Chapter 2

Cao Shuo recognized the general who was walking over.

Although the memories from before his穿越 (time travel) were not clear, there were still fragmented scenes.

Through these scattered memory fragments, Cao Shuo recognized that the one coming towards him was Hu Che, a fierce general under Zhang Xiu.

Recognizing Hu Che, he stepped back to the side of the road, clasped his hands, and bowed his head in a respectful manner.

Seeing him do this, the two guards also clasped their hands and bowed their heads.

As Hu Che walked past them, he glanced at the three of them but didn't say much.

Only after Hu Che had walked far away did Cao Shuo wave his hand at the two guards: "Hurry up!"

The three of them almost ran to the outer courtyard.

Hu Che was heading to Cao Shuo's residence.

Zhang Xiu had decided to launch a rebellion. Before attacking Cao Cao, killing Cao Shuo and taking his head would be a great震慑 (intimidation) to Cao Cao.

Arriving at the entrance to Cao Shuo's residence, Hu Che asked the guard, "Is the second young master of the Cao family here?"

"The second young master has never left," a guard replied.

Pushing the door open and entering the room, Hu Che was about to call out to Cao Shuo when he was stunned by what he saw.

Bathed in the light of the snow, he saw three people lying in the room.

Quickly approaching one of them, Hu Che discovered that this person had a through-and-through sword wound in his chest.

The person was already dead, and his clothes had been stripped off. There were also three sets of discarded clothes on the ground.

When he passed by Cao Shuo and the others earlier, he had felt something was strange.

Why were there still soldiers wandering around at this late hour?

Only after seeing these three bodies did he fully understand!

Cao Shuo had received the news and had already fled under the protection of the guards!

Realizing everything, Hu Che stood up and ordered the soldiers, "Pass the order immediately: Cao Zirong has escaped! Have people search everywhere, especially for groups of three soldiers from our army!"

Escaping with two guards, Cao Shuo had already anticipated that Hu Che would discover them.

Not far from there, he said to the two guards, "Hu Che must have already discovered our escape. It's too dangerous to stay together. From now on, you two go together, and I will go alone. Meet at the east gate of the city."

"How can we leave you alone?" one of the guards said, "I will go alone, and you can go with him."

"Stop arguing," Cao Shuo said, "I am more free alone. You would only be a hindrance and a trouble."

They had stayed in Wan City to protect him.

The two guards were taken aback, not expecting to be called a hindrance.

"If we don't leave now, we will all die. Stop arguing," Cao Shuo urged, "Go quickly!"

Under his urging, the two guards had no choice but to leave.

They bowed to Cao Shuo and turned to go.

After taking a few steps, they looked back.

Leaving Cao Shuo alone, they were really worried.

But what Cao Shuo said made sense.

Since Hu Che had discovered their escape, he would know they were a group of three.

Together with Cao Shuo, they would be easier targets for Zhang Xiu's army to search for.

After the two guards left, Cao Shuo quickly hid in the bushes by the roadside.

This place was still some distance from the outer courtyard, and the Zhang Xiu army, which had been alerted, was searching for him and the two guards.

Although he had separated from the guards, most of the guards here still recognized him.

Walking along the road would be too conspicuous!

The trees on both sides of the courtyard were not very dense, and his movements would be easily discovered if it weren't for the night.

The snow was heavy, and the footprints left behind would soon be covered by the snow.

The night and the snow provided him with the best cover, making Cao Shuo feel that it was not impossible to escape Wan City alive.

"Don't let Cao Shuo escape!" As he was using the trees for cover to move towards the outer courtyard, Cao Shuo heard a shout.

A series of footsteps came his way.

Quickly crouching down and looking out, he saw two groups of Zhang Xiu's soldiers running from two directions.

"Stop!" The two groups shouted almost simultaneously as they approached.

The numbers clearly didn't match just three people, but the leading officer still ordered his men to check.

After confirming that Cao Shuo and the others were not in the group, the two groups of Zhang Xiu's soldiers moved on.

Seeing this, Cao Shuo shook his head with a smile.

To search for him, the guards had really put in a lot of effort, even distrusting their own people. It would be impossible to slip away unnoticed!

Although it was late, it was not yet midnight.

The guards were still conducting a thorough search.

Not far ahead was a cluster of houses. If he could hide there temporarily, he could wait for the search to ease up a bit before trying to escape, which would be much easier.

Looking around, he confirmed that there were no guards nearby and darted out of the bushes, running quickly towards the houses.

Reaching the door of a house, he gently pushed it open and slipped inside.

As soon as he entered, he heard a clear voice, "Who is it?"

The room was very dark, and Cao Shuo couldn't see where the person was.

Fortunately, the owner of the voice lit a match to light the oil lamp.

The moment the match was lit, Cao Shuo rushed over.

He blew out the flame and, before the woman could scream, covered her mouth with his hand, "Don't make a sound!"

With her mouth covered, the woman's eyes widened in terror.

Cao Shuo could feel the warm breath on his hand.

Due to the tension and fear, the woman's breathing was rapid, and her heart was beating faster. Cao Shuo could even hear her heartbeat.

"If you don't want to die, don't make a sound," he whispered. "I don't want to kill women, but I won't hesitate to kill a woman who interferes with me!"

The woman nodded vigorously.

Letting go of her mouth, Cao Shuo asked, "Who are you?"

No response.

"I'm asking you a question," Cao Shuo said in a low voice.

"Who are you?" the woman asked instead of answering.

"Answer me, and that's enough," Cao Shuo said. "As for who I am, you don't need to know."

From a distance, another voice shouted, "Search every corner, don't let Cao Zirong escape!"

"Are you Cao Zirong?" the woman asked.

"Pretty smart," Cao Shuo said. "But smart women often die quickly."

"Killing me won't help you escape," the woman said, her courage growing after a few exchanges. "If I help you, your chances of escaping will be much greater."

"You help me?" Cao Shuo asked. "Why should I trust you?"

"I don't need a reason," the woman said. "I just don't want to die when Cao Cao comes back and attacks us."

"Still, why should I trust you?" Cao Shuo asked.

The woman said, "You have no choice but to trust me, right?"

Staring into her bright eyes in the darkness, Cao Shuo remained silent.

At that moment, footsteps approached from outside, and a voice said, "Search every room!"