Chapter 21: A Brief Military Book

  Cai Xun glanced at Cai Jin, who was peeking out from the gate of the courtyard, and smiled: "Is it related to Jin'er?"

  "It has something to do with him."

  Cai Mao turned around and beckoned, Cai Jin hastily walked into the courtyard, knelt down and knocked his head three times on the ground. "Grandson Cai Jin, paying respects to grandfather!"

  Cai Xun chuckled and said, "Have you gotten yourself into some kind of big trouble? Your uncle came running to me to tattle on you."

  "The young master didn't get into trouble because Second Master Zhuang asked me to do something for him, and the young master thought it was a big deal and didn't dare to agree on his own."

  Cai Jin also reported the matter of Xuanlin Sword to his grandfather one by one. Cai Xun frowned, somewhat dissatisfied, and asked Cai Mao, "Do you have to ask me about such a small thing?"

  Cai Mao hastily said: "Because nephew always feels that this Liu Xuan is not ordinary, he has a very good relationship with Liu Bei, and Jing Sheng also gave him the Xuanlin Sword, there must be deep meaning inside. In a few years, this Liu Xuan will grow up and get Jing Sheng's trust, I'm worried that Liu Bei will infiltrate into Jingzhou through him, or even he will become the master of Jingzhou, so..."

  The rest of the words were not spoken, but the meaning was clear. Cai Mao wanted to take this opportunity to eliminate Liu Xuan, a potential threat, and strangle it in its infancy.

  Cai Xun used a small hoe to slowly loosen the soil, pinching the clods of earth into pieces. After a long while, he slowly said: "After all, you are Liu Jing Sheng's nephew, don't be too excessive."

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  In Liu Jiong's small courtyard, Meng Shu sat on a small stool beside the well, washing dishes while helplessly gazing at Liu Hu, who was excitedly shouting and jumping around the courtyard like a frog, yelling that he wanted to have a sword fight with the young master.

  After all, he is an elder brother, just exchange a few pleasantries, ask about his younger brother, and then discuss the sword fight again. Even if you don't know how to make small talk or ask about someone's well-being, at least let the young master know who you are. But no, all you do is repeat the same thing over and over: "Let's have a sword fight." If he didn't recognize you himself, he would think this was a case of a bandit breaking into his house!

  However, it seemed that the young master was eager to engage in a sword fight with this foolish big fellow. The two of them didn't exchange a single word about brotherly feelings and immediately started fighting.

  Liu Hu used a dull sword that was at least five feet long and weighed twenty kilograms. Although it was a dull sword, if it hit someone's head, it would still be fatal.

  "Good swordsmanship! Now finish off the tiger with one more stroke!"

  Liu Hu's voice was hoarse from shouting, he was extremely excited, it had been a long time since someone had crossed swords with him like this, and he seemed to have endless energy, the large iron sword in his hand chopping down at Liu Jing.

  As for Liu Xuan, this was a godsend sparring partner. He desperately needed such a powerful and fierce opponent to test the effectiveness of his Luofeng Kung Fu.

  Liu Hu's great iron sword was like a stormy wave, dancing with no gaps in the wind and rain. His swordsmanship was indeed not bad, while Liu Xuan was like a small boat in the stormy waves, no matter how the big waves raged, he floated on the surface of the sea, never sinking.

  He also cut out with one sword, like a knife and like a sword, using various exquisite forces to dissolve Liu Hu's offensive, occasionally swinging out with one sword, but quickly making Liu Hu busy.

  After fighting for a good hour, Liu Hu finally became exhausted. He threw his sword aside, stretched out his legs and sat on the ground panting heavily, "No more, no more, this is really damn enjoyable!"

  Liu Jiong was indeed a bit tired, he sheathed his sword and sat down beside Liu Hu, smiling: "Brother Hu is formidable! This time I admit defeat."

  Liu Hu, although known as a martial arts fanatic, understood many things in his heart. He gave a thumbs up and praised: "You won, I don't know how many hundreds of chances you had to kill me, but you spared my life every time, unlike that Cai Dafu, who is ruthless and cruel."

  Just then, a servant appeared at the gate and bowed to report: "Young Master Jing, there is someone looking for you outside the mansion."

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  Outside the gate of Liu's mansion, two slender and tall youths were waiting on the steps. Both had serious expressions, one holding a black bamboo scroll in his hand. These two were brothers from the Cai family, one named Cai Hong and the other Cai Yuan, who came to deliver a declaration of war to Liu Xuan under the order of Cai Jin.

  The tradition of competitive sword fighting in the Han Dynasty has a long history, and martial arts are an important theme in tomb murals and stone carvings, among which images of competitive sword fighting are the most numerous.

  Regardless of social status, many people who are fond of martial arts use competitions to show their superiority. Even gentlemen enjoy competing in sword fights. In the Han Dynasty, inviting someone to a sword fight could be formal or informal, like when several friends gather together and suddenly pull out their swords to compete with each other, which is an informal form of entertainment.

  But there are also famous ones who want to decide the high and low through a sword fight, which requires a formal invitation, choosing a date, selecting an impartial person as the middleman, and the two will have a decisive battle to determine their reputation.

  It can also slow down the war and delay it for one or two years, waiting until the swordsmanship is refined before engaging in battle. A gentleman's war can wait for ten years. Delaying the war is not a problem, but keeping promises is a must.

  It's even possible to avoid fighting altogether, which is essentially admitting defeat directly. However, this approach is generally not adopted by people. Losing a sword fight means losing technique, but not necessarily losing one's dignity. If one admits defeat directly, then they are truly defeated.

  Today, Cai Jin was formally invited to battle. The black bamboo slip held by Cai Hong was the war slip. At this time, Liu Jing and Liu Hu rushed out of the mansion, and Cai Hong stepped forward and saluted, "Is it Master Jing?"

  Liu Xuan didn't know what had happened and nodded, "I am!"

  Cai Hong brought the letter and read it out loud: "Xiangyang Cai Jin has heard that your swordsmanship is extraordinary, and he wishes to meet you with swords. On the next day at noon, at the Sword Testing Platform north of the city, Cai Jin awaits your esteemed presence."

  Liu Jiong was stunned. He had heard the name Cai Jin mentioned by Liu Hu earlier, how could he be mysteriously invited to a martial arts competition?

  Next to him, Liu Hu's face turned pale and he quickly pulled Liu Xuan aside, saying in a low voice: "This Cai Jin is the nephew of Cai Mao, the disciple of Wen Ping, ruthless and cunning. Among the younger generation, no one can match him. You can slow down and put off the battle for two or three years."

  Liu Xuan heard that he was a disciple of Wen Pin, and suddenly became interested in his heart, smiling: "What if I want to fight back?"

  Liu Hu gazed at Liu Xuan, seeing that he was not joking, and could only sigh, "If you want to respond to the battle, just accept the challenge letter."

  Liu Xuan walked forward and accepted the letter of challenge. He smiled slightly and said, "Please inform Cai Gongzi that I am willing to befriend him with a sword."

  Cai Hong was overjoyed, "It's settled then. Two days from now, at noon, the Sword Testing Platform in the north of the city."

  "It's settled in one word!"

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  The next morning, Liu Xuan came to the East Camp again. The soldiers guarding the camp all recognized him and smiled: "Is Master Xuan here to find General Zhao?"

  "Exactly! Is General Zhao here?"

  "Please wait a moment, young master!"

  The soldier rushed into the camp to report, and soon Zhao Yun came out quickly, laughing from a distance: "I was thinking that you should come to find me, and you really did."

  Liu Xuan was shocked, "Brother knew I was coming?"

  Zhoa Yun nodded and smiled: "The news of your sword fight with Cai Mao's nephew has spread throughout the city, how would I not know?"

  Liu Jiong scratched his head, smiling awkwardly: "I don't know myself, I don't know others, my heart is really uncertain, so I came to brother's place to sharpen my sword again."

  Zhao Yun burst out laughing and put his arm around his shoulder as they walked towards the main camp.

  "Is your brother injured?"

  Zhao Yun swung his arm and smiled: "Fully recovered, no impact at all."

  Liu Jue's heart was put at ease, he feared that the arrow wound would affect Zhao Yun's martial arts skills, but it didn't, which is the best outcome.

  Two people arrived at the training ground, Zhao Yun picked up a knife and threw it to Liu Xuan, "Let's do it again!"

  "But... I had agreed with him to a duel."

  Zhao Yun shook his head and said solemnly: "Don't be limited by the weapon, a knife is a sword, a sword is a knife, use it as you wish."

  Liu Xuan somewhat understood, the essence of Zhao Yun's martial arts was not in his weapon, but in his strength. He slowly raised his knife, his eyes fixed on Zhao Yun, his power accumulating without being released.

  Zhao Yun saw that Liu Xuan had completely lost the fierce and menacing aura he had last time, and instead became subtle and restrained. In his heart, Zhao Yun couldn't help but secretly admire him, thinking to himself that this brother of his was truly a rare talent! He was able to suppress his killing intent in just a short month's time.

  He was deeply impressed in his heart, but unfortunately, the master did not allow him to accept apprentices. Otherwise, having such an apprentice would also make him feel content and satisfied.

  "Come on!"

  Zhao Yun gave a low shout, and Liu Xun suddenly sprang into action, killing his way forward like lightning. His entire body's strength was concentrated in the blade of his sword as he met the enemy head-on with a single slash, "Whoosh!" A powerful gust of wind shot out.

  Even Zhao Yun felt the chill of the blade's edge, this knife was not easy to receive, he secretly called out "good", and retreated a step back, the knife slanted and chopped upwards, only to see "Ka!" A loud noise, a great force pushed forward, Liu Jue retreated two steps in a row, but stabilized himself, the knife also didn't leave his hand.

  "Not bad, great progress!"

  Zhoa Yun struck again with a horizontal slash, exactly the same as before. But this time, in Liu Xuan's eyes, Zhoa Yun's knife seemed to slow down. He clearly saw the accelerating trajectory of Zhoa Yun's knife and his own knife also accelerated. Another ear-piercing sound, the two knives collided, and he actually withstood Zhoa Yun's fatal blow.

  Zhao Yun's eyes also showed a look of astonishment, impossible! Only one month, how could he have done it?

  In a flash of inspiration, Zhao Yun let out a loud cry, "Fly!" Turning his spear into a whip, he engaged in a test of strength with Liu Jing. The immense force sent Liu's sword flying out of his hand, and with one kick, Zhao Yun sent him tumbling over a dozen feet away.

  Liu Jiong slowly sat up, his heart filled with despair. Zhao Yun slowly walked to his side and squatted down, smiling: "Is it that you feel the difference is too great?"

  Liu Jiong nodded silently, he had been practicing hard for a month and felt that he had already grasped some of the essence of knife skills, he was very confident in his heart, but unexpectedly still lost so badly, he let out a long sigh.

  Zhoa Yun smiled and said: "Your knife skills have advanced at an incredible pace, even I find it unbelievable. In fact, you can withstand my five rounds."

  "But in fact, I only blocked your one move." Liu Jiong sighed.

  "What's the reason?"

  Zhao Yun gazed into Liu Xuan's eyes and said, "You could have clearly exchanged five rounds with me, so why did you lose after only one round? What was the reason?"

  Liu Xuan thought for a moment, "I think it's because of the power, my power is too weak."

  "It's exactly like that, your sword only has thirty pounds of force, while mine has one hundred and twenty pounds of force, a difference of four times, how can you withstand it?"

  "What can I do to increase my strength?" Liu Xuan looked at Zhao Yun with a hopeful face.

  Zhao Yun smiled slightly, "This can be discussed later, for now we need to focus on tomorrow's sword match. I wouldn't want you to lose to Wen Ping's disciple."

  He patted Liu Xuan's back and shouted loudly: "Get up!"

  Liu Jue sprang up, holding a knife in his hand, staring at Zhao Yun with sharp eyes, shouting loudly and slashing down fiercely.

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