Chapter 43: The Suspicious Person

  Liu Jiong gazed after Cai Jin as he departed, and carefully savored his words. Could it be that the Cai family was secretly plotting against him?

  Liu Xuan shook his head, he didn't believe that Cai Mao would be so stupid. After all, he was the military strategist of Jingzhou and shouldn't have used such a taboo method as assassination. Killing Liu Xuan would not be worth it for him, he didn't believe that Cai Mao would make such a losing deal.

  However... it's possible that Cai Zhong might have deceived Cai Mao, and Liu Xun thought of Cai Zhong's two shiny gold front teeth, from the way he dealt with Gan Ning, this person is someone who will stop at nothing.

  Thinking of this, Liu Xuan vigilantly looked around in both directions. It was still early morning and there were almost no people on the street, except for an old farmer selling vegetables at the corner.

  In addition, in a pavilion about a dozen steps to the left, an old Taoist priest was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, and beside the pavilion was tied a strong mule, looking dusty and travel-worn, as if the old man had come from afar.

  Looking around, there was no one else suspicious. Liu Xuan clamped his legs on the horse's belly and shouted "Go!" The warhorse galloped away quickly, leaving the Liu mansion and heading east towards the city.

  Just as he had just left, the old Taoist sitting in the pavilion slowly opened his eyes, two sharp gazes staring at Liu's distant back, a hint of profound smile appearing on the corner of his mouth.

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  Xiangyang is the southern end of 'Nan Xiangguan Road', consisting of Xiangyang on the south bank of the Han River and Fancheng on the north bank.

  The origin of Xiangyang City was a military-controlled ferry city, and its status was not prominent during the Two Han periods. Since Liu Biao occupied Jingzhou and governed Xiangyang, relying on the strategic importance of this city to block the northern forces from moving south, its position became prominent.

  In Chinese history, whenever there were two regimes in the north and south, Xiangyang was always drawn into the war, whether it was the Three Kingdoms, the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Song-Jin, or the Song-Yuan confrontation, Xiangyang had experienced the flames of war.

  Chen Liang of the Song Dynasty once said: 'Xiangyang is eastward connected to Wu and Huai, westward linked with Bashu, southward extending to Huguang, northward controlling Guanzhong, left and right stretching out, all sufficient for making progress.'

  This sentence reveals that Xiangfan's important strategic geographical location is the root cause of these two cities being repeatedly ravaged by war.

  Xiangyang, although a single entity, the city of Xiangyang where Liu Cong lived was mainly composed of government offices and official residences, as well as the concentrated location of various schools in Jingzhou, with a strong cultural atmosphere, but commerce was not developed.

  The northern shore's Fan City was the commodity distribution center and cargo transit hub of Jingzhou, where merchants gathered, commerce flourished, and various shops, taverns, inns, restaurants, brothels, music halls, and gambling dens thrived, with people flooding in every day, extremely lively.

  The ferry boats between the two shores come and go like fish crossing a river, day and night without stopping.

  Perhaps to avoid taboos, Liu Biao's General of the South headquarters was located in the west of the city, facing east, and a straight road, Xiangfan Avenue, ran through the entire city from east to west. This is also a characteristic of Xiangyang City, which is long from east to west and narrow from north to south.

  Liu Biao's residence was located right next to the government office, and this area was a concentrated location for government offices. Everywhere could be seen patrolling soldiers, with strict precautions in place.

  Along a stretch of crimson official wall, Liu Xuan galloped for a moment before arriving at the Xiangbo Avenue. The avenue was fifty paces wide, with two rows of dense trees planted in the middle, forming a flat and shaded path - this was the Guanxian Road, which only officials and renowned scholars could use.

  On both sides of the trees are ordinary pedestrian paths, with the left side for entering and the right side for exiting. Pedestrians going in different directions each walk on one side, and it is absolutely not allowed to go against the flow.

  This is a power hierarchy, under the suppression of power, pedestrians go their separate ways, in an orderly manner. Once there is a situation where civilians and officials are walking on the same path, or people are walking together in one direction, it means that Xiangyang City has begun to become chaotic, and even means that Liu Biao has lost control over Jingzhou.

  On both sides of the civilian road, there were ordinary civilians who had risen early to make a living, coming and going, quite lively. The official road was sparse with people, although it was already winter, but it hadn't snowed yet, and the trees on both sides were still densely shaded. A straight and spacious big road led directly to the East City Gate.

  Liu Xuan galloped his horse on the Guanxian Road, the warhorse's four hooves flying, its white body swift as the wind. Liu Xuan leaned forward on the horseback, the wind whistling past his ears, and in an instant, the horse had burst out of the East City Gate, racing across the even broader plains. The thrill of this wild ride almost made Liu Xuan want to let out a loud whoop.

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  Two and a half hours later, Liu Xuan finally returned to Xiangyang, although he was running with big sweat, both the horse and the man were exceptionally spirited, from head to toe, there was a kind of refreshing feeling that came from deep within.

  Liu Xuan no longer rode his horse, instead leading it slowly forward. The horse's gait was light and nimble, occasionally playfully stretching its head to rub against Liu Xuan's face, and sometimes letting out a loud snort, spraying saliva all over his face.

  Entering the west gate, there are also several wine shops and inns on both sides. Flags are flying high in the air, and it's almost noon. Several waiters are enthusiastically soliciting customers at the door.

  After running for a whole morning, Liu Xuan's stomach was growling with hunger. He patted his beloved horse's long face and said with a smile: "Old buddy, want to go get a drink?"

  A wine shopkeeper noticed Liu Xuan's hesitation and hastily came forward with a smile: "Young master, our humble shop has the best wine in Jingzhou, and we have just caught carp from the Han River. The dish of scallions bursting with carp is one of our signature dishes, and it's very affordable. Please come sit down!"

  The wine shopkeeper took another look at the majestic war horse and hastily added, "Our humble shop also has freshly steamed top-grade black beans, a delicacy for fine war horses."

  This sentence moved Liu Xuan, he chuckled and said, "In consideration of the good black beans, I'll go to your store!"

  He casually grabbed a handful of money from his bosom, about a dozen copper coins, and handed it to the wine keeper with a smile: "Take good care of my war horse for me, this is a reward for you."

  The copper coins clinked in his hand, and the wine shop owner's eyes smiled, "Don't worry, young master! I'll take good care of your warhorse, and tie it to the horse post so you can see it with one glance."

  This is an unwritten rule, that fine warhorses cannot be put in the backyard stable, once stolen, the tavern can't afford to compensate, so on one side of the gate there will be a horse post, looked after by the welcoming bartender, and at the same time the owner can also see his own mount.

  Liu Cong glanced at the horse post, where only one strong mule was tied up. He quickly walked into the tavern, went upstairs to the second floor and sat down by the window. By leaning forward, he could see his beloved horse.

  The tavern was not very crowded, with half of the seats empty. The patrons were gathered in small groups, drinking and chatting together. Two seats away from them sat an old Taoist priest, wearing a worn-out grey robe, with a bamboo crown on his head. Despite his advanced age, he looked spirited and youthful, with a few wisps of white hair framing his face, giving him an air of elegance and refinement. In front of him were only a few plates of vegetables and a jug of wine, as he savored each sip from his cup with great relish.

  This old Taoist made Liu Xuan slightly stunned. In the pavilion at the gate of the Liu Mansion early in the morning, wasn't it this old Taoist? How did they meet again.

  Liu Xuan felt a slight sense of unease in his heart, could this old Taoist be the suspicious person sent by Cai Zhong? But after a moment's thought, he felt it was impossible. The old Taoist had arrived at the wine shop first, if Liu Xuan hadn't come to the wine shop, they wouldn't have met, it should just be a coincidence.

  Liu Xuan sat down, ordered a few small dishes and a pot of wine. He looked at the war horse again, the wine shop owner was feeding his own war horse with freshly steamed black beans, and brought over a bucket of clear water.

  "A single man is innocent, but a crowd hides his guilt!" The old Taoist muttered to himself nearby.

  This old man is talking about himself! Liu Xuan couldn't help but sigh, since he had this war horse, his life was no longer carefree as before. He knew that many people were eyeing this precious horse and if he wasn't careful, it would be stolen from him.

  Sometimes Liu Xuan wakes up in the middle of the night, worrying about his warhorse, and even suspects that Liu Zan also wants to take action. Liu Zan's eyes also reveal a greedy look at this horse.

  But there is no way, what you gain must be lost, it can only be said that with his current strength, it's still quite difficult to keep this precious horse, and he will definitely have to pay a lot of hard work.

  Liu Xuan smiled kindly at the old Taoist, raised his wine cup again, and just as he had taken a sip, suddenly heard the sound of horses whinnying outside, followed by the terrified cry of the wine shop owner, "You can't move, that's someone else's horse!"

  Liu Cong hastily looked up and saw that his beloved horse had been untied from the hitching post by a burly man, who was now trying to mount it while holding the reins, but the horse struggled and whinnied, unwilling to be ridden.

  Liu Jiong suddenly became furious, grabbed the knife and rushed downstairs. Just as he ran out of the wine shop, he saw that the big man had already mounted his horse, violently whipped its buttocks, and the warhorse, in pain, raised its front hooves high, letting out a pained whinny.

  The war horse was about to run, and Liu Xuan was still twenty steps away from the war horse. Although he ran with all his might, it was too late. Liu Xuan's eyes turned red as he fiercely threw the knife in his hand at the horse thief, but the horse thief dodged nimbly to the side, clamped his legs on the war horse, and Lu's horse finally started running.

  Just as Luma had run a few steps, suddenly, a gray shadow fell from the sky, like a circling eagle, lightly landing on the horse's back. A muffled hum was heard, and the horse thief fell head-first from the horse.

  The warhorse that had just started running stopped again, and the person controlling it was none other than the old Taoist priest. He smiled at Liu Xuan with a twinkle in his clear eyes, which shone with a trustworthy light.

  Liu Xuan's heart sank, and he bowed to the old Taoist, his eyes falling on the horse thief again. A fierce killing intent burst out of his eyes as he took a few steps forward, grabbed the thief's hair, dragged him two steps, and pulled out his battle knife from the ground.

  "Prince Jing, spare my life!"

  "The horse thief shouted in terror, 'I was just following orders, I had no choice.'"

  Liu Xuan pressed the blade of his sword against the man's throat and shouted sternly: "Who told you to say that, speak!"

  "I dare not speak, spare me, young master!"

  Liu Jiong's sword flashed, and with one slash, he severed the horse thief's left wrist. The horse thief let out a blood-curdling scream, like a slaughtered pig, and shouted wildly, "It was Cai Zhong! He was the one who instructed me!"

  The old man next to him had some mercy and begged Liu Xuan: "Liu Gongzi, this horse thief is detestable, but he's not the mastermind. There's someone behind the scenes who instructed him, he just followed orders. Give me a bit of face and spare his life!"

  Lao Dao saved his own war horse, and since he spoke up, Liu Xiu had to give him face. He cut off the horse thief's hand, and Liu Xiu's anger was slightly alleviated. He kicked the horse thief hard, "Get out!"

  The horse thief endured the severe pain, picked up his severed hand and fled in a panic. Only when he had run far away did Liu Xuan walk up to the old Taoist priest, bow deeply and say, "Thank you, immortal elder, for saving my warhorse. I am eternally grateful."

  The old Taoist stroked his mustache and smiled slightly, "The energy sinks into the elixir field like a well!"

  Liu Xuan's eyes suddenly widened in incredulity as he stared at the old man.

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