Tiger Guards

Chapter 382 Something went wrong
Inside the curtain, a grand bonfire blazed.

Lu Bu lay lazily on his side, with mountain women on either side of him, his head resting on one leg.

At the same time, he lifted one leg and placed it on the leg of another mountain woman, who was massaging his leg to relax his muscles.

During these ten days, Lü Bu resumed his training and his body gradually adapted, but fatigue also accumulated.

These mountain women wore coarse linen or rough hemp cloth, and the fabric on their bodies appeared loose.

Lu Bu ate the fruit offered to him by the other party, glancing sideways at the dance of the Lu Hun Rong barbarian women. A total of twenty-four barbarian women were divided into two teams, each carrying a torch and dancing. There was also a lithe and tall woman who served as the lead dancer.

A dozen or so Luhun Rong men either beat waist drums or played Qiang flutes, responding to each other.

When the drumbeats are dominant, the dance style is powerful, like a raging fire or thunder; when the sound of the Qiang flute takes over, the dance becomes more gentle and graceful.

Lü Bu laughed and said to the woman beside him, "If I had known this would happen, I should have captured some Lu Hun Rong men and women and brought them into Guanzhong back then."

The Luhun Rong people, a group with a long history, live in the mountains between Luoyang and Nanyang.

Some criminals and tax evaders also fled into the mountains to replenish their supplies. The Luhun Rong were located south of Luodu, within the royal domain, and were not completely cut off from the outside world, but their relations were not close.

These mountain women had unusual accents and spoke in a rather tongue-twisting way, which Lu Bu couldn't quite understand, but he liked their voices.

He squinted, gently shook his head, and used the back of his head to rub the other person's legs.

Hao Meng, holding his cup, wandered around and saw that Wei Xu had already tackled a barbarian woman, so he didn't dare to approach her. He then looked at Yang Zhong, who saw that some of Lu Bu's followers had also gotten involved, and the atmosphere made the old man like him feel quite uncomfortable.

When he was young, he didn't object to such things, but he just didn't want to compete with these crude and uncouth men in terms of brute force.

Yang Zhong stood up, went to Lü Bu's side, cupped his hands and smiled apologetically: "General, I am not a good drinker, and the night wind is blowing, so I really cannot stay with you for long. Please forgive me."

"Please do as you please, Master Yang."

Lu Bu said he was going to see Wei Xu, and wanted Wei Xu to see him off. But seeing that Wei Xu was like a wild boar, he turned his attention to Hao Meng: "Send Lord Yang back to his lodgings for me. Also, arrange for a few people to entertain Lord Yang tonight."

"Here."

Hao Meng agreed, and Yang Zhong opened his mouth to refuse, but Hao Meng pulled Yang Zhong away and persuaded him, not forgetting to have a few mountain women follow.

Upon seeing this, Yang Zhong's subordinates also got up and followed him.

Watching their retreating figures, Lü Bu couldn't help but chuckle. Looking up at the starless and moonless night sky, his mood improved even more.

It's probably because it's near a mountainous area that it's cloudy at night.

After more than two months of drought, Lü Bu had had enough of the dazzling starry sky at night.

Seeing that Hao Meng's guards had also left, Lü Bu got up, put his left arm around the waist of the newly approached barbarian woman, grabbed a peach with his right hand and threw it at Wei Xu, hitting Wei Xu's table and knocking over the bowls, dishes and wine vessels.

Wei Xu then looked up and saw Lü Bu staring at him. He could only push away the woman who was clinging to him and grab the hem of her skirt to wipe himself.

Even in the dim light of the fire, nothing could be seen clearly. He quickly approached Lü Bu and asked, "Brother?"

"Let's play a game."

Lu Bu pointed to the group of barbarian women still dancing by the campfire: "Bring your bows and arrows, three arrows each. For every arrow you hit, you will receive a woman."

Wei Xu turned his head to observe: "What are you shooting?"

"I'm also thinking about what to shoot. Let's gather the officers and soldiers first, and then listen to my instructions."

"Yes."

Wei Xu quickly left, gathering several clerks and officials. Soon, Lü Bu's thirty-odd attendants and officials gathered together, all cocking the bows they had brought, their eyes filled with fervor and gleam as they looked at the barbarian woman.

The leader of the nearby mountain people squeezed to the front and asked Wei Xu, "General, what is the meaning of this?"

"I don't know, let's wait for the general's instructions."

"Here."

The leader then saw the leader of the Lu Hun Rong approaching, and the two spoke in hushed tones.

Seeing that everyone had finished raising the crescent moon, Lü Bu suddenly reached out and grabbed the barbarian woman beside him by the throat, lifting her up like a chicken in front of him, and asked with a smile, "Just now I heard you and your companions talking in the distance, it sounded like you were speaking the elegant language of Luodu?"

There was no need for interrogation. Just as Lü Bu grabbed the woman, she stared at him fiercely, her pain and suffocation unable to subdue her.

He wanted to spit, but Lu Bu had his neck firmly gripped.

As they locked eyes, Lü Bu understood the message in her gaze. With a slight exertion of force, the woman in front of him collapsed limply to the ground.

Another mountain woman reached into her waistband and pulled out a short dagger, cursing angrily, "You traitor Lu! Give me back my father and brothers' lives!"

Lu Bu raised his foot and kicked the opponent in the stomach, sending him flying five or six steps away, rolling around and disappearing from sight.

"Kill the thief!"

The lead dancer, a barbarian woman, shouted sharply, and immediately torches were thrown at Lü Bu.

Lu Bu reached out and grabbed the torch that was spinning towards him. His followers either drew their swords and went forward to fight with other mountain people and Lu Hun Rong warriors, or stood still and shot arrows.

Suddenly, a follower drew his bow to its fullest extent, twisted his waist, and shot at Lü Bu. Lü Bu, holding a torch, hurled it ahead of him, causing the arrow to miss.

Once the attack lost its element of surprise, the hundred or so mountain dwellers and barbarian men and women at the bonfire feast were instantly routed; then, the guards outside joined the battle with halberds, and in a short time, Lü Bu had the situation under control. Wei Xu wasn't stupid either; as he ordered someone to bring his horse, he also brought a set of light leather armor to Lü Bu's side: "Brother..."

He was still shaken, but couldn't help asking, "How did you find out, elder brother?"

“I did hear them using elegant language, and I thought I had misheard.”

Lu Bu drew his sword and ripped open the collar of a barbarian woman's clothes: "The mountain people do not have much food, and the men are short. How could the women have such plump and fair figures?"

Glancing sideways at Wei Xu: "Quickly go to the camp and seize military power! Hao Meng is causing trouble!"

"what?"

Seeing Wei Xu's expression, Lü Bu wanted to slap him, but Wei Xu reacted quickly and gathered a dozen guards, riding away at a brisk pace.

After watching Wei Xu leave, the mountain chief was brought before Lü Bu.

Lu Bu turned around, emptied the bowls and plates from the table with his sleeve, sat down at the low table, and examined the leader in front of him: "Who is the mastermind?"

The leader turned to look at the Lu Hun Rong leader who had been shot dead. Lü Bu, however, was not going to tolerate him. He plunged his sword into the Lu Hun Rong leader's shoulder blade and casually twisted it: "Tell me what you know, and I may spare your family."

The leader, enduring the pain and gasping for breath, replied, "It's Liu Wangzhi from Anzhong, and members of the clan."

Lu Bu held his sword to the man's throat and asked, "Who else?"

"I only recognize members of the main family."

The man trembled, and although the two guards who had his arms tied behind his back held him firmly in place, he still lost control of his bladder and bowels, and tears, snot, and saliva began to flow from his eyes as he broke down emotionally.

Lu Bu gently pushed with his sword, the blade easily piercing through the throat, severing arteries and nerves. As blood gushed out, the opponent's head drooped.

Blood dripped onto his body, and Lü Bu raised his hand to wipe his face... He was only trying it out.

I didn't expect to actually get it out of them. I regret not doing it in front of Yang Zhong and Hao Meng.

At first, he just felt that something was unusual. These mountain women and barbarian women had such good figures that he couldn't see their facial features clearly at night, but he could still feel the texture of their skin and roughly count their facial features.

It's not that there can't be beautiful women among the mountain people, but the probability is just too low.

People who are good-looking and can make a living outside are unlikely to end up in remote mountainous areas.

Even if there are good-looking people in the mountains and fields, they are more likely to be recognized by the outside world and go out to live.

The appearance of fifty or sixty young women here at once is highly unusual.

Seeing the sounds of fighting coming from behind the campfire curtain in the nearby military camp, Hao Meng, who had just arrived at the camp gate, quickly stepped inside.

Cao Xing, the camp commander, was still inside the tent when he saw this and asked, "What is it, General?"

"The mountain people are rebelling. The general has ordered me to select elite soldiers to go and quell the rebellion!"

Hao Meng urged urgently, pointing outside the tent: "Look, there's already a scene of fighting."

Cao Xing strode out of the military tent and asked, "Do you have the official seal?"

"The incident happened so suddenly, where did the seal come from?"

Hao Meng glared at Cao Xing: "The General is in danger, and you refuse to send troops. I will lead my own troops to rescue him!"

Cao Xing also stared at Hao Meng: "No more than one team, the general can move them at will."

"Just one team!"

Hao Meng pointed at Cao Xing, his expression full of threat. Cao Xing stood still, indicating that there was a procedure to deploying troops.

The procedure was legal, so there's no way Cao Xing can be blamed.

Hearing the commotion the two made, the other night watch officers and guards also gathered around. Hao Meng dared not linger and quickly walked towards his own camp.

Cao Xing watched Hao Meng's retreating figure, then turned and instructed, "Take a dozen or so riders to pay respects to the General and explain what happened here."

A military officer on duty quickly returned to his tent, grabbed his helmet, and jogged out of the camp. Among the guards on night watch near the main tent, more than a dozen veterans immediately followed him to the stables.

Before these people could set off, Wei Xu spurred his horse and charged into the camp: "I am Wei Chengzhu! I have been ordered by the General to take command of the troops in the camp!"

Hao Meng needed tokens and official documents to mobilize troops, while Wei Xu did not; he could do it simply by showing his face.

Cao Xing also stepped forward quickly, leading the other military officers to bow deeply to Wei Xu, saying, "We are willing to obey your orders!"

"Hao Meng has caused trouble; arrest him immediately!"

Wei Xu looked at Cao Xing and said, "If he resists with weapons, kill him without mercy!"

"Here!"

Cao Xing immediately began issuing troop deployment orders to his officers and men, instructing them to return to their units and mobilize their officers and soldiers to fight outside the camp.

As for the military officers who were not on duty, they were only ordered to maintain order in their respective camps and await further orders.

This military camp essentially belonged to Wei Xu, but he didn't come here often; it was used to garrison his and Hao Meng's subordinates and troops.

(End of this chapter)