Chapter 67: Testing the Blade in the Bamboo Forest

  Caijiacun Village is located in the northwest of Xiangyang City, and it is the gathering place of the Cai family clan. There are more than 200 households, almost all of whom have the surname Cai, either closely or distantly related to Cai Mao.

  At noon, Cai Mao led a dozen or so attendants on horseback to the Cai family village. He seemed somewhat preoccupied and only responded perfunctorily as clansmen greeted him along the way.

  He soon arrived at the main mansion of the Cai family, which was a large mansion covering nearly 100 acres and was also the main residence of the Cai family. Most of Cai Mao's relatives lived in this mansion, including several uncles and more than ten nephews, but today Cai Mao came to find his second uncle, Cai Xun.

  Cai Man walked all the way into the house and came to a quiet small courtyard in the backyard, where the gate was half closed. Cai Man carefully pushed open the door and saw his second uncle, Cai Xun, sitting in the corner of the yard, using a small hammer to break up clods of mud on a piece of board.

  "Second Uncle!"

  Cai Man softly called out, Cai Xun slowly lifted his head, seeing it was Cai Man, he found it somewhat strange, and smiled as he asked: "Didn't you say you were going back to Xiangyang yesterday afternoon? Why have you come back?"

  "I report back to Uncle, something has happened and I am a bit troubled in my heart, I humbly request Second Uncle's guidance."

  "So tell me, what happened?"

  Cai Man sighed and then told Zhang Yun about the matter of Huo Zan's dismissal in detail, finally saying: "I didn't expect this result either. Demotion, suspension of salary, and even being stripped of his troops - the appointment of a state pastor is quite unexpected."

  Cai Xun furrowed his brow, "Zhang Yun is also a very astute person, how could he do something so foolish, daring to set fire to the You Jiao Temple, what face will Xiangyang Prefecture have left?"

  "Zhang Yun was eager to kill Gan Ning, but his nephew thought that the fire burning down Youzhou was not Zhang Yun's doing."

  "Are you saying this is a desperate plan of Liu Bei's nephew?"

  "That's right! Nephew thinks Zhang Yunzhong has actually been tricked."

  Cai Xun nodded, "It can't be seen that this young man is quite bold and resourceful. He tricked Zhang Yun, set fire to the You Jiao camp, and made Zhang Yun lose face. Liu Biao has such a nephew, which is beyond expectation."

  "That Liu Xuan really has a way, Gan Ning's private sale of military slaves was completely covered up by him." Cai Mao again told the story of how Liu Xuan handled the military slaves.

  Cai Xun's face turned solemn, a young boy was actually able to manipulate the county government and the Tao family, this is not simple!

  After a while, Cai Xun asked: "What can I do for you?"

  "In fact, my nephew also has a way to investigate the truth about the fire at the patrol station. As long as he can find other soldiers who were on duty that night, he will know whether Liu Jiong had set up the incendiary device beforehand or not. It's just that my nephew is unsure if he should do this and is very hesitant, so he has come to ask for your advice, Second Uncle."

  "Why do you want to find out the truth?" Cai Xun asked him with a gaze.

  "Nephew thought, this is a good opportunity to win over Zhang Yun."

  "Good opportunity?"

  Cai Xun sneered, "Can you think of it? Can't Liu Bei think of it either? Why didn't he investigate? Wise nephew, I'm not saying you're wrong, but actually, you still haven't seen where the problem lies?"

  "My nephew also has some feelings, Zhou Mu is just making an excuse to punish, burning down the Yu Jiao Temple was not Zhang Yun's intention, it was just a fire caused by chaos, demotion and suspension of salary are enough, but to deprive him of his post, this is too severe."

  "The issue lies right here, didn't you say that Zhang Yun led over a thousand troops to besiege Fengyi Pavilion Station the night before?"

  "It's true!"

  Cai Mao understood, "Second Uncle's meaning is that this matter actually angered Liu Biao, so Liu Biao took the opportunity to strip Zhang Yun of his troops."

  Cai Xun nodded, "That's right. What kind of person is Liu Jing Sheng? He dared to use the troops without his order. Can he tolerate it? He is the real big strategist. He allowed Zhang Yun to send troops, probably also with ulterior motives. Do you understand?"

  Cai Mao wiped the sweat from his forehead, "Nephew somewhat understands, Liu Biao wants to use this matter to warn the officials of Jingzhou, mobilizing troops must be agreed by him, even if it's a close nephew."

  Cai Xun smiled with narrowed eyes. His nephew wasn't stupid after all, able to understand his meaning. "Since you understand, you know what to do, no need for me to say more."

  "This matter has nothing to do with my nephew."

  At this time, Cai Xun thought of something and reminded Cai Nuo: "That Liu Cong was able to rush out 500 slave contracts overnight, which must be the secret help of Kuai Yue. It seems that the Kuai family attaches great importance to this person. You can also try to win him over. If he doesn't know how to cherish it, then the Cai family will have to pay attention to him and use all means to suppress him. Don't give him a chance to get ahead, understand?"

  Cai Mao was somewhat reluctant about this matter, but he didn't dare to refuse, so he could only ambiguously agree, "Nephew understands!"

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  Liu Xuan rushed back to Fan City in the afternoon, but he did not return home. Instead, he went to the temporary rental place of You Jiao Suo, which was not far from the burned-out You Jiao Suo. It was an empty civilian house with an area of about three mu, close to the civil wharf.

  At this time, the tens of thousands of onlookers who had gathered to watch the tax office burn down had already dispersed. Although it was still a focus of attention, the venue for discussion had shifted from outside the city to inside. There were no longer any onlookers standing next to the burned-out tax office, only a dozen or so soldiers clearing away some unburned documents and goods in the ruins.

  Liu Xuan unexpectedly discovered Zhao Yun, who was standing on the dock in front of the Yuansuo, holding a horse and gazing worriedly at a burnt-out ruin. A warm feeling surged up in Liu Xuan's heart as he realized that Zhao Yun was concerned about him and had rushed to visit him specially.

  "Brother Zi Long!"

  Liu Jue shouted loudly and urged his horse to rush forward. Zhao Yun also saw him, a smile spreading across his face. He had accompanied Lord Liu Bei to Xiangyang for the New Year's celebration in Xiangyang, and only learned about You Zhou's situation at noon. Feeling uneasy, he came over to visit after crossing the river.

  "Your soldier said you weren't here, I was just about to leave!"

  Zhao Yun stepped forward, looking Liu Xun up and down, seeing that he was not injured in any way, his heart finally put at ease. "I heard that Zhang Yun led three thousand troops to surround you, we were all worried that something would happen to you."

  Liu Xuan dismounted and smiled: "Even if Zhang Yun had a hundred times more courage, he wouldn't dare hurt me. Big brother doesn't need to worry."

  Zhao Yun shook his head, "Today was just your good luck. In the chaos of war, even if Zhang Yun didn't want to kill you, it's hard to guarantee that his subordinates would absolutely follow orders. It's easy to get mistakenly injured, just like how Zhang Yun didn't want to burn down the Yuansuo Temple, but his men did it anyway. What can I say? One mustn't be too reckless."

  Liu Xuan didn't dare say that the fire was his own doing, fearing it would affect Zhao Yun's impression of him. He scratched his head and smiled, changing the subject, "Yu Zhenren has returned, did you know?"

  "I know that Master specially passed through Xin Ye to tell me about your affairs, and asked me to continue guiding you, as well as supervising you to prevent you from being lazy and neglecting your duties."

  Zhao Yun couldn't help but laugh and said: "Be honest with me, have you been lazy for the past half month? Have you persisted in training every day?"

  "Big brother looks down on me too much, am I that kind of person without willpower?" Liu Xuan shouted with a somewhat exaggerated expression.

  "It's hard to say, I'll prove it myself."

  Zhao Yun patted his shoulder and smiled: "Find a quiet place, let's practice."

  Liu Xuan was overjoyed in his heart, he had made tremendous progress during this period of time and had been itching to practice with Zhao Yun for a long while, to verify his own martial arts skills. Since Zhao Yun took the initiative, he naturally agreed with great enthusiasm.

  He pointed to a bamboo forest in the northeast direction, "There is a clearing in the bamboo forest that is very quiet and secluded, we can go there."

  Liu Xuan was about to leave with his horse, but then he saw Liu Hu beside him, staring at himself with eager eyes. Suddenly, Liu Xuan remembered something - the matter of Liu Hu learning martial arts. He couldn't hide it from Zhao Yun anymore. After a moment's hesitation, Liu Xuan pointed at Liu Hu and said to Zhao Yun: "This is my cousin Liu Hu, who follows me and does things for me. I trust him completely, and he's also very skilled in martial arts. Can you let him watch?"

  Zhao Yun understood Liu Xuan's intention. Although Yu Zhengzi did not accept Liu Xuan as his apprentice, he taught him wholeheartedly and ordered Zhao Yun to pass on the true "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" spear technique to Liu Xuan.

  Zhao Yun already regarded Liu Xuan as his junior brother, even as his own brother. His greatest wish was to let Liu Xuan also practice the same martial arts as himself, but he had his own principles and did not want the Luofeng Gate's martial arts to be easily passed on.

  Zhoa Yun understood the implicit meaning of Liu Xuan's words, and after a moment of contemplation, he said: "If you must teach him something, I can only pretend to know nothing. However, without Master's consent, I dare not casually pass on the Luofeng Quan method and the Bai Niao Chao Feng spear. You are already an exception, I hope you understand."

  Liu Jiong understood Zhao Yun's meaning, that is, Zhao said Yun did not teach Liu Hu, but tacitly approved of his own transmission, and pretended to be unaware.

  Liu Xuan was overjoyed in his heart and hastily said: "I have a plan in mind and I absolutely dare not spread it to others at will."

  Zhao Yun nodded, "You understand, let's go!"

  Liu Xuan gave Liu Hu a signal with his eyes, and then took Zhao Yun to walk towards the bamboo forest. Liu Hu's heart was both tense and full of expectation, he led the horse to follow them from afar.

  The bamboo forest occupies a large area, with a two-acre empty space in the middle, covered with thick bamboo leaves. Zhao Yun tied up his horse, drew out his battle knife, and stared at Liu Xuan, "Use the Wind and Thunder Change your master taught you, go all out!"

  Liu Jiong slowly drew his sword, his two arms quickly gathering strength, the smooth 24-style attack technique flowing like mercury from him, gradually converging into one move.

  He let out a loud shout, rushed forward, and with a flash of cold light, slashed his sword towards Zhao Yun's shoulder. This slash was like a sudden change in the wind and thunder, with hundreds of pounds of force concentrated and bursting forth in an instant.

  Liu Hu beside him watched with a drastic change in expression, this Wind and Thunder Change he had seen over a hundred times, memorized it in his heart, but always felt it was too cumbersome, a short knife chop out, not enough time to complete the twenty-four changes.

  It wasn't until Liu Xuan's knife chopped out that he suddenly realized, Liu Xuan didn't use the twenty-four changes at all, but only one knife, yet this one knife contained all the changes, and every style of change could be found in this one knife.

  Liu Hu finally had a bit of enlightenment. These twenty-four changes were only in his mind, and there was no need to make them happen. Once he understood it thoroughly, in any situation, there would only be one knife.

  "Good!"

  Zhao Yun let out a loud cheer, slightly dodging to the left, his knife's momentum pulling Liu Xuan's speed down. He immediately counterattacked with one stroke of his knife, and the two blades clashed, "Ka Cha!" sparks flying everywhere. A powerful force sent Liu Xuan retreating two steps back, but he didn't drop his knife. With a swift swing of his battle knife, he used the Wind and Thunder Shift to turn his offense into defense, sealing off all openings, but in his defensive stance, there was still a hidden counterattack waiting to be unleashed.

  Zhao Yun, however, did not continue to attack, but instead stared blankly at Liu Xuan, his heart filled with astonishment. Not only was Liu Xuan able to withstand one of his moves, but his martial arts skills had also improved rapidly. Of course, Zhao Yun had not used his full strength, and yet the improvement was still enormous.

  What's more important is that Liu Xuan was able to innovate on his own, reversing the Wind and Thunder Change, turning an attacking knife technique into a defensive one, and it wasn't bad at all, he couldn't even find any flaws in it.

  "Is this also something your master taught you? Turning defense into offense."

  Liu Xuan shook his head, "It's my own understanding, this Wind and Thunder Change can be turned around to turn offense into defense. In fact, offense and defense are only a thought apart. In Wuchang, Guan Gong also told me the same thing."

  Zhao Yun let out a long sigh, "This move you've only practiced for half a month and yet you're able to grasp its essence, it's truly not easy. Your comprehension even surpasses mine."

  "Does big brother mean that I've made great progress?" Liu Xuan asked with a smile, but his eyes had an unmistakable glimmer of expectation.

  Zhao Yun nodded slightly, but didn't praise him. "This is normal. The master's medicinal pill can bring out the power of the dantian in a very short time, and the progress will be the fastest within three months. However, after three months, it will slow down significantly, and then it will be difficult to make a breakthrough. It takes years of hard practice to have a chance to break through. I was like that back then, and you are the same. Whether or not you can finally break through depends on your destiny."

  Liu Jiong was splashed with a basin of cold water to calm down, he nodded silently, and only through long-term training could he possibly break through.