Chapter Fifty-Five: Liu Yao Strikes Back

Liu Pi saw a burly man with a dark face emerge from the city gate, shouting, “Who are you? Where are Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun? And that Liu Yao you call your lord—have them come out at once! I have no interest in fighting nobodies.”

At this, Zhang Fei flew into a rage. “How dare you call my lord by name! Let old Zhang show you how many holes I can poke through you!” With that, Zhang Fei spurred his horse, brandished his long snake spear, and charged straight at Liu Pi.

Poor Liu Pi was intimidated by Zhang Fei’s thunderous roar; before he could react, Zhang Fei was already upon him. With lightning speed, Zhang Fei thrust his spear at Liu Pi’s face. Liu Pi managed to dodge instinctively, barely avoiding a fatal blow, but his right arm was struck by the spear’s sweep. Blood spurted from his mouth as he fell from his horse.

“Help me—attack, quickly!” Facing death, Liu Pi abandoned all sense of dignity and cried out desperately to the Yellow Turbans behind him, stumbling as he ran for the rear.

But before the Yellow Turban soldiers could come to his aid, Zhang Fei rode down upon him. “Trying to run? Die!” With those words, his spear pierced straight through Liu Pi’s heart. Liu Pi collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

The Yellow Turban soldiers were dumbfounded. Their invincible General Liu had been slain in just two moves! They stood rooted to the spot, not knowing what to do.

“Kill them all!” Zhang Fei roared, leading his thousand-strong assault battalion in a charge against the Yellow Turban lines.

“Ghosts! Save us!” The Yellow Turbans, seeing their commander dead and the fierce giant charging at them, dropped their weapons and fled for their lives.

Zhang Fei and his men chased them for a full kilometer before the call to retreat sounded from Liu Yao, recalling them to the city walls. In total, over two thousand Yellow Turbans were slain, and most importantly, Liu Pi’s head was taken.

“Hahaha! Yide, you’ve slain a great Yellow Turban general today—you deserve a great reward!” Liu Yao greeted Zhang Fei with a hearty laugh as he arrived.

Zhu Jun stepped forward, clapped Zhang Fei on the shoulder, and said with gusto, “Well done, big man! You’ve earned great merit today. Come, let me buy you some wine.”

“No, no, I’ll pass,” Zhang Fei hurriedly refused, still remembering his previous drunken escapades all too clearly. He shot a few furtive glances at Liu Yao, and only relaxed when he saw no sign of displeasure.

Liu Yao had, of course, noticed Zhang Fei’s little gestures. He was thoroughly satisfied with his performance this time.

“Since the Yellow Turbans dare to provoke us so brazenly, if we don’t retaliate, won’t it look like we’re afraid?” Liu Yao said with a cold smile.

“Indeed, Your Highness, it’s time to teach the Yellow Turbans a lesson. Their arrogance knows no bounds,” Zhu Jun replied, his face full of anger.

“Heh, I have my own plans. No need to rush,” Liu Yao replied with a smile, a familiar curve to his lips. Seeing his confidence, Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun asked no further questions, while Zhang Fei, Tian Feng, and the others knew the Yellow Turbans’ misfortune was just beginning.

Meanwhile, in the Yellow Turban main tent, Peng Tuo was drinking merrily, awaiting news of Liu Pi’s victory. Bo Cai sat with him, sharing wine but secretly anticipating Peng Tuo’s embarrassment.

Suddenly, a Yellow Turban burst in. “Report… General Liu Pi, General Liu Pi, he…”

Perhaps out of fear, the messenger could not finish his sentence.

Peng Tuo, already half-drunk, squinted at the runner and slurred, “Did Liu Pi win? Where is he? Bring him here so I can reward him properly.”

“No, Commander, General Liu Pi, he… he…”

“What happened to him? Speak!” Peng Tuo, sensing something wrong, pressed urgently.

The soldier gritted his teeth. “General Liu Pi was killed in just two exchanges by a dark-faced giant on the other side.”

“What!?” Peng Tuo sobered instantly, his face full of disbelief. Liu Pi had never known defeat while serving under him, yet now he was dead in two moves. Just how strong was the enemy’s champion? Peng Tuo could no longer fathom it.

At Bo Cai’s side, a cold smile played on his lips—he had seen that black-faced giant’s skill before. Liu Pi had stood no chance.

“What do we do, what do we do?” Peng Tuo paced back and forth, muttering anxiously, his worry plain to see.

“Enough, Peng Tuo, stop pacing,” Bo Cai called out.

Peng Tuo suddenly remembered Bo Cai was there. He rushed over, grabbing him with tears and snot streaming down his face, “Brother Bo Cai, it’s all my fault—I shouldn’t have ignored your advice. What do we do now?”

Bo Cai looked at Peng Tuo and shook his head helplessly. Though they were rivals, now was not the time for infighting. “To be honest, Peng Tuo, I have no clever plan. Our only option is to lay siege to Changshe. The city is full of people—if we encircle it for a month or so, they’ll surely run out of food, and the city will fall without a fight.”

“Good, good, I’ll follow your lead,” Peng Tuo agreed without hesitation. His reputation in Runan had been built entirely on Liu Pi’s valor; now that Liu Pi was dead, Bo Cai was his only hope.

Bo Cai was delighted—Peng Tuo’s words meant he was ready to submit to him, making Bo Cai the chief leader of the Yellow Turbans in the east.

However, Bo Cai did not know that their troubles were only just beginning. Liu Yao’s reputation as the smiling tiger was well earned.

Liu Yao’s first move was to send Zhao Yun out to challenge for single combat. Bo Cai, seeing it was not the black-faced giant but a fair-faced youth, relaxed and sent out a minor officer to meet him. To his shock, the officer was slain by Zhao Yun in less than three exchanges, run through the chest and killed. Terrified, Bo Cai retreated into his camp and dared not emerge.

After that, Gao Shun and Huang Zhong also went out to challenge. Bo Cai, unwilling to believe every one of Liu Yao’s men could be so formidable, sent out more officers. But his disbelief was of no help—he lost two more commanders. After this, Bo Cai refused to send anyone out, no matter how the enemy provoked him, and cowered in his camp.

Liu Yao, seeing one plan fail, moved to the next. Each night, starting at the first watch, he dispatched a thousand assault troops, divided into squads of a hundred, to harass the Yellow Turban camp in waves. They did not aim to kill, only to harass. If the Yellow Turbans came out, the raiders would flee immediately. With no horses of their own, the Yellow Turbans could not give chase and could only watch helplessly.

After four or five nights of this, nearly every Yellow Turban soldier had heavy black circles under their eyes—even Bo Cai and Peng Tuo were not spared. They slept in light armor, and even the sentries yawned and nodded off, unable to keep proper watch.

The entire Yellow Turban camp was soon sapped of morale. To make matters worse, it was now May—the hottest part of the year. The camp was a picture of exhaustion and listlessness.