Three Kingdoms: Rebirth of Liu Bei, the Zhaolie

"laugh!"

Liu Bei quickly sheathed his longsword.

Sheathed his sword.

"You're too kind."

Liu Bei looked at Cuan Heizi, who was still facing away from him, and said something indifferently.

Cuan Heizi remained standing there, motionless.

He felt as if he had just died once.

Cold sweat kept pouring down his forehead.

His eyes suddenly lost their light.

The heart is ashamed.

Seeing that Cuan Heizi remained silent, Liu Bei asked:

"Is Brother Cuan alright?"

half an hour.

Cuan Heizi suddenly lowered his head.

His head was drooping.

He looked like a dying man.

"I lost..."

Cuan Heizi said weakly.

He had completely lost the arrogance he had before the competition.

Liu Bei pondered for a moment, then said:

"In literature, there is no first place; in martial arts, there is no second. Winning and losing are normal. Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war. No one is an invincible general."

"I've never seen such a fast sword before!"

Cuan Heizi suddenly turned around, not daring to look up at Liu Bei, and then bowed deeply, "Thank you for your guidance. Your strength far surpasses mine. Cuan Heizi is ashamed of his inferiority."

Liu Bei quickly bowed deeply to him, saying, "We are both practitioners of the sword. There is no end to the path of martial arts; we still need to strive."

Geng Yong, Qian Zhao, and the others who were standing to the side gradually felt relieved.

Zhang Fei and Wutulu looked at Liu Bei with envy, their eyes shining with a strange light.

"Brother Xuande, your swordsmanship is truly astounding!"

Zhang Fei was overjoyed and couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh.

Fifth Light also grew to admire Liu Bei more and more:

"Xuande's swordsmanship is indeed superior. Faster! More ruthless! More accurate! His control of power and timing is exquisite. It's truly breathtaking. I never imagined that such a brilliant swordsman was hidden in Lousang!"

Wen Xuan was very satisfied with Liu Bei's swordsmanship and nodded silently.

"Before I met Xuande, Cuan Heizi was the most skilled swordsman I had ever seen. Now, I must give way to Xuande. Such a brilliant swordsmanship as Xuande should not be buried in Zhuo County. Our Qingxi Manor's lord, Lord Zhao, has many old friends and relatives in Luoyang. Whether it is the Tiger Guard, the Imperial Guard, or the Five Schools of the Northern Army, we can arrange for Xuande to be selected."

Liu Bei had no desire to align himself with the eunuch faction and become one of them.

He cherished his reputation as a bird cherishes its feathers.

Moreover, he had already made a life plan for himself, taking Zhuoxian as his base. Even if he went to Luoyang in the future, it would be to learn from Lu Zhi.

"Thank you for your kind offer, Steward Wen. I am still young and unaware of your limitations. Let's wait a few more years before making a decision."

Liu Bei could only use his age as an excuse.

Wen Xuan listened and nodded, saying:

"That's true. Our lord also greatly admires skilled swordsmen. When our lord visits Qingxi Manor, he will surely invite Xuande over for a chat. At that time, Xuande can demonstrate your swordsmanship before our lord once again."

"Definitely, definitely."

Liu Bei immediately agreed.

As he spoke, he inadvertently glanced out of the corner of his eye at the two wandering knights, Sun Qing and Wang Dang, who had come with him. They had gotten up from their seats at some point, walked around the back of the group, and headed towards the main seat.

Liu Bei felt surprised and sensed that something was off about Sun Qing and Wang Dang, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

He didn't know what Sun Qing and Wang Dang meant by taking the main seat.

At this moment, everyone was amazed by Liu Bei's swordsmanship and applauded and praised him.

Therefore, no one paid special attention to Sun Qing and Wang Dang.

Especially because of their trust in Liu Bei, they naturally trusted the people Liu Bei brought with them as well.

At this moment, Liu Bei realized that something was wrong, because he noticed that Sun Qing and Wang Dang had suddenly quickened their pace.

Sun Qing took a step and arrived beside Wen Xuan, the steward of Qingxi Manor. He suddenly drew the long sword from his waist and placed it against the left side of Wen Xuan's neck.

Wen Xuan was startled, his eyes widened, and he looked at Sun Qing in astonishment, speechless for a moment.

At the same time, Wang Dang came up behind Fifth Light and placed a long sword against his neck.

Fifth Light sat to the left of Wen Xuan, his entire attention focused on Wen Xuan.

Seeing Sun Qing place the sword against Wen Xuan's neck, he was about to shout a rebuke, but he did not expect that a gleaming long sword would also be placed against the left side of his own neck.

The entire audience erupted in uproar!

Everyone was shocked by this sudden turn of events and had no idea what had happened.

The change happened in a very sudden way!

Liu Bei was completely unprepared.

He instinctively drew his six-foot-long sword, gripped it firmly with both hands, and shouted:

"Sun Qing! Wang Dang! What are you two trying to do?"

Sun Qingli said sternly:

"Don't move! Anyone who dares to move, I'll kill Wen Xuan with one sword!"

Wang Dang also shouted loudly:

"You don't want to see Fifth Light die by my sword, do you?"

At this moment, Cuan Heizi, who was in the midst of a defeated sword duel, seemed to suddenly awaken from chaos. He gripped his sword with one hand, pointed the tip at Sun Qing, and angrily shouted:

"Are you all looking for death?"

Sun Qing sneered:

"Since we dared to come, we're not afraid to die. However, before we die, we'll definitely take Wen Xuan and Wu Guang with us."

Cuan Heizi said in a harsh voice:

"Then let's see who dies first?"

Sun Qing said coldly:

"You, surnamed Cuan, dare to take a step forward and see what happens!"

As he spoke, he pressed his sword against Wen Xuan's neck.

Wen Xuan trembled with fear:

"Don't do anything reckless!"

Cuan Heizi glared at Sun Qing, but never dared to take a step forward.

In his astonishment, Liu Bei recalled his encounter with Sun Qing and Wang Dang and began to feel that he had been used by them.

Sun Qing and Wang Dang inexplicably appeared at Wild Wolf Ridge near Dashulou Sangli...

Now it seems like it was intentional.

The two of them seemed to have waited specifically on Wild Wolf Ridge for Liu Bei to appear so that they could get to know him.

How did they know that Liu Bei would go to Qingxi Manor to find Wu Guang the next day?

Liu Bei was lost in thought when he suddenly looked at Wutulu, who was standing next to Zhang Fei.

He recalled what Wutulu had said—Zhang Hun and the bandits of Baishi Mountain had known each other for a long time, and their relationship seemed to be quite good.

Could it be that Wutulu secretly contacted the bandits of Baishi Mountain and had them follow Liu Bei to infiltrate Qingxi Manor?

Were Sun Qing and Wang Dang bandits from Baishi Mountain, or wandering knights hired by the Baishi Mountain bandits?

Many questions passed through Liu Bei's mind.

It was only then that he realized he had indeed been used.

"...The world is a dangerous place...These bandits are so cunning..."

Liu Bei silently muttered a sentence to himself.

Wen Xuan asked tremblingly:

"Two righteous men, who exactly are you?"

Sun Qing said coldly:

"You'll find out soon enough."

Fifth Light then looked at Liu Bei and asked in a panic:

"Xuande, these two people... what are their names, Sun Qing and Wang Dang? Aren't they your friends?"

"The Fifth Lord..."

Liu Bei was quite helpless. "These two were indeed brought by me. However, I only met them this morning. They solemnly claimed to be wandering knights, but I have no idea who they really are."

Sun Qing shouted loudly:

"Liu Bei, we are not lying to you. We are indeed wandering knights."

Liu Bei sneered:

"You dare say that neither of you were putting on an act in front of me?"

Sun Qing said calmly:

"If we don't put on an act, how can we gain your trust?"

Liu Bei sighed:

"You did this so you could infiltrate the heavily guarded Qingxi Manor?"

"Yes."

Sun nodded lightly. "We are friends of Zhao Laoqi and Da Hu. They both died under mysterious circumstances. We want to seek justice for them."

"So they were bandits from White Stone Mountain..."

At this point, Liu Bei finally understood the true identities of Sun Qing and Wang Dang.

……

Today's chivalrous knights, though their actions may not conform to justice, are always true to their word, resolute in their deeds, and sincere in their promises. They do not cherish their own lives and rush to the aid of those in distress, having already disregarded life and death. Yet they do not boast of their abilities or shamefully flaunt their virtues. Indeed, they have much to be admired for.

—From the Records of the Grand Historian, Biographies of Wandering Knights