Chapter 303

Bai Lang had no trouble on his way to Luoyang; this monster was willing to go, and Wagang Fort was overjoyed—even Li Mi, who bore the pain of losing his son and his commander, did not really want to intercept this White Right Supervisor. He was a man who wanted to undertake a great cause; if his cause succeeded, using the power of the world to kill a mere Bai Lang would be trivial. So Li Mi endured, and Shen Luoyan, this clever military advisor, could endure even more—in her view, avoiding a direct clash with Bai Lang was excellent.

Slowly gather information on Bai Lang, then find his weakness; only then would be the moment for a fatal strike—regarding Bai Lang's wisdom, Shen Luoyan believed she could stand high and look down on him.

Bai Lang, on his own, led over seventy men toward Luoyang, while Wei Zhenzhen remained on horseback and Bai Lang led the way in front, pulling the horse. From afar they could already see Luoyang; the city was now quite prosperous, its walls over ten zhang high—'This is completely ahistorical!' Bai Lang muttered, but no one chimed in with, 'What sighs, Your Majesty?'

This mighty city is now under Wang Shichong's control, but because the city is populous and Yang Guang is still alive, Wang Shichong nominally remains the acting commandant of Luoyang, and his grip on the city cannot be considered strong—he still has to share power with the city's powerful clans and aristocratic families. In this city, all manner of wealthy clans, even the Buddhist Sect and Daoist sects have influence, and even the Demonic Sect operates here semi-openly.

Wang Shichong was merely the relatively largest faction, so he constantly sought others' allegiance—such as Pei Renji, and his attempt to win over Bai Lang. Now Bai Lang had arrived at Luoyang, yet he saw the city gate wide open, with two rows of soldiers drawn up, and pedestrians cleared to the sides. In the middle stood a middle-aged Hu man with over ten attendants, clasped hands in greeting. Wei Zhenzhen's eyesight was sharp; seeing this scene, she dismounted without waiting for Bai Lang to speak and followed behind him.

Bai Lang also sized up this Hu man, asking, 'Commander of the Wang city?' 'Indeed, it is I—but are you the White Right Supervisor in person? I have long hoped to see the White Right Supervisor; if you are he, Luoyang will be as stable as Mount Tai!' Those nearby all chimed in with pleasantries. Wang Shichong invited Bai Lang to mount, offering to lead his horse, but Bai Lang declined. The banquet was already prepared, and it was held at Wang Shichong's residence.

For now he is only the acting city commandant, and dare not hold a banquet in the palace.

Bai Lang then brought Wei Zhenzhen to the banquet, while his troops were entertained outside by local youths acting as hosts. Bai Lang found it odd that Bai Qing'er had not come with Wei Zhenzhen; perhaps they wanted someone else to make contact with him. In that case, only Wanwan remained. Wang Shichong also invited Master Shang Xiufang to play music, and the dance leader was his adopted daughter, Dong Shuni.

Bai Lang didn't spare much glance for Dong Shuni, but he paid special attention to the woman named Shang Xiufang. 'She really is beautiful, and has poise. To say Master Shang is not mistaken... though her martial arts are merely on par with Wei Zhenzhen's—just superficial. Being able to protect herself is probably just because of that reputation.' Bai Lang thought. And Shang Xiufang was also looking at Bai Lang among the Chairman.

She naturally knew that this time Wang Shichong's invitation for her to perform in Luoyang was precisely to win over this man before her; his fame had recently spread across the world, and Shang Xiufang had naturally heard of him. In legend, this person is an unparalleled warrior, just like the Chu State Duke and former Sui Minister of Rites Yang Xuan'gan; this fellow named Bai Lang, courtesy name Yuzhu, is equally fearless—able to break Wagang Fort's ambush single-handedly, and leading several hundred county troops he could crush a thousand enemies.

If he guarded Xingyang City, the whole Henan Circuit would be cowed by his might—likewise Shang Xiufang had heard he enjoyed killing. His favorite pastime was to chop off the heads of the slain and pile them into memorial mounds; in Xingyang Commandery he had built over a dozen such mounds. Shang Xiufang came here to perform merely out of curiosity to see such a warrior—otherwise, given her status, she would not have come at all.

I had thought such a warrior must be eight chi tall with a waist ten spans around, but seeing him Shang Xiufang felt she wasn't mistaken—though he wasn't eight chi, such a height is probably only found in the two Vajra Bodhisattva statues at the temple's Deva King Gate; yet this man before her is likely about eight chi. Bai Lang's height now is roughly 1.9 meters, and I estimate he will stop growing here, at most adding another two or three centimeters, since his rapid growth has ended.

He lacked a ten-span waist, but he did have a tiger back and bear waist—Bai Lang's waist was not a wolf's waist, nor did he have sharply defined six-pack abs; he had a little flesh, the lines between his abs not very distinct, just hidden under his clothes. Yet Shang Xiufang saw his face was exactly as she imagined, truly the look of a warrior. He didn't need leopard head and ringed eyes, but his countenance could be called heroic, his eyebrows not sword-brows but drooping like a tiger's.

The best feature was that jet-black, exploding great beard; the title 'Beautiful Beard Lord' is no exaggeration. From these features Shang Xiufang discovered Bai Lang was not old—probably in his twenties. When Shang Xiufang entered, Bai Lang had already taken his seat, so she did not see him walking with light steps like a big cat. Bai Lang had broken through and then established himself; now he had his bearing well under control.

In such an occasion, flaunting one's tiger might would be like killing a lute to cook a crane—Bai Lang certainly wouldn't do that, so he followed everyone's example and together invited Master Shang to take her seat and play music. The zither's sound was like heavenly music, yet Bai Lang only felt like sleeping, 'Ali! Ali Baba! Ali Baba is a happy young man!' He could only shout inwardly to keep himself awake, lest he fall asleep and lose face before Wang Shichong and Master Shang.

Others, however, listened with relish, and the accompanying dancer Dong Shuni was also a beauty, merely throwing flirtatious glances at Bai Lang—but the White Tiger Star Lord paid no heed at all. 'This woman is too short; even with her front protrude and rear lift, it means nothing.' Bai Lang was not a lolicon, so he naturally felt nothing for such a child-faced, huge-breasted woman. Bai Lang drank alcohol and ate meat, simply waiting for Master Shang's performance to end.

After the piece ended, naturally one could not shout and clap loudly—that would be insult, not praise. Bai Lang, like Wang Shichong beside him and the other literati and refined scholars, merely swayed his head and hummed softly; but Bai Lang also did not want to be a plagiarist, so he skipped the poetic praise. After listening to Wang Shichong and company's ornate, allusive eulogies, it was enough. Since Shang Xiufang's piece had ended, she swayed gracefully over to sit beside Bai Lang—should a companion have such qualities? Besides, she was indeed curious.

Because, 'Did the White Right Supervisor just now not hear my music at all? Perhaps the tune is too crude to enter your lordship's ears?' the woman whispered, leaning close to Bai Lang's ear.