Zi Long (2)

  The shouting of Gao Fei still echoed in the mountain path, overlapping and transmitting to a distant place. However, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun, who were fighting fiercely, did not stop because of his shout, but instead fought even more fiercely.

  "Brother, Third Brother has finally met a worthy opponent. He won't back down until one of them emerges victorious." Guan Yu's piercing eyes were fixed intently on the fighting Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun as he stroked his beard and spoke softly to Gao Fei.

  "Two tigers cannot fight without one being injured," Gao Fei hastily asked, "If they continue to fight like this, I'm afraid it won't be good for either of them. Brother Yunchang, do you have any way to separate them?"

  Guan Yu shook his head and said, "Third brother always listens to big brother's words. If big brother were here, maybe there would be a way to persuade him. But now that big brother is not here, we can only continue waiting for third brother to take the initiative to withdraw!"

  Gao Fei looked up at the sun and saw that it was hanging in the western sky. He had rushed fifty miles to this place, not to watch the fight, but to think of a way to recruit Zhao Yun for himself. Seeing that Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun were both panting heavily, their physical strength must have been greatly consumed. After thinking for a moment, he raised his hand holding the Dragon Spear and shouted loudly "Everyone get out of the way", then rushed forward quickly.

  After a loud shout, the government army and the bandits on the road in front of them all dodged to both sides without exception. Gao Feng charged forward from the cleared road with a mighty killing intent. Seeing Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun fighting evenly matched, entangled together, and sparks flying out from their clashing spears, Gao Feng anxiously attacked Zhang Fei, who was closest to him, with his Dragon-Headed Spear without hesitation.

  Zhang Fei felt a chill coming from the side and back, and saw Gao's long spear thrusting towards him. Although it was only the handle of the spear, it still disrupted his formation. He hastily used his snake halberd to block it, and when the weapons clashed, they emitted a clear and loud ringing sound, which shook his hands and made his palms slightly numb, forcing him to retreat several steps.

  "Where are you going?" Zhang Fei shouted out in a loud voice, his heart filled with indignation as he retreated continuously.

  Gao Fei didn't wait for a chance to counterattack, his long spear suddenly spun around, after making a circle at his waist, the handle of the spear tail swept horizontally towards Zhao Yun who was diagonally opposite him, then he stabbed out several spears in succession, forcing the exhausted Zhao Yun to retreat!

  Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun immediately parted, their four eyes fixed tightly on Gao Feng standing between them, unable to understand who Gao Feng was helping, while loudly shouting: "Get out of the way!"

  Gao Fei Xiang Gun stood still, his cold and stern face expressionless, shouting loudly: "Both of you, stop for now and listen to what I have to say!"

  "General," Zhang Fei panted heavily and shouted loudly, "I haven't settled the score with that little brat yet, don't come and interfere!"

  Gao Fei inserted the You Long spear in his hand into a pile of rocks, stood up straight, and cupped his hands to Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun: "You two are both heroes of the world. From morning till now, you have been fighting without a victor. Continuing to fight will not yield any results. Why don't we temporarily stop, take a rest, and compete again another day?"

  Zhao Yun took a measure of Gao Fei, seeing that he was wearing the uniform of an official army, and hearing others show great respect towards him, assumed he must be their leader. He said: "I am Zhao Yun, from Changshan, Zhengding, at your service, sir!"

  Gao said, "No need for courtesy, I already know what's going on between you two. It's not worth fighting over Zhang Bao's head. With your skills, if you continue to fight, you'll both end up injured. Zhao Yun did kill Zhang Bao, but without Zhang Fei's relentless pursuit, Zhang Bao wouldn't have escaped here in the first place. In my opinion, you both deserve credit, why not just stop here and follow me back? We can divide the merit equally."

  Zhao Yun bowed to Gao Fei and said: "This lord, I didn't kill Zhang Bao for any merit. The reason I killed him was that I didn't want this group of Yellow Turbans to escape to Zhending. Since this head is the black man's merit after chasing for a hundred miles, in consideration of your face, I will return Zhang Bao's head to this black man."

  As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Yun took a few steps back, picked up Zhang Bao's head from the ground and threw it to Zhang Fei with great force.

  Zhang Bao's head was doing a simple parabola in the air, and Zhang Fei stretched out his hand to catch it, holding it tightly in his hand. He looked at Zhang Bao's head, suddenly burst out laughing, and casually threw the head on the ground, shouting loudly: "This skull wasn't cut off by me, I'm not interested! However, your martial arts skills are really high, you can actually fight with me without winning or losing, my name is Zhang Fei, courtesy name Yide, from Youzhou Gaoyang.

  Zhoa Yun stuck the long spear in his hand into the ground, and laughed, bowing to Zhang Fei: "Brother Zhang has great skills, it's a blessing of three lifetimes to meet an expert like you today."

  Gao Fei listened to this point, it seems that Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun are not really fighting for a human head, but because both of them have seen the extraordinary skills of each other, wanting to take advantage of the situation to show off and test each other's martial arts. He smiled and cupped his hands: "Not fighting is not knowing each other, this can also be considered a kind of fate. I am Gao Fei, courtesy name Zi Yu, from Liangzhou Longxi. Since everyone has such good fortune, why don't we get together to drink and enjoy ourselves? Brother Zilong, my military camp is fifty miles away in Xiayang, would you like to come and visit?"

  Zhao Yun exclaimed in surprise: "Xiaquyang? Isn't that the bandits' lair? Could it be... could you have already pacified the bandit army?"

  Gao Fei said: "Exactly!"

  "Alright then, I'll go with you to Xichun for a trip."

  Gao Fei was overjoyed and immediately called out: "Brother Zhao, please!"

  Guan Yu walked out of the crowd and came to Zhang Fei's side, took a look at him, and asked: "Third brother, are you alright?"

  Zhang Fei shook his head, wiped the sweat from his face and said: "Second brother, what can I do? Don't worry about me anymore, where is big brother?"

  "Big brother stayed in the city, since you're fine, that's good." Guan Yu took a glance at Zhao Yun who was walking over. Although he didn't see the moment when Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun had an intense battle, he still nodded his head in satisfaction. He stuck close to Zhang Fei's ear and asked softly, "Third brother, how is Zhao Yun's martial arts?"

  Zhang Fei said: "His spear technique is dense and impenetrable. I have exchanged over 300 moves with him, yet he has not shown the slightest opening."

  Guan Yu smiled and walked forward, cupping his hands in greeting to Zhao Yun: "I am Guan Yu, styled Yunchang, from Xie Prefecture in Hedong. Just now I was watching the battle from the side, and saw that you, Brother Zhao, were evenly matched with my sworn brother. This made me feel itchy at heart. Tomorrow, I too would like to exchange a couple of moves with you, Brother Zhao - what do you think?"

  Zhao Yun saw that Guan Yu's appearance was extraordinary, his demeanor was majestic, and he had already developed a few points of admiration in his heart. He immediately cupped his hands and said: "Since Brother Guan has this intention, I will definitely accompany you."

  Gao Fei brought Zhang Bao's head to the front of the three men, stuffed it into Zhang Fei's hands and laughed: "Brother Yide has been eager to kill Zhang Bao, today he finally got his wish. Now that the Yellow Turbans have been pacified, we should also get together."

  Zhang Fei handed the head in his hand to Zhao Yun, saying with a smile: "This head was cut off by Zhao Yun, not my credit, I don't take credit for others' work, so this head is yours!"

  Zhao Yun hastily pushed and said: "No, no, this is the merit of Yide brother's hundred-mile pursuit. I absolutely dare not accept this merit. Besides, I am not an official army. It would be better to give it to Yide brother. When the time comes and he gets the reward, just invite me to drink two bowls of wine."

  Zhang Fei also pushed back: "I said it before, this is not the one I cut down, I don't want it. What's the use of chasing for another hundred miles!"

  Guan Yu saw Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun pushing each other, so he stretched out his hand to grab the head, smiling and saying: "Since you both don't want it, then let Guan Yu have it at a bargain! This head is taken by Guan Yu!"

  "Haha!" Gao Feng, Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei all burst out laughing.

  Before the laughter had faded, Zhou Cang ran over from one side and made a fist at Gao Feng, saying: "Sir, how should these Yellow Turbans be dealt with?"

  Gao flew back and took a look at the Yellow Turban soldiers leaning on both sides of the road, then said to Zhou Cang: "Take them back to Xiakouyang, their clothes will be attacked wherever they go, it's better to let them stay in Xiakouyang and work as farmers."

  Zhou Cang said: "Understood, I will take them back now."

  Gao Fei nodded and said to Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun: "It's getting late, there are still 50 miles to rush, I'm afraid it will be dark when we return to Xiakou. Let's set off now!"

  "Promise!"

  A group of people immediately rode their horses back to Xiakou, along the way Zhang Fei was full of praise for Zhao Yun, and Zhao Yun also admired Zhang Fei, they couldn't help but develop a deep affection for each other.

  Gao Fei and Guan Yu rode their horses side by side, looking back at Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun who were chatting enthusiastically about the thrilling battle, both of them revealing a hint of a smile.

  "Yun Chang brother, what do you think of Zhao Yun?" Gao Fei idly asked Guan Yu, thinking that there was still such a long way to hurry.

  Guan Yu stroked his beard and smiled: "Your spear technique is exquisite, elegant and majestic, you must be a mighty general of the world."

  Gao Fei nodded and said: "How do you think I should make Zhao Yun under my command?"

  Guan Yu hesitated for a moment, turned his head to glance at Zhao Yun who was chatting and laughing with Zhang Fei, and stuttered: "This... General is really unsure what to do... Sir, are you planning to win over Zhao Yun?"

  "Right, I want him to be under me!"

  Guan Yu did not respond, but thought to himself: "Zhao Yun has the same agility as my third brother. If Big Brother saw Zhao Yun, he would surely be delighted... It's just a pity that Gao Fei already had the intention of capturing Zhao Yun. A gentleman does not steal another man's glory. I fear that in the future, Big Brother will lose a good helper. Alas! Big Brother, when can you achieve great things with the Han imperial bloodline flowing through your veins?"

  Gao Feng saw that Guan Yu did not respond, and he seemed to be deep in thought, so he didn't disturb him. After a while, he asked: "Cloud Long brother, do you have a girl you like?"

  Guan Yu smiled and asked in return: "Sir, why are you suddenly asking about this?"

  Gao Feng said: "Nothing, just ask casually, if Yun Chang doesn't want to say it, then forget it."

  "It doesn't matter if I say it, after all, it's already a past event..."

  All the way, Gao Fei listened to Guan Yu telling his past stories, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun discussed the Tao of martial arts with each other, and they returned to Xiakou without haste. When they arrived at their destination, it was already dark.