Chapter 539: Women

Bai Lang followed Lu Bu to Xuzhou, entered the banquet, and the eight generals on either side were moved aside; Bai Lang sat at the head seat as Lu Bu's honored guest. They drank to excess, and both sides only discussed martial arts. Soon Lu Bu asked, "Has Yuzhu ever been married?" Bai Lang glanced, shook his head, "Never." Then Lu Bu laughed and had his own wife and daughters come out to serve wine.

If it were LiuBei, he would already be bowing his head now, and GuanYu and ZhangFei might even flare up, feeling this was an insult to their elder brother. Bai Lang merely stroked his own tiger whiskers while watching the women approaching; one of them was Diao Chan. "Truly a flower‑like beauty," Bai Lang thought to himself, though his face showed nothing. The generals under Lu Bu displayed various indecencies, but when Bai Lang glanced, only Zhang Liao and Gao Shun behaved as usual.

Bai Lang saw another, a young woman, tall and with a rather heroic bearing, truly a beautiful female warrior. "Could this be the legendary Lu Lingqi? I guess that's the name, Lu Bu's daughter." In fact Bai Lang guessed wrong. "Ying‑niang, come forward for the greeting; you are also the renowned Bai Lang, White Jade Pillar of the martial world." Lu Bu gestured for the girl to step forward. "Lu Ying?" Bai Lang could only smile awkwardly, not knowing how to address the girl.

"Are you truly, as my father said, unmatched in battle across the world?" the girl asked curiously, her eyes shining with eager spirit, as if she wanted to pull Bai Lang to the training ground for a duel. Bai Lang gave a wry smile; Lu Bu ordered his daughter to step back. Bai Lang then said, "My respect for Lord Wen is only for his peerless bow and horse; as for other matters, we walk different paths and have no business together. Since we have already drunk, I shall take my leave now."

Without waiting for Lu Bu or anyone else to speak, Bai Lang rose at once, turned, and left. No one dared to block him. Lu Bu did not try to stop him either; his face turned sour as he clenched the bronze cup in his hand, yet he never got up to seize Bai Lang. The girl, furious, drew her bow and let an arrow fly; Bai Lang didn't even turn his head, reached out, and caught the arrow. "Sure enough, the daughter of Lord Wen—her strong bow is even better than a man's."

Bai Lang vaulted onto his horse, took the long spear handed to him by a bodyguard, and rode off with his men.

"Is Lu Bu this scoundrel planning to give his daughter to me? Fine, when he meets his downfall I'll fulfill that wish for him. Hahaha." Bai Lang had no intention of calling Lu Bu his father‑in‑law; the two did differ in age, and Bai Lang was only twenty‑five or twenty‑six, not yet thirty, in this world. Bai Lang rode his cavalry away. Lu Bu had shown a friendly side, so Bai Lang decided not to fight him to the death in his remaining time.

Lu Bu's age was no small matter; from Bai Lang's view, the world's martial qi and techniques did not favor longevity, so Lu Bu was already gradually descending. Bai Lang could still become a little stronger, until in his era no one could match him.

Bai Lang returned to Qiao County, and the most infuriated was Yuan Shu, who wanted to raise a massive army to kill Bai Lang, though his ministers urged him to desist. Bai Lang had only a hundred men; if Yuan Shu raised ten thousand to attack, Bai Lang would simply flee. Whether the great army could locate Bai Lang was uncertain; if the enraged, battle‑dominant general went to CaoCao to request reinforcements to strike, Yuan Shu truly could not be sure he could withstand Bai Lang's assault with CaoCao's tiger‑leopard cavalry. It seemed CaoCao would gladly lend troops to him.

Meanwhile, the clash between Lu Bu and LiuBei flared again; ZhangFei seized half of the three hundred warhorses that Lu Bu had ordered purchased. Lu Bu, enraged, personally led his army to charge Xiaopei, while ZhangFei had by then grown strong enough to fight Lu Bu without defeat, though he was still slightly inferior and was ordered to withdraw by Xuande with a golden signal. Lu Bu's forces surrounded Xiaopei, and Xuande, having no choice, had to consider defecting to CaoCao.

When Bai Lang heard the news, Liu Xuande had already defected to CaoCao.

"I suppose Lord Cao must be on good terms with GuanYu, while ZhangFei is uncertain. This fellow tends to cause trouble," Bai Lang said. At that moment a letter arrived. When Bai Lang read it, he saw it was from CaoCao inviting his party, stating that Liu Biao and Zhang Xiu were planning to hijack a carriage, so CaoCao was preparing to lead troops to punish them. Bai Lang laughed heartily, "If it's a hijacking, I'll go take a look." He again led a hundred riders into battle, directly joining CaoCao's army.

When Bai Lang arrived, all the generals in Cao's camp were overjoyed. CaoCao immediately appointed Bai Lang as the vanguard, leading his own unit and five hundred light cavalry forward, with Xiahou Dun following as the second wave. Bai Lang pressed straight to the foot of Wan City; Zhang Xiu, seeing Bai Lang arrive first, shut the gates and stayed inside. Jia Xu advised Zhang Xiu: "Cao's forces are massive and have Bai Lang's aid; we cannot confront them. Better to rally the troops and surrender." Zhang Xiu agreed, sending Jia Xu to negotiate with Cao's camp. Cao saw Jia Xu's fluent responses, greatly favored him, and appointed him as a strategist. Jia Xu said, "I once served Li Jue and incurred the world's wrath; now I serve Zhang Xiu, whose words I obey, and I cannot abandon him." He then resigned. The next day he brought Zhang Xiu to see Cao, who treated him lavishly. He led troops into Wan City to encamp; the remaining forces camped outside the city, with the fortifications linked over ten miles. After staying several days, Zhang Xiu held daily banquets for Cao.

During the banquet Bai Lang was also present. One day Cao, drunk, retired to his quarters and privately asked his attendants, "Are there any courtesans in this city?" Bai Lang happened to be passing outside CaoCao's chambers and laughed at the remark. Cao Anmin led fifty squads of soldiers to look for Zhang Ji's wife, but Bai Lang got there first. "I've heard Zhang Ji's wife is quite attractive; let me have a look." Bai Lang entered the door; the servants dared not block him, and Bai Lang was delighted at the sight.

He asked her surname; the woman replied, "I am Zhou, wife of Zhang Ji." Bai Lang said, "Madam, do you recognize me?" Zhou answered, "I have long heard of the General's fame; tonight I am fortunate to pay my respects." Bai Lang laughed heartily, noting that the woman's age was comparable to his own, and asked, "Would you be willing to go with me?" Zhou bowed in thanks. Bai Lang mounted his green pheasant horse and rode her out of the city back to his own camp. Cao Anmin was left empty‑handed...

Bai Lang, of course, shared a tent with Zhou, enjoying themselves merrily. The next day CaoCao saw Bai Lang and wore a disgruntled expression, "Yuzhu has done a great deed, how delightful." Bai Lang replied with a smile, "Thanks to Mengde for the gift of a lady." Yet the city's beauties were not limited to Zhou; she was probably the most beautiful among them. In any case, CaoCao had gathered three, four, five, six women in one go, spending his days inside the outer camp playing.

Zhang Xiu's family secretly reported to Zhang Xiu, and Zhang Xiu was also enraged: "You thief Bai Lang, how dare you insult me!" He sought Jia Xu's counsel, but Jia Xu's plan was merely to go to CaoCao to demand justice and, incidentally, move his own troops out. Before Zhang Xiu could act, Bai Lang rode ahead with a hundred riders and stormed Zhang Xiu's camp. Caught off guard, Zhang Xiu was driven straight into the melee; a spear thrust at the spear tip instantly killed him.

CaoCao was shocked and, barefoot, rushed out, shouting, "How did it come to this! How did it come to this!" He saw that Bai Lang had already broken into Zhang Xiu's forces; with Zhang Xiu dead, the whole army collapsed. Bai Lang shouted that Zhang Xiu had rebelled and was already slain by him; those who surrendered were spared. Thus Zhang Xiu's troops poured in surrender to the arriving Cao officers, while Jia Xu had already stepped forward to greet Cao… "Zhang Xiu indeed intended to rebel; the matter is urgent. Mengde, do not blame." Bai Lang opened his eyes and spoke falsehoods, knowing that CaoCao would secretly applaud the killing of Zhang Xiu.