Chapter 39: The Assassin Appears

  Long Fei gave 10,000 soldiers and horses to Zhang Liao and Gao Shun. Seeing Long Fei's expression when he saw Dian Wei, it was hard to understand. The two of them made a plan, and that night they sent Dian Wei to Long Fei's large camp. Although there were no soldiers or horses, but having obtained Xu Huang and Dian Wei, the two great generals, Long Fei was overjoyed in his heart. He bought good wine and food, and in the camp, he called everyone together to have a hearty drink.

  At the banquet, Long Fei was delighted and drank a lot: "Today, I'm so happy to see all of you, Zhao Yun, Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, Xu Huang, Dian Wei, and you, Huang Zhong, in my heart, you are all like gods, galloping on the battlefield, invincible, whether you're friends or foes, you're all first-rate generals in history, your names will be remembered for eternity! To drink with you, I, Long Fei, have no regrets in this life!" He raised his head and drained the cup dry.

  These people were all stunned and didn't understand the meaning of Long Fei's words. However, they still yearned for what Long Fei said. As a general, who wouldn't want to lead thousands of horses and gallop across the battlefield, invincible like Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, and make our country's prestige known, so that later generations would point out their name and give a thumbs up? But reality is not like that. The best among this group may be Zhang Liao, who joined the army at 16 and is now only a school lieutenant, while Huang Zhong has been struggling in the army for 20 years and is only a deputy captain. Xu Huan and Dian Wei are mountain bandits. Gao Shun and Zhao Yun come from poor families, and it's hard to imagine how far away they are from making a name for themselves in this era dominated by aristocratic officials.

  Zhang Liao raised his cup: "I borrow Dragon Lord's auspicious words. If there really is such a day, I, Zhang Liao, will never forget Dragon Lord's guidance today!"

  That night was the second time Long Fei got drunk, so drunk that he lost consciousness. He didn't even know when Wang Qian came, and when he opened his eyes the next day, he saw another woman lying beside him, almost jumping up in fright. This made Wang Qian laugh out loud. Long Fei let out a sigh of relief: "You scared me to death! Every time I get drunk, something like this happens, it's going to be the death of me!"

  "Hum! You must be eager, right?" Wang Qiang got up and helped Long Fei wash his face with water.

  Everything was ready, and then Long Fei suddenly thought of it: "How did you get here? Is there any news?"

  Wang Qian hastily pulled Long Fei to sit down beside the couch: "In the past few days, many strangers have come to Wang Yun's mansion. They speak different dialects. Based on my judgment, Hei Bingtai will not just send us siblings alone. These people must all be here for this matter!"

  "How many people?"

  "Almost a hundred people! Especially young women!"

  "Beauty trick?" Long Fei blurted out: "From what I've observed, Dong Zhuo isn't a lustful person, this beauty trick is probably..."

  "You just don't understand!" Wang Qiang slowly got up and poured a glass of water for Long Fei: "Women have their own advantages, many times men can't do things that women can easily accomplish!"

  "I agree with that!" Long Fei nodded: "For example, giving birth to a child, no matter what, men can't do it, but you women can't give birth to a child without a man either!" As he spoke, he wrapped Wang Qiang in his arms, one hand slipping under her clothes and climbing up.

  Wang Qian lay in Long Fei's arms and let him caress her: "There's one more thing, those people only stayed at Wang Yun's place for one night and then all disappeared!"

  "This is a bit strange, could it be that he's going to Wang Yun's place to see someone? That guy didn't say that your master was at Wang Yun's mansion!" Long Fei's pinching force increased, and Wang Qian's breathing became heavier, gritting her teeth: "I don't know, Master has never shown up! Ahh!"

  Long Fei lightly kissed Wang Jian's mouth: "It seems that the master is in the Wang Fu, and must be found!"

  "Hmm!" Wang Qian responded with a murmur, unable to say anything else. Long Fei turned around, placed Wang Qian on the couch, flipped over and got on top, his hands starting to undo Wang Qian's clothes.

  The clouds gathered and dispersed, and the two got up to tidy themselves again. Wang Qian was still savoring the excitement and satisfaction of just now, his cheeks flushed red. Long Fei kissed him once and smiled: "You'd better not go out like this, it's not good for people to see you!"

  "Hmm!" Wang Qian responded with a murmur and sat back down obediently.

  Not far away, the sound of drilling came from the neighboring military camp. Without asking, it must be Zhang Liao and Gao Shun training their troops. The eight schools in Xiyuan are now left with only him and Zhao Yun as commanders. He had to think of a way to get some men, so as not to be blamed by Dong Zhuo later. At the camp gate, he happened to see Zhao Yun, Xu Huang, Ta Lun, and Wang Yi peeking at Zhang Liao's training. Long Fei quietly approached each of them and gave them a pastry. When Xu Huang turned around, there was already a sword in his hand. Seeing it was Long Fei, he returned the sword to its scabbard.

  "What about Dianwei?"

  "I don't know, he left early this morning!" Wang Wei replied: "He said he was going to pick up some things when he left!"

  "Where to get things, what things to get?"

  Wang Wei hastily shook his head. Long Fei looked at several people: "You guys, now we are a team, don't know what your own brother is doing, go find him quickly!" Before he finished speaking, there was a commotion at the gate. Dian Wei led twenty or thirty people walking towards this side, laughing and talking loudly as they walked. Seeing Long Fei and others here, Dian Wei ran over with a smile, saying to Long Fei: "These are all my brothers, I've already persuaded them to follow you from now on! How's that? Does old Dian still have some use?"

  Long Fei took a look at those people, and they were all sturdy men: "Where did you come from?"

  "Hum! Yang Feng is not benevolent to me, so don't blame me for being unrighteous! These are all my original mountain stronghold brothers, as long as I wave my hand they will all come!" Dian Wei raised his head and winked at the people behind him, showing off his own righteousness.

  Long Fei's eyes lit up as he smiled and said, "Brothers, I have a hundred coins here. Whoever can bring ten people back to me before nightfall will get this hundred coins!"

  These people were originally robbers, and as soon as they heard there was money, one by one they eagerly shouted "I can do it! I can do it!" Long Fei said: "Alright, you can only get people from Yang Feng's White Wolf Valley, don't go around grabbing people randomly. Alright, go! Wait for your good news! Tian Wei, stay behind!" The crowd dispersed in a hurry, and Tian Wei looked on enviously as others made money, while he himself couldn't go.

  Long Fei had Xu Huan and Wang Wei prepare wine and dishes, as he was going to host a banquet for his brothers who had defected to him. He put his arm around Dian Wei's broad shoulders, making Dian Wei feel uncomfortable: "Old Dian, since you've decided to follow me, you have to listen to me. From now on, don't do anything without asking me first. Remember, we're brothers. Otherwise, how can you be my personal bodyguard?"

  "What is a bodyguard?"

  "Hmm! Where I go, you go! My safety is up to you to protect! How about it? Are you willing?" Long Fei looked at Dian Wei.

  Dian Wei thought for half a day: "Alright! Here you are the big brother, protecting you we can all live a good life, with wine to drink, I'll listen to you!"

  That night, as expected, over a hundred people arrived. Long Fei gave 100 taels of silver to the one who brought the most people, as agreed. In the courtyard, a grand feast was held, treating each and every one of them who had defected to his side. These men were used to being bandits, and although they had defected to Long Fei, it was all because of Dian Wei's face. Long Fei's gift of gold and wine was just what they needed, and the distance between them narrowed instantly.

  Everyone is delighted, and Long Fei is also happy. At this rate, one becomes two, two become four, and in less than half a month, there will be another ten thousand strong men. Gao Shun and Zhang Liao are also happy for Long Fei and Zhao Yun. Zhang Liao proposed: "Everyone, I know that Big Brother Gao is good at training soldiers. We are all tied to the same rope now. Since everyone knows each other, why not train together? If we really fight in the future, won't our chances of winning be greater if we cooperate with each other?"

  "What a great idea!" Zhao Yun hastily agreed.

  Long Fei looked at Gao Shun: "Gao brother, what do you think?"

  "It's all good!" Gao Shun nodded, and everyone was overjoyed. Long Fei handed over all the training matters to Gao Shun, letting Xu Huang assist him. Meanwhile, Huang Zhong volunteered to take charge of archery training as a way to repay his debt of gratitude. Everyone was more than happy with this arrangement. And so, everything was settled, and the crowd began to drink and feast.

  A man holding a wine bowl came before Long Fei: "General Long, since the last time at White Wolf Valley I knew you were a hero, I'd like to have a drink with you!"

  "Good! Come!" Long Fei didn't think that his own reputation would also be stirred up, and he simply poured wine into his mouth. But the man suddenly flung out a dagger from his sleeve, stabbing straight at Long Fei's chest. Long Fei was too busy drinking to see it coming, and Zhao Yun and the others were too far away to help. Dian Wei said that when the time came, he wouldn't hesitate, and before anyone else could react, he pulled Long Fei back, turned around, and stood in front of him, stretching out his leg to kick the assassin's chest with a loud thud. The assassin let out a "whoosh" sound as he flew backward.

  Long Fei was choked by the wine and coughed continuously because of Tian Wei's sudden movement. Everyone worked together, some grabbing people, others taking care of Long Fei, and the banquet became chaotic. By the time Long Fei caught his breath, the man had already been subdued and beaten half to death. Someone brought him before Long Fei, a sturdy man with thick hands and large feet, no different from ordinary civilians. He would have drawn attention on the street due to his tall stature, but here he was an unremarkable figure among the crowd.

  "Who are you? Who sent you?" Long Fei asked.

  That man didn't say a word, staring at Long Fei's loud laughter, suddenly gritting his teeth. Long Fei shouted "not good", and saw that the man's eyes were round and whole, fell to the ground, curled up into a ball, with black blood flowing from his mouth. Long Fei sighed: "What a fierce poison!"

  The words had not been spoken, when a loud noise was heard. Dian Wei's massive body fell to the ground. Another commotion ensued, and someone discovered a shallow wound on Dian Wei's back, with dark blood oozing out of it. Long Fei shouted "Not good!" and hastily sent for Hua Tuo. He took out his own dagger, cut open the wound on Dian Wei's body, put his mouth to it, sucked out a mouthful of black blood and spat it onto the ground, then continued sucking.

  A mouthful of black blood shocked everyone. Of course, everyone knew that Dian Wei was poisoned, but no one dared to use the method of sucking with their mouths. As they watched, Long Fei's lips also slowly turned purple, and everyone was worried. "Brother, let me do it, swap with you!" Zhao Yun suggested. Long Fei shook his head: "It's okay, go get a basin of clear water, a big one!"

  Zhao Yun brought over some clear water, and the blood that Long Fei had sucked out of Dian Wei's wound also turned red. Spitting out the last mouthful of fresh blood, Long Fei used the clear water to rinse Dian Wei's wound, and the bloody water flowed down Dian Wei's broad back all the way to the ground. The onlookers didn't understand what was going on, and Long Fei didn't explain either, continuing to do his own thing, constantly rinsing, constantly having bloody water flow to the ground. After a very long time, Dian Wei slowly came to.