Chapter 13

Although Liu Bei had been extremely busy over the past month, after meeting that girl that morning, he would also every morning create opportunities for a chance encounter.

Liu Bei greatly liked the girl's openness and candor, while the girl felt Liu Bei was unlike anyone she had ever seen, always presenting the image of a refined scholar, and occasionally revealing an iron-blooded vigor that made his demeanor extraordinary.

Over the past month, their daily morning meetings gradually made them familiar; while washing clothes, the girl would always tell Liu Bei about family matters, and Liu Bei would patiently listen, not forgetting to eat the steamed buns and other breakfast she brought in her bundle.

When the girl finished washing her clothes and turned around, she discovered Liu Bei already lying on the ground, belching contentedly.

Recently, the girl complained to Liu Bei that soap was hard to buy; she wanted a bar to wash clothes but couldn't even snag one. The next day, Liu Bei brought a cloth bundle containing various scented soaps.

The girl was quite surprised, but Liu Bei said he was a technician at the soap production base, so taking these out was still easy. The girl felt delighted, yet still worried whether doing this was dangerous. But think about it! Now Liu Bei, the magistrate of Xiaopei, is so benevolent, caring for the common people—how could he possibly be punished over a few bars of soap?

Liu Bei also learned many livelihood matters from the girl; every few days he would propose measures to protect the lower-class reclamation settlers, doing his utmost to safeguard the people's interests. His reputation among the populace kept improving, and with the support of the great clans led by the Mi and Chen families, his prestige in Xuzhou could rival that of Inspector Tao Qian.

That day, Liu Bei and the girl who had finished washing her clothes sat side by side on the grass; Liu Bei stood up, took a bundle of pastries from his horse's back, and handed it to the girl.

"Ganmei, I'll be going to Chang'an in a few days. Is there anything you'd like me to bring back for you?"

Ganmei sat on the ground hugging her knees, eating the pastries Liu Bei had handed her in small bites, while shaking her head slightly.

"I don't really want anything, but I heard my mother say that Chang'an's colored thread is much better than ours in Xuzhou; it would be excellent for sewing floral patterns onto clothes. By the way, why are you going so far away?"

Liu Bei turned his head to look at the girl's fair, pretty profile and slender neck; the morning breeze lifted her black hair, and for a moment he was somewhat entranced.

"Hey, idiot, you're not listening to me again."

The girl looked at Liu Bei's foolish expression and gave his waist a hard twist.

"Ah, don't pinch—going to Chang'an is definitely for business. Rest assured, I will surely bring you back Chang'an's colored thread when I return."

The girl narrowed her eyes and smiled lightly, brushed off the pastry crumbs from her hand, and pulled out a pair from her clothing.

"All right, I heard that the road to Chang'an is very far; well, I just happened to make a pair of shoes for you."

Liu Bei took them, seeing that the shoes still had a cute pair of butterflies on them, feeling somewhat torn between laughter and tears.

The girl looked at Liu Bei's expression and scolded.

"What's wrong? You don't like them? If you don't like them, give them back."

Liu Bei hastily stuffed the shoes into his robe and apologized with a smile.

"I like them, I really do; besides, there's no reason to take back something you've given away."

After they horsed around for a while, Liu Bei saw that the time for roll call was approaching, so he spurred his horse away; Ganmei stood by the riverbank, blankly watching Liu Bei's galloping figure, and after a long while she softly laughed, picked up her washed clothes, and went home.

Liu Bei was thinking of going to Chang'an to have a look; now it should be about the time when Li Jue and Guo Si, those two villains, were planning to rebel—if he went, he might be able to seize back the Emperor Xian.

Yes!

These rebels always act this way; as a member of the Han imperial clan, I naturally cannot stand by and do nothing.

Although…… I'm just a counterfeit.

Although…… even the real Liu Bei himself might not know what's genuine.

Thinking about Liu Bei makes me upset; this time I'll go and give it a try—if I can rescue the emperor, that would naturally be the best.

Liu Bei shared his idea with everyone; after discussion, he decided to bring Zhao Yun, Zhang Fei, and a hundred cavalry, disguising themselves as a Mi Family merchant caravan to enter Chang'an.

Letting Guan Yu stay behind was also the result of careful consideration; compared to the usual steadiness of the second brother, with Jian Yong restraining him, it is far stronger than leaving the crude third brother in charge.

Liu Bei set out with his entourage at noon; to make the disguise more authentic, he genuinely brought along a lot of goods dispatched by the Mi Family, which was also killing two birds with one stone.

Along the way, although there were refugees and bandits watching this convoy, without exception, anyone who came to challenge was speared to death by Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei, after which the remaining people all scattered like birds and beasts.

After walking and stopping for over a month, the group finally reached the vicinity of Chang'an. Seeing the sky gradually darken, Liu Bei ordered everyone to set up camp on the spot. After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill and was resting at night, they suddenly heard the confused sound of horse hooves approaching faintly; the sound seemed to be no less than several hundred cavalry.

Liu Bei had not taken off his personal armor; when he stepped out of the resting tent, the two generals Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei had already gathered the soldiers, formed up and were waiting. The hundred or so cavalrymen held divine-strength crossbows at the ready, needing only Liu Bei's command to fire all their bolts at once.

That cavalry force arrived before their eyes in an instant; its leader was a corpulent man with a faint cold smile at the corner of his mouth.

This force of about six or seven hundred cavalry formed a semicircle at a distance of over a hundred meters, half-surrounding Liu Bei's group; this distance allowed the cavalry to build speed and at any moment charge to scatter the formation of Liu Bei's hundred-strong detachment.

Liu Bei gave Zhao Yun a look; Zhao Yun raised his bright silver spear diagonally, spurred his horse forward, and shouted loudly.

"Who are you, and why do you block my convoy here?"

The stout general snorted coldly and said.

"A convoy? Since you entered my territory of Chang'an I've had my eye on you—what convoy fights and kills its way through like this? I see you are in league with rebel troops and spies; where is Gong Yin? Seize them for me."

A tall, slender young officer burst forth from the side, wielding an ornate great axe, and spurred his horse to attack Zhao Yun.

Upon hearing the two words 'Gong Yin', Liu Bei's eyes lit up; he opened the system to analyze the commander's data.

"Xu Huang, Martial 95, Intelligence 75, Politics 63, Leadership 95, Health 98, loyalty to Yang Feng 75."

Afterwards Liu Bei turned his gaze to the stout general beside him.

"Yang Feng, Martial 60, Intelligence 45, Politics 63, Leadership 50, Health 95."

Sure enough, this is Xu Huang, one of Cao Cao's future Five Elite Generals; his Leadership value could be said to be the highest I've seen so far, and leaving such talent in the hands of that fool Yang Feng is truly a waste.

In the blink of an eye Zhao Yun and Xu Huang had clashed; Xu Huang suddenly chopped with his axe, Zhao Yun did not dare be careless, dodged to the side and flung a lightning-fast spear thrust at Xu Huang's chest.

Xu Huang retracted his great axe and blocked that thunderous spear thrust.

"Clang!"

The two weapons collided, and Xu Huang felt a faint numbness in his arm; just as he was about to counter, Zhao Yun flung out seven or eight spear thrusts in succession, forcing Xu Huang to summon his spirit and do his best to parry.

In the blink of an eye they had exchanged a dozen or so moves; Zhao Yun, relying on his nimble spear technique, engaged in a tangled fight, while Xu Huang gradually began to run out of strength and grew inclined to retreat. Seizing the opportunity, Zhao Yun with a single thrust knocked Xu Huang's great axe aside, and with a flick of his bright silver spear tip, he ripped open the shoulder guard of Xu Huang's armor.

Xu Huang, realizing his opponent had held back, spurred his horse back a few steps.

Originally, the gap in their martial prowess was not that great, but Zhao Yun was inherently strong, and his spear technique was lightning-fast; Xu Huang realized he was outmatched and already inclined to retreat, allowing Zhao Yun to defeat Xu Huang within twenty exchanges..

Zhao Yun sheathed his bright silver spear and laughed, saying.

"Your martial skill is not bad, but you really shouldn't be following such an incompetent lord. I don't want to hurt you—step back for now."