Three Visits Returns -3: Home... Or Rather, the Front Door
“Why are you just standing there like an idiot instead of coming in?”
“Wait... you’re actually going to enter?”
“What brings you to this place?”
A leaky wooden shack barely holding together against the backdrop of a barren, bald mountain.
Anyone could see our house screamed poverty. Well, truth be told, it was decent enough by local standards in this dump...
But still, I worried.
The idea that “the guest is king” traces back to ancient China or something, right? This era’s obsession with hospitality culture drives me nuts.
“As you can see... we don’t have much to offer by way of hospitality.”
“I didn’t come uninvited expecting to be treated as a guest, so put your mind at ease.”
Fine. You’re supposed to politely refuse once, right? Just once.
“But since you’ve come all this way, this humble girl will prepare a meager meal.”
“If that’s your wish, then so be it.”
“Yes. Please... enjoy the scenery while I prepare.”
I bolted for the kitchen like I was fleeing for my life.
Dad’s probably off gambling somewhere... whatever. What the hell do I even serve a noble like him without pissing him off?
Maybe slice up those fruits I stashed for snacks?
House finances going bust is bad enough, but I’ve gotta come up with an excuse for the Three Kingdoms Division too.
Zhuge Liang definitely latched onto that and followed me here. No doubt.
“I hate this.”
I don’t want to get tangled up in it.
I don’t want to get involved in this godforsaken world. I know damn well the ceiling for influence a lowborn girl like me can reach here. That’s just how this world works. Selling carvings is enough to get by.
I hate the late Eastern Han. I really fucking hate it.
Zhuge Liang pondered the girl who had named herself Chen Soyoung.
How could a nine-year-old possess such profound insight? Tell her one thing, and ten answers come back. How could his heart not be drawn to her?
“Who’re you?”
The door rustled violently. A hulking brute, over seven feet tall with unkempt hair and beard, coughed.
“I am called Kongming. The talent of the girl who named herself Chen Soyoung deeply impressed me, so I’ve come all this way.”
“You mean lil’ Soyoung? That rascal.”
Zhuge Liang wondered if he’d misspoken.
Chen Soyoung had skin pale from lack of sun, delicate hands untouched by hardship. Despite her ragged clothes, her striking features couldn’t be hidden. Logically, her parents should look much the same.
The man before him was as massive and burly as a bandit chief.
“Well then, come on in. I know the kid’s got talent, so I’ll give ya somethin’ of mine.”
“Something... you say?”
“Ain’t that why you’re here?”
Guided inside, Zhuge Liang found himself in a ghost house.
A true ruin—no furniture in sight. The rotting wood reeked of mold, and the building sagged like it might collapse any moment.
“This what you came for? Pick one.”
“These are... wooden carvings?”
“You know that already. They’re like this now—pick what ya like.”
The man displayed wooden ornaments. Zhuge Liang inwardly marveled at the sight.
So intricate. Even in Chang’an, no artisan could carve such lifelike pieces.
“A wolf likeness. A turtle. And this one... I can’t tell.”
“Like any of ’em?”
The man grinned at Zhuge Liang. Suspicious behavior. Zhuge Liang straightened and scrutinized him.
Asking a stranger to appraise carvings out of nowhere wasn’t normal. The man had ulterior motives.
Then... it hit him!
This was a continuation of that riddle from before. Representing the realm’s masters through animal metaphors!
Chen Soyoung had said it clearly: the Three Kingdoms Division. A scheme deducing the realm’s state mirrored the Chu-Han contention.
If not the girl’s idea, whose head did it come from?
Zhuge Liang decided to test the man.
“Three... of them?”
“Just these three now. Had over a dozen, but they’re all gone. Might find two or three more rummagin’, but these are the best.”
“I see.”
Convinced by the man’s words, Zhuge Liang crossed his arms in thought.
This was a riddle assuming three kingdoms dividing the realm.
So... who were they?
The wolf was surely Cao Cao. Wolves hunt in packs, roam wide, cunning, relentless once they mark prey. The leader’s authority is absolute, observing from the rear, using the weak and old as shields against threats.
Parading the Emperor upfront while scheming from behind.
The turtle must be Sun Quan. The Sun clan’s rule over Jiangdong spanned generations, like the turtle’s longevity. An aquatic creature with a sturdy shell.
When threatened, it retreats into its impenetrable home. No matter how sharp the fangs, the attacker only hurts itself.
But this also meant the turtle’s cowardice. When conflict arises, it hides, waiting endlessly for the predator to pass. Slow, passive. It doesn’t wield its shell as a weapon.
“This one catches my eye.”
“Well, damn, good eye. It’s the priciest.”
“What does this depict?”
“Soyoung called it a dragon. I dunno nothin’ ’bout that. Said it’s a mythical beast.”
“Haha! A mythical beast, you say. Do you know anything more about this creature?”
“Speaks human words, fastest thing alive. Smarter than people, lives a thousand years, hoards gold and jewels. Breathes fire, and its roar shakes heaven and earth.”
Mythical beast. Nonexistent. This creature doesn’t exist.
“Its form is utterly noble. Fierce head, wings larger than its body—magnificent. A beast speaking human words is most striking.”
“Right? The kid thinks on it for hours without comin’ outta her room. Carved this one then.”
“Yet calling it mythical bothers me. Does it truly not exist in this world?”
“Beats me. Wouldn’t mind knowin’ what’s in that girl’s head.”
Not giving a straight answer, huh?
“Then allow me time to decide?”
“Sure. Take yer time.”
Dragon, huh.
“Speaks human words...”
Beasts don’t speak human tongues, yet this one understands and speaks them.
A beast that speaks human words understands human reason.
“Grand and majestic, full of vigor. Gentle eyes, yet it breathes fire. Its roar shakes heaven and earth, lives a thousand years, hoards gold and jewels.”
The thousand-year life and hoarding evoked loyalty to the imperial house. The earth-shaking roar referred to pacifying this chaotic age.
Grand, majestic, vigorous yet gentle... but breathes fire...
No idea. Rack my brains all I want, no one fits. A mythical beast from fantasy? A fictional entity?
“Had it not been mythical, I’d have chosen this.”
“Then? Nothin’ ya like?”
“My shallow knowledge has led me astray, offending you.”
The man looked baffled.
“What’s that s’posed to mean? I talk rough, sure, but not that bad. If ya don’t like any, ain’t that a shame?”
“May I ask more about this dragon?”
“Well... thing is, I didn’t make it. Our Soyoung did. Called it a dragon’s comrade.”
“A dragon’s comrade?”
“Dragon, yeah. Dragons don’t exist neither, but this fella’s its pal.”
Zhuge Liang’s expression grew grave.
In Jingzhou, he was called the Crouching Dragon—Fayan.
“Strange that a dragon would befriend such a beast.”
“Kid said so. Just child’s play, eh?”
“You jest? Then it’s playful indeed.”
Zhuge Liang saw the man anew. This discourse required perfect grasp of the realm’s state.
Like daughter, like father.
“Hearing that, this dragon grows on me too. I’ll take this one.”
“How’ll ya pay? Soyoung cherishes it somethin’ fierce.”
“Pay? Is there a set price?”
“Depends on the girl’s mood.”
Zhuge Liang pondered again. Then a shrill scream tore from outside.
“Dad! What the hell are you doing?! You wanna die?!”
It was Chen Soyoung, hauling snacks in a panic.
“Teacher! Please spare my father’s life! He’s committed a grave offense! Not my life... but his ignorance—please forgive him!!”
“Soyoung, what’s that?”
“Shut up! Bow your head and kowtow! Do you even know who this is?!”
“Ain’t he just a customer buyin’ yer stuff?”
“No! The governor! One of his sons!”
Thud.
The ground seemed to shake.
“My apologies! Had no idea you were such a lord!”
The man bowed; Zhuge Liang returned the bow.
“Aaaah! Teacher!!! Why bow back?! I’m losing my mind! Why didn’t Dad go gamble?!”
“The day we part ain’t far, so I wanted more time with ya...”
“Why start now?! Go gamble!!!”
Zhuge Liang stood firm until the father finished bowing.
“What’s all this? Kongming? Why are you in a place like this?”
A familiar voice. Zhuge Liang looked up.
“Teacher, why have you come to such a place?”
“That’s what I want to ask. What brings you here?”
Before him, Sima Hui stroked his beard sagely.
Why had the master of Shuiying Academy come here? There must be a reason.
So... what was it?
“You’ve taken a liking to this child too? Haha... As expected, I can fool others’ eyes, but not yours.”
“I still haven’t heard your answer, Teacher. What brings you here?”
“To pay the price. And you, Kongming? Why are you here?”
“Then I too have come to pay the price.”