Chapter 57: Sorrow and Joy (2/2) Seeking Recommendations

  Wang Mai didn't change much, just looked a bit haggard.

  Compared to before, there is less innocence between his eyebrows, and more maturity and stability. He wears a black shirt and pants, with an open-fronted robe draped over them. In his hand is an iron spear with a snake-shaped tip, held horizontally across his chest, standing proudly and making one involuntarily take a step back...

  "Ah Fu!"

  Wang Mu looked at Cao Peng clearly and couldn't help but let out a cry of surprise, his face suddenly revealing an expression of wild joy.

  "Older brother Miao, older brother Miao...... It's one of us, it's one of us!"

  No one noticed that the old man with a white head slightly moved his feet forward and bowed his body when Dian Wei rushed in. Perhaps he was already hunched over, so including Dian Wei, no one detected anything unusual about him. It wasn't until Wang Buyan shouted out that everyone paid attention to the old man. However, by this time, the old man had resumed his previous half-dead appearance.

  In Cao Peng's heart, surging with wild joy.

  He jumped down from the steps and walked quickly for a few paces, but saw Wang Mai suddenly turn his head and run into the main hall.

  "Brother Tiger Head..."

  Before Cao Peng finished speaking, Wang Mai loudly shouted: "Brother-in-law, brother-in-law... Ah Fu is back! I knew he would come back!"

  Another cicada!

  Cao Peng was stunned on the spot.

  Brother-in-law?

  Wang Mai is an only child! If he has a sister, it would be Cao Nan.

  Brother-in-law, could it be Deng Jie... He didn't die either?

  But then Cao Peng thought again and felt it was normal. Wang Mai was alive, relying on his stubborn personality, he would definitely protect Deng Ju wholeheartedly.

  Just as he was thinking about it, Wang Mai came out of the main hall, supporting a pale-faced young man.

  He looked very weak, and his clothes were slightly thin. He wore a green shirt, which made him look quite elegant, but there was no blood color on his face, and the whiteness was a bit scary.

  "Brother-in-law!"

  "Thank you!"

  Cao Peng and Wei Yan shouted out at the same time.

  Wei Yan's face was even more shocked, and his eyes suddenly burst forth with a glimmer of hope.

  Deng Jie is not dead, those old brothers, Yi Yang Wu Ze...

  Cao Peng took three steps and made two, rushing to Deng Ji's front, stretching out both hands, grasping Deng Ji's arm. But it was this grasp that he suddenly felt something wrong. One of Deng Ji's sleeves was empty, and one arm had disappeared without a trace.

  "Brother-in-law, your arm!"

  Deng Ji didn't answer Cao Peng's question, instead stretching out his other hand to gently rub Cao Peng's head, "Ah Fu, since you've escaped, why come back?"

  "I..."

  The warmth surging in his heart made Cao Peng's nose sour, and he almost shed tears.

  "Brother-in-law, this matter arose because of me; if I don't return, what's the difference between me and a beast?"

  "But you're back, and..."

  Deng Ai's words were cut off by Wei Yan who suddenly stepped forward.

  He saw him with a hopeful face and asked nervously: "Deng Jie from..."

  "Hey Wei Tun Jiang, are you okay?"

  "I'm fine... I just wanted to ask, Old Tang, what's become of him and his family?"

  Deng Ai's expression turned gloomy, and Wei Yan's heart sank with a thud.

  "That evening, the sunset was in great chaos, I was chopped off an arm and fainted. Fortunately, Hu Tou risked his life to rescue me, and only then...I heard Hu Tou say that at the time, the entire camp was in chaos, and even many of the Yi Yang Wu soldiers participated. Tang Du Bo died defending the Wu soldiers' banner, letting Hu Tou take me away, he covered our retreat from behind...judging from the situation at the time, Tang Du Bo's chances of survival were slim!"

  The most tragic thing in human life is when you have already given up hope, but suddenly it comes.

  However, before that hope could become a reality, it was shattered... Wei Yan heard this and immediately stood still, his whole person seemingly stunned into stupidity.

  Regarding the death of Yiyang Wu, Dianwei and Xiahou Lan also heard about it on their way.

  At this moment, Dian Wei stepped forward and wrapped his arm around Wei Yan's shoulder, tightening it. "Wen Chang, don't imitate those children. The grudge of the death of Yiyang Wu will be avenged by you and me sooner or later. Let's regroup after we return. On that day when I ride into Jingzhou, I'll definitely bring that treacherous child to your face, letting you chop him up a thousand times... Cheer up, don't let people look down on us, making fun of us!"

  Wei Yan gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, looking up at the sky.

  "Big Brother Dian, I'm fine now!"

  "A man can hold it up and put it down, no matter how much hatred we bury in our hearts, one day we will avenge."

  "Hmm!"

  Wei Yan nodded heavily.

  Deng Ai also noticed the presence of Dian Wei and Xiahou Lan at this time.

  "He hastily said: 'Ah Fu, please ask everyone to come in and talk... Mao Bo, trouble you, drive the horse carriage into the stable.'"

  The old man with a shaved head smiled, his thin face giving people a strange feeling.

  But he saw him, trembling and slowly walking out of the gate. Deng Ji led everyone into the main hall with Cao Peng's support.

  The furnishings in this Taoyuan living room were simple, with several low stools and a half-high bed in the center. Deng Jie Su invited everyone to take their seats.

  "A Fu, these few good friends are..."

  Before Cao Peng could speak, Dian Wei stood up and bowed his hands: "Deng Jie, I have long admired your great name. My name is Dian Wei, Ah Fu is my lifesaver."

  "Come down, Xiahou Lan!"

  Deng Jiyuan was taken aback, "Tian Wei?"

  The evil of old has come, and his name is known throughout the land.

  Perhaps many ordinary people do not know who Dian Wei is, but Deng Jie has been a clerk for a long time, and most official documents have to be processed through his hands. Knowing Dian Wei's name is not unusual at all. Who let Dian Wei's reputation be loud, the battle of Puyang was famous all over the world, and he also served as Cao Cao's bodyguard. It is normal for him to mention him in official documents. However, Deng Jie suddenly couldn't connect Dian Wei with E Lai.

  After all, Dian Wei was Cao Cao's beloved general, while Cao Peng...

  However, when Cao Peng saw Dian Wei come to his door, he understood that it was not good to hide.

  "It's General Cao's camp, and he is a fierce and powerful commander!"

  "Huh?"

  Deng Ji suddenly widened his eyes, staring at Dian Wei for a long time. A smile appeared on his pale face, "So it's Commander Dian in person. My family's Ah Fu must have been quite troubled these days... I apologize that Deng Ji is not feeling well and cannot express my gratitude with the proper etiquette, please forgive me!"

  Dian Wei said: "Uncle Deng, why be so polite? Ah Fu is indeed my benefactor who saved my life. These days, I have been relying on him to take care of me, and only then could I avoid death. I often hear Wen Chang and Ah Fu mention you, and today I see that you are truly extraordinary. We're all family here, let's dispense with the formalities."

  Deng Ji turned his head and glanced at Cao Peng, seeing that Cao Peng nodded.

  "Sister's husband, how did you end up here? This arm of yours, was it that bastard who chopped it?"

  "That bastard has become a dead soul under the tiger's head spear."

  Deng Ji said, lightly coughing twice.

  He then lifted his head and said to Wei Yan: "Unable to rescue Tang Doubo, but instead implicated him... Deng Shunsun, I really owe an apology to Wei Tunjiang."

  Wei Yan forced a bitter smile, "Shusun, at this point in time, you're still being so polite. I'm no longer the Wei Tuan Jiang, and the Yi Yang Wu Zu no longer exists. If you think highly of me, just call me Wen Chang. In terms of age, you're older than me, so it's fine to address me by my name, but please don't mention those two words 'Tuan Jiang' again. Speaking of which, I should thank your brother too - if not for Ah Fu that day, I would have died long ago..."

  Both sides recounted the events of the day in detail, and couldn't help but let out a sigh.

  "If it weren't for my soft heart, letting Ma Yu and those people join, perhaps this kind of thing wouldn't have happened. At the time, Ah Fu blamed me for being too lenient, but I thought he was being overly harsh. But now it seems that Ah Fu was right after all, and I really am that foolish farmer!"

  Deng Ji lightly shook his head after finishing speaking.

  "Uncle Sun, this matter cannot be blamed on you. Even if you didn't plead for mercy at the time, Ma Yu wouldn't have been able to sneak in, and there would have been Zhang Yu, Li Yu, Wang Yu... It's all because I trusted Wei Ping too much, never thinking he'd be blinded by greed and collude with outsiders to harm his own brothers. If Ah Fu hadn't killed him, if he fell into my hands, I would definitely cut him into a thousand pieces, otherwise it would be hard to dispel the hatred in my heart." Wei Yan said, gritting his teeth.

  "Sister's husband, how did you end up here?"

  "That's a long story...” Deng Ji glanced at Cao Peng, his only remaining hand patted his shoulder, "Thanks to Hu Tou, if it wasn't for him, I'd be dead by now."

  "Brother Tiger Head..."

  Wang blocked Cao Peng's way, "A Fu, don't say those heartless words. Didn't you say before that we are brothers for life? I'm just doing my duty. That day, I took your brother-in-law from the camp and fled overnight, Big Black died of exhaustion by the roadside. Luckily, we met Mr. Zhong Jing, who saved your brother-in-law's life. If not, I would have no face to see you again for the rest of my life..."

  "Mr. Zhongjing?"

  "It's Zhang Ji and his wife!" Wang Mai said softly, "This Peach Garden is Mr. Zhang's residence, after he learned of our identities, he arranged for us to stay here."

  "So you're not going home?"

  Wang's expression turned gloomy, he shook his head and didn't say a word.

  In Cao Peng's heart, an ominous sign suddenly arose.

  He grabbed Wang Mai's arm, "Tiger Head Brother, is something wrong at home?"

  "Ah Fu!"

  Deng Ji spoke up beside him, waving his hand to signal Cao Peng to calm down. At this time, Cao Peng's mind was all over the place, his head was buzzing with thoughts, and he was on the verge of becoming a mess. He took a deep breath, sat down next to Deng Ji, and tried to steady his nerves, wanting to calm himself down.

  "After we settled down here, Hu Tou tried to cross the river to contact your parents and sister. Unexpectedly, he was intercepted by Deng Fan on the way, saying that there were many strangers lurking around our house. Deng Fan has returned and even took over my job as a historian, monitoring the family."

  "Ah!"

  "Yesterday, Deng Fan came with news that Qu Xianling led people to arrest your parents and sister. Now they are locked up in the Juyang Prison."

  Cao Peng's thin body was violently trembling.

  His teeth bit through his lip, and fresh blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, yet he seemed completely unaware.

  "A Fu, I was just discussing with my brother-in-law, rushing to the prison in Jiangyang to welcome Uncle and Auntie as well as my sister..."

  In an instant, Cao Peng understood the meaning of Deng Ji's previous words.

  His parents, wife and children were all arrested. Deng Jie didn't want to live alone either. He had made up his mind to rush into the prison, even if it meant death, he wanted to die with his family together. But then Cao Peng hadn't come back yet, and could still keep one bloodline of the Cao family alive. But now that he's back... what's the difference between sending him to his death?

  No wonder, my brother-in-law said I shouldn't come back!

  A surge of hot blood rushed straight to his head.

  Internal organs and blood are in turmoil, as if the whole body is being burned by fierce flames.

  Cao Peng suddenly stood up, clenched his fists and let out a loud roar towards the sky.

  "Huang She, I swear to never stand alongside you again!"