Chapter 24: Etiquette Requires Reciprocity

  In a short while, the news of Liu Xuan's victory over Cai Jin with one sword spread throughout Xiangyang City, making this unknown young man an overnight sensation and the focus of attention for all in Xiangyang. The streets were abuzz with talk of the thrilling battle between Liu and Cai.

  At the end of Han Dynasty, this battle made Liu Jue's name rise to fame overnight. He became a young hero known throughout Xiangyang and even the entire Jingzhou province.

  But some people are happy and others worry. This time Cai Jin was defeated, the ones who suffered the greatest blow besides the Cai family were Liu Zhuang.

  This duel was his instigation from the beginning, but he did not expect that the duel would become more and more intense in the end, nor did he expect that Cai Jin would lose and make Liu Xuan's reputation.

  But Liu Zhuang was more afraid that the truth of this matter would be exposed by the Cai family, and if his father found out, he would be in big trouble.

  Liu Zhuang felt both regretful and fearful in his heart, as soon as the sword fight ended, he hastily ran back home, locked himself in the study room, only then did his heart slightly calm down.

  He lay on the mat, propping his head with his hand, staring at the roof and thinking wildly. Actually, he was more worried about Mrs. Cai's side. Mrs. Cai had asked him to come up with a way to get the sword into her hands, now how could he explain this?

  Fortunately, Mrs. Cai did not know about the matter of comparing swords, otherwise as soon as he returned, those venomous maids would have already informed him.

  For the past two days, Liu Zhuang had been tormented by this sword and was exhausted. He lay down for a while, his consciousness began to blur, he was about to fall asleep when suddenly, from outside the courtyard came the voice of his personal maid Caiyun, "Young Master, Gongzi Xuan has arrived."

  "Third Master, Second Master has just returned, please come in first! I'll report for you."

  Caiyun's voice was crisp and sweet, just like the song of the oriole. Liu Zhuang loved to listen to her voice, but at this moment, he wished he could use a rag to stuff her mouth shut. In his heart, he pleaded, please! Caiyun sister, madam, can't you say I'm not here?

  But it was no use, Caiyun was already knocking on the study door, "Young master, open the door, there's something!"

  Liu Zhuang was left with no choice but to agree: "The door isn't locked, let him come in!"

  Now he had no choice but to pretend he knew nothing about it.

  The door opened and Liu Xuan walked in. He had just returned and came to find Liu Zhuang first, not to bother him, but for another matter.

  He saw Liu Zhuang's hair was a bit messy and his eyes were sleepy, so he cupped his hands and smiled: "I'm disturbing Brother Zhuang's rest."

  Liu Zhuang was stunned in his heart. Liu Xuan actually didn't have any intention of interrogating him, did he not know that the matter of comparing swords had something to do with himself?

  Liu Zhuang suddenly had a lucky psychology in his heart, pretending to rub his nose and said in a somewhat hoarse voice: "I'm feeling a bit unwell today, so I don't want to go out. Is there anything you need, Brother Jing?"

  Liu Xuan naturally guessed that the matter of comparing swords was related to Liu Zhen, and losing would mean handing over his sword. Isn't this exactly what Liu Zhen had been carefully planning to get his hands on the Xuanyin Sword? And yet now he's pretending like he doesn't know anything.

  Although Liu Jue despised Liu Zong's character, he didn't want to have a falling out with him. After all, he was Liu Biao's son, and having a falling out would be disadvantageous for everyone.

  He took out a long sword from his waist and placed it on the table, pushing it to Liu Zhuang, smiling: "This is Cai Jin's sword, said to be given by his master, he loves it as much as his life, today he lost the sword fight, this sword belongs to me now, but I don't need a sword, so I'll give it to Brother Zhuang!"

  Liu Zhuang's face suddenly turned red, and he was returning the sword to Cai Jin with his own hands! He must have known that this matter had something to do with himself. He wanted to refuse at first, but then thought again, it's also good this way. This time, losing the sword fight, Cai Jin would certainly harbor a deep grudge against him. Returning the sword to him now could help ease their relationship a bit.

  Liu Zhuang forced a smile and hypocritically said: "This sword is Brother Jing's spoils of war, how can I have the nerve to want it?"

  Liu Jiong smiled and said: "No big deal, it's just a matter of courtesy!"

  These four words 'courtesy calls for reciprocity' suddenly reminded Liu Zhuang, and he finally understood what Liu Xuan meant. It turned out that he wanted to exchange knives with himself. Even though Liu Zhuang had a thick skin, he still felt extremely ashamed in his heart.

  From the very beginning, he had been thinking of getting the Xuan Lin sword, but in the end, he didn't get the Xuan Lin sword and instead lost Cai Jin's sword.

  Who would have thought that in the end, it was just a swap of sword for knife, only this sword is not the same as before, like a loud slap on Liu Zhuang's face.

  Liu Zhuang's face fell, and he said gloomily: "What exactly do you mean?"

  Liu Xuan also took down the Xuanlin Sword and placed it on the table, smiling faintly: "This sword is also a gift for Brother Cong."

  Liu Zhuang was stunned. He stared blankly at the Xuanlin Sword, and after a long while, he let out a deep sigh in his heart. Now that he's come to play the good guy, does he dare?

  He shook his head, "I appreciate your kindness, brother, but I think Father will be asking about this sword soon. You'd better keep it safe!"

  "Alright! Wait for me to report to Uncle Bo, then I'll give you the sword. Actually, I don't like swords, I prefer knives."

  Liu Cong thought for a moment, stood up and opened the wooden chest, took out a knife from inside and placed it in front of Liu Xuan. "As you said, brother, courtesy calls for reciprocity. I have accepted Cai Jin's sword, now please accept this knife."

  Liu Xuan picked up the knife, and it was indeed the Tianwei sword. He gently stroked the blade, sighing in his heart, this is Tianwei's sword!

  Liu Xuan picked up his knife and Xuanyin sword, stood up and bowed, "Thank you, Brother Zhuang. I'm leaving now."

  He turned and left the study room. Liu Zhuang looked at his back, feeling extremely bitter in her heart. She had known it would end like this, so why bother going around in circles?

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  On the drill ground of the Eastern Army Camp, Zhao Yun was drilling his soldiers as usual, but today he was a bit distracted. He was thinking about the sword fight on the arena today and wondering if Liu Bei would emerge victorious by now.

  People are not like plants and trees, who can be without feelings. Zhao Yun's feelings towards Liu Xun changed from gratitude to wholehearted teaching, passing on his secret martial arts manual to him. In his heart, he had long regarded Liu Xun as both a brother and a disciple.

  Liu Jiao's identity is special, and the lord does not approve of him taking Liu Jiao as a disciple. Zhao Yun can also understand this. Liu Jing Sheng is still standing guard to monitor them. If they interact too closely, it will be detrimental to both Liu Jiao and the lord.

  That child is naturally talented and a great martial arts prodigy. He really doesn't want to give up, if not, he can only be both a teacher and an older brother, teaching him with all his might.

  Zhao Yun let out a low sigh, just then, a soldier shouted: "The lord has arrived!"

  Zhoa Yun turned his head and saw Lord Cao and Sun Qian hurrying towards him. Sun Qian had gone to watch the sword fight, and Zhao Yun's heart suddenly lit up with a glimmer of hope. He hastily stepped forward on one knee and said, "Greetings, my lord!"

  Liu Bei hastily helped him up and reproached: "Zilong, didn't I tell you not to make any more bows? Why are you still doing this?"

  Zhao Yun sighed with a bitter smile, "I'm used to it."

  His eyes turned to Sun Qian again, with an expectation that could not be concealed in his eyes. Sun Qian smiled slightly, "Is Zilong so lacking in confidence?"

  "I just taught him for too short a time, I'm afraid he doesn't have enough experience, after all the other party has been learning from Wen Pian for ten years."

  His will is comparable to Cai Jin's stubbornness, the two confronted each other for a moment, and in the end it was Cai Jin who couldn't hold back his breath, defeated by one sword, even I, a scholar, can see that Gongzi's will is extraordinary.

  "Has he won?" Zhao Yun's face broke into a smile, his tightly wound heart finally relaxing.

  Liu Bei had something else on his mind and it wasn't about comparing swords. "Zilong, I have something to talk to you about."

  Zhao Yun felt he had been slow in serving his lord and hastily bowed his head saying: "Please instruct me, my lord."

  Liu Bei pointed to the side, and the three of them walked slowly along the edge of the training ground. "It's like this, I heard that Zhang Wu and Chen Sun are plotting a rebellion in Jiangxia. I plan to discuss it with Jing Sheng and lead the troops to quell the rebellion myself, but I estimate that even if he agrees, he won't give me elite soldiers. The key still lies in our own military strength...".

  Zhao Yun understood his lord's concern and smiled slightly. "If we encounter Cao's army again now, if our forces are equal, we won't lose."

  Liu Bei was overjoyed when he heard this, "Guan Yu and Zhang Fei also said the same thing, I was worried that they were just comforting me, but with you saying so, I can rest assured."

  "Is Zhang Fei's arrow wound getting better?" Liu Bei asked with concern after a while.

  "It's all right!"

  Zhoa Yun swung his arm and smiled: "If we encounter Cao's army, we can still kill them all without leaving a single piece of armor."

  At this time, Liu Bei changed the subject and returned to his true purpose for finding Zhao Yun today. He smiled, "I think Master Jing is not quite like a noble son, didn't you feel it, Zilong?"

  Zhao Yun shook his head, "I don't know what a young master from a noble family should be like, I'm afraid I can't answer your question, my lord."

  "But you and he have been through a lot in Runan, I think you should understand him better, or rather, understand his true nature. Zilong, do you know what I mean?" Liu Bei looked at Zhao Yun with a hint of a smile.

  Zhao Yun fell silent for a moment before saying, "I understand what you mean, milord."

  "Well, what's your view?" Liu Bei asked relentlessly.

  Zhoa Yun hesitated, biting his lips tightly as he recalled the words Shu Zu Wu Xiu had said before his death. However, Zhao Yun ultimately shook his head, "My lord is worrying too much, at that time Shu Zu hadn't died yet, he entrusted me to bring back Gongzi Jing to Jingzhou, I believe Shu Zu didn't deceive me."

  Liu Bei's face showed a hint of disappointment, and his eyes flashed with displeasure, but it quickly disappeared. He smiled and said, "Actually, I was just asking casually. I still need to go find Jing Sheng and discuss the Jiangxia matter. Alright! You continue training your troops."

  Having said that, Liu Bei turned around and left. Zhao Yun gazed at his lord's back, and couldn't help but let out a deep sigh in his heart.

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  Today's matter of the sword, Liu Biao actually also had some hearsay, although he was also very interested, but he didn't go to the sword platform. If he appeared on the sword platform, it would be unfair to Cai Jin.

  In the government office, Kuai Yue detailedly told Liu Biao about today's sword fight process. Kuai Yue also felt emotional, "I want to congratulate my lord, Jingzhou has gained another good general. From what I observed, although Lord Xun is a young man, his mind is more mature than an adult. His calmness even made Han Sheng feel inferior. My lord, this is the talent of a commander!"

  Liu Biao's eyes narrowed into a smile, tigers rely on close brothers to fight, and the army is still father-son soldiers. What he hopes most is that his family can produce talents, replace him in battle, and make him no longer be controlled by the Jingzhou aristocracy. Unfortunately, his current sons and nephews are too disappointing.

  However, Liu Xuan's arrival brought him a glimmer of hope. On the first day, Liu Xuan's performance made him look at him with new eyes, and Kuai Yue and Huang Zhong's praise further solidified his confidence.

  At this time, Kuai Yue said in a low voice: "However, I have one more thing to say, and I hope it will attract the attention of the lord."

  "You said!"

  Just as Kuai Yue was about to speak, a guard reported at the door, "Report to Your Excellency, Liu Xiong has an urgent matter and requests an audience."

  Kuai Yue's thoughts turned, and the words that had just reached her lips were swallowed back, her slightly excited gaze becoming calm. "Actually, it's nothing, I just hope Master will properly cultivate Gongzi Xuan!"

  He originally wanted to say, be careful not to let Liu Jingsheng and Liu Bei get too close, but at the critical moment, Liu Bei's request made Kuai Yue change his mind again. Liu Jingsheng and Liu Bei came and went, perhaps it was not a bad thing for Jingzhou either.

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