Spring breezes brushed past, and the horse's hooves flew.
Liu Bei abandoned the imperial carriage and galloped across the wilderness with Zhang Fei and Lan Tian. They had no heart to admire the splendid scenery along the road. A thousand words boiled down to just one: hurry.
After a full day of hard riding, they reached Huayin. Liu Bei ordered a brief rest, intending to continue traveling through the night.
Battered by the jolting ride, Lan Tian felt as though his whole body had been shaken apart. But Liu Bei and Zhang Fei showed no sign of fatigue, and none of their companions dared advise them to stop.
"Your Majesty, haste makes waste. We can barely see at night. If we run into danger, won't that delay us even more?" Lan Tian approached, steeling himself.
"Ziyu, you asked Anguo about it too, so you should know how dire my second brother's condition is. I'm terrified." Liu Bei's face was clouded with worry.
Zhang Fei glared at Lan Tian for the first time and roared, "Lan Ziyu, you don't understand the bond between us brothers, sworn in the Peach Garden. No one can stop His Majesty and me from going to see Second Brother today. Stop trying to talk His Majesty out of it, or I—"
"Yide, what nonsense are you talking about?" Liu Bei snapped.
"Second Brother's in grave danger. How can we let the dark stop us? What's wrong with lighting torches and pressing on?" Zhang Fei shot back, agitated.
"Yide, enough!" Lan Tian shouted, cutting him off. Then he retorted, "Are you the only one who knows how urgent this is? We've been riding from dawn till dusk. Have you thought about His Majesty's health? Are we supposed to ride like this for the rest of the journey?