Chapter 376: Huarong Road

The Sky Screen gave a close-up.

Cao Cao leaned against a tree trunk by the road to catch his breath, coughing up two mouthfuls of blood foam, wiping them with his sleeve, looking down at them, but saying nothing.

He looked up at the sky, then at the remnant soldiers behind him, and smiled.

Not the smile of triumph, but the smile of someone who knew they were finished but didn't want to admit it.

"I unified the north, possessed an army of a million, yet ended up in this state..."

His voice wasn't loud, but the Sky Screen broadcast it completely.

Among the soldiers standing on the Cao camp side, some lowered their heads.

Those veteran soldiers who had followed Cao Cao through the Battle of Guandu and the fight against Yuan Shao, seeing this scene, felt their hands clenching into fists trembling.

Yuan Shao's side went quiet.

Those who had laughed just now weren't laughing anymore.

He looked at the disheveled Cao Cao in the Sky Screen, wanting to say something, but his mouth moved, and nothing came out.

The mountain road of Huarong Road was revealed.

It was raining, the road surface full of rotten mud, one step sinking to the ankle, pulling out half a section of mud.

The woods on both sides of the road were soaked by the rain, leaves drooping, dripping water with every gust of wind.

On the road, one could see dead horses and human corpses, some bloated by the rain, some half-buried in the mud.

The camera pulled back.

At the end of the road, where the mountain path turned, dense figures walked out of the woods, forming a horizontal line, sealing the entire road.

The person at the very front, green robe, long beard, holding a sword horizontally, the blade reflecting the cold light of the rainy day.

Guan Yu.

Five hundred sword-wielding soldiers stood neatly behind him, no one speaking, no one moving, just standing there like a wall.

Zhang Fei sat on a rock beside Liu Bei, seeing this scene, and slapped his thighs with both hands: "Second Brother!"

His voice was loud, and everyone around heard it.

Guan Yu didn't turn his head, but still gave a light "hmm".

The Sky Screen didn't stop.

The scene suddenly changed, no longer the rainy Huarong Road, but a different scene—

Military camp, main tent, Cao Cao sitting in the main seat, Guan Yu standing before him, posture straight, not kneeling.

That was a long time ago.

Tushan.

Guan Yu was surrounded, and Zhang Liao came to persuade him to surrender.

Guan Yu set three conditions:

Surrender to the Han, not to Cao; protect Liu Bei's family; if he learned of his brother's whereabouts later, he must go find him no matter how far.

Cao Cao heard this and didn't hesitate, agreeing to all of them.

A strategist on the side wanted to say something, but was suppressed by a look from Cao Cao.

The following scenes played one after another:

A small banquet every three days, a large banquet every five days.

Cao Cao personally poured wine for Guan Yu.

Boxes of gold, silver, and silk were sent to Guan Yu's camp one after another.

When the Red Hare horse was led out, Guan Yu's eyes lit up.

Cao Cao saw it on the side, said nothing, just handed over the reins.

The seal of the Marquis of Hanshou hung at Guan Yu's waist, tied on by Cao Cao himself.

Then the scene changed, Guan Yu left.

Sealing the gold and returning the seal, resigning from Cao to return to Liu, passing five gates and slaying six generals.

Cao Cao stood outside the tent, watching Guan Yu's back walk further and further away; Zhang Liao asked if they should pursue, and Cao Cao waved his hand.

"Each serves their own master, let him go."

The Sky Screen returned to Huarong Road.

Cao Cao stood before Guan Yu, bowed, opened his mouth, his voice shaking—truly shaking, not pretending.

He recounted those past events, his voice sinking with every item he mentioned.

Some of the remnant soldiers behind him knelt, their bodies covered in mud, but they didn't get up.

Guan Yu's hand gripping the sword didn't loosen, but the tip of the blade pressed down half an inch.

The Sky Screen gave Guan Yu a close-up.

His phoenix eyes were slightly closed, raindrops on his eyelashes.

His lips moved, then closed again.

The sword-wielding soldiers beside Guan Yu turned their heads to look at him, waiting for his order.

Zhang Fei's fists clenched and loosened, finally saying in a low voice:

"Second Brother values loyalty the most; if it were me, I'm afraid I would have struck."

Liu Bei's hands clenched into fists in his sleeves, then loosened, then clenched again.

Zhuge Liang's hand waving the fan stopped for a moment, then continued waving.

Lu Su stood beside Zhou Yu, looking at the conflicted figure in the Sky Screen, and said: "Yunchang's action is truly putting private feelings above public duty."

Zhou Yu didn't answer.

He looked at Guan Yu's face in the Sky Screen, seeing the rain flowing down his temples, seeing the sword tip pressing down bit by bit, his brow furrowed deeply.

In the Sky Screen, Guan Yu sighed long.

That sigh was very long, as if squeezing a breath out of his chest bit by bit.

He turned the sword horizontally, looked at the rain on the blade, then turned sideways and stepped aside.

"Releasing you today, the past favors are wiped clean."

"If we meet on the battlefield again, Guan will not show mercy."

The five hundred sword-wielding soldiers retreated, clearing a two-zhang-wide path.

Cao Cao was stunned for a moment, then bowed, thanking him repeatedly, his voice urgent and short, as if afraid Guan Yu would go back on his word.

He led the remnant soldiers past Guan Yu's side, their steps as fast as if fleeing.

The camera froze on Guan Yu's back.

The rain hadn't stopped, soaking the green robe, the rain on the shoulder armor flowing down into thin streams.

He stood in the middle of the road, his sword leaning on the ground, not looking back.

The Sky Screen's image stopped.

But the discussion rose, rising from the ground like a tide.

The first to speak were a group of commoners in straw sandals.

They crowded outside the camp, far from the main tent, unable to see the faces of the big figures, but everyone saw the images on the Sky Screen.

An old man squatted on the ground, holding a dry tobacco pipe in his hand, but not lighting it.

He looked up at the Sky Screen, then down at the pipe in his hand, and opened his mouth: "Guan Second Master... did he really let Cao Cao go?"

A younger one beside him replied: "He let him go, could that be wrong?"

"Cao Cao is such a powerful person; if he lets him go, won't he keep fighting?"

"That's a matter for later."

A woman squatting behind pulled her child into her arms.

"If Guan Second Master had killed Cao Cao then, would he still be Guan Second Master?"

The old man nodded and said nothing more.

He put the pipe in his mouth, his cheeks moving as if chewing something that wasn't there.

Beside the camp fence, several young Shu soldiers huddled together to watch.

One of them, his hand gripping his spear, loosened and tightened, tightened and loosened.

Seeing Guan Yu step aside in the Sky Screen, he whispered: "If it were me, I would have let him go too."

The person beside him turned to look: "What about the military order?"

The soldier thought for a moment: "Military order is military order, but Cao Cao treated him so well back then... He's not wood, he remembers favors."

"If General Guan had killed Cao Cao, would he still be the General Guan we know?"

The person beside him didn't speak.

In the open space outside the main tent, Zhang Liao stood motionless.

He had watched the entire Huarong Road scene, watched Cao Cao's disheveled begging, watched Guan Yu stepping aside.

Zhang Liao's lips were pressed tight, his cheeks bulging as if biting his back teeth.

He didn't speak, but his breathing was heavier than before.

Xu Chu stood beside him, his injured arm still hanging, his hand gripping his sword tightly.

He stared at Guan Yu's back in the Sky Screen, opened his mouth, and closed it again.

Finally, he squeezed two words out of his throat: "Benefactor."

Several veteran Cao Wei soldiers also saw it, and heard it.

They looked at each other and said nothing. ===== CHAPTER 377 =====