Chapter 22: The Struggle Between the Front and Back Stages

  In the quiet room of Cai's Sword Pavilion, Cai Jin held a sharp ring-handled knife with both hands, staring intently at a wooden dummy in front of him. He seemed somewhat tense, his hand slightly trembling.

  Tomorrow is the day of the sword fight, he didn't expect that Cai's family would deliberately publicize it, making a big fuss, so that a small sword fight became a major event that attracted attention from all over the city.

  Cai Jin understood the host's intention, being injured by a sword was a normal thing, as long as he himself was injured by Liu Xiu in a fair and upright sword fight, Liu Biao would have nothing to say.

  With this, Cai Jin felt a huge pressure on his shoulders. What if he lost tomorrow? The reputation he had accumulated over the years, his title as the number one young master of Jingyang, would all be destroyed in an instant.

  Cai Jin felt his lips dry and the wooden man in front of him seemed to have turned into iron, this knife he couldn't chop down.

  Just then, a cold voice came from behind, "If your hand shakes again, go admit defeat! Don't compare swords anymore."

  Cai Jin lowered his head, turned around and knelt down, "Master!"

  A man of about thirty years old appeared at the door, tall and thin, with broad shoulders, a pair of eyes that were especially piercing, as if they had seen through Cai Jin's thoughts.

  This man is Wen Ping, the Zhonglang General, a famous general of Jingzhou. He was ordered by Liu Biao to garrison Fan City and Xinye. He was strict and upright, self-disciplined and clean, with great prestige in the army of Jingzhou. He was also Cai Xun's teacher.

  Wen Ping slowly walked forward, sneering, "Are you worried that losing will affect your reputation?"

  "Yes!" Cai Jin dared not raise his head and responded in a low voice.

  "I don't understand, what kind of reputation do you have? Are you the world's number one fierce general, on par with Lü Bu, or are you a famous general like Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun? Tell me, what kind of reputation do you have?"

  Cai Jin's face turned bright red with shame, he understood his master's sarcasm, what was the number one young master of Jing Xiang?

  Wen Ping's severe expression faded, and a warm smile reappeared on his face. His tone became gentle, "If I'm not mistaken, you were given the title of the number one young master of Jing Xiang when you were twelve years old, right?"

  "Yes! At the age of twelve, he defeated more than thirty people from seven sword schools and earned this title."

  "But now you're already sixteen years old, are you still going to carry this title until you're twenty?"

  Wen Pin's words were like a sudden enlightenment, Cai Jin's whole body shook, and he finally understood his master's kindness. If he didn't abandon the title of young master, he would never be able to grow up.

  "Disciple understood, disciple is now nothing, just an unknown young general, disciple will step by step become a famous general of Jingzhou, and like Master, become a man who stands tall and proud."

  Wen Ping nodded his head in satisfaction, this apprentice was very understanding and did not disappoint him. He said: "Know yourself and know your enemy, then you can win every battle. I don't understand Liu Xuan's martial arts skills, but I know he learned from Zhao Yun."

  Cai Jin was shocked, "He is... Zhao Yun's disciple?"

  "He is not Zhao Yun's apprentice, and he has not known Zhao Yun for a long time. He just got some guidance from Zhao Yun, but in any case, since Zhao Yun agreed to let him compete with you in swordsmanship, it means that this Liu Xuan also has his own strengths. You must not underestimate him even a little bit."

  At this point, Wenpin's eyes also showed a hint of expectation. He pressed down on Cai Jin's shoulder and gazed into his eyes, saying slowly: "I hope you can defeat him and let Zhao Yun understand that Jingzhou is not without its master."

  "The apprentice understands!"

  Cai Jin stood up, also becoming calm, his hands high and holding the knife, gathering strength in his arm, suddenly a knife chopped out, 'Ka Cha!' sound, the wooden man was cut into two segments by the sharp war knife.

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  Jian Tai is located in the northwest of Xiangyang City, close to the city wall. This is where famous swordsmen and guests come to compete with swords. Jian Tai covers an area of dozens of hectares, is two zhang high, and has a shape similar to the base of a pyramid. The top of the platform is spacious and flat, equivalent in size to three basketball courts in later generations.

  The appointed time was at 10:00 am sharp. Through the deliberate publicity of the Cai family, the news that Liu Xuan and Cai Jin were going to have a sword fight had already spread throughout Xiangyang City, attracting the attention of countless people. Before dawn, many onlookers arrived one after another to watch the excitement.

  At this time, the two sides of the sword platform were already crowded with thousands of people, mostly scholars and students from various sword schools in Jingzhou. Moreover, the trees around the sword platform were also filled with onlookers.

  On the open space in front of the sword platform, a dozen or so seats were arranged for some famous people from Jingzhou to sit. Liu Biao and Cai Mao did not come, and among all the civil officials in Jingzhou, only Kuai Yue came. Kuai Yue was also a good swordsman, and he came to watch this sword fight as a private individual.

  Liu Zong also came, along with a dozen or so Jingzhou generals, including Wen Ping. On Liu Bei's side, two people came, namely Sun Qian and Mi Fang, both of whom were present in their personal capacities.

  More than thirty members of the Cai family arrived, almost all of whom were students of the Cai Sword Pavilion. They gathered in the northwest corner, and at the very front was a young girl who was the behind-the-scenes protagonist of this sword fight, Cai Shaoyu.

  She wore a pale green jacket with crimson pleats, a silver sash around her waist, and a double braid on her head. Her face was lovely, but her eyes were very cold, casting a sideways glance at Liu Xuan, with a hint of disdain in her gaze.

  Her cousin, Cai Jin, had always been the master swordsman she admired. In her eyes, he was a perfect man. But that rough guy didn't know his place and actually wanted to compare swords with her own cousin. Just wait and see how he would lose face, see if he still dared to hold onto the Xuan Lin sword. Did he think that just because he possessed the Xuan Lin sword, she would marry him? Dream on!

  Liu Zhuang sat not far away, his eyes never leaving Cai Shao Yu. At this moment, he was more nervous than anyone else. This matter was initiated by him, and he originally only wanted to invite three or five people to the outskirts of the city, quietly compare swords, and then Xuan Lin would silently fall into his hands. Liu Zhuang, for the sake of face, wouldn't make a sound either.

  Who would have thought that it would cause such a big stir, and it was known to everyone in the city. Tens of thousands of people came to watch the battle, including Kuai Yue, Wang Wei, Huang Zhong and others. Father naturally also knew about it. In this case, what's the point of getting the Xuanlin Sword?

  Liu Cong had liked Cai Shaoyue since childhood and considered her his future wife. He thought it was a match made in heaven, but he didn't expect that his father did not want to marry Shaoyue as his daughter-in-law, which made Liu Cong feel extremely distressed.

  Liu Zhuang couldn't help but secretly glance at Cai Shao Yu again, seeing the beautiful woman's lovely and elegant appearance, his heart felt even more lost, he let out a long sigh, feeling both regretful and annoyed in his heart, really shouldn't have come up with this idea of competing swords.

  In the middle of the seat was a small table, with one person sitting on either side. On the left was Wei Wang, and on the right was Huang Zhong, the Central Lang General.

  Wang Wei was the commander of Liu Biao's personal bodyguard, and one of Liu Biao's most trusted generals. Wang Wei was extremely loyal to Liu Biao and held a high position in Jing Province, even surpassing Huang Zhong.

  Huang Zhong was also a famous general of Jingzhou. He came from the Huang family, one of the four major families in Jingzhou. However, the Huang family had two branches: one in Jiangxia, represented by Huang Zu, the governor of Jiangxia, and the other in Nanyang, represented by the scholar Huang Chengyan. Huang Zhong belonged to the Nanyang branch of the Huang family.

  Huang Zhong has been in the army for over twenty years, from his youth to now, he is already over fifty years old. He remains unknown and obscure, mainly due to being suppressed by Cai Mao and Huang Zu, which made him, despite holding the position of Central Lang General, never gain Liu Biao's trust.

  However, he has a high prestige in the military, and this time it is up to him and Wang Wei to act as intermediaries.

  "General Wang, I find it a bit strange. Two children competing with swords have caused such a big commotion. Is it necessary?" Huang Zhong said in a low voice, frowning at Wang Wei.

  Wang Wei coldly laughed without revealing his emotions, "Han Sheng, someone wants to make a big deal out of this, haven't you noticed?"

  Huang Zhong seemed to have come to his senses, turned around and looked at a group of Cai family juniors. He discovered a strange phenomenon - more than thirty Cai family juniors had arrived, but not one of the Cai family elders was present.

  Huang Zhong smiled bitterly and shook his head. He really didn't understand why the Cai family attached so much importance to this sword fight. Even if they did, there was no need to make such a big fuss about it that everyone in the city knew.

  At this time, Wang Wei looked at the hourglass and was about to reach the time, so he said to Huang Zhong: "Get ready to start!"

  Huang Zhong nodded, picked up the small silver hammer and struck the copper bell on the table a few times. "Ding!" A crisp sound rang out. The sword bearer shouted loudly: "The time is approaching, swordsmen get ready!"

  The two protagonists of the duel have arrived, Cai Jin holding a long sword in both hands, standing five zhang away, with the blade pressed against his forehead, his eyes fixed intently on Liu Xuan, his killing intent chilling.

  Liu Xuan slowly retreated, feeling the autumn grass and earth beneath his feet. He suddenly drew his sword and slashed out three times in all directions, sensing the effect of the wind on his blade. Closing his eyes, he focused his mind to sense the position of the sword platform.

  This was the subtlety he gradually became aware of after practicing Zhao Yun's Luofeng Gongfa, and only then could the power he emitted be grasped with precision.

  Wen Ping's expression changed slightly on his seat, he was a master of swordsmanship, and he saw that Liu Xiu was actually experiencing the wind speed and footwork, this is not something that ordinary swordsmen need to consider, only those who possess exquisite swordsmanship would consider such details.

  He suddenly became worried in his heart, this Liu Xuan was obviously a strong opponent, he only hoped that his apprentice Cai Jin would not underestimate the enemy.

  "Han Sheng, let's start!" Wang Wei whispered to Huang Zhong.

  Huang Zhong, however, seemed a bit distracted. He stroked his long beard, gazing intently at Liu Xun. He felt that this kid was somewhat unusual. In the face of Cai Jin's icy killing intent, he remained calm and composed, without a hint of tension or any murderous aura, as if it were his first time engaging in a sword fight with someone.

  But Huang Zhong had decades of military experience, his eyes were extremely discerning, he saw that Liu Jing's every move was very methodical, absolutely not a novice, but rather like a seasoned warrior, this person could actually restrain his killing aura, Huang Zhong's interest became even more intense.

  "Han Sheng, it's time, let's begin!" Wang Wei reminded him once again.

  Huang Zhong heard this time, he nodded and struck the copper bell heavily with a small silver hammer. With a clear ring of the bell, the host shouted loudly: "The sword fight begins!"

  The noisy crowd around suddenly fell silent, and thousands of excited eyes were fixed on the two young swordsmen in the arena.

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