Volume 1: Kyoto Storm Chapter 36: The True Hero Zhang Fei Draws a Pig

  "Alright, get up!" Seeing Cheng You lying on the ground with a bloody head, Liu Zhang said somewhat displeased: "Just because of what you said earlier 'hit lightly', I'll spare your life this once. Tell me, why did you use poison on a butcher? As an official, you've gone too far!"

  "Sir, you don't know the truth, being an official is really bitter!" The city guard said with a sorrowful face: "In this city I'm guarding, there are many noble families and wealthy households. But my backing isn't strong enough. Those noble families and clans, I don't dare to offend any of them. The young masters of these families are running amok in the city, I'm not unaware of it, but I don't dare to intervene! Although I'm the city guard, each of these noble families and clans has more house slaves and clan soldiers than my troops. If they really wanted to destroy me, I..."

  "Enough!" Liu Zhang said somewhat impatiently, "What does this have to do with me? And what does it have to do with Zhang Tui's wife? Are you taking out your frustrations on the common people after being bullied by some aristocratic family?"

  "No... I dare not!" The city guard's tone was somewhat stern when he spoke of the latter, and he seemed to choke back a sob. All that could be heard was the city guard saying: "Young master, you don't know this, but Zhang the butcher likes to associate with heroic figures from the jianghu, and those heroes are all lawless rascals. When they encounter young masters from aristocratic families who bully others relying on their family's power, they don't care about the other party's background and teach them a lesson, several lives have already been lost! The great families can't do anything to these jianghu heroes, so they take it out on me, I...

  "You're just trying to provoke Zhang Tufu, aren't you!" Liu Zhang slapped his forehead and said: "I really admire you! It's just a small matter, but it's caused a big stir. Go! From now on, Zhang Tufu will be under my protection. If any other noble family dares to mess with him, tell them that I'm Liu Zhang, the son of the Governor of Youzhou, and even the Yuan family doesn't dare to trifle with me in the capital!"

  "Yuan's family?" The city guard asked in confusion: "Which Yuan's family?"

  "Which of the Yuan family members in the imperial court would dare to let our young master bully?" Shi Ah laughed and said: "Of course, it's the families of Yuan Wei and Yuan Feng, the fourth generation of the three dukes! You know, when we were in the capital, our young master beat up Yuan Feng's son Yuan Shu until he was half dead. As a result, Yuan Feng and Yuan Wei could only swallow their anger!"

  Cheng Shou's eyes widened after listening, and he looked at Liu Zhang with great admiration. It was well-known that the Yuan family was in its heyday during the Han dynasty, who dared to touch their whiskers? Suddenly, Cheng Shou smiled and said: "Young master, since you can take in Zhang Tui, can you also..."

  "Are you covering for him?" Liu Zhang sneered, "Don't try to take advantage of me! I didn't look for trouble with you, so you should be grateful! Want to surrender to me? My army doesn't accept trash!"

  "Gentlemen, I've been garrisoning in Youzhou for ten years, and I'm not a waste of resources, am I?" The city guard smiled and said: "At least, you're still somewhat useful!"

  "So what's your trick?" Liu Zhang sneered: "Don't tell me, you think you're flawless!"

  "How dare you..." Cheng Shou Dao said: "I have led troops for ten years and have some experience in leading troops..."

  Shi Ahaha burst out laughing: "Young Master is a master of commanding troops himself, what's the big deal about your little trick? Turn around and let someone go to Ji County to ask around, the soldiers in Ji County are all trained according to Young Master's methods!"

  Liu Zhang shook his head and said, "Alright! Since you're a martial general, you must have some skill in martial arts. I'll give you and Zhang Tui each a knife. I don't require you to be stronger than him; as long as you can fight evenly with him, then you're my man. Otherwise, people will say that the young master of Youzhou's governor is so incompetent that even his servant is no match for a butcher, and taking you in would only bring shame to me!"

  The city guard was shocked, he knew that Zhang Tufu's martial arts were outstanding and could be called the number one master in the city. To fight Zhang Tufu alone, isn't this looking for death? But he didn't want to give up this opportunity either, being an official requires having a strong backing. The city guard gritted his teeth and said: "I am willing to fight Zhang Tufu!"

  "No, no, no! How dare a humble person like me engage in combat with the noble City Guardian!" Zhang Tufu realized that Liu Zhang's status was high and noble, but he didn't dare to cross swords with the City Guardian either. In the end, Liu Zhang would have to leave, and if he did, it would be easy for the City Guardian to deal with a mere butcher like him later on.

  "Zhang Tufu, regardless of victory or defeat, I will not blame you!" The city defender knew that this was his chance, and he also knew that he absolutely could not move Zhang Tufu again. Although the city defender did not know Liu Zhang's temperament, as a member of a noble family, saving face is important. Since Liu Zhang said to shield Zhang Tufu, whoever moved against Zhang Tufu would be slapping Liu Zhang in the face. With Liu Zhang's status, killing a city defender was truly, as Shi E said, easier than killing a dog.

  Zhang Tufu looked at Liu Zhang, then looked at the city defender. Since both of them said so, he didn't pretend anymore. Picking up the knife sent over by the yamen runner, Zhang Tufu smiled and said: "Sir, you go first!"

  "Be careful!" The city guard flicked the corner of his robe to his waist and swung his knife at Zhang Tufu. The city guard was indeed a veteran soldier, and his knife seemed to carry a hint of cruel killing intent. Zhang Tufu didn't dare to be careless, he quickly retreated backwards, and counterattacked with a slash towards the city guard's head.

  Cheng Shou's momentum was unstoppable, but he was still afraid of death. Seeing Zhang Tufu's knife approaching, he hastily raised his knife to block it. Unexpectedly, this fell right into Zhang Tufu's trap. The two knives clashed, and Cheng Shou suddenly felt a surge of immense power, with even a thread of blood emerging from the tiger's mouth. Just as Cheng Shou was unable to hold onto his knife, he heard a loud noise, and his knife snapped in two.

  "Alright, I concede!" Zhang Tufu sheathed his sword and stood aside with a bow, while Cheng Wei, still clutching the broken hilt of his sword, looked somewhat bitter. Cheng Wei knew he was no match for Zhang Tufu, but he hadn't expected to lose so decisively.

  "Alas!" The city guardian sighed and said, "If fate has it that we should meet, then we will; if not, then don't force it! Since I have no affinity with the young master, then so be it!"

  "Don't be discouraged! I'll give you a letter of introduction later. If the Zhang family hasn't broken any laws, those young masters from noble families dare to make noise, just show them the letter I gave you. Let them go to Youzhou to find my old man!" Liu Zhan knew that if he wanted the horse to run, he had to give it grass to eat. He had recruited Zhang Tufu, but Zhang's family still needed to take care of the city defense, and at the very least, Zhang's business couldn't be moved away. If the city defense was broken, it would be enough trouble for Liu Zhan.

  Cheng Shou's eyes lit up and he hastily bowed: "Thank you, young master!"

  "Alright!" Liu Zhang waved his hand and said, "Prepare the writing materials, Shi Ah. You will give a copy of the letter to the city guard! However, it must be noted in the letter that I am only responsible for Zhang Tufu's affairs. If there are other matters concerning the city guard, they do not fall under my jurisdiction! Oh right! Zhang Tufu, what is your real name? I certainly can't address you as Zhang Tufu in the letter!"

  Zhang Tu Fu bowed and said: "I am Zhang Xiong, thank you for saving me, young master!"

  "Hmph!" The city guard knew that Liu Zhang wanted to capture Zhang Xiong, so he sneered: "Rescue? Young master owes you a debt of gratitude!"

  "What!" Zhang Xiong exclaimed in shock; "What enmity is between us that you would seek to put me to death?"

  "What grudge?" The city guard sneered, "The Wang family in the west of the city, the Li family in the east, you shouldn't be unfamiliar with them! Do you know that the Wang family is a branch of the Taiyuan Wang clan, and the Li family is a disciple of the Yuan family? You provoked those heroic knights, killed the young master of the Wang family, and crippled the grandson of the Li family! You have nothing to do with those heroic knights, but what about me? One by one, they all come to me asking for the culprit, where can I find them?"

  Zhang Xiong exclaimed: "Those aristocratic sons bullied men and tyrannized women, not a single one of them was good, they deserved to die!"

  "Yes! They are no good! But they have power!" The city guard said angrily: "You only care about those ordinary people, what about me? Have you ever thought of me?"

  "When you, as an official, do not serve the people, but instead sacrifice the common folk for the sake of powerful families and clans, why should I care about you?" Zhang Xiong suddenly burst out laughing: "If you were a good official, all the heroes in the world would be willing to serve under you. Even if those powerful families and clans gave you trouble, we would do our best to help you achieve justice. But you are not a good official! Heroes of the jianghu, who wants to oppose the government? We also want to serve the government and plead for the people, but is there such an official worthy of our service now? If there really was such an official, I would be willing to die for him, and it would be with a happy heart!"

  "Zhang Tutu is truly a hero!" Liu Zhang shook his head and said: "City Guardian, from today on, if Zhang Tutu has any conflicts with the noble families again, you can handle it impartially. As long as my father is still the governor of Youzhou, I will protect you. Of course, if you use my relationship to embezzle or bend the law, be careful with your head! As for those related noble families, tell them that if they don't want to be exterminated by me, they should behave themselves!"

  "Yes!" Cheng Yu listened to Liu Zhang's words and immediately responded. It is worth noting that there were many cases in the city, all of which were caused by Zhang Tu's invited heroes. Now with Liu Zhang's promise, I believe those aristocratic families will not dare to make any more noise! Anyway, as long as it was something done by a hero, they would just push it onto Zhang Tu's head!

  Liu Zhang nodded and said: "In that case, I'll go back to the inn!"

  "Is the young master staying at an inn?" The city guard exclaimed: "No, no! Although my city guard's mansion is humble, it's still much better than an inn. Why don't I invite the young master to stay at my city guard's mansion for a night..."

  "It's nothing!" Liu Zhang didn't want any dealings with the city guard.

  "The young master is my benefactor, how can I let my benefactor stay in a guest house!" Zhang Xiong was not foolish either. Liu Zhang had helped him so much, he naturally wanted to show his appreciation, so Zhang Xiong smiled and said: "If the young master doesn't mind, you can go to my mansion to rest for a while!"

  "It's extremely, extremely!" The city guard smiled and said: "Young master, don't look at Zhang Tufu's fierce and ugly face, but his home is actually elegant. I heard that he has a peach garden in his backyard, which has a unique charm!"

  "Oh?" Liu Zhang also quite liked the peach forest, bamboo forest and such things, mainly because he really liked the Peach Garden Oath and Zhuge Liang's hermit-style bamboo forest and thatched cottage. So Liu Zhang smiled and said: "In that case, I must go take a look!"

  After bidding farewell to the city guard, Liu Zhang followed Zhang Xiong to his home. Before entering the door, he heard a loud and mournful cry, like the sound of killing pigs. This was not human crying, but truly the sound of pigs crying. Liu Zhang looked at Zhang Xiong with a strange expression and said: "You're not slaughtering pigs in the front yard and planting peach blossoms in the back yard, are you?"

  Zhang Xiong said with a helpless expression: "What's killing pigs? It must be that stinky little brat from my family, practicing martial arts with the pig in the front yard again!"

  After finishing, Zhang Xiong led Liu Zhang to push the door and enter. In the front yard, there was a child about the same size as Liu Zhang, holding a stick, riding on a pig, using the stick to whip a group of pigs. From his movements, it could be seen that the child's action of whipping the pigs should be a very profound spear technique!