My son, how could you be Lü Bu?!

Chapter 22 Inspection and Acceptance

It is several miles away from the village.

In a secluded, dense forest, dozens of Xiongnu cavalrymen gathered.

"Young Master Cheng, why isn't your young master Lü here yet? Didn't we agree to deliver the remaining baskets of salted fish today?" The old man-looking Urhan glanced at the sky and frowned slightly.

"It's already so late, why hasn't Young Master Lü arrived yet?"

Cheng Lian, who was asked the question, was also full of doubts. He had been hurriedly found by his elder brother Lü this afternoon and asked to keep the Xiongnu people in check. He had no idea when his elder brother Lü would be free to send the salted fish over.

He didn't show it on his face, forcing himself to remain calm.

"We'll be there soon! Uncle Lü is a man of his word; he would never go back on his promise!"

"Why would I covet your few baskets of salted fish?"

Hearing Cheng Lian's firm words, Urhan breathed a sigh of relief.

But the worry remained between his brows, and he looked toward the village, which was still pitch black.

The sky grew increasingly dark and gloomy.

A few sparse chirps of insects gradually rose in the air.

Young Master Lü has not yet arrived.

Urhan grew increasingly impatient.

Just as he turned to look at Cheng Lian, preparing to ask a few more questions.

tread!tread!

The sound of horses' hooves mingling with the rolling of wheels suddenly rang out!

The Huns in the dense forest were so frightened that they immediately held their breath and focused their attention, afraid of attracting the attention of outsiders.

Everyone looked toward the source of the sound.

On the official road outside the dense forest, several official vehicles were passing by. On the first official vehicle stood a young official with a bronze seal and yellow ribbon at his waist.

The bus quickly drove away.

Looking at the familiar young official, a hint of unease flashed in Cheng Lian's eyes.

"Isn't this the official who clashed with my brother Lü the other day?"

Why is he sitting in a carriage?

"Judging by this direction... it seems to be heading towards the village. What is he going to do? Could it be because my older brother punched him a few times, and he's going to lead people to capture my older brother?"

The older Urhan, upon seeing these distinctive buses, immediately realized what was going on.

He cautiously turned his head to look at Cheng Lian beside him.

"Young Master Cheng, look, wasn't that the official carriage used for conscription by the state or county officials that the man was just sitting in?"

"Could it be... that Young Master Lü is about to be recruited into the army?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Lian was stunned. He was young and often roamed the streets and alleys, so how could he recognize a bus?

He hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"It does look somewhat like a bus."

This shows that Cheng Lian is certain.

Urhan's expression grew increasingly complex.

Watching the dust kicked up by the departing bus, Cheng Lian hesitated for a moment, as if he had thought of something. He gritted his teeth, turned his head and said to Urhan.

"Stay here and don't move."

"I'll go check on the situation and be right back."

Urhan was stunned; he hadn't even had a chance to answer.

Cheng Lian then mounted his horse, turned it around, and headed in another direction.

"Brother Cheng, wait for me!"

"I'm going too!"

Seeing Cheng Lian's appearance, behind Wuerhan, a boy named Wuerlu, who looked somewhat similar to him, also spoke excitedly.

He led the horse, following behind Cheng Lian.

The two men and two horses avoided the main road, choosing instead several familiar paths to quickly head towards the village, hoping to deliver the news to their Uncle Lü and Brother Lü before the bus arrived.

The old man Urhan was left alone, watching the two figures leave, hunched over, pacing back and forth, his mind troubled.

......

It's getting late.

The village has regained its usual tranquility.

Lu Ping escaped the first day of the month, but not the fifteenth. He had to keep up the smiles and chat with them for an entire afternoon before finally managing to send off the villagers and wandering knights who had come to see the strange things. As for the Wei brothers, since they were historical figures, he kept an eye on them and found out where they usually lived.

It only took a short afternoon.

Having demonstrated his skills, Lü Bu gained immense fame among this group of young wandering knights.

The saying "wandering knights value martial arts" has never been untrue.

So.

The wandering knights became increasingly curious about Lü Ping, who hadn't yet made a move. After all, like father, like son; if the son was this powerful, the father must be even more formidable.

No matter how much they tried to persuade him, Lü Ping pretended not to understand and did not make a move. He knew his own situation best. He was not yet fully familiar with the original owner's martial arts. If he made a mistake when he made a move, wouldn't that be slapping himself in the face?

I just got back into the thatched hut.

The Lü family father and son then began to search through all the boxes and cabinets, finding all the valuables and spoils they had previously hidden.

Every time Lü Bu took out something, Lü Ping would give his comments.

"There are four thin, yellow-bearded horses in the courtyard," Lü Bu said, pointing outside the house.

"This is valuable, but it has to be returned to those Xiongnu people." Lü Ping shook his head.

"When it gets a little later and those wandering knights are completely gone, we'll take these horses and the salted fish in the house and deliver them to Urhan and the others."

Lü Bu nodded.

With a clanging sound, he shook out more than a dozen weapons from the package.

"All kinds of weapons."

"This is fine. I've seen it before, and the texture is okay. There's no need to sell it; I'll keep it for myself."

Lu Ping's eyes flickered, and he slowly nodded.

"The remaining valuables we had were taken from the Wang family, and some we've accumulated over time."

Lu Bu then took out a small bag, spread it out between the two of them, revealing the gold and silver inside.

"We have a lot of money and goods, but... we still need to exchange another basket of salted fish for those Huns, so I reckon we won't have much left." Lü Ping glanced at it and shook his head again.

"Father, if it really doesn't work..." Lu Bu hesitated for a moment before speaking softly.

"Shall we lead those Xiongnu to a place where they can't escape easily, and then just kill them?"

"It saved both money and goods, and avoided future troubles."

Lu Ping didn't say anything, but just glared at him coldly.

Lu Bu then gave an embarrassed smile and quickly shut his mouth.

Then, Lü Bu brought out a leather armor from the house and placed it in front of Lü Ping.

Although it is somewhat worn out.

But armor is armor after all; it is different from other things.

"They even managed to get their hands on armor! I wonder where the Wang brothers found it."

Lu Ping touched the leather armor in front of him, feeling deeply moved.

You have to understand, this is the era.

It doesn't really matter how many weapons you hide, but if you dare to hide even a few suits of armor, you might be accused of rebellion the next day and be wiped out on the spot, along with your entire family.

After all, the armor's protective capabilities are still too strong.

The saying goes that one Han Chinese is worth five Hu tribes.

It was actually built on the defensive capabilities of armor and the advanced nature of Han Chinese weaponry.

"there is none left?"

Then, seeing that his adopted eldest son hadn't brought out anything else, Lü Ping was stunned.

"there is none left!"

Hearing his father ask the question, even though there really wasn't any left, Lü Bu still felt inexplicably guilty.

Looking at the relatively small amount of spoils before him, Lü Ping remained silent for a moment before sighing.

"This job was definitely worth it."

"Although we didn't make much money from the goods, we'll probably end up spending it all on buying salted fish from the Xiongnu."

"But we did manage to kill the Wang brothers and get this leather armor."

"If we really end up as outlaws, at least we can use this as a second life."

Becoming an outlaw?

Upon hearing his father utter those two words, Lü Bu's eyes flickered, and he subconsciously looked at the leather armor in front of him.

Seeing that there was dust and bloodstains on the leather armor, he quickly got up, found a piece of coarse cloth, and carefully wiped it clean.

After a moment of reflection, Lü Ping came to his senses.

Seeing the state of his adopted son, he remained silent for a moment before getting up as well.

They took a piece of coarse cloth from the house and used it to wipe the bloodstains off the armor and weapons.