Chapter 50, The Way of Treating Guests

  "Is this some rustic from Yan?" Huangfu Song took the helmet back from the soldier, put it on, and sized up Zhang Fei. He saw that Zhang Fei was wearing rough clothes and no armor, clearly just a nameless foot soldier. Although he looked robust and powerful, he seemed like nothing more than a fierce and violent man. Remembering how he had been shot in his helmet and humiliated in front of everyone, Huangfu Song let out a loud shout. "Who will come forward and capture this madman for me?"

  "The general calmed down, and the last general was willing to go." A warrior rushed out of the team, wearing a helmet and armor, holding a familiar copper stick, riding a fine horse, and flying straight to Zhang Fei.

  Seeing someone coming out to fight, Zhang Fei excitedly clenched his fists and said, "I've been pent up for several days, I can finally have a chance to have some fun."

  "Halt, you daredevil! Come and fight!" The newcomer shouted loudly, raising his heavy bronze club high in the air and charging towards Zhang Fei with a powerful swing. Zhang Fei remained calm and composed, dodging to the side on horseback while sweeping his snake spear outward. The two clashed head-on, producing a deafening crash in mid-air as sparks flew everywhere from their colliding golden armor. The man let out a loud cry, stumbling sideways as his bronze club was knocked out of his hands by Zhang Fei.

  "Good." Zhang Fei shouted loudly, the other side's face turned red with rage, almost to the point of tears, their weapon was almost knocked out of their hand. Being praised by Zhang Fei was a humiliation beyond compare.

  "It's my turn to strike, you madman, and you will die!" Turning his horse around, he steadied himself, as the enemy general swung again. The wind whizzed past his ear, and a familiar bronze club came crashing down towards Zhang Fei's waist.

  Zhang Fei's spearhead pointed to the ground, his body floated in mid-air on horseback, easily dodging the attack. The two men exchanged blows, clearly Zhang Fei had the upper hand, yet he kept praising his opponent and refused to deliver a fatal blow, as if he was savoring the fight and playing with his opponent.

  A loud "clang" sound, the familiar copper rod in the opponent's hand was finally knocked flying by Zhang Fei. Zhang Fei grinned and laughed loudly, again praising "Good."

  "Ah!" The enemy was so angry that he couldn't bear it anymore, and on the spot, a mouthful of blood spurted out. His face turned red with shame, as red as flames, as red as charcoal, really losing face, hating to find a hole in the ground to crawl into.

  "Haha, Zhang Fei, what's gotten into you? One spear thrust would have done the trick, why have you become so wordy all of a sudden?" Dian Wei couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  "I see, someone is reluctant to take action, holding back for several days. Finally, there's a battle to fight, but he can't bear to do it." Xu Feng shook his head, this Zhang Fei was indeed a treasure, able to come up with such things. However, Xu Feng wasn't in a hurry either, so he simply sat on his black horse, watching the commotion.

  "Not bad at all, you're actually evenly matched with me, Old Zhang, after thirty moves. You truly are a fierce general! Come on, report your name, for under my lord's guns, we don't kill unknown ghosts." After fighting for a long time, Zhang Fei stopped his warhorse and praised him with a full face of admiration.

  "Humph, no need to say more, it's indeed your family member Zhang Sheng." Zhang Sheng pulled out the defensive sword from his waist and stared at Zhang Fei with eyes blazing with fury, as if he wanted to bite him to death to vent his hatred.

  "Alright, Zhang Sheng, you're a lucky one, to die under the spear of Yan Ren Zhang Fei. We've played for so long, it's time to send you on your way, lest the underworld gets crowded and you can't get in." With that, the Second Horse circled around, and Zhang Fei's snake spear flashed out like lightning, a white light flashing in the air. The spear shot forth swiftly, and Zhang Sheng tried to dodge, but he couldn't evade it - the spear was too fast, coming and going like a shooting star or a flash of lightning. In the brief moment between its entry and exit, a large blood hole had appeared on Zhang Sheng's chest, with scalding hot blood gushing out, taking away the last vestiges of life from his body.

  Bang! Zhang Sheng's head fell from his horse, the whole field was in an uproar, all the government troops were shocked, what a fast gun!

  In a flash of lightning and thunder, let the great general under Huangfu Song's command hastily return to his mansion, which is naturally the underworld.

  "Hiss..." Huangfu Song sat on his horse, unable to help but take a deep breath of cool air. In his heart, he secretly thought: Is Zhang Fei really just an ordinary soldier? Why have I never heard of such skill before? It shouldn't be that he's just an unknown little soldier, right?

  "Is there anyone else who dares to come and fight?" Zhang Fei shook his snake spear, pointing the spearhead at the opposing government army, and shouted with a heroic air.

  "I'm here to meet you." Seeing Zhang Fei being so arrogant, another general from the enemy's formation charged out. However, he wasn't as lucky as Zhang Sheng. The opponent came with a fierce momentum, riding his horse and swinging his sword. Just as he approached, Zhang Fei suddenly leaned forward on his horse's back, and his spear stabbed straight out, grazing the horse's back. A shrill cry of pain sounded, and the attacker was struck in the chest by Zhang Fei before he could even make a single move.

  And the steel knife he swung out only grazed Zhang Fei's back, without even touching a single hair on his body.

  "Good, Zhang Fei is too fierce!" The Yellow Turban army surged forward, the drumbeat was like thunder, and everyone applauded and cheered, with cheers unending.

  "Zhang Fei, how interesting. It seems that today's battle has made you and me mere spectators." Xu Feng said with a smile to Dian Wei.

  "Zhang Fei is brave and fierce, I think there are only a few people in the enemy's formation who can defeat him. With him on the battlefield, our commander can rest assured." Diǎn Wěi replied calmly.

  "Next?" Zhang Fei leapt onto his horse, gun in hand, disdainfully sweeping his gaze across the enemy lines. He shouted loudly, exuding an aura of invincibility that made all the officers and soldiers in the enemy ranks tremble with fear. Despite their numerical superiority, no one dared to take a step forward. Everyone knew that Zhang Fei's spear was merciless and could kill without batting an eye.

  Seeing no one coming out, Zhang Fei secretly shook his head, greatly disappointed. His eyes fell on Huangfu Song, and Zhang Fei looked up at the sky and laughed wildly, pointing the spearhead at Huangfu Song, excitedly shouting: "Huangfu old man, if you dare, come and fight with Zhang Ye!"

  Huangfu Song wanted to go forward and fight, but Zhang Fei's bravery made him hesitate. He asked himself if he had any chance of winning, and when he looked back, he saw that the soldiers beside him were all pale with fear. Huangfu Song hastily waved his sword and shouted loudly: "Soldiers, we have a large army and are in a advantageous position! Let's go forward together and seize the city, and destroy this group of evil bandits!" Fearing that the longer they waited, the more unstable the morale would be, Huangfu Song wisely gave the order to charge.

  Xu Feng shook his head and waved his hand at Zhang Fei, who turned his horse around and returned to their own formation. All the Yellow Turban soldiers stared blankly at the approaching government troops, not moving a muscle. At first glance, it seemed as if they had all been frightened out of their wits and didn't know whether to flee or hide.

  "Huh? Why is this, why aren't they coming out to fight or retreating back to the city, could it be a trick?" Huangfu Song urged his horse forward, brandishing his sword and charging into battle. Seeing Xu Feng and the others not making any move, he couldn't help but feel a sense of tension in his heart. He didn't think that Xu Feng and the others were scared, and would willingly stand there waiting for death.

  "Boom, boom!" Just as they were momentarily stunned, the government troops rushed over and many war horses suddenly fell into deep pits and traps that had appeared on the ground. The pits were filled with thorns and set with traps. The soldiers and horses that fell into the pits were either pierced by sharp spears or shot dead by bamboo arrows. Some of the pits were filled with swirling dust, directly blinding the eyes of the soldiers and horses, making them blind.

  "How despicable! Not good!" Just as Huang Fu Sung had cursed, his body suddenly shook violently and the warhorse also fell into the deep pit. Huang Fu Sung hastily pressed the tip of his foot on the horseback and his body flew up into the air, narrowly avoiding falling into the trap.

  "When I, Xu Feng, am not a fool, did I occupy Yangzhai and wait for you to attack the city with a willing heart? Not preparing some gifts, wouldn't that be saying I'm slow in treating you gentlemen? Young men, it's time for us to take action, kill! Let them see the power of our Yellow Turban Army. Those who kill enemies and achieve merits will be heavily rewarded by me. Charge!"