Chapter 22: Slaying Zhang Fei
"Just kill me if you're going to, give me a quick death, what's the point of dragging it out?" Xu Feng had injuries on his body and knew he couldn't escape, so he simply closed his eyes, without a hint of fear on his face. If he died, then so be it, no big deal, he'd just reincarnate again.
"You... I came to ask you, previously punished the corrupt officials in Zhuo County, distributed money and grain to the people, was it you?"
"It's me."
"It was you who killed 500 Yellow Turbans and plundered them."
"It's me."
"Are you going to take the punishment for the three armies again?"
"Haven't you seen that my butt still hurts? Otherwise, you wouldn't have subdued me so easily."
"Since you've done all these things, why are you so shameless? Why did you tease me? Why did you steal our horses?" Huo Fenghuang had sent people to investigate Xu Feng's affairs after he stole the horses, so she knew everything about him and could speak with complete accuracy.
"This guy..." Always being said to be despicable and shameless, Xu Feng was speechless for a moment. How unjust is this? Why does everyone look at me with disapproval? Does my appearance attract hatred?
"Are you kidding me? I'm a rascal, a scoundrel. Alright, alright? You think I'd be interested in that household? We were the ones who discovered it first, and we're the ones who killed the guards at the town's watchtower. But you guys just happened to swoop in and steal our thunder. You expect me not to get angry? Fine, take our horses, but consider it a favor for taking out the guards, and pay us some interest." Xu Feng sneered coldly.
"You... hum, glib and cunning, even when death is imminent, you still don't know to repent. Watch me kill you." As soon as the words fell, Huo Fenghuang's dagger in her hand slashed down again with force. Xu Feng let out a disdainful cold snort, closed his eyes, and no longer paid attention to Huo Fenghuang. At this moment, even if Xu Feng shouted himself hoarse, it would be of no use. The distance was so close that if Huo Fenghuang insisted on killing him, Xu Feng absolutely had no chance of escaping.
"I believe you truly care for the people and are not a wicked person. This time, I can spare your life, but since you're injured now, killing you would be unfair to you. Once you've recovered, I'll come back for your life."
Seeing Xu Feng's disdainful face, without a hint of fear, Huo Fenghuang's slender body trembled slightly, and her heart felt a pang of reluctance. She withdrew the dagger and leapt out of the large tent like the wind.
"...Huh?" After walking around the Ghost Gate, Xufeng opened his eyes and let out a long breath. It was really close! It seemed that his protection work needed to be improved. The top priority now was to find a powerful bodyguard as soon as possible. Of course, he couldn't slack off in his own martial arts either. In this chaotic world where heroes rose to power, survival was the most important thing.
Three days later, a large procession went down the mountain, with tens of thousands of Yellow Turban soldiers, dressed in white and wearing mourning attire, carrying over a thousand coffins. The coffins were surrounded by crowds of people, with flowers arranged around them, mostly chrysanthemums, their yellow petals shining brightly, and white ones symbolizing purity. The faces of the crowd were solemn, and they wore somber clothing. Not far away, on the mountain slope in front, several deep pits had already been dug, still emitting the scent of freshly turned earth. The sky was clear and cloudless, with Xu Fengzhou, wearing armor and a helmet, walking slowly along the mountain road, surrounded by the crowd.
"We all pay respects to General Zhou, we pay respects to General Xu." The crowd shouted in unison, respectfully greeting them.
"Brothers, comrades, General Xu proposed that we erect a monument and hold a collective funeral for the fallen generals. As the commander-in-chief of the three armies, I strongly agree with this proposal. These brothers who have left us forever, shed their blood and sacrificed their lives to capture Zhuo County. Today's victory was won at the cost of their blood, so we must never forget them. Although people cannot come back to life, apart from remembering them forever, we, the living, must also boost our morale, fight bravely, avenge their deaths, and overthrow the imperial court as soon as possible to bring peace to the world." Zhou Cang spoke loudly, and the whole scene fell silent, with everyone gazing intently at the two men on stage, filled with reverence in their hearts.
"The departed brothers, not only must we engrave their epitaphs and erect monuments for them, but also take good care of their families and provide ample compensation. We, the Yellow Turbans, absolutely cannot let our fallen brothers feel cold in death. Therefore, for each deceased brother, we will provide twenty taels of silver and twenty kilograms of rice and flour as consolation; for each wounded brother, ten taels of silver and ten kilograms of rice and flour. As for those who have made meritorious achievements, the commander has not forgotten your contributions and will absolutely reward you according to your merits, with grand rewards. Come, let us send off our departed brothers."
"The crowd shouted in unison, their voices echoing through the clouds, lingering for a long time. Everyone's heart was stirred, and they thought that even if they died, they would receive such generous compensation, have a monument erected to commemorate them, and be remembered forever. No one had ever expected such good treatment. Before, when you died, you simply died, and that was the end of it. Who would care about you except for exposing your corpse in the wilderness? As for compensation with money and grain, it was something that only happened in dreams. Yet, even so, everyone still voluntarily joined the Yellow Turbans to fight against the imperial court, bravely killing enemies, all for the sake of living a good life, as they had no other choice."
But now it's different, everyone has a warm heart, extremely solid, even if they die, they don't have to worry about their families being unable to make ends meet, the Yellow Turbans will not mistreat them, and will not mistreat their families either. As a result, people have no more worries, naturally, morale is boosted, and military spirit is more stable.
All of this was brought to them by someone, and everyone's gaze was respectfully looking at the cold and stern young man in white robes. His name was thoroughly engraved on the hearts of the crowd, and many people secretly vowed to follow Xu Feng to the death, fighting bravely against the enemy, never to be cowardly again.
Xu Feng, despite his poor physical condition, gritted his teeth and insisted on attending the funeral of his deceased brother. He even personally lifted Hou San's coffin. Seeing Xu Feng like this, Xue Cheng Ma Wu, the two newly promoted centurions, rolled up their sleeves and joined in.
"Brother, may you have a good journey. Several of us will personally carry your coffin for you. Once you're gone, you should be content, but don't go around showing off everywhere." Xue Cheng muttered to himself as he gently patted the coffin on the shoulder.
"Come on, bring Zhang Fei."
Although Liu Bei and Guan Yu did not come three days later, Zhang Fei still refused to surrender. For several days, Xu Feng took good care of him and persuaded him with bitter words, which was considered a benevolent act. Since Zhang Fei was so stubborn, in order to make all the brothers believe, Xu Feng steeled himself and decided to behead Zhang Fei.
Before long, Zhang Fei was pushed forward by the soldiers. At this time, Zhang Fei's face was calm and his complexion was ruddy. Facing tens of thousands of Yellow Turbans holding knives and swords, he burst out laughing loudly, without any fear. Such bravery made Xu Feng even more unbearable, but how could he just let him go? How would he explain it to his brothers under his command?
"Zhang Fei, what else do you have to say?"
