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Translator: penny
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Clashing Ambitions
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Liu Biao unfolded the report that had just arrived from Nanyang, his expression grave.
As he read through the lines, the light in his eyes gradually shifted.
Sun Jian had been slain, and now they had joined forces with Cao Cao to drive even Yuan Shu out of Nanyang.
Liu Biao stared at the document in silence for a long while.
The harsh northern lands of Jing Province had finally fallen into his hands.
The thought of toppling the massive faction that Yuan Shao and Yang Gang had formed sent shivers down his spine.
A smile crept onto his lips unbidden, and excitement began to stir deep in his chest.
"Lord Chengwu, General Who Pacifies the South, Inspector of Jing Province..."
The lavish titles from the edict he had received from Li Jue swirled in his mind.
He had once dismissed them as mere empty honors, but now he had seized the prestige to match them.
In that instant, ambition writhed in one corner of his heart.
"I will pacify this chaotic world with my own hands."
To do that, he needed a powerful army.
He thought of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, who had risen in the north with mighty forces and emerged at the center of the turmoil.
He had to build a strong army and fortify Jing Province into an impregnable bastion.
Liu Biao ordered Cai Mao to be summoned, then gazed out the window and murmured to himself.
"If De-gyu becomes the Chief Strategist of the General Who Pacifies the South and reorganizes the troops, Jing Province will soon become the center of the realm."
A clear vision was already forming in Liu Biao's mind.
With Cai Mao at the core, raise elite troops, reorganize the military, and upon that foundation, pursue the royal path to hegemony over the land.
Liu Biao was certain Cai Mao could lead that vision alongside him as one.
He was bound by marriage, a blood ally, and above all, the head of the Cai Clan, which wielded powerful private forces and vast wealth to sway Jing Province.
For Jing Province's stability, cooperation between the Cai and Gai Clans was essential, and Liu Biao believed without doubt that now, as the true master of Jing Province, they would gladly support him.
Yet as days passed, he began to feel something was amiss.
Cai Mao had obeyed the order and seized military authority without protest, but he did not fully heed Liu Biao's intent to cultivate elite troops.
Whenever new policies were proposed, Cai Mao would cautiously suggest watching the situation longer or that the time was not yet ripe.
On the surface, he seemed compliant, but in reality, he always deviated one step from Liu Biao's will.
At first, Liu Biao chalked it up to mere prudence.
But as time wore on, suspicion began to sprout in his heart.
"De-gyu, what on earth are you thinking?"
Liu Biao let out a heavy sigh.
It was the moment he began to suspect that his trusted ally, whom he had hoped to walk the royal path with, envisioned a different road.
Just then, a retainer's voice came from beyond the door.
"Magistrate of Zhangling has arrived."
Liu Biao fell into brief thought.
'Cai Mao may no longer intend to follow my will. Then I must ensure the Gai Clan bends to it without fail.'
"Let him enter."
Anticipation laced his voice.
The door opened quietly, and Gai Yue entered with a stern face.
"General Who Pacifies the South, forgive my intrusion so early in the morning."
Gai Yue knelt and offered formal courtesy.
Liu Biao greeted him with a gentle smile.
"Intrusion? Yi-do, what brings you here?"
Gai Liang hesitated a moment before cautiously speaking.
"I dare to offer a word regarding the military reforms Your Excellency is pursuing."
Liu Biao's expression hardened.
"Speak."
Gai Yue bowed his head and continued carefully.
"The people are only just emerging from the wounds of war. Even the mere mention of conscripting soldiers has villages in uproar. I know Your Excellency's ambitions are grand, but I humbly suggest that sometimes slowing the pace is wisdom itself."
"Slow down?"
Liu Biao rose from his seat and looked down at Gai Yue.
"Even raising an army has its proper timing. Do you truly not grasp that missing this moment, when warlords vie everywhere, means losing our chance?"
Silence fell for a moment.
Gai Yue could say no more and merely kept his head bowed.
Liu Biao sighed and sank back into his seat as if collapsing.
Yet the embers burning deep in his chest only grew hotter.
Being surrounded by those who did not share his vision only fanned the flames.
And in that moment, he realized it.
The royal path was, in the end, one he must walk alone.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Late summer, dew from the morning mist clung to the courtyard stones.
Cai Mao rolled up his sleeves and brushed the mud from his shoes.
His gaze fell on Gai Yue and Gai Liang, seated quietly at the end of the pavilion.
Cai Mao, in the seat of honor, sighed and spoke.
"It seems Lord Jingsheng has fallen into some vain dream lately."
Gai Liang filled Cai Mao and Gai Yue's empty cups with wine and muttered.
"Indeed. Without us, how could he have risen so high? And yet he dares..."
Gai Yue took his wine, drank, and replied.
"Success breeds arrogance; he's forgotten his place."
Cai Mao pressed further.
"Parading the people's welfare on his lips as if he were the High Ancestor himself."
Gai Liang guffawed and held up the empty wine jar.
"Look at that—one jar's already gone. Hey, you there! Bring more wine."
The concubine standing nearby swiftly withdrew, and Gai Yue sighed as he spoke.
"Good thing we're holding the line. All this talk of reforms—fancy words, but it all boils down to using our men and our wealth, doesn't it?"
Cai Mao emptied his cup and chimed in.
"Exactly. Why should we pour ourselves into his ambitions? Even if he conquers the realm, what do we gain?"
Gai Yue furrowed his brow and asked.
"What became of Han Xin, who aided the High Ancestor he so desperately emulates, or Peng Yue?"
Gai Liang drained his cup with a snort.
"The throne holds but one man. Those who swing the sword from below always meet miserable ends. What reason do we have to follow that path?"
At those words, Cai Mao grew feignedly serious.
"By the way, have you heard?"
"Heard what?"
Gai Yue asked back at Cai Mao's sudden shift in expression.
"Lord Jingsheng is secretly trying to pull in the Yang Clan."
Cai Mao set down his cup and continued.
"Dodging our eyes, no less."
Gai Liang set his cup down and inquired.
"Is that true? The Yang Clan... you mean Yang Jin's family?"
Cai Mao nodded.
"He mouths off about reforms, but I sent men to investigate, and it turns out he's scheming to bolster his own forces by drawing in the Yangs. The fool thought he could slip it past us."
Gai Yue snorted.
"As expected of Lord De-gyu."
Cai Mao twirled his cup playfully before smiling wordlessly.
"Pretending to royal ambitions while unable to fool even the three of us—too soon for High Ancestor games."
A breeze passed, and silence settled in the pavilion.
Gai Yue set down his cup and said.
"But the Yangs haven't fully entered office yet. If Lord Jingsheng joins hands with them, things could change."
Gai Liang muttered uneasily.
"They've got influence and prestige aplenty. Give them a cause, and raising troops is just a matter of time... Should we let it stand?"
Cai Mao set down his cup and spoke lowly.
"That's why I've already made moves."
Gai Yue gazed quietly at Cai Mao and asked.
"Nothing excessive, I hope?"
Cai Mao lifted his cup with a smile.
"Still don't know me? Worry not—empty your cup."
At Cai Mao's confidence, Gai Liang laughed heartily and raised his cup, as did Gai Yue with a quiet smile.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Soon after, the Yang Clan began to lose ground bit by bit.
The offices held by family members were silently handed to others, and their trading partners faced unprovoked official scrutiny.
The steady stream of visitors to the Yang estate dwindled one by one.
No overt reason, no harsh punishments.
In the end, with the family head citing illness and retiring into seclusion, their name slowly faded from people's lips.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Pang Degong ended the lecture earlier than usual and departed.
No words were spoken, but it was the familiar self-study time everyone knew.
Baek's eyes lingered on his book, but his mind was elsewhere.
'Time to up the ante for real?'
As he pondered his new exercise routine, a rough voice intruded.
"Hey, slave spawn. How long do you plan to shamelessly pretend to be a gentleman here?"
It was a familiar voice.
Gai Jun, son of Gai Yue.
He often picked fights over trifles, but today he started outright brazenly.
Baek turned a page, pretending not to hear.
'Hah... just kids. Endure it.'
But Gai Jun's taunts showed no sign of stopping.
Soon, mocking laughter from other boys and jeering words followed.
"That guy's dad? Doesn't even know his face. Should stick to servant chores instead of sitting here with us—what nerve."
'Hah, endure. Just endure.'
Amid the barrage of mockery, Baek unflinchingly turned pages in silence.
Enraged by the display, Gai Jun finally crossed the unforgivable line.
"Wouldn't know his dad's face, huh? That lowly slut keep her chastity? Probably whored around and popped out some bastard without knowing whose seed it was."
Silence blanketed the room for a moment.
Then, a faint chuckle leaked from somewhere in the private school.
It started low and small, then spread here and there.
Sneers and jeers filled the space.
Baek's fingertips halted.
His gaze upon the book froze solid.
As if his body had stiffened too, he held his breath.
The surrounding laughter seemed to fade into the distance.
Only the echo of his heartbeat rang in his ears.
Thud—
The book slipped from Baek's hand to the floor.
A light sound, but it drew every eye.
Slowly, Baek raised his head.
His eyes were different.
As he quietly stood, Gai Jun smirked with full mockery and snorted.
Then, from beside him, a man a head taller and broader-shouldered than Baek stepped forward.
The largest and oldest among Gai Jun's crew.
"Finally pissed off, huh? Where do you get the gall, slave spawn?"
He blocked Baek's path with a grin.
A familiar sensation washed over him.
—Legs frozen in place, blood-soaked shirt, sneering children's faces.
A tremor—excitement or fear, he couldn't tell—crawled up Baek's legs.
Seeing it, the man sneered, lips curling.
'Never crumble again.'
Before the resolve fully formed, his body moved first.
Thwack—
No time to react—Baek's fist sank into the man's gut.
Trained shoulders and waist aligned in a straight line, and in an instant, the brute doubled over, unable to even gasp.
The next fist flew straight for the jaw.
Crash—
Struck in the jaw, the man tumbled back onto desks, scattering books and brushes into the air from the impact.
The boys startled, shoving desks aside as they stumbled back.
The schoolroom turned to chaos in seconds.
No warmth in Baek's eyes.
Gai Jun's pupils quivered meeting that icy stare.
The smirk vanished from his lips, replaced by trembling, rigid ones.
But Baek did not stop.
His shoulder twitched.
Fist pulled back slightly beyond the shoulder, poised to strike.
Gai Jun froze solid; no one around dared even breathe.
"Enough."
A quiet but firm voice pierced the schoolroom.
Baek's motion halted.
It was Xi Jin.
Unnoticed until now, he stood beside Baek.
Leaning close, he whispered low in Baek's ear.
"Beating them might feel good. But your mother and master could end up in danger too."
Ignoring the words, Baek's body moved.
His arm shot out.
Thwack—
Something burst, the sound echoing through the room.
Gai Jun crumpled to the spot.
Crackle—
Feeling stone fragments rain on his face, Gai Jun slowly opened his eyes and looked up.
A cracked wall filled his vision, Baek's fist embedded in its center.
Relief at surviving escaped in a short breath, even as warmth spread beneath his legs.
The schoolroom was deathly still, not a breath to be heard.
Baek slowly withdrew his fist and returned to his seat without a word.
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