Three Kingdoms: Rebirth of Liu Bei, the Zhaolie

When Cuan Heizi heard Liu Bei say the name "Zhang Hun," he was taken aback and subconsciously glanced at Wen Xuan and Wu Guang beside him.

Wen Xuan remained tight-lipped and showed no emotion whatsoever.

Fifth Light's gaze sharpened.

Cuan Heizi realized this was a difficult question to answer, so he gave a perfunctory reply:

"I heard that Zhang Hun was the previous leader of the Fifteen Mile Shop. Merchants and shops on the street had to pay him a regular fee in exchange for his protection. This is understandable. He provided manpower and resources to protect everyone from attacks, and everyone gave him some money, just like hiring a bodyguard. Except he was everyone's common bodyguard."

He had long since tacitly accepted this kind of underworld behavior.

Because after Fifth Light became the new leader of Fifteen Mile Shop, he did the same things as Zhang Hun.

However, the forces behind Fifth Light are far stronger than those behind Zhang Hun.

Liu Bei continued, as if nothing had happened, and asked:

"I heard Zhang Hun has also come to visit Qingxi Manor?"

Cuan Heizi frowned slightly:

"I really didn't know about that."

At this moment, Wen Xuan picked up the conversation:

"Six months ago, Zhang Hun did indeed come to visit Qingxi Manor with a group of his men. I received him. He hinted to me that in exchange for paying him a certain amount of land tax and annual allowance, he would provide protection for Qingxi Manor, ensuring that its goods could travel safely on the road without being robbed or looted by mountain bandits."

Liu Bei listened and nodded:

"So, Zhang Hun's influence is not limited to the Fifteen Mile Shop. He can also cover the entire area of ​​the imperial road, which spans hundreds or even thousands of miles."

Wen Xuan said calmly:

"According to him, he knew many wandering knights active in You and Ji provinces, and bandits on various mountain peaks also knew his reputation and gave him face."

Fifth Guangshun added:

"It is said that the bandits on White Stone Mountain to the west had close ties with Zhang Hun."

One of his remarks displeased Zhang Fei:

"Nonsense! How could my cousin have close ties with the bandits on White Stone Mountain? They are merely nodding acquaintances, knowing each other but giving each other face, and keeping to themselves."

Fifth Light smiled and did not refute.

Liu Bei continued to ask:

"At that time, Steward Wen did not agree to pay Zhang Hun the land tax and annual allowance?"

"Yes."

Wen Xuan nodded. "Because there's absolutely no need for that. The retainers of Qingxi Manor are all brave and chivalrous, and there are also more than three hundred well-trained retainers, which is enough to protect Qingxi Manor. No one dares to touch the goods that Qingxi Manor transports to various places."

Liu Bei nodded and said:

"That's true."

At this moment, Cuan Heizi said again:

"However, I heard that Zhang Hun was furious about this and summoned wandering knights to help him fight our Qingxi Manor's retainers and servants. But later, he wisely refrained from coming to cause trouble."

Liu Bei continued:

"But I heard that you two still ended up fighting in a hotel in Shiwulipu later..."

Cuan Heizi pointed at Wutulu:

"Was it this Wuhuan man who told you that?"

When Cuan Heizi pointed at him, Wu Tu Lu involuntarily shuddered.

Clearly, during that fierce battle at the hotel, Cuan Heizi wielded his sword and terrified even this strongman.

Liu Bei glanced at Cuan Heizi, then silently nodded in acknowledgment.

Cuan Heizi sneered:

"That time, we went there specifically to find an excuse to teach Zhang Hun and his men a lesson. We wanted to give them a chance to fight. Who knew they would be so useless? Heh."

As he spoke, he sighed and shook his head, expressing extreme disappointment.

Liu Bei said helplessly:

"You are the disciple of Wang Yue, the renowned swordsman of Liaodong. How could they possibly be your match?"

Cuan Heizi nodded and said:

"That's true. If I hadn't shown mercy, they would have been dead long ago."

Liu Bei asked:

"You just defeated them?"

"Yes. They didn't even suffer minor injuries."

Cuan Heizi was quite proud of this.

This shows that he has mastered the sword to the point of being able to kill or injure people at will, and choose not to injure or injure people at will.

The reason he didn't hurt anyone was that Wen Xuan or Wu Guang had told him beforehand not to escalate the situation and make things difficult to handle.

After all, the hotel was bustling with people, and countless eyes were watching.

They also didn't want to cause any more trouble for Zhao Xiang, the owner of Qingxi Manor.

"...However, not long after your fierce battle at the hotel, Zhang Hun was murdered in the Wild Boar Forest. After examining the footprints at the scene and inspecting the body, the coroner confirmed that Zhang Hun was killed by a master swordsman."

After Liu Bei finished speaking, he looked directly at Cuan Heizi, trying to observe some subtle changes in his expression or movements from his eyes, face, and hands.

After hearing Liu Bei's words, Cuan Heizi remained expressionless and unchanged, though a subtle hint of contempt flashed in his eyes.

Liu Bei knew that murderers often had very strong psychological defense mechanisms. They usually pretended to be calm and collected, giving the impression that they were not involved.

Another situation is that some murderers have killed so many people that they have long since lost all feeling, and external interference is unlikely to touch their hearts.

But the subtle hint of contempt that flashed across Cuan Heizi's eyes betrayed him—his heart was expressing disdain.

At the same time, Liu Bei's gaze also swept over Wen Xuan and Fifth Light.

Wen Xuan's expression remained unchanged overall, except for a fleeting moment when his face looked somewhat frightening, but he quickly returned to normal.

Fifth Light barely reacted; only the corner of his mouth slightly turned up.

Liu Bei's intuition told him that Wen Xuan and Wu Guang had plotted the murder of Zhang Hun, and that Cuan Heizi was the one who carried it out.

Of course, this is just his speculation and needs further confirmation.

"What a pity..."

Fifth Guang sighed, "I've heard that Zhang Hun is the most prominent member of the Zhang clan in Zhuo County, and he commands great influence among the people. Many people in Fifteen Mile Village have received his kindness. Who would kill him?"

"Yes, who would kill him?"

Liu Bei frowned. "I'd also like to know the answer."

"Could it have been done by bandits from White Stone Mountain?"

"Fifth Light suddenly said."

Liu Bei's expression froze:

Why did the Fifth Lord say that?

"Some time ago, I disguised myself as a wandering knight-errant and infiltrated the bandits of Baishi Mountain, becoming sworn brothers with them. Over time, I learned many of their secrets. Once, I overheard them saying that they had once partnered with Zhang Hun to rob a caravan traveling to Youzhou, but due to a dispute over the division of spoils, they had a very unpleasant falling out and almost came to blows."

Fifth Light paused for a moment, "...So, sometimes I wonder if the bandits of White Stone Mountain, because of a dispute over the spoils, harbored murderous intent towards Zhang Hun and sent one of their swordsmen, hidden in the shadows of Wild Boar Forest, to kill Zhang Hun."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fei's face changed color drastically, and he roared in anger:

"You're accusing my cousin of colluding with bandits?"

Fifth Light hurriedly said:

"I only heard about it occasionally from the spies sent down from the White Stone Mountain bandits. It's probably just idle gossip, so don't take it seriously."

"snort."

Zhang Fei glared angrily at Fifth Light.

Yesterday, Liu Bei had already learned from a careless remark by Wuhuan man Wutulu that Zhang Hun had a close relationship with the bandits of Baishi Mountain.

Now, hearing these words from Fifth Light, I can't be sure if they're true or false.

What he was certain of was that Fifth Light was deliberately trying to distract everyone and draw attention to the bandits of White Stone Mountain, thereby hiding their small gang.

But for now, he can only try to uncover their inner secrets through questioning, and he cannot take any other extreme measures at the moment.

For a moment, Liu Bei remained silent, lost in thought.

Cuan Heizi suddenly shouted:

"Weren't you here to test my swordsmanship? Are we still going to compete?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei immediately stood up from behind the long table and said in a deep voice:

"Compare! Of course we'll compare!"

"Alright then."

Cuan Heizi picked up the sword in his hand. "I use a six-foot-long sword. To be fair, I suggest you use a longsword as well."

A longsword is a two-handed sword.

A two-handed sword is held with both hands, left and right, in a yin-yang grip.

It is completely different from twin swords.

The double swords consist of one sword in the left hand and one sword in the right hand. The hilts of the swords are only six or seven inches long.

Two-handed swords are long swords held with both hands, with hilts that are nearly 1.7 feet (about 40 centimeters) long.

The Fifth Light still tried to stop him:

"Xuande, I think we should use a whip instead. You are both swordsmen I admire, and I would feel bad if either of you suffered even the slightest injury."

Liu Bei immediately said in a deep voice:

"As everyone just heard, Brother Cuan fought fiercely with Zhang Hun's troops, yet he didn't inflict even the slightest injury on them. This shows that Brother Cuan has great confidence in his swordsmanship, and his control over the sword has reached a superb level. He has probably already reached the pinnacle, where man and sword are one. I, Xuande, am also eager to experience Brother Cuan's swordsmanship."

Cuan Heizi sneered upon hearing this.

……

In the art of hand-to-hand combat, one should cultivate inner strength and outward composure, appearing as gentle as a kind woman but striking as fiercely as a tiger. One should arrange one's form, await the opportune moment, and move with the spirit.

— Zhao Ye, Eastern Han Dynasty, *Wu Yue Chunqiu*