It was impossible to tell the figure's age, and even harder to tell whether it was a man or a woman at first glance.
The clothes had long lost any sign of what material they were once made from. Hair and beard tangled together into thick knots like roots pulled from dry soil. Only after staring for a moment did You Chu realize that this must be an old man.
The old fellow had clearly meant to run at first. Yet after hearing You Chu speak, he stopped, hesitating between fear and hunger. Seeing that wavering, You Chu simply sat down on the ground instead of pressing forward.
He began to talk.
He spoke of Guanzhong now flourishing again.
Of the Imperial Uncle treating the people with kindness.
Of the army marching east to strike Cao.
Of Shan County already restored.
It had to be said that You Chu truly possessed a sharp tongue and a smooth way with words. This was precisely why Zhang Fei had deliberately left him at the gate the night before. Events that had unfolded across Guanzhong in barely a year were described by him in such lively detail that it sounded like a long saga rather than recent history.
The old man in front of him edged backward two steps. He took another bite from the half chicken in his hand. When he finally spoke, the voice came out rough and dry, like a crow pecking on dead wood.
"Is that true?"
"My general is here. Why would we lie to you?"
"General?"
"Our general looks fierce. He didn't want to frighten you, so he's resting in the gate tunnel. I can bring you to see him. You'll know the truth yourself."
But instead of agreeing, the old man simply stretched out his hand.
You Chu glanced at the half-gnawed chicken clutched in the other hand, saw the man's throat working hungrily, then stood, dusted himself off, and disappeared briefly into the darkness.
When he returned, he carried several food bundles.
They were practically snatched from his hands. Without another word, the old man turned and vanished into the wild grass outside the abandoned fields.
For a moment You Chu felt suddenly uneasy. He turned instinctively toward the darkness behind him.
"General… what if he doesn't come back?"
From the shadows Zhang Fei remained silent for a long while, then said calmly,
"That chicken smelled good."
Not long after, the rustling of grass returned. The old man emerged again.
The food You Chu had given him was already gone. This time his voice carried a hint of resolve, and he went straight to the point.
"What does the general want? I'll do it if I can."
This time Zhang Fei stepped out from the darkness himself.
"Hangu Pass."
The old man stepped back and narrowed his eyes, studying him carefully. He sucked in a breath, then nodded as if it all made sense.
"Of course. Hangu Pass. Going to risk your lives against the chaos there, eh…"
You Chu quickly corrected him.
"We are driving out bandits and restoring Han rule. We are—"
"Yeah, yeah. I can hear you."
The unkempt old man waved him off lazily, then continued,
"Eleven li south of Hangu Pass, there's a mountain trail…"
That night, under Zhang Fei's decision, the old man stayed with the army. At dawn he would guide them.
The next morning the army set out again.
Before departure, the old man walked through Xin'an County once more. He looked at the tidied campsite, the cleared wells, the traces left by disciplined troops, then muttered something You Chu could not understand.
One hundred and fifty li east of Xin'an, the whole army mounted. They arrived in less than half a day.
Just as the old man said, there truly was a narrow trail choked with tall grass.
"This used to be where we went to gather firewood… and herbs," he said softly, his tone unexpectedly tinged with loss. Then he fell silent.
Zhang Fei selected Fan Jiang, Zhang Da, and several trusted guards. They changed into lighter gear, keeping armor only over vital points, carrying hand axes and ring-pommel sabers as they climbed the path.
An hour later, sudden battle cries erupted inside Hangu Pass.
Moments after that, the gates burst open.
Zhang Fei strode out first, body drenched in blood, tiger-like in bearing. He flung a severed head to the ground before the army. Behind him, his guards roared in unison to magnify their commander's glory.
"Victory!"
Zhang Ji led the response.
"Victory to the general!"
With Hangu Pass secured, Zhang Fei's mood lifted noticeably. He laughed and shouted,
"Zhang Junyi wasn't wrong. No brave general there at all!"
You Chu clicked his tongue silently. In front of their own commander, how many men in the world could even qualify as brave generals?
Still, the fall of Hangu Pass revealed the weakness of such "impregnable" strongholds. They could not station large forces. Once the single defender at the choke point fell, the armies behind him could come and go freely.
Especially when a warrior like Zhang Fei personally smashed through the gate with sheer martial strength.
Beyond Hangu Pass, Luoyang lay close at hand.
You Chu soon came to report that the old man wished to return to Xin'an County. Zhang Fei nodded and ordered You Chu to see him off.
"Old sir, you really won't come to Luoyang with us? In seven or eight days the Imperial Uncle himself will arrive. I could report your merit in breaking Hangu Pass…"
The old man was now riding a worn horse taken from the pass. Dry rations hung all over the saddle. You Chu tried once more to persuade him, but the man's newly washed face twisted into a strange smile.
"And what would that change?"
He checked the bindings on his supplies while speaking casually.
"I'm from Luoyang."
You Chu fell silent.
The old man turned back and smiled again, though the expression carried a desolate weight.
"Two sons, one daughter. The eldest joined Chancellor Cao's army. Died in Jingzhou."
"Then Cao conscripted again for the northern Jing campaign. Took my younger son as a laborer. Don't know if he's alive."
He studied You Chu's face.
"My younger one was about your age… I suppose…"
He trailed off.
You Chu did not know what he meant to say, so he asked the first question that came to mind.
"And your daughter?"
"Married."
"Where?"
"Don't know."
You Chu had once stayed in Cao's army with his sworn brother Zhang Ji. He had seen what life was like for the military settlers. He knew how daughters of age were often forcibly married off by agricultural officials.
Back then, neither he nor Zhang Ji had sisters or daughters of their own, so the matter had never struck him deeply.
But now, hearing a father recount it so plainly, without anger or even expectation, You Chu felt a tightness in his chest that would not loosen.
He suddenly remembered the stone pillar in the Yellow River they had seen yesterday. Standing against the muddy torrent, holding the current at bay. How difficult it must be to become such a pillar.
He watched the old man ride away until the figure vanished into the distance.
Only then did he return, dazed, to Zhang Fei's temporary command tent.
"Sent him off?"
"Yes."
Zhang Fei asked only that one question before returning to stare at the campaign map in silence.
After a moment, You Chu hesitantly produced a slip of paper with a name written on it.
Before he could speak, Zhang Fei asked,
"The old man's son?"
You Chu nodded.
Zhang Fei took the paper, tucked it into his robe without comment, and dismissed him.
"Go help Derong inventory Hangu Pass."
You Chu opened his mouth, then closed it again, saluted, and left.
After finding Zhang Ji, he could no longer hold back. He poured out everything that had happened.
Zhang Ji listened and sighed.
"It's only one family's tragedy."
"Only?" You Chu felt those two words stab at him.
Zhang Ji's reply was cold.
"What else would you call it?"
"When General Zhang fought the Yellow Turbans, when he endured Xuzhou, when he blocked Cao at Dangyang… which of those battles did not leave thousands of households weeping?"
"You think the general doesn't understand what you're feeling?"
"You think the Imperial Uncle marches east just for empty fame?"
Shame flooded You Chu instantly. He turned as if to run back to Zhang Fei, but Zhang Ji stopped him.
"If you want to be a pillar, don't rush off. Help me count the stores first."
Clearing his thoughts, You Chu noticed his brother's deliberate tone and guessed something.
"We're not going to Luoyang?"
Zhang Ji nodded.
"In one hour, we march straight for Yique Pass."
You Chu knew it well. Yique lay directly south of Luoyang, the vital route leading down toward Yingchuan and northern Jing.
Since last year, Cao's forces had been preparing to strike hard into northern Jing. Troops clustered around Runan, Yingchuan, and Xuchang. If the Imperial Uncle wanted to move south and join forces with General Guan, Yique Pass had to be taken.
Yet from Cao's perspective, Yique was not as crucial. South of Luoyang still stood Taigu Pass and Huanyuan Pass. Rather than defend every gate, it made more sense to focus on Guangcheng Pass two hundred li north.
At that thought, realization dawned on You Chu.
"General Zhang already has a plan to break the pass?"