The Great Sage Equaling Heaven looked at Lü Bu, whose head was severed from his body, and sighed regretfully. He then revealed himself. Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Zhang Liao, and the others, seeing the handsome and elegant young man riding on auspicious seven-colored clouds and surrounded by purple mist, all exclaimed, "Immortal! Immortal!" The Great Sage Equaling Heaven ignored their prostrations and shouted, his eyes flashing with divine light as he looked at Lü Bu's severed head. A wisp of spiritual energy flowed from his fingertips and rushed towards Lü Bu. Lü Bu's body swayed as he stood up. With a wave of his right hand, his head lifted off the ground and landed steadily on his neck. The wound on his neck disappeared instantly. Lü Bu opened his cloudy eyes, looked around for a moment, and when he saw the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, he suddenly knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Fengxian thanks the Immortal for saving my life. Thank you for taking me into your fold." He then kowtowed nine times.
With a flick of his finger, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven sent a five-colored auspicious cloud rising from beneath Lü Bu's feet, lifting his imposing figure into the sky. The cloud then drifted slowly toward the horizon with the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Zhang Liao, and the others stared in bewilderment at Lü Bu's severed head beneath the White Gate Tower, rubbing their eyes repeatedly.
At Changban Slope, Cao Cao's army and Zhao Yun engaged in a fierce battle.
Meanwhile, Zhao Yun had been fighting Cao Cao's army since the fourth watch of the night, clashing back and forth until dawn. He couldn't find Xuande, and had also lost Xuande and his family. Zhao Yun thought to himself, "My lord entrusted Lady Gan and Lady Mi, along with the young master A Dou, to my care; now they are separated from me in the army. How can I face my lord? I must fight to the death and find my mistresses and the young master!" Looking around, he saw only thirty or forty riders with him. Zhao Yun spurred his horse and searched through the chaotic army. The cries of the people from the two counties shook the heavens and the earth; countless men and women fled, wounded by arrows and spears. As Zhao Yun rode, he saw a man lying in the grass. Upon closer inspection, he recognized him as Jian Yong. Yun hurriedly asked, "Have you seen the two mistresses?" Yong replied, "The two mistresses abandoned their carriages and fled with A Dou in their arms. I rode after them at full speed, but as I rounded a hillside, a general stabbed me, and I fell from my horse, which was then taken from me. I could not fight back, so I lay here." Yun then lent Jian Yong a horse that his general had been riding; he also ordered two soldiers to help Jian Yong go ahead and report to his master, "I will search high and low for the mistresses and the young master. If I cannot find them, I will die on the battlefield!"
Having said this, he spurred his horse and rode towards Changban Slope. Suddenly, a man shouted, "General Zhao, where are you going?" Yun reined in his horse and asked, "Who are you?" The man replied, "I am a soldier escorting the carriages under Lord Liu's command. I was shot down here by an arrow." Zhao Yun then inquired about the whereabouts of the two ladies. The soldier said, "Just now, we saw Lady Gan, disheveled and barefoot, following a group of common women, fleeing south." Upon hearing this, Yun disregarded the soldier and hurriedly spurred his horse south. He saw a group of common people, hundreds of men and women, walking together. Yun shouted, "Is Lady Gan among them?" Lady Gan, seeing Zhao Yun from behind, burst into tears. Yun dismounted, planted his spear, and wept, saying, "It is my fault that my mistress is separated from me! Where are Lady Mi and my young master?" Lady Gan said, "Lady Mi and I were driven away, abandoned our carriages, and walked among the common people. We then encountered a troop of soldiers and were separated. I don't know where Lady Mi and A Dou went. I escaped here alone."
As Zhao Yun encountered Chunyu Dao, a general under Cao Ren, speaking righteously, the people cried out, and another army rushed out. Zhao Yun drew his spear, mounted his horse, and saw a man bound on horseback before him—it was Mi Zhu. Behind him was a general, wielding a large sword, leading over a thousand soldiers. It was Chunyu Dao, Cao Ren's general, who had captured Mi Zhu and was about to hand him over to present as a reward. Zhao Yun shouted loudly, thrusting his spear forward and charging straight at Chunyu Dao. Dao could not withstand the attack and was pierced from his horse by Yun's spear. He then rushed forward to rescue Mi Zhu and seized two horses. Yun invited Lady Gan to mount his horse, and together they fought their way through the enemy lines, escorting her directly to Changban City. Zhang Fei stood on the bridge, spear in hand, shouting, "Zilong! How dare you betray my brother?" Yun replied, "I couldn't find my mistress and young master, so I fell behind. How can you say I'm betraying them?" Fei said, "If Jian Yong hadn't come to inform me first, I wouldn't have let you off so easily!" Yun asked, "Where is my lord?" Fei replied, "Not far ahead." Yun said to Mi Zhu, "Mi Zizhong, escort Lady Gan ahead. I will go and find Lady Mi and the young master." After saying this, he led several riders back along the same route.
As they were walking, they saw a general carrying an iron spear and a sword on his back, leading a dozen or so riders galloping towards them. Zhao Yun didn't say a word and went straight for the general. In a single exchange, Zhao Yun thrust the general down with his spear, and the rest of his men fled. It turned out that the general was Xiahou En, Cao Cao's personal swordsman. Cao Cao possessed two precious swords: one named "Yitian" and the other "Qinggang"; he wore Yitian himself, and gave Qinggang to Xiahou En. Qinggang was incredibly sharp, capable of cutting through iron like mud. At that time, Xiahou En, confident in his strength, was carrying Cao Cao and only concerned with leading his men to plunder and loot. He hadn't expected to run into Zhao Yun, who had killed him with a single spear thrust and seized the sword. Seeing the two gold characters "Qinggang" inlaid on the hilt, he realized it was a precious sword. Zhao Yun sheathed his sword, raised his spear, and charged back into the encirclement. Looking back at his men, he found them all gone, leaving him alone. Yun had no intention of giving up and continued searching. Whenever he met a commoner, he would ask about Lady Mi. Suddenly, someone pointed and said, "The lady is holding her child. She has been shot in the left leg and cannot walk. She is sitting on the ground in a gap in the wall in front of her."
Upon hearing this, Xiahou En and Zhao Yun immediately gave chase. They found a house with its earthen walls burned down, and Lady Mi, holding A Dou, sitting by a dry well beneath the wall, weeping. Yun quickly dismounted and prostrated himself in worship. Lady Mi said, "Now that I have seen the General, A Dou is saved. I beg the General to have pity on his father, who has wandered for half his life and has only this one son left. General, please protect this child and let him see his father's face. I will die without regret!" Yun said, "It is my fault that you have suffered, Lady. There is no need for further words. Please mount your horse. I will fight on foot to the death and help you break through the encirclement." Lady Mi said, "No! How can the General be without a horse! This child depends entirely on the General's protection. I am already seriously injured. What is the loss of my life? I beg the General to quickly take this child and go. Do not let me be a burden." Yun said, "The shouts are approaching, and the pursuers are coming. Please mount your horse quickly, Lady." Lady Mi said, "I really cannot go. Let us not both be delayed." She then handed A Dou to Zhao Yun, saying, "This child's life is entirely in the General's hands!" Zhao Yun asked the Lady to mount her horse three or five times, but she refused. The shouts rose again from all sides. Zhao Yun said sternly, "If you don't listen to me, what will we do if the pursuing army arrives?" Lady Mi then abandoned A Dou on the ground, turned over, and threw herself into a dry well, where she died. Later generations praised her in a poem: "A general relies entirely on his horse's strength; how could he carry the young lord on foot? He risked his life to save Liu Bei's heir; his courage and decisiveness truly deserve to be called a heroine." Seeing that Lady Mi was dead, Zhao Yun feared that Cao Cao's army would steal her body, so he pushed down the earthen wall and covered the dry well. After covering it, he loosened his armor sash, lowered his breastplate, held A Dou in his arms, and rode away in a cloud of dust.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com