Conqueror Chapter 14

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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?

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• 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