Madman in the Rear (3): Cicada Frenzy
"Summer's here."
Summer had arrived. Cicadas were already clinging to the trees, shrilling away in droves. The sky stretched blue and clear, with occasional summer showers cooling the building heat of early summer.
"Liang, why do cicadas screech so damn loud every summer? They only have about a fortnight left before they drop dead anyway."
"To find a mate, perhaps?"
"A mate?"
"Yes. Don't they cry out to find a partner for their brief lives?"
"And then what?"
"Well..."
Zhuge Liang trailed off. I felt the same awkwardness mid-conversation and knew it was time to change the subject.
"You know, some cicadas might be my age."
"Pardon?"
"They spend decades underground, waiting to emerge. Huddled in the cold earth until they finally become adults and take to the skies. They spend most of their lives in the dark, only to burst forth gloriously at the end."
"That's rather tragic."
"Why?"
"Everyone wants to make their name known in their youth."
"Haha, true enough. But some folks live like cicadas."
People could spread their wings even after fifty. Even if it was the twilight of life, some only shone at its very end.
"Perfect weather. But..."
"Yeonju must be deep in war right now."
Unlike peaceful Jingzhou, Cao Cao's lands in Yeonju were surely a slaughterhouse of constant battle.
Wasn't it uncanny? Just four days' ride apart, yet one side tilled fields in tranquility while the other swung spears and halberds for throats.
Cao Cao versus Lü Bu.
Hard to believe it all unfolded under the same sky.
"Liang. Who would you rather win—Cao Cao or Lü Bu?"
"Does one of them have to win?"
"One will."
"...Mutual destruction, then?"
I sighed inwardly at Zhuge Liang's cool reply. I knew she still harbored resentment toward Cao Cao, but mutual destruction?
"Why wish for that?"
"I'd love for Cao Cao to fall, but not for Lü Bu to rise again."
"Why not Lü Bu?"
"He changed fathers twice. I don't want someone like that winning."
"...Didn't expect you'd go there."
Most scorned Lü Bu for serving Dong Zhuo. But Zhuge Liang condemned him wholesale—from his circumstances to betraying Dong Zhuo.
"He didn't just switch. Under Ding Yuan, he fell for Dong Zhuo's bribe—a Red Hare steed—and slew his lord. Then under Dong Zhuo, he fell for Wang Yun's chain stratagem and killed him. Who'd call a man like that son?"
"He's too old for 'son' now anyway."
"Yes. Soon he'll call younger men 'brother.'"
Zhuge Liang set great store by propriety.
"So, Liang, must you always honor elders?"
"Were the Five Bonds made in vain?"
"Then why treat Sima Yi like that?"
"......"
Zhuge Liang fell silent. Thankfully, Sima Yi was far off in the fields, hoe in hand, tilling earnestly. She glanced our way with a pouty smirk but stayed focused.
"Sima Yi is your senior. If you're truly learning under me, show respect—not just to your master, but to your senior too."
"Master. Would you take Dong Zhuo or Cao Cao as master?"
"What? Implying Sima Yi is like them?"
"Yes."
I was dumbfounded.
"Why? Has Sima Yi swapped emperors on whim like Dong Zhuo, or massacred innocents like Cao Cao? Why say such things lightly?"
"She seems the type."
"Isn't that just your grudge talking?"
"Master."
Zhuge Liang pointed skyward.
"Ever heard of reading heaven's will?"
"...Vaguely. My adoptive parents taught me basics."
A parlor trick at best, but my astronomy knowledge could impress. I could out-teach Sima Hui at Suyeon Academy's lecture hall—if anyone signed up. The facts lingered in my mind.
"Why bring up heaven's will?"
"She's that kind of person."
"......."
I was at a loss. Was Zhuge Liang just spouting nonsense?
No.
The first time I saw Sima Yi, I glimpsed a 'dragon' in her. Dragon-like, serpent-like—something immense and indescribable. Not soaring nobly in golden skies, but raging malice in storm-tossed darkness.
Now...
She's just cute.
Sleeves rolled up, hoeing diligently alongside Xuzhou folk—it warmed the heart. She showed it sometimes, but only in 'certain situations.'
Specifically...
"Liang."
I met Zhuge Liang's eyes and scooped her up.
"N-no, put me down!"
"It was just like you when I first met Sima Yi."
Her build, age, intellect—all matched then's Sima Yi. Like a feral stray entering home—complicated feelings—but now she was gentler than any pup.
"'Man proposes, heaven disposes' rings true. Heaven sets fates, shaping lives. But consider: paths beyond fate exist. Humans can defy heaven, forge new lives."
"Defying heaven defies nature—like blood flowing backward. Master, if blood flows backward..."
Zhuge Liang flailed, stretching for ground.
"You die."
"Haha, you won't. If living by nature is fate, then Xuzhou folk dying is 'natural'?"
"That's..."
Zhuge Liang was sharp-tongued. But against me—a mouth that survived on words—she lacked experience for instant rebuttal.
"I've seen humans resist heaven's fate through effort, bending it."
"Where?"
"It exists."
Huang Zu slaying Sun Jian, who slew Hua Xiong. All expected Sun Jian's win, but Huang Zu's death-defying resolve shattered expectations. Had heaven ordained Huang Zu's victory, any sloth would have tipped scales to Sun Jian.
...If Sun Jian's death was fated there, unavoidable.
"Heaven shifts unpredictably. Remember: not everything flows smoothly like clouds. Human affairs? Unknowable."
"...Understood, Master. I get it, so..."
Zhuge Liang pointed at my hand on her waist, face flushed.
"...Put me down."
"Right, right."
I set her down. Straightening her clothes, she turned away, ears red. Had I upset her?
"Master."
Ah, right. She always did this.
A soft, singsong voice from behind—high and low notes weaving. I turned.
"Yes, Yi?"
"You shouldn't touch a girl's body so freely."
She beamed, gripping her hoe tightly, smile sweet.
"A girl is, after all—"
"Master!!!"
Seo Seo's scream echoed from afar.
"A guest has arrived!!"
"A guest?"
Now? I knew no one due.
"They're here for Headmaster Sima Hui, but she's out..."
"...Where'd she wander off to now."
Always vanishing—leaving me to run Suyeon Academy.
"To see Lord Pang Deok again?"
"Seems so."
"Fishing the Yangtze, lost in time. Fine. I'll greet them."
I tidied up and headed back.
"...Oh?"
A black-haired beauty in civil robes waited—hair to her waist. Like Sima Hui, but pricklier, more aloof.
Beauty. Woman. Official. No ordinary lady.
"Pardon the intrusion, sir. With Headmaster Sima Hui away, I'll attend you. I'm Kim Taeyang, instructor here. Your name?"
"...Kim? Gold Sun?"
"Kim, courtesy Moon Shadow, style Taeyang."
"Close call on first-meeting rudeness. Sorry. Haven't slept properly."
Dark circles under her eyes—days without rest, utterly exhausted.
"I'm Hua, of the Jia clan. Style Fengxiao. Just call me Professor Fengxiao."
"......?"
Courtesy name, yet unknown to me. From outside Jingzhou?
"Care for a private word?"
"......."
Private. I led Professor Fengxiao to the parlor. With tea brewed and Seo Seo dismissed, we faced each other.
"Speak freely."
"Truth is, I'm from Chang'an."
"Long journey. Sorry, Headmaster Sima Hui's away briefly..."
"She's one I came for—but really, you. Kim Taeyang."
"Me?"
"Yes. A man in Chang'an recommended you."
She toyed with her tea.
"Know Taoist Huang Shengyan?"
"...My adoptive father."
When did you go to Chang'an? And why?
"He vouched for you. Said you unearth miraculous herbs like no other."
"......."
A chill crept up my spine.
"Heard my tale? Could you find a way for me to live?"
"...If that's it."
I offered clasped hands to Professor Fengxiao.
"My specialty."