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Chapter 671: Another Veteran
🕑 Added 2024-10-02 07:59:58 +0000 UTC"Retreat!" After hesitating for a moment and seeing that the remaining nine Wolf Cavalry members were all injured, Lü Bu no longer hesitated and ordered a retreat. He had come for revenge, not to throw away his life. Lü Bu carefully memorized Li Jin's appearance in his mind—this was his most embarrassing defeat yet. He had failed to take down his opponent in a duel and had even been forced into a retreat.
After Lü Bu left with his Wolf Cavalry and their fallen comrades, Li Jin immediately mounted a warhorse, signaled to Li Dian, and ordered the Li family to quickly clear the battlefield and leave this dangerous place at full speed.
"Brother, are you okay?" Li Dian asked with concern after they had traveled some distance.
"Do I look like someone who's okay?" Li Jin replied, spitting out blood clots. His sword crumbled into powder in his hand, and he fell backward off his horse.
"Brother!" Li Dian cried out in panic, quickly ordering his men to place Li Jin on a cart and have a doctor tend to his wounds. Fortunately, inner energy masters like Li Jin were notoriously hard to kill. Despite being on the brink of death, he soon regained consciousness.
"Mancheng, hurry to Chenliu. Don’t worry about my injuries—I'll be fine in half a year at most. Your priority is to ensure the survival of the Li family," Li Jin said with a wry smile. His final attack had nearly exhausted all his strength, a technique that inflicted great damage on himself in exchange for wounding the enemy. But without it, he would never have been able to injure Lü Bu.
"Brother, are you really okay?" Li Dian asked, still worried. After the deaths of his father and elder brother, this previously low-profile cousin had become his only support. Now, discovering that his cousin could hold his own against Lü Bu and even force him to retreat, Li Dian regarded him as his greatest pillar of strength.
"As long as an inner energy master has even a breath left, they’ll recover on their own. So don’t worry—I won’t die. If it takes me six months to recover, it means my injuries are already quite severe," Li Jin said, waving his hand dismissively.
"Let's go quickly. If that bastard Lü Bu catches up again, I really won’t be able to deal with him. I can only help you once more. Luckily, I managed to wound Lü Bu, so the consequences won’t be too severe," Li Jin added. This time, Li Dian took his cousin's words seriously, no longer dismissing them as nonsense.
After confirming that Li Jin was indeed on the mend, Li Dian immediately ordered the abandonment of their belongings and urged the group to head for Chenliu at full speed. The earlier brutal battle had silenced any dissent within the Li family ranks.
Before long, Li Dian’s group encountered another fleeing noble family on their path. It was clear that they, too, had fought a hard battle, though they were in better shape than Li Dian’s group.
"Master Cai, how are you?" Li Dian asked, looking at the older man with a deep wound on his chest. They had encountered the Qin family’s retreating group, which included Cai Yang—the same Qin Qi from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, who was famously beheaded by Guan Yu in three strokes.
Cai Yang, also known as the "Blade Ancestor," was not just boasting. He was in a similar situation as Huang Zhong but had worse luck. At least Huang Zhong had Zhang Zhongjing in his city to help treat his son, allowing Huang Xu to survive with the aid of inner energy. However, Cai Yang’s son had died despite his efforts to sustain him with inner energy, leading him to place all his paternal love on his nephew, Qin Qi.
Originally, the Qin family had planned to head north to seek refuge with Yuan Shao. However, they encountered Zhang Liao on the way, leading to a fierce battle in which Cai Yang managed to hold his own. But realizing that Zhang Liao had withdrawn without injury, Cai Yang reconsidered heading north, fearing a larger confrontation with Zhang Liao's forces. So, they turned west instead.
As they traveled west, they unfortunately ran into the enraged Lü Bu, who had been infuriated by his earlier encounter with Li Jin. Without warning, Lü Bu began slaughtering the fleeing nobles. Cai Yang, still unsure of what was happening, found himself embroiled in another battle.
Fortunately, Cai Yang’s skills were still formidable, and although Lü Bu was slightly injured, he managed to hold his ground. However, the Qin family’s soldiers were no match for Lü Bu’s nine Wolf Cavalry members, who were still bolstered by the army’s aura. Qin Qi was wounded, pushing Cai Yang into a rage. He managed to land a blow on Lü Bu, but not without taking a strike from him in return.
In the end, Lü Bu, realizing this old man was a formidable opponent—entirely different from the one who relied on secret techniques—decided that even if he killed Cai Yang, he would suffer heavy injuries. Unlike Li Jin, this was a true warrior, and Lü Bu knew it wasn’t worth the risk. After killing a few more members of the Qin family, Lü Bu withdrew with his remaining nine men.
After encountering Lü Bu, Cai Yang realized that the world had changed. It was no longer the same as it had been twenty years ago. Although he had only been out of the scene for a decade or so, the world had now produced such monstrous warriors.
Cai Yang could tell that Lü Bu was slightly injured, yet he was still able to overpower him. Lü Bu was indeed a monster, and even more frightening was the fact that someone had managed to wound this monster.
This experience rekindled Cai Yang’s interest in this new era. A warrior’s habit is to constantly seek new challenges and ascend new peaks.
After encountering Lü Bu, Cai Yang couldn’t help but recall how his nephew had once told him about the formidable strength of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. At the time, Cai Yang had dismissed it as naïveté. But now, he realized the world had changed, and it was no longer dominated by just a few inner energy masters. Cai Yang, who had once been the most skilled blade master of his time, now found himself eager to test his skills against Guan Yu, who was rumored to be an exceptional swordsman.
After forcing Lü Bu to retreat, Cai Yang immediately escorted the Qin family to Chenliu as quickly as possible. He didn’t want to encounter Lü Bu again. Without the burden of the Qin family, he wouldn’t have been afraid, but protecting them while fighting Lü Bu was a task too daunting for anyone.
Although Cai Yang also understood the art of training soldiers, he had neglected to train the Qin family’s private troops due to his immersion in past sorrows. After facing Lü Bu, most of the Qin family’s soldiers were too terrified to advance, with some even deserting upon hearing Lü Bu’s name.
With this realization, Cai Yang decided to escort the Qin family’s core members to Chenliu by himself. Along the way, they encountered Li Dian’s group. Unlike Cai Yang, who couldn’t sense Li Jin’s weakened state, Li Jin, with his almost supernatural perception, detected Cai Yang as soon as he came within a dozen miles.
Li Dian quickly organized his troops and prepared to confront Cai Yang. Despite his injuries, Li Jin also prepared to face Cai Yang directly. Both sides initially mistook each other for Lü Bu’s forces, leading to a tense standoff.
However, Li Dian, feeling uneasy and recognizing some differences, soon asked for clarification, averting what could have been a disastrous battle. Otherwise, Li Jin might have ended up in a coffin.
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