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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Revival and Bloody Banquet
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The next dawn brought chaos to the Jin Clan estate, where no one had slept a wink through the night.
"My lord!"
A servant burst through the back gate, gasping for breath as he shouted.
Slung across his back was a limp figure.
Water dripped steadily from the soaked clothes, and the skin had already turned a sickly blue.
"Y-Young Master Liu Qi!"
A maid's scream pierced the air, and Sunju's face drained of color in an instant. Duseon caught her as she staggered.
The servants shook Liu Qi's body, but there was no response.
No breath stirred the icy flesh. His nape was drenched, and his lips had faded to a ashen gray.
One servant loosened Liu Qi's tunic and pressed his ear to his chest, then silently shook his head.
"...Is he gone?"
Everyone wanted to deny it, but deep down, they sensed the truth.
Liu Qi was already dead.
At that moment, Baek stepped forward.
"We don't know that yet."
"Baek?"
Duseon reached out urgently to grab him, but Baek approached Liu Qi without hesitation.
He dropped to his knees and stacked his hands over Liu Qi's chest.
He pressed down hard and fast, then sealed his lips and breathed in.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
The estate's people watched pityingly, seeing it as the desperate act of a child unable to accept death.
One servant, watching Baek press relentlessly on Liu Qi's chest while sweating profusely, suddenly shouted as realization dawned.
"Won't that damage the young master's body?!"
It was taboo to defile the dead—especially a nobleman's corpse.
To the people of that era, it was an unbreakable line.
A few sturdy men realized this and rushed to pull Baek away.
Baek struggled with all his might, but a child's strength couldn't break free from adult grips.
"Stop it now, Baek. Let Young Master Baek rest in peace."
Sunju, having regained her composure, pleaded tearfully while persuading him.
But despite their pleas, Baek refused to give up.
It was because he knew of countless CPR miracles.
Cases he'd studied as a sports science student flashed through his mind like a panorama.
People who endured minutes without a heartbeat, miracles born from those who never let go until the end.
"It's not too late yet—it might not be!"
In that instant, strength surged from somewhere.
He shook off the men holding him and lunged back to Liu Qi's chest, pouring one final compression toward the heart.
"What do you think you're doing?! Even a child should know this is going too far!"
As they lunged again to seize him—
Cough!
A ragged gasp escaped, and water gushed from Liu Qi's throat.
"He's breathing!"
"Young Master Liu Qi is alive!"
The servants erupted in cheers.
Sunju checked again, tears of joy streaming from her eyes.
Liu Qi, revived like a miracle, slowly opened his eyes. In his blurred vision, a young boy's face came into focus.
"...Baek?"
Baek managed a faint smile.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Baek later heard the full story: Liu Qi had tried every possible remedy, but as Jin Hui's condition worsened, he'd had no choice but to entrust her to the heavens as a last resort.
In his search for sacred sites to pray, he'd slipped on the swollen riverbank and met with disaster.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Waaail—
Waaail—
The estate was shrouded in grief, white cloth fluttering at the main gate in the breeze.
Laments spread through the chilly morning air, echoing beyond the alleys.
Despite Liu Qi's utmost filial devotion, Jin Hui passed away before spring could arrive.
"Rest easy now... go to a place free of pain."
Sunju stroked the coffin, etching her daughter into her heart.
Liu Qi emerged from the main hall in mourning garb.
His unbound black hair cascaded down as he knelt before the coffin, bowing three times and wailing thrice.
"My filial piety was lacking, so the heavens and spirits took my mother so soon. Is there any greater unfilial son in this world?!"
His face, tormented by self-recrimination all night, looked even more haggard. His already frail body seemed at its limit.
Having witnessed his devotion all along, the onlookers grieved all the more, their eyes reddening.
Then, hoofbeats thundered at the estate's gate, followed by a booming cry.
"The Inspector has arrived!"
Soldiers in armor emblazoned with the Cai Clan crest flanked a carriage, and moments later, Liu Biao appeared quietly.
Impeccably dressed, he approached the coffin with a composed face and bowed his head.
"...Madam, I was a bit late."
A brief phrase.
It expressed condolences on the surface, but no sincerity seeped through.
Baek thought, watching Liu Biao's eyes.
'He doesn't look too saddened. Has he found a sturdier backing now?'
Cai Mao, standing beside him, spoke up.
"May the departed find eternal fortune."
Courteous words, but his gaze was hollow.
The Cai men performed perfunctory bows, then stood in a line with hands clasped behind their backs.
Sunju received their greetings with a rigid face, her eyes cold as ice.
Meanwhile, Liu Biao quietly approached Sunju.
"Now my wife can rest in peace. Please take care of yourself, Mother-in-Law. I'll handle the remaining rites."
Rumors had already spread that he'd discussed a new marriage before Jin Hui even breathed her last, stirring fury in Sunju's chest. But she bit her lip and composed herself.
"Aren't you busy with state affairs? Of course, duty to the realm comes first. Leave the funeral to me and Baek, and attend to your duties."
Her words subtly rebuked his absence under the guise of state business. Liu Biao gave a wry smile.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Once Jin Hui's funeral concluded, Liu Biao hastily wed Cai Mao's sister.
With the Cai Clan secured, and now allying with the powerful Gai Clan, he announced moving the Jing Province seat to Xiangyang and dispatched messengers to the Great Clans everywhere.
—Celebratory banquet for the new Inspector's office opening. Grace us with your presence.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
South of Xiangyang, on a massive island amid wide waterways.
The Cai Clan estate loomed beyond high blue walls, exuding unmatched grandeur.
Dozens of annexes sprawled about, servants and concubines bustling within.
Bamboo walkways swaying in the breeze led endlessly to ponds and gardens.
In a majestic pavilion overlooking a moonlit lake, Great Clans from across Jing Province sat in rows.
It was a seat Liu Biao had specially prepared for them.
The clansmen were pleased that Liu Biao, the new Inspector, bowed to them—the true powers of Jing.
Knowing how the previous Inspector, Wang Rui, had picked needless fights early on and gained nothing, they appreciated this one's compliant attitude from the start.
Under dim lanterns, silk-clad courtesans plucked strings in melody.
The tables overflowed with turtle, abalone, delicacies that melted in the mouth.
Courtesans refilled cups tirelessly with fine liquor before they emptied.
The clansmen bloomed with laughter, clinking cups; some seized courtesans' wrists for whispers.
The banquet ripened, yet Liu Biao, its host, had yet to appear.
Still, no one minded, lost in drink and women.
That indifference alone showed their disdain for him.
Then, the inner sliding doors slid open smoothly.
A man in a modestly plain black robe emerged.
Cai Mao, Gai Liang, and Gai Yue followed at intervals.
"Inspector of Jing Province Liu Biao greets the worthy lords."
But the clansmen ignored him, tilting their cups as before.
One old clansman snorted derisively.
"Word is, Liu Jing Sheng, you earned your post beside the Red-Bearded Bandit's long sword. You dare rule our Jing Province waving a seal from a brigand?"
"Indeed. Flattering a traitorous minister for office—have you no shame?!"
Having risen by Dong Zhuo's—emperor-slayer—recommendation was poison to these self-proclaimed nobles.
His scholarly air was decent enough, but leading mere cavalry posed no threat; that confidence filled them.
Someone muttered scornfully.
"At this rate... he'll end up like Wang Rui soon enough."
Mocking Liu Biao by comparing him to the Wang Rui slain by Sun Jian, Cai Mao stepped forward.
"Insolent!"
But Liu Biao lightly raised a hand to silence him.
"Brother-in-law, be still. I haven't finished speaking."
A chilling pressure entered Liu Biao's hitherto mild gaze; Cai Mao shut his mouth in fluster.
The clansmen sensed the odd shift too.
"I'll give you a chance to follow me."
Liu Biao's voice was calm.
Yet like a stone rippling still water, the banquet's mood began to stir.
"Who gives whom a chance in Jing Province soil?"
A tipsy clansman burst laughing.
"Hah, Jing is our Great Clans' land. Inspector, best watch our mood and pick up crumbs. Isn't that why you set this table?"
Blatant mockery drew laughs from some; amid the boozy haze, none sensed the change.
Then—
Armor clinked behind screens as armed soldiers filed in.
They silently took positions at the clansmen's backs; only then did smirks freeze.
"Wh-what is this?! Sheathe those blades, you dogs!"
The soldiers stood unmoving, awaiting orders.
Liu Biao looked down upon them.
"Hear me. Jing Province is no longer your bandit playground."
"Ridiculous! Think we'll bend to such threats?!"
The province's toughest clan head bellowed.
Liu Biao turned to his soldiers.
"Strike."
Armor rattled; one step forward.
A long sword flashed free; nearby clansmen recoiled.
Then Cai Mao rushed to Liu Biao's side.
"Brother-in-law, this man heads a Great Clan. Even to assert dominance, beheading is excessive."
But Liu Biao's gaze held steady.
"Brother-in-law—no, Deokgyu. Will you defy the Inspector's command too?"
His icy stare froze Cai Mao.
"Order: behead him."
The drawn soldier hesitated, eyes flicking to Cai Mao.
Cai Mao pondered a split second, then nodded faintly.
The blade arced like lightning; the clan head's neck thudded free.
Blood sprayed the table; courtesans screamed, plunging the hall into pandemonium.
Cai Mao glared at Liu Biao's back, lips pressed tight.
He hid it well, but deep displeasure brewed.
As fellow clansmen, he'd hoped to avoid this mess.
But Liu Biao eyed a different horizon.
Jing Province was no longer the old Jing Province.
And Liu Biao was no longer the mild scholar or empty-titled Inspector.
In that moment, all knew clearly who ruled Jing Province.