Chapter 564
Huang She hated Liu Pan because the man was once a rich young thug. Huang She himself was also a rich young thug. However, Huang She lost every time regardless of whether they were playing around or trying to oppress each other. Huang She was no match for Liu Pan.
Had there been many people better than Huang She, he would not have felt this way. However, since there weren’t many such people, feelings like jealousy appeared.
That was why Huang She left Xiangyang for his father’s territory at Jiangxia. After that, he lost contact with Liu Pan. Apparently, Liu Pan had turned over a new leaf and was sent to the border by Liu Biao. Huang She never expected to see Liu Pan here again.
“Father? Hmph!” Huang She sneered. He would not allow Liu Pan to have his way. Liu Pan was Liu Biao’s nephew because his father and Liu Biao had good relationship. As Liu Pan’s father died early, he became Liu Biao’s foster child. However, he wasn’t Liu Biao’s actual son. It would be a disaster for Huang She if Liu Pan ended up with Liu Biao’s inheritance. In fact, it was quite likely if Liu Pan had managed to kill Liu Mang.
As Liu Pan’s troops were cavalry, they were much faster than Liu Biao’s guards. That was why Liu Biao’s guards did not join in chasing Liu Mang.
“Master. Are you alright?” Lady Cai went to Liu Biao. “Master. Zong Er!” Lady Cai muttered. Everything she did that day was for Liu Zong. She was worried for Liu Biao because only Liu Biao knew where Liu Zong was. If Liu Biao was killed, she would never be able to find her son.
However, Liu Biao was not appreciative at all. He pushed her away and harrumphed. “Slut!” Lady Cai fell from the push.
Liu Biao acted this way even though Lady Cai was the sole reason he was saved. If it weren’t because of her, Liu Biao would still be in Liu Mang’s hands. Liu Biao’s subordinates would not dare to act rashly and would not be able to do anything.
At this point, many of Liu Biao’s personal guards and the Xiangyang Defenders had heard about the problem. Initially, only Liu Biao and a few others know of this. To protect this secret, Liu Biao had tried to catch Liu Mang without any explanation. Now that the secret is out, would Liu Biao kill everyone present to silence them? This was simply not realistic.
If the fact that Liu Biao’s wife slept with another man was exposed, Liu Biao would lose face. So Liu Biao could only vent his anger on Lady Cai.
“Slut! Slut!” Rather than help her up, Liu Biao continued to kick her while she is on the floor.
Lady Cai ignored her pain. “Master. Lord Governor. You can beat me up or even kill me. But I beg you. Let go of Zong Er. Zong Er is still young!”
“Zong Er?” Liu Biao’s killing intent was evident in his anger. “I am starting to suspect even that child is not mine!”
“You cannot be like this!” Lady Cai shook her head.
“Men! Send this slut back to prison!” Liu Biao originally intended to have Lady Cai kill Liu Mang but now that Liu Mang had escaped, Lady Cai was useless. So he sent her back to prison.
Meanwhile, Guan Hai was observing Liu Mang’s injuries. “Milord. Are you alright?”
“Nothing serious.” Liu Mang felt his back ache and his face was bleeding from the sharp wind created by the arrow. However, these were all small matters.
“Wenhe. Why are you here?” Liu Mang asked. If he remembered right, Jia Xu should have brought Xiao Cui and the others away.
“Milord. I was so worried I entered the tiger cave to rescue you!” Jia Xu replied with an upright expression. There was even some tears on his face.
“The Military Advisor is so loyal!” Guan Hai praised generously.
“Stop talking nonsense. Why are you here?” Liu Mang could not help but roll his eyes. Jia Xu was the kind of person that would use his Lord, Liu Mang as a meat shield if he needed to. He was definitely not one to turn back towards danger to save others.
“Hey…” Jia Xu could not help but explain things to Liu Mang. One cannot say that Jia Xu was not loyal since he did come back. However, he came back also because he was afraid of death. He was very happy when he could leave first, avoiding danger. Then halfway through, he remembered something and cried bitterly. Regardless of how things played out, he came to Jingzhou with Liu Mang. If Liu Mang did not return from Jingzhou, it would not be possible for Jia Xu to return.
Xiao Cui was alright since she was someone related to Liu Mang. However, in order to prevent Jia Xu from doing something stupid, Liu Mang had given the order for Jia Xu to be executed in the event that he returns from Jingzhou without Liu Mang.
Even if Jia Xu had obtained permission to go back before Liu Mang, he would still be dead in the event that Liu Mang was unable to return to Yangzhou safely. Lu Bu would most likely give Jia Xu a very painful end.
This was why Jia Xu risked his life to save Liu Mang. At the very least, he would die with Liu Mang and get placed in the Hall of Heroes if he failed.
Jia Xu did this also because his family was in Yangzhou. If they weren’t, Jia Xu would have ran away a long time ago.
“I knew it.” Liu Mang rolled his eyes. However, Liu Mang also felt gratified. It is because Jia Xu is there that Liu Mang could plot against others.
“What about Xiao Cui and the others? How are they going to leave?” Liu Mang asked with a frown. Xiao Cui was the one that came with the information. Without her, Liu Mang would never have known of this news.
“Don’t worry Milord. I have arranged for people to send them back.” Jia Xu replied.
“You dispatched Zuo Yi and You Er?” Liu Mang asked as they were not aboard the hot air balloon. Liu Mang had left them behind to manage the hot air balloon. It was unlikely they had been killed or else Jia Xu would not have appeared here. This meant that it was likely that they were now escorting Xiao Cui and the others. This made Liu Mang feel relieved.
“Milord. Now we have to quickly get away from Jingzhou.” They could no longer stay after offending Liu Biao.
“Yes. Let’s leave Jingzhou and make a new plan.” Liu Mang nodded. They were soon going to leave outside the West Gate of Xiangyang City.
“Milord! Look! There is a heavy cavalry chasing after us!” Guan Hai suddenly pointed and shouted.
“Heavy Cavalry?” Liu Mang turned to look at the cavalry and frowned. Although it was convenient to travel by air, it also made them easy to track.
“Let us go towards the forest outside of the West Gate.” Liu Mang said to Jia Xu. The heavy cavalry was actually faster than the hot air balloon so they would become easy pickings once the hot air balloon descended. That was why they needed to use the trees to slow them down.
“Milord. They seem to have already been obstructed.” Jia Xu said as he looked down.
“Obstructed?” Liu Mang took another look and saw that the heavy cavalry was stopped at the West Gate. The West Gate was shut tight.