Xiang Yu returned the greeting and said, "No need to be so polite. I know you are the fiercest general of the Three Kingdoms."
Erpang said, "Our battle is merely a matter of each doing our own thing, and there is no enmity between us. On the battlefield, swords and spears have no eyes; we should only do our best and not fight to the death. What do you think, Brother Xiang?"
I heard someone in the crowd say, "This kid's already chickened out before the fight even started!" I turned around and glared at him, knowing it must have been someone from the "Heroes" group who said that; the Four Heavenly Kings wouldn't say something like that. In a battle between two sides, a common flaw among awakened modern people is a varying degree of soft-heartedness. After two or three decades of peaceful existence, they've all become averse to bloodshed. In fact, let alone two lifetimes, even if it were the same person, if they were to live a few decades of a comfortable life with a wife, children, and a warm bed, even the former ruthless hero probably wouldn't be able to pick up a sword again.
After listening to Erpang's words, Xiang Yu smiled slightly and said, "I don't want your life or for you to lose it here."
I breathed a sigh of relief and snatched Xiuxiu's snacks to eat. Now, I could finally watch this duel with a relaxed attitude.
Xiang Yu continued, "But I have one request."
Erpang said, "Please speak."
"If I win, you promise to help me find Yu Ji, right?"
"yes."
"Alright, my request is that if I win, you should not disturb her. Take me to see her, and I will decide when to restore her memory."
Erpang said, "No problem, I agree on behalf of our boss."
Xiang Yu held his spear horizontally on his horse: "Please!"
Erpang held his halberd level in front of his chest: "Please!"
The heroes held their breath and stared intently, all pulling out their phones and nervously waiting for the two to begin their battle, afraid of missing a single exciting moment. Wu Daozi, holding a pen, seemed quite relaxed, but I noticed that his eyes hadn't blinked for over a minute; he was probably also waiting to snap a photo.
Then, Xiang Yu and Lü Bu both spurred their horses and charged at each other. The rabbit, after all, was a warhorse with memories of its past life, and it understood its master's intention to charge with a slight bow from Xiang Yu. As soon as the command was given, it was already on its way. Xiang Yu, spear in hand, let out a long whistle, and when he was still dozens of paces away from Erpang, he suddenly switched to gripping the spear with both hands and swung it down at Erpang's head. Spear and horse arrived simultaneously. Erpang had only just started its charge when it saw the spear coming. It raised its halberd horizontally to parry, and a loud "clang" resounded. The two horses missed each other, and the two men brushed past each other. Xiang Yu tugged on the reins, and the rabbit made a beautiful turn, ready to launch a second charge.
After Erpang fired that shot, he inexplicably looked down at the white horse. He tentatively tugged at the reins, but the white horse didn't move.
Actually, we all saw it clearly just now. When Xiang Yu's spear struck, the white horse staggered. After that, its back seemed to buckle. Now, Erpang is pulling hard on its reins, and the white horse is too weak to react. It's unbelievable that such a majestic-looking beast is just all show and no substance.
Then a rather frustrating scene unfolded: Xiang Yu, spear in hand, waited for Er Pang to turn around, but Er Pang remained motionless, his backside and horse's rear end both facing Xiang Yu with all his might.
After a long while, the big white horse finally recovered and started to move. Its front two legs were turned inward and its hind two legs were turned outward. It slowly turned around, swaying back and forth, just like the rocking horse we used to ride when we were kids.
Seeing that the big white horse's boasting finally got him struck by lightning, the rabbit chuckled softly.
Xiang Yu glanced at Erpang, sighed, and said, "Let's fight again after you change your horse."
Erpang, head down, seemed lost in thought. After a while, he grunted "Hmm," then jumped off his horse, mounted his motorcycle, and rode away. Completely bewildered, I called out, "Don't you want your horse anymore?"
Erpang's voice drifted from afar: "Here you go."
And then... the duel seemed to end just like that.
As Master Gu aptly put it, the decisive battle between masters often comes down to just one or two rounds, and this is absolutely true!
This great battle, from its inception to its preparation, captivated everyone's attention. Although it was a war between only two men, it was no less intense than a conflict between two nations. The reputations of Xiang Yu and Lü Bu moved all who heard of it. In the end, after all the meticulous preparation, the final two crucial points failed to materialize, leading to a complete collapse, without even a chance to seek help from the old army doctor!
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Precious Silver
After Erpang left, we were all a bit lost. The duel between the greatest overlord of all time and the fiercest warrior of the Three Kingdoms ended so hastily. Even I, who hates trouble, was very dissatisfied. If we couldn't have a proper martial arts match, even an arm wrestling match would have been fine.
Another problem is the horse that Erpang left us. That beast stole the show today, but unfortunately, it let us down at the crucial moment. Erpang just ran off, leaving this grandpa to us. The big white horse straightened up again after a while. I pointed at it and said, "Whoever needs a millstone, take it."
Duan Jingzhu went over to take a look and said, "It's nothing serious. He can still run after he recovers, but he can't fight anymore."
The white horse knew it had lost face and its arrogance vanished. It lowered its head and let us do as we pleased. Xiang Yu couldn't stand it any longer and said, "Take it back and raise it with Little Black."
Having finished, the rabbit hopped effortlessly onto the coal cart. The white horse, seeing its air-conditioned cart was late, knew it had been abandoned. It looked pitifully at the rabbit and then jumped on as well. Everyone laughed and cursed, "Damn it, so it can hop by itself after all!" From then on, the white horse had a new name: White Rabbit.
The group strolled on the grass for a while. Fang Zhenjiang, who had missed the final, was furious and had nowhere to vent his anger. He spotted the twelve white marble screens on the side and huffed, "Damn it, Lao Wang (formerly Fang La) and I carried these here ourselves. We can't have come all this way for nothing. Let's take Yucai here." I nodded in satisfaction. I was very touched by Fang Zhenjiang's spirit of treating Yucai as his own home.
Fang Zhenjiang shouted to Wang Yin from afar, "Go and drive the car over here, I'll carry it up."
Wang Yin cursed, "When did you become able to order me around?" Even as he spoke, he still drove the car over, and he and Fang Zhenjiang piled all 12 screens onto the car in just a few minutes.
I looked at them and laughed: "You two are such a pair of frenemy."
Hua Rong and Pang Wanchun sat on the ground discussing archery techniques. They shared common interests and had no personal grudges, so they often chatted together.
Li Tianrun and Fang La were together, their backs to the Liangshan people, talking about something. The fact that they could turn their backs to each other indicated that they no longer harbored any animosity. Now, the only remaining issue was the settlement between Bao Jin and Lu Zhishen.
I patted Baojin beside me and said, "Can you and Monk Lu get along like this?"
Bao Jin resolutely shook his head and said, "It's no good between me and him; we'd be locked in a life-or-death struggle if we met!" I knew Bao Jin well; he was usually carefree, but he was also incredibly stubborn, and once he set his mind on something, he would see it through to the bitter end. This gave me a real headache.
Just then, Bao Jin's phone rang. He answered it and, after a few words, his face lit up with joy. He exclaimed, "Really? What time is the train tonight?"
"Who was it?" I asked after he hung up.
"My brother has been living out of town. He's coming back by train at 9 pm tonight, haha."
I said, "Is there any need to be so happy? I thought your first love had come to you while she was still a virgin."
Bao Jin smiled and said, "This is my only family member in the world. We haven't seen each other for several years."
I asked, "What does he do?"
“He’s also a worker—an airport maintenance worker.” Bao Jin said, taking out his wallet and flipping through his brother’s photo. I’ve never seen anyone keep a photo of their younger brother in their wallet to look at all the time; it seems the two brothers have a truly special relationship.
As Bao Jin read, he continued the previous topic: "My relationship with Lu Zhishen wasn't just a simple feud, it was..." He suddenly stopped speaking, his face turning ashen as if someone had covered it with a piece of blue paper.
I quickly asked, "What's wrong?"
Bao Jin stared blankly at his wallet, speechless, his expression shifting rapidly, his eyes bulging as if they were about to pop out. After a long while, he finally muttered two words: "Holy crap!"