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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
- 2Xiang 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
- 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
- 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
suiruo says:
Thank you for the chapter!
17 August 2023 — 04:34