Chapter 546: Departure

Lu Ying's thoughts were still uncertain, but Yan was willing. Lu Ying's attitude toward Bai Lang was also fairly calm; after all, Bai Lang killed Lu Bu in a fair duel where both sides gave their all, and Lu Bu lost only because he was indulged in wine and women. In the end Lu Ying also consented; Cao Ang, unlike his father, was very serious and after running for several days finally obtained Lu Ying's permission.

Bai Lang is still wondering where Red Hare has gone; the horse now belongs to CaoCao. Bai Lang thinks the horse will eventually become a monster, so he wants to observe it up close. Red Hare seems a bit fickle; despite appearing to be in sync with Lu Bu, and Bai Lang even heard its wail when Lu Bu died, now it has nothing to do. The horse is quite lively in the stable, fed fine horse feed, beans and fresh eggs; keeping a horse is indeed an expensive job.

When Bai Lang approached, he carefully sensed Red Hare's spiritual nature: "Indeed it far surpasses ordinary horses; watch the tremor of its muscles and the flow of its breath as it moves. I doubt most infantry could defeat this horse. This creature could possibly live for a hundred years, far longer than the typical thirty‑five‑year lifespan of a normal horse." If it turns out to be a horse monster, this world may indeed have such "monsters," and Bai Lang is certain of that.

His own green pheasant horse could only reach Red Hare's "beast‑spirit" level with a breakthrough in spirituality; otherwise it would never match it. Bai Lang had seen Red Hare, and the horse never charged to kick in revenge for Lord Wen; it simply ignored Bai Lang and kept eating beans and eggs. "A fickle, ungrateful creature, but since you're just a horse, I'll let it pass." Bai Lang left; he had no intention of taking Red Hare, though he could have obtained it if he asked, but that would have tied him to CaoCao's side.

CaoCao rode Red Hare, but the horse was rather unruly; if not for Dian Wei and the others, CaoCao would have fallen off. Yet Red Hare was too "handsome"; the thousand‑mile horse looked so good that CaoCao simply couldn't bring himself to beat it, so he went to ride Diao Chan instead… Bai Lang didn't believe that the middle‑aged old rogue hadn't seen Diao Chan; after all, Diao Chan was the singing lady at the former Minister of Works Wang Yun's residence, and CaoCao had visited Wang Yun's house more than once back then, so he had probably seen her.

In any case Bai Lang was sending Lu Ying off to marriage, and of course Yan also moved in with his daughter to live with her husband; Bai Lang's injuries had healed, so he was ready to leave. But where to go this time? In the vast world, the north is now only CaoCao and Yuan Shao; Yuan Shu's skeletal remains in his tomb have long perished, while Jingzhou is still reachable, and seeing the so‑called Liu Biao would be an interesting thing, wouldn't it?

Bai Lang bade farewell to CaoCao, but CaoCao grabbed his hand and wouldn't let him leave. Of course, a fierce general like him had already come and gone several times; he couldn't just let him wander outside without pulling him into his own camp, could he? "Yuzhu, your talk of restoring the Han court is surely false!" CaoCao said. "What do you mean?" Bai Lang replied. "Your Majesty is in Xuchang, and you want to run away—doesn't that make your talk of restoring the Han a lie?"

"Huh, that does make sense! So a certain family's wealth is like floating clouds to me, what was that Canglang thing again?" Bai Lang muttered uncultured words, and CaoCao's face turned disdainful. "Diao…." Bai Lang said, "Yuzhu, don't overthink this." CaoCao replied firmly. Both Bai Lang and CaoCao laughed; Bai Lang clasped his fist and said, "Then I'll be off." With that, he rode off with a hundred riders. Joining CaoCao… impossible.

Bai Lang knew exactly what kind of person CaoCao was; politely he could be called a heroic lord, crudely a treacherous hero, but truly he was a "master of daring guesses." CaoCao was ruthless, yet he also had a genuine temperament; he could truly weep for someone while never letting that stop him from exterminating that person's entire clan. Moreover, he paid little heed to the lives of ordinary people, and Bai Lang's views on this were fundamentally different, making them unable to cooperate.

Bai Lang led a hundred riders and the Zou family in the carriage along with her maid southward, heading straight for Jiangling in the Southern Commandery. The carriage also carried a fair amount of silver; Bai Lang planned to use the money to buy a residence, and perhaps some farmland. Even if his worst plan ran out of money, he would probably have to join LiuBei—or rather, LiuBei might soon be driven to Jingzhou to become its governor. As for how LiuBei escaped from CaoCao, Bai Lang vaguely recalled something called the Yidai Edict…

It seemed that a world‑renowned fierce general like Bai Lang, who had even single‑handedly slain Lord Wen and become the top warrior under heaven, was as conspicuous as a lantern in the night wherever he went. As he traveled south, before reaching Jiangling he already saw a group of people marching toward him. "Who are these people?" Bai Lang observed a crowd ahead dressed in official robes, followed by armored cavalry and some infantry, numbering at least a thousand.

Bai Lang, a peerless fierce general, would never fear those thousand men even with only a hundred riders. He signaled the cavalry to guard the carriage, while he alone rode his green pheasant horse, a long spear held horizontally before the saddle, slowly advancing toward the crowd. As he approached, several horsemen galloped forward unarmed; Bai Lang halted his warhorse and called out, "Is this Left General Bai Lang White Jade Pillar? Behind you is the Governor of Jingzhou, Liu Jingsheng…" Indeed, Bai Lang had already been appointed Left General by CaoCao.

Bai Lang dismounted, signaling the cavalry behind him to take his long spear, while he walked toward the opposite side. "Liu Biao, Liu Jingsheng?" Bai Lang said, and the people before him also dismounted one after another. An elder stepped forward and said, "I have long admired the General…" The others were actually local gentry of Jingzhou. They followed Liu Biao, bowed in turn, and after Bai Lang returned each bow, he plainly stated his desire to reside outside Jiangling for a while.

"I wish to live in seclusion outside Jiangling City…" Bai Lang declined Liu Biao's invitation. His rank was not much lower than Liu Biao's, and if he had joined Liu Biao, only Liu Biao himself would be pleased; none of the Jingzhou gentry would be happy. His arrival in Jiangling was already a big trouble, and the gentry hoped to give him some money to send him elsewhere, but if he claimed he would not take office, that could be reluctantly accepted. Up to now, aside from having truly served under Liu Dai, Bai Lang had not pledged allegiance to any other warlord, so let's count on his word being kept.

Liu Biao's recruitment seemed merely a show of force; Bai Lang did not sense any sincerity. "It's only because a certain family bears the world's reputation that Liu Jingsheng is merely making a gesture." Bai Lang understood that, but gestures can be done well or poorly. The land Liu Jingsheng allocated to Bai Lang was not insignificant, and the money and house sent were also quite generous. Providing Bai Lang with appropriate treatment, the Governor of Jingzhou did that well.

Bai Lang was pleased with this; although his injuries had healed, he worried about possible hidden wounds, so he still needed time to circulate his true Qi throughout his body, slowly probing his own condition.