Author: moondancer (page 7 of 13)

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Xiang Yu waited quietly for his response. Lü Bu, who had two… no, four eyes steadily staring at him, managed to suppress his shock and forced his brain to move quickly.

Damn, why am I so unlucky? he mourned. Since travelling to three hundred years in the past, he had to constantly search his guts and rack his brains in order to safely pass his trials.

He had been doing well these few days, why did this brainless overlord throw him a hot potato again?

Lü Bu was full of grief and indignation — in this short month’s time, why did he have to use his brain so much?

The thought he put into Xiang Yu’s affairs almost surpassed the sum he spent in his entire life!

With a crisis imminent, his mind whirled even as his face remained steady. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him like lightning, revealing everything to him.

His expression turned serious and his voice lowered as, instead of answering, he asked solemnly, “May I ask Your Excellency why you would abandon the fertile lands of Guanzhong in favour of returning to Pengcheng?”

As its name suggested, Guanzhong was a land surrounded by mountains with few paths through:¹Guanzhong consists of the words 关中 (guān zhōng), which together literally means ‘within the [mountain] passes’ Hangu Pass in the east, Wu Pass in the south, Dasan Pass in the west, and Xiao Pass in the north. With such terrain, even someone who had no knowledge of the art of war could easily see that it was a precious land that was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

In terms of military facilities, the former Qin dynasty built a solid foundation here; in terms of leisure, one only needed to look at the magnificent palaces built during Qin Shi Huang’s time.

Then look at Chu’s capital city, Pengcheng. It was surrounded by plains on all sides, and there was nowhere to build defences. With Guanzhong as an example right there, how could it be suitable to be a capital for the hegemon-king?

Lü Bu had only pondered for a short while and already thought up several tactics on how to restrain and harass any defenders within the city, as well as weaknesses to attack.

Xiang Yu lightly closed his eyes. “After being away for so many years, all the soldiers of Chu must miss their hometowns,” he replied in a deep voice.

No matter how magnificent or luxurious this Qin Palace was, it had all been built on a pile of human flesh and bones. No one from the six former kingdoms didn’t hate the Qin to their bones, how could they bear to live here? How could these dead, lifeless things be worth it? It could never compare to the longing wanderers had for their hometown.

As long as they took the objects away and set the palaces ablaze, they could return home in style.

Xiang Yu’s demeanour was profound, and as he said this, his figure was elongated by the sun, making it even more radiant.

Unfortunately, the only one present — Lü Bu — didn’t believe a word of it.

Bullshit!

The corners of his mouth twitched slightly as he mentally slandered this brainless king who only knew how to say beautiful but useless things.

He might have believed it, if he hadn’t remembered a sentence in the history books — this man was the one who personally said, “If you do not return to your hometowns when you obtain wealth and honour, it would be as if you wore brocade at night. Who would know of it?”²Refers to the idiom 锦衣夜行; when Xiang Yu wanted to return to Pengcheng, he said the above with the implication of showing off his success and killed the advisor who tried to persuade him to stay in Xianyang. Paradoxically, it now has a more positive connotation instead, i.e. exhorting people to be vigilant and keep a low profile in the face of success …Bah! He was so smart, how could he ever be deceived by such flimsy words?

But having said that, Lü Bu — aware of the man’s little thoughts of showing off with his tail raised — also knew that this truth could not be spoken.

However, during the short moment when he was silent, the usually quite slow Xiang Yu noticed something and took the initiative to ask, “What is Fengxian thinking of?”
I’m thinking that you’re an idiot! Lü Bu cursed secretly in his heart, but with a mischievous grin on his lips, he said something that directly pierced Xiang Yu’s heart. “Is it because of the incident in Xin’an that Your Excellency refuses to stay?”

As soon as these words came out, Xiang Yu’s pupils instantly shrank!

Because of the uncontrollable threat of rebellion, the lack of supplies, and having few loyal soldiers on hand, he ordered two hundred thousand Qin soldiers to be killed and buried at Xin’an.

Although he had been forced to do so, the blood debts still laid on his shoulders. Not only did he bear the infamy of having killed countless men, making it hard to do many things, it also made it difficult for him to stay in the former capital of the Qin, where many here hated him to the bone.

Seeing Xiang Yu’s expression suddenly change but still remaining silent, Lü Bu knew that he had hit the mark and couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

…It was fortunate that he had always felt that Xiang Yu’s decisions were quite similar to that of his fledgling self, so he followed his own thoughts when he guessed, and he really got it right.

Upon confirming his conjecture, Lü Bu’s confidence completely returned. “Your Excellency conferred the title of King of Yong upon Zhang Han, was it in order to use Qin to rule Qin?” he asked.

“Not bad,” Xiang Yu said as he looked at Lü Bu with a complicated expression.

“The people of Qin hate Your Excellency for being cruel but they despise Zhang Han for his brutality more,” Lü Bu said bluntly. “The people’s hearts have long become exhausted. I fear that it will only take three days for him to become insignificant!” And three months to be buried!

Lü Bu had personally experienced the people’s strong support, it was an unforgettable memory.

Nothing would happen when the result was still in question, but once the chaos calmed, it would become a sharp blade hanging above their heads.

Back then, he and that old man Wang Yun were settled nicely in Chang’an; Wang Yun, the Excellency over the Masses,³司徒 (sītú) was one of the three most important official posts during the Han/Three Kingdoms period, which together were referred to as the Three Excellencies had his prestige in court and he had his unparalleled martial vigour, but in the end, they were somehow defeated by Li Jue and Guo Si’s tattered, half-baked army who were equipped with broken copper and rusted iron and hardly had any real soldiers among them.

Although he did lack troops, the main reason was that old man Wang Yun beheaded Cai Yong for trivial reasons. He neither did good things nor ordered others to do good things, so he lost the hearts of the people and gave Li Jue and Guo Si, those two mad dogs, an opportunity to bite.

Xiang Yu was noncommittal. After a while, he asked, “Then how does Fengxian think the land should be divided?”

If Fan Zeng heard this, he would surely be shocked, because Xiang Yu was very stubborn. Unless absolutely necessary, he would not listen to anyone who didn’t have the surname Xiang.

Even he, whom Xiang Yu politely called ‘Yafu’, was usually only listened to and not obeyed.

Who knew that there would be a time when Xiang Yu personally asked a general for their opinion?!

The one who was granted this honour had no idea how valuable it was. When Xiang Yu asked him, he slyly revealed his true thoughts. “Zhang Han is experienced as a minister and quite capable, but he is not suitable to rule the Qin as the King of Yong. Your Excellency, why don’t you give him a marshal’s rank and keep him with you? I think he would be willing.”

Zhang Han had surrendered to Chu, and had no way out because his soldiers were part of those who were buried alive. He could only rely on Xiang Yu. For him, it would be more reassuring to serve as a high-ranking Chu official next to Xiang Yu than to rule over the Qin people who all hated him.

Xiang Yu had no idea that he had already been roped into Lü Bu’s conspiracy.

It was also due to his high self-esteem and the power of the Chu army as it swept the world that he never imagined that there would be someone who looked down on being a left marshal.

Upon hearing Lü Bu’s words, he pondered for a moment and felt that it did make some sense. Then he actually followed the topic and continued to ask, “Then in Fengxian’s opinion, who should be given control over the Qin capital?”

Yes! He’s hooked!

Lü Bu, suppressing his joy, immediately let a stream of sweet flattery flow out of his mouth, fully showcasing his ability to kneel which he used to great effect during his time with Dong Zhuo. “The capital of the former Qin dynasty is a land surrounded by four fortresses and possesses untold wealth; for such an important place, how can it be handed over to just anyone? The only one who can suppress the draconic power of this place is none other than you, Your Excellency.”

Xiang Yu couldn’t help frowning when he heard him repeat this old argument. “Inappropriate,” he stated concisely.

Although Lü Bu received a blatant rejection, his expression remained unchanged.

It wasn’t strange that Xiang Yu objected. If he really could be so easily persuaded to abandon Pengcheng and move the capital to Xianyang, then the sky must be raining red!

However, whether Xiang Yu would foolishly return eastward and continue to use Pengcheng as the Chu capital, or suddenly realise that he should stay in Guanzhong, soften the people’s hearts, resolve their hatred, and slowly put down roots in this fertile land… what did it have to do with him, Lü Fengxian?

He didn’t care about the fate of the Chu kingdom, nor if it was weak to attack. He only knew that he needed to befuddle Xiang Yu into giving Zhang Han that useless Left Marshal position, which would naturally allow him to stay in Guanzhong. That was the important thing!

Lü Bu had his own ulterior motives. In order to make Xiang Yu less suspicious, he drew from everything he heard from Chen Gongtai’s nagging which he had never bothered to put into practice, and started talking nonsense. “Although the Xin’an people hold deep hatred, it can still be attributed to unavoidable losses due to military struggle. The former Qin dynasty themselves built their empire on violent conquests — life and death are uncertain once you step on the battlefield, and those who surrender thereby put their wealth and life in the hands of others,” he said. At this point, having inadvertently poked at his own sore spot, Lü Bu angrily gritted his teeth before continuing. “Even if they were killed, they could only count themselves unlucky… If I were a soldier’s family member, the person I would hate the most would be the Qin officials who recruited people randomly.”

Xiang Yu listened with rapt attention. Seeing Lü Bu suddenly stop, he couldn’t help but urge, “Keep talking.”

Haven’t heard enough?

Lü Bu had been saying whatever came to mind, he hadn’t thought that he would be forced to keep making things up. He was dumbfounded.

However, the hegemon-king was still staring at him with bright eyes. He could only drag out the time by taking a few sips of tea, all the while being urged by Xiang Yu’s shiny eyes, before bitterly continuing to spew bullshit. “…In conclusion, regarding Xin’an, it is not completely without room for manoeuvring. Instead of ignoring it or leaving things to the jurisdiction of others, it would be better for Your Excellency to personally come forward to appease the people of Qin. For example, exempting them from taxation and forced labour for a few years, doing them some small favours, and giving a few brib– gifts, to coax them into loyally assisting the new Chu officials and to guide the people’s thoughts. And the deceased soldiers’ families should also be accommodated. Regardless of whether they appreciate it or not, it would be enough to do it openly and generously.”

By the time Lü Bu dragged the topic here, he really couldn’t remember any more of what Chen Gongtai said, so he tactfully stopped before he began stuttering and took a secret glimpse at Xiang Yu’s face.

Fortunately, Xiang Yu had fallen into deep thought again. The attentive glimmer in his double pupil eyes drifted away, and he finally stopped making him prattle on.

As his eyes skimmed over the deep and handsome face which resembled a stone carving, Lü Bu couldn’t help complaining that this overlord was getting more and more difficult to serve. He let out a breath and drank a few more sips of water. That conversation was too long, too exhausting, his mouth was parched.

It’s just that he had departed too suddenly, the waterskin he brought was the small one he borrowed from Han Xin before. He had already drank from it before, so it didn’t take more than a few gulps before it became empty.

Lü Bu licked his still-dry lower lip, but couldn’t be bothered to search for a spring, so he just hung the empty waterskin back on his horse.

When he turned around again, he was almost hit in the face by a gold-trimmed, gem-embedded, obviously expensive waterskin that had silently been held out behind him at some point.

The owner of this waterskin was, of course, Xiang Yu.

Only after Lü Bu unconsciously took it did Xiang Yu expressionlessly withdraw his hand and flip onto his horse.

He lowered his head slightly, probably in order to not appear too condescending, as he spoke. “What Fengxian said just now does have some truth,” he frankly admitted in a light yet tactful tone.

What?

Lü Bu blanked out.

What truth?

Because he stood with his back towards the light and he was preoccupied with his thoughts, Xiang Yu did not notice his confusion and only continued slowly, “However, it is a very important matter, we still need to go back to the city and summon everyone to discuss it before making a decision… I will go first. Fengxian, after you’ve drank your fill, follow quickly.”

Lü Bu: “…………”

---

Translator:
I’ll be dropping this after c20, may pick it up again next year if no one else does before then. My next project is National Teacher Returns at Warp Speed by 素长天, planning to translate 22 chapters.

#1: It’s like the second to worst student tutoring the worst student

#2: And the point is he actually understood it lmao

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• 1
  Guanzhong consists of the words 关中 (guān zhōng), which together literally means ‘within the [mountain] passes’
• 2
  Refers to the idiom 锦衣夜行; when Xiang Yu wanted to return to Pengcheng, he said the above with the implication of showing off his success and killed the advisor who tried to persuade him to stay in Xianyang. Paradoxically, it now has a more positive connotation instead, i.e. exhorting people to be vigilant and keep a low profile in the face of success
• 3
  司徒 (sītú) was one of the three most important official posts during the Han/Three Kingdoms period, which together were referred to as the Three Excellencies

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To Lü Bu’s surprise, not only was Xiang Yu not angry because he was neglected by his beloved horse but after he suppressed the shock on his face, he calmly stroked Dapple’s neck as it insisted on getting closer to Lü Bu.

His usually stern face even softened by a fraction or two, and the corners of his lips curved slightly as he asked in a curious tone which Lü Bu had never heard before, “Dapple has such an arrogant temper, how did Fengxian tame it?”

It should be noted that while Xiang Yu was a proud man, he had the good cultivation of a nobleman. Except for occasionally bursting into a rage due to hurt pride, he was, for the most part, an iceberg more prone to silence than Han Xin.

Let alone Lü Bu who had been with him for half a month at most, even his own biological uncle Xiang Bo and respected elder Fan Zeng had hardly ever seen him smile.

Although Lü Bu didn’t know just how rare Xiang Yu’s smile was, he had been faced with his frosty expression for more than a few days. As this brainless king’s attitude gentled, he felt as if he was watching a permafrost glacier gradually melt with his own eyes.

Seeing that Xiang Yu was magnanimous and didn’t intend to blame him at all, and recalling that he still had the great merit of killing the King of Chu, the guilty conscience Lü Bu felt for stealing the man’s beloved steed for a ride was easily tossed aside.

“Maybe it’s because Dapple is smart and recognises heroes,” Lü Bu replied brazenly as he pinched Dapple’s ears.

As he spoke, he pinched a bit too hard. Dapple, who had been sincerely flattering him, angrily shook its head, broke free, and ran back to Xiang Yu.

Lü Bu’s face instantly turned ugly.

He’d just praised it! This prissy temper!

Lü Bu had frankly called himself a hero, but Xiang Yu — who was world-renowned for his martial arts and wisdom — didn’t feel it was exaggerated at all, and even agreed. “Not bad.”

With the arrival of a groom leading a horse behind him, the smile on Xiang Yu’s lips withered without a trace.

He leapt onto his horse’s back and looked down upon Lü Bu solemnly from atop the tall horse.

But Lü Bu didn’t notice Xiang Yu’s gaze at all, he was busy staring at the handsomely tall, snow white horse.

Xiang Yu looked at the way Lü Bu couldn’t hide his love for it, then said shortly, “Jade Lion¹Likely based on 照夜玉狮子: a horse from Water Margin (the novel is set in c. 1220 AD), described as being white all over without any variegation, able to travel a thousand miles a day, and the best horse to be born in the Western Regions (i.e. Xinjiang region). is for you, follow this king out the city.”

After the death of the King of Chu, Xiang Yu had thoroughly learnt his lesson. He no longer pushed anyone to the throne in an effort to make more trouble for himself, he simply proclaimed himself the overlord and took charge of a king’s duties.

As a result, the Chu army was the most powerful, Xiang Yu had the highest prestige, and Liu Bang, the only one otherwise who came close, had the stigma of ‘murdering his lord for the sake of power’ and had been forced to retreat to Bashu. Although many warlords were jealous, none dared to step out and object first.

From the day he was proclaimed the overlord, Xiang Yu began to call himself ‘this king’.

“Thank you for the reward, Your Excellency!”

Although his words were few, there was not a single one that did not suit Lü Bu’s wishes.

Marvellous! He deserved to be the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, he was really generous!

Lü Bu happily mounted his newly acquired Jade Lion. The horse was surprisingly docile as it lowered its head to allow him on, not at all resisting desperately like Dapple.

Lü Bu was a step slower and had to get used to cooperating with Jade Lion first, so his speed could not be called very fast, but Xiang Yu wasn’t moving at full speed either. With Dapple also occasionally slowing down as it turned its head to sneak a few glances at them, Lü Bu easily caught up to the noble general in front.

Due to the frequent changes of city lords and constant war, the people of Xianyang were full of panic.

Those who could go to other relatives had already left, while those who had to stay all closed their doors tightly and never left their homes unless absolutely necessary.

They were extremely alert even towards Liu Bang, who intentionally spread goodwill; there was no need to mention their attitude towards their mortal enemy Xiang Yu, who had ordered 200,000 Qin soldiers to be buried alive in Xin’an.²After the Qin army surrendered at the Battle of Julu, Xiang Yu suspected they might start a mutiny (and the 200,000 Qin soldiers were a liability to his army’s food supply), so he had them all buried alive south of Xin’an City. Wikipedia

In the case of Liu Bang, he very much valued his life, so he would always send generals with superb martial arts ahead as his vanguard. If the army was ambushed, someone would be standing between himself and the enemy.

But no matter if it was Xiang Yu or Lü Bu, they were both heroic warriors who could stand alone against hundreds — how could they fear any assassin?

With Xianyang now completely in Chu hands, the two of them rode unimpeded all the way south and soon left the city.

As soon as they passed the city walls, Lü Bu saw that Xiang Yu’s previously restrained demeanour changed drastically, no longer concealing his confusion and anger. He urged Dapple onwards, leaving Lü Bu behind as he galloped wildly towards an open field.

After all, he was a young man in his early twenties, it was impossible not to be frustrated sometimes.

Though he sighed, Lü Bu also felt a little excitement stir up. In any case, he never intended to hide his skills when he joined the Chu army, so he squeezed his horse’s belly to urge Jade Lion to run with all its strength.

Two bolts of lightning, one black and one white, flashed across the lush forest. Wherever the horses’ hooves stepped, they left deep imprints and billowing dust.

Dapple was very happy as it ran and snorted twice. Just as it did so, Xiang Yu, who had been gazing at the distant mountains and forests in thought, heard the sound of hooves thumping behind him.

It was Lü Bu, catching up.

It being the first time Xiang Yu met a master of equestrianism who could keep up with Dapple at full speed, he couldn’t help feeling a little moved.

Seeing that Xiang Yu had dismounted, Lü Bu also turned over and easily landed on the ground.

While Dapple and Jade Lion walked off to look for water, Lü Bu ambled towards Xiang Yu who was standing with his arms folded, thinking about something.

When he was a couple of steps away, Xiang Yu suddenly turned around, and a pair of deep pupils gazed steadily at Lü Bu as he said calmly, “In half a month, I will preside over distributing fiefs to the various lords, then I will lead the army back to our capital, Pengcheng.”

Lü Bu listened expressionlessly, only to furtively wipe bitter tears off his face.

These people, each was more infuriating than the last!

Thinking back, in order to stay in Chang’an,³Raws actually say Luoyang, but according to both historical sources and the Romance the events referenced took place at Chang’an, which was the capital city at the time; see glossary for details; Wikipedia the land of treasures, he could even endure Wang Yun⁴A politician during the late Eastern Han dynasty; a major figure in instigating Lü Bu to betray his foster father Dong Zhuo. Wikipedia who obviously looked down on him.

But he hadn’t enjoyed it for more than a few days before he was kicked out by Li Jue and Guo Si’s army⁵Li Jue and Guo Si were followers of Dong Zhuo; after the latter’s death, they formed an army to attack the capital when their request for amnesty was refused which came from nowhere, making him run around everywhere afterwards.

First he worked for nothing, painstakingly using eight hundred cavalrymen to exterminate the hundred thousand bandits of the Heishan Army yet no benefits came to him. If he moved just a little slower, he would’ve been killed! Then he scrambled to Big-eared Liu’s territory and cheated him out of his land, although this only made that deceitful guy hold a grudge against him…

Even so, he hadn’t been able to rest for very long. Cao Cao’s troops overwhelmed his, then his brother-in-law Wen Xu and the other ungrateful bastards tied him up in a flash, and finally a single word from Big-eared Liu resulted in his death.

Compared with his life which was full of ups and downs, it was as if Xiang Yu had been born in a honeypot!

He had so many good places to choose from yet was unwilling to stay in the fertile Guanzhong, which was also easy to defend and difficult to attack, and he instead wanted to go home like a kid showing off his fledgling feathers!

It was a rare moment for Xiang Yu to be willing to take the initiative to share his plans with someone who wasn’t an advisor. Not knowing that the person in front of him had already slandered him from top to bottom, he kept explaining, as if to himself. “Fengxian has made great achievements, but it is not easy to make the true reason for Xiong Xin’s death public. The merit of killing four Han generals is not enough to grant you a kingly title.”

“Fame and fortune are nothing but drifting clouds.”

He had already been a marquis once, as for the throne… he really didn’t care about climbing the ranks three centuries in the past, and besides, with the way the world was changing every day, who knew how long he would be able to keep the title?

Just look at this hegemon-king. He was so majestic right now, but he had only been king for a few short years before he faded from history.

Lü Bu, grinning, waved his hand nonchalantly. “I only hope that Sir can make me a general, so…” The best kind would be someone who could lead troops to fight Liu Bang.

Xiang Yu had exactly this intention.

He had always cherished talents, not to mention that recent events had proven Lü Bu to be unparalleled in the world. Amid the huge Chu army, Lü Bu was one of the people he admired the most.

Seeing that Lü Bu was open-minded, calm, and truly didn’t care about not receiving a kingly position nor was he boasting of his achievements, he immediately liked him even more.

Lü Bu directly asked for the rank of a general. In Xiang Yu’s eyes, this was only natural for someone who had the brains and skills that he did.

He nodded slightly in satisfaction, brushing away the agitation caused by Xiang Bo’s secret communication with Han, then simply offered the position he thought of before. “I wish to grant Fengxian the rank of Left Marshal⁶Previously translated as Major of the Central Army, what is your opinion?”

Lü Bu’s eyes lit up.

Compared to the trashy lian’ao which he had never heard of, the title ‘Left Marshal of the Central Army’ had both the words ‘marshal’ and ‘army’, this was obviously someone who could lead troops!

Before he could open his mouth to ask, Xiang Yu had recalled his ignorance of military ranks and the way he bluntly asked questions last time, so he simply added, “When the main commander of the central army is not present, or matters are urgent, the left marshal can take over and independently lead soldiers into battle.”

Upon confirming his guess, Lü Bu was even happier.

Who cared about rewards or whatnot, it was good as long as he could command people!

But before he agreed, he still remembered to ask, “May I ask, the central army’s main commander is…”

He remembered that bastard Xiang Bo was the Minister of the Left, he definitely wouldn’t let himself fall into his hands.

He just didn’t know if it would be the barely passable Zhongli Mo, or that idiot Ying Bu who couldn’t do things properly and always ran his mouth…

After all, Lü Bu only came to the Chu army not long ago, and his only thought was of killing Liu Bang quickly then washing his hands of them — of course he wouldn’t care who the generals of the Chu army were. At most, he asked Han Xin about it a few times once he realised killing Liu Bang would be a long term job.

Other than these two, he only knew of Long Qie, who sounded like someone highly regarded by Xiang Yu.

“The commander of the central army,” Xiang Yu said proudly, “is me.”

The central army was more important than the left and right armies, its commander had always been the King of Chu himself.

Now that there was no King of Chu, the hegemon-king naturally took over himself.

Xiang Yu’s arrangement wasn’t only due to his love for talent, it was also to compensate Lü Bu for not being able to be honoured as a king who had made great achievements in an open and aboveboard manner.

It was a pity that Lü Bu didn’t appreciate it.

After hearing his statement, the smile on his face petrified.

Damn, I knew fate didn’t have good things in store for me!

If he really became the Left Marshal of the Central Army for this blockhead, wouldn’t his life be as hard as Gao Fuyi’s!

In fact, he would be far unluckier than Gao Fuyi — at least Gao Fuyi could follow a wise and powerful hero like himself who didn’t care even if he couldn’t spit out any useful strategies, while he had to get along with a foolish tyrant!

When he thought of the days to come, Lü Bu shuddered.

Not only would he have to run back and forth for the brainless king all day long, most importantly, he would have to return to his hometown Pengcheng with him. How would he be able to guard Hanzhong and catch Bang’s rat tail!

---

Translator:
Lü Bu has an overly inflated view of himself but that’s half the fun.

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• 1
  Likely based on 照夜玉狮子: a horse from Water Margin (the novel is set in c. 1220 AD), described as being white all over without any variegation, able to travel a thousand miles a day, and the best horse to be born in the Western Regions (i.e. Xinjiang region).
• 2
  After the Qin army surrendered at the Battle of Julu, Xiang Yu suspected they might start a mutiny (and the 200,000 Qin soldiers were a liability to his army’s food supply), so he had them all buried alive south of Xin’an City. Wikipedia
• 3
  Raws actually say Luoyang, but according to both historical sources and the Romance the events referenced took place at Chang’an, which was the capital city at the time; see glossary for details; Wikipedia
• 4
  A politician during the late Eastern Han dynasty; a major figure in instigating Lü Bu to betray his foster father Dong Zhuo. Wikipedia
• 5
  Li Jue and Guo Si were followers of Dong Zhuo; after the latter’s death, they formed an army to attack the capital when their request for amnesty was refused
• 6
  Previously translated as Major

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He was, after all, holding up the banner of ‘restore righteousness, kill the traitor’, so Xiang Yu still sent Zhongli Mo and thirty thousand cavalry to chase Liu Bang as he fled all the way west, in order to exterminate the roots.

Although Zhongli Mo delayed for half a day before setting off again, the Han army was familiar with neither people nor land in Bashu, so they got lost several times amongst the rugged mountain roads and Zhongli Mo soon caught their tail.

So these five thousand carefully selected elite soldiers were reduced by another thousand men under the wolf-like Chu army’s attack.

Liu Bang fled at his army’s forefront without hesitation. Zhongli Mo persevered in chasing him all the way to the border of Ba County, but in the end failed to capture him.

And the rest of the Han army also melted away into the myriad mountain roads. After careful consideration, he decided to follow Xiang Yu’s prior military order of ‘stop when appropriate’ — he stabilised his own soldiers and began to turn back in an orderly manner.

Zhongli Mo’s cautious behaviour soon paid off. They had retreated barely a mile when their rear guard, personally commanded by Zhongli Mo, encountered a thousand cavalry led by Guan Ying.

It turned out that Liu Bang, who had been chased by these wolves for his entire journey and lost more than a thousand soldiers to them, could not so easily discard his hatred. He wanted to take advantage of the negligence the Chu army would inevitably show when they chose to give up the pursuit, so he ordered his most trusted cavalry commander Guan Ying to lead a counterattack.

In his earlier years, Guan Ying had made a living by selling textiles far and wide. Not only did he develop good riding skills, he also had the habit of staying vigilant.

He first sent a dozen or so riders to scout ahead; seeing as the Chu army showed not a hint of returning, he guessed that there must be a reliable general in the rearguard, perhaps even Zhongli Mo himself.

“What a pity,” Guan Ying muttered to himself.

He couldn’t do much if Zhongli Mo was on guard.

Guan Ying knew that the Han were no longer as strong as before, and it would not be easy to gain a firm foothold in Bashu, where everything was unfamiliar.

It did not matter if Liu Bang could vent his grievances or not. The important thing was that they could not afford to lose more soldiers.

Although he was returning empty-handed, Guan Ying wasn’t worried about being blamed — he knew that his brother could distinguish what was and was not important.

He decisively turned his thousand-man cavalry around before Zhongli Mo could react and went to rejoin Liu Bang.

Lü Bu hadn’t had much confidence in Zhongli Mo’s ability in the first place, but after an impatient half month’s wait in the former Qin Palace, he was still very disappointed to hear that Liu Bang successfully escaped.

Because he was in an extremely bad mood, he made up his mind to torment Xiang Bo vigorously to comfort himself.

——If I’m unhappy, Xiang Bo has to be even more unhappy.

Xiang Bo had no idea that he was being targeted by a black-hearted tiger named Lü Bu. He had been only slightly slower than the people in the main hall in receiving news that Liu Bang had evaded pursuit and entered Bashu — upon hearing this, he had breathed a big sigh of relief.

Lucky, very lucky, he thought.

He had been feeling deeply ashamed for almost failing to protect Zhang Liang from Xiang Yu’s murderous sword, and for letting Lü Bu stir up trouble even when he had clearly sensed that the man had evil intentions, thus giving Liu Bang endless troubles.

Thankfully Liu Bang had escaped successfully, so they could still plan things out slowly.

As for the matter of being trapped in Bashu, he could only deal with it after Xiang Yu calmed down; Zhang Liang was imprisoned but it wasn’t difficult for him to take care of him. He would secretly release him when the dust settled.

If things were handled properly, he could even blame Lü Bu for neglecting his duty and letting Zhang Liang escape, so that Xiang Yu would value him less.

Thinking of Lü Bu’s despicably smug face in the palace as he spewed lies, which caused Liu Bang to be in such a mess and resulted in the death of tens of thousands of Han troops, Xiang Bo felt his chest tighten and his breath come short.

Compared with how Lü Bu ruined Liu Bang’s life work, his little revenge was nothing.

Xiang Bo, who had made up his mind, paced in his tent with gloomy eyes. After what felt to him like a very long time, he found an excuse to go to the prison where Zhang Liang was detained while Xiang Yu summoned his ministers once again.

In the early days when rebel armies rose everywhere and the Qin army was short of men, Zhang Han was named a general and when he needed to recruit soldiers from Guanzhong, he used imprisoned convicts.¹Zhang Han was a military general of the Qin dynasty who surrendered to Xiang Yu at the Battle of Julu; see glossary for more details; Wikipedia

When the Qin Palace was taken over by the Han army, then subsequently the Chu army, people all focused on the gold, silver, jewels, and other shiny dead things in the treasury. And so the other prisoners who were old, weak, or crippled, who had not been recruited into the army, were overlooked and eventually starved to death.

They were valued less than weeds. By the time they were discovered, their corpses already stank of rot, and people had to pinch their noses as they were dragged out, wrapped in threadbare mats, then thrown into a mass grave.

And so, Zhang Liang became the only prisoner in the Qin Palace dungeons.

Although Xiang Yu did not deliberately mistreat him, nor did he torture him for information on Liu Bang, Zhang Liang still lost weight quickly after a few days in prison.

However his heart was tenacious and he wasn’t shaken by outside events, so even though he never bathed or ate enough, his bearing was still magnificent.

Yet his haggard appearance still made Xiang Bo cry on the spot.

Zhang Liang was resting his eyes when he heard footsteps get closer to him before stopping, but he did not react until he heard quiet sobbing sounds. Opening his eyes, he said in surprise, “Xiang-xiong.”

“Your foolish brother is incompetent, I’ve made you suffer.” Xiang Bo’s voice was filled with bitterness. He originally wanted to wait a while longer before taking action, but seeing that Zhang Liang was so thin, he didn’t want to wait a moment more. “Liu-xiong has successfully reached Shu County, just wait–”

Zhang Liang did not let him continue. “The walls have ears, don’t speak carelessly,” he said softly, gesturing sharply.

“My dear brother, no need to worry,” Xiang Bo sighed. “Although your foolish brother isn’t as cunning as that villain, I haven’t reached the point where I can’t even control a little prison guard.”

He had his servants bribe the greedy jailor with pearls long before he stepped foot here, the area was under his control.

Moreover, Lü Bu killed the king. Although those present at the scene had all been dealt with — those who should have been silenced were silenced, and those who should have been threatened were threatened — the matter could not be concealed from the higher ranks of the Chu army.

Those who reacted most radically were Chen Ying, who had served under Xiang Liang and was later strongly promoted by the King of Chu, and the father and son pair Lü Qing and Lü Chen, of whom the former was the prime minister and the latter the Minister of the Household, who had both been greatly favoured by the King of Chu.

After receiving the King of Chu’s trust, they were determined to loyally support the young monarch. Although they would not openly scold Xiang Yu for his part in the terrible events, they all left their seals behind as they silently departed with their families, expressing their decision to sever ties with action.

Xiang Yu valued friendship very much — although he was a little unhappy at their departure, he did not stop them. But filling the sudden vacancies left would give him headaches for quite a while, naturally he had no time to monitor any movements in the prison.

But Zhang Liang still felt that Xiang Bo’s behaviour was too high profile, so he shook his head and refused to indulge him. “It’s not suitable for Xiang-xiong to be here, please leave.”

He closed his eyes after he spoke, despite Xiang Bo’s stiff face. Xiang Bo could not force a conversation, so he had to go back in a dispirited mood.

Since Zhang Liang objected to his plan, he could not act on it himself. He could only bribe the jailor with pearls to keep his silence and make him take better care of Zhang Liang, before leaving dejectedly.

Little did he know that as soon as he left, the jailor, who had been extraordinarily flattering, instantly changed his face and went to speak with Han Xin.

After Han Xin received the item, he promptly handed it to Lü Bu and praised, “It really is as you said.”

Lü Bu squinted his eyes. When he confirmed that the pearl was stamped with the seal of the Qin Palace, he immediately became satisfied. “Thank you for your help, Han-xiong!”

No matter how reticent Han Xin was, he had been in the Chu army for two years and had a few contacts.

Lü Bu didn’t ask him to help for nothing, he had already made up his mind to remember this cheap brother of his in the future. He wasn’t an ungrateful cur who forgot favours, he truly treated this god of war as his brother now, especially after Han Xin sneaked him meat after the banquet which he could not attend.

Within the time it took to brew a cup of tea, the gold and pearls which Xiang Bo used to bribe his cronies fell into Xiang Yu’s hands.

With an unclear expression, Xiang Yu played with a pearl clearly engraved with the seal of the Qin Palace’s treasury.

It had only been half a month since the Chu army took over the Qin Palace, the gold and valuables that Liu Bang had confiscated still sat untouched.

So from where could Xiang Bo get anything from the treasury?

Only from Liu Bang’s hands.

How could Fan Zeng give up this opportunity to add insult to injury? Although he didn’t agree with Xiang Yu’s decision to kill his sovereign lord, he hated Xiang Bo’s despicable behaviour — betraying his master, yet still insisting that he was justified — even more.

However, just as he was about to speak, Lü Bu opened his mouth and said lazily, sarcastically, “The Minister of the Left is truly… This is what people call holding great generosity and love, right? I’ve never seen someone so good at rationalising their actions, I feel deeply ashamed.”

Xiang Yu’s expression instantly turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.

At this, Fan Zeng surreptitiously wiped away his cold sweat, thinking that this warrior surnamed Lü was remarkable, he even dared to disregard the general’s face like this with a straight face.

It’s just that Xiang Yu, whose face was hurt, didn’t get angry and neither did he make a sound. He just stood and sullenly stalked out.

Fan Zeng did not get up and chase — he had followed Xiang Yu for several years, and knew of his temper by now. Although he was notoriously violent, he seldom did anything to his subordinates. He was actually quite polite most of the time, and would not punish people merely for saying a few unpleasant words.

When he heard something that made him upset and didn’t know what to do, he would take Dapple and gallop outside the city for a while to vent his frustration.

But Lü Bu did not know this. He only thought that Xiang Yu didn’t want to accept the fact that Xiang Bo was a traitor, and intended to cover it up.

He still had another trap waiting for Xiang Bo to jump in, there was no way he would allow Xiang Yu to muddle his way through this. He followed him out without another word.

He saw Xiang Yu narrow his eyes slightly, put his right index finger and thumb against his thin lips, then blow, letting out a long and pleasant whistle.

Lü Bu’s eyes widened.

It didn’t take long before the sleek, black-coated Dapple trotted over majestically.

Xiang Yu waited for a while, and when Dapple was close enough, he was about to press against the horse’s back and leap into the saddle.

Unexpectedly, Dapple, who had just been full of arrogance, caught sight of Lü Bu standing guiltily nearby and its eyes lit up.

Without the slightest hesitation, it left its master — whom he could see at any time — and rubbed affectionately against Lü Bu, sticking its tongue out as if it wanted to lick his face like last time.

Xiang Yu: “…”

Lü Bu, who had his face enthusiastically washed with saliva by Dapple, stood dumbfounded.

Fearless as he was, when he saw the shock written across Xiang Yu’s face, who hadn’t even twitched at the King of Chu’s death, he felt a chill in his heart.

Damn… it was obviously just a short moment of greed which made him secretly ride someone else’s prized horse for a while, why did he feel as guilty as if he had slept with their wife?

---

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• 1
  Zhang Han was a military general of the Qin dynasty who surrendered to Xiang Yu at the Battle of Julu; see glossary for more details; Wikipedia

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Lü Bu used a single trick to enter Xiang Yu’s inner circle and became a person with notoriety and a certain right to speak. Although he was far from the peak, the way was much smoother.

Since the blame had to be placed on Liu Bang’s head, he could not be openly credited with killing the King of Chu and his sixty guards.

But because Xiang Yu never bothered to covet the achievements of his subordinates, fantastical rumours of Lü Bu overcoming four enemy generals alone still spread along with the sensational news that the King of Chu was stabbed to death by an assassin sent by Liu Bang.

And after Fan Zeng specially sent people to spread the word, everyone from beggars to merchants knew of it, and it also disseminated into the Han camp one step earlier.

In stark contrast to Lü Bu’s success, before Liu Bang — who had fled back to the Han camp alone — could breathe a sigh of relief, he heard a succession of bad news: his four officers were killed, Zifang was captured, the King of Han was assassinated, and Chu would attack them on the grounds that the Han were rebels.

Especially regarding the death of Fan Kuai and Xiahou Ying; cold-hearted as Liu Bang was, even he couldn’t help but shed a few real tears.

They were not only capable officers whom he valued highly, but also companions of his heart and soul, as well as good brothers for many years!

With wave after wave of misfortune beating down on him, not even someone as resilient as Liu Bang could suppress the anxiety, and he fainted on the spot!

His subordinates hurried to help. Liu Bang, who subconsciously knew that the Han army was in deep danger, didn’t pass out for too long. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, after which the breath stuck in his chest was slightly better.

At this moment, he still didn’t know Lü Bu’s role, and also deliberately forgot the way he left the four officers behind on foot as meat shields — all his resentment was directed at Xiang Yu. “Xiang Yu is too vicious!”

Whether it was him or the other resourceful counsellors like Zifang, they had all underestimated Xiang Yu. He normally disdained to use tricks, but once he did, he was more ruthless than anyone else!

How could he have known that the man who had always been upright and acted with a benevolence more suited to a woman would suddenly be enlightened, and seize upon this huge flaw?

It had only been a single moment of greed, and now they had not only made wedding dresses for the enemy, they had also been splashed with a pot of dirty water, to the point that they could only flee in embarrassment… Liu Bang regretted until his intestines turned green, wishing that he could turn back time to slap his smug self.

With a single move, Xiang Yu not only succeeded in getting rid of his lord who had only ever been an obstacle for his Chu army, he also took advantage of Liu Bang recruiting soldiers, privately hiding a horse in the Qin palace, and secretly leaving alone, to — after killing all naysayers and threatening the Chu officials who were greedy for life and afraid of death into compliance — pin his own crime onto him!

It was the first time Liu Bang, who had always been eloquent and quick-witted, tasted the feeling of being unable to explain himself.

Although it was impossible for Xiang Yu to fool all the smart people in the world, everyone had differing hearts, and the common people could hardly recognise a single word so they often believed what they heard on the streets.

What’s more, the powerful Chu army was on the verge of overwhelming them. Who would believe him, and who would be willing and able to uphold justice for him?

“General, the situation is urgent, please give your orders.”

Since Zhang Liang left and never returned, leaving Liu Bang feeling hopeless, Xiao He had no choice but to step out and remind him.

Speaking of it, neither Xiao He nor Cao Can had any less tears on their faces compared to Liu Bang when it came to Fan Kuai and Xiahou Ying’s deaths.

But in the face of great disaster, they didn’t have the time to mourn their fallen comrades.

Xianyang had eight city gates, six of which were guarded by Chu soldiers. Only two were still under Han control.

Nearly half of Liu Bang’s 100,000 Han troops were stranded in the city.

They needed to quickly decide how many they wanted to bring with them, and how many they could bring, before the Chu army was fully dispatched.

Liu Bang sighed sadly, raised his reddened eyes, then said hoarsely, “There are only twenty thousand Chu soldiers in the city with Xiang Yu. If we gather our hundred thousand troops and counterattack instead of running, charging into the palace to kill him by surprise, can we bring him down with us?”

As soon as he said this, the officials rushed to dissuade him.

“This must not be done!” A group of veteran officials — Cao Can, Zhou Bo, and Guan Ying — all bowed one after another. “General, please reconsider!”

They hadn’t personally witnessed the Battle of Julu after which Xiang Yu’s name became renowned throughout the world, but the man’s natural talent for command brought all those proud Qin generals to their knees. Everyone heard of how the entire Qin army was captured then ruthlessly massacred like sheep.

Although Liu Bang also had some ability to lead in battle, he was much overshadowed by Xiang Yu — not to mention that Xiang Yu was best at winning against more with less in quick battles.

Now that the Chu army had an absolute advantage in numbers, how could the Han army ever match them? This wasn’t going down together, this was clearly throwing eggs at a rock face, actively looking for death!

Liu Bang was forced to retract his statement. Although his breath was still short and he panted like a cow, he no longer said anything about attacking Xiang Yu with his 100,000 Han soldiers.

Xiao He had been silent since his earlier reminder. Seeing that he had mostly calmed down, he stepped forward again. “Our current situation is certainly dire, but it is not hopeless. There is still hope to be found,” he said.

“Why do you say that?” Liu Bang asked with a hoarse voice, his expression shifting slightly.

Xiao He answered with a question instead. “If there is delicious wine every day and beauties to hold every night, would General indulge himself and abandon his ambitions?”

“You joke,” Liu Bang smiled wryly, “our lives are about to end, how can there be wine or beauties here?”

Xiao He only observed Liu Bang, saying nothing.

Thus, Liu Bang straightened himself and seriously replied, “Wine and beauties are ephemeral, how can they compare to the world’s great affairs?”

Only now did Xiao He smile and continue his explanation. “Xiang Yu’s army is powerful; it cannot be conquered by force, only outsmarted. To rush forward blindly is to seek self-destruction, like dashing jade upon a rock.”

Liu Bang’s face wrinkled in embarrassment, but he did not open his mouth to refute.

Xiao He changed the subject. “General, do you remember King Tang of Shang, and King Goujian of Yue?¹Both sovereigns of their respective states who are known for enduring harsh circumstances for years before counterattacking. Wikipedia links for Tang of Shang and Goujian. Major events in the world can only progress slowly, they cannot be rushed. Do not charge forward recklessly because of a momentary gain, and do not shrink back because of a momentary loss. Only those who are willing to bend when they see the situation clearly and endure the difficulties until it passes will be able to convince everyone in the future. There is nothing for you here, General. This minister hopes General can give up the burdens around you and go to Bashu to win people’s hearts, gather wise men, and use the two counties as a foundation to build your kingdom. When the situation is right, you can recruit allies and use the strength of both counties to counterattack Guanzhong.”

What Xiao He didn’t say was that there were many worthy people following Xiang Yu like clouds, but the man had a strong bias towards his family members and thus ignored Xiang Bo, the bug slowly eating away at heartwood.

With Zhang Liang’s ingenuity and wit, it was impossible for him to lose his life easily. As long as he stayed alive, and Xiang Bo was there to be used, the day things could turn around might come earlier than expected.

As he listened to Xiao He, Liu Bang heaved a deep sigh, then nodded heavily. “Go according to sir’s plan.”

Although the Ba and Shu counties were barren and remote, they could be said to be vast and full of resources, and the people there had always been comfortably self-sufficient.

This was especially the case after the Qin dynasty’s careful management. The irrigation networks had been repaired, as were the city walls, and law and order were in place. All aspects were on the rise.

Based on all this, Liu Bang had previously decided on Bashu as his last resort.

And most importantly, Bashu was surrounded by natural barriers — towering mountains and narrow, rugged roads made it notorious for being easy to defend but difficult to attack.

Let alone a large army, even a small squadron could hardly make their way through and could not have the slightest carelessness.

With such roads, it would be useless even if Xiang Yu relied on the strength of numbers to chase him.

What’s more, the blame had already been thrown on his head, his goal was achieved. There was no need to insist on killing him. In the future, Xiang Yu only needed to deploy troops to Hanzhong to keep him immobile.

Liu Bang forcefully suppressed his sorrow and, as fast as he could, quietly arranged for the troops to withdraw to Bashu.

He thought, with not a little grim humour, that it was fortunate that he had thought about this before and had a detailed plan, otherwise it would be much harder now.

It was a pity that the road was difficult, so he could not bring many men. But on the other hand, the Chu army was bearing down on them, so in any case he already had to give up most of his army to block them and buy time for his retreat.

By the time Xiang Yu’s fierce generals, Ying Bu and Zhongli Mo, led Chu soldiers to kill their way into the Han camp, they found the Han soldiers leaderless and like pigs to the slaughter. Only then did they realise that they were one step late. The cunning and cold-blooded Liu Bang had run west along a small path, bringing with him only a group of his closest advisors and five thousand elite troops!

Meanwhile, Lü Bu had no authority to command soldiers and could only hang around the palace as he waited for news. When he heard that thirty thousand of the ninety thousand Han soldiers left behind had been killed and the remaining sixty thousand surrendered, but Liu Bang himself and several others ran away, he became numb instead of exploding in anger.

…Well, what could he say?

Lü Bu, who was granted a seat next to Xiang Yu where Xiang Bo usually sat, had his two long legs propped up arrogantly. Compared with Xiang Yu sitting upright and proper beside him, his posture was completely out of line.

However, his eyes resembled a dead fish’s as he fixed a glare full of resentment on Ying Bu, who was excitedly reporting the battle results to Xiang Yu.

He wouldn’t say anything about the way Xiang Yu procrastinated, but all the people surnamed Liu that he met were like rats, they all ran so fast…

If he was allowed to lead the troops to chase instead of this guy who also had Bu in his name, he’d get them easily!

Ying Bu’s attention was entirely on Xiang Yu who was listening silently; he didn’t notice Lü Bu’s burning gaze coming from the side, but Zhongli Mo did.

Zhongli Mo glanced at the chattering Ying Bu, then at Lü Bu who sat next to King Xiang. He couldn’t help showing some confusion at the inexplicable hostility.

Could it be that one mountain could not contain two Bu?²一山不容二布: A play on words with 一山不容二虎, meaning one mountain cannot have two tigers; 布 (bù) and 虎 (hǔ) sound similar

Inspiration flashed in his mind.

Frowning, he began to think wildly. Although he had no deep friendship with Ying Bu, for the sake of being colleagues, he should still mention something to him.

He didn’t know the details of what happened in the palace hall, but the name of ‘Mastermind Lü’ had been spread by the ministers who formerly worked for the King of Chu, who had all been so scared that they almost crawled out, and it hadn’t seemed fake.

Since Yafu also treated Lü Bu so politely, his wisdom must be extraordinary.

Lü Bu, busy glaring at Ying Bu who was evidently incapable of doing things, would never have imagined even in his dreams that he would one day be called a mastermind of any sort.

Xiang Yu’s thoughts were indeed as Liu Bang had predicted.

Although he failed to behead Liu Bang and the world had one more beautiful lie, the man he hated the most was, from beginning to end, the King of Chu, who had insisted on objecting to everything he did.

In his eyes, Liu Bang was merely a jumping clown who was able to make waves only by taking advantage of the King of Chu’s power. Now that the king was dead, he smartly fled to Bashu in embarrassment, and obviously would not be a problem.

In the future, as long as they stationed a sufficient army in Hanzhong, the people in Shu County could be kept there until they died.

This point could be seen by any general worth their salt, and this of course included Lü Bu.

It made him even more anxious — if Liu Bang refused to come out, what could he do to him? It wasn’t as if he could follow him into the mousehole!

No, he couldn’t let this be.

Lü Bu, who had repeatedly suffered setbacks in killing Liu Bang but grew more courageous with each failure, glanced around and suddenly had a new idea.

Having made great achievements that were inconvenient to publicise, with Xiang Yu’s generosity, he would definitely be rewarded some time in the future. Then he just needed to request a position which allowed him to lead troops, and volunteer to guard Hanzhong himself.

With Liu Bang’s wolfish ambition, it was impossible for him to be willing to stay in that tiny parcel of land and retire to a life of leisure — he could simply lure the enemy out of his hole, then give him a head-on blow!

Lü Bu’s inner abacus was clacking away happily when his belly suddenly let out a muffled gurgling noise, making him realise that he was very hungry.

He had always had a thick skin. It had been because of Xiang Bo’s obstruction that he was unable to attend the banquet, and then he killed over seventy people in quick succession. Though he was miraculously unharmed, he was physically exhausted.

But the others in the tent already had full meals during the banquet prior, so now they were only focused on cleaning up and oblivious to the fact that Lü Bu hadn’t eaten for a whole day.

The sound wasn’t loud, but Xiang Yu was close enough to have heard it clearly. He frowned, and after thinking for a while, he realised his neglect. He silently turned and looked at the sentries behind him.

Han Xin seemed to be the only one present who remembered Lü Bu’s hunger. Before Xiang Yu could speak, he had already stepped out of his position first, saying quietly, “This one will go order someone to prepare dinner.”

“Thank you, General Xiang, but you don’t have to bother Han-xiong.” Lü Bu had a keen sense of smell. As Han Xin got closer, he caught the faint but unique smell of meat mixed with spices, and his eyes lit up immediately. He unthinkingly slid a hand into Han Xin’s sleeve and took out a few pieces of jerky wrapped in a clean cloth, then started chomping on them, interspersed with drinking from the bowl of cold soup in front of him. “Thank you as well, Han-xiong,” he mumbled as he chewed.

Xiang Yu silently stared at the rather impolite Lü Bu for a long moment. It was unknown what he was thinking, but when he finally looked away, he didn’t mention anything about calling for dinner.

As for Han Xin, after he recovered from his surprise, he looked at Lü Bu who was devouring the dried meat as if they were full of flavour, and felt a strange sense of satisfaction in his heart… like he was feeding a fierce tiger.

---

Translator:

#1: Facts have proven that he isn’t stupid, he’s just lazy. Squeeze a bit and Fengxian can become a mastermind, squeeze a bit more and he can enjoy the world. Although it’s a bit more troublesome at night, and the beauty is slightly bigger, in the end he can rule the world when awake, and lie in the arms of a beauty when drunk.

#2: You can ride King Xiang’s baby day and night, what’s there to be unhappy about (serious)

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• 1
  Both sovereigns of their respective states who are known for enduring harsh circumstances for years before counterattacking. Wikipedia links for Tang of Shang and Goujian.
• 2
  一山不容二布: A play on words with 一山不容二虎, meaning one mountain cannot have two tigers; 布 (bù) and 虎 (hǔ) sound similar

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When Lü Bu asked his question, Xiang Yu was silent for a long time, seemingly thinking about something.

Just as he got tired of waiting and began to wonder if the Brainless King of Western Chu was drunk, Xiang Yu nodded.

To Lü Bu’s satisfaction, although Xiang Yu took a long time to think, his attitude was very clear.

He first nodded slightly to Fan Zeng who was still immersed in shock, then he turned sideways and calmly ordered the Chu soldiers behind him, “Do as Attendant Lü said.”

“Yes, sir!”

The Chu soldiers who had been bewildered for a long time finally had their orders. They responded with deep voices, then stepped forward one after another, swinging their swords at the others in the hall without hesitation.

Blood sprayed throughout the hall, wailing sounded from all corners.

All the followers of the King of Chu who dared to resist had already been cut down by Lü Bu, the few remaining were all huddled together as they trembled.

After they saw that the man who agreed to spread the fictitious sequence of events was spared by this mad god who came out of nowhere, they all rushed to express their loyalty and beg for their lives.

As for the one hundred escorts Liu Bang brought with him, they knew that they could not escape with their lives, so they gathered into a formation and fought to the death. In the end, Lü Bu slaughtered half of them; as for the remaining half, they weren’t opponents of the Chu soldiers at all and were quickly killed on the spot.

 In the blink of an eye, the only one within the hall who could be called ‘of the Han’ was Zhang Liang alone.

Xiang Bo, terrified, thoughtlessly stood in front of Zhang Liang who was like a brother to him as he tried to block the soldiers rushing towards him. “General Xiang please think twice!” he blurted out in a rush. “This cannot be done! That man has only been here for a few days yet has so many evil schemes, since he dares to harm the King of Chu today, he will dare to harm you in the future!”

“Oh?” Lü Bu had disliked him for a long time, so now seeing him standing in front of Zhang Liang protectively, he couldn’t help raising his eyebrows provocatively and say in a meaningful tone, “Even if I get tired of living one day, who knows if I’ll even be able to harm General Xiang, but Minister Xiang, you…”

He wasn’t angry at all with the way Xiang Bo glared at him. He even rubbed his smooth, hairless chin a few times, pretended to think hard, then clapped his hands together. “The way you protect the enemy’s trusted advisor is very much like a female beast selflessly protecting its cub.”

“How audacious!” Xiang Bo was so enraged by these words that smoke almost came out of his ears. He whipped his sword out and pointed its tip at Lü Bu’s nose. “This is unfounded slander! I must kill you today–”

Lü Bu was casually fiddling with the hilt in his hand. Upon hearing this, he sneered and exerted some force with his thumb, revealing the blood-splattered, still-warm blade.

“The Minister of the Left truly wants to duel with me, regardless of life or death?” he asked, eagerly interrupting his ignorant opponent as he narrowed his eyes.

He was very willing to see Xiang Bo taking the initiative to seek death — if that was the case, then no matter how much Xiang Yu disagreed, he would fulfil his long-cherished wish to send his spirit to the underworld.

In his eyes, the ‘remnant of the Han army’ most deserving of condemnation was the traitor Xiang Bo, who was shameless enough to stay in Chu even as his heart was in Han.

If it wasn’t for him being part of the Xiang family, and Xiang Yu’s biological uncle at that, he would have chopped him up long ago.

Xiang Bo grit his teeth angrily, but the hand holding his sword trembled slightly.

Although blood rushed to his head and hatred boiled within, he did not completely lose rationality. He had to admit that he was no match for Lü Bu, who had just gone up alone against hundreds — and won.

Lü Bu’s aggressive provocation made him feel like he was burning up inside, but he still remained silent and even flinched back.

Fan Zeng watched his face change colours as he endured humiliation. “What Fengxian says is true. Is there a reason why our Minister of the Left is so eager to protect Zhang Liang?” he sneered and asked bluntly.

He had been silent until now because everything happened so suddenly.

And seeing Lü Bu act so brutally yet boldly with his own eyes startled and confused him, his mind was too disturbed to react.

After calming down a bit, he concluded that Lü Bu’s way was the best solution. Even if they put him to death now, they would still be blamed for not doing more to stop the assassination due to his status as a sentry in the Chu army, and others would undoubtedly use it as leverage.

Then in that case, it would be better to take things to the end. All the witnesses would either be silenced or forced to take their side, and Liu Bang, who escaped the banquet early and thus would be unable to refute, would take all the blame; although they may not be able to fool all the smart people in the world, they could at least muddy the water.

Others might not know, but Fan Zeng was well aware of Xiang Yu’s intention to kill the King of Chu. They would reach that point sooner or later, so they might as well finish it cleanly to prevent endless troubles later.

It’s just that Lü Bu, who was usually very quiet and low-key, was much more incredible than him.

Fan Zeng had also plotted against Liu Bang, but not only did he also need Xiang Zhuang’s help, he failed to accomplish anything except for attracting the King of Chu’s disdain.

In stark contrast, Lü Bu’s plan was insidious yet effective, and the viciousness of the quick kills shocked him.

He himself supported appeasement, yet he could do nothing for the King of Chu’s insistence on adding stumbling blocks to Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu resented the King of Chu and became more certain on killing him; in the end, he could only acquiesce to his plan to implicate and accuse the King of Chu on false charges then secretly kill him.

The surprising thing was that Lü Bu was not only ruthless and decisive, he seemingly had no fear that he would be unable to carry it out due to a lack of combat power.

But what was even more incredible was that he was afraid of neither Xiang Yu’s jealousy, nor if his commander would be reluctant to cooperate or burn bridges after crossing the river… This precise grasp of Xiang Yu’s temperament vaguely revealed an unfathomable side to him.

The more Fan Zeng thought about it, the more frightened he became, and at the same time, the more confused he was.

It sincerely puzzled him why someone who was both courageous and wise was willing to be a mere sentry for so long.

“Oh?”

After listening to Lü Bu and Fan Zeng’s words, Xiang Yu frowned slightly, and he looked at Xiang Bo with doubt for the first time.

Xiang Bo, having been questioned by Fan Zeng and Lü Bu consecutively, couldn’t help feeling guilty.

However, he had always thought himself righteous. From having a guilty conscience due to accepting bribes, he soon became angry due to embarrassment. “That’s ridiculous! Han has made many great achievements, it is unjust for the general to attack them; and the general is a servant of the King of Chu, it is even more unjust to indulge the kingslayer and reverse black and white! If the master is wrong, his ministers should advise him. What does it matter what relationships are involved?”

Upon hearing this impassioned speech, Lü Bu just picked at his ears in boredom, then he slowly shifted his sword and stepped forward. “Shut your trap!” he scolded. “Squabbling everywhere, we’re all big men, but you mess around more than an old nag. Either get out of the way, or pick up your sword and come at me, or even better, swear on your beloved ‘justice’ that if you and Zhang Liang are friends, you’ll turn into a pig and be struck by lightning… and let’s see if General Xiang believes you.”

Seeing that Xiang Bo’s eyes were opened wide, and he wanted to keep arguing, Lü Bu drew his sword and aimed it directly at his nose. Then he began to spout nonsense. “Although I’m a crude person who doesn’t read much, I know the simple truth that ministers should be loyal to their lord. You yellow-mouthed kid,¹黄口小儿: meaning someone who makes unreasonable decisions due to childishness or ignorance you haven’t done anything great but still want more power, and you ignored the people’s suffering to suppress General Xiang. How is it righteous to support Liu Bang, that vulgar old man who sticks his nose everywhere?!²滚刀肉: lit. hob knife meat; Northeastern Chinese slang, meaning someone who always entangles you and never listens to what you say; named after a kind of meat that’s very tough to cut You’re the Minister of the Left, the general’s own uncle, but you still force the general to allow himself to be bullied by those gangsters every day using your just or unjust, and now you even stand in front of the enemy like you want to die together like a pair of mandarin ducks!”

Speaking of this, Lü Bu took the opportunity to avenge his personal grievances by spitting at his ugly mug.

It’s a pity that the spit didn’t reach Xiang Bo’s face, but this didn’t prevent him from fully immersing himself in the script as he stated loudly, “I only have this one life. Even if it ends here today, I have to give the general justice!”

Xiang Yu: “…”

Hearing these sonorous words, and looking at Lü Bu, who had been so brave and proud yet was now angry for his sake and scolding Xiang Bo…

Xiang Yu, who didn’t know that he had been stamped with ‘Brainless King of Western Chu’, subconsciously felt tiny ripples form in his heart for the first time.

He shifted his eyes without showing a trace and lightly tapped his knuckles on the table, as if meditating, but in fact his mind was a pure blank.

Xiang Bo was already speechless after being repeatedly interrogated by Lü Bu.

Zhang Liang, who had been watching it all helplessly, knew that the situation had completely derailed and that he was powerless to drag it back. He finally chose to end his long silence.

He sighed softly, let go of his worries about Liu Bang, stood, then gracefully walked out of Xiang Bo’s circle of protection. “There are many capable people under General Xiang’s command, who are willing to use their skills to your advantage. Now you are the knife and I am the fish, if you want to kill, you can do as you please. But if I am to die, I beg it to be open and aboveboard, please do not involve others,” he said calmly.

“Zifang!” Xiang Bo cried out.

How could he not know that Zhang Liang taking the initiative to seek death at this time was only in order to protect him, who was under suspicion?

Lü Bu squinted slightly at this touching separation at life and death, looked Zhang Liang’s fair and beardless face up and down a few times, then abruptly changed his mind.

This person looks pretty good!

When it came to men’s appearance, Lü Bu thought he wouldn’t lose to anyone — even Xiang Yu, who was born with double pupils and a heroic face, could only rank second.

But Zhang Liang’s brows were soft and delicate, with a bit of feminine beauty… 

Lü Bu blinked.

…Never mind, this person was wholly loyal to Liu Bang and it was impossible to truly use him, but keeping him as bait would be more than enough to catch a few stupid fish.

So, under everyone’s eyes, Lü Bu neatly returned his sword to its sheath and said, quite hypocritically, “Since the minister has such a deep brotherly bond with the enemy’s advisor, I really… dare not do anything.”

Xiang Bo was so angry at Lü Bu’s hypocrisy that he almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

Damn, this kid’s too shameless! Not a word out of that mouth is humane!

He even dared to smash the King of Chu’s head to pieces with a guqin without blinking an eye, but now he was putting on airs in front of Xiang Yu?!

“Not a problem.” Xiang Yu, who had been quiet all this time, suddenly stepped forward with his right hand resting loosely on the hilt of his longsword and a stony face. His voice was low and cold as he said, “If it’s inconvenient for Fengxian, I’ll do it.”

Despair entered Xiang Bo’s eyes as he tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword.

He dared to speak for Liu Bang in front of Xiang Yu, dared to stand up when he realised that Fan Zeng had sent Xiang Zhuang up to assassinate Liu Bang, and he dared to yell at Lü Bu when he approached aggressively.

But the difference in combat ability between him and Xiang Yu was like the difference between heaven and earth…

He was afraid of Lü Bu, who had superb martial skills, but he was terrified of facing Xiang Yu and his overflowing killing intent.

What’s more, he knew very well that his behaviour of defending Zhang Liang was too obvious, even someone as dense as Xiang Yu would be able to realise it.

To kill Zhang Liang in front of him was also a warning.

Zhang Liang had been a little perplexed by Lü Bu’s inexplicable actions, but now that he knew the dust had settled, he even smiled in relief and made a self-deprecating joke. “I’m honoured to have General Xiang himself do it.”

But to everyone’s surprise, Lü Bu, who had been so murderous just now and wanted to take Zhang Liang’s life with his own hands, became the only person present who dared to stop the angry Xiang Yu. “General Xiang, please wait,” he interjected.

What surprised people was that Xiang Yu really stopped. He looked back indifferently and asked, “What?”

“It’s a secret matter, if General can step here for a moment,” Lü Bu grinned.

At first he only retracted his intention to kill Zhang Liang because of his eye-catching appearance, but after calming down and thinking about it carefully, he realised that keeping Zhang Liang alive would be far more useful than killing him for a momentary pleasure.

Xiang Yu frowned.

Just when everyone thought that Xiang Yu was about to lose his temper, he nodded expressionlessly, turned to walk towards Lü Bu, and leaned closer to listen to his words!

The two of them didn’t pay attention to anyone else, they discussed their secret right there in front of everyone.

Lü Bu understood very well the torment Xiang Bo’s heart was going through at this time, so while he happily talked in Xiang Yu’s ear, he also gave Xiang Bo ambiguous looks. Xiang Bo gritted his teeth, furious but not daring to speak.

“Then do as you say, keep him for now.”

No one knew what Lü Bu said just now. Everyone from Chu was shocked when they heard Xiang Yu’s calm voice give his final decision.

Where was the General Xiang they knew?

As soon as General Xiang went into a rage, he would go on a killing spree which no one could stop.

Lü Bu was so powerful, he was actually able to persuade the furious general. Zhang Liang truly would be kept alive.

Little did they know that Lü Bu, who had never talked that much nonsense at once, also quietly broke into a cold sweat after the turmoil calmed down.

As expected of me! My brains are so smart! 

Since he couldn’t escape punishment, he simply killed the person who could punish him — this trick proved to be quite useful.

---

Translator:
About this chapter’s JJWXC comment, let’s put it this way: Lü Bu’s reputation nowadays is… he’s a great warrior, but not very smart. If you read the RAWs on JJWXC, you’ll find that a lot of the comments are along this theme.

#1: All the counsellors and subordinates whom you commanded are blind from crying, Fengxian. You’ve mastered an emperor’s strategies, but you’re using them to carry Xiang Yu.

#2: Chen Gong: So mad, why weren’t you this clever before?

< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >

• 1
  黄口小儿: meaning someone who makes unreasonable decisions due to childishness or ignorance
• 2
  滚刀肉: lit. hob knife meat; Northeastern Chinese slang, meaning someone who always entangles you and never listens to what you say; named after a kind of meat that’s very tough to cut

< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >

Xiang Yu was in the middle of the banquet yet didn’t say a word, he just drank in silence.

The King of Chu either insinuated things¹指桑骂槐: lit. to point at the mulberry tree and curse the locust tree; meaning to scold indirectly, or to make oblique accusations or gave him orders without a care. He didn’t even bother to lift his eyelids, he just silently signalled the servers to continue pouring wine.

His previous dislike towards Liu Bang and his petty tricks was completely overwhelmed by his hatred for the King of Chu who incessantly jumped on the border between life and death.

However, it was unacceptable for any minister to kill his lord no matter how unreasonable they were.

Xiang Yu had discussed with his staff all through the previous night, and decided on a plan to implicate, migrate, then assassinate.

After this banquet was over, he would control all the cities in Guanzhong, so there was no need for the King of Chu to point fingers everywhere. First promote him to Emperor Yi of Chu, then name himself as Hegemon-King and he would act in place of the emperor.

With the Chu army’s current deterrence power and the fact that this course of action would not shake the interests of the other warlords, he did not expect much obstruction to carrying out these three tasks in sequence.

Xiang Yu, who was busy drinking wine and making plans for after the banquet, didn’t notice Xiang Zhuang performing a sword dance aimed at Liu Bang on Fan Zeng’s instructions; didn’t notice his most trusted uncle Xiang Bo joining the performance and blocking all the strikes; didn’t notice the King of Chu erupting in anger, forcibly stopping the farce, and kicking Xiang Zhuang out; and he missed the eye contact between Liu Bang and Zhang Liang, as well as the suspiciously long time Liu Bang was absent due to ‘answering the call of nature’…

Music and dance intertwined, wine flowed ever on. The palace had many rooms, so the commotion caused by Lü Bu outside wasn’t transmitted in the slightest.

Zhang Liang, who had been entrusted with the heavy task of stalling for time until Liu Bang reached the Han camp, calmly held a cup of wine as he exchanged toasts, not showing a single clue as to what he and his lord were planning.

He knew that it only took a stick of incense’s worth of time²A timekeeping method before clocks, approximately 30 minutes to reach a small group of palaces garrisoned by Han soldiers.

But he also knew that anything could happen on the way. The longer he dragged on, the better it was for Liu Bang, so he tried his best to stabilise things here.

At this moment, the doors to the hall which had been shut tight since the banquet began were suddenly pushed open. A man rushed in, shouting, “Report, something happened!”

This uninvited guest brought an abrupt end to the music and dance.

The King of Chu shot to his feet. “What happened? Why are you so panicked!” he exclaimed.

All eyes fell on Lü Bu, who had suddenly entered the palace hall.

Of those present, there were few who could recognise him, but apart from Han Xin, none were not highly valued in the Chu army.

There weren’t many seated on the raised platform. Among them, the King of Chu had the most honourable seat facing east; Xiang Yu sat facing south, which was the second most honourable seat; Fan Zeng and Liu Bang also had first-class seats, facing north; Zhang Liang faced west, with the least honourable seat of the five.

Their followers and attendants, such as Han Xin, were not qualified to participate and could only stand behind them.

Han Xin looked at Lü Bu’s filthy body and subconsciously pinched the meat he had secretly hidden in his sleeve for his brother who missed the banquet as he suppressed the bewilderment in his eyes.

Xiang Yu was already half drunk, his sight wasn’t clear, but he became slightly more alert when the music suddenly stopped. He cast his gaze to the intruder, but only a double image appeared before his eyes.

Frowning, he secretly massaged his swollen temples and asked quietly, “Who is it?”

Han Xin heard him clearly. Stepping closer, he replied, “General, it is Attendant Lü.”

“Fengxian?” Xiang Yu looked around blankly, and only then did he realise that Lü Bu had never come in. “When did Fengxian go out?”

Xiang Bo coughed lightly, glared at Lü Bu who was the centre of a fuss again, and said in a low voice, “Your horse didn’t have anyone looking after it, so I ordered Attendant Lü to go.”

Although Xiang Yu was only half awake, he still frowned and expressed his disapproval. “How can you force a warrior to do the work of a groom?”

While they had been whispering, Lü Bu hadn’t answered the King of Chu. He only looked at Xiang Yu hesitantly.

This slight delay immediately infuriated the King of Chu, who already hated Xiang Yu — great, even a soldier of Chu dared to listen to a mere general before him, the king!

A courtier immediately stepped out and arrogantly demanded, “His Majesty asked you a question, why aren’t you answering?”

Zhang Liang silently put down his cup and watched with fixed eyebrows.

This unusually tall Chu soldier looked like a mess and had his clothes on backwards for some reason, but his appearance was extraordinary and his face, which some might describe as fair, was… surprisingly clean.

Suspicion suddenly arose in his heart.

But before he could think more, Lü Bu raised his head. “It is a secretive matter of much importance, there are many people here…” he said reluctantly.

Seeing that he was unarmed, the King of Chu let down his guard and said impatiently, “Then I allow you to come closer!”

Lü Bu glanced uncertainly at Xiang Yu again. By the time he slowly shuffled towards him, the King of Chu was so angry that he was about to urge him again.

He straightened and pushed his chest out. On his third step, when he was nearly twenty metres³十丈: 1 zhang = 10 chi; 1 chi ≈ 0.22m away from the king, Xiang Yu finally moved a little as he adjusted his posture.

He only shifted because he was sore from sitting too long, but Lü Bu, who had caught a glimpse of his small movement from the corner of his eye, suddenly burst into action!

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, this Chu soldier who interrupted the banquet swiftly snatched a guqin from a nearby musician and smashed it against the ground!

Lü Bu hadn’t brought any weapons inside in order to lower these people’s vigilance, so he simply made one from local materials now.

After the rather heavy guqin reached his hands, it became as light as a feather. Then before anyone could react, he dragged the broken guqin straight at Xiong Xin, the King of Chu!

He had no intention of playing tricks. Even the already suspicious Zhang Liang was powerless to stop him from the moment the King of Chu ordered him to go closer.

There was only one person in the entire hall who could stop him, and that was Xiang Yu.

However, Xiang Yu was still focused on his plans for the King of Chu after the banquet, and he was more than a little tipsy. How could he have thought that Lü Bu would suddenly attack the King of Chu directly!

Meanwhile, Lü Bu had a clear goal and he had fully learned the lesson from Liu Bang’s escape just now — never talk nonsense before doing the deed, kill first then monologue. He went up with big strides and, before the servants around the King of Chu could do more than widen their eyes, lifted the broken guqin and smashed its jagged edge at the King of Chu’s head!

The guqin, made of nanmu wood,⁴Nanmu wood is from the Phoebe zhennan tree, which is found only in the Guizhou, Hubei, and Sichuan provinces; in the past, nanmu wood was so rare that only royal families could afford its use. Wikipedia was an instrument which could play exquisite music in the hands of a skilled musician; in the hands of Lü Bu, his strength turned it into a downright lethal weapon.

He used 80% of his strength to greet the King of Chu’s shocked face. Even if his skull wasn’t turned into a smear on the ground, it was enough to cover it in blood.

In the blink of an eye, the King of Chu’s skull was caved in and he died miserably.

Everyone present sucked in a breath of cold air.

Such a brutal method, such strength!

“You!!!”

The official closest to the King of Chu was scared out of his wits. He scrambled backwards as he screamed, “What are you doing, quickly take down the assassin!”

The king’s guards who were a little farther away recovered faster, they angrily drew the swords at their waists and rushed towards Lü Bu!

However, the current Lü Bu was no longer as pathetic as a few minutes ago, he had no need to borrow a guqin to kill.

He ignored the official pissing himself in terror as he leaned down to take the man’s sword.

Although he could handle all manner of weapons, swords and bows were among his most familiar.

Having finally obtained his best weapon in hand, Lü Bu completely regained the ease he felt as he rushed to and fro impetuously on the battlefield.

“Perfect, now I don’t have to catch you one by one myself!” he laughed.

He drew the sword out of its sheath and faced the King of Chu’s guards who surrounded him without an ounce of fear.

While Lü Bu fought one against a hundred and caused blood to run like a river, the Chu soldiers present were first shocked then stupefied.

The man was a blatant kingslayer, but he was one of their own, and even wore the uniform belonging to the general’s sentries…

They were Chu soldiers. According to common sense, they should definitely kill the person who murdered the King of Chu, without question.

However, the King of Chu had always treated General Xiang badly, and the relationship between monarch and minister was not harmonious. They had followed the general for many years, and were also aggrieved by this.

They didn’t know if this was really an assassin, or if General Xiang finally couldn’t bear it any more and privately ordered Lü Bu to do it?

Regarding whether they should cooperate with the king’s guards and take down the assassin, or if they should help Lü Bu… Xiang Yu was the only one who could make the final decision.

And as for Xiang Yu, who had an expressionless face but was actually confused, he couldn’t figure it out either.

While they were still in a daze, Lü Bu had happily fought alone against dozens, and his morale grew stronger as he did so.

A sword that was merely a gorgeous decoration for a courtier became a sharp weapon that felled countless others in his hands.

This decision of his to return directly to the palace and kill the King of Chu had only been a whim, but it was still the most suitable choice.

Although he was pants at strategizing, he had the wit to respond quickly to changes.

As long as the King of Chu was alive for one more day, Xiang Yu would be under the control of someone who favoured that ruffian Liu Bang. Who knew how much Liu Bang would make him suffer, and if that happened, until when would he have to wait for the two armies to openly confront each other?

Just now, he made the decision to ‘kill the King of Chu and blame Liu Bang’ after staring at the four Han officers dressed as ordinary soldiers.

Whether it was the west gate that Liu Bang segregated away, the Han officers pretending to be foot soldiers, or Liu Bang disappearing without a trace or farewell… it was all true anyway, what was a few more buckets of dirty water.

Although he couldn’t remember how long Xiang Yu tolerated the King of Chu in history, he knew that Chu and Han fought for supremacy and Xiang Yu appointed himself as the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, so the King of Chu must have been taken care of.

The world considered it a great injustice for a minister to kill his lord. If he wanted to do great things, he had to grasp the banner of righteousness.

Lü Bu had seen with his own eyes how Dong Zhuo, who killed that unlucky emperor Liu Bian, lost the people’s hearts and was chased by a group of warlords under the banner of eliminating tyranny… Lü Bu would never fall into the same pit a second time.

Instead of letting Liu Bang run wild, he might as well act first and stick the pot of regicide on the person who fled the scene. It would be hard for him to argue even if he wanted to.

Lü Bu’s sword rose and fell without pause and, while the Chu soldiers were still hesitating, he quickly killed two of the King of Chu’s closest courtiers and sixty of his guards.

In the hall which had only recently been filled with singing and dancing, there was now a river of blood and piles of corpses.

The guards who had dared to surround Lü Bu, and the soldiers left behind by Liu Bang, were frightened by his ferocious, god-like might. They pushed and shoved at one another, only daring to lift their weapons but not to step forward.

Lü Bu didn’t care that he was covered in blood. He just strode forward and put his sword below the chin of the man who seemed to be ranked the highest and trembled the most among the King of Chu’s remaining staff, then asked in a deep voice, “Do you want to live or die?”

Seeing his approach, the man couldn’t move an inch as he shuddered and wept bitterly, thinking that he was about to die. However, he didn’t expect Lü Bu to take the time to ask questions instead.

He was taken aback for a moment, then he replied fearfully, “I, I-I will listen to General’s orders.”

“I’m not your fucking general, shut up with the useless flattery,” Lü Bu snorted. He used the chilly blade to pat the man’s cheek, and immediately smelled urine in the air.

He frowned, retracted the sword in disgust, took a step back, and said lazily, “If you want to live, then don’t say things that would get you killed, understand?”

The man stared at him stupidly with his mouth open, not emitting a single sound. Lü Bu cursed him for being an idiot under his breath, then impatiently prompted him. “Liu Bang plotted to rebel in order to monopolise the treasures in the Qin Palace, he has coveted the Chu throne for a long time… His Majesty was aware of this and secretly ordered the Grand General to kill him at this banquet, but the thief was cunning, and sent four generals to enter the palace in disguise to assassinate the king… Fortunately, the Grand General is unparalleled in bravery. Although Liu Bang succeeded in his plan, the assassin was killed on the spot…”

As early as when he was in Luoyang with Dong Zhuo, he understood how eloquent these opportunists could be.

Instead of killing them all, it would be better to keep a few alive. For one, it would save him a lot of effort, and for another, it would be easier to deceive the idiots outside.

They were after all close ministers to the king, their words would be more likely to be believed than some random person’s.

Lü Bu wasn’t at all worried that they would object; these people had only gathered around the King of Chu for their own interests, and had targeted Xiang Yu out of fear. Once those interests disappeared and their lives were in danger, each would only be faster than the last to find another backer.

“Understood?” he asked impassively.

The man desperately nodded.

Satisfied, Lü Bu then looked around and considered the people Liu Bang had abandoned at the banquet… but right now he was no longer a marquis, he was a sentry who couldn’t even get his hands on proper clothing.

He looked towards Xiang Yu and Fan Zeng who had stood up at some point, as well as Xiang Bo who was so incensed that he was about to charge up… He directed a malicious grin at the latter and asked provocatively, “In my opinion, none of the thieves here can be kept. What does the general think?”

Damn, was this stupid overlord doing it or not? If he couldn’t even do this, then Lü Bu won’t do any work either!

---

Translator:
I’m really getting a kick out of trawling the comment section, there are some real gems here

#1: I really want to hear Zhang Liang’s inner thoughts hahahahaha it must be really exciting

#2: It’s probably (???.???)???? and ⊙A⊙! then ⊙?⊙! then 0._.0

#3: Hey #2 why does your kaomoji have nostrils

#4: Zhang Liang: damn, I’m a Hann⁵A different hán (韩) from Liu Bang’s hàn (汉), and romanized differently in academia to make it clear; it’s actually the same hán used for Korea (韩国). Wikipedia person I don’t wanna serve Liu Bang anymore bye bye

#1: It’s great lol, everyone else is scheming, only Yuyu is seriously drinking wine and daydreaming lol

#2: Maybe he’s thinking… did he actually order Bubu to give the King of Chu a knife hahaha

< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >

• 1
  指桑骂槐: lit. to point at the mulberry tree and curse the locust tree; meaning to scold indirectly, or to make oblique accusations
• 2
  A timekeeping method before clocks, approximately 30 minutes
• 3
  十丈: 1 zhang = 10 chi; 1 chi ≈ 0.22m
• 4
  Nanmu wood is from the Phoebe zhennan tree, which is found only in the Guizhou, Hubei, and Sichuan provinces; in the past, nanmu wood was so rare that only royal families could afford its use. Wikipedia
• 5
  A different hán (韩) from Liu Bang’s hàn (汉), and romanized differently in academia to make it clear; it’s actually the same hán used for Korea (韩国). Wikipedia

< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >

As Lü Bu guessed, the four so-called ‘Han soldiers’ whom Liu Bang ordered to be stationed at the west gate in advance were in fact Fan Kuai, Xiahou Ying, Jin Jiang, and Ji Xin.

These four people had either followed him for a long time or were closely related, they were all very capable and he relied upon them heavily.

But at the moment of life or death, even his loyal subordinates whom he usually called brothers were mere stepping stones for his escape.

The shrewd and eloquent Zhang Liang was left behind at the banquet to deal with the aftermath, while a horse was hidden near the side door in advance. In order to not attract undue attention, there was only one horse, which was only for him to ride.

As for the four officers who had to walk because they had no horses, if all went well, they could get away together. If they were unlucky and encountered obstacles, they would fight to the last in order to give Liu Bang more time to escape.

It was a pity that Liu Bang and his party were truly unfortunate this time, and met Lü Bu face to face.

Liu Bang was well aware of Dapple’s ability to travel hundreds of miles in a day. He knew that his own mount could only barely be considered a good horse, and it was absolutely impossible for him to outrun this unknown yet aggressive Chu soldier.

Therefore, he decisively ordered his officers to kill the horse first; not only to force Lü Bu to dismount and fight on foot, thus losing an advantage, but also to preserve an upper hand in speed during his escape.

“Fuck your grandma stop running away!!!”

Seeing that cunning thief Liu recklessly galloping away after throwing down his command, Lü Bu was so angry that his glare could have torn him apart. After roaring, he wanted to urge Dapple to pierce through the four officers’ encirclement to give chase.

The four Han officers had fought with Liu Bang for many years. They knew in their hearts that Liu Bang had sacrificed them to protect himself, but they still remained loyal.

Although they hadn’t personally witnessed the martial skills of this Chu soldier, they knew they could not underestimate him simply from the fact that he could tame the famously fierce Dapple. They would have to put their lives on the line to stop him.

They were currently dressed as ordinary Han soldiers, but their equipment was by no means similarly inferior. Their swords alone, made of rare materials, were enough to give them a greater reach — Lü Bu might be a sentry, but he hadn’t actually touched a weapon more than a couple of times here and he wasn’t expected to go into battle himself, so no weapons had been issued to him.

And Xiang Bo had prevented him from entering the palace, so he had nothing on him except for the pitiful little broken sword he took off the Han soldier in the beginning.

Seeing that the four men did not betray Liu Bang who flew away like the wind but instead waved their swords to chop off Dapple’s legs, Lü Bu’s eyes reddened as he forced himself to calm down.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!!!”

He angrily cursed three times in a row!

No matter how much he hated Liu Bang, he couldn’t just ignore Dapple!

Not to mention that he really appreciated such a spiritual horse, even if he really hardened his heart and broke through without a care, he would have no horse to ride and it was impossible for him to catch up with Liu Bang with just his own two legs.

He couldn’t avoid this fight and it would be hard to get away for a while.

Hateful!

Lü Bu cursed to himself for a while.

If he had his partner Red Hare with him and his Sky Piercer¹方天画戟: Lü Bu’s iconic weapon, a dagger-axe polearm; almost certainly anachronistic; see end notes for image halberd in his hand, he could have rampaged as he liked. How could he be blocked by these pathetic fodder in embarrassment?!

But he had only a short sword and Dapple, whom he was riding for the first time. It was hard even for a clever woman to cook if there was no rice, he had to deal with these four first!

Lü Bu took a deep breath. The next moment, like a fish flicking its tail, he kicked out his right leg at a dizzying speed. Not only did this kick push away the man closest to him, it directed Dapple to change direction, narrowly avoiding the densely converged weapons. Then he smoothly rolled off the horse.

“There’s a road to heaven but you refuse to walk it; hell has no gate but you insist on breaking in,”²上天有路不走，那阴曹地府无门，你们偏闯进来: literal meaning is best meaning, but less prosaically it means asking for trouble Lü Bu said darkly, staring straight at them.

He understood very clearly that he had missed his best chance at killing Liu Bang.

A monstrous anger seethed in his chest as he glared at the four men who were in his way. Now, even if they wanted to run, he would not allow it.

Since they successfully stopped him, they had to leave their lives behind as well.

He stood stationary with only a short sword, but gradually revealed the valour within him which had condensed after many years on the battlefield.

On the surface, he had no good weapons, gave up Dapple to fight on foot, and was a single man facing four enemies. On the surface, he was at an absolute disadvantage.

But for some reason, Fan Kuai and the others didn’t relax at all, and their hearts continuously sank.

“I, Lü Fengxian, have never executed unknown people,” Lü Bu said as he smiled contemptuously, his eyes narrowing. He pointed at Fan Kuai, the most muscular and imposing of the four, with his mediocre short sword, and said sternly, “Report your name!”

“Impudent!” Fan Kuai inhaled and shouted back, “I am the Duke of Pei’s aide, Fan Kuai is my name!”

Fan Kuai’s ominous premonition grew stronger. As his words fell, he decided to act first and, together with the other three officers, stabbed their spears at Lü Bu!

In his early years, he made a living by slaughtering dogs, so he had strength on his side. Now they also had weapons and men, so he naturally thought that they could easily capture this unknown Chu soldier if they made an effort.

Unexpectedly, Lü Bu caught his first strike with his short sword, causing a crack in the blade; then he flexibly turned his wrist and struck again, this time the short sword made of inferior metal broke in two; now Lü Bu held only the remaining stump of half a short sword and was about to welcome the third blow–

“For the sake of your loyalty, I allowed you two moves,” Lü Bu sneered arrogantly.

He thought nothing of the other three officers approaching closer as he stared at Fan Kuai without blinking. He took two steps forward regardless of the nearing spears, swung his arm down, twisted his wrist, and habitually spun it around.

“Fan Kuai you coward,” he shouted loudly with his thick brows furrowed, “it’s time to die!!!”

The veins on his arm bulged due to his excessive force, perhaps because he wanted to use Fan Kuai to vent his anger. With his innate strength, he buried the remaining half of his sword into his opponent’s neck!

Although the sword edge was dull, enough force was used that flesh tore and bones shattered.

Hot blood spurted out from the gash. Lü Bu did not dodge, so some of it splashed onto his expressionless face.

The deep, handsome facial features were suddenly dirtied by scarlet blood, which then flowed down his fair skin…

Fan Kuai had been alive and well just a moment ago, but now he was a half-beheaded body writhing on the ground, clutching his neck, tormented by pain.

His eyes bulged open and his mouth opened as if wanting to say something, but his windpipe had also been torn open. He spasmed one last time and soon after, his body distorted at strange angles and he breathed his last.

The area fell into a deathly silence.

Xiahou Ying and the others took in this horrifying scene. Their strongest, Fan Kuai, had just been killed in the blink of an eye. For a moment their jaws dropped and they collectively became speechless, all forgetting to continue their attack.

They had all witnessed Xiang Yu’s supernatural power which was able to break people’s courage with a single roar, making them tremble to the point that they were unable to hold up weapons.

But hadn’t dared to imagine this. Since there was already a Xiang Yu in the world, why must Chu have another brave general in their ranks!

Grinning, Lü Bu dropped the broken short sword without hesitation and picked up Fan Kuai’s spear, weighed it a few times, turned it around, and stabbed its butt into the ground. Then he turned to his strangely unresponsive enemies with a superficial smile and asked coldly, “Who’s next?”

With a more suitable weapon in his hands, Lü Bu was like a tiger with wings. He swung the spear side to side with a whoosh.

He hadn’t fought seriously for a long time. Now that he had opponents who could barely be considered qualified and was filled with anger he needed to vent, he felt very happy to go all out.

First, he got rid of Fan Kuai, who seemed to be the best at fighting. The three remaining were each quite good but they had little experience cooperating with each other, this was just a temporary arrangement.

After all, they were all officers who commanded the lower ranks. If they were only as skilled as ordinary soldiers, they naturally would not be Lü Bu’s opponents.

Though it was impossible to compare them with the Liu, Guan, and Zhang brothers who would advance and retreat with one heart.

After no more than a dozen fierce bouts, Lü Bu quickly saw through their flashy yet insubstantial moves. They often interfered with each other, so he unceremoniously grasped this weakness to stop them from wasting any more time.

The first to die was Ji Xin, the weakest of the three. Lü Bu simply raised his arms to neatly pierce into his neck, leaving him to roll on the ground with life or death unknown.

Xiahou Ying and Jin Jiang still circled him. He swung at Xiahou Ying first and when he dodged backwards, he twisted the spear around to stab at Jin Jiang who took advantage of the gap to attack him from the side.

“Huh?” Lü Bu even had the time to sneer. “Where’re you looking?”

How could Jin Jiang avoid it?

The spearpoint which was still stained with Fan Kuai and Ji Xin’s blood pierced his right eye. Blood instantly gushed out, the pain and blindness was hard for anyone to bear.

He couldn’t help covering his eye and howling, and he could no longer hold onto the weapon in his hands.

A group of four lost three in an instant, leaving only Xiahou Ying.

Being alone, he could only support it for two more rounds before Lü Bu stabbed him through the breastplate protecting his heart. There wasn’t even much blood — after Lü Bu pulled the spear out, he convulsed a few times and died.

Lü Bu then expressionlessly stabbed Jin Jiang, who was still rolling, and Ji Xin, who wasn’t moving but who knew his life or death, again at the neck. He casually wiped off the blood on his face and listened to the sound of approaching footsteps with a serious expression.

The time it took for him to kill four officers in a row might have felt extremely long for Fan Kuai’s group, but in reality it was a quick battle that took only a few dozen breaths, not even enough for other guards to rush over after hearing the commotion.

…The people were killed, so what should he do next?

As his head cooled, Lü Bu fell into reflection.

He originally thought that Liu Bang could be killed at once, so of course he hadn’t worried about how to take care of the mess.

Unexpectedly, that rat slipped away like the soles of his feet were covered in oil. He might have reached the Han army’s camp already.

And after they met just now, he had already startled the snake and lost any chance of ambushing him. If he wanted to deal with Liu Bang, he had to… stay in the Chu army.

Lü Bu stood alone among a pile of corpses, and was racking his brains to think up a way to clean up the mess and explain things to Xiang Yu when Dapple, who ran to who knows where earlier, trotted up to him while nickering coquettishly. He licked at Lü Bu’s blood-splattered face, apparently to help him clean.

Dapple was spiritual enough to be willing to obey Lü Bu’s instructions and rush forward desperately while ignoring the weapons that cut at his legs, so naturally he could also feel Lü Bu’s love and how he was unwilling to let him get hurt.

Lü Bu stood there with a deep expression, and after Dapple affectionately licked his face clean, a sudden flash of inspiration came to his mind.

Taking advantage of the time before any guards showed up, he decisively waved Dapple away and, striding through the side door, he took off his bloodied robe, turned it inside out, then put it back on.

By the time the guards arrived, they only saw four bodies in Han uniforms lying stiffly on the ground with their eyes wide open in death.

Next to them was Dapple, who was ignorantly dazed one moment then disdainful the next, raising his head and snorting at them.

The guards were speechless.

Even though they knew it was impossible, everyone who witnessed this scene still had the same terrifying thought in their minds.

It can’t be Dapple who did this, right?!

---

Author:
Whether it’s leaving behind his 100 escorts, making the four generals go on foot, or Liu Bang riding away on a horse, that all actually happened at the Hongmen Banquet… in fact Ji Xin later acted as Liu Bang’s body double in the Siege of Xingyang to cover his lord’s escape, and was killed after being discovered by Xiang Yu.

Translator:
Sky Piercer, and some of this chapter’s comments on JJWXC.

This chapter’s MVP: little baby Dapple

Dapple: yep that’s right it’s me

Dapple, before: get lost, scram far away from me

Dapple, after: clingy clingy clingy clingy

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• 1
  方天画戟: Lü Bu’s iconic weapon, a dagger-axe polearm; almost certainly anachronistic; see end notes for image
• 2
  上天有路不走，那阴曹地府无门，你们偏闯进来: literal meaning is best meaning, but less prosaically it means asking for trouble

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Dapple usually dominated the Chu camp and few people apart from Xiang Yu, including the stablehands, were brave enough to get close. It was the first time it had been bullied like this.

With its personality, how could it suffer in silence?

The stunned Chu and Han soldiers could only watch with their mouths wide open as rider and mount seemed to blend together like black and white flames and disappear into the wind.

Lü Bu, who was laying on Dapple’s back, was not frightened at all by this divine steed’s revenge; on the contrary, he became happier the more he saw its supernatural power.

At some point, he became unsatisfied with just sticking against the horse.

By tensing his tight but flexible abdomen, he arched his back like a cat and slowly straightened his upper body. He even had the time to casually fiddle with the rein in his hands, making Dapple — who was dizzy with anger — subconsciously follow his commands and go to the hall where the banquet was being held.

When he left, he had walked for almost half the time it took to drink a cup of tea,¹Approximately 15 min but with Dapple enraged and going at full speed, the return journey only took the blink of an eye.

But the steed did not know that its desperate gallop made Lü Bu even happier.

It was indeed a rare mount worthy for the Hegemon-King to consider a treasure, comparable to his own cherished Red Hare!

He very much enjoyed the feeling of riding among wind and clouds which he had not experienced for too long. After seeing the glazed tiles of the main hall not far away, he pulled the reins more forcefully to let Dapple, who was still running furiously, subconsciously circle the palace. At the same time, the guards stationed there went from being on high alert as if facing a big enemy to stunned disbelief after verifying his identity.

In time, Dapple finally became tired from running.

What made the horse fall into despair was that after its almost crazy resistance, the insidious hooligan on its back hardly moved at all!

Dapple, who had fought with the Hegemon-King for many years and was invincible in all that time, never dreamed that it would encounter such a nemesis out of nowhere.

Forceful objections didn’t work, it had no choice but to obey.

The formerly arrogant Dapple gradually lowered its high neck and slowed down. Its dark coat was wet with sweat, its nostrils flared as it desperately took in air, and its angry neighing soon turned into soft chuffs…

Of course Lü Bu, who had the experience of taming Red Hare who had been just as fierce, knew that this meant it had been subdued.

He originally thought that they would need to go a few more laps or use some tricks, but unexpectedly, Dapple was both more spirited in its resistance than Red Hare and more straightforward when accepting defeat.

Lü Bu stroked its sweaty neck with satisfaction — it was smart to know when it was beat.

After once again experiencing riding as fast as lightning, the more he looked at the horse’s undulating solid body underneath its smooth hair, the less he could restrain his love.

For military men, delicious wine and beautiful women weren’t nearly as attractive as a good sword and a divine steed.

Compared with Dapple, who was dejected and resigned to its fate, Lü Bu’s heroic features were almost overflowing with joy.

Looking at things now, although he somehow came to this place three hundred years in the past where even birds didn’t shit, things weren’t too bad.

Not only could he call the god of soldiers his brother, he also saw the Hegemon-King of Western Chu with his own eyes and rode this peerless horse, and he was about to kill his enemy…’s ancestor.

Leaving aside the last point, Lü Bu felt that this trip was very much worth it. Now he only needed to take Liu Bang’s head before he could fly away and live a happy, unrestrained life.

Dapple had suffered a sudden disaster and submitted in humiliation. Despite being comforted and treated to pats on its neck and back by Lü Bu, it was still listless.

It paced forwards in a daze, and before it realised, they came to a side door on the west side of the palace.

The Chu and Han armies were at a sensitive time due to the King of Chu’s ‘mediation’, so they had only completed the handover of Hangu Pass. Xianyang, especially the Qin Palace where the King of Chu was presently located, was still mostly under Han control because the king did not trust Xiang Yu.

Thus, although the two armies ostensibly had no conflict, dark waves surged beneath, and there was a faint implication that they were going tit for tat.

As for this side door, Lü Bu only gave it a glance but soon felt that something was off.

Although the banquet might have been held under false pretences, the attendees were all extremely noble people. Even if it were an inconspicuous side door, how could there be only four Han soldiers guarding it?

…No, wait.

Upon taking a closer look, although the four men were dressed as ordinary Han soldiers, they were all tall, imposing, and had a demeanour more like generals accustomed to giving orders than any foot soldier.

And the longswords at their waists didn’t look like ones an ordinary soldier could afford.

Lü Bu’s eyes were sharp. He couldn’t help but feel suspicious when he saw these flaws, but he didn’t show any emotion on his face; he just gently pulled the reins in his hand, and Dapple understood him.

Not only did it stop moving forward, it also shifted to the side and, relying on its pitch-black coat, hid among the courtyard’s vegetation.

Oh my goodness!

Lü Bu’s eyes lit up.

King Xiang’s little baby was too clever, too lovable!

He became even more fond of the incomparably spiritual horse. If he wasn’t so leery of offending Xiang Yu to death, he would have been tempted to take Dapple with him after his task was done.

Just when Lü Bu was being envious of Xiang Yu and greedy for Dapple, there was a sudden movement at the side door which had previously been stuck closed.

Almost at the same time as the door was gently opened, one of the four Han ‘soldiers’ who were stationed on both sides of the door also moved.

He walked some ten steps away and turned a corner, and after a short while, he led out a big war horse!

Lü Bu’s eyes opened wide.

It had to be said that in the huge Qin Palace, although the Chu and Han soldiers mixed together, there were only two people who dared to bring their mounts into the palace complex.

The first was Xiang Yu, who was domineering, had no scruples, and was powerful enough to get away with it.

The second was none other than his titular lord Xiong Xin, the King of Chu himself.

Even though Liu Bang was named Duke of Pei and later became a grand general, he acted in an extremely low-key manner with everyone stronger than him. He rode to the Qin Palace in a carriage and entered the hall on foot.

Did Liu Bang have someone hide this horse here beforehand, or was it the one that the King of Chu rode?

Lü Bu didn’t have long to think about it. When his gaze followed the Han soldier leading the horse to the man sneaking out from the side door, all his focus narrowed in on him.

Although he had only seen that face three times at most, it was unforgettable when it so easily overlapped with big-eared Liu’s whom he hated the most!

He felt his blood crazily surge up, rushing straight towards his head. Underneath him, Dapple seemed to feel his killing intent and very helpfully took a few steps forward.

The sun glared down behind him, stretching his tall figure until he looked like a god of slaughter descended upon the world.

The Han soldiers, already nervous, were almost frightened out of their wits when they caught sight of Lü Bu’s silent advance.

Not to mention that what he rode was none other than the divine horse Dapple who became famous together with its master after the Battle of Julu!

Previously, after Liu Bang went to the banquet, he hadn’t sat for long before he realised that the banquet was full of murderous intent and the situation was extremely bad.

The King of Chu, after all, lived in safety and had never been to the battlefield in person, so he had no concept of how terrifying Xiang Yu was.

This had been more or less Liu Bang’s intention — if the King of Chu realised exactly how powerful Xiang Yu was, he might lose the courage to fight for control and willingly become a puppet. At that point he might live but Liu Bang would never again have a chance of influencing the world.

He deliberately led the King of Chu to underestimate Xiang Yu’s ability, but now it was his turn to taste the bitter fruit; the King of Chu was as brave as a newborn calf²Full phrase is 初生牛犊不怕虎: lit. newborn calves are not afraid of tigers; meaning young or inexperienced people often have less fear and seemingly did not notice that Xiang Yu’s patience was on the verge of exhaustion as he scolded Xiang Yu in front of all the guests and forced him to reconcile with the Han leadership.

The King of Chu might not have known that he was repeatedly wandering on the boundary between life and death, but Liu Bang could easily detect Xiang Yu’s strong killing intent even if the man was quietly ignoring the King of Chu.

When Xiang Zhuang entered the hall on Fan Zeng’s summons and frequently pointed at him on the pretext of performing a sword dance, only prevented from harming him by Xiang Bo and the King of Chu’s intense protection, Liu Bang’s unease soon approached his limit.

After a period of feeling as if he were sitting on pins and needles, he could endure it no longer. He met Zhang Liang’s eyes, and quickly made the decision to abandon the King of Chu here and leave without saying goodbye. Zhang Liang would stay to take care of the aftermath.

As long as there was life, there was hope.

Liu Bang thought to himself that Xiang Yu was — in name at least — a subordinate minister, and as long as he didn’t lose his mind, he would not openly kill the king.

But it would be very easy to direct his anger towards Liu Bang instead; if Xiang Yu hadn’t bothered to be polite, he could have found any random excuse to eliminate him then swallow his hundred thousand Han troops. Who would be able to protest otherwise?

The Han army would be just a bunch of loose sand without Liu Bang, and even if the King of Chu continued his support, there would be no value in maintaining it.

It would be better to leave Xiang Yu’s sight first to preserve his life, then fight for more when the King of Chu or Xiang Yu distributed land.

As long as he survived this crisis and his future fief wasn’t too remote, there would be more opportunities in the future.

Now that he was facing the imminent threat of death, Liu Bang had no words to articulate how much he regretted not allowing Xiang Yu through Hangu Pass and handing over the blade of his demise with his own two hands.

However, Liu Bang could never have guessed that his bad luck was just beginning.

Although Lü Bu didn’t know the details of what went on in the banquet, seeing Liu Bang’s sneaky posture, even a fool would be able to tell that he was trying to escape quietly!

Since his enemy… enemy’s ancestor was sent straight to his face, how could he let him slip away!

“Liu! Bang! Stop! There!!!”

With his tiger eyes blazing, a domineering aura that regarded the enemy as worthless chaff suddenly exploded.

Following his shout, Dapple raised its head, neighed, and rushed forward, completely sweeping away its prior exhaustion!

His majesty was obvious even when he stood still. Right now, he and his horse were of the same mind and united in facing enemies, even better showing his bravery and strength amid battle!

They were clearly a single man and horse, but their momentum was a hundredfold, bringing to mind the thundering steps of heavy cavalry, making people feel terrified.

Liu Bang never dreamed that there would be a second person in the world who could control that incomparably fierce black horse, and it would be someone who was clearly a hero.

If it weren’t for Xiang Yu’s pair of double pupils being unique in the world, then looking at that vigorous posture rushing at him, he would have thought that the man himself saw through his intention to escape from the banquet and came to intercept him!

But in the end, Liu Bang was a veteran who dared to oppose Xiang Yu even when their strengths were very different.

Realising that the person who came was not Xiang Yu, his heart quickly fell back into his chest after his initial shock and he forced himself to calm down.

He knew that after this person yelled so loudly, although no one else was here to see it yet, the Chu soldiers around them would definitely have noticed it and should be here to investigate soon.

If he was detained, his previous hard work would all be in vain. Being caught sneaking out would be the best excuse Xiang Yu could ever want.

He didn’t have the time to fight. The most urgent thing now was to escape back to the Han army camp while there were no horses in the palace, half the soldiers here were Han, and the gates weren’t yet completely fallen into Xiang Yu’s hands!

Many thoughts flashed through Liu Bang’s mind, but his hands did not delay for a moment.

He quickly swung onto his horse and urged it to leave, while not forgetting to give his four generals a decisive order: “Chop off his horse’s legs first!”

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• 1
  Approximately 15 min
• 2
  Full phrase is 初生牛犊不怕虎: lit. newborn calves are not afraid of tigers; meaning young or inexperienced people often have less fear

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Just after noon the following day, after Chu soldiers took over management of Hangu Pass from the Han, Xiang Yu went through the pass to the Qin Palace for the banquet as ordered by the King of Chu.

The King of Chu might have been too nervous, such that he forgot to place a limit on the size of the entourage Xiang Yu brought with him to the banquet.

However, Xiang Yu had always been a proud person and didn’t bother to take advantage of this loophole. He only brought a thousand or so soldiers who would take control of the Qin Palace after the banquet instead of showing off his superior military strength.

As for the remaining nearly four hundred thousand soldiers, they were either entering the pass in an orderly manner under the leadership of various Chu generals, or they were already stationed in the suburbs of Xianyang and awaiting further orders.

A thousand elite Chu soldiers who had gone through countless fierce battles entered the Qin Palace. Every man wore iron-plated armour, and every step was taken in unison. They walked with the momentum of ten thousand men, causing the Han soldiers to have heart palpitations despite having many times their number.

Liu Bang stood on the jade steps of the golden palace where the first emperor once stood, overlooking the dark mass of Chu soldiers who marched steadily closer behind Xiang Yu who, tall and well-built, looked like a god descended from the sky. In his chest, his heart seemed to beat in time with their heavy footsteps.

As a sentry appointed by Xiang Yu himself, Lü Bu was of course among the thousand people who entered the palace.

His eyesight was excellent. He easily saw Liu Bang standing on the jade steps and looking down like a mouse sneaking out of its den across the vast distance, and two clusters of flames ignited in his ink-black eyes.

Despite how the heavens messed with him, in the end he still caught sight of his enemy’s old ancestor!

It was the first time Lü Bu was so close to his target, he instantly felt his blood boil.

However, it was precisely because the hostility in his gaze towards Liu Bang was too scorching that although Xiang Yu was too dense to notice it, Xiang Bo — who was being extra vigilant — did.

Xiang Bo was surprised, and his surprise soon turned to horror.

At first he thought that his eyes had been dazzled, but following Lü Bu’s inexplicably fierce gaze indeed led to Liu Bang. Extreme unease filled him.

Although he didn’t like Xiang Yu’s arrogant nature and how he sometimes acted unreasonably cruelly, he had never questioned his ability to spot talents.

This boy surnamed Lü appeared out of thin air but was able to stand out among four hundred thousand Chu soldiers and win Xiang Yu’s favour, he must have a martial prowess which ordinary people couldn’t match.

No matter why Lü Bu hated Liu Bang so much, for the sake of his safety, he must not be allowed into the banquet hall!

After Xiang Bo made up his mind, he acted decisively.

Once Xiang Yu entered the hall, he deliberately lagged behind a few steps and called for Lü Bu in a low voice. “Lü Bu, come here.”

As he spoke, he didn’t notice the way Lü Bu’s hand which gripped the sword at his waist turned white with restrained force, nor the veins which appeared on the back of his hand.

He knew in his heart that when all three military forces converged in a meeting, it was absolutely not a good time to attack even if the target was in sight — he had to do it elsewhere.

What’s more, if he charged straight at Liu Bang, Xiang Yu might well stop him for the sake of the King of Chu’s face.

He didn’t care if everyone else in the palace came against him, at most he would suffer a little injury in the process of obtaining Liu Bang’s head.

However, he didn’t want to risk personally experiencing the unrivalled strength of the Hegemon-King of Western Chu which resounded throughout the history books.

So although Lü Bu’s heart roared for blood, reason still prevailed and he barely suppressed it.

When the parasite¹吃里扒外: lit. eat outside, cling outside; meaning to accept benefits from someone while secretly helping others Xiang Bo called him over with obviously malicious intent, Lü Bu concealed his killing intent and walked there without a hint of haste.

Han Xin frowned, and couldn’t help casting a glance at Xiang Bo from the corner of his eye before following Xiang Yu inside.

Seeing Lü Bu’s undisguised indifference, Xiang Bo felt both apprehensive and displeased.

As the dignified Minister of the Left of the Chu state, it was the simplest thing in the world for him to give orders to an attendant, and there was no need to give any explanation either. “There are enough people here, you go to the palace gates and bring the general’s horse Dapple²Xiang Yu’s mount is named 乌骓 (wū zhuī), meaning crow piebald; Dapple is as official of a translation as there is and comes from Burton Watson’s translation of The Hegemon’s Lament. Wikipedia here, you’ll be looking after it today.”

Lü Bu narrowed his eyes slightly.

How could he not see through Xiang Bo’s intention to deliberately transfer him elsewhere with a random excuse?

“Yes sir.”

Despite being sent on a trivial task more suited for a stablehand, Lü Bu — to Xiang Bo’s surprise — just looked down and showed not a hint of protest.

But he could not have mistaken the strong killing intent just now.

Xiang Bo had no time to think about it. Seeing that Lü Bu accepted the military order, he no longer wasted any time outside, instead he turned around and quickly entered the hall.

He had no idea that as soon as he turned around, Lü Bu suddenly raised his head, showing a pair of eyes as sharp as blades as he smirked coldly.

It wasn’t a problem, he hadn’t planned on doing anything in the hall in the first place, there were too many people who might get in the way.

Thus Lü Bu, wearing the uniform of Xiang Yu’s personal guards, slowly went towards the palace gate.

His body was tall yet lean and he had handsome features, he attracted attention even among Chu soldiers who were known for their bravery and strength.

Lü Bu was already used to being the center of attention, so he was very calm as he walked towards the gate. There, he was just in time to bump into a black horse with white socks with three men around it holding it down.

It was the first time since arriving in the Chu camp that Lü Bu saw the hegemon-king’s beloved mount. His eyes lit up.

Oh goddamn, what a handsome horse!

Dapple was an extremely tall horse. Its coat was like brocade of the deepest black, and it was without the slightest variation except his four hooves, which were each a shining white.

His skin wrapped smoothly around his long tendons, the strength of his bulging muscles could be seen at a glance. And when the sun shone down upon him, he looked even more extraordinary.

Dapple’s temperament was rebellious and unruly, even worse than his master.

Of the hundreds of thousands of people in the Chu camp, only Xiang Yu, a hero of the world, could make him willingly bow his head and carry him to gallop on battlefields.

As Dapple valiantly struggled against the three soldiers who were trying to lead him into the unfamiliar Qin Palace, his gaze suddenly caught on a pair of ferocious, piercing eyes.

 None of the horses Lü Bu saw since he came to three centuries in the past were any good, only the one he stole in the beginning was half decent. It was only when he saw Dapple, which was known for looking as if it were stepping on snow as it ran, that he found one which could match his own beloved Red Hare.³A famous horse owned by Lü Bu for a time, said to be able to travel 500km in a day; historical records describe Lü Bu & Red Hare like this: “Among men, Lü Bu; among steeds, Red Hare”. Wikipedia

He completely threw Liu Bang to the back of his mind, his thoughts now only filled with Dapple’s heroic figure.

The moment their eyes met, Dapple suddenly felt an unprecedented vigilance against this stranger who was outstanding, majestic, and not at all inferior to his master.

However, Lü Bu’s joyful reaction was much faster than its retreat — just as the three soldiers were about to ask why he was there, he strode up without moving his eyes from Dapple and effortlessly pressed down on the horse’s withers, which were at the perfect height for him but would be too high for most others.

His tightly-muscled waist exerted power for a split second. Everyone around him only saw an afterimage flying by, then heard Dapple — whom hardly anyone apart from Xiang Yu dared to approach — let out an enraged shriek as his whole body reared up!

Everything happened so suddenly that they were all dumbfounded. It wasn’t until Lü Bu and Dapple engaged in a furious battle that they gasped in unison!

Hiss–!

This guy was too foolhardy,⁴吃熊心豹子胆: lit. to eat a bear’s heart and leopard’s gall; meaning to summon up one’s courage (derogatory), typically used in relation to doing a stupidly reckless thing fool enough to die!

The shock in their hearts wasn’t so much because they were afraid of Xiang Yu’s vengeful wrath, but rather because they had never imagined that Dapple, who was arrogant, violent, only willing to obey the general’s orders, and had the strength to back it up, would one day have another person jump on his back!

Lü Bu cared for none of their thoughts.

All his attention was on the horse below him, who was trying to throw him off and trample him to death beneath his hooves.

However, unlike Xiang Yu who had been inexperienced when he first met Dapple and subdued the horse with pure strength, Lü Bu was slightly weaker in strength but much superior in skill.

Dapple bucked again and again but couldn’t remove the rider on his back who was as stable as Mount Tai. Finally, angered to the point of spewing fire, he let out a long squeal and abruptly galloped forth!

Lü Bu was already prepared for this. Just as Dapple’s front hoof landed and he was about to charge, he flexibly leaned forwards to lay on the horse’s back. Not only was he not shaken off by the sudden change of momentum, he didn’t even take in a mouthful of cold wind.

He even took the time to laugh a few times and yelled to the stunned soldiers before Dapple carried him too far, “The Minister of the Left told me to bring Dapple to the front of the hall!”

Anyway, Xiang Bo didn’t specify how he should bring Dapple. Wouldn’t it be faster if he rode there?

Lü Bu’s inner abacus was in full swing.

He would kill Liu Bang as soon as the banquet was over and didn’t plan on staying in the Chu camp afterwards, what would he worry about that for?

One more ride was one more ride!

Dapple was originally a mount with a well-deserved reputation for being able to travel hundreds of miles, there was no need to mention his power when galloping at full strength under the influence of anger.

By the time Lü Bu’s shout came to an end, the Chu soldiers who stayed in place could only see the backs of one horse and one man fading away.

They looked at each other in dismay, and spontaneously showed a bit of respect as one exclaimed, “Were the general’s attendants always this amazing?!”

He even dared to ride the general’s mount whom no one else could touch!

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• 1
  吃里扒外: lit. eat outside, cling outside; meaning to accept benefits from someone while secretly helping others
• 2
  Xiang Yu’s mount is named 乌骓 (wū zhuī), meaning crow piebald; Dapple is as official of a translation as there is and comes from Burton Watson’s translation of The Hegemon’s Lament. Wikipedia
• 3
  A famous horse owned by Lü Bu for a time, said to be able to travel 500km in a day; historical records describe Lü Bu & Red Hare like this: “Among men, Lü Bu; among steeds, Red Hare”. Wikipedia
• 4
  吃熊心豹子胆: lit. to eat a bear’s heart and leopard’s gall; meaning to summon up one’s courage (derogatory), typically used in relation to doing a stupidly reckless thing