Zhangsun Wugou Taken Hostage

"Greetings, General! I am Zhangsun Wuji, and this Young Master Zhang is a friend of mine. Might there be some misunderstanding between you?"

"Your surname is Zhangsun? Are you from the Zhangsun family of Luoyang?"

"That's right!"

"What is Zhangsun Sheng to you?"

"He is my father!"

"So you're General Zhangsun's son. A pleasure, a pleasure! Young Master Zhangsun, you may leave whenever you wish. I must now arrest a criminal wanted by the imperial court."

"Wait, General! May I ask what Young Master Zhang and the others have done?"

"Young Master Zhangsun, you'd best leave quickly. There's no need to ask about anything else, lest you bring trouble upon yourself!"

Seeing that Zhangsun Wuji still refused to leave and kept pestering him,

Murong Yun's expression immediately changed, and he was no longer as polite as before.

Zhangsun Wuji naturally noticed Murong Yun's sudden change in attitude.

Presumably, his father's death had given the man one less thing to fear.

"Brother Fuji! Stay out of this. Today I'd like to see just how he intends to arrest me."

"Young Master Zhang, you..."

Zhang Sheng was grateful to Zhangsun Wuji for speaking up for him, but he was still fairly confident he could deal with Murong Yun and the five hundred soldiers.

Seeing the confidence on Zhang Sheng's face, Zhangsun Wuji didn't know what else to say.

In his heart, though, he found Zhang Sheng even more mysterious.

After all, not just anyone could face five hundred elite soldiers without changing expression, much less look eager to have a go.

"Young Master Zhangsun! Stay out of this. Today I'll show them the majesty of the imperial court! Kill them!"

Seeing that a battle was about to break out before him, Zhangsun Wuji hurriedly retreated to the edge to avoid being caught in the fighting.

The carriage that had come with him was even less inclined to approach.

The two sides soon clashed. Murong Yun's side had the advantage in numbers, but Zhang Sheng and his companions were all exceptionally strong.

Zhang Sheng and Lan Yun in particular sent everyone who dared approach them flying. Each of them was like a single warrior holding a pass against ten thousand.

"Get in there, quickly!"

Seeing that they still hadn't managed to take down these few people after so long, Murong Yun began to panic and hurriedly urged the soldiers to surround them.

The battle was fierce, and Zhangsun Wuji, watching from the sidelines, was so anxious that sweat was breaking out on his forehead.

"What are we going to do? Even if Zhang Sheng and the others win today, there will be no place left for them to go!"

"Brother! Do you think Brother Zhang Sheng and the others will be all right?"

"Little sister! What did you come down for? Hurry back!"

"I was just worried about Brother Zhang Sheng and the others!"

"Sigh! Worrying won't help now. Young Master Zhang and the others... sigh!"

Zhangsun Wuji didn't know how to explain it to his sister. In any case, they were in serious trouble.

"Take a spear from your grandaunt!"

On the battlefield, the more Lan Yun killed, the more excited she became. Blood had dyed her clothes red, making her look like a blood-soaked doll from a distance.

Zhang Sheng was much more refined. Although many soldiers had been killed or wounded on his side too, not a drop of blood stained him; only his hair looked a little disheveled.

As time passed, more and more of Murong Yun's men died.

Only a little over a hundred were still standing now. In such a short time,

nearly four hundred soldiers had been killed or wounded. Murong Yun was dumbstruck.

"It's over! It's all over!"

"General! Let's retreat! The brothers can barely hold on!"

"Retreat? Where can we retreat to?"

"General! We can fall back to the county town for reinforcements, then fight our way back and avenge our brothers!"

The soldier's words jolted Murong Yun awake. Zhang Sheng and his companions' ferocity had frightened him out of his wits.

Now he remembered: they were men of the imperial court, with the court behind them. It was the other side who were rebels.

"Brothers! Retreat, quickly!"

Having come to his senses, Murong Yun no longer cared about the shame of defeat. He immediately ordered a retreat, afraid that if he waited any longer, he wouldn't be able to leave.

Zhang Sheng's side naturally noticed what Murong Yun and his men were doing. They had already offended the imperial court,

so naturally they wouldn't let them leave easily. If word of what had happened today got out, the court, under pressure,

would send troops to suppress them no matter how unwilling it was. So Murong Yun had to die today.

With that in mind, Zhang Sheng struck even faster.

"Don't let them escape!"

Lan Yun and the others received Zhang Sheng's order. Disregarding their weariness, they immediately fought even more fiercely.

Seeing that things were going badly, Murong Yun wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

But Zhang Sheng and the others were right in front of them now, and could take their lives at any moment.

Just then, Murong Yun spotted the Zhangsun siblings nearby and immediately had an idea.

"Quick! Seize those two!"

As soon as Murong Yun's remaining personal guards received his order, they turned and rushed at Zhangsun Wuji and his sister nearby.

Zhangsun Wuji sensed that something was wrong when he saw the way Murong Yun looked at them, and immediately shouted,

"Little sister! Run!"

But they were too close, and it was already too late. Murong Yun's personal guards had charged over.

Zhangsun Wuji could no longer concern himself with anything else. He drew his sword and fought the guards.

Zhangsun Wuji was a scholar, after all. Although he had learned some martial arts,

he was far from proficient. He fought as he retreated, and soon could barely fend them off.

"Brother! Go, quickly! Don't worry about me!"

"Little sister, don't talk! I won't leave you behind!"

"What devoted siblings you are! Young Master Zhangsun, I must ask you and your sister to accompany me on my way!"

Seeing that he was about to capture the Zhangsun siblings, Murong Yun naturally grew somewhat pleased.

With the siblings in his hands, Zhang Sheng would have to think twice, no matter what.

Two fists were no match for four hands. In one careless moment, Zhangsun Wugou fell into Murong Yun's grasp.

"Stop! All of you, stop, or I'll kill her!"

At Murong Yun's bellow, everyone immediately stopped fighting. They gradually backed away and split into two groups, facing each other.

"Let my sister go! If anything happens to her, I'll make sure you die without a place to be buried!"

"Young Master Zhangsun! I wouldn't dare release your sister. She's our life-saving talisman now.

As long as I get away safely, I'll naturally let her go."

With Zhangsun Wugou in his grasp, Murong Yun had nothing to fear, and his voice immediately grew bolder.

Seeing that Murong Yun wouldn't release his sister easily, Zhangsun Wuji immediately turned to Zhang Sheng and pleaded,

"Young Master Zhang! I know this puts you in a difficult position, but I'm begging you this once.

As long as my sister comes back safely, my life is yours from now on!"

"Brother Fuji! You're taking this too far. This started because of me.

Naturally, I'll take responsibility for Sister Wugou. There's no need for this!"

"Thank you, Young Master Zhang! I, Zhangsun Wuji, will remember this favor!"

Zhang Sheng deeply admired Zhangsun Wuji for setting aside his dignity to save his sister.

For people of this era, making a promise was a sacred thing. They had to keep their word, or they could easily be spurned by the world.

"I say, General Whatever-your-name-is, hurry up and let Sister Wugou go. I can promise to let you leave."

"Cut the nonsense! Don't take me for a fool. The moment I let her go, you'll pounce on me!"

Murong Yun's words angered Zhang Sheng. Was he really so untrustworthy?

But who could he blame for that? Such was human nature. Who wouldn't be cautious when facing life and death? Otherwise, dying would be far too unjust.