Chapter Eighty-Four: As Expected

Several young women watched as Lu Ying’s tall, slender figure receded into the distance, all letting out a faint, dismissive hum. None of them could stand her. They simply could not fathom where Lu Ying’s confidence and composure came from. In their minds, nobles and commoners were worlds apart; nobility was cultivated from a young age through constant exposure, refined attire and food, and the attentive service of a retinue of servants, which fostered self-assurance. Yet this girl from the Lu clan was even more confident than they were.

So they truly could not understand. Of course, they could never know that Lu Ying’s confidence sprang from a profound clarity regarding all things in the world—a clarity she possessed ever since her injury. From the moment she awoke, everything in heaven and earth seemed transparent to her. She even felt that, for many matters, if she merely desired and worked for them, she could achieve success.

This sense of inner clarity, self-assurance, and ease is known in Buddhist philosophy as “the pouring of wisdom upon the crown,” meaning one has been infused with enlightenment and awakened completely. Yet at this time, Buddhism had not yet spread across the Central Plains; it would not be until several centuries later, in the era of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, that the Dunhuang Bianwen Collection would record: “Upon hearing of Vimalakirti, his fame enters the mind like dew, conversing as though wisdom is poured upon the crown.”

Lu Ying paid no attention to the snickers behind her and walked to where the vehicles were parked. The sun was sinking in the west; a gentle dusk began to shroud the earth, and at the horizon, the pale moon rose, accompanied by a handful of stars.

She tilted her head to feel the breeze for a while, but instead of boarding the donkey cart, she strolled around the cluster of vehicles as if wandering through a garden. As she ambled, a young servant ran up to her. After bowing, he called out, “Lady of the Lu clan, my master invites you to sit with him,” and pointed behind him.

Lu Ying followed his gesture and saw, atop the hill, a group of youths gathered around fires, clustered by family and closeness. The flames flickered across their youthful faces, and a great cauldron simmered with fragrant meat soup, sending up plumes of steam.

Lu Ying nodded in thanks and walked over.

From a distance, seeing Lu Ying approach, Mo Yuan couldn’t help but remark, “That Lady Lu is certainly striking.” He glanced at Wang Shang beside him, sidled closer, and whispered, “A Shang, what did you say to her by her cart today? You’ve looked upset ever since.”

Wang Shang’s face was tense, so Mo Yuan joked, “Don’t think no one noticed. Beware, A Ti might make trouble for Lady Lu again.” Pausing, he asked curiously, “A Shang, even if Lady Lu is impressive, surely you and A Che aren’t both falling for her? Tell me, what do you really think of her?”

Wang Shang snorted, not answering, but his gaze was already fixed on the approaching Lu Ying.

Under the pale moonlight, clad in silvery white, the handsome “young man” was indeed attention-grabbing. As she drew nearer, Wang Shang raised his wine cup and drained it in one gulp.

Just as some awaited Lu Ying’s arrival and others prepared to confront her, she suddenly turned aside, just twenty paces from the crowd, and followed a small path down to the plain by the hill, walking along the stream.

Wang Shang frowned and called to a nearby guard, “Go tell Lady Lu it’s late—don’t cause trouble for us.” His tone was impatient.

The guard hurried after Lu Ying.

Seeing the two conversing in the moonlight, and then his own guard following Lu Ying further, Wang Shang’s eyes widened. He snorted coldly, “She hardly acts like a proper lady!”

She’s quite adept at commanding others.

Only he kept his attention on Lu Ying; meanwhile, Mo Yuan and the others were deep in laughter and conversation. About forty paces away, the young women gathered together, giggling and flirting, drawing frequent glances from the young men, who had little interest left for Lu Ying.

After walking two or three hundred paces along the stream, Lu Ying turned back to the servant. “Shall we return?”

The guard agreed, saying, “From here, the whole area is visible—there are no beasts with glowing green eyes. Lady, you must have been mistaken.” Earlier, Lu Ying had insisted she saw a pair of eerie green eyes, possibly wolves, but the guard hadn’t believed her. Still, Lu Ying’s beauty made him willing to accompany her.

Lu Ying pondered a moment, then said, “But I still feel uneasy.” She lifted her dark, luminous eyes to the guard and asked gently, “Young master Cheng, if I sense anything amiss, may I come to you?”

In the darkness, her bright eyes sparkled.

Only twenty years old, full of vigor, Cheng’s handsome face flushed red. He turned away shyly, murmuring, “As you wish, Lady.”

“Thank you, young master,” Lu Ying replied with a soft smile.

That night, nothing happened.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

On the third day of their journey, at their current pace, they would reach Chengdu in five more days.

As evening approached again, and Lu Ying watched the servants busily pitching tents, she—who had spent the previous nights scouting the grounds—was unusually well-behaved.

Seeing her no longer wandering about, Xiao Yan, who was close to A Ti, mocked, “Well, isn’t it quiet today? Why isn’t our little villager pretending to be a general, surveying the terrain?”

She’d been annoyed ever since she saw Wang Shang approach Lu Ying earlier, and liked to pick on Lu Ying at every opportunity.

After Xiao Yan spoke, another girl chided, “Yan, don’t talk like that. She’s just found her place, making excuses to keep herself out of sight.”

Laughter followed.

Then A Ti called out from behind them, “Hey, what are you talking about? Don’t say that about Lu Ying—she’s quite good.”

Hearing A Ti’s boisterous defense, the two who’d spoken first shook their heads, and Xiao Yan pulled A Ti aside to whisper.

Amidst the girls’ mocking, Lu Ying sat by a fire, expressionless. Using a branch to stir the embers, her dark gem-like eyes shone brilliantly through the flames.

Seeing her so composed only aggravated the others. For reasons they couldn’t explain, although Lu Ying was about the same age as they were, in her presence they felt diminished, as if she were tolerating them. This feeling wasn’t unique to them; the young men sensed it too.

It wasn’t a pleasant feeling, especially for the pampered children of wealth.

Despite the jibes and laughter, Lu Ying never glanced up. And as the fires went out and everyone retired to their tents, she quietly made her way to the donkey cart.

This had been her routine for several nights, so no one paid her much attention.

Night deepened.

The crescent moon hung overhead, fireflies flickered everywhere, and the fires outside each tent glowed restlessly.

As new voices arose, a team of black-clad figures appeared under the moonlight.

There were about forty or fifty of them, faces masked and clad in black. Only their eyes gleamed in the darkness; each seemed to melt into the night. Slowly, they drew closer to the tents, step by cautious step, and as they approached, someone led the way. With a swift motion, swords were drawn from their sheaths, reflecting moonlight and glinting with cold menace.

Nearer and nearer they crept, closing in on the guards’ tents.

The caravan camp was arranged in rings: guards on the perimeter, servants’ tents in the middle, and the youths’ tents innermost. Three circles—if they eliminated the powerful guards on the outside, the rest would be helpless prey.

At this moment, the tents were peaceful, voices rising and falling in the night.

The black-clad men moved with extreme care, each step light as a feather.

Finally, they were less than twenty paces from the guards’ tents. The leader, sword raised to the moonlight, traced a mysterious flourish. At that signal, all the black-clad men paused.

The leader performed several more flourishes, then let his sword fall sharply, and sprang toward the guards’ tents like a predator. At his lead, the others’ faces twisted with cruel anticipation.

Just then, a sudden crash shattered the silence—a jar broke in the night!

The black-clad men had barely taken two steps when the sound startled them all.

Before they could react, another noise followed—a torch was lit, flung in an elegant arc, and landed softly on the ground.

As the torch hit, a crackling hiss erupted, and in an instant, a fiery dragon surged forth. The fire spread with astonishing speed, and in no time, flames soared, separating the black-clad men from the tents.

Where darkness had shrouded the earth, now everything was awash with red.

“What happened?”

“What’s going on? Is something burning?”

“Quick, wake up, something’s wrong!”

“There are assassins!”

Cries rang out from all sides. In moments, the guards burst from their tents, and confused youths stumbled outside, disheveled.

After the chaos, everyone turned in unison, glancing at the fifty black-clad assassins beyond the fire, then turning again to the edge of the woods, where a tall, slender, snow-clad figure stood.

That beautiful youth held a torch in one hand, and beside her were several wine jars. Nearly two hundred pairs of eyes fixed on her, but she remained expressionless. The towering flames painted her cheeks crimson, and her dark eyes gleamed with an extraordinary brilliance.

Amid the shock, the first to recover was Cheng, the guard, who shouted, “Those are bandits—everyone, grab your weapons!”

His cry roused the guards, who hurried to arm themselves. The young women rushed out in the confusion, and Wang Shang and Mo Yuan called to the youth by the woods, “Lu Ying, what happened?”