Chapter 25: Killing Intent

  "They are going to watch the training of the strongholds tomorrow, and Yan Rou is going down." Mao Zong said finally: "This Yan Rou is a notorious horse thief, nicknamed Huo Shao Yun, who has a great reputation outside the pass. He has more than 100 men under his command, and his own martial arts skills are very powerful. Whether on horseback or on foot, he is a top-notch master, and can shoot arrows with both hands. With my Mao family's guarding skills, only Wu Jun Hou can match him, but Wu Jun Hou was injured in the past and cannot ride horses now, so..."

  Mao Zong looked at Gongsun Zan with a hint of pleading in his eyes. Gongsun Zan narrowed his eyes: "Is he the one who set fire to Yun?"

  Ma Zong nodded, not saying a word. He believed that Gongsun Zan must have heard of this name, but was worried that Gongsun Zan would be intimidated and dare not fight. Wu Jun's martial arts skills were high, and it was no problem to deal with Yan Rou in close combat, but he couldn't ride horses and hadn't been on the battlefield for many years, so he might not be a match for Yan Rou in cavalry battles. Therefore, as soon as he heard this news, he proposed to Ma Dai that Gongsun Zan should lead the charge against Yan Rou.

  "If we can't defeat this Yan Rou, the governor will definitely think that our few families can't defend Zhuo County with just our strength and won't agree to Bo Hai's suggestion. We can only pin our hopes on the Xianbei people not attacking." Mao Zong said in a low voice: "Among the several families in Zhuo County, the four Maos are the strongest, and among the four Maos, my West Mao is the first. Therefore, this competition directly affects the governor's decision."

  "Hmph." Gongsun Zan snorted, his face filled with disdain. "I'm afraid the Governor is not interested in fighting the Xianbei people to begin with, and those big clans in Zhuo County don't want to offend the Xianbei either, so they're just using this as an excuse. When two armies clash, can one or two people really decide everything? And what's more, this Yan Rou is just a horse thief, can he represent the Xianbei?"

  Mao Zong smiled wryly and did not make any excuses.

  "Don't worry, I won't say anything else. I'll take care of the cavalry battle, just help me prepare a spear. This time I came to learn, didn't bring any handy weapons." Gong Sun Zan coldly smiled: "Although this is somewhat joking, since he set fire to Yun, how could I not know this famous horse thief in the desert?"

  Mao Zong was overjoyed and patted his chest, saying: "Alright, tomorrow morning, I'll have someone send you a spear."

  "Tomorrow? I'm afraid it's too late." Gong Sun Zan smiled proudly: "The spear I use is different from the ones you usually use, it's a two-headed iron spear with blades on both ends. You need to arrange for someone to make one for me overnight."

  Mao Zong was taken aback, and then overjoyed. In cavalry battles, the most commonly used long-range weapon is the bow and arrow. Those who can draw a strong bow and shoot accurately are considered masters. Gong Sun used a 1.5-stone hard bow, hitting five or six out of ten targets, which was not the strongest, but still passable. Close combat weapons come in various lengths, with short ones using swords and long ones using spears. Long weapons have greater power, but also require more skill. Swords can be easily wielded with one hand, while spears are more difficult to use single-handedly due to their length, limiting their power. Only those with extremely skilled horsemanship could hold the spear with both hands while controlling the horse with their legs, and such people were rarely seen even in the northern borders.

  Gongsun Zan was able to wield a heavy iron spear with his head, which shows that he not only excelled in horsemanship and could control the horse with just his legs, but also had a unique skill in spear techniques. Otherwise, he would have injured himself before even hurting others. With such skills, he would be confident enough to take on even a great horse thief like Huo Yuhao.

  Mao Zong's confidence increased, his eyebrows opened and he smiled, happily patting Gong Sun's shoulder and saying: "I only knew that Bohui was good at riding and shooting, I didn't expect to have such strong riding skills and spear techniques, in the future you must teach me more."

  "We'll talk about that later, you'd better help me prepare the iron spear as soon as possible." Gong Sun Zan pushed away Mao Zong's hand with a smile.

  "This is easy, there are ready-made spearheads and iron handles at home, just need to be modified into two-headed blades. I'll take you to the blacksmith's house now, tell them the requirements, and let them work overnight."

  "It's really good." Gong Sun Zan also felt relieved. It seems that Xi Mao is the leader of the four Maos, and it's not unreasonable. The strength is indeed extraordinary.

  Gongsun Zan got dressed and stood up, Liu Bei also crawled up, the two followed Mao Zong out of the door. Liu Xiu, who had been lying motionless on the bed, heard the footsteps outside gradually fading away, and only then did he turn over in the dark and roll his eyes. As Gongsun Zan said, taking whether or not to defeat Yan Rou as a standard to measure whether to prepare for battle is undoubtedly a very ridiculous thing. However, his views differ from those of Gongsun Zan, in his opinion, Mao Zong's family is so eager to take this opportunity to restore the reputation of West Mao, if they can lead the way and help make it happen, not only will they have a reputation in front of the county magistrate and governor, but also in front of the Governor, although it is another plan after inviting Lu Zhi to give a lecture, in his previous life, this was called hype.

  Liu Xiu was not interested in following them to participate in these things, he just felt that the name Yan Rou sounded somewhat familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before, but couldn't quite recall.

  Gongsun Zan and the others didn't know when they would return, Liu Xiu had no idea. After arriving in this era, his sleep quality was always very good, basically belonging to the kind that wouldn't wake up even with thunder, most of the time he didn't even dream, but every morning before six o'clock - using modern timing methods it's roughly around 2:00 AM, he would naturally wake up.

  Liu Xiu got up, washed and went out as usual. He exercised in Taogu Valley and then headed for the mountain road. Although there were dozens of people living in this temple, few people like him got up early to exercise. The valley was very quiet, with only the sound of the Tao Creek flowing and the occasional bird calls accompanying him.

  Liu Xiu stretched his body while walking to the place where he usually placed his stones in the valley, preparing to pick up two stones and run as usual. As he turned a corner, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, his body tensing up instinctively, and narrowed his eyes.

  In the thin mist, a black figure stood motionless beside a massive boulder on one side of the narrow mountain path, like a pillar that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, yet seemed to have been there all along. An inexplicable pressure washed over Liu Xiu, making him hold his breath. Although the person didn't move at all, he felt as if he was facing a ferocious beast that was coiled and ready to pounce, which would let out a deafening roar in the next moment and open its bloody mouth wide to attack him. He even thought he smelled a whiff of blood, his instincts wanting to retreat backwards to avoid this eerie danger.

  However, he didn't retreat. For some reason, he forcibly controlled his legs and instead felt a surge of excitement in his heart. His left leg unconsciously took half a step forward, both hands lightly raised, ready to defend himself, as he said in a low voice: "Who?"

  "He." The figure chuckled softly and turned around, and that unsettling feeling immediately dissipated.

  He is Duke Wu of Jun.

  Wu Junhou walked out from behind the giant stone, smiling at Liu Xiu with a hint of surprise in his eyes. He took a look at Liu Xiu, who was still on guard, and couldn't help but burst out laughing: "If I hadn't tested your martial arts foundation myself, I really wouldn't have believed you're just a rookie who's only been training for a few days."

  A cold sweat broke out from the back, wetting the thin clothes on his body, making him feel a bit uncomfortable. Liu Xiu awkwardly touched his head, feeling a bit strange himself. In his previous life, he was the kind of person with a very strong mind, otherwise he wouldn't have challenged that industry expert without hesitation. But physically, he was absolutely not a strong person. Just now, under that pressure, he hadn't retreated, which made him think it was unexpected even now. Was this because his physical strength was very powerful, so his confidence was also very strong?

  However, curiosity immediately took over.

  "Wu Junhou, was that a killing aura just now?" He asked curiously, his eyes shining brightly as if he had seen his idol. Although he was scared to death earlier, being able to personally experience the legendary killing aura made him excited beyond control, and he didn't even think about running away, instead hurrying to ask this master for guidance.

  "Killing intent?" Wu Junhou blinked his eyes and smiled: "It should be about right."

  "Hmm..." Liu Xiu approached with a flattering tone, "This... General Hou, can you tell me how to cultivate this killing aura?"

  "How does one cultivate a killing aura?" Wu Jun Hou couldn't help but chuckle, his eyes twinkling as he smiled and said: "It's very simple, just kill people, kill a lot of people."