lu Zhi finished and looked me straight in the eyes.
"I worried that you, having received Bai Gai's teachings, might be unable to tolerate the court's injustices and follow your master's same path. But you're different."
".........Are you referring to the Ten Attendants?"
Lu Zhi glared at me, his voice laced with contempt.
"You've made your name in Bing Province and the court through your own valor—why grasp the hands of those Ten Attendants? Was it wealth? Office? Vain glory? What did you hope to gain by allying with those filthy wretches?!"
"Ha, so that's why you've treated me so coldly?"
"What did you say!?"
I had finally uncovered why Lu Zhi had been so icy toward me.
"Let me ask you, General. You say you stepped back from the world to protect yourself—then why accept a command to suppress these rebels now?"
"With the Han dynasty in peril, how could I concern myself only with my own safety?"
"Then let me ask again. Have the Ten Attendants not endangered the Han dynasty?"
"......"
Lu Zhi fell silent and simply picked up Zhang Bo's head. Fresh crimson blood dripped from it, staining the floor.
"The Ten Attendants have killed countless scholars with their tongues, but they posed no real threat. They were merely filthy."
A scoff escaped me unbidden.
"Ha, 'merely filthy,' you say?"
Lu Zhi's brow twitched.
"General, do you view filth and danger as separate? The yellow turbans these rebels wear might as well have been handed to them by the Ten Attendants. Their corruption squeezed the pus from the people, and that pus burst forth as these Yellow Turbans."
"......So you've resolved to become the blade of those filthy ones."
Lu Zhi's voice grew low.
"No. I am no one's blade. General, do you know the tale of Han Xin, the Lord of Huaiyin?"
"Why speak of Han Xin?"
"To embrace the world as a great hero, Han Xin endured the humiliation of crawling between a ruffian's legs in the marketplace. For him, a moment's shame paled before the greater cause of setting the world right."
I stepped forward, meeting Lu Zhi's eyes directly.
"Even Han Xin endured that—why, then, did you seek only to preserve your own purity? Why avoid the filth without striving to correct it?"
".......!"
For the first time, the legendary general Lu Zhi's composure cracked under my blunt questioning. He stared at me, speechless.
"The Ten Attendants are filthy and repulsive. Yet all the realm's power rests in their hands. I fear not the marketplace's scorn. Even if I must crawl through the mud, if it leads to severing rebels' heads and saving the people, I will walk that path gladly. That is the 'greater cause' my master taught me."
My answer clearly diverged from the greed or ambition Lu Zhi had expected. He stared at me for a long moment before letting out a deep sigh.
"...Heh, Bai Gai took in a fearsome disciple."
Lu Zhi set Zhang Bo's head back on the floor.
"Very well. Whatever your methods, we need blades to cut down rebels now. I'll submit a report to the court ensuring you receive fitting rewards for this merit."
"Thank you, General."
I bowed to Lu Zhi and left the tent.
The sun set, bringing an end to the day's brutal fighting.
The battlefield echoed only with the groans of the wounded and the caws of crows.
The Yellow Turbans had suffered nearly ten thousand casualties that day alone, yet they failed to breach Lu Zhi's defensive formation.
"Brother... We've lost thousands of brothers just today. Lu Zhi's formation is too solid. We should commit more men, even if it means heavier losses..."
"...Tomorrow will be different. Tomorrow, the Yellow Heaven will grant us victory."
As Zhang Jiao tried to console his younger brother, a bloodied messenger came galloping from the distant rear.
The messenger threw himself before Zhang Jiao and Zhang Liang, wailing in despair, his face twisted in horror.
"Great Worthy Teacher! General Who Levels the Earth... he's dead!"
"What?! Brother Bo is dead?! What do you mean?!"
Zhang Liang seized the messenger by the collar and shook him in disbelief.
"An imperial raid... And the supply depots... all burned!"
Defeat in the first clash with the imperials, the death of his second brother, and the loss of the supply depots—a triple blow. Zhang Jiao staggered.
He stared blankly into the void before suddenly spewing a mouthful of dark red blood and collapsing.
"Cough...!"
"Brother!"
Zhang Jiao's eyes lost focus, his lips murmuring only "Bo... Brother Bo..."
Zhang Liang trembled violently before his fallen eldest brother, his slain second brother, and the inferno of their supply depots.
But as the youngest and the last remaining commander, he could not break.
Zhang Liang swallowed his tears and gritted his teeth.
".........Take Eldest Brother away."
His voice shook, but his command was firm.
"I order the entire army—fall back to Guangzong!"
Thus, the Yellow Turbans' momentum, which had seemed poised to engulf the world, crumbled hollowly as they retreated toward Guangzong.