Chapter 68 The General's Footsteps Remain

  The land of Jingzhou has a saying: "Ma's five constants, white hair is the best." The eldest Ma Shun, the second Ma Kang, the third Ma Jin, the fourth Ma Liang, also known as the one with white hair between his eyebrows. The youngest, Ma Xiu, was born with a love for high talk and grand theories. These five men were all sons of the Ma family in Xiangyang. Although the Ma family in Xiangyang could not compare to the power of the Cai, Kuai, and Huang families, they had a significant position among scholars. Especially after the appearance of the "Ma's five constants", even Liu Biao did not dare to be too presumptuous towards the Ma family. Many times, he tried to recruit members of the Ma family as officials, but was repeatedly rejected.

  Today, the five brothers were drinking here and happened to meet Long Fei together. Ma Chao stood up, looked at Long Fei from head to toe: "Long Fei? I don't seem to have heard of it, but looking at your tired face, speaking with a Central Plains accent, you should be from the Central Plains, can you tell us about the situation in the Central Plains?"

  "Ma Youchang indeed has good eyesight!" Long Fei looked at himself from head to toe, except for the muddy shoes, he was already neat and tidy. Based on just these few points, Ma Su was able to judge that he came from the north, which was not easy: "I am indeed coming from Luoyang!"

  Ma Su was taken aback: "Do you know me?"

  "Which of the five Ma brothers is unknown and which one is unversed? They are all renowned throughout the land, but especially Ma Yuanchang stands out as a leader!"

  Ma Su's face was wreathed in smiles, his head held high, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, and it was clear that he felt particularly pleased with himself. The other four men all shook their heads and smiled wryly, knowing full well that their younger brother had some talent, but not as much as he thought; now that an outsider was praising him, they couldn't help but feel happy for him. Ma Su laughed loudly: "Brother Ren is overpraising me! Come, may I have the pleasure of sharing a cup with you?"

  "Can't find it!" Long Fei hastily picked up his wine cup and walked over to the Ma brothers' table.

  Luoyang's turmoil, the eighteen vassals jointly attacking Dong Zhuo, and Dong Zhuo's escape to the west, Long Fei did not make any embellishments or concealments, and told Ma brothers in detail. Ma Shun sighed: "Ah! The eighteen vassals each have ulterior motives, failed to defeat Dong Zhuo, but instead let him sweep through Luoyang and escape to Chang'an, continuing to wreak havoc is truly a pity!"

  "Others have at least sent troops, while Liu Jingzhou, as a member of the imperial clan, occupies six prefectures in Jing and Xiang, yet he is content with his own selfish interests. This is truly pitiful!"

  "Old Wu is right!" Ma Jin nodded: "Liu Biao is weak and incompetent, being controlled by Cai Mao and Kuai Liang, even if he wants to raise an army, it's beyond his power. And these people are all mediocre, a few days ago they almost got broken through by Sun Jian's hundreds of thousands of troops in Xiangyang, spreading the news would be a joke!"

  Ma Liang hesitated for half a day: "Jingzhou is an important place, and I think Liu Jingzhou's refusal to send troops is not necessarily a bad thing. Even if he sends troops, among the vassals, it will only add another mediocre person. It would be better to guard each pass carefully and wait for changes in the world before suddenly striking out and attacking Huanglong, perhaps saving the world from danger!"

  "Hahaha……" Long Fei burst out laughing: "Brother Ma Liang's words, I agree with! Today, the world is about to fall into chaos, and it's not easy for Jingzhou to have maintained peace for so many years. The people of Jingzhou probably don't want to get involved in war, it's better to hide for a while, accumulate strength, and wait for an opportunity to take another path! I'm afraid that's what Liu Jingzhou is thinking!"

  Ma Chao smiled and said, "Liu Biao has plenty of spirit but lacks courage. I'm afraid he's not as cunning as you think, Brother Long. This Jingzhou may seem peaceful on the surface, but in reality, there are undercurrents surging beneath. The Cai, Kuai, and Huang families are secretly vying for power, while Liu Biao is only concerned with resolving conflicts between them, without any other thoughts. If I were a northern warlord, as soon as Liu Biao dies, I would immediately dispatch an elite army to march straight down, and Jingzhou would be conquered in one battle! Then, looking east and west, Liu Zhang of Yizhou and the people of Jiangdong would all flee at the mere wind of my approach. More than half of the land would fall into their hands, and then they could head north. This is a strategy that starts easy but ends hard!"

  "Bang bang bang..." Long Fei applauded and congratulated: "Brother Ma Chao is indeed wise and far-sighted, with just a few words, he can bring peace to the world, truly a good minister!"

  "Flattery! Flattery!" Although he was humble in words, his face was full of pride. Several older brothers were quite understanding of their younger brother and knew that when it came to real action, things wouldn't be so smooth. Ma Kang smiled and said: "Don't take fifth brother's nonsense seriously, Dragon Brother!"

  Long Fei lavished praise on the Ma brothers, and everyone was delighted. This conversation lasted from noon till sunset. The five of them stood up to bid farewell, and Long Fei escorted them to the door. Suddenly, Ma Liang stopped in his tracks, turned around, and looked at Long Fei: "Brother Long, you'd best leave Xiangyang immediately, or disaster will befall!"

  Long Fei smiled and nodded slightly: "Thanks for reminding me, Brother Shu!"

  Zhoa Yun, Huang Zhong and Dian Wei had already fallen asleep on the table. When several people left, they slowly woke up. Looking at the backs of several people, Long Fei immediately ordered that they could not stay in Xiangyang for long. If the person they were waiting for did not arrive by tomorrow, they would have to leave. After paying the wine bill, they returned to the inn and fell asleep as soon as they lay down. Sleeping until midnight, Long Fei was startled awake by a light knock on the door. He quickly got up and went out to investigate.

  The courtyard was pitch black, with nothing in sight. The night wind blew through the leaves, making a rustling sound, and the moon appeared and disappeared behind the clouds. Long Fei shivered with cold, thinking of closing the door. He looked down and found a bamboo slip inside the door. Long Fei looked around, the corridor and passageway were all dark and quiet, he listened for a moment, but there was no sound. He picked up the bamboo slip from the ground, closed the door, turned around and lit the oil lamp.

  "Tomorrow at noon, Xiangyang Building!" There was no signature, no date. However, on the back of the bamboo slip, a familiar symbol made Long Fei's heart skip a beat. This symbol he knew all too well - Panlong, five claws, vivid and lifelike, as if about to burst out of the bamboo slip and pounce over. The Black Ice people were indeed omniscient, knowing that he was here. To go or not to go? This question had been plaguing Long Fei's mind.

  The rooster crowed three times, and the eastern sky was filled with a pale white light. Long Fei sat on his bed, still guessing what Black Ice's purpose was in finding him at this time. There were all sorts of possibilities. Maybe it was a new mission, or perhaps he wanted the Jade Seal, or maybe even to get rid of him. But no matter how hard Long Fei thought about it, he couldn't figure it out. If there was a new mission, there was no need to notify him in person, wasn't Xu Shu right by his side? If Black Ice wanted the Jade Seal, how did his people know that the real Jade Seal was with him? And as for getting rid of him, that was even more impossible - up until now, he had never done anything to betray Black Ice's trust, so why would they want to get rid of him?

  "Bang bang bang!" The knocking sounds interrupted Long Fei's thoughts, and Zhao Yun walked into the room with a basin of water. Seeing Long Fei sitting on the couch in his clothes, he was somewhat surprised: "Big brother, what's wrong?"

  "It's okay! I'm not leaving today! Later you and I will go somewhere!"

  Zhoa Yun didn't ask, he just nodded. After finishing breakfast, Long Fei asked Zhao Yun to bring Huang Zhong and Dian Wei over as well. It was only then that he took out the bamboo slip that someone had delivered last night. Everyone looked at it and were also somewhat perplexed. Long Fei said: "Regardless of whether or not it's a Hongmen Banquet, let's take a look first. Second brother and Dian Wei will go with me, Huang Big Brother you bring your equipment and find a place to prepare for our response!"

  Xiangyang Building is the most famous place in Xiangyang City, and the wealthy and powerful officials are regular customers here. Xiangyang cuisine belongs to the northern flavor of Chu cuisine, which is based on the flavors of Xiangyang and Yunyang regions, absorbing the flavors of Jingnan, Yuzhou, Yongzhou, and Yizhou. The characteristics are mainly made with beef and mutton as main ingredients, combined with local specialties such as mountain delicacies and wild game, and cooking methods include red stewing, hot stir-frying, raw frying, returning pot, and cold mixing. People in the Bashu Jingchu region are naturally fond of spicy food, almost all dishes must use chili peppers, unlike the numbingly spicy Sichuan cuisine and the fiercely spicy Jingnan cuisine, Xiangyang cuisine emphasizes freshness and spiciness. Before entering the door, the strong fragrance of spices has already burst out.

  Xiangyang Building has three floors, which can be considered a relatively high place in Xiangyang City. From the top of the building, you can overlook the beautiful scenery of Xiangyang, and it has become a treasure land for scholars and writers. As soon as Long Fei arrived at the door, the shopkeeper immediately came to greet him. The hall is not ordinary, with 20 or 30 small compartments, each compartment is a elegant room, inside are placed small tables and cushions, imitating the noble family's dining style, unlike the square table and wooden stools in small shops.

  Although it was crowded, it wasn't noisy. The people who came here were all refined and dignified, and naturally wouldn't shout or yell like commoners. Long Fei didn't know who to look for, so he let the shopkeeper lead them to the second floor. This second floor was just like the first floor, with individual private rooms, each one closed off behind a door. From the looks of it, there wasn't even a hint of a restaurant atmosphere, and it seemed more like those dens of iniquity you see on TV, except without any patrons coming or going.

  Before long, the door was pushed open and the shopkeeper brought in a short, ugly-looking man. The man held a wine gourd in his hand, took a light sip, and his nose and two cheeks became even redder. A pair of small eyes darted back and forth among the three people.

  "Is it you gentlemen?!" The shopkeeper said with a smile.

  That man smiled slightly, took out a few coins from his bosom and handed them to the waiter: "Go, bring a few more jugs of wine, I want to have a good drink with these people!"

  The young shopkeeper looked at the few copper coins in his hand, hesitating for a moment before opening his mouth. Long Fei chuckled and said: "This gentleman looks extraordinary, do as he says, if it's not enough, put it on my account!"

  The little servant boy responded with a "yes" and went down. The man didn't show the slightest bit of embarrassment, sat down by himself, not being reserved at all, eating and drinking as he pleased, not leaving any food untouched in front of him. From start to finish, he didn't say a single word, ate his fill, drank enough, let out a satisfied belch, used his sleeve to wipe the oil stains on his mouth and the sweat on his face, conveniently took off his outer robe, leaned against the pillar behind him, and comfortably closed his eyes.

  Long Fei and several others had been watching the man's movements. Dian Wei couldn't help but want to go up and give him a couple of punches, but was stopped by Long Fei with just a glance. After another half minute, Long Fei wiped the oil stains from his mouth, shook off the crumbs on his body, slowly got up, walked in front of the man, gently pushed him: "Brother Ren? Is your meal comfortable? If nothing's wrong, I'll take my leave!"

  Just as he reached the door, a faint voice came from behind: "General, please stay!"