The Yellow Turban Rebellion (5)
Zhang Jue watched the man striding confidently ahead, telling her to simply follow him.
What a foolish man.
Did he realize that the way he kept trying to show he was nothing special—that very humility was exactly what drew people to him? Could you die for a nobody like me? he'd asked. What was there even to say? The answer was plain enough just looking at the two women who followed him now.
Whenever she gazed up at the beautiful night sky, certain stars always caught her eye.
A blood-red star, fated to spill more blood across the world than any other.
The star of calamity, which had burned with a more ominous crimson than any other, now dimmed its light and circled about the man.
A star that could never settle in one place, drifting restlessly across the night sky.
The wandering star, which had yielded its distance to no other and roamed alone, now trailed behind the man.
And an utterly ordinary little star had gone and changed the fates of all the others.
Simply a compassionate soul who could not turn away from those in pain.
If it's someone like him...
Having changed her clothes and removed her mask, Zhang Jue let a quiet smile settle on her lips.
That night, when she saw a new star born to follow the ordinary one, Zhang Jue covered her face, embarrassed.
That was what I'd said, but I couldn't exactly march straight out of the city with the Zhang sisters in tow. Leaving now would do nothing but invite suspicion.
With everyone else roaming the streets, working themselves ragged to hunt down the Yellow Turbans, what would it look like if I alone slipped away? Seriously—even I could tell how shady that would be.
Besides, abandoning a battlefield without your commander's orders is desertion, plain and simple. And with the government troops watching Julu's gates like a fortress, sneaking out was impossible anyway. I'd just have to while away some time.
First things first—I'd link up with Zhang Liao at the government office.
"Huh?"
On my way there, I came across government troops locked in battle with the Yellow Turbans.
"Waaagh!"
"Victory's within reach! Push them!"
Lü Bu, who had paused beside me to watch the fight, spoke up. "Doesn't look like they need our help."
Just as she said, the government troops had already seized the momentum and were driving the Yellow Turbans back hard; there seemed no need to step in. If I jumped in now, I'd be lucky to escape with nothing worse than them grumbling that I'd come to steal their credit.
Curious which unit it was, I looked up at the banner the soldiers held high.
Cao.
…….
"Let's go back."
At my abrupt about-face, Lü Bu tilted her head in confusion. "It's a long way back around, though? The fight's about to end anyway—we could just wait for it to finish."
"Well, about that..."
Considering who was in the area right now, running into that particular person didn't strike me as a good idea. In the world I'd come from, she'd been saddled with comical nicknames like "Baby Jojo" or "the married-woman killer," but when it came to ability, she was the real deal.
"...Ah. Right. Back the way we came it is."
Lü Bu nodded, a look of belated realization crossing her face as she remembered just who we were carrying. The battle would be over soon, but the soldiers kept their guard up to the very end. I watched them a moment longer, then turned away.
The clash of battle, audible even from a distance, died down shortly after I left. From there, I made a wide arc around Julu toward the government office—and somewhere along the way, I sensed trouble brewing.
Lü Bu frowned and spoke. "Why are those guys following us?"
A unit flying Cao's banner was trailing me, plain as day.
Seriously, why? On the off chance it was coincidence, I changed direction this way and that—but with every turn they adjusted to match, as if to announce that yes, I was their target.
"Hmm..."
They hadn't noticed I had Zhang Jue with me. If they had, they wouldn't be strolling along at that leisurely pace—they'd have come swarming, screaming traitor.
"What should we do?"
When I turned to Seo Yeo, she met my gaze at once and answered as she always did. "I will follow my lord's command."
"Not that. Any personal opinion?"
"……."
After a long silence, Seo Yeo said something utterly chilling, as casually as if remarking on the weather. "Kill them all?"
"Whoa..."
Call it Xiang Yu's legacy, I suppose—in the original history too, anyone who rubbed her the wrong way ended up dead as casually as eating a meal. Even Lü Bu stared at her, wearing a look that said, what is wrong with this woman.
I shook my head with a wry smile at her suggestion. "I don't think they're attacking just because someone's following me."
"I see. Understood."
Just as Seo Yeo accepted my objection so matter-of-factly, a voice came from behind. "I have a good idea."
Neatly kept brown hair that brushed her shoulders. I met the amber eyes gazing at me and opened my mouth. "Yeah? So, uh..."
When I faltered, unable to call her name, the girl gave a small smile. "Out here, please call me Zhang Ye."
"Got it."
With who knew whose ears listening, I hardly thought I should go around calling her Zhang Jue in public. Behind her, two girls who looked strikingly like her were watching me with identical expressions.
"I've lived in Julu since I was young, so I know this area well." Zhang Jue stepped closer, her clear, careful voice reaching my ears. "And from what I can see, meeting that person—Cao—is something you'd rather avoid?"
I nodded at her question. "We'll meet someday, I'm sure. Just not right now if I can help it."
Why avoid her? Call it a hunch, but I had a feeling something incredibly troublesome would unfold if we met. If that weren't the case, she'd have no reason to chase me down like this in the first place.
Hearing my answer, Zhang Jue smiled brightly and led the way. I suppose Julu counted as a major city, because once she guided us deep into the residential quarter, the streets twisted and crisscrossed until they resembled a maze. Every house looked the same, the forks in the road were endless, and the scenery repeated itself far too often for comfort.
"Anyone who lived here would get lost at least once, guaranteed."
"For those who've settled here recently, it's practically a rite of passage."
After wandering the residential district a while under her guidance, the unit that had been tailing us vanished from sight.
"They gave up fast."
"I imagine there were simply too many people about."
"Fair enough."
Even a rough glance had put them at several thousand strong—hardly idle hands, but no commander would throw that kind of manpower into an unfamiliar maze just to find one man.
...Right? They wouldn't. Why did the thought make me so uneasy? Now that I actually considered it, it gave me the chills. There was no reason for that kind of obsession, so it would be fine. After all, I had never once met Cao Cao in my life.
Though having shaken them off like this, we'd probably end up meeting anyway the moment I reached the government office. I felt like I'd worn myself out for nothing. Not that I could just leave Zhang Liao waiting for me.
"……."
Well, what could I do?
If we met, we met.
"...Why is he running?"
Hers was a face that made every passing man turn for at least one more look. Even amid the Central Plains—a land overflowing with beautiful women—her beauty stood out, and yet this small woman was frowning faintly, as if she couldn't understand.
The pale blue-haired woman nearby sighed. "Thousands of soldiers suddenly closing in on him—who wouldn't run?"
"You think?"
"I do."
The woman blinked her silver eyes and went on. "But with that Lü Bu at his side, what is there to fear?"
"……."
She started to wonder if that might be true, then shook her head firmly. "Mengde. Even so, no single person can hold off thousands."
"If it's a matter of running, I'd say it's quite possible."
At yet another non sequitur, the woman sighed. "What strange thing have you been reading this time?"
"You saw Wuyang yourself, did you not? The sight of Yellow Turbans raining down from the walls after a single swing of her weapon."
"……."
It had certainly been a scene that defied belief. Watching the Yellow Turbans plunge screaming from the ramparts five and six at a time had sent an involuntary chill down her own spine.
So that was the famed Peerless Under Heaven. She was a general who led armies on the front lines herself, yet asked to face Lü Bu head-on, she would have preferred to beg off.
"...You think so?"
"I do."
In the end, the woman heard herself conceding the point. "And here I had been so curious just who it was that even Lü Bu follows."
Long straight hair that nearly brushed the ground. The small woman, her silver hair the same shade as her eyes, gazed at the spot where the man had stood.
"Next time, I will not let him slip away."
"Why am I suddenly getting chills?"
A shiver crawled over me out of nowhere, and I rubbed my arms. At the sight, Lü Bu asked worriedly, "Did you catch a cold?"
"I don't think that's it..."
I stole a glance behind me. No one was there, obviously, and yet I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching me.
It'll be fine... right?
Don't tell me she's set her sights on me? I've said it before and I'll say it again: I had absolutely no connection to the Cao family.
Really. None whatsoever.
Settling a heart that, for some reason, refused to calm down, I headed for the government office.