Chapter 119: Wiping Away the Dust and Leaving, Concealing Deeply Merit and Fame (Part Two)

Cao Peng did nothing at all!

As the war drums thundered, the mountain basin instantly became as chaotic as a boiling pot.

Lei Xu’s troops were not entirely composed of the remnants of the Yellow Turbans from years past. In fact, ever since the Yellow Turban rebellion failed and their entire army was routed, Lei Xu had led his remaining soldiers through arduous travels, successively swearing allegiance to various factions. This included the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans who had been absorbed by Cao Cao. His former subordinates had almost all perished, and the three hundred men he currently commanded were simply ragged survivors gathered after the rout in Qingzhou.

A mob of rabble!

This was Cao Peng’s assessment of this force.

Once the war drums sounded, everything plunged into total chaos... even Lei Xu himself panicked.

If he had remained in the mountain basin at that time, he might have been able to steady the soldiers' morale. But the moment he left, those bandit troops lost all restraint.

Cao Peng and Wang Mai led their men, slipping quietly into the valley.

They quickly found the cave where the bandits stabled their horses.

Outside the cave, there were no guards posted. Therefore, the group easily sneaked inside.

In times like these, elite soldiers were hard to come by, and elite cavalry was even rarer. Although Lei Xu had plundered over a hundred warhorses, very few of his men actually excelled at mounted combat. The reason he wanted the horses was primarily for transportation. As Cao Cao gradually secured his footing in Yuzhou and dispatched Xiahou Yuan to garrison Chenliu, the operational space for Lei Xu and his cohorts shrank, making every step increasingly difficult.

At that juncture, Lei Xu developed the intention to leave Chenliu.

He already had a destination in mind!

He was simply waiting to execute this final job with Hu Ban before putting his plan into motion...

Do not assume that his warm affection toward Zhou Cang stemmed from true camaraderie. The primary reason was that Lei Xu had concocted a brilliant scheme.

He figured that Zhou Cang’s plundering of the Wei family’s wealth would inevitably alert Xiahou Yuan.

While he claimed with his lips that he would cover Zhou Cang, in his heart he had already resolved to use Zhou Cang as bait to attract Xiahou Yuan’s attention. Then, following his original plan, he would launch a fierce assault on Yongqiu, pillage the area, and rapidly withdraw from Chenliu Commandery. By the time Xiahou Yuan reacted, he would already be a thousand miles away.

However, Lei Xu never imagined that while he was plotting against Zhou Cang, someone was secretly plotting against him!

The guard at the horse-stabling cave was extremely lax.

Five or six grooms, startled by the clamor and commotion outside, sleepily got up and poked their heads out.

"Ghosts!"

One groom cried out in shock upon catching sight of Cao Peng and the others.

Earlier, during their stealthy approach, Cao Peng had instructed everyone to smear muddy water across their faces.

In the dim light, their faces appeared pitch black, making them look exceptionally terrifying. Before the groom could shout a second time, Wang Mai rushed forward, brought his blade down, and slashed the man into the dirt. Following close behind, Cao Peng’s retainers did not hesitate and surged forward. Before the grooms could even figure out what was happening, they were cut down one by one by Wang Mai and his men, collapsing into pools of blood.

From beginning to end, Cao Peng did not lift a finger!

It was not that he didn't want to fight, but rather that there was no time...

The speed of Wang Mai’s group was simply too fast! Having survived the successive brutal skirmishes at Sunset Gathering and Nine Women City, Wang Mai killed even more ruthlessly than Cao Peng. Every downward slash was fast, precise, and fatal; with every advance and retreat, he already possessed a terrifying aura of slaughter.

The aura of slaughter, though intangible, was truly real.

Or rather, it was a state of mind... Without having killed before or tempered oneself between life and death, it was impossible to possess such an aura.

This was something that could not be acquired through mere practice.

Dian Man and Xu Yi were both more skilled in martial arts than Wang Mai. Yet in a frontline deathmatch, the outcome between them remained uncertain.

After finishing off the grooms, Wang Mai glanced toward Cao Peng. Cao Peng nodded and gave Wang Mai a hand signal!

"Drive all the horses out!"

Wang Mai immediately issued the command, snatching a torch from the cave wall.

Ten retainers rushed into action, untying the reins of all the warhorses and driving them toward the cave entrance.

"We're withdrawing!"

Cao Peng beckoned and began to walk outward.

The retainers hurried to follow, with Wang Mai bringing up the rear, casually tossing his torch onto a stack of dried hay.

The dry fodder caught the flame and burned rapidly. Startled by the firelight, the warhorses panicked and bolted out of the cave with shrill neighs.

By this time, Cao Peng and his group had rendezvoused with Dian Man and Xiahoulan.

"How is the situation?"

"Everything is normal..."

"Find Uncle Zhou and Hu Ban as quickly as possible, and then let's find a place to hide."

The fire had started, and the imperial troops had arrived!

For Cao Peng, his mission was essentially complete.

Under such circumstances, if Xiahou Yuan still failed to deal with Lei Xu, he wouldn't be Xiahou Yuan anymore. Therefore, Cao Peng felt completely at ease, without the slightest burden. However, finding Zhou Cang in such a massive mountain basin filled with numerous caves was no easy task.

Along the way, Cao Peng encountered several groups of bandits, but fortunately, they were all in twos and threes.

Dian Man hurled his iron halberds, effortlessly disposing of them. When encountering large bands of bandits, Cao Peng and his companions avoided head-on fights, slipping away early.

"A-Fu!"

Cao Peng suddenly heard someone calling his name.

Looking up, he saw Zhou Cang peering out from a stone chamber with Hu Ban in tow.

"Over here."

Zhou Cang was covered in blood and grime, and blood droplets dripped from his long saber.

Hu Ban’s face was as pale as paper, following closely behind Zhou Cang and trembling all over.

He was merely an idle loafing vagrant from Gaoyang Pavilion, quite adept at petty thievery, but when it came to killing people, Hu Ban could not even compare to Deng Ji.

"Uncle Zhou, how is it over on your end?"

Cao Peng hurried over and stopped beside Zhou Cang.

Glancing past Zhou Cang's side, he saw seven or eight corpses sprawled across the stone chamber in disarray—clearly the handiwork of Zhou Cang.

"They thought sending a few petty thieves could keep me contained!"

Zhou Cang sneered, "Lei Zijian vastly underestimates me."

"Let's get inside the room first and talk."

Seeing that Zhou Cang and Hu Ban were unharmed, Cao Peng finally let out a sigh of relief.

They entered the stone chamber, followed closely by Wang Mai and Dian Man, while Zhou Cang and Xiahoulan stood guard at the entrance.

Taking a headcount, there were no casualties.

In the mountain basin, chaos reigned supreme as bandits ran for their lives, shouting endlessly.

Warhorses bolted wildly toward the exit of the basin, causing the gateway to become instantly jammed and congested.

The sound of war drums grew closer!

The battle cries of the imperial troops faintly echoed through the air.

Cao Peng suddenly smiled and said, "Hu Ban, you can rest easy now."

"Rest easy about what?"

"Gaoyang Pavilion... at least won't be raided by bandits anymore. As for the matter of you stealing the horses, you can also have an explanation ready: claim that you discovered the bandits' tracks and, to safeguard the safety of Gaoyang Pavilion, had no choice but to compromise and infiltrate their ranks. Your sole purpose was to wait for an opportunity to wipe out the bandits in one fell swoop."

"Ah?"

Hu Ban froze, looking somewhat bewildered.

Wait, could the logic be framed like that?

"In military terms, what you did is called a 'deep-cover double agent'!"

"A deep-cover agent?"

"Even if Lei Xu is captured, he won't be able to drag you down with him."

As Cao Peng spoke, he exuded an air of effortless calm.

The chaos outside the stone chamber seemed to have no relation to him whatsoever. It was precisely this demeanor that eased much of the oppressive tension in the room.

Dian Man laughed, "So put that way, this blockhead not only committed no crime, but he has also performed a great service."

Cao Peng smiled and did not pursue the topic, walking instead toward the stone chamber's entrance.

At that moment, Hu Ban felt as though he were walking through a dream. After a long while, he finally snapped out of it and stammered, "I... have I performed a service?"

The troops Xiahou Yuan brought this time were not numerous—only eight hundred men.

Yet these eight hundred men were the most elite and fierce warriors under his command. It wasn't that Chenliu lacked elite troops, but rather that Xiahou Yuan could not afford to act rashly.

A small band of petty bandits was simply not worth expending too much thought on.

Had Xu Yi not asked him for a favor, Xiahou Yuan might not have even bothered with Lei Xu. What truly compelled Xiahou Yuan to dispatch troops was Xu Yi’s report that Lei Xu planned to sack Yongqiu and then flee Chenliu Commandery. As the Administrator of Chenliu Commandery, Xiahou Yuan would absolute not sit idly by and watch such a thing happen. If Yongqiu were truly sacked by Lei Xu, it would be difficult for him to justify himself before Cao Cao in the future!

The imperial troops did not launch a rash assault.

Instead, amidst the thundering war drums, they steadily advanced toward the bandits' hiding place.

How could a rabble of mobsters possibly match these eight hundred elite warriors? As they fought their way forward, the bandits collapsed like mountains falling.

Lei Xu, distracted and overwhelmed, failed to promptly direct his subordinates to resist. Consequently, these bandits were left like a dragon without a head. Aside from offering initial resistance, they lost all will to fight. Hearing the war drums, everyone fled in panic, utterly daring not to engage the imperial troops head-on...

"A-Fu, look!"

Zhou Cang suddenly pointed outward.

Following the direction of Zhou Cang's finger, Cao Peng saw a group of men running in panic into the mountain basin.

"That short fellow is Lei Xu!"

Cao Peng’s eyes narrowed slightly as a sharp glint flashed through them.

Lei Xu had ties with Xue Zhou, and Xue Zhou was a notorious pirate and grand bandit of Guangling.

The chaos in Haixi was inextricably linked to Xue Zhou... If Deng Ji wished to establish a foothold in Haixi, he would inevitably have to clash with Xue Zhou.

Thus, Deng Ji faced a dilemma.

Was there someone else hidden behind Xue Zhou?

Perhaps clues could be found through Lei Xu...

Thinking of this, Cao Peng gently drew his steel saber.

"Follow Lei Xu!"

"Hmm?"

"I want to glean some information about Xue Zhou from this fellow."

Zhou Cang and Xiahoulan immediately revealed expressions of realization.

Cao Peng turned his head and said to Wang Mai, "Third Brother, Tiger-head, you two stay here and wait for General Xiahou's arrival."

"Where are you going?"

"Uncle Zhou and I are going to take care of some business."

Wang Mai immediately said, "I'm going too!"

"Tiger-head, you must all stay here and not act rashly. Having too many people will easily lead to trouble... With Uncle Zhou and Xiahou here, it's more than enough to match an army of thousands. Third Brother, don't move around either. Victory is already in our hands; suffering casualties now would not be worth the gain."

"But..."

Cao Peng’s face sank. "You promised me that you would follow all my orders. This is an order!"

Wang Mai and Dian Man wanted to argue further, but their lips parted, and in the end, they accepted the command.

The three of them exchanged glances before flashing out of the stone chamber. Wang Mai and Dian Man immediately took up positions on either side of the doorway, peering outward.

"Old Seven, what the hell is A-Fu up to?"

Dian Man was somewhat displeased.

Having finally encountered a battle, he didn't even get a chance to flex his muscles.

Those bandits were too weak, failing to arouse even a shred of his interest.

Wang Mai shook his head. "I don't know, but A-Fu always plans before he acts. Since he said so, there must be a special reason."

"How about we secretly follow them?"

"No..." Wang Mai quickly waved his hand. "Didn't A-Fu say having too many of us would cause trouble?"

"But..."

"Third Brother, since we agreed, let's not mess around. You might not fully understand A-Fu's temperament yet. On the surface, he looks gentle, but deep inside he harbors a fierce tiger. If you anger him over this, he might actually fall out with you and even chase you back to Xuchang... Don't laugh, I'm serious. Back in Zhongyang Town, his physical health was far worse than it is now, but because someone bullied his mother, he led me around that person's house for a long time. When I asked him what was going on, he refused to say... In the end, he sneaked into that person's house that very night and killed him."

Dian Man fell silent.

A moment later, he said softly, "There are so many bandits outside, what if... I'm just worried that A-Fu and the others are outnumbered."

"This..."

Hearing this, Wang Mai also fell into contemplation.

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

"We'll follow them secretly!" Dian Man looked back at Hu Ban and the retainers, lowering his voice. "Just the two of us, without letting A-Fu know. If A-Fu and the others are fine, we won't show ourselves. In case of emergency... we can also lend a hand."

Wang Mai was tempted!

He was also somewhat uneasy, but because Cao Peng had spoken with such stern severity earlier, Wang Mai had reflexively agreed out of habit.

Yet what Dian Man said also made a lot of sense.

If A-Fu and the others ran into danger or met with an accident, how could he face Cao Ji's couple and Deng Ji's couple when he returned?

"We'll only follow. Unless it's an absolute last resort, we are not allowed to make a move."

Dian Man grinned broadly. "Of course! I'm also afraid... bah, I'm his third brother, I'm not afraid of that fellow!"

Cao Peng, Zhou Cang, and Xiahoulan followed Lei Xu and his men into the large stone cavern hall.

"Commander, the imperial troops are already approaching, what should we do?"

A bandit asked with panic and anxiety.

Lei Xu was silent for a moment. "We're leaving this place immediately."

"What about the brothers outside?"

"At a time like this, who has time to care about them... Let them stall the imperial troops; that will buy us some time. Hurry up and pack, take everything that is easy to carry and valuable... Leifang, go get those sets of armor. Let's change into the imperial troops' armor and escape amidst the chaos! Everyone hurry up, if someone discovers us, it won't be easy to leave!"

The personal guards immediately split up to carry out the orders.

The bandit named Leifang led two men to carry a chest out from the corner of the hall.

Opening it, the interior was filled with imperial armor. Presumably items Lei Xu had acquired previously, Leifang took out a set and handed it to Lei Xu.

Lei Xu did not refuse and immediately changed into the armor.

Afterward, he dug out a box from his stone couch, wrapped it in cloth, and slung it over his shoulder.

"Leifang, is everything prepared?"

"Commander, everything is ready!"

"Let's move!"

Lei Xu did not hesitate or drag his feet in his actions.

As for his subordinate bandits, in his eyes, they were not worth a second glance.

The group hurried outward. After exchanging glances with Zhou Cang and Xiahoulan, Cao Peng nodded in unison with them.

"Lei Xu, dressed in that attire, could it be that you're defecting to the imperial troops?"

Zhou Cang stepped out from the shadows, blocking the path of Lei Xu and his men.

Lei Xu was startled at first, but upon recognizing Zhou Cang, a ferocious expression instantly appeared on his face.

"Zhou Cang!"

He roared loudly, "We have no grievance in the past and no enmity in recent days, why are you trying to harm me?"

Zhou Cang laughed heartily, "Lei Xu, a true man born in this world should rely on the blade in his palm to establish legendary achievements; how can he live as a bandit for life?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ha, what could I mean? I merely wish to borrow something from you."

"What thing?"

Lei Xu was clearly a man who knew how to bend and stretch, and he understood that the current situation was unsuited for entanglements with Zhou Cang.

Zhou Cang smiled, "I wish to borrow your head to present to my young master."

Lei Xu was taken aback upon hearing this.

Judging by Zhou Cang's tone, it seemed he had defected to some major figure! Perhaps even the scion of a prominent noble clan. However, he had no mind to quibble over that now, and gritted his teeth, "Zhou Cang, how dare you mock me so? Do you take me, Lei Xu, for a pushover?"

"Whether you're a pushover or not, we'll find out after a fight... Hand over your head!"

Zhou Cang roared and lunged forward.

Lei Xu shouted sternly, "Kill him!"

Leifang did not hesitate, leading his men to charge at Zhou Cang. At that exact moment, a figure fiercely darted out from the shadows. Xiahoulan thrust his spear forward, his twelve-foot silver spear spinning in his hand as he stabbed viciously toward Leifang. Leifang had not expected Zhou Cang to have reinforcements, and he knew Hu Ban's meager skills posed no threat, so he hadn't paid attention. He swung his saber back in a counter-slash.

"Leifang, watch out!"

Lei Xu shouted a warning, but... his warning came too late!

Xiahoulan's martial prowess was now only a fraction inferior to Zhou Cang's.

Furthermore, his spear was long and his strength formidable. Clashing with Leifang's heavy saber with a loud clang, he knocked Leifang's blade aside.

The silver spear paused slightly before stabbing forward viciously.

Leifang was struck with alarm, hurriedly taking a step back to evade the blow.

What a display from Xiahoulan! His footwork suddenly became agile, accelerating fiercely. Taking a single step forward, he shifted the silver spear from a two-handed grip to a single-handed hold. Thrusting his body forward with one foot planted and the other raised, the reach of the silver spear instantly increased.

It all happened in a split second; Leifang was too late to dodge!

With a soft thud, the great spear pierced through Leifang's chest. Xiahoulan remained unhurried, sliding a step forward as his other hand gripped the shaft again. Following his combat form, he twisted his hands in a yin-yang grip, flicked Leifang's corpse away, and prepared to continue fighting. At that very moment, Lei Xu suddenly made his move. Pulling out his double hook swords and gripping them with both hands, he broke into a rapid, short-stepped charge—small paces, yet blazing speed.

"Return my brother's life!"

Shouting, Lei Xu lunged forward, his hook swords slashing viciously toward Xiahoulan.

Yet the instant he swung his swords, a shadow flashed in the corner of his eye, followed closely by a bone-chilling aura striking from the back of his head...

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