Chapter 6
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Lu Bu's Logic
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Instead of the dust and stench of blood from Saibang, well-maintained city walls and orderly houses came into view.
Jinyang, the heart of Bing Province, was different from the borderlands in every way.
"Ugh... Cities really are something else! Brother, look over there! How many pretty girls do you think are in that brothel?!"
Wei Sok gaped like a country bumpkin from atop his horse, full of awe. The others were equally entranced by the bustling sights they could never have seen in Saibang.
Their faces were filled with pride and anticipation at having followed the "Wolf of Saibang" all the way here. At least, that held true until they passed through the gates.
"Who are you lot?! Where are you from, causing a ruckus in Jinyang, where the Governor himself resides?!"
It wasn't a shout from the gate guards.
A petty official who looked like a rat blocked our path with an arrogant sneer.
"We are Commander Lu Bu, the Wolf of Saibang, and his soldiers! We've come at the summons of Governor Ding Yuan!"
Wei Sok shouted proudly, but the official just snorted in disdain.
"Hm? Lu Bu? Ah, that borderlands yokel. You think you can make this much noise just because the Governor summoned you? Looks like country folk have no manners."
"W-what did you say, you bastard...!"
Wei Sok's face turned beet red. He looked ready to leap from his horse and grab the man by the collar. The others reached for the sword hilts at their waists.
For men who had fought through blood-soaked battlefields, enduring an insult from some ink-stained bureaucrat was unbearable.
But I simply watched the scene in silence.
—A lord's true measure... is revealed in how he treats the powerless.
My master's voice echoed in my ears. That man was Ding Yuan's subordinate. His arrogance must reflect the Governor's will.
I marked the first notch on the scale in my mind.
Seeing no reaction from me, the official grew even bolder, jerking his chin toward a rundown corner of the city.
"Follow me. That's where border trash like you stays."
The place he led us to was a shabby inn reeking of stable dung. It was worlds apart from the fine government lodgings for central officials.
"Fuck! This is the room they're making us stay in? Even a pigsty would be better!"
"Are you kidding me?! After the feats we've accomplished on the border, this is how they treat us...!"
My men raged, unable to contain their fury. Wei Sok approached me, his face nearly in tears.
"Brother, are you really just going to sit there? They're not treating us like people! We'd be better off heading back to Saibang than putting up with this!"
"......"
Instead of answering, I dismounted and entered the inn. The creaking door, the dust-covered bed—none of it pleased me, but my expression remained unchanged.
"Unpack for now. The Governor will summon us soon enough."
"Hah, I'm only holding back because of you, Commander."
"Damn it. What kind of narrow-minded prick is this Governor guy?"
At my calm words, they grumbled but began unloading their gear. But the summons from Ding Yuan never came that evening.
Nor the next morning when dawn broke, or even when the sun hung high in the sky.
"This is too much! They call us here and leave us rotting in this dusty hole for two days?!"
"They're deliberately humiliating us, no doubt about it!"
My men's patience was at its limit. Some were ready to storm out, saying they'd lose their minds without a drink.
Amid the clamor, I sat on the inn's creaky chair and opened a book. It was the Annals of Xiang Yu my master had given me at the end.
—Learn well how pathetic the end is for those who rely on strength alone without winning hearts.
The life of Overlord Xiang Yu unfolded across the pages—a hero who had the power to conquer the realm but withered away for failing to win the people's hearts.
"Brother! How can you even read at a time like this?!"
Wei Sok cried out in frustration. Without lifting my eyes from the book, I replied softly.
"Wait."
"Until when?!"
"Seeing how they've shoved us in here, they'll call for us soon."
And with my finger, I tapped a passage in the book. There, the four characters for "Surrounded by Chu Songs" stood out clearly.
It was three days and half a day later.
Just as my men's complaints were about to explode, the firmly shut door of the inn burst open. It was that same rat-faced official from before. His face was still brimming with arrogance.
"The Governor summons you. Follow me."
His tone was curt, laced with condescension. Wei Sok shot to his feet.
"About time! Where's the training ground? He wants to see Brother's spear skills firsthand, right?!"
The others hurriedly adjusted their armor and reached for their weapons, as if they'd been waiting for this. But the official smirked contemptuously at us.
"Training ground? Hah, just like yokels, thinking so small. Leave your weapons. The place the Governor wants to see you isn't some noisy arena."
"What? Then where?!"
To Wei Sok's question, the official lifted his chin and dropped a bombshell that shattered all expectations.
"The Governor's study."
"...The study?!"
Wei Sok's mouth hung open stupidly. Not just him—every man in the inn doubted their ears.
"Study? Are you messing with us?! Calling a warrior to a place for reading instead of wielding a blade! What do you take our Brother for?!"
"Shut up, you ignoramus. The Governor isn't here to see the 'Wolf of Saibang'."
The official looked me up and down with a sneer.
"He wishes to meet the disciple of Great Scholar Bai Gai."
At those words, all noise in the inn ceased as if by magic.
—Disciple of Bai Gai.
Wei Sok and the men stared at each other, uncomprehending. Their minds were filled with question marks: Why?
This made no sense in the world they knew. But I was different.
Now I see.
All the pieces fell into place. The cold treatment, the endless wait without word, and now this bizarre summons.
Ding Yuan had never cared about my spear. What he wanted was the name behind me—Master Chae, the towering prestige of Bai Gai.
The board had flipped completely.
"Ha."
A cold laugh escaped me unbidden. Only then did I quietly close the Annals of Xiang Yu in my hand.
"Brother...?"
Leaving Wei Sok's bewildered expression behind, I rose from my seat. Without so much as glancing at the spear leaning against the wall, I walked toward the official.
"Fine. Lead the way."
Meeting my gaze, the official flinched and stepped back involuntarily.
The study where the official led me far exceeded my expectations. It was less a room and more a vast library.
The walls were lined with bookshelves reaching to the ceiling, packed with expensive bamboo slips and scrolls. The air was thick with the scent of aged ink.
In the center, around a polished table, sat several men. The middle-aged man in the seat of honor must be Ding Yuan.
He had a moderate build and sharp eyes, giving the impression more of a merchant than a warrior.
Surrounding him were several scholar-types in fine silk robes, just like the official. As I entered, they scanned me with eyes mixing blatant contempt and curiosity.
They looked at me like a wild boar that had barged into the study.
"So you're Lu Bu, the one who received teachings from Great Scholar Bai Gai."
Ding Yuan spoke. His voice was soft, but it clearly carried intent to test me.
"Yes."
"Haha, indeed the Wolf of Saibang. Your voice brims with spirit. I've heard the rumors of your martial prowess."
Ding Yuan lightly praised my skills, but that was it.
He cut straight to the point. The scholars around him perked up with interest.
"But what intrigued me most wasn't your valor—it was the news that you became disciple to the great scholar Bai Gai. Perfect timing. We were just discussing something among these gentlemen. I'd like to hear your view as his disciple."
"Speak."
"Your master, Bai Gai, once said: 'If a lord loses virtue, his vassals must remonstrate to set him right.' Wise words indeed. But what if the vassal remonstrates and the lord still won't listen? What then? Answer as his disciple."
As Ding Yuan finished, smirks played on the scholars' lips. Their faces said a brute warrior couldn't possibly answer such a profound question.
They waited for me to falter or spout nonsense. But this was a discussion I'd had with my master dozens of times.
I fell silent for a moment. Then, looking around the room at everyone, I spoke.
"Before answering that, allow me one question first."
"Oh? A question of your own? Very well. Ask."
Ding Yuan's eyes narrowed.
"You sit here in this study, Governor. Outside the window, all is peaceful; the room filled with ink's aroma—a picture of utmost tranquility."
At my words, a faint furrow creased Ding Yuan's brow.
"Yet in Saibang, whence I come, even now the people starve. Old mothers clutch their children's corpses and wail as Wuhuan hooves thunder past; young village women lose their chastity and hang themselves in despair."
My voice was low, but it rang clear enough for everyone in the study to hear.
"The 'lord who won't listen' you speak of is precisely such a man. One who ignores the people's bloody tears, sits in his study debating lofty phrases, deluding himself he has virtue. No 'remonstration' can reach such a hypocrite."
"Y-you dare...!"
One scholar beside him flushed red and shouted. But Ding Yuan raised a hand to silence him. The air in the study froze. Smirks vanished, replaced by shock and anger.
I met Ding Yuan's eyes squarely and delivered the final blow.
"A vassal truly wishing to 'set the lord right' should rush to wipe the people's tears amid their bloodshed before prattling in the lord's ear from his desk. That's what my master taught me. What say you, Governor?"
Silence.
Not a breath could be heard in the study. Only the faint crackle of burning candles filled the void.
Ding Yuan stared at me wordlessly for a long while. The soft mask of hypocrisy slipped from his face, revealing the cold merchant beneath.
"Ha... hahaha!"
Suddenly, he burst into laughter. The baffled scholars glanced at him.
"Indeed! Truly the disciple of Bai Gai! Excellent! Very good! You're absolutely right!"
Ding Yuan rose from his seat. He no longer tested me. Instead, he regarded me as one might a business partner.
"Yes, I'm a hypocrite. Sitting here, willfully ignoring Saibang's suffering. But Lu Bu, with the vast realm rotting away, what difference does tending a small wound on Bing Province's border make?"
His voice lowered.
"In the capital now, the Ten Attendants have the Emperor blind and deaf, gnawing at the nation's foundations. Warlords with any power are busy lining their own pockets. At this rate, Han will fall. That's why I mean to right this chaos!"
His words were grand, but I saw no concern for the people in his eyes—only his seething ambition.
"But Lu Bu, in this turbid world, force alone can't achieve one's aims. To wield the blade, you first need the 'justification' to grasp it."
Ding Yuan picked up a scroll from the table.
"And that justification is the name of your master, Bai Gai. Symbol of the upright scholar, a name even the Ten Attendants dare not touch lightly. It's the only key to unlock the capital's sealed gates."
He'd finally shown his true colors.
"What I want from you isn't your paltry valor. Send a letter to your master on my behalf. Tell him Ding Yuan seeks to right the chaotic world—ask him to lend his support to this great cause. If Bai Gai endorses me, the realm's talents will flock to me like clouds."
At those words, the final notch filled on the scale in my mind. To him, I, my master, even the people were mere pieces on his board of ambition.
In response to his repulsive proposal, I recalled my master's teaching.
—As a son to his father, first lead him onto the righteous path.
"Governor."
I spoke quietly.
"My master taught me: As a son to his father, first lead him onto the righteous path."
"Oh? What do you mean by that?"
"If you truly seek a 'great cause,' Governor, don't beg for justification by borrowing my distant master's name. Prove it with your own actions."
I took a step toward Ding Yuan. He involuntarily stepped back under my presence.
"A great cause isn't born from others' mouths but forged by one's deeds. If you truly cherish Bing Province and worry for Han's future, shouldn't you first alleviate its greatest woe?"
I pointed toward the northern sky beyond the study's window.
"Grant me Bing Province's army. I'll lead it north, subjugate the Wuhuan who've plagued us so long, ensure they never cross our borders again. I'll let Saibang's people sleep with legs outstretched and bring true peace to Bing Province."
Every man in the study gaped in astonishment.
"A Governor who brings peace to Bing Province by his own hand. A shepherd of the people who devotes himself to them. What greater 'great cause' or 'justification' could there be? Do that, Governor, and without my asking, my master will take up his brush to praise your name across the realm."
I pierced him with my gaze.
"Now choose. Cling to a distant name and beg for justification? Or seize a true great cause the realm will revere through your own deeds?"
Ding Yuan's face hardened. There was no escape from the logical trap I'd set.
Reject my proposal, and he'd admit to himself being a hypocrite ignoring the people's pain for personal gain. His boasted "great cause" would crumble, shaming him before these scholars.
Accept it, and he'd hand sharp fangs and claws—a "Wolf" outside his control—the Bing Province army.
Either way, Ding Yuan was doomed to lose.
"Y-you...!"
A groan mixed with rage escaped his lips.
He wanted to shout something, but knew any words would be mere excuses before my logic. His fists trembled. Humiliation flickered across the merchant's face.
The scholars clamped their mouths shut, eyes darting between me and Ding Yuan.
Their gazes, once treating me like a boar, now held shock and inexplicable fear.
I said nothing more. I merely looked down coldly at the prey caught in my trap.
This was the new way of battle my master had taught me. Drawing a blade to the enemy's throat without spilling a drop of blood, using only "words" and "justification."
A different thrill from piercing a heart with my spear raced up my spine.
I quietly turned and walked toward the study's door. The burning glare from Ding Yuan stung my back.
Just before stepping out, I tossed one final line over my shoulder.
"I'll hear your answer in three days. Choose wisely—for the sake of your 'great cause.'"
With that, I left the study without looking back. Wei Sok and the men, waiting anxiously outside, looked baffled at my face.
"Brother? What happened? Did those bastards mock you?!"
Instead of answering, I clapped Wei Sok's shoulder with a grin.
"No. I turned the tables on them."
"Hahaha! That's our Brother!"
Before they could make even more noise, I led them back to the inn.