Luoyang had been sealed off. No one was allowed in or out, and soldiers were guarding it strictly. Even so, Cyan still entered Luoyang. Relying on her speed, which ordinary people's eyes could hardly follow, she easily slipped past the gate guards and into the city.
That's right — she ran straight in right under their noses.
The gate guards thought it was just a strong gust of wind and didn't pay it any mind. How could they know that this "gust of wind" was man-made?
When the citizens of Luoyang learned that the coalition army was attacking Sishui Pass, were they happy?
Of course they were happy! But even if you beat them to death, they wouldn't dare show it!
If those officials saw them, wouldn't they get beaten?
Whether they could keep their lives at all was already a question.
So this is Luoyang…
Cyan looked at the pedestrians on the streets, who all had a hint of urgency on their faces. Whenever they encountered patrolling soldiers, they lowered their heads and stepped aside, afraid of provoking them.
Cyan walked into an empty alley, released the Spy Cat that was hiding inside her clothes, made a pair of antennae shapes with her hands on her head, and crooked her fingers. "Finding Lü Bu is up to you. He has long antennae on his head and is over two meters tall. When you see him, just turn on the camera so I know his general location."
"Meow~!"
The Spy Cat nodded, looked around, gathered a bit of strength, leaped up, ran two steps along the wall, and landed on the roof of a nearby house with agile movements and no wasted effort.
"Don't get too close when you find Lü Bu."
Cyan reminded the Spy Cat through the headset. Sensing someone approaching, she jumped onto the roof, lightly tapped her toes, leaped again, and crouched on the roof of another house. She listened carefully to the sounds around her.
"Mom! Did you hear something on the roof? It sounded like something ran across our roof."
A young girl's voice came from inside the house, followed by a woman's voice speaking earnestly. "There's no sound. You must have heard wrong. Qiao'er, don't go outside these days. Stay home, understand? It's not safe out there!"
"Mom, I know! When can I see Dad?"
The woman didn't answer the girl right away. She was silent for a moment before saying, "When you grow up a little more, you'll see him."
"Knock knock knock."
Cyan jumped down into the courtyard and knocked on the door of the house.
"Who is it!"
Footsteps approached. Cyan could sense the woman standing right behind the door. Her heartbeat had sped up and her breathing had become hurried.
She's afraid…
The fastest way was to cut the door latch with her demon blade. But doing that might make the woman inside scream and attract patrolling soldiers, exposing her position.
"I have something I'd like to ask." Cyan showed a friendly smile. With her 15 points of Charm, the woman secretly peeking through the crack in the door saw her smile and felt like she was looking at an immortal radiating light. She couldn't help but trust her.
Considering the child inside the house, the woman hesitated for a moment, then opened the door and invited Cyan inside.
"What did you want to ask?"
The woman looked at Cyan. Her heart was pounding rapidly and her face was slightly flushed. She had never seen such a handsome and beautiful boy before.
"I want to know some things about Luoyang. I hope this sister can help clear up my confusion."
Cyan smiled friendly and waved at the little girl with a small braid who was peeking out from the inner room. Her smile became even more approachable. The little girl blushed and shyly shrank back.
Maintaining a smile is so hard…
Cyan wanted to get the information she needed from this woman, so she forced herself to smile and make the other party feel she had no ill intentions.
"You came to Luoyang from outside?"
The woman looked at Cyan in surprise. As far as she knew, because the coalition army was attacking Sishui Pass, Luoyang had been sealed off. No one was allowed in or out.
"Mm."
Cyan nodded slightly.
"You're not from the coalition army, are you?"
The woman raised her hand to cover her mouth. She was starting to regret opening the door and letting this handsome and beautiful boy inside. If Dong Zhuo's men found out, wouldn't they behead her and her child as an example?
"No, I'm not. I just heard that the brave and unmatched Lü Bu Fengxian is in Luoyang, so I came specifically to seek his guidance. Unfortunately, Luoyang is sealed off, so I had no choice but to enter the city this way. I didn't dare walk openly on the streets."
Cyan spoke half-truthfully, showing a sincere smile.
"So that's how it is!"
Facing Cyan's full-of-holes explanation, the woman actually believed it. She told Cyan everything she knew about Lü Bu. Talking about Lü Bu inevitably brought up Dong Zhuo, so she also mentioned what Dong Zhuo had done. The citizens of Luoyang basically knew what Dong Zhuo had done. It was common knowledge. But out of fear of Dong Zhuo's tyranny, they knew but didn't dare speak.
"Thank you, sister. This is a small token of my appreciation."
Cyan placed a bag of silver bars on the table and pushed open the window at the back of the house.
"This… this is too much. I can't accept it…"
The woman's expression changed when she saw the bag of silver bars. This bag was enough for an ordinary family of four or five to live on for more than ten or even twenty years!
"The coalition army is attacking Sishui Pass. This place might become a battlefield. Sister, you and your child need to be careful…" Cyan finished speaking and jumped out the window before the woman could respond.
The woman hurriedly ran to the window, but Cyan's figure had already disappeared. She stood there for a second, then quickly closed the window. She took the bag of silver bars and walked around the house anxiously. She thought putting it under the stove was too easy to find. Putting it in the cabinet — what if soldiers came in during the chaos of war and robbed them?
After thinking it over, the woman carefully lifted a floor tile in the inner room, dug a hole, took out one silver bar from the bag, buried the rest, and carefully wrapped the single bar before stuffing it into a corner of the wardrobe and covering it with clothes. After doing everything she could, she let out a long sigh.
Although she was afraid of the coming war, when she thought about those silver bars, she couldn't help thinking about the future for herself and her child. With this money, they could open a small shop. Even if they didn't, by living frugally they could last twenty or even thirty years.
In the afternoon, Hua Xiong was beheaded by Guan Yu outside Sishui Pass (warming wine to slay Hua Xiong). Nishi took advantage of the chaos and killed Ma Midi, who had nearly been slain by Sun Quan, with a sneak attack.
With Asuke's Weapon Blessing buff, Nishi felt like her short blade had been freshly sharpened. She had thought her slash would only cut Ma Midi's neck, but it actually took his head clean off. Even she was startled and secretly marveled at how overpowered Asuke's Weapon Blessing buff was.
[Weapon Blessing (Active) – Skill Level: LV5]
[Consumes 20 Spirit to bless your own or a teammate's weapon with holy power. Increases attack power by 40 points and weapon-added attributes by 3. Lasts 15 minutes.
Cooldown: 30 minutes.
LV5 Effect: Can apply Weapon Blessing to yourself and one teammate at the same time.
Duration is halved. Skill cooldown reduced by 5 minutes.]
The coalition army charged into Sishui Pass and advanced toward Hulao Pass. They suffered considerable losses from the catapults and ballistae and had to temporarily slow their attack on Hulao Pass while thinking about how to deal with them. The warlords, each with their own schemes, didn't want their soldiers dying here.
The next day, when Dong Zhuo learned that the coalition army was attacking Hulao Pass, he immediately summoned officers like Lü Bu and Zhang Liao to discuss how to respond.
"Hm?"
Lü Bu, who had been summoned by Dong Zhuo and was heading to see him, felt a gaze. He turned his head and saw a calico cat dozing on a roof. He couldn't help but laugh at himself for being so startled.
"Hmph. It's just a cat."
Lü Bu snorted and walked quickly away. The Spy Cat turned on the camera and transmitted Lü Bu's movements to Cyan.
Receiving the footage from the Spy Cat, Cyan stood in the distance. Using the doubled vision range provided by her goggles, she saw Lü Bu.
Lü Bu Fengxian…
Where is he going? To see Dong Zhuo?
Cyan hesitated for a moment and followed him. Relying on the passive skill Stealth Hunter, she kept a moderate distance behind him.
Watching Lü Bu enter the imperial palace, Cyan followed him into the palace and arrived at the place where Dong Zhuo was.
"Damn it, these stupid warlords are all rebelling! Aren't they trying to ruin my wine pools and meat forests?! No choice… Luoyang is theirs. As long as I have the emperor in my hands, the capital doesn't matter! Lü Bu! Escort me to Chang'an! We must escape before Hulao Pass is taken."
"Escape? Boring! Dong Zhuo, let me go to Hulao Pass to fight!"
Lü Bu was very dissatisfied upon hearing that Dong Zhuo was only thinking about escaping instead of fighting. He wanted to fight — desperately wanted to fight — to prove his bravery.
"Don't talk nonsense! Protecting me is what matters! Don't forget, you're my adopted son!"
Dong Zhuo angrily slammed the table and glared at Lü Bu. He knew Lü Bu's temperament well.
Considering that he would still need Lü Bu's martial prowess for his escape to Chang'an, Dong Zhuo had no choice but to suppress the anger in his heart.
"I won't run away like a dog with its tail between its legs!"
"What did you say?!"
Dong Zhuo glared at Lü Bu furiously. His belly fat jiggled with his heavy breathing.
The officers listened to the two of them arguing and didn't dare make a sound. They stood silently in place. No one wanted to be the one to stick their neck out at a time like this.
"Fine! I'll let you go to Hulao Pass!"
Dong Zhuo took a deep breath and agreed to let Lü Bu go to Hulao Pass. He agreed not because he had seen the light, but because with Lü Bu's bravery, he could buy himself a lot of time to escape. If he wanted to die, then go die! His own life was the most important!
Dong Zhuo was greedy for life and afraid of death…
Lü Bu was brave but lacked strategy. If he had even a little brain, he wouldn't follow such a fool.
Cyan, crouching outside the room, heard the argument between Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu inside and had a bold idea. She had originally planned to try completing the special mission first and then kill Dong Zhuo. Now she had another idea.