Chapter 31: Riding the Wind

  Lü Bu gazed at Long Fei, and Long Fei gazed back at Lü Bu. Both of their eyes were filled with murderous intent. A duel between masters emphasizes a single move to defeat the enemy, without any fancy posturing or feigned attacks that drag things out. Each person was calculating in their mind what kind of technique to use, from what angle, and with what degree of force. Although they were thinking this way, their mouths were saying completely different things.

  "It seems that you two have some skills!" Lü Bu glanced at Song Xian and Wei Xu, as well as Zhang Liao who was already at a disadvantage: "Then let's try it out, whoever wins gets the rabbit, how about that?"

  Long Fei brought the rabbit in front of him. He carefully considered that Lü Bu was the world's number one fierce general, and he himself didn't have any confidence in winning, but this was the best method. If not, the four of them together wouldn't have any chance of winning either. "Alright!" Long Fei nodded: "Since it's like this, let's fairly compete once, tell your people to stop!"

  "This is still a man! Zhang Liao, stop!" Zhang Liao feigned a spear thrust and jumped out of the circle, already drenched in sweat and panting heavily. He looked at Zhao Yun, who nodded slightly. Both sides withdrew their hands and returned to their respective camps. Long Fei put the rabbit next to a big tree: "What's the way of comparison? Is it three rounds with two wins, or one sentence to determine victory or defeat? Who will take the stage?"

  Lü Bu chuckled: "The sky is already dark, no need for three rounds and two wins. You and I will settle the outcome in one round. The winner can take the rabbit and leave! Don't worry, I won't kill you! Can you use a weapon?" Long Feng shook his head. Lü Bu nodded and said: "In that case, neither of us needs to use one. Come on!"

  Zhao Yun, Zhang Liao and three others stood at the periphery, while Lü Bu and Long Fei faced each other. Since it was a martial arts competition, Long Fei still had to show some courtesy, so he bowed his hands in greeting. Lü Bu just stood there without moving, looking down on Long Fei. Long Fei narrowed his eyes, thinking about which direction to attack from. Generally speaking, for cavalry generals like Lü Bu, their lower body techniques were not as good as their upper body ones.

  Long Fei kicked out with a sweeping leg, but Lü Bu didn't jump back and instead took a slanted step forward, intending to use his own leg to forcefully block this move. The force of Long Fei's kick was very great, if it had hit, either Lü Bu's leg would have broken or his own would have, and possibly both would have ended up with broken legs. To avoid getting hurt, Long Fei changed moves mid-way, changing the sweep to a push, using both hands to support himself on the ground while both feet fiercely kicked upwards.

  This move was completely beyond Lü Bu's expectations. On the battlefield, martial arts are one aspect, and courage and strength are also very important. As soon as Lü Bu came up, he clashed head-on with his opponent, wanting to crush their morale. Who would have thought that Long Fei was like a monkey, not coming hard at all. Seeing Long Fei's feet rushing towards his chin, Lü Bu hastily leaned back and stretched out his hand to block.

  This was a mistake! Long Fei seized the opportunity, arched his body, and took advantage of the brief pause in mid-air to grab Lv Bu's ankles with both hands. With a strong pull forward, he propelled himself forward. Lv Bu did not expect Long Fei to make such a move, so he exerted force with both legs. On one hand, he pushed Long Fei forward, and on the other hand, he withdrew his feet backward. Long Fei somersaulted in mid-air and landed facing away from Lv Bu.

  "What kind of martial arts is this?" Lü Bu was almost knocked down by Long Fei, his face didn't look too good.

  Long Fei laughed and said: "No matter what kind of martial arts, as long as I can knock you down, I will win. If you think you're not my opponent, you can surrender!"

  "Surrender! Hmph!" Lü Bu snorted, pouncing like a starving tiger, both fists striking out simultaneously, smashing towards Long Fei's chest. Long Fei countered with the "Unload" technique from Tai Chi, grabbing Lü Bu's fists with both hands, tracing a circle along Lü Bu's arm, using his hands to separate Lü Bu's two fists left and right, exposing Lü Bu's chest, taking advantage of the momentum to take a step forward, unleashing the "Black Tiger Pierces the Heart" technique.

  "What kind of fist technique is this?" Lü Bu saw Long Fei suddenly change from his previous agility to becoming foolish, and felt strange. The two marks left by Long Fei's dirty hands on his chest were clearly visible.

  "Good fist! If you want to learn, I can teach you!" Long Fei collected his stance and stood up straight, lightly picking up the rabbit on the ground and waving it at Lü Bu: "But today I won!"

  Suddenly, fifty or sixty soldiers rushed out of the woods. Hou Cheng grasped his waist knife and stood in the front row, majestic and powerful. With a wave of his hand, the soldiers surrounded Long Fei and Zhao Yun. Hou Cheng laughed: "Now look where you can run! Haha, under the bright sky, you actually thought to assassinate Wen Hou, are you tired of living? Take them down!"

  The soldiers rushed forward. Long Fei and Zhao Yun back to back prevented the soldiers from sneaking up. Zhang Liao hastily walked to Lü Bu's side: "My lord, this...this is not what a great man should do!"

  "Halt! Everyone halt! The Emperor is arriving!" Dong Zhuo rode a tall horse, walking in the front. Emperor Xian of Han Liu Xie rode a white horse right behind Dong Zhuo, with civil and military officials following on foot. A large crowd emerged from the forest. Lü Bu, Zhang Liao, Hou Cheng and others hastily knelt down to pay their respects to Dong Zhuo.

  "Feng Xian, is this how you discipline your subordinates?" Dong Zhuo said coldly.

  Lü Bu turned around and glared at Hou Cheng fiercely, scaring him into hastily retreating several steps: "General, spare my life! General, spare my life!"

  Dong Zhuo didn't even look at him: "Today's hunt was supposed to be a friendly gathering, but who would have thought that you all would resort to violence? Not only did no one emerge victorious, but you also brought your troops to take revenge. I saw everything clearly just now - Long Feng got the rabbit first because he snatched it from under Hou Cheng's nose, and then he was the first to strike. Hou Cheng was slightly slower, but what's most infuriating is that it was all your doing!" Dong Zhuo pointed at Hou Cheng: "You instigated everything! Take him away and give him thirty strokes of the military cane!"

  "Spare your life, Grand Tutor! Spare your life, Grand Tutor! I, the younger general, know I was wrong!"

  "Lü Bu hastily said: 'Father, I know I was wrong, please punish me!'"

  Wang Yun hastily stepped forward: "Your Excellency, this matter is the fault of your subordinate. Your subordinate's family will not know the depth and warmth of Marquis Wen's actions. The blame lies entirely with your subordinate. Please, Your Excellency, punish me!"

  "Haha... " Dong Zhuo laughed: "Wang, the Imperial Tutor, has recommended a worthy candidate for the country's benefit, and his merit cannot be ignored. I wonder if Long Zuo and Zhao Zuo are willing to serve the country? This is the first time I've seen someone who can defeat Yu Bu!"

  Long Fei raised the rabbit in his hand and said, "Isn't it true that you promised, whoever wins in this hunting competition will be rewarded with the precious horse 'Wind Chaser'? As for serving the country, let's talk about that after this matter is settled!"

  "Good! There's a burst of energy! Come on, immediately return to the mansion and bring back the Wind Chaser, reward it to Long Zhuang Shi, then bring that flying dragon too, reward it to Zhao Zhuang Shi!"

  Time was not long, two fine horses were sent to the front of Long Fei and Zhao Yun. Yu Feng was indeed a good horse, with a slender waist, long legs, strong hooves, high head, and round buttocks. There was not a single miscellaneous hair on his body, all black as coal, in the dark night except for two shining eyes, almost invisible. With a loud neigh, the surrounding knights' war horses retreated hastily, with an air of majesty.

  That flying dragon is not bad either, although it's not as divine as the Wind Chaser, it's also a fine horse. Long Fei looked at Zhao Yun and took over the reins of the flying dragon from his hand, walked to Lü Bu's front, cupped his hands and said: "Wēn Hóu (Lü Bu), from now on you and I are both under Taishi's command, as officials of the Han Dynasty. I also had my faults earlier, so I especially give this horse to Wēn Hóu, to express my intentions. I hope Wēn Hóu will pass it on to Zhang Liao, Zhang Liao can get along with my second brother for a hundred years, indeed he is a great general's talent, I hope Wēn Hóu will make good use of him!"

  "Hmph!" Lü Bu snorted: "If you want to give it, I'll take it. This kind of favor I don't need!"

  A sharp-mouthed, ape-like man beside Dong Zhuo shook his head and sighed at the scene. But Wang Yun secretly rejoiced - the Dragon Flying Horse plan had not created any rift between Lü Bu and Dong Zhuo, but it had already caused a change in Lü Bu's army. As long as Zhang Liao accepted this horse, even if Zhang Liao was loyal to Lü Bu, Lü Bu would still be suspicious of him.

  Zhang Liao accepted. For a military general, a war horse is no different from one's life. On the battlefield, a good horse can save a general's life at critical moments. Zhang Liao naturally understood the importance of this and, although he felt strange looking at Fei Long, his rationality made him accept Fei Long's horse. Dong Zhuo sighed: "My son should learn from Fei Long more often. Since General Long has agreed to serve the country, Your Majesty, I think we can appoint him as a Colonel!"

  Liu Xie nodded: "Let's follow the Taishi's intention, Long Fei and Zhao Yun will both be appointed as Xiaowei, temporarily under the command of Taishi. Wang Situ, do you have any objections?"

  Wang Yun hastily said: "My humble family will be able to serve the country, I am overjoyed!"

  "Very well, let the Grand Tutor arrange for these two then!" Liu Xie yawned: "It's almost the second watch, Grand Tutor, shouldn't you also return to the palace?"

  Perhaps it was the temperament of Yu Feng and Long Fei, or perhaps it was Yu Feng's challenge to humans. In short, the wild horse Yu Feng, which was extremely difficult to tame in Dong Zhuo's stable, became unusually docile in Long Fei's hands, and Long Fei, a novice rider, didn't feel even slightly unaccustomed to riding him. Not even Dong Zhuo's horse trainer had expected this. Having obtained the precious steed, he needed to have weapons for mounted combat; first, Long Fei had never learned how to use long-range weapons, and second, where could he find suitable weapons for himself? After much thought, he could only wait for an opportunity.

  Back at Wang Yun's mansion, Wang Yun was exceptionally delighted and immediately ordered the arrangement of a banquet to invite Cao Cao and others to celebrate today's success. Upon hearing that Dragon Flying had successfully infiltrated Dong Zhuo's side, everyone congratulated each other, thinking that everything would go smoothly from now on. However, Cao Cao shook his head: "Dragon Lieutenant has just gone, Dong Zhuo will surely subject him to more tests, and Dragon Lieutenant and Zhao Lieutenant must be extra careful. Moreover, we have offended Lü Bu today, this man is arrogant and narrow-minded, so we must be extra vigilant against him!"

  "Thank you for reminding me, Lord Cao!" Long Fei hastily expressed his gratitude.

  Everyone mentioned Dong Zhuo's previous attempts to test the officials in the imperial court, providing a lesson for Long Fei. Long Fei thanked them one by one. Wang Yun said: "General Long, you're being too polite! We're all here to help the imperial court get rid of its troubles and share the emperor's worries, no need to be so courteous!"

  Everyone nodded in agreement. Cao Cao thought for a long time and said, "Since we have already guessed that Dong Zhuo wants to test Long Jue repeatedly, why don't we create some opportunities to let Long Jue show off in front of Dong Zhuo? On the one hand, it can numb Dong Zhuo, on the other hand, it can also reduce Dong Zhuo's testing and make Long Jue become Dong Zhuo's confidant as soon as possible!"

  "Right! Lord Cao's words are absolutely correct!"