Teacher Kim Taeyang (3): Xun You, the Ghost Talent
Xun You, known as the Ghost Talent. She's a woman six years older than Sun Uk. That makes her thirteen years older than me. I didn't particularly want to dwell on ages, but her appearance made it impossible not to.
How is this woman in her thirties?
That thought alone confirmed she was in her thirties, but no matter how I looked at her, Xun You seemed about my age or maybe a bit older. She was shorter than me and carried a melancholic air that stirred a protective instinct, making her look even younger. Her frame was petite too... petite outside of the Central Plains, with skin as pale and flawless as white jade, like a porcelain doll.
If you placed her next to a farmwife her age, they'd look like mother and daughter. Xun You had that much visual appeal—what you'd call "charm."
This world is truly bizarre.
Women of exceptional talent seemed to retain their youth far longer. Not just youth, but their beauty in its prime form. Was it because they were talented that they stayed beautiful, or were they both talented and beautiful? Hard to say. Ordinary people age with time, their bodies withering inevitably. But these talented women wielded their abilities in eternally youthful forms, refusing to grow old.
Who started this trend?
"Xiang Yu had his beauties, but Liu Bang had Zhang Liang and Han Xin."
Zhang Liang again. Han Xin again. Before them, figures like Taigong Wang or Sun Bin were all men who made their mark. But in Central Plains history, the first woman to step to the forefront was Zhang Liang.
"Zhang Liang's beauty never faded with time, leading many to believe a heavenly immortal had descended to aid the Supreme Ancestor."
According to wild histories, Liu Bang's strategist Zhang Liang maintained her youthful twenties appearance right up to the day she chose to retire into seclusion.
"My Zhang Zifang! I've become this withered old man, yet you remain as beautiful as ever."
"But that woman Han Xin—has age made her lose her senses? Wrinkles that no makeup can hide are starting to show!"
"If I'd known, I should've just married her. Sigh."
"How I regret my younger self! Marrying Zhang Liang would've meant a lifetime with a youthful beauty, and wedding Han Xin would've let me discipline her in the bedchamber forever!"
It was a joke, but Liu Bang reportedly lamented seeing Zhang Liang and Han Xin's beauty barely change until he himself grew old and died.
After Zhang Liang and Han Xin, countless other heroines emerged.
Did Zhang Liang cast some spell on women, or did immortals place a curse—not quite a curse—on the Central Plains starting with her?
Talented women were mostly beauties, living either extraordinarily long lives or dying young. Those who died young were often swayed by others due to their looks. The long-lived ones wielded their talents fully until death, preserving their allure.
A talented woman who's also beautiful? And you can work with her?
Ah, working sucks, but I endure it for her sake.
That single flower blooming in the court became a psychological refuge for many officials. Some even caught the emperor's eye, rising from office to empress.
"I can't resist a beauty."
Amusingly, this was the secret to how a tiny fraction of women endured long careers in court.
Men have always felt better around beauties.
"Heh heh, a court full of men is no match for one with beauties!"
This is recorded even in official histories. The empress might've criticized Liu Bang for his immaturity, but as a man, I deeply empathized.
Men always want to look good in front of a beauty.
Even knowing she's your age or older doesn't matter. If the woman before you is stunning, it stirs a male instinct to do anything for her.
And if that beauty is exceptionally talented too?
"Marry me and continue my line!"
"My martial prowess, your intellect! Together, we'll birth a child unmatched—one man against a thousand, invincible in battle!"
You can't help but want to marry her. That's how talented women ended up working in courts everywhere, and Xun You was no different.
Even before the Yellow Turbans rampaged, she'd served in Luoyang. She nearly died under Dong Zhuo but barely escaped with her life. Rising young to office, she'd served the Han court for a good long while, but now Xun You was adrift, jobless.
Xun You (30s • Unemployed)
Naturally, Xun You sought office leveraging her experience, and many admired her for rising against Dong Zhuo.
"Oh, Lady Xun You! Welcome!"
"A position? Work? More like... children. W-wait!"
The trouble started there.
"Why refuse me?"
"Y-you rebelled against Dong Zhuo!"
"Worried about his revenge?"
"B-bring an imperial edict! One appointing you to any post here!"
"As if that's possible..."
Offices were appointed by the Han court. Even minor local posts needed approval from governors or prefects, but taking Xun You meant defying Dong Zhuo. She'd nearly been executed for offending him. Without the assassination plot, she'd be dust on the execution ground.
So no warlord would take her now. She'd witnessed the Han court's fall firsthand, wounding her heart deeply. She needed rest to recover.
"...I originally wanted to head to the Pa-Shu region. Somewhere with mountains, where I could contemplate the terrain, heal my mind, and serve the people."
Xun You put the final period on her tale.
"But Yizhou's Inspector Liu Yan blocked the road to Shu. So I returned home and met Sun Uk. She said someone in Jingzhou could help."
"I see. You've been through a lot."
I had little interest in others' life stories. But when a woman bearing gold ingots spoke, that changed things.
I could listen all day.
Xun You's life mirrored the Han court's decline. She'd served loyally, but the tide broke her once. Now she needed respite.
"Rest here comfortably. However..."
Timing was poor.
"At least three months. War looms here too."
"...Yuan Shu, Sun Jian, Liu Biao."
"You know?"
"Sun Uk mentioned it. She worries about you."
"...Heh, war in Jingzhou would complicate things."
I sidestepped with a non-answer and unrolled a Jingzhou map before Xun You.
"Personally, I'd like your counsel. But if you need rest, just say so."
"What counsel?"
"Military strategy."
The woman's eyes sparkled. Through her thick bangs, her gaze fixed intently on the Jingzhou map.
Could it be?
First time meeting her. As Sun Uk's kin, their temperaments might align. But my gut said this woman's nature was...
"If I became Jingzhou's governor, what strategy would you devise to defeat the wicked hordes targeting it?"
"...Intriguing."
Lick. Did she just lick her lips...?
"Teacher, I've served long as a central official. Though outdated by two years, I know approximate troop deployments per region."
Clatter.
Xun You scattered go stones across the terrain map.
"One stone per thousand."
I watched her closely. Oblivious to my stare, she eagerly positioned stones to match Jingzhou's layout.
"Even if they've mustered troops for two years, numbers top out here. Invaders from Jingzhou would be... ah."
Finishing the placement, Xun You looked up.
"S-sorry. Suddenly... haha..."
"You prefer foreign affairs over domestic?"
"......"
Xun You's face stiffened. Leisurely, I shifted stones to Jingzhou's west.
"Military arts are fascinating. In peace, Confucius and Mencius reign supreme. But in chaos like this, knowing the Six Strategies and Three Tactics, or Sun Tzu's Art of War, brings peace."
"This isn't a chaos ended by reciting Confucian virtue."
"Exactly. But Xun You, do you know why you're melancholy?"
First day meeting, but that's why I had to probe her soul with words.
"This chaotic age depresses you."
"Who isn't depressed besides Dong Zhuo in this mess?"
"No, you're thrilled by it. But your conscience torments you."
I leaned close to Xun You, brushing her bangs aside to peer into her deep-set eyes.
"You despise yourself for rejoicing at an era where you can unleash your talents fully, don't you?"
"......!!"
The root of Xun You's melancholy: self-loathing.