That's when I realized that the bottle was broken, and my head was also broken—
Damn it, it's only now that I realize with a heavy heart: Wu Song has the kung fu, but I have my own head!
I pouted, almost bursting into tears. But it's alright, whether I smashed my head against the bottle or the bottle shattered, the only difference is I bled a little more.
With nowhere to vent my rage, I intensified my efforts to take down Lei Laosi's men. As you can imagine, thanks to Guan Yu and Wu Song's efforts, we quickly brought down about 50 thugs. The old scoundrel fared the worst; I even forced him to practice Iron Head Kung Fu—he had way more bruises than I did.
Before I could speak, Guan Yu stepped forward, stomped on the old thug's chest, and shouted, "Tell me, do you still want that 5 million?"
Old thug: "...No, I don't want it anymore."
I jumped three zhang high—it seems Wu Song's lightness skill is not bad either—and shouted, "Second Master, you're wrong, it's him who owes us!"
Second Master was probably blushing, though you couldn't tell from his face, but I did see him fidget a little. This is because I'm unfamiliar with the historical allusion; I only knew about the solo journey to the meeting, but not the specific circumstances. The situation was: Second Master was guarding Jingzhou, which Sun Quan had temporarily lent to Liu Bei under a pre-arranged agreement. Lu Su invited Second Master to discuss the return of Jingzhou, but Second Master evaded the issue, ultimately managing to get away with it through a combination of deception and evasion. While Second Master's loyalty to Liu Bei in this matter was undeniable, he was ultimately morally compromised, hence his sensitivity to the phrase "pay back debts." Given his style, he could only take from others, so subconsciously, he felt we had come to renege on our debt.
Second Master sheepishly stepped aside, and this time it was my turn to stomp my foot on the old thug's chest: "Tell me, are you going to pay back the money or not?"
"I...I'll make a phone call."
"I'll give you half an hour!" Lei Laosi shouldn't be able to gather a larger team than he has now within half an hour. After all, I'm collecting debts for someone else, and I can't risk getting myself involved. Just to be on the safe side, I used my mind-reading ability on the old thug again. The old guy was in a state of utter confusion and couldn't come up with any crazy ideas, so I let him fight.
The old thug briefly explained the situation, but he didn't mention that we two had taken down over 50 of their men. However, given Lei Laosi's shrewdness, he should have been able to glean some information from his tone. Less than 20 minutes after the call, Lei Laosi sent someone with a check, without saying another word. I understood that I had now made an enemy of Lei Laosi, and as for Lao Hao, causing such a commotion over 5 million, I wondered if it was a blessing or a curse for him.
With things having reached this point, neither side needs to say anything more; we'll just have to wait and see what happens next.
As he was leaving, Guan Yu put the Green Dragon Crescent Blade back into the clay statue's hand and said to me with some concern, "Do you think they'll mistreat my memorial tablet if they know I did it?"
I:"……"
After leaving the dance hall, I bowed formally to Guan Yu and said nervously, "Second Master..."
"Just call him Second Brother. That's what Yide and Zilong call him."
When I heard that Second Master didn't seem to blame me, I immediately perked up and said with a grin, "Second Brother, I'm really sorry, the welcoming banquet turned into a one-man show."
Guan Yu waved his hand magnanimously: "You are also doing what a loyal man should do."
We got in the car, and as we passed a street stall, I said, "Second Brother, you haven't eaten yet, have you? It's late, let's grab something to eat first, and I'll take you to school later."
Second Uncle sat down and ate a few mutton skewers. Suddenly, he sighed deeply, patted his cup, and I asked, "Second Brother, is something on your mind?"
Guan Yu remained silent for a long while before saying, "I wonder where my elder brother and third brother are now?"
I asked cautiously, "Can the eldest and third uncles... come?"
Guan Yu shook his head sadly: "The judge made an exception and told me that my eldest brother was reborn in the Northern Dynasty, while my third brother went to a place called the Sui Dynasty."
I shrugged regretfully; there was really nothing I could do. If these two were in modern times, I could try to trick He Tiandou with his medicine, but I couldn't possibly travel that far. Thinking of He Tiandou, I was horrified. Guan Yu was coming! This old man was arrogant and proud in his previous life, making enemies almost universally throughout the Three Kingdoms period. This gave He Tiandou an opportunity. What about Hua Xiong, Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and those unfortunate five pass generals and six generals? If I just picked a few of them, it would be another fierce battle.
I poured Guan Yu a cup of wine, keeping a close eye on his expression, and said, "Second Brother, please don't be angry if I say something thoughtless."
Guan Yu looked at me.
I said, "Since the eldest and third uncles have gone their separate ways, why did you have to come all this way alone and suffer this year of torment, all alone and miserable?"
Guan Yu wasn't angry; he nodded slowly, seemingly agreeing with what I said. After I finished speaking, the old man smiled faintly and said, "It's good to be able to think about them for another year."
My eyes welled up with tears. What is loyalty? To risk one's life for a friend is minor loyalty; to remain unmoved while guarding two beautiful women in dire straits is moderate loyalty; to remain devoted even when separated by thousands of miles, knowing never to see each other again—that is true loyalty. The bond between the three from the Peach Garden Oath was truly extraordinary. Everyone knows that later generations generally describe Liu Bei as seemingly loyal and kind, but actually cunning. However, his treatment of his two brothers was unparalleled; the fact that Liu Bei mobilized his entire army to avenge Liu Bei after he was trapped at Maicheng is a prime example. Besides that, he even resorted to the underhanded tactic of throwing Liu Bei's son, A Dou, to Zhao Yun to win his loyalty, which shows he wasn't very good to Zhao Yun.
Thinking of Zhao Yun, I couldn't help but ask again, "Second Brother, do I really look like Zhao Zilong?"
Guan Yu glanced at me and shook his head vigorously: "No way!"
"So, who's more handsome between us?" I asked shamelessly. I've never really admired anyone except Zhao Yun, firstly because I respected his unparalleled spear skills, and secondly because I envied his good looks. What fault could you find with a man who possesses these two qualities?
Guan Yu looked at me again and said, "You are a bit fairer than him."
I exclaimed in surprise, "What? Isn't Zhao Yun a pretty boy?" My skin isn't exactly dark, but it's definitely not fair either, which doesn't match my image of Zhao Yun as having a "jade-like face."
Guan Yu said, "Zilong is indeed handsome, but he's not much fairer than my third brother, haha."
Holy crap, Guan Yu revealed a shocking secret: Zhao Yun was originally a black-faced general! But I guess that's probably just from being tanned. Mulan fought for 12 years and looked like she was of mixed Asian descent, while Zhao Yun fought his whole life.
I leaned forward with an extremely gossipy attitude and asked, "So, I'm a bit more handsome than Zilong?"
Guan Yu glanced at me and said slowly, "I won't comment on appearance, but at least Zilong has blood on him after a battle, but it's someone else's."
Just as I was wondering why he suddenly blurted out such a sentence, I felt a cool, slippery line running down my head—this was from practicing Iron Head Kung Fu earlier.
I wiped the blood away and said awkwardly, "Let's drink, let's drink."
By then, I was already feeling the pain; my hands and feet felt like they were about to break, except for my head. It seems the mechanical principle that "forces are reciprocal" is truly a profound truth. It's incredibly unwise to slap someone without having spent years digging your hands into an iron pot. With this painful experience, I must be more careful about my targets next time, preferably those skilled in weapons. Lin Chong would have been a good choice. As for those with exceptional martial arts skills, I must stay far away. Unfortunately, historically, besides Lin Xiangru, there really isn't anyone else who truly enjoys using bricks, so I can't have a true performance like that.
After drinking a bottle of beer and eating a dozen pieces of barbecue, I listlessly picked up a half-eaten newspaper that someone had tossed aside on the table. Skipping over a few marriage scammers, a strange tale caught my eye. It said a farmer from Henan claimed to be able to recall his past life. According to him, in his previous life he was a general during the Three Kingdoms period named Zhou Cang, who served Guan Yu as his horseman and sword bearer for decades…
He served Guan Yu as a horse handler and sword bearer for decades? I couldn't help but click my tongue and say, "This is interesting." I seemed to have heard of a few similar cases before. The people involved all gave such detailed accounts, even recounting their names, surnames, and addresses from their past lives. In the end, some were con artists, some were just putting on a show, and some were mentally unstable—all of them disappeared without a trace. Although I know many such examples, I understand that without He Tiandou's medicine, this kind of thing is unlikely to happen.
Guan Yu asked, "What is it?"
I placed the newspaper in front of him: "Here is someone who said he has served you for decades."
Guan Yu took the newspaper, glanced at the blurry photo of the person next to the text, then put the newspaper down and asked, "Zhou Cang?"
I said, "Yes, he said he was Zhou Cang. That's interesting. Of all people to call someone, he had to say he was a stable boy. Look at me, Zhao Yun..."
Guan Yu said calmly, "Don't talk about Zhou Cang like that. We're like brothers." The Second Master stuffed a skewer of grilled meat into his mouth and asked, "Where is he?"
"Henan, but didn't say exactly where."