Chapter 59: Brothers at Odds (Part 2)

  For the youth's repeated rebukes, Zhang Lie could no longer suppress the surging anger in his heart. His eyes flashed with a cold light as he suddenly bellowed: "Zhang Jing, who do you think you are? How dare you speak to me like this! Don't forget, I am the young master and future Heavenly General! You're just the son of one of my subordinates, yet you dare to be so presumptuous?"

  Zhang Lie was so angry that he couldn't speak, his face turned bright red, and it wasn't until after taking several deep breaths that he calmed down slightly.

  "Good! Good! Good! You're right, you are the young master. I'll go report all your actions to Zhang Jiao right now. I'd like to see how he will punish you!"

  "Zhang Jing! You dare!"

  "What's there to be afraid of? I'm more worried you won't make it!"

  Seeing Zhang Jing unyieldingly confronting himself, Zhang Lie's anger in his heart grew even more intense. After the two glared at each other for a while, Zhang Lie suddenly let out a cold laugh and slowly calmed down.

  "Zhang Jing, aren't you still thinking you're the boss?"

  Scoffing, he said with a sarcastic tone: "In your past life, you had money, so you were the boss. I followed you because you had women and brothers. But in this life, I have power, so I became the boss. You can't even handle two women, yet you dare to come over here and chatter nonsense. Honestly, what are you now?"

  "Zhang Lie, how can you say such conscienceless words? You...you..."

  Zhang Jing was so angry that he could hardly speak, his right hand trembling as he pointed at Zhang Lie's arrogant face. He shook his head repeatedly in pain and anger, his eyes welling up with tears under Zhang Lie's cold gaze.

  After a moment, he could no longer bear the sorrow in his heart, and two streams of hot tears flowed uncontrollably from the corners of his eyes.

  "How can you be so ungrateful? Have you forgotten who supported your education? Who stood up for you when you were bullied? Who saved you from that nearly fatal knife wound?"

  "Yes, I have many good brothers and friends, but that's because I'm sincere to people and genuinely put in effort! I have women, and those are also mutual things. But I, Zhang Jing, have never done anything that betrays my friends or goes against my conscience!"

  Zhang Jing's impassioned rebuttal left Zhang Lie stunned for a moment, with a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes! But soon, this confusion was replaced by ferocity.

  "Fine, even if I've wronged you, what's the big deal? Why should I be born into a poor family and struggle to make ends meet? Why were you born with a silver spoon in your mouth? Why can't I be the boss? I hate it..."

  "Now that heaven has finally opened its eyes, Zhang Lie also has a day to turn things around. I will do as I please, covering the sky with one hand. What can you do to me?"

  Looking at Zhang Lie's face, which was twisted in a mad laugh, Zhang Jing suddenly felt that the person in front of him was so strange and so distant! He couldn't understand why the brother who had been so ambitious and strong-willed, whom he had admired so much back then, would become like this?

  "Zhang Lie, being a human is not done like this! Regardless of wealth or poverty, at least you are still a man, at least you are still a person, at least..."

  "Shut up! Stop spouting those grand theories, I've heard enough of them in my past life. Let me tell you, don't push me!"

  The final words of advice lost their meaning, but Zhang Jing's heart slowly calmed down, and the anger he felt earlier was gone!

  He looked at Zhang Lie with a cold glint in his eyes, then shook his head pitifully and sneered fearlessly: "What? Can't you even kill me? I should have seen your nature earlier, it's my own fault! And you don't need to say such cruel words, with your character, as long as I'm still alive in this world, killing me is just a matter of time!"

  "So, go ahead and kill me if you want to! It's just a pity that I only realized so late that you're a beast worse than an animal, and yet I helped you do so many cruel things! Perhaps this is the heavens' response to my foolishness in helping a villain!" As she spoke, Zhang Jing let out a soft sigh, her eyes complex with a mix of guilt and desolation...

  But Zhang Lie heard this and smiled coldly, narrowing his eyes as he said: "You still have a bit of self-awareness! Now that things have come to this point, I'm not afraid to tell you the truth. The food at your house was poisoned by me, but unfortunately for me, you had good luck and didn't eat because you had diarrhea. Hmph! If it weren't for Zhang Jiao protecting you all these years, and if I hadn't seen that you were stupidly useful, I would have killed you long ago! Since you said those words earlier, I never intended to let you leave this gate!"

  "Hahahaha... Only a fool like you would believe in that damned righteousness! Victory and defeat are all that matter!"

  Before Zhang Jing, who was stunned by these words, could react, Zhang Lie suddenly stopped shouting and yelled: "Come on! Take the traitor Zhang Jing out and behead him quickly!"

  As soon as the words fell, dozens of guards suddenly rushed in from outside the big account and quickly tied up Zhang Lie who was still in a daze.

  By the time Zhang Lie reacted, it was already too late. His martial arts skills were not enough to be used in time, but even if he had used them, it would have been impossible to resist so many elite guards with bare hands, let alone the numerous claws and teeth outside...

  With his hands cuffed behind his back and his head pressed firmly to the ground, Zhang Lie's eyes were filled with tears as he struggled like a madman. "Zhang Lie, you heartless beast, it was you who killed my entire family! What did I ever do to wrong you, why did you have to be so ruthless!"

  "Hahaha... You didn't wrong me, I wronged you!"

  Saying that, Zhang Lie still pouted, revealing a seemingly helpless expression. "But it's not possible to spare them, your father has great prestige in the military and is deeply favored by my father. If I don't kill them, how can I dare to kill you? Cutting grass must eliminate the roots! You agree, right?"

  "You bastard, son of a bitch! You'll get what's coming to you..."

  "Hahaha... the winner takes all, where's the concept of retribution in this world! You can rest assured and leave, I'll live a great life, boss!" After finishing speaking, Zhang Lie heavily kicked Zhang Jing's face several times.

  Looking at Zhang Lie's smug face, Zhang Jing's eyes turned red with rage, his eyes bulging out of their sockets! Using all his strength to struggle, he wanted to kill this despicable person immediately!

  But in the end, he was still unable to move even a little bit, being tied up and pressed down on the ground!

  In the midst of Zhang Lie's frantic laughter, a rag was swiftly stuffed into Zhang Jing's mouth, and then his head was covered with a sack. He struggled as he was dragged away by the guards...

  He was dragged by more than a dozen guards to the woods outside the military camp, and Zhang Jing's hood was finally opened. Looking at the guards who were still respectful to him just a moment ago, he felt desolate in his heart!

  The leading guard looked at Zhang Jing with a mixture of guilt and reluctance, saying: "Young master, you have always treated us kindly, and we shouldn't have resorted to such treachery. But we really had no choice - our wives, children, and elderly mothers are all in Zhang Lie's hands; if we didn't do this, we would surely die a terrible death. We too were forced into this!"

  After finishing speaking, Zhang Jing's mouth made a "Woo woo!" sound, and involuntarily pulled out the rag from his mouth.

  As soon as his mouth relaxed, Zhang Jing took a deep breath and spat out the remaining cotton fibers in his mouth. He then smiled bitterly and said: "Injustice has its mastermind, debt has its owner, how could I blame you guys?! It's just that Zhang Lie is such a despicable person, you know too much, so be more careful in the future, who knows when he'll silence you to death!"

  Upon hearing this, the lead guard also let out a soft sigh, but didn't want to say more, and slowly raised the copper-headed knife in his hand...

  At this critical moment, a loud and powerful roar suddenly came. "Who dares to kill my disciple!"

  "Trouble, General Guan is here!"

  "Master!"

  As the guards and Zhang Jing shouted, a big man with thick eyebrows and large eyes, eight feet tall, with a rough face, holding a long-handled knife, rushed over quickly, and in an instant he had already arrived nearby.

  "How dare you plot against my disciple?"

  Guan Hai was the first fierce general among the Yellow Turbans, and all the guards were shocked when they heard this. Seeing the murderous intention in Guan Hai's eyes, the leading guard hastily explained the reason. Meanwhile, Zhang Jing saw a glimmer of hope for escape and told his master everything he knew from start to finish.

  Having heard the whole story, Guan Hai's face turned red with rage and he slammed his heavy sword onto the ground, shouting: "Zhang Lie is truly reckless and arrogant, daring to commit such a heinous crime! I must report this to General Tian Gong and have him severely punished!"

  As he spoke, seeing the guards still standing by in fear and trepidation, he angrily shouted: "You lot, are you not leaving? Do you want me to take action myself?"

  "We dare not! We dare not! Let's go! Let's go......" Saying that, they hastily turned around and ran away...

  After quickly untying the ropes on Zhang Jing's body, Guan Hai spoke again and asked: "Disciple, what do you plan to do now? Are you going back with me to reason with Zhang Lie?"

  "Don't worry, the reason he didn't dare to kill you with his own hands in the camp is that he's afraid your death would implicate him, and then General Tian Gong and the other generals would find out about everything! So as long as we go back and make this public, he won't dare to touch you again!"

  Upon hearing this, Zhang Jing slowly shook his head and sighed with a tinge of sadness: "Alas! It's no use. Zhang Lie is after all the son of General Tian Gong, who dotes on him and has high hopes for him. So even if he were to be reprimanded, at most he would just be detained for a while and receive some education. But I have come to understand Zhang Lie thoroughly - he will never change his ways. If I go back, I will eventually be killed by him anyway. Therefore, I plan to leave immediately!"

  Speaking of this, Zhang Jing thought of the final outcome of Huang Jin again. After seeing Zhang Lie's character clearly, he felt that it was even more impossible for Huang Jin to seize the world in the future.

  Hesitating for a moment, he couldn't help but open his mouth to persuade: "Master, why don't you come with me too? As the momentum grows bigger and bigger, this Yellow Turban army becomes more and more arrogant, even doing many things that harm the common people. Where is the original faith now? You've also seen it, even ordinary people mostly hate us to the bone, and within the Yellow Turbans, they're gradually starting to fight for power and profit. Not to mention there's a young master like Zhang Lie, is it worth risking your life for such a person?"

  "Besides, this time you saved me and knew so much, Zhang Lie must have a grudge in his heart. If you go back, it's more harm than good!"

  Hearing this, Guan Yu also let out a long sigh, his face hesitant and struggling for a long time, but in the end he shook his head and said: "Forget it, General Tian Gong has been kind to me! I cannot do something that would forget kindness and betray righteousness!"

  "But..."

  "Don't worry, I have a way to protect myself. And if the Yellow Turbans really have no hope left, I'll find a way to escape."

  As he spoke, Guan Hai looked at Zhang Jing deeply and sighed softly: "Ah! Fortunately, I happened to see this today, and because of curiosity about who the person covered with a cloth was, I followed you to see what's going on. Otherwise, you might have really..."

  "But this is also your fate, you can go! I know where you will go, but I hope to cherish the relationship between us as master and apprentice, and don't tell the Han army about it for now. As for later, it's all up to you..."

  "Master..."

  Seeing Zhang Jing still hesitating, Guan Hai angrily said: "A man should be a big husband, how can he be so hesitant? If Zhang Lie has made up his mind to kill you, he will naturally send someone to chase after you!"

  Upon hearing this, Zhang Jing gritted his teeth hard and bowed deeply to Guan Hai, with sparkling tears shining in his eyes.

  Without hesitation, he suddenly turned around and swiftly fled into the forest...