Chapter Twenty-One: The Night Visitor Arrives

  "Liu Bei abandoned you, if it were me, I would feel just as miserable. However, as a man of honor standing in this world, one must have principles and boundaries. If Liu Bei and Guan Yu truly cared for you, then so be it. But if they didn't care about your life or death, can't you think of yourself? Are you living for the sake of Liu Bei and Guan Yu? It's not worth it... I really feel sorry for you. Even if Liu Bei and Guan Yu were temporarily forced into a corner, they will definitely come back to rescue you. Alright, don't seek death just yet, I'll give you three days. Let's wait and see. If Liu Bei and Guan Yu return to rescue you, regardless of success or failure, I will let you go. But if they don't come, then you can make your own plans."

  "Are you telling the truth? If my elder brothers come back, will you let me go?" Zhang Fei still had a glimmer of hope in his heart, he didn't believe that Liu Bei and Guan Yu would be so ruthless.

  "Let us strike our palms and make a vow."

  With a loud "slap", the two people's palms heavily slapped together.

  "Come on, take Zhang Fei down and serve him well. Don't be slow." Xu Feng ordered from outside the account.

  The soldiers outside the tent responded with a "yes" and entered the account to take Zhang Fei away.

  "Liu Bei and Guan Yu, are you really going to come?" Xu Feng thought to himself. After a while, Xu Feng's mouth curled up slightly "I bet you don't dare."

  Liu Bei has always been cautious, and since he was able to abandon Zhang Fei, there is already a rift between Liu, Guan, and Zhang. He will not easily take risks again, Xu Feng believes that cutting off one of his arms will make him more mindful.

  We have an army of 20,000 here, Liu Bei, isn't he afraid of death? Can he still beg for mercy and escape?

  Xue Cheng, following Xu Feng's orders, strictly restrained his soldiers and no longer offended the civilians. Not only that, but Xue Cheng also put up posters everywhere to comfort the people and stabilize their minds. Moreover, according to Xu Feng's instructions, he set up free food stalls outside the four city gates for passing refugees. Xu Feng had experienced being a refugee himself, and those days of hunger and hardship were deeply etched in his heart, unforgettable even now. Therefore, he was very generous towards these suffering civilians, and many people were deeply moved, knowing about the Yellow Turbans' actions and praising them without end. Some refugees even enthusiastically signed up to join the Yellow Turbans, and Xu Feng welcomed them with open arms. Of course, as for those who were old, weak, sick, or disabled, he still gave them some money and grain, and kindly advised them not to go to the battlefield to die in vain.

  For the corrupt officials and wealthy merchants in the city, Xu Feng was not so merciful. All the big traitors were beheaded outside the gate at noon, those with lighter punishments were flogged, and their property and land were confiscated by the government. The most costly thing in war is money and food, Xu Feng understood this point, he could not rob the common people, but for these people, it was a waste not to rob them, and even if they robbed, it would be a waste.

  Under the dark night sky, a lithe figure took advantage of the cover of darkness to sneak into the Yellow Turban army's camp. Although Xu Feng occupied Zhuo County, due to the large number of soldiers, most were stationed outside the city, firstly to avoid disturbing the civilians and secondly because Xu Feng understood that there was no time to stay in Zhuo County for long. Unexpectedly, the war situation was pressing, and the troops might set out at any moment.

  The dark figure crept forward, evading many sentry patrols with ease. (After all, this unit had been taken over by Xu Feng not long ago, and there were many shortcomings in military discipline and guard duty.) He searched for several battalion tents, but the dark figure only stayed for a short while, shaking his head as if searching for something. As he walked, he saw a large central military tent in front of him, lit with dim candlelight. Two soldiers stood guard outside the tent, their spirits high and their eyes sharp, clearly among the best in the army.

  "Isn't it here?" The black shadow muttered and quietly moved over.

  "Hey, Dogzi, you said that General Xu really is something. He actually volunteered to be punished and took thirty lashes. It's not light at all! The sticks drew blood, and the skin was torn open. You didn't see it, but when the doctor came to change the dressing... don't even mention how miserable it was. He lost a lot of blood, and his flesh was all rotten."

  "I didn't expect General Xu to be like this, he's really tough on himself, but towards us and the common people, General Xu has nothing to say. My second uncle gives him a big thumbs up in admiration. My mother said that our family received a lot of money and grain this time, and life is good now, all thanks to General Xu sending someone to deliver it."

  "Who says it isn't? My second uncle also gave me a lot of rice and flour, and even asked me to give his regards to General Xu."

  As soon as he heard the conversation between the two, the black shadow stopped in its tracks and listened intently, "General Xu, could it be him..."

  "Who..." Just as he saw a black shadow flash before his eyes, before he could speak, Er Gou outside the tent stiffened his neck and was knocked unconscious by the black shadow with a single knife hand.

  "Don't... " Before the other person could speak, a sharp dagger was already pressed against his throat. "Don't talk, or I'll kill you right now." The black shadow lowered its voice, issuing an icy threat.

  "Who is General Xu you just mentioned?" the dark shadow said in a low voice.

  "I won't... tell you, General Xu is a good man, even if I die, I won't let you harm him, come..." The man was about to shout loudly when a swift hand knife chopped heavily on his neck.

  His voice was too small and did not alert the nearby soldiers.

  "Heh, quite loyal. I'd like to see if this General Xu is indeed the person I'm looking for."

  He pulled the two of them into a clump of grass, and the dark figure lifted up the tent flap and slipped inside.

  Xu Feng was lying on the couch, with his buttocks injured, so he was facing down. After the black shadow entered the tent, he saw Xu Feng sleeping soundly and there was no one else in the tent. He couldn't help but relax his vigilance, and since he couldn't see Xu Feng's face clearly, the black shadow quietly approached a few steps, stretched out his hand to turn over Xu Feng's face, and took a look at Xu Feng's true appearance.

  "Wow, so delicious." The outstretched hand was unexpectedly sucked into Xu Feng's mouth, and he began to suck on Hei Ying's fingers like a mischievous little kid. The slurping sounds made Hei Ying's face flush with anger, "Damn pervert, how dare you take advantage of me!"

  The dark shadow exerted a slight force on his hand, and with one swift motion, he pulled Xu Feng's head over, his gaze falling upon that handsome yet cold face. In an instant, his eyes turned icy, his eyebrows furrowed, without hesitation, he abruptly withdrew the fingers that Xu Feng had been ceaselessly sucking on, and the dagger in the dark shadow's hand was pressed firmly against Xu Feng's neck.

  The other party suddenly pulled out his finger, and Xufeng was instantly awakened. He opened his eyes to see a man in black standing in front of him, and he was greatly shocked. He felt the chill on the back of his neck and the murderous aura emanating from the other party's eyes. Xufeng exclaimed, "Who are you? Are you here to kill me?"

  "Who?"

  "You guessed it right, let you die more clearly, look who I am?" As he spoke, the other hand suddenly pulled down the black scarf covering his face.

  "It's you." A beautiful and delicate face appeared in front of Xu Feng.

  "Xu Feng, you previously teased me and snatched my horse. I said that sooner or later I would find you, have you forgotten? " Huo Fenghuang's eyebrows were tightly furrowed, her eyes flashing with cold light, the dagger in her hand exerting a slight force, a thread of blood trickled slowly down Xu Feng's neck.