After that night, everything seemed unchanged.
As though by unspoken agreement, they “forgot” the strange intimacy of that night. Life drifted naturally back to its quiet rhythm.
Until one night, not long after, Lü Bu said to Xiao Meng, “Xiao Meng, tomorrow morning there’s a market fair in Shuangyu Town — it’ll be quite lively. Let’s take a walk into town together.”
“Gladly — I’ve been going stir-crazy these past few days!” Xiao Meng replied with a smile.
***
Just before dawn. Several dozen black-clad, masked figures silently surrounded the farmhouse.
The circle drew slowly tighter. At a gesture from their leader, everyone surged forward at once and rushed inside.
But the house was completely empty — nothing left behind but a lingering, faint fragrance.
Half a li from the farmhouse, on a small path. Xu Zhu, a senior general of Cao Cao’s army, led a thousand of Cao’s troops, divided into several units, lying in ambush along a few mountain paths. The one they were waiting for was, of course, Lü Bu and Xiao Meng.
Mainly, they were waiting for Lü Bu.
In the battle of Puyang, Lü Bu had held the pass alone — even with Cao Cao’s generals attacking from all sides, he had still overpowered them all. Not a single one of Cao Cao’s commanders could do anything against him. Had LiaoYuan Fire not arrived in time, under Sima Yi’s orders, to rescue Cao Cao, Lü Bu today — even if he could not have held the Son of Heaven hostage to command the other lords — would surely still have been a dominant power in his own right.
And Xu Zhu, massive in build, had been lifted and hurled away by Lü Bu the moment the battle began that day.
This encirclement and assassination mission had been Xu Zhu’s own initiative — he had sworn to avenge the humiliation of that single throw. He was especially confident, because this operation had been personally planned and arranged by Jia Xu.
Though he was Lü Bu’s defeated foe, Lü Bu himself was Jia Xu’s defeated foe.
***
Several days earlier — Xu Chang. The Chancellor’s Residence.
In a garden adorned with rare flowers and curious stones, a small bridge arching over a trickling stream, three men strolled among the blossoms — Cao Cao and his two advisors, Xun Yu and Jia Xu.
The atmosphere was relaxed; however, the topic was quite serious.
Jia Xu raised the matter: he had recently learned of Lü Bu’s whereabouts, and proposed that they move swiftly to capture and kill him.
“Oh?” Cao Cao said with an air of casual indifference, turning to Xun Yu. “What do you think?”
Xun Yu, whose face was as fine as jade, was, as always in the presence of his superior, the picture of respectful composure.
“A month ago, I received word of Lü Bu’s whereabouts and immediately dispatched men to place him under close surveillance. From what has been observed, Lü Bu and that assassin are simply living in seclusion in the outskirts of Yewang — no unusual movements. I believe we can afford to watch and wait a little longer.”
“My dear Xun, that is quite literally releasing the tiger back to the mountains.” Jia Xu delivered the line with measured, unhurried calm.
Xun Yu’s elegant brows lifted slightly — then he smiled at once, warm as spring in bloom. He did not respond to Jia Xu, but turned instead to Cao Cao.
“In my view, releasing the tiger back to the mountains is preferable to driving it into a corner.”
Cao Cao, who had been admiring the flowers, turned around and looked at Xun Yu, waiting for him to elaborate.
Xun Yu said, “Even at the height of his prestige, Lü Bu could only rely on Wang Yun at court. After his flight from Chang’an, Wang Yun was already dead. Even when he held Xuzhou, he could not stir up any great waves. Now he has not a single soldier to his name, and his reputation is thoroughly blackened — no faction would dare take him in. The Lü Bu of today is nothing more than a common man.”
“My dear Xun, you truly have such a benevolent heart.” Jia Xu tossed out another remark, cool and faintly sinister.
Xun Yu glanced at Jia Xu unexpectedly and smiled at him — a smile entirely without warmth. Then he turned back to Cao Cao.
“My lord, what I mean is this: if we leave him a way to live, he is at most just a common man. But if we drive him to the edge of ruin, he becomes a savage beast. And we all know just how ‘inhuman’ Lü Bu is capable of being. If he is content to stay quietly in the mountains, why should we go to the trouble of driving him back into the halls of power?”
Xun Yu’s reasoning was not without merit, and Cao Cao fell into serious thought at once.
After a long pause, Cao Cao mused aloud, “…That’s fair. And do you know — ever since that young Sima died, I haven’t had that nightmare again. I suppose I should thank him for it!”
What Cao Cao referred to was the nightmare of three horses sharing a single trough — which showed that he was not entirely without awareness of Lü Bu’s movements. Yet the risks Xun Yu had laid out were ones he understood as well — in the battle of Puyang, Cao Cao had witnessed firsthand the power of the God of War.
To slay a “god” — did he have the confidence? And at what cost?
Xun Yu was pleased to see his lord’s thoughts inclining toward his own position, and was just about to offer a resounding “My lord is wise” — when Jia Xu got there first.
“Chancellor, Lü Bu is a treacherous ingrate — the other lords will naturally keep their distance from him. But to one particular person, he still holds considerable value.”
Cao Cao raised an eyebrow and understood Jia Xu’s meaning in an instant. “His Majesty?”
“To speak plainly — Dong Zhuo brutalized the court officials and threw the imperial order into chaos. In slaying Dong Zhuo, Lü Bu rendered a genuine service to the Han dynasty. And indeed, was he not enfeoffed by His Majesty as the Marquis of Wen for it?”
Jia Xu continued at an unhurried pace, “Furthermore, when Lü Bu was still in Chang’an, it was no secret that His Majesty got along remarkably well with him. If Lü Bu does not die, I fear that one day His Majesty may truly seek him out — and that would be an unwanted complication.”
At this, Xun Yu’s expression darkened, though he had no intention of refuting Jia Xu’s words.
“…”
“Wen Ruo! When it comes to long-range foresight, you still have much to learn from Wen He!”
Cao Cao was silent for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter and addressed Xun Yu as such.
Xun Yu smiled graciously and acknowledged his error before Cao Cao, “My lord’s reprimand is well-placed. I was indeed not thorough enough in my thinking this time.”
He then turned to Jia Xu with a cupped-fist salute: “Wen He truly lives up to the name of ‘Poison Advisor’ — Wen Ruo stands corrected!”
Though Cao Cao was a ruthless and cunning overlord, he had a genuine fondness for Xun Yu’s kind of upright, virtuous character. Though Xun Yu was his subordinate, Cao Cao regarded him almost as a nephew — and his words carried no real reproach whatsoever.
Yet Xun Yu was inwardly quite unsettled. He also resented the fact that Jia Xu’s sole motivation for wanting Lü Bu dead was to avenge Dong Zhuo, rather than placing their lord’s welfare as the foremost consideration.
Even so, Cao Cao fixed his gaze on Jia Xu and asked with full seriousness, “Wen He — are you truly confident?”
“If Lü Bu does not die within one month, I will not keep my own head.” Jia Xu cupped his fists and made his pledge to Cao Cao.
Cao Cao’s laughter grew all the more delighted. “Excellent! Wen He was the first man to hand Lü Bu a crushing defeat! If you bring your full effort to bear, what is there to fear from Lü Bu!”
And so the plan to kill Lü Bu was set.
End of Chapter 15
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Chapter 15 of Burning Dream Records, “Releasing the Tiger Back to the Mountains,” is an original work written by Jing Xixian (Vampire L). All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced, reprinted, adapted, redistributed, translated, or used for commercial purposes in any form without the author’s prior written authorization.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYtBqLzi1vo
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