Lan Tian was a very strong person. This was the first time he had ever wept in such grief.
Crying could be a good way to release one's emotions, but it was mixed with resentment and helplessness.
Seeing Lan Tian weep so bitterly, Gan Ji reached a hand out from beneath the covers and stroked his forehead. "Your adoptive father isn't much good for anything. I can only entrust Qian'er to you. Though you aren't siblings by blood, you're closer than most real siblings. Qian'er..."
"Father." Gan Qian had already been weeping until her face was streaked with tears. Hearing Gan Ji call her, she knelt down as well.
"Qian'er, from now on, you must listen to Tian'er. I'll feel at ease with him protecting you," Gan Ji told his daughter.
Gan Qian wiped away her tears. "Father, don't let your thoughts run wild. Once you take the physician's medicine, you'll soon recover. Your daughter hasn't even had the chance to fulfill her filial duty yet."
Gan Ji gave a bitter smile. "Heaven must have taken pity on us. Otherwise, we father and son would have died years ago. Tian'er gave me the happiest years of my life. It was worth it."
"Father, please don't say any more." Lan Tian wept bitterly.
"Tian'er, Xuande was right. Your Sanctuary can't block every blade and sword. If you don't want to be bitten by dogs, you still need a stick in your hand." Gan Ji sighed.
Lan Tian nodded. "I've decided to join my brother-in-law's banner and do everything I can to protect my elder sister. I won't let her suffer the hardship of a life spent wandering from place to place again."
Only after hearing this promise did Gan Ji nod in satisfaction.
The two siblings wept without end inside the house, while the physician stood in the courtyard, shaking his head again and again. Birth, aging, sickness, and death were the natural order. In these chaotic times, to have a mound of earth over one's grave and children weeping at one's funeral was already to have lived a life without regret.
After Cao Cao's army returned to Xudu, the census in Xiapi was complete. The officers left behind, wary that Lu Bu's remaining forces might cause trouble, kept a tight guard over all four gates.
A man with a harried expression arrived at the rear courtyard of an unremarkable house in the north of the city.
He paced beside a jujube tree, then suddenly stomped several times on the ground strewn with dead leaves. The leaves slid aside, revealing a square lid that was pushed up from below.
The man spoke to the person beneath it. "General, the census is over. You can bring the Young Lady up now."
The speaker was Gao Yuan of the Xianzhen Battalion. Earlier, while clearing standing water in the north of the city, he had made a point of digging several shelters nearby.
When Hou Cheng and the others surrendered, Gao Shun had taken advantage of the chaos to bring Lu Lingqi into a shelter. Five whole days had passed since then.
Gao Yuan led Gao Shun and Lu Lingqi into a ruined, unoccupied house nearby, then had someone bring over some hot food.
Gao Shun and Lu Lingqi had learned two days earlier that Lu Bu and Chen Gong had been defeated and killed, and that all their soldiers had surrendered to Cao Cao. Now Gao Shun could only obey his late lord's final command and protect Lu Lingqi.
"What's the situation outside? How many men do you still have?" Gao Shun asked.
"During the first two days after Xiapi fell, Cao's soldiers looted the city, and things were chaotic. It's mostly settled down now. The census was completed yesterday, too. We should've built more shelters back then. The Xianzhen Battalion is down to a dozen or so men. Deputy General Xu Shuang heard that you'd 'disappeared' and led his men in surrendering to Cao the Rebel," Gao Yuan replied.
Gao Shun shook his head. "We mustn't let word of the shelters get out. But I had no choice but to obey my lord's command. I've failed the men. Go call the brothers of the Xianzhen Battalion."
"Yes, General."
After Gao Yuan left, Gao Shun saw that Lu Lingqi sat there in a daze and tried to comfort her. "Young Lady, your lord father met a heroic death. That was the deed of a true man. You must live on and stay strong. Whether you seek revenge against Cao the Rebel or conceal yourself in the countryside, Gao Shun will follow you through life and death."
"How could I possibly take revenge against Cao the Rebel?" Lu Lingqi shook her head with a bitter smile.
"Why not seek Master Ziyu's counsel? If he hadn't warned me, I might already have followed my lord to the grave," Gao Shun reminded her.
"Lan Ziyu? Of course I'm going to find him. He knew my father was in danger, yet refused to devise a plan to save him. After all my devotion to him, how could he..." Lu Lingqi said coldly.
Gao Shun remained silent. In his view, Lan Tian had his own reasons. If he had made Liu Bei look disloyal for the sake of the Young Lady, that would have been a truly despicable act. The fact that the man had helped neither side was already commendable.
A while later, Gao Yuan came in with seventeen subordinates. Every one of them was broad-shouldered and imposing, handpicked as trusted loyalists.
"General," they said in unison.
Gao Shun raised a hand to stop them. "There are patrols all over the city. Don't make a loud commotion. Though our lord is gone, he left behind an orphan. I'm willing to honor his final command and serve the Young Lady as my master. From this day forth, I'll brave any danger for her and die without regret. If any of you have other intentions, you may leave now."
Seeing this, Gao Yuan immediately led the men in kneeling and shouting, "We're willing to serve the Young Lady to the death, without regret!"
These men were all Gao Yuan's trusted followers. They would never abandon their former lord for wealth and glory.
Once the soldiers had sworn their oaths, Gao Shun turned and knelt on one knee before Lu Lingqi. He clasped his hands and cried, "My lord!"
His passionate shout set their blood surging. Even a woman like Lu Lingqi felt the stirring of his bold spirit. At last, she understood why men were so devoted to power. It was truly impossible to resist.
"General Gao, please rise. All of you, please rise." Lu Lingqi reached out to help Gao Shun to his feet.
After everyone had risen, Gao Yuan advised, "Xiapi isn't a place we can stay for long. We must find somewhere else to settle as soon as possible. But the city gates are still tightly guarded, so we can't leave just yet."
"What are we to do, then? I still want to go to Xiaopei," Lu Lingqi asked Gao Shun.
Gao Shun stroked his beard and considered the matter. "Though the Cao Army has withdrawn, Xiapi is without a governor and still under wartime restrictions. After Cao the Rebel returns to Xudu, he'll surely appoint a trusted man to govern Xu Province. That will be our chance to leave the city."
"How long do you think it'll take?" Lu Lingqi pressed.
"I can't match Master Ziyu's gift for prophecy, but we should hear something within a month," Gao Shun said.
Hearing Lan Tian mentioned stirred a ripple in Lu Lingqi's heart again. She had no idea how she would react when she saw him.
Seeing her downcast expression, Gao Shun realized he had misspoken. He quickly instructed Gao Yuan, "You all need to disperse and move separately. Don't appear together, or people will grow suspicious."
"Understood. These past two days, clerks from the Household Bureau have been coming to take a census. Those of us who came out first claimed we were refugees from another commandery, then registered under false names," Gao Yuan reported honestly.
"Very good. My lord, let's wait a little longer," Gao Shun said.
"Fine. We'll do as you say, General." Lu Lingqi nodded.
Gao Shun and the others lay low for more than ten days. Then Cao Cao appointed Che Zhou, the General Who Displays Martial Might, as Inspector of Xu Province.
It was the time of the Spring Festival. Xiapi looked bleak in the wake of the battle. To restore life to the area as soon as possible, Che Zhou pulled the dense patrols off the streets and ordered the gate commanders to ease their searches, giving the people a peaceful Spring Festival.
After the military restrictions were lifted, Xiapi's residents gradually began visiting friends, and farmers from the villages ten li beyond the city started passing through the gates more often. Lu Lingqi and the others seized the opportunity to slip out of Xiapi in separate groups.
Without horses, they could only disguise themselves as refugees and slowly make their way toward Xiaopei, to the northwest.
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