Chapter 1 The Sun Rises for the First Time Section 1

  September of the first year of Zhongping in the Great Han Dynasty (AD 184).

  Early in the morning, Murong Ji, the great leader of the Middle Xianbei Jinyu tribe, received a verbal message from Ke Zui, the lord of the Central Xianbei: Murong Feng has escaped.

  Murong Ji was shocked, and hastily gathered the leaders of the tribe to convey this astonishing news. The big account was first as silent as death, then it burst out like a pot, with angry shouts and curses that did not stop.

  Murong Ji stood up and said in a deep voice: "Ke Zui demands that we immediately dispatch a team to the grasslands to participate in the search."

  "It won't do," said Murong Feng, who was sitting to the right of Murong Ji, with a scowl on his face. "Ke Zhiyuan is the most ruthless and treacherous, despicable and shameless. His words are not trustworthy. How could Murong Feng have escaped from the Tiger City? This is just an excuse for Ke Zhiyuan to attack us. The general should take precautions early."

  "For now, we haven't fallen out with Ke yet, so it's still necessary to put on a show, lest we give others an excuse. Mu Rongji sneered, 'Besides, if we really run into Mu Rongfeng, what needs to be done will be done, don't go easy.'"

  The big account fell silent again, and no one responded.

  At this time, a small general in the tribe suddenly asked: "Does the adult know how Murong Feng escaped from Tudou? That Tudou is the territory of our central Xianbei's first big tribe, the Tiger Tribe, with nearly 10,000 iron knights inside. It's too difficult to escape."

  "The Hu's dungeon, where serious offenders are held, is heavily guarded. Mu Rongfeng was alone and had no chance of escape. Did he have an accomplice?" Another small general hastily asked.

  According to the news, it was a Han slave who was about to be executed in prison who rescued Murong Feng. This Han slave was extremely fierce and killed twenty guards inside the Tiger Cave before putting on their armor and carrying Murong Feng on his shoulders out of the cave with great fanfare. The guards at the entrance thought he was one of the guards cleaning up the bodies, so they didn't inspect him carefully. By the time they discovered that Murong Feng was gone and went after him, it was too late. "Kui's most powerful man has already sent out over a thousand people to search for and kill on the vast grasslands, but there is still no news until now," said Murong Ji.

  "What a joke, how is this possible?" An older Xiao said suspiciously, "The Tiger Cave is heavily guarded, not even a mouse can escape, let alone Murong Feng. There are twenty guards watching over Murong Feng, no matter how formidable that Han slave is, he can't possibly kill twenty Tiger Clan warriors in one breath. Ke must be hiding the truth."

  "This Han slave is quite capable, does he have a name? Let's take care of him when we meet again." Murong Feng smiled.

  "I heard that his name is Li Hong, and he was caught by Kuye, the young general of the Tiger Tribe, during a hunting expedition in the mountains this spring. Kuye thought he was a Han spy, so he tortured him severely, but it turned out that Li Hong was muddle-headed and spoke nonsense, knowing nothing at all - a complete idiot. Kuye saw that he was tall and strong, so he kept him as a slave. Last month, this Han slave suddenly stole Kuye's precious horse to escape, and Kuye beat him half to death before locking him in the Tiger Cave, but then something unexpected happened." Murong Ji smiled and said, "Kuye took someone for an idiot, but I think he's the real idiot."

  Then he pointed at Murong Feng and said: "You take people to Wushui River tomorrow to take a look."

  Murong Feng personally obeyed the order.

  "Sir, Murong Feng is going to escape and will definitely head in the direction of Da Yan Mountain. Since his defeat at Ben Niu Yuan, he has been active in the Da Yan Mountains with his remaining troops. Sir, don't you think we should follow the wet water south all the way to Bai Tan City?" asked Murong Feng.

  "Alright," Murong Ji said, "You take a thousand men and go, be careful on the road."

  Kaiye led two thousand cavalrymen in searching the grasslands for nine days, but still had not found any trace of Murong Feng and that Han slave.

  Kaiye was extremely angry. Kaiye knew that if he couldn't catch Murong Feng back, although it wouldn't be as severe as being beheaded, his face would still be utterly lost. That Han slave was both ruthless and cunning; not only did he kill the twenty guards watching over Murong Feng, but he also rescued Murong Feng from the tiger's den without anyone noticing. And yet, Kaiye had always taken him for a fool.

  "I'm really an idiot." Koye muttered dejectedly as he sat on his horse.

  In the distance, four or five soldiers came riding in exhaustion. Koye took a look and couldn't help but let out a long sigh. They must not have found any trace of those two escaped prisoners again.

  "You damned Harn! When I catch you, I'll skin you alive!" Koye shouted, punching the air with a loud curse.

  The sky gradually brightened, and a thin ray of morning sun slowly rose from the distant horizon. The creatures in the mountains began to wake up, birds sang happily in the forest, and insects chirped in the grass. The fresh morning air, accompanied by the misty veil of the forest, was refreshing and delightful.

  Li Hong sat quietly in the grass, gazing at a brilliant red sun leaping up from the horizon, and his mood suddenly cleared. I must be able to escape.

  From the moment they escaped from Hu Du, he and Murong Feng had been traveling by day and night, carefully making their way through the mountains. Along the way, Li Hong discovered that he was extremely skilled at hiding his tracks, and many ingenious escape methods seemed to be etched in his mind, ready to be used at a moment's notice. Even Murong Feng, who had extensive experience in escaping, felt inferior to him, thinking that this young man was far more clever than he was when it came to running away. The two men worked together seamlessly, successfully evading capture multiple times despite being hot on their heels. However, Li Hong was now at a loss for what to do next. He gazed out at the endless grasslands before him, feeling defeated and on the verge of collapse, his confidence shattered in an instant.

  "There are still over 200 miles to the Wet Water River, and all along the way are grasslands. If we want to shake off their pursuit, it's no different from a fool's dream." Murong Feng stood beside him, smiling as he spoke.

  Murong Feng's physique was tall and large, slightly thin, with a full beard on his face, and his whole body exuded an aura of fierce and intimidating momentum. Probably due to being locked in the mountain cave for too long, his complexion was extremely pale.

  Li Hong smiled and pointed at his own nose, saying: "I am a foolish person."

  Murong Feng sighed, "What's wrong with being a fool? Not remembering the past and starting anew, what's wrong with that? You have high martial arts skills, a kind heart, and an open-minded personality, you can survive anywhere."

  Li Hong nodded and said with a hint of deep feeling: "Perhaps my past was very miserable, it's better to forget."

  "Rest for now, we still have a long way to go tonight." Murong Feng said with a pat on his shoulder.

  Li Hong lay on the soft fallen leaves, his heart was very confused.

  Many strange things have happened in the past month, and he was filled with questions, but he didn't dare to ask them out loud. Li Hong's feelings towards Murong Feng, a legendary figure on the grasslands, had changed from initial unfamiliarity, admiration, and awe to gradual familiarity, naturalness, and affection, but Li Hong still didn't dare to reveal all his thoughts. Intuition or a sense of familiarity in Li Hong's subconscious told him that everything that had happened recently was closely related to Murong Feng.

  Li Hong turned his head to look at Murong Feng lying beside him, whose hair had turned white and the wrinkles around his eyes and eyebrows were very deep, but his innate majestic aura made Li Hong worship him with all his heart.

  Unconsciously, Li Hong thought of the excitement and curiosity when he first heard the great name of Murong Feng, and the scenes of past events suddenly surged up in his mind.

  Iron Wolf was a very famous archer in the Xianbei state, and also a fierce warrior who feared no death. He had followed Murong Feng on his southern and northern campaigns, with great merit, but now he was just like Li Hong, only a slave in the Tiger Tribe. He was from the Eagle Tribe, one of Murong Feng's top generals, and one of the leaders who participated in the Eagle Tribe's rebellion. After the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Bunneru Plains, he was captured by Ke Zui, and since then became a slave of the Tiger Tribe.

  "The defeat of General Ben Niu Yuan was all because Ke Zui betrayed him." Tie Lang told Li Hong.

  A slave who speaks ill of his master behind his back is to have his tongue cut off, but Li Hong was an idiot, and idiots wouldn't go telling tales, so Tie Lang poured out the words he had buried in his heart to this idiot, speaking and cursing without restraint, using this to vent the anger and hatred buried in his heart.

  "Do you know who Da Shuai is?"

  "Murong Feng, he is an invincible warrior of the Xianbei tribe, a great general of the grasslands who has won every battle."

  "Who is Murong Feng? Let me tell you, he is a member of the Xianbei aristocratic family, known as the first brave warrior of Xianbei. He joined the army at 15 and led his iron cavalry to conquer the desert, never losing a battle. Later, he became a great general under Xianbei King Tuoba Shi Huai, making great contributions to unifying the various Xianbei tribes. After the king's death, he clashed with the new king and his brother due to their extravagance and tyranny. Six years ago, in order to eliminate Murong Feng's threat, they framed him for killing Tie Gen, a brave warrior of our Eagle tribe, by falsely accusing him of abducting Tie Gen's wife. This enraged our people, and we rebelled against them. However, this fell into their trap, and they defeated us."

  "When the news reached the great general, he was enraged and led 10,000 iron cavalry, along with the remaining 20,000 people from the Eagle tribe, to confront the enemy at Bao Niu Yuan. Ke Zui, that evil man, pretended to form an alliance with the general, but suddenly turned against him during the most intense battle. Our army was thrown into chaos and defeated, and He Lian's ambush troops took advantage of the situation to launch a surprise attack. We were vastly outnumbered, and our entire army was annihilated. The general managed to escape the encirclement with the help of his officers, fighting desperately to break through. Later, He Lian offered rewards across the vast grasslands for anyone who could capture the general, but the general had too many friends, and his reputation on the grasslands served as his protective charm, making it impossible for anyone to catch him."

  "Kuaiji, this evil wretch, thus ascended to the high position of Great Chanyu of the Xiongnu. What is Kuaiji? He was just a dog of Liang's. In the past, he had always been a general under the Great General, and the Great General regarded him as his own brother, but unexpectedly this brother turned out to be a wolf, a wolf that bites its master."

  "For years, I've heard that General is gathering remnants and rebuilding a large army on Mount Da Yan at the border of Xianbei and Great Han. He's living like a king, occupying the mountain. When can I escape from Tiger City? Then I can continue to follow General and avenge my people."

  Li Hong couldn't understand what he was saying at first, but every time he listened very seriously and studied his language with great care. Over time, he gradually came to understand it. Tie Lang liked him a lot and treated him like his own child, protecting and pampering him. Li Hong had lost all his memories, he didn't know where he came from or where his home was, he only knew that his name was Li Hong, everything else was a blank slate. As his body gradually recovered, Li Hong slowly discovered that he could write square characters and speak a language that the Xianbei people couldn't understand. Tie Lang told him that it was the language of the Great Han people, and those characters were also written by the Great Han people, which was enough to prove that he was indeed a Great Han person.

  Tie Wolf taught him to feed horses, train horses, ride horses, teach him archery, and teach him how to use weapons. Later on, Tie Wolf's face became very unsightly because Li Hong seemed to be born with martial arts skills. In just three or four months, Li Hong not only rode horses well, shot arrows accurately, but also practiced various weapons with precision, and even wrestling and fighting were all handy. Tie Wolf could no longer beat him. Tie Wolf was convinced that Li Hong must be a spy for the Great Han people, but he didn't know what had happened to him after he infiltrated the Xianbei country and lost all his memories. Tie Wolf suspected that it was Kuye who accidentally hit Li Hong's head during the interrogation, resulting in Li Hong becoming what he is today, looking silly, foolish, and stupid. However, Li Hong's eyes became more and more spirited.

  Iron Wolf worried that Li Hong's skills would be discovered by Kuye's men and he would encounter misfortune, so he repeatedly instructed Li Hong to be careful and hide, not to provoke unnecessary disaster. However, Li Hong's robust muscles could not be hidden no matter what.

  Li Hong had his own way of dealing with this. He lifted the stone horse trough in the stable every day. The trough was very heavy, and normally it would take four strong men working together to lift it up. Li Hong seemed to have superhuman strength, and he would lift, carry on his shoulders, and haul it on his back dozens of times a day.

  Li Hong's bravery left Iron Wolf speechless, thinking that the man in front of him was either an idiot or pretending to be one. When this news reached Kuye's ears, Kuye burst out laughing: "Who believes that? Does he think I'm an idiot?"