Chapter 37: The Young Girl Hostage

  The young man saw Liu Jing's ferocious appearance, his murderous intent was palpable, a sharp dagger pressed against his sister's neck, he was both angry and flustered, but had no way to cope.

  After a standoff for a moment, the young man was helpless and had to give in. He glared fiercely at Liu Xuan and ordered his men, "All of you, move aside!"

  The crowd dispersed, making way for the tavern's main gate. Liu Xuan whispered to the girl, "I'm safe now, I'll naturally let you go. You dare resist once more, and I'll slash a knife across your face! Go!"

  The girl's lips were bitten white, she had never been held by a man like this before, and yet he was still tightly hugging her. This humiliation made her extremely ashamed, but she was also afraid that the other person would accidentally scratch her cheek, and then her face would be ruined.

  She is after all a beauty-loving girl, who regards her own face and figure as more important than anything else. She also understands the other's situation, as long as he doesn't excessively harm her, she won't take the risk of breaking off relations with this man who has taken control of her.

  She could only endure the humiliation and followed Liu Xuan slowly towards the gate, Liu Xuan controlled the girl, step by step leaving the tavern, at this time, Liu Xuan's followers had already rushed back from the dock after hearing the news.

  He saw Liu Xuan had come out, and hastily untied the reins of his warhorse. Liu Xuan whistled, and to his surprise, the warhorse obediently followed him, trotting towards the dock by the riverbank.

  A young man and a dozen or so followers trailed behind them, the youth watching as his sister's frail body was dragged step by step towards the dock by Liu Xuan. He hated it so much that his eyes were about to spew fire, secretly vowing to tear this person into pieces.

  "Everyone listen up, at the dock, as soon as he releases the person, we'll act simultaneously, absolutely cannot let him escape, understood?"

  "I understand!"

  Everyone gripped their weapons tightly and followed Liu Xuan step by step, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

  On the dock, the boat was already ready. It was a 500-ton flat-bottomed ship. Liu Xuan's attendants led the horses onto the ship first.

  At this time, Liu Xuan quickly glanced at the young man and his men following behind with the corner of his eye, seeing that they had already gripped their weapons tightly, deploying in all directions, it was very clear that they were about to launch an attack.

  "Foolish!"

  Liu Jiong coldly laughed and said in a low voice to the young girl: "Get on the boat!"

  "Why do I have to get on the boat!"

  The girl couldn't help but get angry too. She gritted her silver teeth and stared at Liu Xuan, "I've been obedient until now, when will you finally let me go?"

  Liu Jing's dagger was still pressed against her face, showing no mercy, "After crossing the river, I'll let you go, get on the boat!"

  The girl was helpless, taken by Liu Xuan onto the boat. The big ship swayed a bit and slowly started moving. The young man furiously rushed forward, shouting: "Liu, what do you want to do? Release my sister!"

  Liu Xuan didn't even turn his head and said, "You wait for another hour, the boat will naturally bring your sister back. If you dare to make trouble, your sister will definitely die at the bottom of the river. You weigh it yourself!"

  The young man was furious in his heart, but he had no choice. He stared blankly as the boat left the dock and headed towards the middle of the river.

  An attendant stepped forward and whispered: "Young Master, why don't we follow them by boat and make our move underwater!"

  The young man turned around and glared at his attendant, venting all his anger on him. He kicked out fiercely, "You idiot, Xiangxiang is in his hands, do you want to get her killed?"

  Everyone was so frightened that they didn't dare make a sound.

  The young man gazed at the distant ship again, slowly calming down, and said in a low voice: "This time I was careless, I admit defeat, next time I won't let him escape."

  He turned around and ordered one of his men, "You follow him to Xiangyang, find out the whereabouts of Lu Ma, investigate clearly who this officer is, and then come back to report."

  "Roger!"

  He bowed and hurried off to find a boat.

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  On the Yangtze River, the boat slowly sailed to the opposite bank. Liu Xuan stood at the bow with his hands behind his back, gazing out at the vast river. At this time, he had already released the girl, who sat on the other side, gently rubbing her cheek where Liu Xuan's dagger had left a trail of blood marks.

  Although there was no disfigurement, these marks would take at least two months to fade away. She felt both hatred and anger in her heart, and tears welled up in her eyes.

  At this time, Liu Jiong couldn't help but take another glance at the girl.

  "What are you looking at!"

  "Kill me with one knife and throw my body into the river, that's the best way, so I won't come to settle accounts with you in the future."

  "I didn't mean to offend the young lady, but you people have bullied me too much. The Lu Ma was something I risked my life to capture on the battlefield, and now you want to take it away from me? If it weren't for the fact that the young lady had fought alongside me before, I would have killed you already. Liu Jing is ruthless and efficient, and I always follow through on my words."

  "Your name is Liu Xuan!"

  The girl stared at him, "Isn't your name Liu Jian? You deceived us."

  Liu Xuan smiled and gazed at her, "Even if I'm deceiving you! But does the young lady also have the surname Tao?"

  The girl sneered and curled her lip, "What's my surname, you don't need to know. Just remember, if you offend me, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

  "There is a 'Ren' character on the golden hairpin of the girl, that's the girl's name, I guess the girl's surname is Sun!"

  The girl's face changed greatly, and she turned pale with fright, staring at Liu Xuan as if she had been suddenly exposed. She felt a sense of being deceived and feared that her brother and attendants were not by her side. When the boat reached the other shore, would he let her go?

  The girl couldn't help but look out at the river, wondering if she could jump in and escape.

  Liu Xuan said calmly, "Regardless of whether you are surnamed Sun or Cao, I keep my promises and will naturally let you go. However, Miss and your brother should not take risks again. You two are too naive, many things have been revealed, I can see it, others can also know."

  Liu Xuan's words made the girl slightly more at ease. After a moment of silence, she couldn't help but ask: "How did you guess?"

  Liu Xuan burst out laughing, "I was just teasing you a little while ago, but you actually admitted it yourself. What do you think, miss?"

  "You..."

  The girl's face turned bright red with anger, "You... you're just a scoundrel!"

  Liu Jue no longer bothered with her, although Sun Jian and Liu Biao were sworn enemies, but it had nothing to do with him, just kidnapping Sun Quan's sister, the consequences of which were enough for him to drink a pot, so he first saw through her identity and then let her go back, hoping they could take this favor.

  After a while, the girl's heart calmed down slightly, and she couldn't help but glance at Liu Xiu again. It seemed like she thought of something, and she bit her lip, saying in a low voice: "General Liu, a commoner is not guilty, but possessing this treasure is a crime. Even Zhang Wu can't keep this precious horse safe, let alone you, a small garrison commander. This horse is destined not to belong to you. If you're willing to give me the warhorse, I'll not only give you 3,000 taels of gold, but also promote you to be the military commander of Jiangdong, and I'll also forgive your offense against me. What do you say? This is an opportunity for you to rise through the ranks and get rich."

  "Is the young lady advising me to surrender to Eastern Wu?" Liu Xuan looked at her with a hint of a smile.

  The girl sighed, "I'm telling the truth, you definitely can't keep this horse, by the way, your surname is also Liu, unless you're a nephew of Liu Bei, but are you?"

  The girl gazed at Liu Xiang, her eyes full of expectation, hoping that he would understand the pros and cons and finally hand over the horse to her. Just then, the boat suddenly shook violently, and she only realized that they had already reached the other shore.

  Liu Xuan did not respond to her expectations. He led his war horse over, bowed slightly and said, "Miss, take care!"

  "Liu Jiong, aren't you afraid I'll take revenge and kill you?" The girl rushed forward a few steps, shouting loudly. Her heart was filled with the humiliation of being held hostage, and she couldn't bear to see Liu Jiong leave like this.

  Liu Xuan stopped in his tracks, without turning back, and said in a low voice: "I didn't harm the young lady, why does she want to harm me?"

  After finishing, he led the war horse ashore, and the two of them mounted their horses. Liu Xuan ordered his followers to do something, and they rushed forward, throwing a knife at the girl's feet. The two galloped northward in a hurry.

  Perhaps due to the anger in her heart, the girl did not immediately grasp the profound meaning of Liu Xuan's throwing his sword. Her inner self was still wandering between anger and unwillingness. As she watched Liu Xuan's figure disappear, she stomped her foot in hatred, "Liu, you just wait and see!"

  Although she was extremely resentful of Liu Jing's rudeness and kidnapping, and unwilling to accept his kindness, soon her resentment faded a bit.

  Because she found that if he didn't give her a knife, her return trip would become even more difficult. After all, six or seven rough sailors had looked down on her because they had taken her by force, and this disdain made their gazes unkind, each of them eyeing her with ill intent.

  The girl leaped up the stairs, cut off the thick handrail with one knife, and shouted: "Open the boat honestly, otherwise none of you will survive."

  The girl's bravery made the boatmen take back their scornful intentions and no longer dared to have evil thoughts, rowing the boat towards the opposite shore.

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  Wuchang City, Huang Zu stood on the Puti Pavilion at the dock with his hands behind his back, watching Liu Bei's fleet sail away. He let out a soft sigh and a meaningful smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

  "Father, I have something to say." Huang Zu's eldest son, Huang She, spoke softly, having held back his words for several days, waiting for Liu Bei's army to leave.

  Huang Zu nodded and signaled with his eyes to the several bodyguards beside him. The bodyguards left the pavilion one after another, and the last one closed the door behind them.

  "What does my son want to say?"

  "My father has formed an alliance with Liu Bei, I'm worried that the Governor will be displeased. Wang Wei came along with the army, surely the Governor is aware of this? Will the Governor be dissatisfied with my father because of this?"

  Huang Zu narrowed his eyes and smiled, "I understand this much about the taboos of officialdom, but you don't. Once something like this happens, Liu Biao will not only suppress me, but also try to win me over. What do you think Liu Biao will do to the Huang family of Jiangxia?"

  Huang shot: "I understand now. Father meant that the provincial governor would redouble his efforts to win over the Huang family, and make father leave Liu Bei, right?"

  "Of course!"

  Huang Zu smiled and said, "Liu Biao's rise to power was due to the support of the prominent families in Jingzhou. He wouldn't dare offend them, especially my family, the Huangs of Jiangxia, which is directly related to the safety of Jiangxia Prefecture. For years, he has been suppressing and forcing me, but if I were to take up arms and rebel, wouldn't he be afraid? So I'm very clear that he will only try harder to win me over, and absolutely won't suppress me."

  Huang Zu sighed slightly, "For the past two years, Liu Biao has been somewhat disdainful of me. Liu Bei's fawning over me can be taken as a warning to him! Let him wake up."

  "Father is indeed wise!"

  Huang She finally understood his father's intention and admired him sincerely. He paused for a moment, then said: "Can Father take the opportunity to mention the case of Third Brother's murder when he meets with the Prefect? This matter cannot be left unsettled like this. At least that Liu Xuan should publicly apologize to the Huang family!"

  "You don't understand anything!"

  Huang Zu coldly glanced at his son, "I have already written to Liu Biao to confess my crime. It was I, Huang Zu, who failed to discipline my sons and nephews, leading him to openly rob a civilian woman in broad daylight. He got what he deserved!"

  Huang Sha was shocked and said, "This... Father, this is really too hurtful for our family's feelings."

  Huang Zu stood with his hands behind him, gazing out at the river for a long time. Then he smiled faintly and said, "Family feelings are not worth mentioning compared to my interests."