Chapter 28: Xu Huang Falls into the Trap

  In the training ground of Huai City, the county seat of Henan Prefecture, Lü Bu's face was not looking good. The soldiers who were practicing military formations were also frightened, fearing that they would accidentally provoke Lü Bu's anger and bring about his wrath.

  Watching a team of brave and skilled soldiers sweating like rain in the scorching sun without any complaints, the county soldiers in Hanoi couldn't help but sigh in admiration. Indeed, this is the army of the world's number one fierce general! The intensity of this drill, the military discipline... amazing!

  Lü Bu's military prestige spread again in Hebei, which was somewhat unexpected by Lü Bu, but it didn't make him happy at all. After leaving Chang'an, the pursuit of the Western Liang army seemed more like a show, and after eating several meals of Lü Bu's horse hoof dust, they didn't even have the courage to fight again. After meeting up with Zhang Yang's army in Hebei Prefecture, they retreated back to Chang'an City with their tails between their legs, which made Lü Bu very depressed.

  What made Lü Bu even more anxious was that it had been over half a month since he arrived at Hebei, and the soldiers of his other units had also arrived one after another, but there was still no news from Gao Shun. Every day, countless scouts were sent out, and Zhang Yang, the governor of Hebei, even dispatched troops to search in the direction of Chang'an for three hundred miles, but there was not a single piece of information.

  "Hurray! Hurray! Haha! Good news, you won't have to keep that gloomy face all day long!" A loud and boisterous voice suddenly appeared on the training grounds, which were filled with only the sounds of killing, making it stand out starkly.

  A swift horse, like a fierce wind, rushed into the training grounds. A tall and thin figure, dressed in the attire of a scholar, rode straight towards Lü Bu.

  Lü Bu's gloomy face did not show any anger upon hearing the visitor's shout, but instead revealed a hint of wild joy. He rushed forward and grabbed the reins of the visitor's horse, exclaiming: "Young Uncle! Do you have news about Ling'er and the others?"

  This man's horsemanship is superb, after being controlled by Lü Bu's horse, he actually borrowed strength to pull up the horse's head and landed steadily on the ground. He punched Lü Bu in the chest with a smile, saying: "Haha, if not so, why would I, the majestic Governor of Hebei, come here personally?"

  There is only one person in the entire Three Kingdoms who dares to treat Lü Bu like this.

  Zhang Yang, also known as Zhi Shu, was one of the eighteen vassals who rebelled against Dong Zhuo. He was originally the governor of Shangdang and later transferred to be the governor of Henan. He was one of Lü Bu's few close friends, and he was a loyal friend indeed. In history, he was killed by his subordinate Yang Chou for trying to rescue Lü Bu.

  "Little uncle, brother! Bu Cheng's great kindness will be repaid later! Are... Ling'er and the others already in Hebei?" Lü Bu grasped Zhang Yan's hand tightly, his clothes disheveled and his hat askew, clearly having rushed here as soon as he heard the news.

  "How ridiculous!" Zhang Yang pretended to be calm and said, "As soon as I heard the scout's report, I immediately came to inform you. Who is greedy for your reward?"

  "Yes, yes, brother's words are indeed correct... then..." Lü Bu's face rarely showed a hint of embarrassment, and he smiled wryly: "Brother might as well tell me."

  "Now, General Gao Shun and your two siblings are all resting in my mansion. Lu Bu, you should be at ease now." Seeing that Lu Bu rarely showed such an expression, Zhang Yang hurriedly said this to avoid embarrassing him in front of the troops.

  "That's good! That's good!" Lü Bu released Zhang Yang's hand, ignoring his teasing, and turned around in a circle on the spot, muttering to himself nonstop.

  "Stop acting like a child, it's making our soldiers laugh. Go and meet your two younger siblings quickly!" Zhang Yang saw Lv Bu's state and smiled indifferently, saying: "I've already instructed the military doctor to follow us later, we'll go see Little Ling'er together."

  "What? Ling'er is injured?" Lü Bu's joyful expression changed, and he was about to lead the horse to the governor's mansion when Zhang Yang said that a doctor was needed. The surprise on Lü Bu's face disappeared, and a fierce killing intent suddenly burst out from his body. He shouted: "Ling'er is injured? Is it serious? Who did it?"

  Lü Lingqi was Lü Bu's concubine. Upon hearing Zhang Yang's words, his precious daughter was hurt. How could this be endured?

  "Don't be so agitated, General! Ling'er is not hurt!" Even though Lü Bu's anger was not directed at Zhang Yang, it still made him break out in a cold sweat. He hastily said: "According to General Gao, it was one of the clerks under your command, General. He just fainted from exhaustion and is not seriously injured."

  "Chief? Relieved?" Lü Bu didn't calm down because of Zhang Yang's words, the blue color on his face became more apparent, and he didn't speak. He nodded at Zhang Yang, pulled over Zhang Yang's horse, mounted it swiftly, and rushed towards the gate, leaving behind Zhang Yang watching Lü Bu's back, shaking his head in a mixture of laughter and tears.

  The steward mentioned by Zhang Yang is naturally Qin Xu.

  After killing Cao Hong, who had been slaughtering innocent people in a fit of rage, Qin Xu felt as if the strength in his body had been drained away, and he was soft and weak all over, unable to exert even a little bit of energy.

  Gao Shun looked at Qin Xu again, and after listening to Lü Lingxue's description of Qin Xu's situation at the time, he just said lightly: "Lost strength, don't think too much, rest well." After that, he didn't say anything else. Just because of this, Lü Lingxue didn't talk to Gao Shun for a long time, making Gao Shun smile bitterly.

  It was Cai Yong who, after hearing Qin Xu's "story", came to give Qin Xu a pulse diagnosis, muttering a bunch of incomprehensible terms while stroking his white beard, and then ordered Old Xu and Sima Mao to gather a large quantity of colorful herbs, decocting them into a thick, mysterious medicine that he insisted Qin Xu drink.

  Qin Xu, after all, was from a later generation. Although he had no prejudice against the traditional Chinese medicine that had been passed down for thousands of years in Huaxia, he felt uneasy about this stubborn old man who kept scolding him and staring at him as if he were a thief. The medicine, with its colorful flowers, looked untrustworthy to Qin Xu, and he refused to drink it no matter what. Cai Yong was furious, blowing his beard and glaring at Qin Xu while cursing loudly.

  The Cao army, which was annihilated by Qin Xu's plan, had only more than 50 people left. They were afraid that there might still be many Cao soldiers nearby, and in order to get rid of unnecessary trouble, they had to change their route. Fortunately, Xu Huan had previously been active in this area when he was under Yang Feng as a White Wave bandit, so he was very familiar with the terrain. After taking a detour, they arrived at the border of Hebei Prefecture just a few days late.

  These days, Qin Xu's life has been very comfortable. With the title of "patient", Lü Linggui's attitude towards Qin Xu has improved a lot. Perhaps it was Qin Xu's "bravery" when he killed Cao Hong that day, which made this little girl change her scornful attitude towards Qin Xu. These days, she has been busy feeding Qin Xu water and food, sometimes making Qin Xu feel a bit embarrassed.

  Cai Yan was even more considerate of Qin Xu, taking care of every detail, and if Qin Xu hadn't insisted on doing things himself, Cai Yan would have taken care of them for him.

  What Qin Xu found strange was that the two women took care of him in such a way, and Shi Zhong and Diao Chan didn't have any objections, which was fine. After all, Qin Xu was still under Lü Bu's command, and it was understandable that Lü Lingqi would try to win people over on Lü Bu's behalf. But Cai Yong, who had always been wary of Qin Xu as if he were a thief, suddenly seemed to have lost his mind and ignored Qin Xu after he refused to drink the medicine. Even when Cai Yan came to visit Qin Xu every day, Cai Yong pretended not to see him, which was very strange.

  In fact, Qin Xu's own affairs are his own knowledge. Being weak may be true to some extent, but it is far from being as severe as people imagine. One reason why Qin Xu has been pretending to be weak is that he and Master Qin have never enjoyed the tender care of two national treasure-level beauties in their lives. Now that they finally have this opportunity, only a fool would recover so quickly.

  Furthermore, killing Cao Hong in a fit of rage was indeed satisfying, but Qin Xu's original intention to surrender to Cao Cao was completely shattered by that one knife. Although it was strange that there was no wave of disappointment as expected, it also left Qin Xu feeling empty and hollow inside.

  But most importantly, Xu Huan is leaving.

  At first, Qin Xu and Xu Huan's bet, Xu Huan was indeed very strict in keeping it, and also made a big deal with Qin Xu.

  But as they approached the Henei Commandery, Xu Huang's face became increasingly somber. Several times he seemed to want to say something to Qin Yong, but ultimately didn't speak up. It was clear that under Yang Feng's command, Xu Huang was actually far from being reused as much as historical records had written, and Xu Huang probably also had his own concerns about the Western Liang army occupying Chang'an. Otherwise, he wouldn't have fallen into Qin Yong's trap and temporarily escaped the political vortex of Chang'an City.

  However, Qin Xu's plan for Xu Huang was just to have a bodyguard when surrendering to Cao Cao, and didn't have any other ideas. After all, Xu Huang is also one of the five elite generals of Cao's army in history.

  But now going to rely on Cao Cao is no longer realistic, Old Cao is not a kind person, after knowing the truth about Cao Hong's death, it would be strange if Qin Xu was spared; Moreover, thinking carefully about some of Cao Cao's actions also made Qin Xu feel more and more disgusted, and instead made Qin Xu's thoughts with Xu Huan change to become somewhat moved.

  "Second Brother Gongming, this Yang Feng..."

  They were about to arrive at the border of Hanoi County, and saw that Xu Huang's light cavalry had already begun to gather their luggage and bid farewell to the soldiers who had been trapped in the array. Only then did Qin Xu reluctantly try to probe Xu Huang by saying:

  "Brother Qin, no need to say more." Xu Huan didn't wait for Qin Xu to finish speaking, as if he already knew what Qin Xu wanted to say. He stopped Qin Xu from continuing and said: "General Yang has treated me with kindness and has not slighted me, Xu Huan. I will not betray him and defect to another side."

  "Gongming brother misunderstood!" Seeing Xu Huan's resolute words, Qin Xu suddenly became less anxious and said: "Being able to get along with Gongming brother for over a dozen days is already a great honor for Qin Xu, of course I wouldn't dare think otherwise, it's just..."

  "Qin brothers have something to say, just speak directly." Xu Huan saw the previous "misunderstanding" of Qin Xu's meaning, and said somewhat embarrassedly: "As long as Huan can do it, he will not decline."

  Qin Xu curled his lip in disdain, "You'd agree to hang out with my boss too, huh?" But on the surface, he wore a sighing expression and said: "Xu merely wanted to say that although Yang Feng has done favors for Gong Ming, his vision is short-sighted, and he entrusts himself to the wrong people, truly not a wise leader."

  Xu Huan stopped, about to speak, but Qin Xu continued: "My brother's request is not unreasonable. If one day Yang Feng has other matters, can Brother Gongming be willing to meet with me again?"

  "This......" Xu Huan did not expect Qin Xu to say such a thing, and his face showed hesitation, without immediately responding.

  Quickly agree! Quickly agree! Qin Xu shouted in his heart. This is the classic move of Liu Ye, the great ear, who lured Zhilong, and according to legend, it has a very high success rate.

  "Even if Qin brothers said so, what's the big deal if Huan agreed?"