"Drip, drip, drip..."
The sound of horse hooves echoed as countless knights escorted a convoy of carriages southward.
This was a convoy from Luoyang to Xinye City, carrying Hua Tuo, Zhang Zhongjing, and... a group of physicians from the Medical Office.
The campaign south to Jing Province had begun.
As Liu Bei led the populace across the river, there were naturally many sick among them. Lu Yu had sent a message to his junior brother Zhongjing, calling for the Medical Office personnel to hurry.
They had just reached Wancheng, and at their current speed, it would take at least two more days to reach Xinye City.
Just then.
"Dede de..."
The horse neighed, and the driver stopped. The leading general inquired, "Who goes there? How dare you block the Great Wei forces?"
As the words fell... the accompanying knights drew their weapons, and battle seemed imminent.
"—Zhuge Jun of the Long Xiao Battalion."
"—Imperial Uncle Liu Ye!"
The two men blocking the carriages shouted, identifying themselves.
Long Xiao Battalion? Imperial Uncle?
Zhuge Jun? Liu Ye?
Upon hearing this... the leading Great Wei knights dismounted quickly and bowed to Zhuge Jun and Liu Ye.
"Greetings, Steward Zhuge, greetings, Imperial Uncle Liu. However... we are under orders from the Marquis of White Horse to escort the Medical Office personnel to Xinye City. It is a matter of utmost urgency, so we beg you to clear the path."
As these words were spoken...
Liu Ye chimed in, "What a coincidence, we are also under orders from the Marquis of White Horse to receive the divine physicians Hua Tuo and Zhang Zhongjing."
Ah... ah...
The Great Wei knight was stunned. He wondered, Zhuge Jun and Liu Ye had no horses behind them, how would they receive them?
"Imperial Uncle Liu, you jest. You have no horses, how can you receive the two divine physicians?"
"There is a critical patient in Xinye City, and by horse it is too slow. So we plan to..." Liu Ye trailed off mid-sentence, then continued, "We plan to fly."
"Fly? Fly?"
The Great Wei knight felt a wave of dizziness.
Since when could people be delivered by flying? Did they mean flying like birds?
"Imperial Uncle Liu... this..."
"This is a letter from the Marquis of White Horse." Zhuge Jun dared not delay and directly presented Lu Yu's letter.
At this, the Great Wei knight no longer dared to hesitate.
Hua Tuo and Zhang Zhongjing, hearing the dispute ahead, also dismounted from their carriages and came to investigate...
Zhuge Jun quickly cupped his fists.
"Divine Physicians, there is a critical patient in Xinye City. I am here on my master's orders to receive you. For extraordinary circumstances, we must employ extraordinary means."
As he spoke... Zhuge Jun pointed to the side.
Everyone followed his gaze and saw a giant sphere in an open area, continuously ascending. If not for the ropes tethering it to stakes around it, it would have already flown into the sky.
"To receive us? With this?"
Zhang Zhongjing looked astonished.
"Yes, Divine Physician Zhongjing, rest assured. We flew here in this very sphere. It will take only two hours to fly from here to Xinye City."
Zhuge Jun declared with conviction...
Zhang Zhongjing and Hua Tuo exchanged glances.
"Since there is a patient, and the matter is urgent, let us proceed as the Marquis of White Horse has instructed," Hua Tuo added, stepping towards the sphere.
The hot air balloon crew was already in position, some explaining precautions to Hua Tuo, others helping him into the basket.
Zhang Zhongjing looked up at the massive sphere again.
He sighed, "My senior brother continues to surprise us!"
Not long after...
The oil tanks' valves were opened wider, the flames intensified, and a balloon crew member released the ropes. Instantly, the entire hot air balloon slowly ascended.
"Wow!"
The Great Wei knights and the physicians in the Medical Office showed expressions of immense astonishment.
Such a large sphere just... just flew into the sky.
Like a flying pig.
Meanwhile, the hot air balloon had already entered the clouds and was drifting south with the wind.
...
...
In Xinye City, outside the Medical Office.
Lu Yu waited anxiously. Cao Cao arrived in a hurry, escorted by a group of people.
Upon seeing Cao Cao, Lu Yu took a treasure sword from behind him and handed it to him.
"King of Wei, this appears to be your Yi Tian Sword."
Cao Cao was startled by these words. He recalled that he was the one who had discarded the Yi Tian Sword. Could it be...
He thought more deeply, fearing it might affect his relationship with the Jing Province clans. He turned to look at Xu Chu, who understood. This burden had to be borne by him. Xu Chu scratched his head!
"King of Wei, I truly don't know. That day when I went to pick up Lady Cai, in the hot air balloon's basket, this Yi Tian Sword accidentally fell out. Other than that, I... I truly don't know anything else!"
"The one who should cooperate with your act... cannot pretend not to see."
As soon as the words were spoken.
Lu Yu lowered his voice.
"General Xu truly didn't know. But... by a stroke of fate, this Yi Tian Sword pierced the arm of Feng Chu Pang Tong. Now... Pang Tong is suffering!"
Uh...
This made Xu Chu even more embarrassed. He scratched his ears and cheeks, feeling a bit guilty.
Cao Cao, however, handed the Yi Tian Sword to a subordinate.
"Does the Pang family know?"
"No, they only think it was a divine sword bestowed by heaven."
Hearing Lu Yu's words, Cao Cao nodded. "That's good."
The Pang family was a prominent clan in Jing Province. Having just arrived, Cao Cao desperately needed the help of local gentry.
"Can it be cured?"
"We can try. Divine physicians Hua Tuo and Zhongjing are already on their way."
"How do you plan to treat it?"
Cao Cao and Lu Yu spoke at an extremely rapid pace.
Lu Yu paused. "To reattach his arm!"
"An arm broken? It can be reattached?" Cao Cao was taken aback.
But then he thought, it seemed... not that surprising. After all, hadn't Guo Jia undergone abdominal surgery and had his insides worked on, yet he was now alive and kicking?
"There isn't a ten-tenths chance, but I estimate about seven or eight tenths."
Lu Yu murmured softly.
Cao Cao nodded slightly. At this moment, his thoughts were not just about whether Pang Tong's severed arm could be reattached, but also about Guo Fengxiao's abdominal surgery, and even... the trepanation Hua Tuo had previously proposed?
If... reattaching a severed arm and abdominal surgery were not a problem, would that also mean trepanation could be attempted?
Thinking of this, large beads of sweat occasionally trickled down Cao Cao's forehead.
He appeared somewhat nervous.
Just then.
"Report..."
A scout rushed to the scene, quickly approaching Lu Yu and Cao Cao.
"Why are you so flustered?"
Cao Cao asked.
The scout quickly dismounted and bowed, "General Xiahou has sent me to report that they have found a middle-aged couple who can answer the Marquis of White Horse's secret code. They also said... they said 'White Emperor' and the wet nurse are lost together, and they asked General Xiahou to be sure to relay this message to the Marquis of White Horse."
Hmm...
Cao Cao hadn't reacted yet.
"White Emperor?" Lu Yu's brow furrowed. "How could he... how could he be lost?"
...
...
Amidst the billowing dust, the cries of a young child could be heard incessantly. The child was about three or four years old. It had only been four or five years since Cao Cao had met Lady Gan during the Battle of Guandu.
With a ten-month interval in between, it was perfect.
In front of the child, a female general held him, her face covered in dust. "Adou, don't cry, it will be alright. Your father will send someone to pick us up."
This female general was Guan Yinping, the daughter of Guan Yu.
She too had been separated from the main force. She had encountered a startled ox among the common people, which had run wild... and killed the wet nurse holding Adou.
Guan Yinping quickly shielded Adou.
With the help of the common people, Adou was saved from the ox's hooves.
"Good, don't cry, don't cry."
Guan Yinping, only twelve or thirteen years old, gently rocked Liu Chan while trying to soothe him.
But...
Guan Yinping had never been a mother, how would she know these things?
Most importantly, Adou was hungry and needed milk... she... she didn't have any!
Originally, Mi Zhu and Jian Yong were protecting Adou and the wet nurse's carriage, and their carriage was linked to the carriages of Lady Gan's father and mother.
It was because of the extreme chaos, and the tendency for various livestock to be startled.
The wet nurse and Adou had become separated from the main force.
Guan Yinping was also... and Guan Yinping's foot had been stepped on by an ox, making her unable to walk.
She was at a loss.
"Why are you and Adou here?"
A white-robed general passed by and, seeing the dark brown swaddling, recognized it as the 'White Emperor'!
"General Zhao..." Guan Yinping looked up and recognized the person. Who else could it be but Zhao Yun?
"Alright, you two quickly get on the horse, I'll take you," Zhao Yun immediately instructed... but Guan Yinping found that she couldn't stand up at all. It turned out... her leg was injured. Because she had been entirely focused on Adou, she hadn't paid attention to it.
"General Zhao, you take Adou first. Adou is the lord's bloodline, he must not... absolutely must not fall into the hands of the Cao army. I'm fine, I... I'll be able to move after a short rest."
Guan Yinping displayed her inherent fortitude. Despite her young age, having followed her father for many years, she had cultivated martial prowess and extraordinary courage.
"I'll take Adou first. Up ahead... I'll send someone to pick you up."
"Okay, okay!" Guan Yinping handed Adou to Zhao Yun. Zhao Yun had nowhere to place Adou, so he put him inside his armor.
"Be extremely careful."
"General Zhao, you be careful too."
Zhao Yun and Guan Yinping exchanged final words, then... the sound of horse hooves "dada da" echoed, and Zhao Yun disappeared onto the official road.
After riding for a long time, he arrived at a dry well.
Zhao Yun glanced at Adou in his armor, who was sleeping soundly. He then dismounted.
"Where are they?"
He roared, and immediately, many men emerged from behind the treetops surrounding the dry well. Each of them looked like commoners, and their faces were even smeared with dust.
"It was 'Jige' who sent us here to receive you, General."
One of the men spoke.
Zhao Yun pointed behind him, "There is a woman in green robes over there whose ankle is injured and cannot move. If she is not treated promptly, it is feared she will have lingering issues that affect her mobility. Her identity is also extremely sensitive, being Guan Yunzang's daughter, Guan Yinping. You must find a way to inform the general leading the Great Wei army of this message."
"Yes!"
The men responded in unison.
"Also..." Zhao Yun continued, "Regarding the incident in Xiangyang, I worry that Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang will suspect me. To further eliminate their suspicion, you must tell the general leading the Great Wei army to surround and kill me, at all costs!"
"But..." a man asked in surprise, "Your identity cannot be revealed to too many people. If an order to pursue and kill is given, then you yourself will be in danger."
"I know what I'm doing!" Zhao Yun bit his lip slightly. "As long as the Cao army doesn't shoot arrows, no one can stop me."
"Yes... yes..."
Hearing them agree, Zhao Yun finally let out a long sigh of relief.
"I will deliberately go slowly, to let the Cao army catch up. Be sure to tell the Cao army not to hold back against me."
With these words, Zhao Yun remounted his horse and headed towards the crowd.
...
...
In Xinye City, outside the Medical Office.
Under a mulberry tree, Lu Yu and Cao Cao were sitting.
In just over two hours, another scout arrived on horseback.
After hearing the scout's report, Lu Yu suddenly stood up.
"White Emperor has been found?"
"Reporting to the Marquis of White Horse, it was 'Zhulong' who found 'White Emperor'. Furthermore, Zhulong has sent back important intelligence: Guan Yu's daughter Guan Yinping has an ankle injury and cannot move. General Xiahou has already sent men to monitor her."
"Oh..."
The scout suddenly remembered something and quickly said, "Zhulong proposed a plan: to have General Xiahou send troops to surround and kill him with all their might."
Upon hearing this...
Lu Yu was stunned.
Cao Cao was also taken aback. "White Emperor is still with him? Surround and kill him? What is the reason for this?"
Lu Yu quickly explained, "It must be that Liu Bei's army was ambushed outside Xiangyang City. Zhulong can sense that Zhuge Liang is suspicious of him. To eliminate this suspicion, he must do this."
"But he must not be harmed..." Cao Cao instinctively uttered half a sentence.
He actually wanted to say, but my son must not be harmed. However, these words were too sensitive, and he did not say them aloud.
"In that case... I will go myself!"
Cao Cao immediately gave an order and was about to walk out the door.
"King of Wei..." Lu Yu called out quickly.
"No need to persuade me, I know what I'm doing." Cao Cao's tone was resolute. Lady Gan had just returned, how could Cao Cao let Adou be in such danger?
Intercepting Zhulong, without harming Adou, this matter sounds easy!
But how difficult it is to accomplish!
"King of Wei... I meant, let's take the hot air balloon, it's faster..." Lu Yu said immediately.
Cao Cao then suddenly realized.
...
...
In just over an hour, the hot air balloon was enough to fly from Xinye City to the front lines.
Cao Cao handed the Yi Tian Sword to Xiahou En, along with some instructions.
At this moment...
"Dada da..."
"Dada da..."
The sound of horse hooves echoed. According to Xiahou Dun's order, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and the Qingzhou soldiers were making a desperate effort to surround and kill Zhao Yun.
Zhao Zilong, with his silver spear, fought against Cao's army, clashing back and forth, but he couldn't find Liu Bei.
He happened to see Chunyu Dao, a subordinate of Cao Ren's, capturing Mi Zhu and preparing to present him as a prize. Zhao Yun shouted loudly, thrust his spear, and charged towards Chunyu Dao.
Chunyu Dao could not resist and hastily retreated.
"Zilong..."
Mi Zhu cried out...
Zhao Yun had no time to greet him and immediately shouted, "I'll seize a horse for you!"
As he spoke... the long spear and white horse charged into the enemy formation.
At this moment, Xiahou En was in the enemy formation. After two rounds with Zhao Yun, he was no match. His long spear was knocked away, so he drew a treasure sword and fought Zhao Yun.
As their weapons clashed...
Zhao Yun and Xiahou En's eyes met.
"Zhulong, the King of Wei gifted you the Yi Tian Sword..." Xiahou En spoke, "You can defeat me by turning your back and taking the Yi Tian Sword!"
Zhao Yun was stunned by these words.
But he reacted extremely quickly. "I still lack a good horse. If no one witnesses this scene, it will be a waste."
"You can capture my horse!"
Xiahou En thrust his sword backward, revealing a huge opening.
"Dong"... Zhao Yun's spear handle struck his waist, and Xiahou En was sent flying. At the same time, Zhao Yun, with his quick hand, also snatched his sword.
Immediately... Zhao Yun, riding the white horse and leading a yellow-maned horse, quickly moved towards Mi Zhu.
Not far away, Cao Cao stood on a high slope. Seeing this scene, he couldn't help but exclaim, "I originally thought Lu Bu was already invincible in the world, but I didn't expect someone to be even more valiant than him! Whose subordinate is this?"
"—I am Zhao Zilong of Changshan!"
Whether he heard Cao Cao's shout or felt a genuine urge to cry out, Zhao Yun, with his white horse and long spear...
Managed to carve a bloody path!
"Do not shoot arrows, capture him alive for me!" Cao Cao waved his sleeve, "I love this Zhao Zilong of Changshan to death!"
...
...