"Yunxiao?"

Cao Cao was taken aback. He looked around at the scenery and then realized that the people who could live here must be from the highest heavens!

"Brother Yunxiao, in this emergency, I must act quickly. May I hide here with you until nightfall?"

Meng Fan laughed and said, "Brother Mengde, you failed in your assassination attempt on Dong Zhuo, so you've come to my residence to drag me down with you?"

Cao Cao was startled and was about to retreat and leave, but he was also a smart man, and after a little thought, he realized the key point.

If Meng Fan were one of Dong Zhuo's men, he wouldn't have been allowed in, much less left the three women in the courtyard.

Cao Cao was a skilled and courageous general, and in his eyes, Meng Fan was a well-read scholar, while the other three women were completely harmless.

If Meng Fan wanted to harm him, he certainly wouldn't leave the woman here.

After a moment's thought, he stopped retreating and instead straightened his back, saying proudly, "I see that Brother Yunxiao is well-versed in the classics and has an extraordinary temperament. How could he possibly look down on someone like Dong Zhuo? If I'm wrong, Brother Yunxiao, you may tie me up and go to Dong Zhuo to collect your reward!"

Cao Cao’s words seemed righteous, but they were just a test for Meng Fan. In his eyes, it was good that Meng Fan was safe and sound. If he really wanted to kidnap him, how could he not fight back?

Meng Fan scoffed at Cao Cao's petty cleverness and directly exposed him, saying, "Although you are quick-witted, you are hypocritical. I don't want to make friends with someone like you. You should leave."

Cao Cao knew that his little scheme had been seen through. The person in front of him seemed to be able to see through people's hearts and must be a great talent of the time. But why had he never heard of Meng Fan's name?

His thick skin had been honed over his years in office, and he shook his head with a wry smile, saying, "Brother Yunxiao seems to be able to see through my heart and knows me very well. May I ask, Brother Yunxiao, what should I do in the future?"

Meng Fan turned his head away from him and said calmly, "In order to get rid of Dong Zhuo, Wang Yun gave you the Seven Star Blade to assassinate Dong Zhuo."

"Today, you attended a banquet at Dong Zhuo's residence. You had the opportunity to draw your sword and stab him. However, Dong Zhuo saw the glint of the sword in the bronze mirror and turned around to ask what you were doing. You quickly came up with a plan and lied that you had obtained a precious sword and wanted to present it to him."

"You took advantage of Dong Zhuo's lack of reaction time and hurriedly bid farewell and fled. You should have escaped on a fast horse, but due to some reasons, the person who delivered the horse changed, and you had to flee on foot in a moment of panic."

As Meng Fan spoke of Cao Cao, a chill ran down his spine, and fear filled his eyes as he looked at Meng Fan!

"Your presence here suggests a connection between us, so I'll help you this once and ensure your safe arrival in Chenliu."

Cao Cao dared not utter a word, and simply stood there, soaked to the bone.

Meng Fan ignored him and shot a beam of light directly into his mind.

Cao Cao was powerless to resist and watched helplessly as the light merged into his head. In that instant, his mind was filled with many things. Upon inspection, he discovered that it was an escape route. However, the people and events involved made it difficult for him to calm his turbulent emotions.

He was about to ask a question when he realized he was already outside the courtyard gate. Looking at the tightly closed gate, it was as if he had never been inside. Even the faces of Meng Fan and the three women in his memory became blurry.

However, the information in his mind was real and undeniable, forcing him to believe everything that had just happened!

The sound of rapid hoofbeats echoed on the street not far away. He knew that these were his pursuers, and immediately headed towards the east gate, following the directions in his mind.

The East Gate was heavily guarded, but most of the guards there were former subordinates of Ding Yuan. Even though Ding Yuan's original troops had been scattered, Dong Zhuo did not dismiss the generals who had followed him.

Zhang Liao was one of them. In terms of talent and learning, he was the best among the Eight Generals. His decision to join Dong Zhuo was also a temporary expedient.

He knew that Dong Zhuo could not last long and was not a wise ruler, and he had long considered changing course.

As he was pondering this, someone suddenly appeared behind him and patted him on the shoulder.

Zhang Liao was startled. He knew he was among the soldiers; who could possibly sneak up behind him?

He turned around abruptly and saw Cao Cao, who was dark-skinned and slightly short, standing behind him in soldier's clothing.

"You actually dared to walk right into our trap?"

He naturally knew Cao Cao, especially since his portrait was now posted at the city gate.

Cao Cao suppressed the tremor in his heart: "General Wen Yuan is a descendant of Nie Yi. He has long seen through the situation. As a righteous man, how could he harm someone like me who failed to assassinate Dong Zhuo?"

Zhang Liao couldn't help but admire Cao Cao's courage and strategy, and said in a low voice, "You seem to know me very well?"

Upon seeing this, Cao Cao couldn't help but laugh and say, "How could I not know that Governor Ding is a great general?"

Cao Cao only mentioned Ding Yuan's subordinates, not Dong Zhuo's. Upon hearing this, Zhang Liao felt a little warmer and his attitude towards Cao Cao improved considerably.

As the saying goes, a loyal minister does not serve two masters; no one wants to be given that title.

"You want me to help you get out of the city?"

Zhang Liao was no fool; on the contrary, he was quite clever. As soon as he saw Cao Cao, he understood Cao Cao's purpose: Cao Cao simply wanted him to help him leave the city.

To everyone's surprise, Cao Cao laughed and said, "No, with my wisdom and connections, it is not difficult for me to sneak out of the city. I have another purpose for coming here."

He then carefully looked around and whispered, "This is not the place to talk. General, could you please find a place where I can say a few words?"

Zhang Liao now greatly admired Cao Cao, and immediately led him to a house near the city gate.

On the way, Cao Cao pondered the information in his mind. It mentioned that there were many ways to leave the city, and Zhang Liao was just one of them. However, meeting Zhang Liao was the most rewarding, and the methods were divided into three categories: superior, middle, and inferior.

The worst option is to leave the city directly with Zhang Liao's help; the middle option is to turn Zhang Liao against the enemy; and the best option is to secretly recruit Gao Shun and Cao Xing through Zhang Liao's connections.

These three points undoubtedly measure Cao Cao's courage and foresight, and the crisis and the reward are directly proportional.

"Brother Cao, please speak frankly."

Cao Cao said, "General Wen Yuan is well-versed in military strategy and tactics. Wouldn't it be a waste of his talents to serve as a subordinate general under Dong Zhuo?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Liao immediately understood Cao Cao's meaning: Cao Cao wanted to recruit him.

"Brother Cao, you are currently wanted by the authorities and have nothing to your name. Is it really reasonable for you to expect me to join your cause with just empty words?"

Cao Cao was quite excited upon hearing this. Zhang Liao's meaning was crystal clear: I need to have some assets to join your side.

"Hahaha, Brother Wenyuan, there's no need to worry. My father, Cao Song, has served as Commandant of the Capital, Minister of Ceremonies, and Minister of Agriculture, ranking among the Nine Ministers. Two years ago, he was appointed Grand Commandant, ranking among the Three Dukes. Therefore, I am quite wealthy. After returning to Chenliu, I will definitely recruit soldiers and call for a campaign against Dong Zhuo! I earnestly request General Wenyuan not to abandon me and to help me in this campaign against Dong Zhuo!"

As he spoke, he actually bent down and was about to kneel down.

Zhang Liao only knew Cao Cao as a person, but he didn't know anything about his family background. Hearing this, he was already tempted. Seeing that Cao Cao was about to kneel down to him, he immediately helped Cao Cao up and said.

"Zhang Liao, also known as Zhang Wenyuan, pays his respects to our lord!"