The Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Lu Bu is good at being filial - Chapter 62



＜ The Three Heroes of Lü Bu (3) ＞

In this era.

No, regardless of the era, there are always those who speak carelessly towards others.

That Zhang Fei is one of them.

Though his bravery seems to rival or even surpass Guan Yu’s, he cannot be anything but a brash young man.

“How ridiculous.”

The allied lords have climbed up the castle walls, but first, I need to deal with that weapon from the watchtower over there.

“Why do you call me a parricide?”

“Ha! Look at how you react to the word ‘parricide’! It seems you’re ashamed to be called a parricide after all!”

Zhang Fei babbles on.

“With a face like a bandit, your words are no different from a beast. Explain this to me. Why am I a parricide?”

“You served Dong Zhuo!”

“Indeed.”

As a subordinate.

“And now you serve Dong Zhuo as well! Did you not even behead the head of the Zheng family yourself?”

“That is entirely untrue.”

It’s absurd.

“Are you perhaps someone who has lived under a different sky?”

“What?”

“I serve His Majesty the Emperor, while the Zheng family was a traitor. I have never served either the Zheng family or Dong Zhuo as a father; what nonsense are you spouting?”

“Ha! It is a fact known throughout the world!”

Ah.

Is that so.

“You fool.”

“What, what?!”

“Seeing how you react immediately to being called a fool, it seems you are aware of your own foolishness and feel ashamed.”

“You, you rotten b*stard!”

Zhang Fei glares at me with a face twisted like a demon, aiming his weapon at me.

“Do you want to die? How dare you look down on me, the lover of the world!”

“Are you even a fool who doesn’t know the name of this country?”

“What, what?!”

“This country is not called Yan, yet why do you refer to it as the lover of Yan?”

“Huh, huh!!”

Zhang Fei points his weapon at me as if he can’t believe it.

“To be called the lover of Yan means…!”

“During the Warring States period, the capital of the Yan state was said to be Yuzhou.”

I didn’t want to know about the history of this land, but my master had forcibly drilled it into my head, reciting it like a sutra ten times over.

“The leather armor you are wearing is similar to that of General Gong Sun Chan’s White Horse Brigade, and judging by the color of the horse you rode in on, it must be a Yuzhou horse. You are certainly from Yuzhou.”

“That’s right! You country bumpkin from Bingzhou!”

“But why do you refer to yourself as a person from Yuzhou instead of a person from Yan?”

It’s not like someone from Gyeongju would call themselves a person from Silla.

“Are you outright denying that you are a person of this country? Oh, you are a traitor!”

“You, you foolish brat! That’s not what I meant!”

“Your words are similar to this, so I merely responded at your level.”

“What?”

“I am Lü Bu. I am neither a legitimate son nor a child of any other person.”

I reached my hand toward the sky.

“I have never carelessly changed my father, so how can you call me an unfilial son?”

“Nonsense!”

Zhang Fei charged at me, swinging his snake spear, which split at the end like a serpent’s tongue, while kicking the horse’s flank.

“The whole world knows! You are the unfilial son who has changed fathers three times!”

Boom!

The spear aimed to pierce my forehead.

I quickly swung my halberd, blocking the spear with my weapon and stopping Zhang Fei’s initial attack.

“Changed fathers three times?”

“Yes! Eventually, you will abandon Dong Zhuo and seek out another father!”

Zhang Fei began to stab wildly with his spear.

“Lü Bu, Zheng Po, Dong Po! It doesn’t matter who comes out! I will take on all three of you, old man!”

I must respond to the attack, but I cannot focus solely on weapons in this fight with this man.

“You b*stard with three fathers! Come at me!”

That rotten guy is not just swinging his weapon; he is also trying to stab me with his words.

He is different from Guan Yu.

Guan Yu, who handled martial arts and skills with steadfastness, is clearly different from this Zhang Fei.

“There is a limit to foolishness!”

Does he really believe the words of the traitor Yuan Shao?

Do you really believe the malicious rumors about Yeopoh that have spread throughout the world?

Is your brain that simple?

I thought so, but no.

Ka-ang!

Just by twisting and stabbing with the samoh, I can tell.

“You.”

As the blade of the samoh ripples like waves, trying to suppress with brute strength while loosening up to transition to the next move, it’s clear.

“You’re like a snake.”

This guy named Zhang Fei.

“A cunning one.”

He knows but speaks as he pleases.

“If you were truly foolish, you wouldn’t fight like this.”

Feigning a stab at the waist.

Pretending to swing widely, he suddenly grips tightly with his hand and thrusts forward.

Stabbing wildly like rain pouring down is all a feint.

“There are two ways to anger a person. One is to insult someone recklessly like you do, provoking their rage.”

Amidst the dizzying stabs, I found a single real thrust among the numerous feints and swung Huageuk.

“The other one is.”

Ka-ang!

“Tch…!”

“Just as I thought.”

Blocking the attack aimed at my thigh with Huageuk, I swung it fiercely at Zhang Fei.

“Ugh!”

Zhang Fei tilted his head back and hurriedly retreated.

For a moment, I thought he might fall off his horse, but Zhang Fei evaded the attack, leaning back as if lying on the horse.

“Another one, what!!”

“You don’t need to know.”

“What?!”

Not telling him.

That itself is the second method.

“Hey…! Ah ha, right! You little…!”

Zhang Fei pointed at me, chuckling.

“They say you’re a general, but your head-spinning skills are quite impressive!”

“Is it just me?”

You figured this out right away?

It’s not easy to be cunning.

“People tend to judge by appearances and actions. You’ve dressed like a bandit, but your weapons and skills are all deliberately crafted to look that way.”

To make your opponent think, ‘This guy is just a stupid brute trying to fight with sheer strength.’

“A crafty one. A cunning dragon disguised as a wild boar. Not foolish, but pretending to be foolish to provoke the opponent.”

“Hah, this is something.”

Zhang Fei let out a hollow laugh.

“Got me, huh?”

Twisting his lips, he let his sword hang low and spoke slowly.

“It took my brother Guan Yu several days to figure me out. Is this the first time since Brother Xian De that someone has grasped me so quickly?”

Xian De.

He must be referring to Liu Bei.

“People, you know, should live as they appear. I was born a bit smarter, but the world sees me as a foolish bear.”

“…….”

“I wonder how our beautiful general, who looks like a nobleman, feels about that!”

Swish!

He gripped his sword with both hands, aiming for my shoulder.

“Just look at that pretty face! People have no idea! That this b*stard has replaced three fathers with a cold, indifferent face!”

“That’s useless. No more insults will work.”

“Useless, you say?! Heh heh, swinging a weapon is much rougher than fighting with Brother Yun Zhang?!”

I know.

This is what they call ‘the art of deception.’

A strategy to make me angry and disrupt my composure, then strike unexpectedly.

But to think someone similar to me—perhaps even slightly stronger if we only consider raw power—would use it?

“Do you want to win that badly?”

“Want to win, you ask? Of course!”

The scythe that was flung away strikes my heart once more.

“I will defeat you and make the name of this weapon known throughout the world!”

I twisted my body to evade the scythe and reached out my hand sideways towards the weapon.

“Then.”

Ku-woong!

“Ku-ugh?!”

“Don’t think of fighting with your mouth; first, think of fighting seriously like your brother.”

I clenched my fist and struck the weapon’s solar plexus.

The impact was slightly reduced due to the leather armor, but the moment my hand made contact, I twisted it slightly to drive the shock deeper.

“Ku, ku-hack, kuhuh….”

The weapon gritted its teeth and stepped back.

Coughing dryly, I spat on the ground and gripped the scythe tightly once more.

“How cowardly to throw punches!”

“Cowardly? What cowardice is there in insulting someone else’s parents to win?”

“Did I say anything wrong, you unfilial child!”

“What?”

“Then you are unfilial!”

The weapon twisted its lips and aimed the scythe at me.

“At your age, not marrying and having children means your father has not even seen his grandchildren; what else could that be but unfilial!”

“…….”

“Ha…!”

The weapon grinned.

“Yes! Before being a parricide, you are an unfilial child!”

It raised its voice as if more excited than when the attack succeeded in piercing the scythe.

“You must first show filial piety before dedicating yourself, you parricidal brat!”

“…Hahaha!!”

I laughed.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“What, what is it? Have you finally lost your mind?”

“No. There’s no way I could have lost my mind.”

Zhang Fei.

I couldn’t help but smile, eagerly anticipating how his face would contort.

“Filial piety. Yes. This Lü Bu is best at filial piety.”

“Betraying your father while replacing him with another?”

“How dare—!!”

He shouts.

The horse that Zhang Fei rides takes two steps back, and Zhang Fei furrows his brows.

“This Lü Bu has never once felt ashamed of my father since the day I was born!”

He asserts.

“You, Zhang Fei. None of your words are correct, but there is one thing that is true.”

I raised one hand high into the sky, extending three fingers.

“My first father. My parent who gave birth to me in this land.”

“Yes! Your biological father—”

“When I was ten, you took up a sickle to protect me and my mother from thieves. And then you passed away.”

“Uh—”

Zhang Fei’s mouth opens, then freezes.

“My second father, who saved me and raised me. My master.”

“…….”

“He taught me how to live in this world until I became an official, taking in a lonely orphan like me, feeding me and giving me shelter.”

“…….”

Zhang Fei says nothing.

“And the third.”

I pointed to the sky with my last remaining finger.

“My father in heaven.”

My father from before my reincarnation.

“Having given birth to me, raised me, and always watching over me from above, I have lived without a shred of shame before my fathers.”

No matter what the world says.

“I have never brought disgrace upon them.”

I did not act in a way that would bring shame to my parents.

“Listen.”

I declare.

“It is not shameful that I have three fathers.”

For me, having multiple fathers is a source of pride.

“Living on without dying is my filial duty to the biological father who gave me life.”

The father who gave me life told me to survive.

“Making the right choices and living wisely is my filial duty to the teacher who raised me.”

The father who raised me told me to live according to the standards of the life I aspire to.

“Living a life that is not shameful in front of the father who is watching from over there is the filial duty of Yeobongseon.”

One day, when I die and meet my father again.

I will have lived in this era of the Three Kingdoms as a warrior named Lu Bu, helping those around me as far as my strength allows, without harming others.

I will have lived a life that does not bring shame to you, following the trajectory of the life you lived.

“Therefore.”

For my father.

“I cannot forgive you for wanting to place a garden or something next to such a father.”

I lay down my identity as Yeobongseon.

Zhang Fei.

His martial prowess is remarkable, but just as one does not include the leader of a faction in the martial arts alliance.

“I will kill you.”

A lethal strike.

I will not wield my weapon to simply knock you down; I will wield it to kill.

* * *

[At that moment, in Luoyang. The residence of the minister Wang Yun, in a separate chamber.]

“…What is happening?”

In a room filled with bamboo slips and silk, Chao Xian fidgeted with her lips, continuously pacing around the room.

“Is Luoyang burning?”

If someone had heard that, they would have immediately responded, “What do you mean by that?”

Or—”Could it be that the rebels have entered Luoyang and are burning it down?” they would have exclaimed.

It would be bewildering to hear such a story without knowing the circumstances, but Chao Xian is a woman who reads the heavens.

“Um, um.”

Chao Xian cleared her throat and composed herself.

“The rise and fall of the Han has come to an end, and the streets of Luoyang are in turmoil; Luoyang will burn, and Chang’an will rise as the new capital.”

Though she spoke in a voice that seemed to recite the secrets of heaven, Chosun did not spit blood.

“……Dong Zhuo, ugh.”

But just as she was about to mention someone’s name, Chosun’s expression twisted in pain.

“…….”

Thus, Chosun became even more confused.

“The flow of heaven has not changed, but the affairs of the human world are all determined by human actions.”

Chosun picked up a brush and wrote on the silk in the center.

“Allied forces, breach of the fortress. Warrior Hua Yong. …On the brink of death.”

The information coming into the court was being relayed to Wang Yun every night, moment by moment.

“Yue Fei, retreated after fighting Guan Yu.”

Even the valiant general Yue Fei had retreated after fighting against someone of a lower rank than the allied forces’ archer, Xian Ling.

“…Knowing nothing.”

Chosun gritted her teeth.

Then she grasped a handful of black silk that occupied about one-fifth of the green silk.

“The opponent is Guan Yu; it’s possible for Yue Fei to retreat.”

Guan Yu.

The one who would later be called ‘God of War.’

Though he has not yet made a name for himself and is merely an archer, he will gradually make his name known throughout the world from now on.

“Five Passes and Six Cuts, An Liang and Wen Chou, Huayang Road, and Bansheng. …At the very least, all of them will be after Yue Fei’s death.”

Chosun turned her gaze toward the increasing number of black silks.

“If things flow as they should, in the end, the world will be divided into three and then reunited; that is the flow of heaven.”

The world divided into three.

Divide to unite, unite to divide.

In the world divided into those three, black does not exist.

“…If Yue Fei is my only hope.”

Chosun took out a piece of black silk and covered the green silk with it.

“If Yue Fei is the person as rumored, if he is the very embodiment of righteous heroism.”

Swoosh.

Chosun collapsed onto the black silk as if to fall over it.

“…After all, if I have to take responsibility, then if I help him based on what’s here and completely change him.”

Chosun began to sparkle her eyes and moved the green silk around.

“Samyeongjeon Yeoppo.”

Three pieces of green silk forming a triangle against the black silk.

“…It is indeed a Horogwan.”

Each had the characters ‘Yu’, ‘Gwan’, and ‘Jang’ engraved on them.

“What if Yeoppo returns alive and manages to fend off the coalition forces, preventing Luoyang from burning?”

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Chosun carefully posed the question, looking up at the sky.

“If that were the case, all that I have bled for up to now…”

With a rush.

“…If I were to use it for that person, perhaps things might change.”

Holding the black silk close, Chosun quietly closed her eyes.

“…I hope to meet again safely.”

Wishing for someone’s safe return.

“I still haven’t settled the bill for the soap.”

* * *

Attack, attack, attack.

Every strike aimed at vital points, the speed so swift that Zhang Fei could not keep up.

“Ugh?!”

Zhang Fei desperately swung his saber to block.

He deflected an attack aimed at his face with an upward flick of his saber, twisted his body to evade a thrust from behind, and parried a slash to his abdomen with the spear’s shaft.

“Where have you gone again?!”

“Behind.”

A thrust aimed at his back.

Without even looking back, Zhang Fei simply turned his saber and deflected the attack.

‘Like a ghost.’

The senses belong to the realm of beasts.

It’s not like I have eyes on the back of my head or my neck can turn all the way around, yet I precisely block the position from which the thrust is aimed.

However, now that my back is exposed, Zhang Fei finds himself at a disadvantage.

“Ugh?!”

Silently aiming for the heart.

From behind, piercing through the armor and the heart, intending to kill with a single blow, I thrust the weapon forward.

“This, monstrous b*stard!”

Zhang Fei rolled his body sideways to evade the attack.

If he was hiding his body next to the horse to dodge again, I had already figured it out, so I would start by cutting off his legs—

“Ho.”

Thud!

The horse that Zhang Fei was riding charged forward.

Zhang Fei rolled on the ground, quickly rising to aim the spear at me.

Clang, clang, ka-aaang!

Swinging the weapon from atop the horse to block the counterattack, he continued the assault by bringing the weapon down from above.

“You cowardly b*stard! Using the horse’s advantage!”

I don’t care what Zhang Fei says.

In war, the body, weapons, armor, and steed must all be at their best.

“If I had only been in the position of a general like you!”

“What a cowardly excuse.”

I launched the weapon towards Zhang Fei’s neck.

Swish!

A faint spray of blood splattered from his neck.

I thought I had stabbed quite deeply, but Zhang Fei twisted his body almost like a snake to evade the attack.

“Get down, you b*stard!”

“Why should I?”

Cavalry holds an advantage over infantry not only due to mobility but also because of positional differences.

“Meeting eye level is only when dealing with a person.”

Thud, thud, thud!

“The beast in between is a different story.”

“Graaah!!”

Gripping the weapon in reverse, I continued to thrust downwards.

I tried to deflect the tip of the weapon with the spear somehow, but while I could block from the front, what about the sides?

Hee-haw!

Before the equipment could take its stance, Jeokto leaped to the side of the equipment and struck from behind.

“Before I knew it…!!”

Even when I was on horseback, I couldn’t keep up with Jeokto’s speed; could I catch up now that I’ve dismounted?

Especially while my stance is faltering?

“Hwaah!”

It was there.

The equipment placed the saber horizontally and performed a forward roll to evade my attack.

Buuuk!

Barely, the back of the leather armor split.

“Tsk.”

It didn’t cut through the skin.

It seems only the leather was grazed.

‘I should have anticipated this.’

Rolling, that is what is referred to in martial arts as a “naryeotagon.”

But it’s not about rolling clumsily and hastily to avoid.

“Hwaah!”

The equipped figure immediately strikes the ground with the saber.

Kuwoong!!

Jeokto, who wouldn’t flinch at the shockwave of a decent weapon, takes two steps back.

“Huff, huff, huff…!”

The equipment breathes heavily.

Sweat drips down my back, but it’s not yet my turn to retrieve the saber.

“You, monstrous being…! You’re no different from a human butcher born to kill!”

“A human butcher, huh? I am one who only kills thieves.”

“I am not a thief!”

“You have taken the honor of my parents, so you are a thief. There is no reason not to kill you.”

Even without a reason, I will create one to kill.

“This is the end. Die.”

The stance wavered.

The right knee appeared to bend more than before.

Ka-ang!

Swinging down with all my might.

With each strike, I pour in my full strength, adding weight to the blow.

My power, Huageuk, and the height difference from the Chokto.

“Ugh?!”

Zhang Fei continued to block with his spear, grimacing as he planted his right foot.

In that moment, when my muscles screamed and finally reached their limit.

Now, I will kill.

Aiming precisely for the space between the eyes of the serpent-masked beast—

“!”

Ka-ang!

My body reacted first.

A familiar blade flew in front of the direction I was trying to stab with Huageuk, grazing past, and I hurriedly retracted Huageuk, pulling back Chokto.

Spinning— the weapon that had soared into the sky fell to the ground, the crescent blade.

If I had forced myself to stab Zhang Fei again, my hand would have been torn apart.

‘Crazy b*stard.’

I threw the crescent blade.

That ridiculously heavy crescent blade.

“What are you doing, Guan Yu?”

“I will apologize on behalf of my younger brother’s rudeness.”

Guan Yu rode up and grabbed the crescent blade embedded in the ground.

“But please understand. We brothers swore that if one of us dies, we will die on the same day, at the same time.”

“If Zhang Fei dies, are you planning to commit suicide?”

“Of course.”

“Hmph.”

The sincerity felt so absurd.

“Fine. If you raised your brother wrong, then you should take responsibility.”

I jumped down from Chokto, patting it gently as I gripped Huageuk in reverse.

“It will be different this time.”

Having released the last safety mechanism that lingered in my heart.

“I’m not seeing anything right now.”

Ignoring Guan Yu, who was galloping towards me, I leaped at Zhang Fei.

“!!”

The target is the heart.

The thirteen provinces of the world.

One general for each province.

Guardians of order, bound by righteousness and harmony, to eradicate bandits—the establishment of the righteous faction alliance.

“Die, Zhang Fei.”

This person is not needed in my alliance.