Three Kingdoms: Rebirth of Liu Bei, the Zhaolie

At this moment, a dozen retainers and dozens of servants from Qingxi Manor learned that Wen Xuan and Wu Guang had been kidnapped by bandits sent by Baishi Mountain in the back hall. They rushed in with swords and knives, surrounding everyone in the center.

"Put down your sword! Let's talk this out!"

"You two are courting death for daring to take Steward Wen hostage at Qingxi Manor."

"Release Steward Wen now, and I'll spare your life."

……

Several retainers brandished swords and roared at Sun Qing and Wang Dang.

Sun Qing sneered:

"I dared to do this, so I'm prepared to die here. Come and kill me if you dare. Otherwise, shut up. I haven't fully figured things out yet. —Wen Xuan, continue, how did you kill Zhao Laoqi and Da Hu?"

Wen Xuan could only continue with a bitter face:

"Upon learning that the heroes of Baishi Mountain would be gathering at the Wu Family Inn, Commander Gongsun immediately ordered his subordinate Gong Liangwu and the fortress commander Yang Tai of Tiebiwu to devise an ambush plan. Since they didn't know the heroes of Baishi Mountain, I sent Fifth Guang to assist them. You can ask Fifth Guang about what happened next. I did not go to the Wu Family Inn outside the east gate of Zhuo County..."

His gaze turned to the fifth light.

"explain!"

Wang Dang, who was holding Fifth Light hostage, pressed down hard on his longsword.

"Hero, listen up..."

Therefore, Wu Guang had no choice but to recount in detail the events surrounding the ambush of Zhao Laoqi and Da Hu at the Wu Family Hotel that day.

Finally, he glanced at Liu Bei, frowned, and said:

"...More than a dozen heroes from Baishi Mountain were shot dead by the crossbowmen of Tiebiwu in the hotel lobby. But the heroes of Baishi Mountain were extremely brave. They used long tables as shields with their left hands and wielded ring-pommel swords with their right hands, quickly charging into the crossbowmen's ranks and hacking away fiercely. Before the crossbowmen of Tiebiwu could even throw away their crossbows, several of them were killed. The remaining crossbowmen hurriedly discarded their crossbows, drew their ring-pommel swords, and fought fiercely with the heroes of Baishi Mountain. The big tiger you mentioned was extremely fierce. Wielding two swords, he cut down seven or eight crossbowmen in succession and charged all the way to the side of Yang Tai, the commander of Tiebiwu. In the fierce battle, Commander Yang was wounded in the leg by the big tiger."

Upon hearing this, Wang Dang couldn't help but feel excited:

"Da Hu's twin swords are indeed well-wielded. More than a dozen people cannot get close to him."

Fifth Light continued:

"After Yangbao Commander was cut down, Zhao Laoqi and seven or eight other heroes from Baishi Mountain followed Da Hu and rushed out of the hotel lobby, successfully breaking through the encirclement. However, the hotel was already surrounded by the halberd and shield soldiers of Tiebiwu. But seeing how fierce Da Hu was, they dared not approach. At this moment, a patrolman from Zhuo County suddenly swung his knife at Da Hu. Da Hu kicked him far away and was about to rush over to kill him when Xuande suddenly made a move, using extremely exquisite swordsmanship to instantly kill Da Hu..."

At this point, Fifth Light suddenly stopped.

Upon hearing this, both Sun Qing and Wang Dang looked at Liu Bei.

It was indeed Liu Bei who killed the tiger.

And the news spread throughout Zhuoxian County and beyond that very day.

The bandits of Baishi Mountain naturally heard the rumors as well.

Sun Qing looked at Liu Bei, his expression extremely complex:

"Liu Bei, it really was you who killed Da Hu!"

"It's probably already the talk of the town..."

Liu Bei sighed, "I want to say that this is not a rumor. I did indeed kill Da Hu."

Sun Qing shouted loudly:

"Do you think you're doing something heroic?"

Liu Bei silently said:

"I didn't think that much at the time... Da Hu wanted to kill my clansman, so I had no choice but to step forward! Originally, I didn't want to get involved..."

Wang Dang couldn't help but said angrily:

"Liu Bei, you killed Da Hu, how are we going to settle this score?"

At this moment, Qian Zhao, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up before Liu Bei could:

"Sun Qing, Wang Dang, you bandits from Baishi Mountain robbed our Qian family's caravan at the foot of Langya Mountain, killing and wounding more than a dozen of our family retainers. How should we settle this score?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Qing and Wang Dang exchanged a glance.

"Are you from the Anping Qian family?"

Sun asked in surprise.

Qian Zhao immediately said in a deep voice:

"That's right, I am from the Anping Qian family. I came to Zhuojun this time originally for study."

Wang Dang snorted coldly and said:

"Robbing and plundering is what we old folks do for a living. The men of Baishi Mountain make their living this way. Every wrong has its perpetrator, every debt its debtor. If you want revenge, you're welcome to come to Baishi Mountain and find us. If you can conquer Baishi Mountain stronghold, we'll have nothing to say and will let you chop our necks. If you don't have the ability, then keep your mouth shut."

Upon hearing this, Qian Zhao coldly replied:

"Don't say I'm incompetent. This ambush at the Wu Family Inn was thanks to our Anping Qian family's donation of military funds to the Zhuojun Commandery. Killing more than a dozen of your Baishi Mountain bandits was our Anping Qian family's revenge. If you're not satisfied, you can come to Guanjin County, Anping Commandery, Jizhou to find us. Our Qian family has also built a small fortified village, and with the help of the government troops, we're more than capable of dealing with petty scoundrels like you."

Liu Bei was surprised by Qian Zhao's assertiveness and admired him greatly.

Sun Qing shouted loudly:

"We plundered your family caravan and killed your family retainers. Now, you, through the Commandant's Office, have killed more than a dozen of our brothers. We're even now. Since the score is settled, there's no need for further discussion. Next, we still need to settle accounts with Liu Bei and Qingxi Manor."

Qian Zhao then said:

"Xuande and I are sworn brothers. Xuande killed the tiger for the sake of our Qian family. If you want to settle accounts with Xuande, then our Qian family will never let you off. We haven't even reclaimed the wealth you plundered from the Qian family yet."

Seeing Qian Zhao's righteousness, Liu Bei gave him a grateful look.

With such a sworn brotherhood, what is there to fear in death?

In that instant, the brotherhood between Liu Bei and Qian Zhao deepened.

Upon hearing this, Sun Qing and Wang Dang exchanged a glance.

"Let's leave aside the matter of Liu Bei killing Da Hu for now."

As Sun Qing spoke, he turned to look at Fifth Light and angrily demanded, "Where is Zhang Hun? How exactly did Zhang Hun die? Tell me now!"

With the sword still at his neck, Fifth Light could only answer obediently:

"On the very day that Commander Gongsun decided to ambush the heroes of Baishi Mountain, Steward Wen and I discussed eliminating Zhang Hun as soon as possible..."

"you say!"

Sun Qing pressed down on the edge of her sword and said harshly to Wen Xuan, "What were you thinking back then?"

Wen Xuan was already drenched in sweat. "At the time, we thought Zhang Hun was a great menace, and we couldn't sleep peacefully with him around. We thought it better to get rid of him as soon as possible. So, Wu Guang and I discussed sending Cuan Heizi, the best swordsman among our retainers, to assassinate Zhang Hun. Cuan Heizi had long disliked Zhang Hun and immediately agreed. That night, Cuan Heizi returned and said that he had killed Zhang Hun with a single sword strike in the Wild Boar Forest..."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fei could no longer contain himself and roared:

"My cousin was indeed killed by you! You heartless wolves in human form! I'll kill you all—"

He didn't bring a knife, but Wutulu, who came with him, did.

Zhang Fei suddenly pulled the ring-pommel sword from Wutulu's waist, raised it high, and was about to slash at Cuan Heizi.

Cuan Heizi stared coldly at Zhang Fei, standing motionless.

Liu Bei knew that Zhang Fei was no match for Cuan Heizi, so he quickly hugged him and shouted:

"Calm down! You're no match for him. —Wutulu, grab him quickly."

Wutulu hurriedly came over, snatched the ring-pommel sword from Zhang Fei's hand, and advised:

"Yide, please calm down! This matter cannot be rushed. We need to plan it carefully."

Zhang Fei was furious, his eyes wide open, pointing at Wen Xuan, Wu Guang, and Cuan Heizi respectively, "You killed my cousin, I'll take your lives sooner or later!"

Cuan Heizi said coldly:

"Little kid, do you think your cousin Zhang Hun is a good person? He's no different from those bandits on White Stone Mountain who share the loot. He's just a local bully who uses force to oppress the good and kind."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fei's face turned even redder:

"You opportunistic people who cling to the eunuch faction are like a bunch of lost souls following a wandering ghost! Sooner or later, you will be brought to justice. You are the real scoundrels. Shameful descendants of eunuchs, shameless and despicable."

Cuan Heizi sneered:

"Who taught you to say such things? Pick up your sword! If you're so capable..."

Zhang Fei hurriedly said to Liu Bei:

"Brother Xuande, help me kill Cuan Heizi! If you help me kill Cuan Heizi, I, Zhang Fei, will follow you for the rest of my life, obey your every command."

He had just witnessed Liu Bei's two-handed swordsmanship and knew that Liu Bei was capable of killing Cuan Heizi, which is why he was so eager to make this request.

……

He usurped a position through bribery, amassed wealth and power, and stole from the imperial court, ultimately causing the downfall of important institutions. He was a disgraceful son of a eunuch, utterly devoid of virtue, cunning and ruthless, fond of chaos and reveling in misfortune.

—Chen Lin, "A Proclamation to the Governor of Yu Province on Behalf of Yuan Shao"