Lu Ming of the Eastern Lands
After finishing my duties in Xuzhou City, Pengcheng was next.
Pengcheng had seen every general and powerful clan surrender after Lu Bu’s death, and the situation was being wrapped up with impressive speed.
I reviewed only the critical ledgers on the spot and left everything else to them.
“There’s just one thing I want handled.”
“What would that be?”
“Countless corpses are still frozen in the fields between Pengcheng and Xuzhou. Once the thaw comes, that whole area will turn into a land of death and plagues will break out. Gather every last one and dispose of them properly.”
“Understood. We will take care of the fallen from the recent fighting.”
The generals and local officials of Pengcheng looked visibly relieved that the acting Inspector had only one demand. They immediately stepped forward to see it done.
Heading north from here would bring me to Xiaopei, but I decided to save that for last and make for Huiyin first.
I also kept the matter of the “female white tiger” in the Huiyin region firmly in mind.
Lu Bu’s wife and daughter had fled. Called a fierce white tiger, she was probably hiding in the wilds, killing any pursuers who drew too close.
I would find her.
There were too many reasons not to. Of course I had to locate her and bring her in.
“Good. Then we head for Huiyin.”
“Yes, Colonel.”
The five hundred soldiers under my command set off as one toward Huiyin.
Since we had already taken the city once, our steps felt remarkably light.
After several days of hard riding we reached Huiyin, and the sight that greeted us was utterly transformed from the one we had left behind.
“Colonel, look at that.”
“Incredible. You rebuilt all of it?”
Not a trace remained of the damage from our first assault. The collapsed walls had been reconstructed by carpenters, and the air inside the city no longer carried the stench of blood.
Security troops were directing the civilians. Collapsed and burned houses were being cleared away, new ones rising in their place. The man supervising the work was Huiyin’s newly appointed county magistrate.
“This is Military Colonel Cao Xiu, acting on behalf of the Inspector.”
“I am Liu Fu, Prefect of Huiyin Commandery. It is an honor.”
Liu Fu, courtesy name Yuanying.
A renowned scholar from Yuzhou who had surrendered to Cao Cao before Yuan Shu’s rebellion and become a loyal subject of the court.
Cao Cao had promised to send a new administrator the moment Huiyin fell, and the man before me was exactly that.
“Since the war ended, we have been building new homes so the people can live, digging wells, and constructing schools to prepare the children’s education.”
“To prepare all of that yourself is truly impressive.”
“It is only what anyone who draws a salary from the state should do.”
He was a scholar in his late forties with the bearing of a seasoned official, and he clearly treated the common people with generosity.
As Liu Fu had said, wells were being dug throughout Huiyin to supply drinking water, and the sound of children reciting their lessons drifted from every direction.
“Prefect Liu.”
“Yes, Colonel.”
“This isn’t strictly proper, but… I will not be conducting an inspection here.”
“Haha, that will not do at all. The ledgers and the approval documents for the court are already prepared. Please review them.”
“When someone is doing such good work, poking around in the name of inspection would only cause more trouble.”
“Not at all. No matter how worthy the cause, it must always be aboveboard. I must ask you to come to the government office and verify everything.”
“Really, there’s no need to go that far…”
He was actually asking me to review the books and perform the inspection myself.
What an outstanding local official. Liu Fu was a truly remarkable talent.
So I followed him to the government office and immersed myself in the mountain of documents, reading every one.
Even skimming, it would clearly take days. Adding the report I needed to write for my uncle, Inspector Xiahou Dun, would take even longer.
Still, I read with care and asked questions the moment anything puzzled me.
“Prefect Liu, what is this fifty-tael gold donation listed here?”
“Ah, that was given by a merchant caravan that travels the region. Since it could not be spent arbitrarily, I left it untouched.”
One glance told me it had come from either the Wei merchant house or Zhang Yi’s caravan, sent privately to Liu Fu. Yet instead of using it, he had recorded it honestly in the ledger.
“Then use these funds for construction within Huiyin and send the full accounting to the provincial governor. Naturally, if the court learns which merchant group provided the donation, they will take note of it.”
“Understood. It will be done.”
After reviewing many more items, mealtime arrived before I realized it.
The door opened and two trays were carried in. Their contents were… exceedingly modest.
“It is simple fare, but please eat. It was prepared here in Huiyin.”
It really was simple. Mallow soup, a single thin grilled fish, a few roughly chopped vegetable dishes, and barley rice. That was all.
“I’ll enjoy it.”
I had long outgrown the age of complaining about side dishes, and since Liu Fu was eating the exact same meal in silence, I ate with him.
“Meat is difficult to obtain in winter. We have therefore reduced the officials’ rations somewhat.”
“At least make sure the meals are filling. I’ve seen far too many men die from ruining their health.”
“Haha, thank you for your concern.”
This Liu Fu was a genuine incorruptible official.
If he lived a long life and was entrusted with a southern province, he would not only handle postwar recovery for the entire region but also bring genuine development. I was certain of it.
I spent the rest of the day and well into the night inspecting Huiyin, and the quarters I was given late that evening were just as modest.
“It may be uncomfortable.”
“Hmm, the bed does look rather hard. Still, I carry leather blankets because of the cold snap. I’ll lay one down and sleep on that.”
***
Time passed that way.
One perfectly ordinary morning, urgent news reached me.
“Colonel, a report from Deputy Yue. A female swordswoman has been sighted in the wild hills north of Huiyin.”
“I thought meat had finally appeared on the breakfast table for once, but it seems it was an auspicious omen instead.”
I ignored the rice, drained the soup in one go, and rose.
“Where? Prepare my horse.”
“Yes, Colonel!”
I left Huiyin at once and rode to where Yue Jin waited.
North of the city lay snow-covered mountains, and at their base stood a small inn.
When I stepped inside, Yue Jin and his men, who had been eating, all stood at attention.
“Colonel!”
“You’ve endured the cold. Everyone all right?”
“A few are wounded, but there are no fatalities.”
Looking more closely, I saw several men wrapped in bandages.
“She truly was a female tiger. We attempted to capture her, but her swordsmanship is no ordinary thing…”
“Is she up in that snowy mountain now?”
“Yes. When we found her earlier she had caught a rabbit and was tearing at its neck with her teeth to eat it.”
“She’s gone completely feral.”
Yue Jin asked what “feral” meant, but I simply pulled on my gloves and set off to capture Lu Bu’s daughter on the snowy mountain.
The soldiers led me to a small cave.
Beside it stood a crude grave mound, and a sword sheath had been planted as a tombstone. It seemed Lu Bu’s wife had died.
“Colonel, we have the cave surrounded.”
“Keep watch. Bringing her out is my responsibility.”
I drew my sword, strode forward boldly, and called out.
“Is the blood kin of Lu Fengxian of Wuyuan here? If so, come out at once!”
A shadow slowly emerged from the cave.
Hair white as fresh snow whipped in the wind. Crimson eyes glowed. Her body was covered in blood, her silk clothes torn to rags. It was a woman.
The sight of her stepping out while picking her teeth with a rabbit bone was nothing short of shocking.
It was unmistakably the same girl I had seen before—Lu Bu’s daughter, Lu Ming.
Only a little over two weeks had passed since her father’s death, yet she looked utterly ravaged.
“Your hair has changed.”
“Ha…”
Lu Ming already understood she was surrounded. She let out a long sigh.
Then she unwound the bandages tied to her sword hilt and began wrapping them around her own hand.
It was the resolve of someone who would never release her blade and would fight to the death.
“That face… I remember you. The bastard who had two chances to kill me and let both slip.”
“I’ve come to capture you. I will not kill you, so surrender.”
“The Cao army that killed my father—I will never forgive you!”
Taat—!
“!?”
She hurled the sharp rabbit bone she had been using as a toothpick and charged at once.
Clanggg—
Our blades met after I drew. I tested her condition through the clash.
She looked as though both body and spirit were exhausted, yet she had thrown herself forward anyway.
Clang— Clang— Clanggg—
Even so, her sword was viciously sharp and aimed straight for my life.
As expected of Lu Bu’s daughter, her swordsmanship was superb.
I had no intention of killing her. I blocked her strikes and slowly opened distance.
She attacked desperately, aiming for my throat. Had we met on a real battlefield, she would have been a troublesome foe.
“Huff… Huff…”
“You can’t have eaten properly in days. You’ve suffered enough. It’s over. Just surrender.”
“Surrender for what? So you can use me as a plaything?”
I couldn’t exactly deny it.
Lu Ming’s attacks grew fiercer. We fought our way into the winter forest.
The soldiers, Yue Jin included, moved to help, but I raised a hand to stop them and brought my sword down with all my strength.
Claaaang—
Her blade snapped with a single blow.
Even then she tried to cut me with the broken sword. I sidestepped, seized her emaciated wrist, and tore the knot of bandages away.
“!!”
The moment the wrappings came loose from her hand, the broken sword fell and caught among the countless branches.
Even a well-fed, well-trained warrior would have found it difficult to keep up. Yet she had fought this far with a ruined body.
Having lost her weapon, Lu Ming collapsed powerlessly.
When I approached, she lay upon the snow-covered ground and spoke in a faint voice.
“…Kill me.”
“I told you I won’t kill you.”
I cut the long bandage that bound her wrist to the branch, then lifted her in a princess carry.
“She must be freezing. Blanket!”
“H-here, Colonel.”
One of the soldiers brought the leather fur I had carried with me. I wrapped it around Lu Ming’s body.
“You’ve all done well. Deputy Yue and the fifty men here will receive double combat rewards once we return to the capital.”
The soldiers who had suffered through the bitter cold in the mountains immediately brightened.
Lu Ming, held in my arms, no longer resisted.
Her eyes had lost their light. She had fallen into a state of nothingness, the will to live completely gone.
She had abandoned everything and simply let fate do as it pleased.
“We return to Huiyin.”
At my command the fifty subordinates moved out at once.