Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The night wind blew across the fields, the sound of horse hooves knocking on the earth, one, two... gradually dozens or hundreds of war horses roared past, with lit torches held in the hands of the knights, and in the whistling wind, the flames continued to float backwards, and from a distance they looked like a fire dragon.

The people on duty on the fort sounded the alarm as they watched the team approaching like a dragon.

Dang, dang, dang——

Teams of soldiers rushed out in a hurry, swords and spears in their hands. Yao Gang, who had just led the troops in today, walked out of the gate with his iron spear in his hand. He looked at Shangguan Yi who walked out of the commander-in-chief's room and nodded.

The general wearing armor and holding a hammer came over and saluted: "Captain Yao, the length of the bell sound is just a warning, and we don't know who is coming."

"Sima Shangguan will arrange it." Yao Gang smiled cheerfully, "If you need heavy cavalry support, just let me know."

Shangguan Yi bowed and said, "Thank you, Captain." He then strode towards the watchtower and ordered the surrounding officers, "Take the men to guard the gate, and send the archers to the arrow tower. Hurry up."

The sound of footsteps faded away, and people kept shouting. Teams of soldiers ran quickly, and the roar of their footsteps echoed in the fortress.

"Go and have a look."

Yao Gang, holding an iron spear, said something to Zheng Huai, who had just put on his armor. The man nodded and followed with the eight-sided iron stick. However, before they reached the gate, the sound of bells in their ears suddenly stopped. The two armored cavalrymen were confused and looked at each other in surprise, but still kept moving forward.

The soldiers nearby also relaxed their guard. Suddenly, they heard a creaking sound. The gate of the fortress was opened in the dark. Then a thunderous voice came: "Greetings to the General of the Cavalry!"

"General?!"

Yao Gang and Zheng Huai looked at each other, then hurriedly quickened their pace and hurried over.

Under the moonlight, the fiery figure of Red Hare stepped into the gate amid the flames burning around him.

……

Time goes back to when the alarm bell sounded.

The sound of metal knocking resounded through the night sky. The young and strong men who had stayed in the dock and had not left had already fallen asleep. Now they were all alert. As they turned over and sat up, many of them were shivering. Some of them hurriedly got up and began to put on their shoes and clothes.

"Don't be afraid! It's just the alarm bell. The fighting hasn't started yet."

"Yes, there is not even a sound of shouting and killing outside. Look at how cowardly you are."

"Why are you panicking? We don't even know if it's an enemy. At night, everything you see will ring the bell."

Those who had experienced war spoke up to comfort their companions. Perhaps their words calmed people down. Many men breathed a sigh of relief and sat down again. No one looked at the two figures in the corner of the room who were huddled together and talking in low voices.

"Sister, don't let anyone attack us. If it doesn't work, we can reveal our identities later. At least we can fight the enemy together with the soldiers in the fortress."

"Okay, but... why don't we go find Uncle Yao and the others now? Who knows, we might be able to cut off a couple of heads in battle."

"Forget about going into battle. I guess Uncle Yao Gang and the others won't let us go. But if the battle really starts, please stay too far away from me, Senior Sister."

"Don't worry, I'll protect you in battle."

"..."

Yang Zaixing opened his mouth, not knowing what to say. He really wanted to tell his lively senior sister that he didn't mean that, but he didn't dare to, for fear that this unruly girl would get angry.

Ok?
Why should I be afraid?
Yang Zaixing blinked his eyes, unable to understand for a moment, but Qiu Qiongying next to him had already jumped off the bed. The girl had long been unable to bear the smell in the room, but was just holding on for the sake of her reputation. Now that the two of them had made up their minds, they naturally didn't want to stay here any longer. The young man who was thinking at the back didn't have time to think too much, and seeing the figure next to him move, he quickly got off the bed.

"Hey! Where are you two going?" The person on the bed next to them asked as he watched the two of them move.

Before Qiu Qiongying could speak, Yang Zaixing had already replied, "Go out and pee." He then pulled Qiongying out.

A man pointed at the two of them and said, "See? They're so timid. They're almost frightened to death." "Hahahaha——"

The whole room was filled with laughter.

"you……"

Qiongying clenched her fists and wanted to turn around to argue, but Yang Zaixing grabbed her and dragged her out of the door: "This is a good thing, otherwise how are you going to explain to them? Say that we came in under false names?"

Qiu Qiongying knew that what he said made sense, but she was still upset. She first hit the boy's arm hard, then snorted and walked forward quickly.

Who did I offend?

The young man rubbed his arm behind her, feeling somewhat helpless. However, the two of them had been together for a long time, so he was used to it. He quickly followed her: "Sister, wait... hm? The bell stopped?"

The two men who had not yet left the laborers' rest area stopped. This place was still far from the main gate, and they could only hear voices coming from the other side, but they couldn't make out what was being shouted.

"Or... go back first?" Yang Zaixing looked back at the house.

"No!" Qiu Qiongying was still angry: "It's good to get some fresh air outside."

Yang Zaixing scratched his head and muttered quietly: "Haven't you had enough wind on the way here?"

"What did you say?"

"Nothing, I said it's right here..."

As the two were talking, they suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves coming from outside. They looked at each other in confusion. In the dark night, the fire illuminated the walls of the fort as they moved forward, as if a piece of light was spreading over them.

"Food and equipment have been delivered so late?"

Qiu Qiongying muttered something and saw a bright light illuminating the intersection ahead. Two cavalrymen came around the corner from the house holding torches. The armor looked somewhat familiar. Before the two of them could come up with an answer, a red warhorse poked its head out, its eyes sparkling in the firelight. It snorted at the two of them, then turned around and shook its head.

"Master!"

The boy and girl were startled when they saw the familiar face and immediately turned around and ran back.

"Stop!" A thunder-like voice exploded in the night sky, followed by the sound of horse hooves suddenly. The two men, who had not run away a few feet, saw a black shadow passing by. Then Red Hare stopped and turned around with all four hooves. It looked at the two men with its round eyes, revealing its snow-white teeth. It called out, "Herodius--" and snorted, with its horsetail swinging back and forth.

"You two did a great job!" Lu Bu on his horse raised his hand and nodded at them one by one, then said unhappily: "Follow me!"

"Oh……"

Qiu Qiongying and Yang Zaixing agreed, and followed Chi Tu with their heads down and armor drooping. However, the girl seemed a little scared, so she lagged behind, grabbed Yang Zaixing's clothes with one hand, and followed Chi Tu to the commander's room.

In the room, several candles were lit, illuminating the room. Lu Bu, dressed in armor, swung his cloak, sat behind the table, and stared at the two people in front of him: "Kneel down!"

The boy and girl shortened their heads in response.

"Tell me, whose idea was this?" Seeing Yang Zaixing about to speak, Lu Bu pointed at him and said, "Zaixing, shut up. Qiongying, you speak."

"Master..." Qiu Qiongying raised her eyes to look at the dark-faced figure behind the table, and said with gritted teeth: "My disciple and I also want to experience the battle formation, and look forward to helping Master in the future."

"Help? Haha..." Lu Bu laughed angrily: "I have nearly 100,000 elite soldiers under my command. Do you need help from two little kids? Just don't cause trouble."

Qiongying lowered her head and muttered quietly: "But we can't always stay in the mansion and work behind closed doors. How can we improve if we haven't experienced war?"

"Have you learned to use allusions?" Lu Bu snorted, stood up and threw his cloak: "Kneel here, figure out where you went wrong, and then come to me." (End of this chapter)