Chapter 79: Chicken Soup (Part 1)

"Is this a coincidence, or did they come specifically for us?" Looking out from the window of the watchtower tavern, a troop of riders had suddenly appeared in the rain-drenched market below, making Gongsun Xun somewhat tense. "Could it be that scoundrel Dong Zhuo suddenly changed his mind and sent men after us?"

"I don't know." Han Dang gripped his sword hilt and replied. "At any rate, no one tailed us on the road from the government office... Perhaps they're just wandering swordsmen? Bingzhou folk are fierce by custom, and with horse-breeding lands here, it's common for wandering swordsmen to have horses."

"It's also possible that Zhang Ze, the Bingcao of Yanmen, has betrayed us." Watching the group stop right below the watchtower, Gongsun Xun grew even more worried. "They have seven or eight men, while we are only two... In any case, caution first."

"That is precisely the principle." Han Dang spoke, but suddenly rose with his hand on his sword. "Young Master, I will go downstairs and take a look. If there truly is trouble, I will naturally call out a warning. When that happens, do not concern yourself with me — jump straight from the window, seize a horse, and flee to the government office."

Gongsun Xun opened his mouth to speak, but in the end said nothing, instead letting the other man go... After all, he also understood this was probably the best course. He himself was a Thousand-Dan Major; he did not even need to go to the government office — just by going directly to the city gate, he could summon reinforcements with his seal and cord.

And besides, who knew — perhaps they really were unrelated people!

Downstairs had been noisy and unsettled because of the arrival of the seven or eight riders, but after Han Dang went down, it suddenly fell completely silent, leaving only the sound of rain pattering outside the window... This did not seem like the reaction of unrelated people. So, after pausing a moment, Gongsun Xun could not help but sigh, and had already risen to brace himself against the window ledge.

However, Han Dang never made a sound, and after some low murmuring that was utterly impossible to make out clearly, movement suddenly came from the stairway — someone was coming up, but not many people.

"Young Master!" As soon as Han Dang came up, he hurriedly cupped his hands in explanation. "They are indeed a group of wandering swordsmen, but ones we happen to know!"

Gongsun Xun let out a long breath and smoothly released his grip on the window ledge, but could not help frowning... How could he have acquaintances among wandering swordsmen in Taiyuan?

However, when Han Dang stepped aside and revealed the two men behind him, Gongsun Xun could not help but laugh in spite of himself, and actually sat back down cross-legged with perfect composure:

"Cheng Lian, did you marry your sister-in-law?"

"To answer this Major," before Cheng Lian could reply, Wei Yue behind him squeezed forward a step, "the person you speak of is no longer his sister-in-law now — she is his wife!"

Cheng Lian also hurriedly cupped his hands and bowed: "Reporting to Major Gongsun, thanks to the kindness you showed that day, I have now married."

Gongsun Xun shook his head repeatedly: "That being the case, a married man like you — why not go find some work to do, instead of riding through the city in such weather with a band of shiftless wandering swordsmen?"

"Major, those words lack human sympathy!" Before Cheng Lian could explain, Wei Yue actually pressed forward yet another step, only to be blocked by Han Dang, who stood to the side with a dark face. But this fellow had a restless nature; though his body suffered a setback, his mouth did not stop. "Brothers who have grown up together since childhood, sharing life and death — you cannot just cast them aside once you marry. Besides, now that we have come to this Taiyuan, we countrymen from Wuyuan Commandery must naturally stick together. Otherwise, would we not be bullied by the Taiyuan locals?"

Gongsun Xun could not suppress a scornful laugh: "And then you drag a man with a family to go be wandering swordsmen together. For someone like you, that is one thing, but Cheng Lian must at least find a place to earn a living to support his sister-in-law, no?"

At this point, without waiting for a response, Gongsun Xun suddenly thought of something: "By the way, what of that scion of a great household you spoke of last time? Why not seek him out for a way forward?"

"To answer the Major." This time it was finally Cheng Lian's turn to speak. "Wei Yue and I are not mere empty-handed wandering swordsmen now, but are indeed following that brother of ours and getting by. This time, in fact, it is because his family has settled in Gengyang City, and so we have come to Jinyang to seek some official standing."

Gongsun Xun's face showed sudden understanding: "You mean that man from that night is now downstairs?"

"Exactly! Only... only that, due to the offense given that night, and without a word from the Major, he did not feel it proper to come up unbidden to apologize."

"No matter, invite him up to share a bowl of hot broth." Gongsun Xun said dismissively. "I am hardly such a petty person. Moreover, that divine archery that day truly had some of the Flying General's brilliance — I would also like to meet just what sort of man he is."

"I said so, didn't I?" Wei Yue could not wait to interject again from the stairway. "Ever since the folks from Yanmen sent word that the Major returned the livestock after crossing the river and properly settled them in Pingcheng, we all knew you were a magnanimous man..."

"Hurry up and call the man here!" Cheng Lian, having no other choice, immediately dragged his brother downstairs to summon the person.

"Young Master," Han Dang also took the chance to come over and whisper a reminder, "although the leader downstairs speaks with some respect, I saw that his build is quite imposing. We are alone and away from home — why take this extra risk?"

"It is precisely because we are alone and away from home that we must go along with things." Gongsun Xun said helplessly. "With so many men downstairs, and with a fool like Wei Yue and an expert like that man among them, what if they truly think that our ignoring him is an insult, and then draw blades? Better to feign cordiality for a while, and then quickly make our escape."

"That is true." Han Dang suddenly saw the light.

Just as the two were muttering to each other, the staircase over there creaked, and then Cheng Lian and Wei Yue, along with two other men soaked through and looking somewhat bedraggled, came upstairs one after another.

One of them, though his features could not necessarily be called imposing, and even appeared somewhat disheveled because the rain had knocked his hair bun and cap askew... yet, as the saying goes, a tiger's back and bear's waist, with ape-like arms and a tall frame — his imposing stature alone was probably enough to draw the eye.

Without much thought, this must be the man who, that night from afar, shot an arrow from the mountain ridge and knocked over the brazier.

In fact, as soon as this man came up, he took the initiative to bow deeply, clearly intending to apologize, and Gongsun Xun also hurried forward, making a show of raising the man up, preparing to go through the motions of false courtesy.

"Lu Bu of Jiuyuan, styled Fengxian, pays respects to the Major." The man bowed his head in apology. "For the matter that day, I must first thank the Major for his magnanimity... No matter what, that day Bu was, after all, somewhat offensive."

Hearing these words, Gongsun Xun could not help but draw a sharp breath. In an instant, he felt a chill inexplicably rise from his back, then spread all the way down his arms, even to the tips of his fingers... Yet, what even Gongsun Xun himself found astonishing was that, chill aside, he was actually able to maintain a calm expression and continue to raise this "thrice-surnamed house slave," this "Flying General of the Age," face to face.

"Fengxian's divine archery is like the Flying General come back to life. I scarcely have time to praise it — how could I possibly take offense?" Gongsun Xun put on a smiling face and hastily made a show of tugging the man toward the table over there in a gesture of deferential invitation. "Besides, that night, Fengxian had no intention of harming anyone from the start — how could I not know that?"

Seeing that this Thousand-Dan Major, who was about his own age, was so easy to talk to and even had words of esteem for him in his speech, Lu Bu was immediately overjoyed! However, after sitting down face to face with the man, he glanced at the black cord and bronze seal at the other's waist, and then saw his own bedraggled state from being drenched by the rain, and once again grew somewhat uneasy.

On the other side of the table, Gongsun Xun, who had been sizing the other man up, saw this and was momentarily taken aback, and then suddenly felt his heart relax... How could he not understand? He was actually benefiting from the cord and seal at his waist?!

Still... it did make a great deal of sense!

Consider this Lu Bu — even when he became a regional warlord in times of chaos, he still placed such great importance on official posts, wealth, and women. Now, with the Great Han's institutions still intact, how could he, a commoner who had just undergone his capping ceremony, not feel awe before a Thousand-Dan Major like himself?

It was rather laughable, really — this Fierce Tiger of the Age was actually afraid of this one black cord?

With this thought, Gongsun Xun's hands were no longer cold, his back no longer sore, and he certainly no longer thought about how to jump out the window and flee. Instead, he faintly recovered some of the poise he had shown when meeting Dong Zhuo at noon.

And so, one composed and at ease, the other uneasy and ill at ease, the two sat there asking each other about their ages and family circumstances, and Gongsun Xun also learned some general information about Lu Bu:

For instance, his grandfather's generation had even served as a Commandant of Wuyuan Commandery, while his mother's family were wealthy households that had lived in Jiuyuan for generations, so the Lu family held considerable local standing, and Lu Bu had thus gained a rough knowledge of letters;

Moreover, that middle-aged man surnamed Lu who had taken his leave of Gongsun Xun by the Yellow River that day was none other than Lu Bu's own father — it was just that at the time, Lu Bu's father, worried that this fellow was too young and inexperienced to handle negotiations, had not brought him forward;

In addition, the young man who had come up with them at this moment was called Wei Xu. His elder sister was already betrothed to Lu Bu, and his family could barely be considered to have some assets. This time, they had migrated together with the Lu family and settled in Gengyang City. As for Wei Yue, although he was of the same clan as this man, he was not of the main branch — merely a fallen household!

In short, this group of people was, in fact, centered around Lu Bu!

"Lu Bu, styled Fengxian, a man of Jiuyuan in Wuyuan Commandery. With his fierce martial prowess, he served in Bingzhou. At the end of the Xiping era, when the Xianbei incursions were most urgent, he followed his family in moving to Taiyuan, and on the road encountered the Grand Ancestor." — New Book of Yan, Volume 66, Biography 16

PS: Begging for first subscriptions!

(End of Chapter)