Volume 1 Kyoto Wind and Cloud Chapter 37 Zhang Fei Pays His Respects to His Older Brother

  "Fei'er! I told you to study in your room, how did you come out again and bring the family's pig toy? Are you looking for a beating?" Zhang Xiong saw his son riding on the pig with a stick, and his anger surged. Although the Han Dynasty didn't have the idea that "all professions are inferior, only reading is superior", scholars were generally more respected than warriors. Zhang Xiong had gone to great lengths to find a good teacher who could discipline his son, but unexpectedly, his son had started practicing martial arts again.

  "Dad...Dad!" Zhang Xiong's son saw Zhang Xiong as if a mouse seeing a cat, but he was very resistant to Zhang Xiong's words. Because he liked martial arts, and those literary things were really not interesting to him.

  "Hum! Come and meet Liu Gongzi, if it wasn't for Liu Gongzi's rescue, I would have died today!" Zhang Fei scolded his son, then turned to Liu Zhuang with a smile: "Gongzi, this stinky little boy is my son, named Zhang Fei. Since he was young, he never listened and liked to practice martial arts, and even bullied the pigs at home. We have a special place for slaughtering pigs in our Zhang family, how could it be done in the front yard!"

  "Long time no see, young master!" When had Zhang Fei ever seen his father with such an expression, as if he was trying to curry favor? However, since Zhang Fei managed to escape a beating, his gratitude towards Liu Zhang increased manifold. If it weren't for Liu Zhang's arrival, he would have definitely been thrashed by Zhang Xiong.

  "Zhang Fei?" As soon as he heard the name, Liu Zhang immediately thought of the famous general Zhang Fei Zhang Yide at the end of the Han Dynasty. So Liu Zhang smiled and asked: "Zhang Xiong, does your son have a courtesy name?"

  Zhang Xiong laughed and said: "Young master is joking! What kind of literary talent can a butcher's son have? Even if he did, it would only be recognized after being crowned, right?"

  Originally, Zhang Fei's courtesy name was not given by his father, but by his master. Because Zhang Fei's father died early, he was raised by his master, and his master also passed away soon after, leaving behind the name Yide.

  "Oh! So that's it..." Liu Zhang didn't know the whole story, but when he heard that Zhang Fei was illiterate, he felt a bit disappointed. If he could establish a relationship with Zhang Fei now, he would be able to prevent him from being poached by Liu Bei. However, looking at Zhang Fei's physique, which far surpassed his peers, Liu Zhang thought it was a pity if he didn't practice martial arts. So Liu Zhang smiled and said: "Zhang Gong, the Han Dynasty needs talented people, not just scholars, but also generals. Don't restrain your son from practicing martial arts, strive to cultivate a child who is both literary and military. In the future, his wealth and glory will be guaranteed!"

  "Ah..." Zhang Fei was stunned, he pulled over Zhang Fei, and the father-son duo knelt down in front of Liu Zhang, saying: "Thank you, young master, for your kindness, I...I..."

  Zhang Xiong was speechless! To know that just being a city guard could control Zhang Xiong's life, the Governor of Youzhou was the master of the entire Youzhou, and it would not be an exaggeration to call him the Emperor of Youzhou. Moreover, in the public hall of the city guard, Zhang Xiong also knew that Liu Zong was the emperor's most beloved younger brother, with the power to execute first and report later. The emperor is the highest leader of a country. Brother is the emperor, father is the local emperor, if son can follow Liu Zong, even if Zhang Xiong dies, he will die with his eyes closed!

  Liu Zhang helped up the still very agitated Zhang Xiong, who was kneeling on the ground, and said: "A great wise man once said: 'Those with literary talent must also have military strategy to assist them!' This is the principle of combining civil and martial arts. Since your son is enthusiastic about martial arts, don't force him to study the Four Books and Five Classics, let him learn some military tactics instead! I've told the Emperor that I want to be the Han Dynasty's Huo Qubing, who knows, maybe your son will be my sharp blade in the future. Becoming a marquis or a general won't be just a dream!"

  "Yes! I understand!" Zhang Xiong was very excited to get Liu's guarantee, but Liu still had some disappointment because he didn't confirm whether this Zhang Fei was the historical figure or not.

  Zhang Xiong's son, Zhang Fei, did not express any opinion on whether he could follow Liu Xiang. This does not mean that Zhang Fei was not clever, but rather that he did not know what kind of person Liu Xiang was. After all, Zhang Fei and Liu Xiang were about the same age, only seven or eight years old, and not everyone was like Liu Xiang, a transmigrating demon.

  "Thanks, little brother!" After the banquet, Zhang Fei intentionally left his son and Liu Bei to get along well, leaving the living room and letting Zhang Fei and Liu Bei be alone. After Old Man Zhang left, Zhang Fei's true nature was revealed! He knew that Zhang Fei agreed to let him practice martial arts completely because of Liu Bei, so he was very grateful to Liu Bei in his heart. Only then did Zhang Fei pat Liu Bei's shoulder with a big slap and say: "If it weren't for little brother, I'd still have to read those tedious books, how annoying! In the future, if there's anything you need my help with outside, just speak up!"

  "Little Zhang Fei, I'm older than you, so you should call me brother!" Liu Bei also liked Zhang Fei quite a bit, but he was somewhat displeased that Zhang Fei called him "Older Brother".

  "Hey! You little brat, in Zhuo County, who dares to make me, Zhang Fei, call them brother? Are you looking for a beating?! Zhang Fei said with a smirk: "However, I heard that you saved my dad and helped me out, so I won't beat you up. But you have to honestly call me Big Brother Fei!"

  "Zhuo County?" Liu Zhang was somewhat certain of the identity of this young man! Zhuo County's Zhang Fei, also known as the pig butcher, he had even seen Zhang Fei ride on a pig and display a decent spear technique. Legend has it that Zhang Fei's 18-foot snake spear was practiced on his family's pigs. Liu Zhang narrowed his eyes and smiled: "You little scoundrel, dare to hit me? What makes you think you can?"

  "Hah!" Zhang Fei jumped down from the stool and said: "You little brat, you don't drink when I offer you wine, but you'll drink punishment wine?! To be honest, although the old man is annoying most of the time, he's still my dad. For my dad's sake, I'll let you call me 'brother'. Otherwise, with your small build, you're not even qualified to call me 'brother'!"

  Liu Zhang burst out laughing and said: "You little brat only judges people by their appearance! Alright, let's compare and see who's more powerful. Whoever wins will be the older brother, how about that?"

  "No way!" Zhang Fei said resolutely: "You saved my father, I won't fight you. A member of the Zhang family isn't an ungrateful scoundrel!"

  "Come on! Can't brothers have a little spar? Why can't we use our hands?" Liu Zhang smiled and said, "You're not afraid, are you?"

  "Afraid?!" Zhang Fei suddenly roared: "I've grown up like this, and I still don't know what it means to be afraid!"

  "Blow! Go ahead and blow!" Liu Zhang laughed: "This afternoon when I saw your dad, I didn't know who looked like a mouse, could it be that your dad is a cat?"

  Zhang Fei heard Liu Zhang mention Zhang Xiong and suddenly pulled his head back, saying: "That's not fear, that's respect, understand?"

  "Come on!" Liu Zhang smiled and said: "Go out and have a fight, whoever wins will be the elder brother, how about it?"

  "This is what you get for asking for it, you've been beaten up, but don't even think about going to my dad to complain!" Zhang Fei seemed to often be complained about, so he was a bit worried.

  Liu Zhang burst out laughing and said, "You win! Even if it's my brother, as the saying goes: 'The elder brother is like a father!' You lose, even if it's my younger brother, being an older brother can't report his younger brother to the authorities, that's not right!"

  "Alright! Let's go to the peach garden in the backyard and have a match!" Zhang Fei's eyes lit up, he originally liked martial arts, someone was willing to fight with him, he couldn't ask for more.

  The Zhang family's compound was originally the residence of an official, but unfortunately, that official got implicated in a political purge and was exiled. Before leaving, the official wanted to sell this compound, but others were hesitant because it was considered unlucky. The official wasn't promoted, but rather arrested and possibly executed. However, the official had a good reputation, neither good nor bad. Zhang Xiong's father saw that the peach garden in the backyard was nice, so he bought it and has lived here until now.

  Although the back yard of Zhang's mansion was all peach trees, there was a large empty space in the middle. This was left by Zhang Fei's father and grandfather for their descendants to practice martial arts. Now Liu Bei and Zhang Fei were standing on the empty ground staring at each other. Zhang Fei asked: "Younger brother, are we competing with fists or weapons?"

  "Little Fei, you haven't won against me yet, so you're not qualified to call me little brother!" Liu Zhang smiled and said: "Since we are at your place, naturally it's up to you to choose!"

  "Hey! No use of swords and spears, if I get hurt, my old man will not forgive me. Let's just compare fists!" Zhang Fei wasn't stupid either, he could see that Liu Zhang's sword at his waist was no ordinary one, while his own weapon was trash.

  "Fists and feet, come on!" Zhang Fei's choice was exactly what Liu Zhang wanted. It should be known that the Tai Chi Fist's neutralization of force and borrowing force to strike back is precisely the best fist method for dealing with a roughneck like Zhang Fei.

  "Fine, little brother! I won't hold back!" Zhang Fei threw a punch straight at Liu Zhang's face. Liu Zhang raised his hand in a defensive stance, deflecting Zhang Fei's fist while pulling him backward and then forward. With a shoulder bump to Zhang Fei's chest, he sent Zhang Fei flying backward. As Zhang Fei crashed to the ground, he glared at Liu Zhang and said, "Good kid, you've got some skills! I'll have to use my full strength now! You'd better be careful!"

  "Come on!" Liu Zhang slowly unfolded his Tai Chi fist, this slow and gentle boxing method seemed like an old lady exercising. But Zhang Fei had just suffered a loss, he didn't dare to underestimate this slow and sluggish boxing method.

  "Roar..." Zhang Fei let out a loud shout and pounced on Liu Zhang, his fists dancing in the air with a whooshing sound. Just as Zhang Fei's fist was about to land, Liu Zhang calmly turned his body, hooked his right foot, and lightly pressed his left hand on Zhang Fei's back, sending him crashing to the ground with a thud.

  "Xiao Fei Zi, you still want me to call you brother? Liu Zhang stood aside shaking his head and smiling: "Honestly just call him older brother, otherwise you'll end up rolling on the ground..."

  "I won't teach you a lesson today, I'm not surnamed Zhang!" Zhang Fei was like a fierce bull, dancing with his fists towards Liu Zhang, and his roar startled Zhang Xiong!

  Zhang Fei's loud roar shocked Zhang Xiong, who immediately turned pale. If Zhang Fei had hurt Liu Xuan, it would be a disaster for the Zhang family! He rushed to the backyard and saw an unbelievable scene. Zhang Fei was covered in dust, but Liu Xuan seemed not to have been touched by him at all! With his heart finally at ease, Zhang Xiong was even more shocked. He knew his son's skills well, and even a grown man might not be a match for Zhang Fei. But this young master, who was about the same age as Zhang Fei, could actually make Zhang Fei so helpless - Zhang Xiong just couldn't believe it.

  Just as Zhang Fei was stunned, he had already been thrown to the ground by Liu Zhang more than a dozen times. Covered in dust and panting heavily, Zhang Fei sat on the ground and said: "Stop fighting, stop fighting! What kind of ghostly fist technique is this? It's really suffocating!"

  "Convinced?" Liu Zhang smiled faintly: "If you're convinced, why not hurry up and call out 'brother' to hear it for yourself? If not, we'll continue..."

  "Alright! Alright!" Zhang Fei suddenly knelt down in front of Liu Zhong and said: "Younger brother Zhang Fei, pays respects to elder brother!"