When Lao Huihui's words echoed across the field, the Prince of Fu burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha! My ancestral residence isn't outside the city walls at all—it's deep within Luoyang itself! He can't touch it, he can't burn it, hahahaha!"
He laughed with undisguised glee.
But as he laughed, the faces of the local gentry—whose ancestral estates were scattered around the outskirts of Luoyang—turned deathly pale.
A minor official began to sob quietly, his voice trembling as he spoke.
"This humble servant was once a commoner, farming the land in Duanjiagou. The old house and fields, passed down through generations, are all there. If they are burned… then I… I would become the eternal sinner of the Duan clan."
Several merchants and landowners, despair etched across their faces, cried out in chorus,
"Hero! Please, don't burn it—don't burn it down!"
Lao Huihui threw back his head and laughed loudly.
"If you wish to keep your ancestral homes from turning to ashes, then gather a thousand shi of grain. I'm not asking for an outrageous sum."
The gentry exchanged uneasy looks, then instinctively huddled together, clearly preparing for a hurried consultation.
The Prince of Fu, meanwhile, stood aside with the air of a detached spectator, as if watching a lively street performance.
Bai Yuan, however, found the scene increasingly interesting.
He lifted a metal megaphone and shouted toward the field outside the city walls,
"Lao Huihui! Look this way! I am Bai Yuan. I offer you my respects."
Lao Huihui sneered.
"Save your flowery pretenses."
Bai Yuan replied calmly,
"Pretenses? You misunderstand. 'Among a gentleman's Six Arts, I value rites above all else.' This is no performance—I have always strived to conduct myself as a man of propriety."
Silence answered him.
Lao Huihui's face darkened with irritation.
"Do you even understand the situation we're in? And you still have the leisure to spout this nonsense?"
Bai Yuan remained unruffled.
"No matter the circumstances, propriety must never be abandoned. That is the true path of a gentleman."
Everyone listening rubbed their temples.
Lao Huihui rolled his eyes so hard they nearly vanished into his skull.
"Get to the point!"
Bai Yuan asked,
"It seems you've never been one to plunder the common folk?"
Lao Huihui snorted.
"What wealth do common folk have? Could I scrape together five taels of silver from an entire family? It's far more profitable to seize a Prince of Fu—one capture could yield hundreds of thousands of taels. And even setting aside the silver, if I boiled him and ate him, the Prince of Fu's ample flesh alone could feed three starving men."
The Prince of Fu gasped in horror.
"This king is absolutely not palatable!"
Bai Yuan laughed softly.
"Your refusal to prey on common folk suggests you still possess a trace of conscience. Tell me—what truly drove you to rebel? Perhaps we could discuss it."
Lao Huihui narrowed his eyes.
"What's this? Trying to talk me into surrendering with clever words? I'm not that easily fooled."
Bai Yuan replied,
"To abandon darkness and return to the light—how could such a choice be foolish?"
Lao Huihui burst into loud laughter.
"Do you really not know? I was once a great general of the border army—an official of the imperial court. If I surrender now, I'll just become an imperial official again. And what then? They'll still withhold my military pay! No matter how desperately I need it, they'll refuse to give it!"
Bai Yuan fell silent.
Ah.
So this man, like Lao Nanfeng, was another border soldier forced into rebellion by unpaid wages.
The difference was simple.
Lao Nanfeng's unit had wandered into the territory of the Dao Xuan Tianzun, where they now enjoyed full bellies, abundant supplies, and a life bordering on extravagance. Lao Huihui, on the other hand, still roamed the wilds—risking his life daily, fighting desperately for every mouthful of food.
Such was fate.
From the same starting point, lives could diverge into utterly different paths.
Bai Yuan let out a long sigh.
"What if we paid you your wages in full, and you laid down your arms? What then?"
The Prince of Fu's eyes lit up. He hurried to the battlements.
"You want military pay? That's easy! I'll give it to you! This king has plenty of money—I'll give it to you! Just stop rebelling. Wouldn't it be better to return to the court and serve as a general again?"
Lao Huihui scoffed coldly.
"Why should I trust you? I don't even trust Zhu Youjian, let alone a mere Prince of Fu. If I wanted your money, I'd rather break through Luoyang, throw you into a cauldron, and boil you alive. Wouldn't all the wealth in your mansion then belong to us?"
The Prince of Fu recoiled.
"Why do you keep talking about boiling people?!"
Bai Yuan sighed again.
He knew words alone would never be enough.
Lao Huihui had been deceived too many times. The court's credibility was long shattered. And even if Bai Yuan were to proudly display the banner of Gao Family Village, it would mean nothing—Lao Huihui had never even heard of such a place.
This was not the moment for clumsy, distant persuasion.
Before convincing Lao Huihui, he first needed to establish the authority and reputation of Gao Family Village in this man's eyes. That would require a far more direct method.
Bai Yuan raised the megaphone once more.
"Lao Huihui, look at the large rock between us. Do you see the small yellow flower growing on top of it?"
Lao Huihui squinted.
"I see it. What of it?"
Bai Yuan did not reply.
Instead, he swiftly drew his flintlock rifle.
Bang!
A sharp crack split the air.
The small yellow flower instantly burst apart, petals scattering into the wind.
Lao Huihui sucked in a sharp breath.
So far away… and yet so precise? What kind of terrifying skill is this?
Bai Yuan holstered the rifle and picked up the megaphone again.
"See that? Abandon any thoughts of attacking Luoyang. It is only because you refrain from harming common folk that I offer this warning. Otherwise, a simple ruse could have drawn you closer, and a single shot would have sent you straight to the underworld."
The words were arrogant.
But Lao Huihui understood the truth behind them.
If the defenders feigned weakness and lured him forward, reaching that distance would be effortless. The spot was still hundreds of paces from the city wall—far enough for him to lower his guard.
If they could shatter a flower at that range, they could just as easily put a bullet through his skull.
From that moment on, Lao Huihui regarded Bai Yuan with genuine respect.
Bai Yuan concluded calmly,
"Hold to your principles. Do not harm the innocent. We will meet again."
He said no more, simply watching the rebel army with a cool, assessing gaze.
After intense deliberation, the city's gentry and wealthy families did indeed send grain to Lao Huihui.
Naturally, it was not the full thousand shi he demanded.
After a fierce round of bargaining, they ultimately bought safety for their ancestral homes at the price of five hundred shi.
True to his word, once the grain was received, Lao Huihui ceased all activity around Luoyang. He withdrew his troops and marched southeast.
Only after the rebel army had retreated far into the distance did the Prince of Fu turn to Bai Yuan, his face filled with grievance.
"Master Bai, since you can put a bullet through his head from that distance, why didn't you lure him closer and kill him outright? Why warn him instead? Letting a tiger return to the mountains—how impractical and foolish!"
Bai Yuan scoffed.
"You understand abso—cough… I nearly spoke improperly. That would have completely negated the 'rites' among a gentleman's Six Arts."
He struck his familiar contemplative pose, head tilted forty-five degrees as he gazed at the sky.
"We are defending from within the city and have no way to encircle them. If I killed Lao Huihui, his cavalry would scatter in all directions. We'd never catch them—not even one."
"Once they escape, some 'Little Lao Huihui' or 'New Lao Huihui' will inevitably rise to take command. Their policy would shift from 'not plundering common folk' to 'plundering without restraint.' That chaos would spiral out of control and devastate the countryside. It is far better for Lao Huihui to remain in charge—for now, at least his forces have discipline."
Only then did the Prince of Fu truly understand.
"I see! That makes perfect sense! Master Bai's foresight is truly all-encompassing."
Bai Yuan watched the direction of Lao Huihui's retreat for a long moment. Then he turned and summoned Jiang Cheng.
"Send a few men," he ordered. "Lightly armed. Minimal escort. Make discreet contact with Lao Huihui."