Chapter 6

"Master, I’m not saying this to criticize you, but you really shouldn’t have gone to see him. He’s a Yellow Turban rebel; how could he possibly have any sense of honor? Now look at us, both captured, and our lives are in danger."

Liu Jing and Wu Xiu were both tied up, sitting side by side on a horse. Wu Xiu was filled with resentment and kept complaining.

Liu Jing, however, bit his lip and remained silent, occasionally glancing at the large man guarding them. The leather bag containing the copper seal and other credentials was on the man’s back.

The large man couldn’t read and didn’t know Liu Jing’s true identity, but he was very interested in the short sword, which he was now waving around, clearly deciding to keep it for himself.

"Master, what do we do now? We can’t return to Jingzhou, and we might die at the hands of the Cao army." Wu Xiu became increasingly sad and started to cry.

Liu Jing turned and gave him a fierce glare, scaring Wu Xiu into stopping his crying. He was also puzzled; why was the master so silent?

At noon, a warhorse galloped over from the distance, and the rider shouted, "The general orders a short rest."

The soldiers sat down to rest, and the large man pulled Liu Jing and Wu Xiu off the horse, throwing them to the side and growling, "Rest for a moment, then get back on the horse."

The large man sat on the other side, playing with his new short sword. Seeing that no one was paying attention, Liu Jing spat out a sword tip from his mouth, which made Wu Xiu’s eyes widen. It turned out that the reason for his silence was this.

"Quickly, cut the ropes for me. The Cao army is coming." Liu Jing knew that they had only traveled a few dozen miles before stopping, which meant something must have been discovered.

"But... what about me?"

"Stop talking nonsense and cut the ropes quickly."

Liu Jing cursed softly. The two of them were back-to-back, and Wu Xiu picked up the sword tip with both hands, using the sharp edge to cut the ropes.

‘Snap!’ The ropes were cut, and at that moment, a commotion erupted from the front. A soldier shouted, "The Cao army is here!"

The Cao army attacked from all sides, completely blocking Liu Pi’s army’s escape routes. Without the advantage of terrain, the Yellow Turban soldiers fell into chaos. Liu Pi deeply regretted his decision and shouted, "Don’t be afraid, follow my commands, and fight to the death to break out!"

The army was in chaos, and the situation was extremely dire. Liu Jing rolled over and hid behind Wu Xiu, snatching the sword tip from his hand. The large man quickly walked over, grabbed Wu Xiu, and threw him onto the horse.

Seizing this opportunity, Liu Jing quickly cut the ropes on his feet and pounced, grabbing the large man’s hair and slamming his head into the saddle. At that time, the saddle was cylindrical with iron rings on both sides.

‘Bang!’ The large man’s head hit the iron ring, and blood gushed from his forehead. He screamed in pain, covering his head with both hands. Seizing this chance, Liu Jing snatched the short sword from the large man and thrust it into his back.

The large man fell to the ground, and Liu Jing quickly cut the ropes on Wu Xiu’s hands and feet, then grabbed the leather bag from the large man’s back and put it on himself.

At this moment, the Cao army had already surrounded the Yellow Turban army from all sides. The Yellow Turban soldiers were in disarray, running in all directions, and were being slaughtered like cattle and sheep. The cries of the dying echoed across the plain.

"Master, what... what do we do?" Wu Xiu’s voice trembled with fear.

"You idiot, quickly get on the horse and run!"

Liu Jing couldn’t ride a horse, but Wu Xiu could, and he could carry Liu Jing to safety. Although it was an old horse, if it could be made to run wild, they might have a chance to escape.

At this time, horses did not have stirrups, but there was a single stirrup on one side for mounting, and the feet were placed in ropes on both sides.

Wu Xiu’s body was weak, and he couldn’t get on the horse several times. Just then, several arrows whistled through the air, hitting the old horse, which let out a long cry and fell to the ground.

Dozens of Cao army soldiers were charging over. Liu Jing grabbed Wu Xiu and ran, covering about a mile. In the chaos, he found a chance to hide among the dead bodies, smearing himself with blood.

"Quickly, don’t just stand there!" Liu Jing cursed softly.

Wu Xiu finally reacted, grabbing the blood and smearing it on his face and body. "Master... can we escape like this?"

"I don’t know, let’s see how it goes."

Liu Jing knew that they were surrounded by the Cao army on all sides. Without a horse, they would die, and even with a horse, they might not survive the rain of arrows. If the Cao army didn’t clean up the battlefield, they might have a chance to escape by pretending to be dead.

But he knew that the Cao army would burn the bodies to prevent disease, and he felt a sense of despair for the first time, unsure if he could escape this time.

The battle was gradually coming to an end, and dozens of warhorses galloped over. One of the horses was next to Liu Jing, and the rider was Gao Lan.

A human head was tied to the horse’s head, which was Liu Pi, the leader of the Yellow Turbans. He had been killed by Gao Lan, his eyes wide open, and blood dripping from his neck, landing on Liu Jing’s head, making him shudder.

Gao Lan shouted, "Search the battlefield, and kill all the Yellow Turbans who are pretending to be dead!"

Liu Jing’s heart sank; he really was in danger of losing his life. He had hoped to plot against Liu Biao’s family, but now all his dreams were shattered.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted in the northwest. A soldier shouted, "The Liu Bei army is here!"

In his despair, Liu Jing saw a glimmer of hope and secretly looked up. He saw a group of several hundred soldiers charging into the Cao army, holding a large yellow banner with black characters, which read ‘Liu’. It was indeed the Liu Bei army.

Liu Jing sighed inwardly, regretting that they had come too late. Liu Pi had already been killed, and if they knew this, they would have immediately withdrawn.

But the Liu Bei army was too small and was quickly scattered by the Cao army. The leading general was fearless, charging alone through the Cao army, causing chaos wherever he went, and the Cao soldiers fled in terror.

Gao Lan was furious, "What the hell is this? A single man, and he’s so fierce?"

"General, it seems to be Zhao Yun!"

‘Zhao Yun!’ Liu Jing’s heart brightened, seeing a glimmer of hope.

At that moment, a long cry echoed from a distance, growing louder, like a dragon emerging from the sea.

In the sunlight, a white-robed general with a silver spear charged from afar. He wielded his spear with great skill, and his horse was powerful and swift, charging forward like a dragon. He blocked Gao Lan and the Cao soldiers, and it was Zhao Yun, who had been sent by Liu Bei to rescue Liu Pi but had arrived too late.

"Where is Liu Pi?" Zhao Yun shouted from a distance.

Gao Lan sneered, "Isn’t he under my horse?"

Zhao Yun saw Liu Pi’s head and was enraged. He spurred his horse forward, and dozens of Cao cavalry charged at him, surrounding him with spears from all sides.

Zhao Yun’s horse galloped, and his spear flew like pear blossoms. In a moment, dozens of Cao cavalry were killed, and their bodies littered the ground. Two soldiers fell from their horses and fled.

Zhao Yun leaped his horse over the two soldiers, striking them both with his spear, piercing their throats.

He reined in his spear and thrust it at Gao Lan, shouting, "Traitor, taste my spear!"

Gao Lan roared and swung his saber, which was powerful and swift.

Zhao Yun’s spear deflected the saber, and the spear continued its momentum, thrusting at Gao Lan’s face.

Gao Lan’s saber missed, and the sharp tip of the spear was already in front of his face. He flinched to the left, and the spear grazed his face, leaving a long bloody gash, and half of his right ear was cut off, blood gushing out.

Before he could react, Zhao Yun’s horse had already passed by. In that split second, Zhao Yun swung his spear, striking Gao Lan’s back with the spearhead, a technique known as ‘spear hammer,’ which could break an opponent’s spine.

Gao Lan felt a strong wind from behind and was terrified. He had no time to dodge and could only back his saber, which made a loud clanging sound as the spearhead struck it. The force of the blow was at least a hundred pounds, and Gao Lan’s hand was split, his saber flying out of his hand, and his armor was shattered.

Gao Lan screamed, spitting out a mouthful of blood, his bones almost shattered. But he was an experienced general and, using the momentum, spurred his horse to escape, quickly disappearing.

In fact, Gao Lan’s martial arts were also very strong, and he could have fought Zhao Yun for at least ten rounds. However, Zhao Yun was enraged and fought with extraordinary bravery, while Gao Lan was alone and panicked, which reduced his fighting ability. This made it difficult for him to match Zhao Yun.

The battle between Zhao Yun and Gao Lan lasted only a moment, but it was so intense that Liu Jing was left speechless. The speed, strength, and ferocity of Zhao Yun left Liu Jing breathless.

He slowly sat up, staring at the famous general with a strong desire to become a mighty warrior like him.

Zhao Yun reined in his horse, glanced at Liu Jing and Wu Xiu, and saw that they were covered in blood but didn’t look like Yellow Turbans. He didn’t have time to ask and said, "Run quickly! Pretending to be dead won’t save you."

He turned his horse to leave, but Wu Xiu shouted, "General, this is the nephew of the Governor of Jingzhou, Liu Biao. Please save us, and the governor will reward you!"

Zhao Yun was taken aback but shook his head, "I can’t save you. Run quickly!"

He spurred his horse to leave, but Liu Jing