The Nanman (8)
This goes without saying, but China is an absolutely enormous place. Traveling on foot alone, with no other means of transport, it would easily take months just to cross it. The distance from Luoyang to Gangdong was roughly 2,000 li (about 780 km), and Xiliang lay about the same 2,000 li away.
So let's think, then. Roughly how many days would it take to travel from Luoyang to the Nanman? Having made the journey myself, I had a fair idea: unless you were mounted on a freak of nature like Red Hare, it would take at least a month.
The reason was simple. The distance itself was just plain enormous. Piecing together every scrap of geographic intelligence I could gather, I'd learned that the distance from Luoyang all the way to Yunnan was a staggering 5,000 li (2,000 km). It was a distance beyond imagining. Even someone walking at 4 km/h without once stopping to eat or sleep would need five hundred hours on the road.
In truth, part of the inflation came from the fact that the Nanman could only be reached by passing through city after city in Yi Province. The real problem was simply that no other route existed. What, you don't want to wind around sticking to the roads? Then by all means, go carve a path through the towering mountain ranges sprawled across Yi Province — the kind of treacherous peaks where, of every three who climb up, two come tumbling off a cliff. You can take that as gospel; it's the firsthand testimony of Deng Ai, the Mountain-Climbing King, who conquered Yi Province by pioneering those very mountains herself.
Even our elite cavalry, veterans of every hardship, would need a good fifteen days, switching horses the whole way. Quite a lot of time had passed since I first tangled with Meng Huo, but it was nowhere near enough for Hua Tuo to have arrived already.
Meeting Hua Tuo's clear, limpid eyes, I hesitated a moment before speaking.
"...Well, er. You certainly got here fast."
"When the General-in-Chief was gracious enough to send a letter ahead, how could I possibly dawdle?"
Hua Tuo answered my question calmly, then went on.
"I have merely answered your summons and come with all the strength I possess."
…….
Well, of course — it wasn't the kind of speed achievable by 'all one's strength' anyway.
There had been something mystical about her aura from the very first time I laid eyes on her. Could she actually be an immortal?
...That wasn't what mattered right now, so I decided not to dig. Pointless curiosity only invites calamity.
Having settled on that conclusion after a moment's thought, I addressed her.
"You've come such a long way. Are you not tired?"
…….
"If you wish it, I could grant you a day's rest, but..."
"No, thank you. I am quite well."
Hua Tuo answered firmly.
"When treating a patient, nothing matters more than time."
"Hmm... True enough..."
But the condition of the physician doing the treating mattered too, surely.
When a trace of worry showed on my face, Hua Tuo explained, as if to put me at ease.
"It is quite alright. Do place your trust in me."
She replied without the faintest sign of fatigue. I was honestly curious what means she had used to reach this place.
But it would look strange to object when she insisted she was fine, so I gave a small nod.
"Then I shall trust you with it."
Not that I'd ever planned otherwise. Just as Zhang Jue had said, no one but Hua Tuo came to mind for treating Zhurong.
As though she knew my heart entire, Hua Tuo offered a courteous bow.
"I shall prove worthy of the General-in-Chief's expectations."
Word of Hua Tuo's arrival spread through the entire camp in no time.
"...? The Divine Physician has already arrived?"
"She has."
Zhang Jue, seemingly of a similar mind to me, showed a rare flash of fluster before sinking into thought.
"Hmm... Don't tell me..."
Did she have some idea, then?
"In any case, her early arrival is welcome news."
Perhaps she noticed me studying her, for Zhang Jue flashed a small smile.
"I will go see to the handover of the patient."
"...Right."
Zhang Jue pared down even her own rest, doing her utmost to keep Zhurong's condition from worsening — and still found spare moments to treat the soldiers' wounds. It was nothing short of astonishing.
Thanks to such wholehearted devotion, the Meng sisters could offer not a whisper of protest whenever Zhang Jue scolded them for some fault.
'Did I not make it perfectly clear that the patient's rest comes first?'
'Th-that's...'
'If you keep this up, I may be forced to take firmer measures...'
'I'm sorry─!'
Where had all that audacity she'd shown me at the beginning gone?
Meng Huo was closing the distance with such easy warmth that it was hard to believe she had ever been an enemy.
...Hold on. Hadn't the news of Hua Tuo's arrival just spread far and wide through the camp?
The moment that thought landed, a bad premonition crept over me. It felt as though someone might come tearing toward me at any second with tremendous momentum...
"My loooord──!!"
There it was.
I watched the golden sun come charging from the distance, kicking up a cloud of dust. Meng Huo, who had been sprinting at me full tilt, apparently mindful of being blocked by Lü Bu like last time, executed an almost miraculous bit of distance control and skidded to a halt right in front of me.
Eyes sparkling, Meng Huo asked:
"Is, is the rumor true?! That the Divine Physician you mentioned before has arrived?!"
"...It is."
Judging there was no reason to hide it, I answered honestly.
The instant she heard my answer, Meng Huo's face bloomed wide as she cried out:
"To think such wonderful news would reach us! I honestly don't know how to express this joy!"
As she said it, she looked so overjoyed she seemed ready to seize someone in a crushing hug and bounce around with them.
Had Seo Yeo and Lü Bu not been glaring daggers from beside me, she'd surely have done just that.
Having let her delight show once, Meng Huo searched my face and asked carefully:
"Um... then when might Zhurong's treatment begin...?"
"Since she asked for it herself, I'd say probably today."
"Right away, the very moment she arrives..."
Meng Huo said, her voice thick with emotion.
"Uuu, how could I ever repay this kindness..."
"Your guess is as good as mine."
She was such an unreadable person that even I couldn't tell what she liked. She didn't amass wealth, didn't collect precious things, and had no other particular pastime. She simply devoted herself, silently and single-mindedly, to healing others. She was, quite literally, like a robot transcended beyond desire itself, and I couldn't pass any sort of judgment on her either.
Watching Zhang Jue and Hua Tuo deep in conversation in the distance, I murmured:
"For now, let's watch the Divine Physician work her craft."
"Yep!"
"Though I'm afraid watching the treatment itself will be out of the question."
"...Huh?"
Had she actually been planning to stare holes into the operation? If a guardian lost her reason and went berserk, never mind everyone else — the patient would be dead for certain.
I explained to Meng Huo, calmly:
"Just as you have until now, your only task is to trust the others and wait."
…….
"You can manage that, yes?"
"Yeees..."
Meng Huo, for all her wildness, held strictly to the rule that superiors command and subordinates obey, so with just that much said, she'd stay put.
"Good, then..."
Mid-sentence, a wave of fatigue ambushed me and I let out a yawn.
Watching me, Meng Huo asked:
"Hm? My lord, are you tired?"
"...It would seem so."
When I admitted it flatly, Meng Huo threw back her head and laughed.
"Haha! I expect it's from sleeping in unfamiliar surroundings! I shall go have a word and see to it!"
"Right."
I was grateful for her consideration.
...Though I had a feeling that wasn't quite why I was tired.
…….
"Wh-what?! Why are you staring?!"
The moment Seo Yeo's eyes met mine she wrenched her head away, and Lü Bu flushed scarlet and cried out, her fluster plain in her voice.
Why were those two in such perfect shape?
I could have sworn I'd won.
I felt a genuine awe toward those two bearers of inhuman stamina.
After that, time flowed by without incident. As if to honor everyone's faith in her, Hua Tuo brought the treatment to a success, and a few days later Zhurong — her complexion visibly restored — regained consciousness.
"H-huh? What... I'm not dead?"
…….
Don't tell me she'd truly meant to persuade Meng Huo with her own life. It was a genuine friendship I could never hope to fathom.
"Waaah─! I really thought the worst had happened─!"
"Ugh, what are you doing?! Get off, will you?!"
Zhurong kept shoving away Meng Huo, who was once again weeping buckets and trying to cling to her.
"Hm... Same red hair as mine."
Lü Bu murmured, as if marveling at Zhurong's identical hair color. Strictly speaking, there was a slight difference: if Lü Bu's was a crimson as deep as spilled blood, Zhurong's was, call it, a red as bright as flame. Either way, there was no denying both were thoroughly captivating colors.
I slipped quietly out of the room to give those close to one another time to talk.
So now, at last, came the time to actually work. Time to stabilize Yi Province and the Nanman, to unfold a policy of harmonization, and to pour every ounce of strength into keeping these different peoples from falling into discord—
"Hrk... G-General-in-Chief...!"
……?
At the sound of someone gasping for air beside me, I turned my head. Wasn't that one of my Imperial Guards? What had brought him all the way out to this distant Nanman?
Looking drastically more haggard — as though he had forced one brutal march — the guard bowed in salute.
"I, I have... something... to deliver... to you..."
"...Catch your breath first."
"Y-yes, sir..."
After several deep breaths, the guard drew a single letter from within his coat and held it out to me.
…….
Taking it, I unfolded the letter, and—
───It is time you began your journey home.
The contents were brief — nothing but the business that truly mattered. The graceful hand was unmistakably the sender's own. I closed my eyes.
Come to think of it, so much time had passed. In the original history, Zhuge Liang too had begun his southern campaign in spring and returned only in autumn — a truly staggering devourer of time. Still, I'd wrapped mine up by summer, so perhaps I could count myself fortunate.
I folded the letter with care, tucked it into my breast, and gave the order.
"We return to Luoyang before long. Make ready."
"Yes, sir!"
The adjutant who attended me answered with vigor.
It was the moment the long, long campaign against Yi Province and the Nanman finally came to an end.