Chapter 005: White Horse General Gong Sun Zan

  Liu Xiu was taken aback by the words, and he took another look at the young man. Could this really be Bai Ma Gong Sun Zan? Hmm, indeed, there seemed to be a hint of heroic spirit about him. However, this fellow was notorious for being a muddle-headed youth. Although he had once been quite formidable, in the end, he was defeated by Yuan Shao and ended up with egg on his face. It's said that ultimately, he even managed to get himself burned to a crisp like a roasted duck.

  As the saying goes, a three-year-old's fate is determined, and a seven-year-old's destiny is set. This kid is indeed a stubborn one, still so arrogant on someone else's turf. No wonder he shows no mercy to those barbarians.

  He was moved, Gong Sun Zan had already taken a step forward, snatching a knife from the hand of an evil servant and slapping it on his face with the back of the knife. With a crisp sound, the evil servant's face turned red instantly, covering his face and shouting loudly, jumping aside. Gong Sun Zan took advantage of the momentum to rush in, and with every move, he was violently beating them up. Although he didn't use the knife in his hand to hurt anyone, his fists and feet were extremely fierce, beating those servants until they fell to the ground, crying out for their parents.

  Liu Bei's eyes lit up, and he let out a loud cheer as he charged into the fray. Gongsun Zan didn't say much, just smiled at Liu Bei before continuing to chase after the fleeing attendants. Although they had initially suffered some losses, these attendants were not weaklings, and under the command of several leaders, they quickly regained their footing, surrounding Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei in the middle. Gradually, they turned the tide of battle around. Despite his nonchalant expression, Gongsun Zan didn't dare to slack off, drawing out the long sword at his waist as he carefully engaged in combat.

  The situation turned around, and Liu Bei was at a disadvantage. He had no weapon and was attacked by the revived servants of the Mao family. He dodged left and right, took two consecutive hits, but gritted his teeth and didn't cry out in pain, like a small tiger, circling with the Mao family servants. Fortunately, Gongsun Zan quickly snatched a long knife and handed it to him, which slightly improved the situation.

  Liu Xiu has been practicing his body for several months, but he only practiced his strength and didn't really practice martial arts. Now, seeing Gong Sun Zan and Liu Bei fighting with knives against a dozen or so of the Mao family's servants, he felt both tense and excited, staring wide-eyed as he memorized Gong Sun Zan's movements. Gong Sun Zan's every move was clean and efficient, full of killing intent, and each time he struck, either hitting one of the most ferocious servants or deflecting an attack. His movements looked simple but were extremely effective, completely different from the action movies Liu Xiu had seen in his past life.

  Is this really martial arts? Liu Xiun subconsciously held his breath.

  Everyone was busy fighting, but they forgot about the Mo family's young master who was still struggling on horseback. The young master held onto the horse's neck and didn't dare let go for a moment, nor did he dare to shout for help. His face had turned pale, and several servants tried their best to rush over, but were kicked away by the ferocious white horse one after another, unable to get close, and they cried out in anxiety.

  At this moment, several people rushed out from the valley, led by a man of medium build but extremely robust. He walked with the wind and scanned the situation in the field. Without saying a word, he took three steps and crossed to the white horse's face in two strides. He stretched out his hand and grabbed the horse's halter. The horse was jumping happily and didn't expect to be suddenly caught by someone. It became even more violent, raising its head and tail, and stomping the ground with all four hooves, trying to break free. However, the man, although not tall, stood like a mountain, unmoving despite the horse's struggles. With one hand, he grabbed the waistband of the young man from the Ma family and easily lifted him off the horse.

  Mao's young servant fell to the ground, instantly becoming a heap. He wanted to cry but had no tears. He raised his trembling hand and pointed at Gong Sunzhan. His pale lips stuttered for half a day before he spat out two words: "Beat him!"

  The servants of the Mao family who were fighting with Gong Sun Zan also got excited when they saw the man coming, and someone shouted: "Good, Wu Junhou has come, this kid can't escape." As they spoke, several people retreated while covering each other, and their movements were quite orderly.

  The originally bustling scene suddenly fell silent, and a leader came forward to whisper a few words in the ear of the military officer, occasionally glancing at Gongsun Zan. The military officer listened, but didn't show any expression, waving his hand to signal those people to take care of the still dazed Mao family youngster, and took a step forward himself, with his hands behind his back, sizing up Gongsun Zan from head to toe, raising an eyebrow: "A scholar seeking knowledge?"

  Gongsun Zan, without being arrogant or condescending, sheathed his long sword and, with a hint of disdain, raised his hands and said: "I am Gongsun Zan from Liaoxi, here to study. I didn't expect someone would rob me on the way. Not only did they fail to take my horse, but also had their slaves hurt people. This is just a minor punishment."

  Wu Junhou hummed and looked at Liu Bei behind Gong Sunzhan and Liu Xiu who was standing aside: "What about you?"

  "Liu Bei of Zhuo County, grandson of the late General Liu." Liu Bei also nodded his head and said in a gentle tone: "We happened to be passing by and saw them having a conflict. Seeing the Mao family master and servants attacking Gong Sun brother alone, we were afraid that someone would get killed, so we came to mediate."

  "Mediate?" Wu Junhou sneered: "Is this how you mediate? You've even resorted to using knives?"

  "No." Liu Bei shook his head and said, "Your master insisted on riding Gong Sun's horse, they made a bet and asked us to be witnesses. Your master is here, why don't you ask him if it's true? As for this knife, it's not mine either, it belongs to your Mao family, but unfortunately, Gong Sun was more skilled and took it from them. What does it have to do with me?" He said, holding the long knife upside down and presenting it to Wu Meng with both hands.

  Wu Junhou looked at Liu Bei with some surprise, seemingly moved by Liu Bei's calmness and thoroughness. He hesitated for a moment, took the knife, made a few flourishes, re-examined Gong Sunzhan who was still holding his head high, curled up his mouth, smiled, but the scar on his face made his smile look somewhat ferocious.

  "Young man, your martial skills are quite impressive. You were actually able to take the knife from my family's Mo household." He walked back and forth with his hands behind his back: "Alright, I'll make a bet with you on behalf of my master. If you win this fight, we'll call it quits. But if you lose, leave your horse here as collateral, and we won't take anything else from you. We'll just follow the original agreement made by my master earlier. Do you have the guts for that?"

  Liu Xiu secretly shook his head, this was indeed an encounter with someone who didn't know reason. What fairness could be spoken of in this bet? It was just a case of bullying others relying on one's power. This General Wu had a calm and composed demeanor, clearly not comparable to those Ma family servants. With one stretch of his hand, he controlled the white horse, and with every move, there was an aura of intimidation that seemed to have been honed from killing people. Looking at the scar on his face, it was likely that he was a warrior who had fought in battles before. Gong Sun Zan was brave, but after all, he hadn't been on a battlefield before, and probably wasn't General Wu's match.

  He glanced at Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei, Liu Bei's face was not good, while Gongsun Zan was cold as water, with a sarcastic smile. Liu Xiu thought for a moment, thinking that Liu Bei had already made enough gestures, returned the knife, but this Wu Junhou still wouldn't let go, wanting to compete with Gongsun Zan again, feeling that this round of competition would be unavoidable. As for himself, should he get involved or not? According to his knowledge, both Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei were useless people, so it was pointless to have high hopes for them. Of course, he didn't expect to use his own majestic aura to take control of the situation and stay out of it, which would be the best strategy. However, no matter what, Liu Bei was still his "brother", and at this time, watching him being beaten without any reaction seemed a bit unjustifiable.

  He himself, apart from having a bit of strength, didn't have any real skills. If it were those servants from the Mao family earlier, he would still have had the confidence to take on one or two of them. But this Wu Jun in front of him was clearly not someone who could be dealt with just by relying on brute force - he was a skilled fighter. Although it's said that "one strong move can defeat ten clever ones", did his own strength necessarily surpass Wu Jun's? Probably not.

  The pros and cons were clear, but Liu Xiu's heart was somewhat restless, always feeling that although the situation was unfavorable, it would be very unpleasant to bow his head to the arrogant Mao family. Facing the confident Wu Junhou, he had an inexplicable urge to fight him, just like a gambler who sees a high-stakes game and can't resist the temptation, even though the odds of winning are slim, and is willing to risk everything for one more bet.