Chapter 89: The Second Generation of the Caos vs. The Second Generation of the Royals
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One knife for a favor.
Such matters are hard to say whether they result in loss or gain; it depends on one's perspective. The covert rivalry between Dian Wei and Xu Chu would continue, but one thing was certain: both men maintained a boundary neither would cross. If ever the conflict became irreconcilable, Cao Cao would surely intervene to mediate. Thus, in a sense, Dian Man and Xu Yi were still on the same side.
Since they were allies, mutual assistance was natural.
After some polite exchanges, Cao Peng said to Dian Man, “Brother Man, let's head back. I suppose my mother and sister have seen enough by now.”
Having lost a bet and a fighting dog, Xu Yi was in no mood to stay any longer.
The three of them left the fighting dog arena together. As Cao Peng and Dian Man prepared to bid farewell to Xu Yi, suddenly Deng Fan came running over, shouting from a distance, “Afu, I finally found you! Hurry, Auntie was injured outside the clinic. Tiger Head confronted them and a fight broke out!”
His abrupt announcement stunned Cao Peng.
“What did you say?”
“Auntie was hurt, and Tiger Head got into a fight with them.”
“Who injured my mother?”
“Don’t know. Those people were quite brutal.”
Without further questions, Cao Peng sprinted toward the clinic. Dian Man called out loudly, “Afu, wait for me!”
He glanced around, grabbed a banner pole beside the dog arena gate, stripped the fabric, leaving a stout staff about 120 centimeters long and as thick as a forearm.
“Big Bear, let’s go.”
Without hesitation, the two chased after Cao Peng.
Xu Yi was stunned by the commotion, standing dazed at the arena entrance.
“Master, what shall we do?”
Several retainers approached cautiously.
Xu Yi snapped back to reality, his face darkening. “Damn it! How can I stand by? They just helped me. I won’t watch idly.”
“But Master and Dian Zhonglang—”
“That’s their business, not mine. Get your weapons and follow me.”
He tore down another banner pole at the gate, discarded its fabric, and rushed off, the retainers exchanging glances before hurrying after him. If Xu Yi charged in, how could his men ignore the situation?
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In front of the clinic, chaos reigned.
Mrs. Zhang lay unconscious in Cao Nan’s arms, who wept bitterly, calling her name repeatedly. Wang Mai fought like a mad tiger amidst a crowd, throwing punches and kicks, dodging deftly. His battle-hardened footwork served him well now.
Yet, the enemy clearly outnumbered them.
Dozens surrounded Wang Mai, some wielding weapons.
A few youths on horseback shouted from outside the crowd: “Hit them! Kill them! They nearly scared our flower—no mercy!”
“Beat them to death!”
Though Wang Mai was skilled, he was alone and outmatched.
The adversaries were burly household slaves, some brandishing gleaming steel blades. Within moments, Wang Mai suffered multiple wounds, blood staining his clothes. This only fueled their ferocity. Though Wang Mai wounded several foes, the others intensified their assault.
“Brother, that young lady is quite pretty.”
“Damn, even pregnant, you still look?”
“Heh, I’ve never been with a pregnant woman before... Grab that girl and bring her back for questioning.”
The youths laughed gleefully; one, clearly drunk, ordered the slaves to seize Cao Nan.
“Sister, run!”
Wang Mai shouted amid the chaos.
Suddenly distracted, he was slashed on the shoulder by a blade. Fortunately, his rigorous training had conditioned his body’s reflexes. As the steel blade descended, he instinctively lowered his shoulder. The blade pierced, spraying blood onto his face.
The pain drove Wang Mai into a frenzy. He grabbed the attacker’s arm, twisted it viciously—crack!—breaking it. Then he retreated swiftly, unleashing an iron-clad Bajiquan shoulder strike that sent an opponent flying.
Yet no matter how skilled, two fists cannot defeat four hands.
Cao Nan, terrified, froze as the enemies closed in.
“I’ll curse your ancestors!”
Just as a slave reached out to grab Cao Nan, a sudden roar came from outside the crowd, followed by a wooden staff whistling through the air, striking the attacker’s head with a brutal crack. The man screamed, blood gushing, and collapsed.
Blood splattered on Cao Nan’s face, snapping her to consciousness as she screamed sharply.
“Help! Afu!”
“Sister, don’t worry—I’m coming! Anyone who dares touch you, I’ll dig up their ancestors’ graves!”
With a furious roar, Cao Peng burst from the crowd. Seeing his mother unconscious, Cao Nan terrified, and Wang Mai bloodied, his fury ignited.
Calm was worthless now.
He charged into the fray, spinning to dodge a long knife, then slapped the attacker’s arm with a palm strike—far more forceful than his blow to Xiahou Lan two months prior.
Cao Peng was close to breaking through a bottleneck, his strength greatly enhanced.
Dark energy mixed with raw power shattered the attacker’s arm bone with one palm. The man howled in pain, dropping his steel blade. Cao Peng seized the advantage, pulling the man forward, stepping in, swinging his waist and shoulder with full force, sending the foe flying.
The seamless combination of offense and defense flowed like water.
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That surge of dark energy shattered the enemy’s ribs in an instant.
Cao Peng bent down and grabbed the steel blade. “Brother Tiger Head, hold on! I’m coming...”
Though short and slight, Cao Peng fought with more ruthlessness than Wang Mai.
One slash severed half an opponent’s arm.
Ignoring their cries, he remained expressionless.
After Wang Mai knocked one down, his excitement grew seeing Cao Peng arrive.
“Afu, don’t let them escape! Auntie was hurt by them!”
By then Dian Man had joined, fighting fiercely like a tiger descending a mountain.
Compared to Cao Peng’s ruthless style, Dian Man seemed merciful. Cao Peng only injured but did not kill, yet he targeted limbs to cripple foes. By the time they fought through, four or five slaves lay scattered, maimed. Cao Peng was soaked in blood, a fierce beast.
“Dian Man?”
Several young masters recognized him and hesitated.
“Fu Jun, what now?”
Eyes turned to the leader, whose face darkened. “It’s come this far. If we run now, we’ll never raise our heads in Xu again. Get them! We outnumber them; what’s there to fear? Fight to the death! If anyone dies, I take responsibility. Kill them all! Capture that old beggar woman and that girl, see if they dare act again. If they do, kill those two first.”
The youths were clearly sons of nobility, flanked by family retainers and servants.
Hearing their leader’s words, the others gritted their teeth, shouting, “Attack!”
From behind them, over twenty more appeared—dressed differently, exuding a fierce aura.
Deng Fan grabbed a steel blade to shield Cao Nan and Mrs. Zhang.
From the opposite side of the street, Xu Yi rushed in with his men. Neither side hesitated; the fight erupted immediately.
“Damn, the Xu family’s joined too?”
One youth who knew Xu Yi grew uneasy.
If it was just Dian Man, they wouldn’t worry much. The Dian family had little deep roots or backing in Xu. And with Dian Wei and Xu Chu embroiled elsewhere, they were unlikely to intervene. But with Xu Yi involved, the stakes changed. Both Dian Wei and Xu Chu were fierce men, and Xu Chu was backed by a clan of a thousand.
“Fu Jun, stop the fight.”
A youth on horseback approached the leader, whispering, “This is getting serious. If Dian Man or Xu Yi get seriously hurt, it’ll be trouble.”
“Yang Xiu, stop shaking the army’s resolve. With such little courage, how am I supposed to accomplish great deeds? Even if it’s Dian Man or Xu Yi, so what? My sister is the Empress. I’m not afraid of them.”
Yang Xiu shut his mouth.
True, his sister was Empress, but this was Xu! Yang Xiu, the twelve-year-old son of the former Grand Commandant Yang Biao, who had recently been reprimanded by Cao Cao, was quietly positioned to make allies among the court’s elites to ease his father’s plight. Now, he knew better than to intervene.
Xu Yi’s arrival eased Cao Peng’s group’s plight.
Though Cao Peng wounded several enemies, when the experts joined, they struggled. Without his agility and skill, he might have been injured. Dian Man and Wang Mai were overwhelmed, both badly hurt.
“Xu Yi, help protect my mother.”
They struggled, and Deng Fan’s condition was worse.
If not for his desperate efforts, Cao Nan and Mrs. Zhang would have been captured.
Xu Yi barked orders: “Xu Fang, Xu Ping, go help!”
His wooden staff whistled fiercely as two retainers flanked him, blocking the enemy.
Three youths in armor emerged from a tavern opposite, heads held high. The leader’s face paled when he saw the chaos, drawing his long sword immediately.
“It’s Dian Man and Xu Yi... Cao Zun, Zhu Zan, let’s go help.”
The others followed without hesitation.
“A Man, Xu Yi, don’t panic—I’m here to assist!”
Dian Man deftly dodged a blade, looking up excitedly. “Damn, Cao Zhen, Cao Zun, Zhu Zan, come help!”
Fu Jun’s face changed at their arrival.
These three were no small players.
Cao Zhen was Cao Cao’s close cousin, treated like family. Cao Zun and Zhu Zan were his close friends, always together like brothers.
Yang Xiu’s eyes darted nervously.
This was escalating beyond control. With Cao Zhen and the others involved, it might get out of hand.
Who was that old beggar woman? Seemingly ordinary, yet drawing so many people into this?
Yang Xiu regretted involving himself.
Clearly, this had shifted from a simple brawl to something more serious.
The battle raged on. Cao Zhen and his companions relieved some pressure on Cao Peng, fighting fiercely despite injuries. They incapacitated at least seven opponents.
Still, Cao Peng’s side was outnumbered.
After the three joined, the crisis eased but they were soon surrounded again.
Cao Peng severed a retainer’s finger, stealing a glance around.
He spotted Fu Jun watching from horseback, originally on the other side but now closer. The distance was about twenty paces.
His eyes gleamed with calculation.
“Shoot the horse to catch the rider first!”
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Though unaware of Fu Jun’s background, seeing his mother unconscious left Cao Peng no choice. With a sharp thrust, he forced two retainers back, then spun and flung his long knife with a whistle toward Fu Jun, who was watching nearby. Take out this guy first!
“Master, watch out!”
A retainer spotted the danger and shouted.
He stepped forward, tackling Cao Peng down. Before he could seize him, Tiger Head shouted and grappled the attacker.
Fu Jun, alarmed, saw the flying blade, shouted, and tried to dodge—but forgot he was on horseback. Suddenly, he fell to the ground with a thud.
The horse, unsettled, reared up.
Fu Jun struggled to stand as the horse’s front hoof came down—accidentally striking his leg.
The force broke his thigh, the bone visibly twisted in a gruesome way.
The surrounding youths were stunned.
The wild horse slipped away unnoticed, mingling into the crowd.
This was no joke—someone was about to die! Staying here would only bring misfortune and possibly implicate his father.
Just as the horse fled, urgent hoofbeats sounded from the street’s end.
A sharp voice shouted, “Tiger Guards, advance! Clear the way!”
Thunderous hoofbeats echoed as another group rapidly approached from the opposite side.
“The Minister of the Guards has arrived! Everyone stop! Stop immediately!”
“Anyone who harms Afu will have their entire family buried!”
“Stop at once! Anyone who moves will be killed on sight!”
Shouts rose in waves.
Cao Peng lay on the ground, breathing a sigh of relief.
Damn it, Dian Wei, you finally came! If you hadn’t, I’d be dead by now.
A retainer, seeing Cao Peng unguarded, gritted his teeth and lunged with his blade. Though officials had arrived, killing this boy would earn some favor with the master—especially with Fu Jun’s broken leg.
“Afu, be careful!”
Falling hard, gasping, the retainer shouted.
As Cao Peng faced danger, before Dian Man could react, a figure dashed by—then a shout and hot blood splattered Cao Peng’s face.
“Big Bear!”
“Brother Deng Fan!”
Wang Mai and Cao Nan cried out together.
Deng Fan stood before Cao Peng, a blade aimed at his chest.
He roared, grabbed the blade’s back, and struck the attacker’s face fiercely.
Just as calm returned, uproar surged again. Several of Fu Jun’s retainers tried to intervene, but a thunderous roar sounded above the street.
“I said, all of you stop!”
Three gleaming halberds cut through the air, striking three retainers.
The weapons belonged to Dian Wei.
His fierce gaze, tinged with a chilling coldness, shone from eyes of murky yellow, terrifying to behold.
“Jun Ming, you stop too!”
Xun Yu urged him on horseback, his cold gaze sweeping the crowd.
He glanced at the groaning retainers and Fu Jun, then at Cao Peng and Deng Fan, his slender brows furrowing.
“Where is the doctor? This isn’t the Recovery Hall? Is he dead?”
“No, I’m still alive,” came a voice.
“I am Xiao Kun, greetings to Minister of the Guards.”
“Is that the doctor? There are many wounded here. Why no treatment?”
“Well... I specialize in gynecology, but sword and blade wounds are not my forte.”
“Can you stop bleeding?”
“Oh, that I’m good at.”
“Then go help stop the bleeding.”
Xun Yu was speechless at the doctor’s specialty—gynecology at a time like this.
Xiao Kun, embarrassed, scratched his head but complied under Dian Wei’s icy stare.
“First, stop my nephew’s bleeding.”
“Yes, yes...”
Though reluctant, Xiao Kun went to tend Deng Fan’s wounds and called for the clinic attendants to assist.
Xun Yu surveyed the chaotic street with a heavy heart.
“Arrest everyone who can stand, lock them in the jail. Treat the injured first, then deal with them.”
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