#wangfu

[travalerray]

Rewatching Mysterious Lotus Casebook 3/40

it never fails to get me that he went back to the shore to die... after making that trip and listening about how Li Xiangyi failed the Sigu Sect

It is truly astonishing how much he manages to get on my nerves every single time he appears.

First watch: Li Lianhua why are you monologuing to FDB's wine gourd as if you are talking to your shifu

Second watch: Oh.

there's something deeply funny about him deciding that LLH is the great horrible Medicine Demon who is well versed in poisons and medicines and sending his servants to snoop around in his room. And the first appearance of the actual Medicine Demon has the poison gas causing a big chaos. Nevermind the fact that LLH has drugged him at least once by now. Clearly no one in a mystery story has died in this manner

again I say. Justice for Wangfu

[difeisheng]

i'm curious as to what kind of worldview change fang duobing will have to go through eventually, and how difficult it's going to be for him. because look at him: an arrogant, mouthy and impulsive rich boy used to getting his way who, to be fair does have good intentions, but is also doing things like starving himself because he's too proud to settle for eating less than he's used to. he's young, and oblivious in some situations, and eager to make a next move with his sword and not his brain. it would have made sense for fang duobing to have an arc in which he kills someone or loses someone and afterward realizes what a human life is truly worth, and he stops taking some things in his own for granted.

however, this has not happened! fang duobing drops a guy by the 2nd episode, and his only comment is that he killed him before they could get any useful information out of him. wangfu dies, a servant who i do believe fang duobing genuinely cared for and considered his friend, but a few episodes later and where are we? there's no mention of him. what we keep getting back to in fang duobing's life is his starry-eyed hero worship toward li xiangyi. that's who's mattering to him most in all this, the legend he keeps in his memory, not necessarily the people around him (except for perhaps li lianhua at this point). the naïveté is ingrained deep in this boy and nothing's managed to dislodge it so far. so, fang duobing, what'll it take for you to come to your senses? what's the price, and who will pay it?

(i hope the answer isn't li lianhua.)

[chenqingssuibian]

instead of my regular live blogs w shows, I have decided that simply recapping my thoughts a few eps at a time will be more efficient! as such:

- this show has a budget and they are using every penny. good voice acting, good costumes, surprisingly good special effects and stunts - and, of course, they could afford cheng fucking yi. goddamn

- speaking of: cheng yi you never miss with the dramas you pick*

- *I have only seen two of his dramas including this one but I think I am right

- fang duobing is like if wei wuxian was just a little dumber. and had jin ling's face. i love him so so so so so so much

- wangfu </3 ifykyk

- li lianhua named his dog fucking hulijing. he lives in a tiny house. he is a terrible cook. he is poisoned. he does not have amnesia but at some point when someone calls him on his bullshit will he pretend to? who's to say. he's a little shit I bet he would

- wangfu's dad is a murderer. take that as you will

- episode 3 ends with fang duobing asking a milf whose sister just died if she's crazy, and so far that sums him up pretty well

- no di feisheng yet. but when I spot him? OH. i will screenshot that emo bitch on sight

[shamera]

NaNo day 17 part 2

...I was tempted to leave this for tomorrow and say 'hey look how much i wrote!' but this is meant to be a marathon and i'm supposed to be honest about these things anyway.

so warning for injuries and a canon character death. and, uh, bugs. this is all shaping up to something, i promise. all of this and like the next two days' writing is like chapter 1 in my head. also names and actions are liable to be changed in edit for continuity and flow, but this is nano so i'm just speedwriting and not looking back.

Stopping here because I'm tired, need sleep, and this weekend is going to be really busy. To be continued!

Everything happened quickly. 

Wangfu was scouting ahead and coming back with a relieved expression when the floor (solid stone!) gave away underneath him unexpectedly, and he shouted in fear and confusion as he fell. Fang Duobing was after him immediately, falling to his knees to reach into the hole, attempting to grab him before he could slip away, but was too late to do so. 

“Wangfu!” He shouted alongside Li’er’s panicked scream, but the young man disappeared before his eyes into the darkness, prompting Fang Duobing to fumble his phone as he shone the light down into the hole, seeing rocks and darkness all the way down. “Wangfu!”

A cool hand rested against his wrist, and he glanced to see Li Lianhua’s bloodied sleeve as the man knelt next to him. 

“It’s not a direct drop.” He observed calmly, and pointed to the slant in the stone. “There’s a high chance he’ll be fine, but startled. We can go after him, although it would be the world’s worst slide. But with an already injured person…”

Fang Duobing bit the inside of his mouth in frustration. If they wanted to help Wangfu, then they’d have to split the party. If they didn’t split the party, then Wangfu would be left alone. 

“We have to go get him!” Li’er insisted from where she was also on her knees next to the hole, her own phone shining a weak light into the darkness. “Wangfu! Are you alright? Answer us!”

“I’ll go.” Fang Duobing insisted, already struggling to take off his suit jacket and searching for an anchor point. There was no point in going if he couldn’t bring Wangfu back with him, and that meant finding a way back up as well. He was going to take care of all of them, and that meant he had to get them all back in one group. He glanced over to his aunt. “Your jacket. Everyone’s, if you can spare it. If we can use it as a rope…”

He Xiaofeng was already slipping off her blazer, having the same thought. “It won’t be very long. I should go down.”

“Your arm is injured.” Fang Duobing rejected the idea. “If he needs help, how will you carry him up?”

“I’ll go,” Li Lianhua volunteered, but once more Fang Duobing rejected the idea, this time with a firm grip on his wrist before he could do anything. 

“I need you to help pull us up.” He looked at the others. “Everyone here who can do that will help. We can’t stay in one place for too long. If you hear something in the distance, just leave without us. I’ll catch up to everyone.”

“This is a stupid plan, Xiaobao,” His aunt told him, tone dark. She was pale under the dim light of the phones, the red of her lipstick unnaturally dark. “You can’t just—”

“It’s okay,” he insisted brightly. “I trained for this, remember? This is the kind of thing I need to be able to do if I want to join Baichuan Court.”

The others were also taking off their work blazers, but just as his aunt said, once the arms were tied together, the length of their makeshift rope wasn’t very long at all. Next to him, Li Lianhua had also pulled his sweater over his head, the pale knit a stark contrast to the rest of the clothes, the warm yarn frailer than the thick weave, and Fang Duobing found himself reluctant to take it, although he used it to tie around a rock, hoping it might receive the least amount of damage that way. 

“Climb down,” Li Lianhua told him, and Fang Duobing realised he had ever seen the man without his thick sweaters, the thin long-sleeved shirt looking strange to his eyes. “If it goes even lower than that, then just come back up. Don’t be stupid about this, Fang Duobing.”

“I won’t.” He promised, and heard his aunt huff behind him. He turned to her. “Nothing will happen.”

“It better not,” she grumbled back, although there was tremor to her shoulders and a tension that belied her nonchalance. Her eyes were just a tad too wide, a trait Fang Duobing recognised in himself when he was overwhelmingly anxious. “What am I going to tell my sister if you disappear?”

Fang Duobing didn’t know how to respond, so instead he took a hold of their makeshift rope, and jumped down into the hole. 

His feet hit stones almost immediately, and then his hip, and then it was just as Li Lianhua stated: the world’s worst slide. He lost a hold of the blazer sleeve he grabbed almost immediately, but the fall wasn’t as far as he feared. Even with the slant, he felt he had fallen perhaps five to seven meters, and was a great distance but not as bad as feared, even with the inevitable bruises all along his side from the jump. 

He wheezed as the ground evened out again, and then called out, “I’m okay!” 

A moment in the pitch blackness, and Fang Duobing pulled out his phone for a light again, frowning at the crack along his screen. At least it was still working properly. 

Examining where he ended up, he found that the walls here were smooth unlike in the upper area, and there wasn’t enough space for him to stand, the space circular in its design, with the ground underneath him giving way slightly with each step. It wasn’t stone, he realised. He rested a hand against the ceiling, and then slid it down alongside the wall, frowning at the texture. 

It felt like.. Clay. Smooth and malleable, although dry and firm. 

“Wangfu?” He called out cautiously, phone pointed in one direction and then the next. There were only two directions to go, since he had fallen from above into this tunnel, and looking at it now, it looked like the tunnel was dug previously and then covered over before it could be used much. 

Where he was standing, Fang Duobing realised with a shiver, was well worn. Used. 

This was definitely a path taken by the monsters in this dungeon. 

There was a skittering noise at the edge of his senses, and Fang Duobing whirled around to point the light in the direction of the sound, grabbing along the wall to brace himself. There was nothing in the light, and he turned again. 

There was no Wangfu, either. 

There were, however, indentations in the clay under him, where someone might have been dragged, and Fang Duobing followed it cautiously, heart rising to his throat as he pulled out a small wooden dagger from the back of his belt. It wasn’t a real weapon, but it was better than the nothing he had on him. The light from his phone was barely illuminating the darkness ahead of him, just far enough to see his hand through a thick fog, but the sounds of skittering were now growing closer than ever. 

“Wangfu?” He called out again, although this time quieter. 

There was no response, and no change in the sounds. 

A turn in the path of the tunnel, and Fang Duobing shone his light around the bend to see— 

Dozens. 

Dozens of black forms, armoured, like pill bugs the size of cats if they had hundreds of legs like needles moving along the ground and with glowing eyes painted across their carapaces. Crawling over each other, over the walls, over the ceiling, atop each other like crowded rats, and

Atop a still form that was Wangfu, dripping blood and still twitching as one of the monsters carefully made itself at home within his torso, crawling right through— 

Fang Duobing doesn’t remember his yelling, doesn’t remembering charging in with only a wooden dagger, but there was sharp needle-like points of pain on his legs as the monsters turned from their prey to swarm toward him instead, even as he stabbed them as well as he could between the ridges of their carapaces, as he would take down one and then another and another, but they would each be replaced two to three more each time. His legs felt like fire with a sea of pinpricks, and they were starting to drop down onto his head as well, and he was— 

Yanked back violently by his shirt, and then a storm of fire blazed past him, singeing the edge of his ponytail as he was dragged backward amidst the deafening shrieks of the monsters as they burned. They burned, but Wangfu would burn with them, and Fang Duobing struggled against the grip, blood running down his legs from the needle holes in his pants, but the grip was stronger than he was. 

“Stop.” Li Lianhua’s voice broke him out of the haze of rage. “Use your brain a little, Fang Duobing!”

The tunnel wasn’t big enough for two people, yet Li Lianhua, who would normally hoist his own groceries on Fang Duobing to make him carry it, was pulling him back strongly enough to keep them both out of the spreading fire. As the smoke and heat spread, Fang Duobing realised it was starting to get hard to breathe. 

The haze through his mind broke entirely at that, and he turned against Li Lianahu’s surprising grip, this time dragging the other man along with him and he raced half hunched toward the hole they dropped down from, pushing him forward ahead of him to get him up, to safety away from the monsters and away from the spreading fire and smoke. 

Li Lianhua stumbled a moment, but followed Fang Duobing’s urging as they struggled back upward in the slide down, catching themselves against the sides and on rocks before they could slip downward again, all the way until Li Lianhua managed to catch the end of the rope of blazers, and pull himself up with Fang Duobing following along behind him. 

When they reached the main cavern again, the heat behind them was starting to get unbearable, and it was Li’er and Man’er’s young man who pulled them out by the arms, dragging them away from the hole as they coughed. 

“What happened?” He Xiaofeng demanded, but was interrupted as Li’er tearfully asked, “Where’s Wangfu?”

Fang Duobing could only look at her sadly once he regained his breath, and then shook his head slowly. 

Li Lianhua, collapsed next to him, was still coughing, although his coughs were luckily enough dry ones, even as Fang Duobing’s aunt knelt next to him in concern, a hand on his back as he tried to get his breathing under control. It was only after when He Xiaofeng stared over at her nephew and startled. 

“Xiaobao,” she breathed out and reached out to him. “You’re bleeding!”

He shook his head in response, the pain in his legs growing to a sharp throb that echoed his heartbeat. 

“A mild,” Li Lianhua said between coughs, “paralytic poison. He’ll— he’ll be fine after some time. He’s a Hunter.”

The unsaid part, Fang Duobing heard, was that Wangfu as a civilian never stood a chance. 

“But how was there a fire?” Man’er asked weakly from where she had been settled against a wall, her leg resting in front of her. “What poison? How did you get those wounds?”

“There were monsters down there.” Fang Duobing said, and then pushed himself into a sitting position. His legs ached with the movement, and he hissed. “A lot of them. Wangfu didn’t—”

“He’s down there?” Li’er asked tearfully. “But… he’ll burn!”

“He was already gone,” Li Lianhua told her. 

She shook her head, hands tight around the rope of blazers. Li’er dipped her head, and then cried quietly, shuddering sobs that shook her shoulders each second as the shadows from her hair hid her face from their view. 

Fang Duobing ducked his head, tears filling his own eyes upon the realisation of just how badly he messed up. He hadn’t managed to save Wangfu at all. He just injured himself when he needed to protect everyone, and now…

His aunt’s hand tightened his arm, and he looked up to see her determined gaze. 

“You tried,” she said quietly. “And that’s what mattered. You did your best, Xiaobao. You got Physician Li out of there as well. I’ll take care of the fights.”

He untensed his shoulders, and gave a slow nod. Then he slid his hand across the stone floor and tucked the wooden dagger back into his belt where the familiar weight of it brought comfort. He would think about all of this later, when they were safe again. 

Except Li Lianhua was still coughing, at a lesser rate now but still hunched over trying to catch his breath, and Fang Duobing reached out in alarm as the man curled up into his coughs. 

“I’m fine,” Li Lianhua tried to wave him off, but his voice was a wheeze. 

“Then can we get the crystals from the monsters below us?” The young man who carried Man’er asked hesitantly. “They’re… they’re dead, right? In the fire?”

There were indeed dozens of monsters from what Fang Duobing had seen, but the idea of going back into the burning tunnel was…

“You’re free to go into the fire,” his aunt snapped. “See if you can bring those crystals back!”

The man paled. “I didn’t mean…”

“Then don’t suggest that!” She said tersely. 

Li Lianhua raised a hand from where he was still curled over on the ground, revealing his singed sleeve and reddened skin. He gave another cough into his shirt, and then opened the hand to reveal a shine on his palm. He Xiaofeng gasped and reached for his hand immediately. 

“It’s not enough for everyone,” Li Lianhua rasped, but even Fang Duobing was moving over in amazement. Four tiny, purple shards of crystal no bigger than a tiny pearl each lay within his hands. “That’s how many I could grab before… well.”

Fang Duobing despaired at not doing the same himself, at being so focused on killing the monsters that he hadn’t reached into the flesh to grab at their means to escape. 

“Four,” his aunt marvelled and then stared hard at the group who was looking over with hope in their eyes. “One for Man’er. And Li’er, and Xiaobao and Physician Li. I’ll stay behind with…?”

The young man looked ready to protest, his face running a gamut of emotions before collapsing entirely in despair. “...Bei Yun.”

“I’ll stay with Yun’er.” He Xiaofeng declared. “We’ll be along right behind you.”

“No,” Fang Duobing insisted to his aunt. “I’ll stay. The others should go, they can’t fight.”

There was a nagging thought in his mind, and he stared over at each of the people in the darkness. 

“And just what do you think you’re going to do, injured like that?” His aunt demanded. “Look at yourself! Xiaobao, you look like you’ve been mauled!”

His legs certainly felt like they’d been mauled, but were also getting more numb by the second. If the pain faded, then he could certainly use his legs again. 

Li Lianhua pursed his lips, looking like he needed to stay something, yet ultimately stayed quiet. Instead, he handed the shards to a surprised He Xiaofeng with a smile, and then moved carefully closer to Fang Duobing, who had most of his weight supported on his arms despite already sitting down, bloodied legs in front of him. 

“You need to patch your wounds up,” Li Lianhua told him. “Even if the poison doesn’t affect you, you’ll bleed out if you just leave this.”

“It’s fine,” Fang Duobing tried to brush off lightly. “None of them are deep!”

“You don’t need deep cuts to bleed out,” Li Lianhua responded drily. “The others will figure out what to do with the return crystals. Hunters aren’t immune to blood loss.”

That was true. Hunters gifted with any sort of healing abilities were incredibly rare, and most could only heal themselves. Only the top sects in the world could afford to have a healer waiting at their base. Fang Duobing heard of two in Korea, one in Russia, and three more in the west. 

This meant that casualty rates for Hunters were high enough that his family refused to allow him to become one on paper. 

“We need to get the injured people out and move,” Bei Yun was saying nervously. “If I have to stay…”

“Just a minute,” Li Lianhua interrupted without looking back at the man. “There’s no guarantee that you’ll be safe immediately when you get out. Just because there will be no more monsters after you doesn’t mean you won’t land back in a collapsing building, or have panicked people trampling over you. Injuries need to be taken care of now where it’s safe. We have the crystals, you can leave any moment. If we’re hunted down, then you can escape even at the last second.”

To Fang Duobing, he said, “Your pants are a lost cause.”

Fang Duobing grimaced, flushing in embarrassment, but agreed. With dozens upon dozens of holes and nearly soaked in blood, there was definitely nothing that could be done with those pants anymore. “It doesn’t matter. We don’t have bandages anyway. Can’t I just… tie it up or something?”

“Just who do you take me for?” Li Lianhua asked and then shifted to reveal the shoulder bag he carried with him. “Am I a physician or not?”

With that, he rummaged through the canvas bag and pulled out two rolls of gauze, as well as a tiny bottle of antiseptic that Fang Duobing hadn’t realised he had with him. 

“I don’t know if I’ll have enough,” Li Lianhua admitted. “This wasn’t the type of situation I prepared for.”

“You didn’t reveal that with Man’er?” Fang Duobing asked with round eyes. 

“You already had the fabric. Why waste this when you already made bandages? If her injury ended up being the only thing that happens here, then we’d have been blessed by the gods.”

Thankfully, his bespoke leather shoes were enough to prevent most injuries, although his suit pants had to be ripped under the knee, much to Fang Duobing’s dismay and embarrassment. He stammered questions that Li Lianhua answered with amusement and looked away, his face so warm he felt he must have a fever. Even the spray of antiseptic was barely felt over the numbness below his skin, and the way Li Lianhua worked deftly to wrap his wounds up tightly. 

It barely took a minute or so, and Fang Duobing was able to stand once again afterward, albeit with a limp as his legs were a tingle of sensation that didn’t feel real. He frowned down at the white gauze over his skin, tempted to hit his own legs to see if he could feel it. 

“Don’t overdo it,” Li Lianhua told him, holding on to his elbow. “You have a natural immunity to things in dungeons, but that doesn’t mean they can’t debilitate you. 

Fang Duobing tapped his foot lightly against the ground and felt it was good enough to walk on. Now to see if the others made any progress on who was going to stay and who was leaving. 

Scanning the rest of the group over, it was easy to see that had come to no decision at all. 

Man’er sat against a wall with a crystal fragment in her hand, clutching it tightly as she stared at the others, while He Xiaofeng held the remaining three fragments, arguing with both Li’er and Bei Yun over something entirely insignificant. 

“We could all be home by now!” Li’er exclaimed, the tear tracks on her face clear of the grime that accumulated from the smoke earlier. She looked miserable and scared, with her torn dress and wrapped wrist, her normally professionally pinned braids around her head having dropped so now she looked like a young girl with pigtails playing at being an adult. 

“All?” He Xiaofeng argued back. “Who is this ‘all’ you’re referring to? You would really leave my nephew and Physician Li behind? Are you that kind of person?”

“Yes!” Li’er burst out in a sob. She raised her hands to cover her eyes miserably. “I’m not brave and I don’t know how to fight! If I stay, I’ll only get in people’s way! If I go, I can tell the sects where you are, describe this area…”

“And what are you going to say?” He Xiaofeng yelled. “They’re somewhere dark? A cave? Big, blank space in the middle of nowhere, perhaps? That will surely help them find us!”

At that, Li’er burst out into tears again, crying Wangfu’s name between her sobs and even He Xiaofeng looked startled and a little regretful of her words. Fang Duobing couldn’t help but feel terrible looking at her. He knew that she and Wangfu had joined the company together, worked as interns together and both celebrated when they got permanent positions at Tianji Hall. They chose to work in the same department, and he saw them daily. They were both happy, bright people whose personalities complimented each other. For Li’er, she just lost her best friend. 

If he had been— faster, more decisive, if he hadn’t waited for to tie their clothes together as a rope and just jumped down after him— 

Wangfu might have made it out alive. 

There was a moment of awkward silence between them before Li Lianhua interjected gently, “She’s right. It’s best for her to leave first. Dungeons are difficult at the best of times, and for people with years of training. Li’er has done her best, and pushing her more would only be detrimental. I can stay longer, I’m good at running away and hiding if something comes near.”

At those words, Fang Duobing gripped onto his wrist tightly, above the burnt skin where Li Lianhua snatched the crystals out from the fire, the burns which Li Lianhua hadn’t treated at all despite treating Fang Duobing’s wounds. 

“Physician Li…” Li’er wilted under the words, shoulders slumping into a miserable curve in the dim lighting. “I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologise,” Li Lianhua said even as he shook off Fang Duobing’s grip without looking in his direction. “I volunteered.”

He Xiaofeng’s previous anger faded to concern, her pout clearly visible even in the low light of the phones, and the slant of her mouth turned downward to a reluctant acceptance. She wrung her hands together and said, “Don’t worry, Physician Li. I’ll keep you safe.”

Fang Duobing had to interject at this point, “No, I’m staying. I’m a Hunter, and you and Li Lianhua are both injured—”

His speech was interrupted by pitched screeching echoing around them, creatures drawn to the noise of their argument and the scent of blood that followed them. The walls seemed to shake with the sounds, prompting both Li’er and Man’er to cover their ears and tuck their head down, the light of their phones shining wildly at the movement. 

He Xiaofeng moved immediately, tucking a shard of crystal into Li’er’s palm and urging her, “Take Man’er and go, now! We’ll figure the rest out later, but you go and keep her safe!”

Li’er gave her a grateful look and then raced over to Man’er, skidding down painfully on her knees before grabbing onto Man’er’s arm and then they were both gone in an instant as if they had never been there at all. 

Bei Yun stood stunned, spurred into action only when Li Lianhua grabbed at Fang Duobing’s elbow to urge him, “Go! Now!”

They ran aimlessly, and Bei Yun gasped out between steps, “If you’re all volunteering to stay, please let me go! I’m like Miss Li and I can’t be of any help, I’m no good at running or hiding either, if I stay, I’d just die! Please!” He reached forward to pull at He Xiaofeng’s shoulder, prompting her to give a painful gasp as the movement jerked on her injured arm and had her crashing down mid-step while running.

[bookofjin]

Account of the Braided Bandits, Part 2 (SS095)

The war between Wei and Song continues. Wei's armies captures Jinyong (a fortress situated at the northern corner of old Luoyang) relatively easy, but Mao Dezu holds out at Hulao (the "Tiger's Pen"). Further east Wei forces also put Dongyang City under siege.

Si is Tuoba Si, Emperor Mingyuan of Wei.

"Zheng Troops" is short for the General of Zheng Troops, Daxi Jin, who leads the Wei siege of Hulao.

The Young Emperor's 1st Year of Jingping, 1st Month [28 January – 25 February 423], the Zheng Troops divided off an army go towards Luo, and attack Xiaolei. The defence commander of the small ramparts, Dou Huang, resisted in battle, he lost and fell. The Grand Warden of Henan, Wang Juanzhi, abandoned Jinyong and set out and ran. From the bandits divided off an army towards Luo, Dezu always fought and every time routed them.

Si, himself leading a great multitude, arrived at Ye. When Zheng Troops had overcome Jinyong, he then turned back to Hulao. Dezu inside the city made tunnels in the walls, going in seven zhang in two paths, and set out outside the city, again divided along six paths, and set out for the rear of the bandits' columns. He recruited 400 dare-to-die soldiers, with Army Adviser Fan Daoji leading 200 as the vanguard, and Army Advisers Guo Wangfu and Liu Gui, and others with 200 as the rear connection, to set out outside the thieves' encirclement, and ambush and assail their rear. The bandits' columns were thrown into confusion. They cut off several hundred heads, and burnt up the assault implements. The bandits, though they retreated and scattered, subsequently then once more joined together.

The bandits also dispatched the General of Chu Troops and Inspector of Xu province, the Duke of Anping, Shegui Fannengjian, the General of Yue Troops and Inspector of Qing province, the Marquis of Linzi, Xue Daoqian, and the General of Chen Troops and Inspector of Huai province, the Count of Shouzhang, Zhang Mo, to go east and strike Qing province. The cities and towns in that direction all ran and fled. The General of the Best of the Army and Inspector of Qing province, Zhu Kui garrisoned Dongyang City. When he heard the bandits had arrived, he collected the multitudes and strengthened the defences. The Dragon-Prancing General and Grand Warden of Ji'nan, Yuan Miao, led the civil and military officials of his two offices and commandery to run and go to Kui.

Kui pledged an oath with his generals and soldiers. Those resident people who had not entered the city were made to move and go to the mountain impasses, and they burnt the grain fields, to make it so that when the bandits arrived there would be nothing to supply them. The bandit multitude that went toward Qing province, from front to rear between the Ji and the He was altogether 60 000 cavalry.

3rd Month [28 March – 25 April], 30 000 cavalry went forward to pursue and threaten. Within the city were 1 500 civil and military people, but half of that were a mix of Qiang and Man vagabonds and sundry. People felt terrified and afraid. Zhu Kui at night dispatched Marshal Che Zong to lead 500 people to set out from the city in a surprise strike, the bandits' multitudes split apart and withdrew.

In the span of two days, the bandits' infantry and cavalry fully arrived. They encircled the city four times, their ranks and columns [stretched] for more than 10 li. Reaching the afternoon, they withdrew and turned back to continuous encampments on the An River, 20 li distant from the city. They greatly put in order attack implements, and day after day divided off infantry and cavalry to regularly come and pressure the city.

Kui at night sent the General Within the Halls, Zhu Zongzhi, Army Adviser Jia Yuanlong, and others to lead 100 people, and prepare an ambush at the two banks at the mouth of the Yang River. The bandit general Afujin led 300 people to cross the river at daybreak. The ambushers issued out from the two banks, and the bandit cavalry ran off in four directions. They killed and wounded several tens of people, and put on display Afujin's head. The bandits again advanced to encamp south of the river, at a distance 4 li north-west of the city.

Si from Ye dispatched troops to add to [those at] Hulao, to intensify the siege and press the attack. Zheng Troops led 3000 infantry and cavalry from Hulao to attack the Grand Warden of Yingchuan, Li Yuande, at Xuchang. The Army Advisor of Chariots and Cavalry, Wang Xuanmo, led 1 000 men to help Yuande defend. He and Yuande together were scattered and defeated. The bandits promptly employed a native of Yingchuan, Yu Long, as Grand Warden of Yingchuan, to lead 500 cavalry, and also issue out the able-bodied among the people so as to defend the city.

Dezu set out with the army to strike Gongsun Biao, there was a great battle from morning to evening, and he killed several hundred of the bandits. It happened that Zheng Troops' army returned from Xuchang, and joined with the siege. Dezu was greatly defeated. He lost more than 1 000 armoured soldiers, and withdrew back to strengthen the city. Si again dispatched more than 10 000 people from Ye, to pass by the He from Baishakou [“White Sand Mouth”], and build a rampart at Hanquan to the south of Puyang City.

A court debate considered that:

The distance between Xiang City and the bandits is not far, not a shelter for a light army, make Liu Cui summon Gao Daojin back to Shouyang. If Shen Shuli already has advanced, he likewise ought be followed up on as well.

Cui considered that the bandits were attacking Hulao and had not yet turned southward, but if he right then gathered in the army residing at Xiang City, then the various commanderies west of the Huai would have nobody to rely and depend on. Shen Shuli had already stopped at the mouth of the Fei and also ought not right then withdraw. At the time Li Yuande, leading 200 scattered troops, arrived at Xiang. Liu Cui made him help Gao Daojin defend and guard, and requested that he be pardoned for his crime of fleeing in defeat. A court debate allowed it in both cases.

Tan Daojin arrived at Pengcheng. He considered that Qing and Si provinces were both in a critical state, however his command was not many and insufficient to proceed separately. [Since] the road to Qing province was nearby and Zhu Kui's troops were weak, he would first save Qing province.

Zhu Kui dispatched people to set out from the city and build moats to the east, west, and south. The bandits north of the city for more than 300 bu dug out a long encirclement. The bandits went down from their horses and advanced on foot. The troops with short arms connected, on top the city walls the bows and crossbows issued forth, and the bandits therefore split and scattered.

The bandits thereupon filled in the outer moats, pulled in four tall buildings and twenty “toad wagons”, setting them up inside the long encirclement. Kui had previously dug out north of the city to make three tunnels. He made them pass through the outer moats and then dug out inside the moats. Within, two zhang from the walls, he made a small moated. He dispatched more than 300 people to set out through the tunnels, intending to burn the bandits' attack implements. At the time a whirlwind shifted the flames, and the fire did not ignite. The bandit troops' arrows came down across, and many of the soldiers were wounded. He gathered the multitude and turned back inside.

The bandits filled in the three moats until they were fully level, However they left behind the small moat, due which the toad chariots could not catch up. The bandits used pillars [?] to attack the city. Kui recruited strong men to tie together great rocks and grindstones upon the city walls, and heap them upon them. He again set out to within the small moat, made use of large hemp-ropes stretched across the structure [?] and attacked the wagons near the city. From inside the tunnels, many strong people pull and made them snap. The bandits then dug out a long encirclement to the south of the city, and advanced the attack even more pressingly.

Kui was able to grasp what was important, while Yuan Miao had a capacity for audacity. For that reason they were able to firmly defend through changing seasons. However, they were attacked daily for a long time, and the city was gradually ruined and destroyed. Many of the fighting soldiers were dead or wounded, and the remaining multitudes were hard-pressed and exhausted. From dawn to dusk they were on the verge of capture while Tan Daoji and Wang Zhongde through forced marches hurried to them.

Liu Cui dispatched Li Yuande to assail Xuchang. Yu Long ran away. General Song Huang followed in pursuit, and cut of Long's head. Yuande following that halted to soothe and console, and also sent up taxes and provisions.

The bandits' Yuebo Dafei led more than 3 000 cavalry, and routed five counties that belonged to Gaoping commandery: Gaoping, Fangyu, Rencheng, Jinxiang, and Kangfu. They killed or carried off more than 2 000 families. They killed their boys and drove away into captivity their young women. The Inspector of Yan province, Zheng Shunzhi, guarded Hulu, and though he had troops, he did not dare set out. The General of the Best of the Army, Shen Xuan, defended Pengcheng, which was more than 200 li distant from Gaoping. He feared the bandits would arrive, and moved the people living outside the outer walls, and also the various encampment offices, to fully enter the Lesser City.

Si again dispatched the Inspector of Bing province, Yilou Ba to help Zheng Troops attack Hulao, and fill up the pair of moats at the frontier. Dezu along the way had just so resisted and held them off, and to some extent killed the bandits, but his generals and soldiers were bit by bit crumbling away.

4th Month, renshen [1 May], the bandits heard that Daoji was about to arrive. They burnt their instruments and implements, abandoned Qing province, and fled.

Zhu Kui sent up words that Dongyang City had been destroyed and ruined by the attacks, and was impossible to defend. He moved to garrison Changguang's Buqi City. Kui, due to his merit in firmly defending, advanced in title to General of the Van, and was ennobled Baron of Jianling county with a revenue estate of 400 households. Kui, courtesy name Zuji, was a native of Dongguan. In office he reached Gold and Purple Brilliantly Blessed Grandee.

[g-rasyaana]

🍽️ Wangfu Chinese Café

Masarap and affordable! Quick serving lang din. Siguro dahil gutom na gutom na ko nung kumain kaya parang sumobrang sarap pa 😅 Mas nagustuhan ko ang Salted Egg Fried Chicken kaysa sa Salt and Pepper Liempo.

After nito, nanood kami ng Black Panther. Grabe talaga, parang pagod na pagod lang ba talaga ko o sobrang haba lang nung movie? Nung Dr. Strange last May ganun din e, nakatulog ako sa ibang parts. Pero Thor nung July hindi naman ako nakatulog. Siguro hindi ko lang talaga kaya yung super haba ng movie tapos comfy yung seat and malamig pa.

[strokesandscribbles]

Today...

I did some errands. Decided to step into the light after a week lmao. I miss the sun. Then there was a terrible traffic due to a feast celebrated in this town which I am unaware of. So the bus ride took almost 2 hours of me listening to music and catching up on murder, mystery and make-up which I would probably re-listen cuz my mind was flying throughout the whole ride.

I couldn't stop thinking. For a moment I was spiraling and I had to stop myself.

I got to the mall to check on moka pot but there was none. Looked at some workout clothes which I don't really need cuz I just bought last year so I had to convince myself to get out of the store.

There were fewer book selections in the place's Nat'l Bookstore. I was a bit sad. I saw this wanting-to-die-and-eat-korean-food book which I sent a pic to my sis. lmao. Book titles we can feel.

First time eating at Wangfu, which I thought was a Singaporean restaurant but is actually a Singaporean-Chinese restaurant, I just searched it rn. I was so confused while I was there. lmao

First time trying Hakaw, it's actually good. Satay was a bit salty for me, should've put the calamansi while eating there, I only did when I ate the leftover I took home.

Normal Chinese food taste (for me). Good, bit greasy, kinda salty. Might not eat Chinese food for the meantime. I don't hate it. It's just that I grew up eating Chinese food that it's a bit typical for me now, sometimes maybe even dull. Lmao. I don't why. I also have a friend who dislikes eating a local delicacy her family used to serve all the time when she was a kid. Cuz it's like she's been eating that for too long. Lmao. How do science explain this? I guess we just get too tired of the taste. maybe?

Why I grew up eating Chinese food? Cuz my dad was a chef for Chinese restaurants for years. He used to bring take-outs and also cooks at home. I am so familiar with the taste.

Anw, I did laundry when I got back, then ate. Then prepared for bed and saw this on my feed.

Let me cry some happy hopeful tears. *butterfly hugging myself*

still grateful for everyday despite everything.

np: one and only by adele (spotify shuffle algorithm-ing lol) gotta sleep now, work later 😶‍🌫️

- istin

[emilywongchuenfung]

Qeelin - Beijing Wangfu Central new opening 2023

[hoshidaisuki]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reina's new favorite dish - @wangfuph 's Salted Egg Fried Chicken. Giving it a 5 star rating because my daughter is a picky eater and rarely eats such food 🐷 . . . . #zerueats #foodporn #foodphotography #foodie #chicken #wangfuph #chinesefood (at Wangfu SM Fairview) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnBMqs8PETF/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[travalerray]

Rewatching Mysterious Lotus Casebook 2/40

yes indeed it would be tragic if your father was revealed all of a sudden to be evil and wanting to use you for furthering his evil plans.

(justice for Wangfu who doesn't even get mentioned later on in the series.)

The funny thing about putting that poison (?) on the quilt so that it would make his hand turn black after washing it so that they could capture the murderer is that.....they snuck in through the women's house to just do that. And she dies anyways. Just to capture the murderer with so much drama. (No but seriously, unless I am misreading something here.....WHAT WAS THE NEED TO GO THROUGH ALL THAT. What's more important, a dramatic reveal or two innocent lives, LLH and FDB, what's more important😭)

they were really pushing the three way parallel agenda right from the start huh

Fang Duobing: Don't be sad that your father turned out to be evil and uncaring! I will give you money to make up for it!

This is such a...typical richboy solution to problems, I'm crying.

nothing, I just love the hulijing scenes.

[danabonnie5]

Me Rachel And Mama Also Rizza Cruz And Her Son #wangfuchineserestaurant (at Wangfu Chinese Cafe, SM Marikina) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ci2VHUNphMH/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thegreatbourbon]

Singaporean-Chinese Feast. 📸: @wangfuph Hainanese Chicken Rice Set. . . . . . . . . . . #hainanese #hainanesechicken #hainanesechickenrice #wangfu #lutongpinoy #lutongbahay #panlasangpinoy #pinoyfood #filipinofood #pinoyfoodie #homecooking #discovermnl #dmfoodseries #wheninmanila #whattoeatph #manilaeatup #eatpilipinas #foodgrammerph #filipinofoodmovement #forkspoonmanila #thefoodiestation #foodinfluencerph #welovetoeatph #adobonation #ulamideas #choosephilippines #chewmanila #southfoodies #Ilocanofoodcollab #worldspinoyhomechefs (at Wang Fu, Ayala Malls, Vertis North) https://www.instagram.com/p/CYlgbR9P1oC/?utm_medium=tumblr

[cazedmunds]

Friday night Feast! 🍴❣️🍴❣️ . . #ChineseFood #Chinese #SweetAndSourPork #FriedBeanCurdWrap #CazEats #CazFaves #WangFu #WangFuChineseCafe (at Wangfu) https://www.instagram.com/p/CJySl-pnIsm/?igshid=h81lbcur2qsy

[eruption23]

ALAM NA! It’s time to get those CHINESE-GAINZ ON and feed these bad boy gunz!!! @wangfuph 💯🙏🏻💪🏻 . #CheatMEAL #WangFu #ChineseGainz #HIGAMODE #StayReady 📸 @rownita ❤️ (at U.P. Town Center)

[foodterestph-blog]

Mango Sago 🥭🥭🥭 📸 @leonylafaithsegotierdolendo . . . . . #ChineseFood #ChineseNewYear #MangoSago #Mango #Sago #WangFu #YummyPh #WhatToEatPh #WhenInManila #WhenInManilaFood #Wimyummy #Foodgram #DMFoodSeries #Foodporn #Foodgasm #Nom #Nomnom #Nomnomnom #Food #EatingForTheInsta #Chefmode #FoodLover #FoodDiary #Yum #Yummy #FoodLover #Foodstagram #FoodterestPH #FoodBeast #FoodPhoto (at Wang Fu Chinese Bistro) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bth73CUlXmc/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ruhfem595sb0

[mariannradi]

#HotPot 🍜💛 . . . . #mimoza #wangfu #foodporn #chinesefood (at Mimóza Kínai Étterem) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs0fN_SgQHc/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=i0vzrreamh1f