Chapter 16: My Name Is Liu Xie

Liu Xie and Lady Fu also began to quietly gather their belongings, preparing to leave.

“Husband, where are we going?” Lady Fu asked softly.

Lately, she found Liu Xie more and more inscrutable.

It was late at night—why not rest properly? Where could they possibly be heading?

To walk about in the dead of night, especially under the noses of bandits, was courting trouble.

“We’re going up the mountain,” Liu Xie explained with a gentle smile.

Thus, the two began their ascent along the rugged path.

The way was pitch dark, not a single lantern in sight.

They moved in silence, feeling their way forward.

From afar, they saw a great blaze of lights atop the mountain.

“Husband, what is that place?” Lady Fu asked again.

“That, naturally, is the bandits’ lair—the very ones who waylaid us during the day,” Liu Xie replied in a low voice.

“W-what?”

“We’re heading to the bandits’ stronghold?” Lady Fu’s voice trembled with fear.

“Yes. Why? Are you frightened?” Liu Xie asked softly.

She swallowed and fell silent.

Who wouldn’t be afraid, venturing into the bandits’ den? It was walking straight into the wolf’s mouth.

Those dozens of men had suffered at their hands earlier; if they now presented themselves at the lair, the bandits certainly wouldn’t let them go unpunished.

Yet, judging by Liu Xie’s demeanor, he seemed entirely unbothered.

What happened next astonished Lady Fu even further.

Along the way, they encountered not the slightest resistance. No one lay in ambush, no one even appeared to notice them.

It was as if the road to the mountain stronghold were utterly deserted.

At last, the two arrived at the bandit fortress.

As they reached the gate, a man in black awaited them.

“How is it? All taken care of?” Liu Xie asked quietly as they drew near.

“Yes, my lord. The entire stronghold—over five hundred men—has been subdued. The two leaders are under our control,” the man in black reported with utmost respect.

Lady Fu, listening nearby, was awestruck.

She now understood that Liu Xie’s aim was to challenge the entire bandit stronghold with merely twenty men.

“Good. Take me in,” Liu Xie said softly.

Led by the man in black, Liu Xie made his way to the so-called Hall of Righteousness at the heart of the stronghold.

Upon entering, he saw a crowd gathered within.

Outside, hundreds more stood, not daring to make a move.

Inside, men stood obediently along both sides.

At the center, two burly men were held fast by the men in black.

Their faces were grim, their eyes full of defiance.

“My lord, these are the two,” the man in black indicated.

Liu Xie nodded slightly and walked toward them, stopping a few paces away.

“Which of you is Zhou Cang, and which is Pei Yuanshao?” Liu Xie asked, hands clasped behind his back.

At this, the two men stared at him in confusion and surprise.

“How do you know our names?” they asked, astonished.

Liu Xie smiled faintly.

Of course he knew—after all, in history, when Guan Yu crossed five passes and slew six generals, he encountered Zhou Cang on Ox-head Mountain.

Many knew that Zhou Cang followed Guan Yu thereafter.

But few realized that Pei Yuanshao, equally skilled, had also joined Guan Yu.

Like Zhou Cang, Pei Yuanshao was once a leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

After the uprising failed, they had both turned to banditry on this very mountain.

Liu Xie had decided not to leave after overhearing during the day that this was Ox-head Mountain.

He guessed Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao must be here.

But his purpose tonight was not to slaughter the bandits.

Though they certainly had the strength to do so, his aim was to win over these two men.

For in history, both possessed extraordinary prowess.

Winning their allegiance would not be easy.

The Yellow Turban Rebellion’s very aim was to overthrow the Han dynasty, and as Emperor of Han, Liu Xie was their sworn enemy.

For the Emperor to seek the surrender of Yellow Turban generals was no simple task.

Yet, for Liu Xie, there was a way.

“I asked you—who is Pei Yuanshao, who is Zhou Cang?” he repeated.

“Hmph, I am Zhou Cang, he is Pei Yuanshao,” one replied defiantly. “What of it? Now that we’re in your hands, kill or torture us as you wish.”

Neither showed a trace of fear—they were men who lived by the sword, well accustomed to the prospect of death.

But Liu Xie merely smiled.

“Is it a habit of Yellow Turban generals to seek death so eagerly?”

“You—!” Zhou Cang bristled with anger at his words.

“Enough. I didn’t come here to play games,” Liu Xie said. “Release them. Untie their bonds.”

At his command, the men in black freed Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao.

“Do you know who I am?” Liu Xie asked.

“No,” Zhou Cang replied impatiently, casting him a dismissive glance.

Liu Xie paid no heed, but seated himself upon the stronghold’s tiger-skin chair.

“I think you will want to know my name,” he said with a slight smile. “I am Liu Xie.”

“Hmph, who is Liu Xie—wait, what did you say?” Pei Yuanshao began mockingly, but quickly realized.

Both men stared at him in disbelief.

“What, have you never heard my name?” Liu Xie asked, smiling.

They swallowed hard.

How could they not know Liu Xie? For years, the Yellow Turbans had risen in rebellion for the sole purpose of opposing him.

“Hmph, how could you be Liu Xie?” Zhou Cang sneered. “Liu Xie is the Son of Heaven—the Emperor, exalted above all.”

“You, claiming to be Liu Xie?”

Clearly, neither believed him.

Liu Xie did not argue. He beckoned Lady Fu forward.

She brought a bundle to him.

Without a word, Liu Xie shook it open.

What emerged stunned everyone present—a resplendent dragon robe, gleaming gold.

Before all eyes, Liu Xie draped it over his shoulders.

Then he seated himself again upon the tiger-skin chair.

Though the setting was humble, and the chair hardly befitted the imperial robe, at that moment, as Liu Xie sat there, an aura of sovereign majesty filled the hall.

A powerful presence dominated the chamber.

Everyone held their breath, gazing at him, struck speechless by the sight.