Henei: Roots of Prophecy
Henei County. Located south of Bingzhou, this commandery lay just across the river—the Yellow River—from Luoyang itself. It was the birthplace of Sima Yi.
Years had passed since Sima Yi fled the chaos of war—more precisely, fled from one particular person—and made her way down to Jingzhou. The child she once was had now blossomed into a mature woman, finally setting foot once more on her homeland soil.
"Your hometown..."
"Yes. This is where I was born."
Sima Yi gestured around her with a bitter smile. "Being right next to Luoyang meant the plundering was even worse. The central government squeezed us from one side, and when Hebei thought the center wasn't taking enough, they swooped in right away. Bandits ravaged from the north, and Yuan Shao from the east."
The state of Henei was truly wretched. The land lay parched, fields uncultivated and abandoned for years, and the people's eyes held no spark of life.
"The current Administrator of Henei..."
"He ran away. Took every last bit of gold from the government stores and vanished one day, they say."
"......."
It was the kind of villainy that deserved a lifetime of pursuit. How could a man fed by the state's rice steal the tax-hoarded gold and flee?
"Unless someone sends a strong administrator with real power, the streets will stay like this forever."
The atmosphere differed starkly from Jingzhou. People looked ready to drop dead from illness at any moment, their eyes devoid of even a glimmer of hope. Yeah, they were barely clinging to life.
"Isn't your Sima clan a local magnate family here?"
"Even as magnates, we had no choice but to bow to the administrator or officials. It was the same even before the warlords rose, and now it's worse."
"Fair enough. In a world where the administrator is king."
The common folk no longer pledged loyalty to a single imperial house. Ever since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, who had paid taxes for the Han court anyway? Now they gave to the local administrator or inspector—the one who protected them. Everyone knew the warlord ruling their patch held the real power, making the administrator's role crucial.
And that administrator had fled? With all the gold? 'We're screwed.'
No one would bother claiming Henei now. With the gold gone, all that remained were the granary provisions, if that.
"Henei used to be incredibly prosperous, Master. You know why, right?"
"It was the shortest route from Hebei to Luoyang."
Henei was a strategic hub. Cross the Yellow River, and you could land without tackling natural fortresses like Sishui Pass. As long as Luoyang functioned, Henei held immense value.
That vanished in an instant when Dong Zhuo burned Luoyang to the ground. With the gateway to the capital gone, Henei became just another riverside town—nothing more, nothing less.
In the end, it depended on the administrator, but results were what they were. Plus, what was once a key hub had become Hebei's frontline against the Chang'an rabble, so fleeing made a twisted kind of sense.
Still, Henei had potential. As a former gateway to Luoyang, its infrastructure supported heavy traffic, and without major battles, development hadn't been too hindered. If too much time hadn't passed since it became a no-man's-land waiting for the next administrator, it could grow strong again.
"The Sima clan put down roots here, and we'll keep living here."
Sima Yi gave another wry smile, pointing ahead. "Doesn't it feel like another world?"
"...Only here does."
The Sima clan lands stood out from the start. Unlike the barren Bingzhou soil, the fields were fertile, and the workers clearing weeds bustled with vitality. Just this one spot.
Amid the widespread lethargy and despair, only the Sima household brimmed with energy.
Why? Simple—they were magnates. Unlike the peasants, they weren't plundered at will.
"Master. When you talk with Father later, please don't get too angry."
"Me? No way. No reason to."
This was how magnate families survived. Why blame him for it?
"He's maximizing his influence within the sphere he can control. If he'd ruled his own lands like a tyrant, those servants working the fields wouldn't look so content."
Like Jingzhou. That summed up the Sima household perfectly.
"Here he comes."
I dismounted and bowed toward Sima Fang, Sima Yi's father, who had come out to greet us from afar.
"Pleased to meet you, sir. I am—"
Grab.
"...Huh?"
"Father!!"
Sima Yi's scream-like cry rang out. Sima Fang had charged at me the moment he saw me, seizing my hair.
No way. Was a scholar-official really grabbing my hair like some street thug about to brawl...?
"Hoo."
Pat, pat.
He yanked my hair, inspecting something. I'd washed it before coming, so no smell, but not bathing properly on the road from Jingzhou was awkward.
"Hoo, how could this be?"
Sima Fang sighed and stepped back, scanning me with a complicated expression.
"How could such a thing happen."
"What's wrong, sir?"
"...Young man, what happened to your father?"
Sudden background check? But he should know my origins. Forgotten already?
"Huang Shengyan of the Huang clan in Jingzhou."
"Not your adoptive father—your birth father."
"......Sorry, but I'm an orphan."
Sima Fang's face twisted further in complication.
"Due to the chaos, shamefully—"
"When!"
"Pardon?"
"When did you become an orphan?"
"Father! This is my master. How can you treat him so roughly?"
Sima Yi's sharp words sent a chill down my spine too.
But.
Fathers pass it to daughters, huh?
"We're in the middle of something important, so stay out of it!!!"
Sima Fang's roar, delivered with utter seriousness, cowed not just me but even the fuming Sima Yi for a moment. No wonder he'd held high office—the man had real presence.
Still, yelling at his daughter like that wasn't great parenting—
"Young man, aren't you around... twenty-something years old this year?"
"Eh!"
How'd he know? Not just the decade, but pinpointing within a year or two.
"Y-yes, that's right."
"Pardon the rudeness, but were you orphaned around age three?"
"Ah!"
Got it. I could guess what Sima Fang was driving at.
"Do you perhaps know my birth parents?"
"......Do you?"
"More or less, yes. More or less."
I could stomach being abandoned for some reason, but curiosity killed this cat. How could a rootless man teach others? Investigation complete.
"And you know they passed away too?"
"......Yes."
They?
"Then do you know why they abandoned you?"
"...I believe it's related to this."
I pointed to my head. Sima Fang grimaced and let out a deep sigh.
"What cruel jest of heaven is this."
Sima Fang looked skyward, then began muttering cryptic words to himself.
"Is this... the Mandate of Heaven?"
"...Are my parents connected to you somehow?"
"Well, you see, young... no, Master Kim?"
"Yes. Call me whatever's comfortable."
Sima Fang pointed at Sima Yi with a troubled face.
"May I speak privately with my daughter first?"
"...Sure."
"Yes. Come with me. Yi, talk with me first, then bring your master."
Sima Fang hurried inside. I was stunned by his sudden shift.
"...Master, do you maybe have some great bloodline or something?"
"Nah, no way."
My birth parents weren't like that. Just ordinary manor folk, and I was abandoned because of my hair color. Yeah, I still dyed the top black, but below—
"...Ahem."
Not something to tell Sima Yi. I cleared my throat to change the subject.
"I don't know what you'll discuss with your father, but I hope it goes well."
"Don't worry. Even if it doesn't..."
Sima Yi clenched her fist and headed inside.
"I'll make it go well."
At that moment.
Sima Fang entered the clan’s secret repository, unrolling a dusty silk scroll. With his attendants dismissed, he examined the contents with grave seriousness.
"The one who grasps the spring flower shall open new heavens."
"...Yes, it's him. This guy."
Sima Fang collapsed onto the floor in shock.
"Hah, how could such a thing happen?"
Creeeak.
The door opened. Sima Fang hastily hid the silk, but a low, resonant laugh filled the repository.
"What's got you so rattled, Father?"
"...Yi."
"How will you manage if you're this flustered? What exactly is it about my master that has you acting like this? What, is he some distant kin from the Yu clan or something?"
"...Do you believe in astrology?"
"Astrology, you mean..."
Sima Yi glanced at the ceiling. Sima Fang nodded heavily and handed her the silk.
"Read it yourself. Then you'll understand my reaction."
"......."
Sima Yi scanned the silk. Her initially tense expression softened more with each line.
"...Indeed."
"Yi, you—"
"I know what you're going to say, Father. Serve him, right?"
"No, more precisely..."
"Don't worry. Prophecy or not, I'd handle that matter myself."
Sima Yi gripped the silk confidently.
"The one who clutches the Yeouiju will be me. As for you, Father..."
"What do you need?"
"Oh? You can say that? I'm a minister of Han."
"Yi."
Sima Fang met her eyes with profound seriousness.
"Are you truly okay with this? Embarrassing as it is for me to say, I can't offer help enough to make you ascend."
"Oh, don't worry about that either. I..."
Sima Yi just smiled brightly.
"Will tear open the dragon's belly from within and soar even higher."