Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 961: Juvenile Identity
The fighting power of Cao's army was not as good as that of Han's army to begin with. In the previous battle, Cao's army suffered even more casualties. Moreover, they were defeated and fled, which greatly damaged their morale. Naturally, their fighting power became even lower. As a result, they were soon surrounded by the Han army.

"General, help..."

"General Dian... General, please don't abandon us..."

The more than 10,000 Cao army soldiers screamed in pain at the top of their lungs.

After hearing these cries for help, Dian Wei turned around and ran back without hesitation, but the deputy general hurriedly stopped him.

"Where do you want to go, General?"

Dian Wei pushed him away and said, "You are asking even though you know the answer. How can I abandon my brothers and run away alone?"

"But, General..." The deputy general wanted to stop him, but Dian Wei could no longer listen. He endured the pain and limped to the nearest Han army encirclement.

"Die for me." His eyes were bloodshot, and he held two iron halberds in his hands, swinging them repeatedly, and the dozens of Han soldiers who formed the encirclement fell one by one. Even though he was seriously injured now, he was furious and was no longer a match for these ordinary soldiers.

Seeing this, Cheng Liang flew into a rage: "Great! I was just worried that this guy would escape. Now that he's back, I'll kill him as well."

He was about to charge forward, but suddenly stopped and shouted to a soldier, "You guys, keep an eye on Da Meng and don't let him do anything bad. I'm going to kill Dian Wei today."

Several soldiers gathered around Dameng and said apologetically, "Um... General Dameng, we are just following orders. I hope you won't make things difficult for us."

"Yes, Dian Wei is so hateful. He killed hundreds of our brothers in this battle and attacked you repeatedly. Why do you still want to protect him?"

As they were talking, several of them pointed to a pile of corpses of their own soldiers lying on the ground. Da Meng looked over and saw that these familiar faces were now lifeless. Many of their bodies had even been broken into several pieces. He turned his head to look at Dian Wei who was struggling to fight, and suddenly he held his head and cried out in pain.

"Da Meng has a headache... My head hurts so much..."

Several soldiers hurriedly supported him: "General Dameng..."

When Dian Wei's deputy general saw Cheng Liang and the young man rushing over, his face turned pale instantly. He came to Dian Wei regardless of everything, pulled him up and was about to leave.

"General, if we don't leave now it will be too late..."

He was extremely anxious, but Dian Wei was in high spirits and shook him off again: "My lord has entrusted me with such an important mission. I have failed him and I should repay him with my death. You should evacuate with your brothers as soon as possible. I will cover your rear. Go!"

After saying this, he raised his two iron halberds and wanted to continue charging, but the severe pain in his chest and thighs made him lose all strength. Not to mention rushing out, it was even difficult for him to continue standing.

But even so, he still did not retreat. With a low roar, he rushed forward, knocked a Han soldier to the ground, and chopped his neck with the short spear.

Cheng Liang ran over angrily: "Waaaaaa, I won't be a human being if I don't kill you. Look at the halberd!"

The Soul-Chasing Halberd came close to him in an instant. Dian Wei was about to dodge, but he felt a sharp pain from the broken ribs in his chest, and his whole body suddenly went numb.

"General, be careful..." The deputy general exclaimed and leaped forward.

"Puff..." The Soul-Hunting Halberd easily pierced the deputy general's chest.

"Bah, you're ruining my plan." Cheng Liang spat on him and was about to pull back the Soul-Chasing Halberd, but the deputy general held on to the halberd with both hands and tried his last breath to trap Cheng Liang.

"Ma Er..." Dian Wei was heartbroken when he saw this scene.

Ma Er spat out blood, stretched out a hand, and pushed him hard: "General...go quickly...go quickly..."

Several generals of Cao's army ran over, carried Dian Wei and left.

"Damn it..." Cheng Liang was so furious that he used one hand to stab the Soul-Chasing Halberd deeper into Ma Er's body.

Ma Er spat out blood again, then his head tilted and he died. But even so, before he died, he still kept holding the Soul-Chasing Halberd with both hands without relaxing at all.

"General Cheng, I'm here to help you." The young man rode over, drew the sword from his waist, and chopped off the man's two hands with the sword.

Cheng Liang shook the Soul-Chasing Halberd vigorously, and then shook the two palms away. But by then, Dian Wei had been helped onto the horse by several of his generals and ran hundreds of steps away.

Without saying a word, Cheng Liang spurred his horse and chased after him, with the young man following closely behind.

Although the two men's mounts were fine horses, they were several hundred steps away and it was not easy to catch up. What's more, several generals under Dian Wei's command kept ordering the thousand personal guards around them to shoot arrows and harass them, so that after chasing for a long time, the two men were getting farther and farther away from Dian Wei.

"Hateful!" Cheng Liang was so angry that he thrust the Soul-Chasing Halberd into the ground.

The young man also sighed softly, seeming a little regretful.

"General..." A general ran to Cheng Liang and said, "General Da Meng suddenly had a severe headache and fainted."

Cheng Liang was nervous when he heard this, but soon he became indifferent: "Humph, if he hadn't protected the enemy general, how could Dian Wei have had the chance to escape? He should be punished for this."

The general looked a little surprised, but he didn't dare to ask more questions in the face of Cheng Liang's fury. The young man shook his head slightly, as if he wanted to ask something, but finally stopped talking.

Cheng Liang asked, "How are those Cao's soldiers?"

The general replied, "General, all the Cao army soldiers have surrendered or been captured. Except for those who followed Dian Wei, no one has escaped. The other generals are counting the number of people now."

"Well, that's good." Cheng Liang nodded and looked at the young man.

"Haha, brother, I am very grateful for your help this time. Now that the battle is over, I would like to ask you how to address me. Also, this mask..."

The young man instinctively reached out and touched his mask, and said, "I... I am ugly, and I have been wearing a mask since I was a child. I am used to it. Please don't blame me, General."

"Hey, a real man should be open and honest. Why bother about appearance? Am I, Cheng Liang, a big and strong guy, supposed to be good-looking? Come, take off the mask and follow me into the city to have a drink." After saying that, he stretched out his hand and wanted to take off the boy's mask himself.

However, the young man moved his feet in a special way. He looked as steady as a rock, with his upper body motionless. But as his feet moved, his whole body quickly took three steps backwards.

Seeing this kind of footwork, Cheng Liang's eyes widened and his face became serious: "This is the fairy monkey footwork in the 'Five Animal Exercises' taught by the great doctor Hua Tuo. Where did you learn it from?"

Hua Tuo had been in Luoyang for many years. In addition to teaching medical skills, he also developed a set of martial arts called "Five Animal Exercises", which were specifically used to train the strength and coordination of various parts of the body, such as the hands, feet, neck, head, waist, and back. Long-term practice was enough to strengthen the body. It was also beneficial for those generals who practiced martial arts, so Liu He asked generals above a certain level in the army to practice every day.

The "Five Animal Exercises" was evolved by imitating the movements of tigers, deer, bears, monkeys and birds. Cheng Liang recognized at a glance that the three steps taken by the young man were a type of footwork in the "Five Animal Exercises" that imitated the movements of monkeys. Apart from Hua Tuo and his few direct disciples, only generals in the army could learn the "Five Animal Exercises", so he naturally became suspicious.

Seeing that he was discovered, the young man panicked and began to stutter: "This... this is not the 'Five Animal Exercises', this is just... this is..."

"What? You can't make it up?" Cheng Liang's eyes flashed fiercely. He took a step forward, stretched out his hand and grabbed the young man, staring at him.

"Speaking of which, from the very beginning, I felt that your voice sounded familiar. You were wearing a mask and were being mysterious. Tell me, are you Cao's spy?"

"Ah... No, no, I really am not Cao Cao's man..." The young man shook his head repeatedly to deny.

But just as he shook his head, Cheng Liang's hand suddenly let go of him, then grabbed a corner of his mask and pulled it hard.

"Ah..." The mask was taken off and the boy quickly covered his cheek with one hand.

The more he said this, the more suspicious Cheng Liang became. He waved his hands at several generals and shouted, "Hold him!"

The two generals strode over without hesitation, one on the left and one on the right, and grabbed the boy's arms.

But just as they pulled away the boy's arms that were blocking his face, Cheng Liang's face suddenly changed.

"Zheng'er? Why...why are you here? Does big brother know?"

This person was none other than Liu Zheng, the eldest son of Liu He and Zhang Yu.

When the two generals heard Cheng Liang call out his identity, they immediately turned pale with fright and knelt down to beg for mercy.

Liu Zheng waved his hands and said, "Oh, no need to be polite. You guys go back and do your work. I want to talk to Uncle San for a while."

The two generals ran away as if they were running for their lives.

After they left, Liu Zheng glared at Cheng Liang with an unhappy look on his face: "Uncle San, why did you have to expose your nephew?"

Cheng Liang shook his head vigorously, looked at him carefully again, confirmed his identity again, and became more and more surprised.

"You kid, didn't my elder brother say that you would go to the Imperial College to study and practice martial arts this year? Why did you change your mind and let you come to the battlefield in Yuzhou?"

Liu Zheng was about to speak when his eyes suddenly turned and he grinned, "Hehe, don't worry about it, Third Uncle. It was me who begged the Imperial Grandmother and the Queen Mother for mercy, and only then did the Emperor agree to let me come."

Although Cheng Liang was not smart, he could guess a little from the flickering eyes when he spoke: "I dare not say anything about my sister-in-law, but the Queen Mother, would she be willing to let you go to the battlefield and plead for you with my brother? Forget it, I won't believe it even if you kill me. Don't bully your third uncle for being stupid. Tell me, did you escape secretly by yourself?"

Seeing that his trick had been seen through, Liu Zheng stuck out his tongue and said, "Oh, Third Uncle, don't worry about it. I'm here anyway. Let's join forces to destroy that Cao thief. By then, the emperor will have time to reward us. How can he care about my little mistake? Besides, I have been taught by many great scholars such as Lu and Cui since I was young. I have mastered the classics, history, and swords and spears. Why should I go to the Imperial Academy? The world is about to be unified. If I don't come out to gain some experience, there will be no war to fight."

Seeing that Cheng Liang was not moved at all, he quickly started to act proudly: "Uncle San...at most, I will treat you to a drink tonight. Please, please ...

Cheng Liang glared at him unhappily, then sighed, "Alright, alright, Third Uncle is afraid of you. However, I can choose not to send you back to Luoyang, but I absolutely cannot hide this from Big Brother for you."

"Uncle Three..."

"Come on, stop talking. You know the ability of the Flying Eagle Guard. Even if I can cover up for you, I'm afraid your father will know the situation here in less than two days. Instead of waiting for him to send someone to arrest you, it's better to tell him clearly and let Third Uncle plead for you. Maybe Big Brother can be lenient. Otherwise, I'm afraid your butt will be beaten to pieces by Big Brother."

After hearing what he said, Liu Zheng immediately thought of the disciplinary stick in the palace that was used to punish him. From childhood to adulthood, he had been beaten with this stick many times, and he shuddered at the thought.

"Okay, okay, okay. As long as Third Uncle can plead for me, I will do whatever you say. Let's go into the city."

Liu Zheng personally supported Cheng Liang and walked towards the city. Cheng Liang shook his head helplessly and said as he walked: "Speaking of which, Third Uncle was locked up twice by your father. In the past two years, I only saw you once during the New Year gathering. You have grown up, taller and stronger, and your voice has changed a little. No wonder Third Uncle didn't recognize you at first."

"Hey, how is my nephew's martial arts now?"

"Martial arts? Hmm... still a long way off..."

"Eh... Third uncle doesn't mean what he says. He deliberately humiliates me. When Third uncle recovers from his injury, I will definitely have a fight with you..."

"Oh, you've grown up a lot, you dare to fight with Third Uncle. Well, you wait, after Third Uncle's arm is reattached, I will beat you to a pulp, and I will call you Third Uncle from now on. By the way, why did you sneak out at this time?"

"Hey, it's Gao Yi. Not long ago, he and General Xu Huang set up an ambush in Yanzhou and defeated Cao's army. He was rewarded by my father. After that, he wrote a letter to me. I was so jealous that I pretended to be sick and secretly escaped from the palace in the middle of the night."

"You have been like this since you were little. You are polite and gentle on weekdays, but you are full of evil intentions. You are really unlike your father. My elder brother is upright and dignified, not as naughty as you."

The two soon arrived at the city gate, and a general came to greet them: "Report to the general, in this battle, our soldiers lost 3,672 men and 6,451 were injured, and the enemy lost 5,224 men. In addition to the enemy's wounded and prisoners, they have all been tied up and imprisoned in the city jail."

"Well, well done." Cheng Liang listened to his report. His face, which had been chatting and laughing with Liu Zheng just now, turned gloomy again in the blink of an eye.

Liu Zheng said, "Uncle San, you have made great contributions in this battle. You have cut off Cao's retreat. Now this villain can no longer escape. Shall we set out to the north tomorrow and join forces with Uncle Si and General Gao to encircle the main force of Cao's army?"

A sinister smile suddenly flashed across Cheng Liang's lips: "No hurry, let me first properly settle these Cao's prisoners, then it won't be too late to set off..."

"Resettling the prisoners?" Liu Zheng was puzzled for a moment. "Doesn't the army have a set system for treating prisoners? Why do you want Uncle San to do it himself?"

(End of this chapter)