Chapter 21
“…Zhang Rang’s adopted son?”
Cao Cao showed exactly the reaction Xiahou Dun wanted. Usually wearing only an inscrutable smile with rarely a change in expression, this time he genuinely looked shocked, mouth hanging open stupidly. Satisfied with this reaction, Xiahou Dun chuckled and added.
“Yeah. For an old man in his sixties, that boy is far too young to be his adopted son.”
The boy was said to be ten years old, an age that made it more believable for him to be Zhang Rang’s grandson—or even great-grandson—rather than his son.
“There used to be one of Zhang Rang’s concubines called Geum Danyo, and apparently he was her adopted son. According to rumors, when Geum Danyo got older, Zhang Rang sent her away, but then something rekindled between them, and he called her back to his mansion and made her his legal wife. That’s how the boy became Zhang Rang’s adopted son overnight.”
Rumors were rampant that Zhang Rang was so fond of Geum Danyo that he would overlook anything her adopted son did.
The rumors Xiahou Dun had heard about the boy were appropriately vicious for someone known as Zhang Rang’s adopted son.
From dragging Zhang Rang’s concubines across the floor to wildly swinging his sword at women.
However, these numerous rumors left Xiahou Dun with doubts. Though it was only once, the powerful impression the boy had left on him remained etched in his mind.
The boy called Dongbaek wasn’t cruel as people claimed, nor was he selfish. He was a man of honor who would draw his sword to protect an unknown woman.
Xiahou Dun didn’t ignore rumors, but he didn’t blindly believe them either. Come to think of it, hadn’t he himself misjudged the boy simply because he was Zhang Rang’s adopted son? The infamy piled upon the name of this 10-year-old boy must also be riddled with people’s prejudices and misunderstandings. Given his connection to the notorious Zhang Rang alone, it was understandable that even non-existent bad rumors would stick.
“Come to think of it, the public’s harsh judgment of him is similar to yours.”
At Xiahou Dun’s words, Cao Cao fell into deep thought. However, from what he could see, Cao Cao didn’t seem as interested in the boy as he’d expected. No, rather, he seemed preoccupied with something else entirely, unable to focus on the main topic.
“Danyo… so that’s how it turned out.”
Cao Cao muttered quietly. As his words faded away in his throat, Xiahou Dun asked,
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Nothing. What was the boy’s name?”
“So Dongbaek. His pale hair and eye color suggest some foreign blood. He’s tall and handsome enough to captivate many women. If anything, I’d say he might be even more of a lady-killer than you, but certainly not less.”
Xiahou Dun snickered. Cao Cao’s attraction to women was well-known everywhere, having taken a concubine at thirteen. Wasn’t it even because of a woman that he’d come to be at odds with ‘that’ Zhang Rang of the Regular Palace Attendants? Though he hadn’t been present and didn’t know the exact circumstances, it was truly typical of Cao Cao.
Cao Cao smiled an indecipherable smile, seemingly finding the past events not entirely pleasant. That ambiguous smile reflecting on his face caused unease in those who saw it.
“So Dongbaek… So Dongbaek, you say?”
Cao Cao repeated the boy’s name several times.
Though he had told him, thinking he might be interested, Xiahou Dun felt a flash of unease at Cao Cao’s unusual behavior. Surely he wouldn’t take out his hatred for Zhang Rang on that child?
Xiahou Dun soon shook his head. Though Cao Cao was inscrutable, he wasn’t that base. Of course, things would be different if the boy sided with his adoptive father and blocked Cao Cao’s path. Cao Cao was merciless and cold to those who stood in his way.
Soon, Xiahou Dun gave up thinking about the relationship between Dongbaek and Cao Cao. He realized it was futile to rack his brains over it. That fellow Cao Cao always produced results that were different from what he had expected, no matter how hard he thought about it. This would be no different.
Even if he hadn’t told him, Cao Cao and So Dongbaek were destined to meet anyway. Such distinctive characters are bound to clash heavily when they meet. So he decided to leave the matter to them. Xiahou Dun made this decision and washed his hands of the matter.
-ˋˏ ༻❁✿❀༺ ˎˊ-
The year turned, and winter arrived. One or two camellia buds appeared on the camellia tree planted in the Geumhwa-dang, and soon, they bloomed fully enough to overcome the thick blanket of white snow.
The cold seeped between bones. Even strong men forgot their dignity and stamped their feet against the unusually cold winter.
No matter how well wrapped up they were or how much they stoked the fires, the wind carrying the chill would snake through the gaps, flicking its cold tongue. It was difficult for an already severely weakened, aged body to withstand the cold wind of the frontier. Cao Deng finally succumbed, unable to survive the winter.
News of Cao Deng’s death didn’t take long to travel from Yezhou to the distant Luoyang. The quickly transmitted news of his death went straight to Luoyang’s most powerful figure. Naturally, the first to hear of Cao Deng’s death notice in Luoyang was none other than Zhong Changshi Zhang Rang.
Zhang Rang was delighted. And he made no attempt to hide it. For several days, the atmosphere in Zhang Rang’s mansion was nothing short of festive.
Even with the news that the current emperor had sent a condolence gift to the funeral of Cao Teng, and despite the reports that members of the Qingliu faction, who opposed him, had gathered to express their condolences at Cao Teng’s funeral, he paid no attention.
His laughter echoed through his estate, reaching even the Geumhwa-dang. Dongbaek merely took note that Zhang Yang was pleased. Beyond that, Cao Teng’s death elicited no particular feelings in her. There seemed to be no immediate incidents arising from Cao Teng’s death, and Dongbaek had no reason to be particularly moved by it.
Instead, Dongbaek found herself better understanding Zhang Yang’s inferiority complex toward Cao Cao. After all, Dongbaek felt a similar vague sense of inferiority toward the Queen candidates as Zhang Rang did toward Cao Cao, who was decades younger than him.
Unlike Zhang Rang, what made Dongbaek uneasy wasn’t Queen candidate Cao Cao’s abilities, but the fact that he was about ten years older than Dongbaek.
The same was true for other Queen candidates. They would inevitably progress ahead of Dongbaek. They would build their forces before her, gain fame before her.
Dongbaek wasn’t afraid of them getting ahead per se. What Dongbaek feared was that before she could fully mature, the Queen would define her existence as an obstacle.
Even a young tiger is still a tiger, but compared to a fully grown tiger, it’s still just a young tiger. It would be easy for an advancing Queen to mercilessly crush Dongbaek’s small, yet-to-be-spread wings.
Before that could happen, she somehow needed to stand on equal ground with them. she couldn’t use her young age as an excuse.
That’s why Dongbaek pushed herself even harder. The crushing defeat in her previous confrontation with Xiahou Dun became the turning point that made the complacent Dongbaek discipline herself.
Perhaps thanks to Alice’s buff, her strength could overcome ordinary adult men, and with proper timing, she could cut through human bone with a sword. However, it wasn’t enough to directly compete with warriors in their prime in this world.
From Dongbaek’s perspective, if she spent just five more years honing her strength—never mind waiting until twenty—she felt he could reach Xiahou Dun’s level. While others might see it as arrogance and conceit, Dongbaek genuinely believed this.
But time and threats don’t wait or arrive according to one’s convenience. Since anything could happen at any time, she needed even greater skill to somehow face them as equals, despite not being fully grown.
‘Right. I’m not fighting them as ten-year-old, but as an adult. Regardless of my age.’
Dongbaek picked up her unsheathed sword and headed outside. Though Jao hurriedly followed behind, he didn’t particularly address her. Since that day, Dongbaek’s attitude toward swordsmanship has changed significantly.
Where before she had approached it half-jokingly with giggles, now she couldn’t be more serious. The incident with Xiahou Dun had clearly become Dongbaek’s turning point.
Crunch, crunch.
The snow crushed under Dongbaek’s feet. Following her footprints, the white snow disappeared, revealing the black soil beneath.
Dongbaek headed to the training ground. Her clothes fluttered in the winter wind. She was the only one who had come out to practice in this bitter-cold winter.
In the empty training ground, Dongbaek adjusted her grip on the sword. Though her practice wasn’t lacking, it was far from enough to catch up to them.
While there was a martial arts teacher assigned by Zhang Rang, he only taught basic sword forms, and these teachers didn’t possess any extraordinary sword techniques. The same was true for Cao Cao and others.
‘That’s fortunate in a way. Unlike in wuxia novels, the difference in skill doesn’t depend greatly on what martial arts you learn.’
Perhaps that would have been better for Dongbaek as a late starter. If she was Alice, she would have encountered qi more easily.
But here in the Three Kingdoms world, it ultimately came down to how extraordinary one’s innate strength was, how much one honed their martial arts, and how much experience they had. That’s why Dongbaek continued to hone himself tirelessly even after his martial arts teacher’s lessons ended.
Quietly, Dongbaek’s right hand rose. The tip of the sword moving slowly, gradually, was unwavering. When the sword reached shoulder height, Dongbaek stomped the ground. At first, the sword felt heavy with pressure. It was profound like following silence, and though slow, it conveyed just as much spirit.
The sword that had moved neatly and straight soon became flashy and irregular, marked by the intervention of the left sword.
Before anyone noticed, Dongbaek’s sword form had become a sword dance.
-ˋˏ ༻❁✿❀༺ ˎˊ-
Thank you for reading! ♡
