As Luo Cheng tidied his hair, he said, "I also want to meet this ever-victorious general. I wonder whose marksmanship is better, mine or his."
My three older brothers and I exchanged a knowing smile. This little Luo!
From the moment we arrived here until now, there has been one person who has stood firmly by Guan Yu's side, never leaving his side, neither getting involved in the fighting nor saying much to anyone. This is none other than Zhou Cang, Guan Yu's loyal follower.
I looked at him and said, "Brother Zhou, let's go."
Zhou Cang stammered, "Can I not leave?"
I said, "If you don't leave, what about Zhou Cang, whom Second Brother encountered when he was overcoming numerous obstacles?"
Zhou Cang rolled his eyes and said, "I don't care what he does!"
I:"……"
Guan Yu glanced at Zhou Cang gratefully and said to me, "Why don't we let him stay? If we're destined to meet again, we might meet again."
I hesitated for a long time before saying, "Then I'll come to see you again in a while."
Qin Qiong and the others bid farewell to Liu Bei and Zhang Fei, clasping their hands in a fist salute and saying, "Uncle and Third Master, Yuan Shao is a petty and jealous man who will never amount to anything. You should find a way out as soon as possible..."
Cao Cao strained his ears to listen, and I tugged at Qin Qiong. Qin Qiong laughed, "That's all I have to say—Brother Mengde, among the heroes of the world, only Shimin and I are worthy of your attention." Cao Cao was startled, waving his hands frantically, as if afraid someone would hear. His mindset was probably similar to Liu Bei's before he gained power. Seeing that no one was paying attention, he leaned closer to Qin Qiong and whispered, "May I ask who this hero Shimin is?"...
And so, our one-day tour of the Three Kingdoms came to an end. Before leaving, I patted Red Hare's head and said, "Others call you Red Hare, Second Brother calls you Redie, so I'll call you Little Red Rabbit—I also know a Little Black Rabbit, I'll introduce you to him another day." Back then, when I called Black Steed Rabbit, it wasn't happy. Look at Red Hare, it's a thoroughbred, and its name itself contains the character for "rabbit." Clearly, I had great foresight. I've decided that from now on, I'll name all my horses "So-and-so Rabbit"—Little Red Rabbit, Little Black Rabbit, Qin Qiong had a horse that was supposedly yellow, so that would be Little Yellow Rabbit…
Red Hare glanced at me sideways, then suddenly snorted and sprayed me in the face, before turning its head away with disdain—judging from this reaction, it must have something in common with the lame rabbit.
During our trip to the Three Kingdoms, we caused quite a bit of trouble, mainly dampening Lü Bu's spirit, Guan Yu obtaining the Red Hare, and Zhou Cang prematurely pledging allegiance. However, I think these shouldn't affect the overall balance of power in the Three Kingdoms; they are changes within an acceptable range.
On the way back, because Zhou Cang was absent, Li Yuanba sat next to me, fidgeting and looking around restlessly. Qin Qiong and the other two sat in the back chatting casually; the atmosphere wasn't very lively, but the distance between them had finally disappeared. I felt only joy and hurried back on my horse. Little did I know, a huge mess awaited me after I returned…
Chapter 145 The Turmoil in Yanjing
It was past midnight when we returned to Yucai, and most people were already asleep. Unable to contain their excitement, Qin Qiong and the others dragged Cheng Yaojin and the others out of bed, launching into a long monologue about their experiences in the Three Kingdoms period. Their commotion startled all eighteen heroes, and even the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove and Bao Jin joined in. At the height of their excitement, dozens of people burst into laughter. Especially the eighteen heroes, since Li Yuanba was from their faction, their pride was amplified by his appearance. Qin Qiong and Shan Xiongxin's reconciliation also fostered harmony between the pro-Sui and pro-Tang factions. Since there wasn't much deep-seated hatred between them, they started talking more.
However, this major side effect was that it made these guys restless; one wanted to go, and another wanted to go, each with their own ideas. Yuwen Chengdu really wanted to see Lü Bu. His idea was simple: since Lü Bu couldn't even withstand three blows from Li Yuanba, he should be able to take him down easily. Pei Yuanqing strongly agreed with his idea—poor Lü Bu had become their touchstone.
Yang Lin rallied a group of veteran generals, insisting that I take them to find Zhu Yuanzhang. It seems Xiuxiu's history lesson was very successful; they absolutely must exchange military strategies with Xu Da and Chang Yuchun. The pretty-boy Luo Cheng chatted with Fang Zhenjiang for a while and learned that there was a spearman named Lin Chong on Liangshan…
Even the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove considered renouncing worldly life, but Ji Kang and Ruan Ji wanted to meet Li Bai, the representative of the unrestrained school, while Shan Tao and the others wanted to discuss painting with Zhang Zeduan.
This group of people kept pulling and tugging at me, insisting that we shouldn't show favoritism and that since Qin Qiong and the others were able to go to the Three Kingdoms, they should be given the same opportunities.
My head was pounding. I struggled to break free of the encirclement, waving my arms and saying, "There will be opportunities, there will definitely be opportunities. But we can't go anywhere. Right now, we only have relatively stable reception stations in the Qin Dynasty and the Northern Song Dynasty. Next time I pick up my wife, I'll take you all with me."
I thought this would fool them, but I seriously underestimated their intelligence and ability to adapt to modern technology. Yuchi Jingde shouted, "Don't try to fool us. Your golden cup can only carry seven people at a time, right?"
"..." Before I could recover from the shock, Yuchi Jingde laughed and said, "Still trying to fool us? When we were leading troops into battle, your Xiao family ancestors were still nowhere to be found."
I pleaded, waving my hands, "Grandpas, please let me go home and get some sleep. I'm not some little red rabbit who can travel a thousand miles a day and eight hundred miles a night. I haven't had a pillow in ages."
Xuanzang came out of his room and pleaded for me, saying, "Amitabha, please let Xiaoqiang go back and rest first. Besides, why are you so narrow-minded? Everyone has their own destiny, and playing around across the year may not be a good thing."
I said with tears of gratitude, "Teacher Chen is truly a wise person."
Before he could finish speaking, Xuanzang said, "Um... Xiaoqiang, when would you like to take me to meet the Sixth Patriarch Huineng? I'm very interested in his poem 'Originally there is nothing, so where can dust settle?'"
I'm speechless. This monk is quite adept at portraying people. Besides, what's so interesting about Huineng? He's the founder of Zen Buddhism, the one who advocated teaching students to first hurl a big stick at their heads. I don't know how well his disciples practiced Buddhism, but they were certainly all masters of stick fighting—isn't that where the Shaolin monks got their stick fighting skills?
After much persuasion, I finally escaped the pack of wolves and returned home exhausted, collapsing into bed immediately. The lights were still on in He Tiandou's house across the street; I wondered what those two old charlatans were up to.
I slept until noon the next day. Still half-asleep, I got up and went downstairs to watch TV—I've been living such a backstoried life lately, like I'm from the Song or Qin dynasties. I brush my teeth with tooth powder, or just use a string to clean my mouth. Being able to watch TV peacefully and fully experience modern life felt wonderful; I even smiled while watching the commercials. Of course, this also had something to do with the fact that it was an advertisement for women's underwear that could help with body shaping.
I lazily made myself a bowl of instant noodles, intending to stay home all day and not see anyone who came!
Just as I was about to eat the noodles after they were ready, my phone suddenly started vibrating. I wasn't planning to answer, but when I glanced at the caller ID, I chuckled: it was Shi Qian calling.
I picked up the phone and said, "Hey, Qian-ge, any good finds lately?"
Unexpectedly, the answer came from a hoarse voice: "Brother Qiang, save me!"
I asked, puzzled, "Who are you?"
The hoarse voice, utterly exhausted, said, "I am Shao Yan, Jin Shao Yan."
I laughed and said, "You little rascal, you even turned off your phone and hid from me, what happened? Where's Shishi? Tell her to talk to me."
Jin Shaoyan said with a sob in his voice, "Shishi has been captured by the Jin soldiers."
I exclaimed in surprise, "What happened?"
Jin Shaoyan said, "Shishi and I were living peacefully in seclusion in Yanjing. After the Jin soldiers broke into the city, they saw how beautiful she was and had evil intentions towards her. I fought back desperately, but they outnumbered me. After they knocked me unconscious, Shishi was kidnapped by them." As he spoke, Jin Shaoyan began to sob.
My heart was pounding, and I quickly said, "Don't rush, where is Yanjing?"
Jin Shaoyan said, "This is today's Beijing. This was the territory of the Liao Dynasty. When the Jin army destroyed the Liao Dynasty, this place was swept away."
I jumped up and down, saying, "I told you to take her far away, but you insisted on heading towards the capital. China is so big, do you even know where else?"
Jin Shaoyan cried, "I know this place well, don't I? Besides, it's not the capital yet. I thought I could live a peaceful life here, but who knew..."
I said, "Alright, alright, tell me about the current situation first."
"After I woke up, I spent a lot of money to inquire about Shishi. The soldiers who captured her were the personal guards of the Jin army marshal. They have already handed her over to their marshal. Brother Qiang, the reason Shishi didn't commit suicide is because she knew you would definitely come to save her!"
"Stop talking nonsense, don't flatter me. Am I Ultraman? What's the name of the Jin army marshal? No matter how beautiful Shishi is, she's just an ordinary woman. You should find a way to get the money to redeem her first, and we'll settle things later."
Jin Shaoyan said, "Their marshal is called Wanyan Zongbi, also known as Wanyan Wushu, or Jin Wushu as commonly known. They have somehow heard about Shishi's identity and have now sent people to blackmail Emperor Huizong of Song, demanding that he exchange the Imperial Seal and the entire map of the Song Dynasty for her."