Chapter 7, Conflict

"Stop!" A sharp command rang out. Although the voice was not loud, it carried a significant deterrent effect. Xu Cheng turned his gaze towards the source of the voice and saw a man in a brocade robe, around thirty years old, of medium build, with a slightly dark complexion, approaching.

Unfortunately, Yang Er has been with Xu Cheng for three years, so how could he not understand Xu Cheng's intentions? This time, it was clearly a deliberate provocation, is there any need to say more? Without answering, he stepped forward, and immediately, his knee collided with Qi Laoda's stomach

As expected, Xu Chengwei signaled, and a personal guard immediately acted, striking the insolent and ungrateful attendant with the scabbard of his sword. "Bang!" The attendant fell to the ground, unable to rise.

Before long, a restaurant appeared before everyone. Although Xu Cheng was not very literate (he could barely recognize a few small seal characters), he could read the sign that said "Huibin Building." The place was bustling with people coming and going, so he led the group in that direction

In fact, Xu Huang's role in this was rather minor; he was purely about brute force. On the other hand, Yang Er employed techniques learned from Xu Cheng, who, during his time as a leader, had studied the combat skills of retired special forces, incorporating some moves from Jeet Kune Do. Such skills are incomparable to the crude techniques of the present. Moreover, when Xu Cheng was teaching them, he ensured they understood the vital points of the human body, so how could their strikes be anything but effective? Therefore, including Boss Qi, anyone facing Yang Er was swiftly dealt with in a single encounter.

Those kids are causing you trouble, aren't they

"We agreed to go out for drinks today, right!" Xu Cheng said again

"Alas! Truly unfortunate!" Looking at the group of soldiers on the ground, Xu Changlong sighed, "You are really careless while walking; you can even fall and lose consciousness. You are indeed out of luck!"

The chaotic battle began, and Xu Huang couldn't help but feel an increased respect for Xu Cheng. Truly, General Xu is remarkable; his subordinates are so formidable. At the same time, he also admired Yang Er's methods, impressive! This was his assessment of Yang Er. The two joined forces, and as Xu Cheng had anticipated, they both easily resolved the situation. Although they bore some bruises, it was far better compared to the other side, who had fallen to the ground without even drawing their weapons.

Xu Huang and Yang Er were both puzzled, thinking to themselves, when did the two of us get to know each other?

"Why should Meng De be polite to these foot soldiers?" Another person stepped forward, his complexion much fairer, exuding an air of grandeur. As he spoke, his face displayed a look of disdain. Behind him followed several individuals, one dressed as a scholar, while the others were all adorned with long swords, clearly indicating their status as military generals.

In a swift manner, a group of Xiliang soldiers broke through the crowd, and the leader, Xu Cheng, immediately spotted him, Old Master Qi! However, Old Master Qi clearly did not see him. Seeing his subordinates lying on the ground, he was filled with rage, dismounted from his steed, and unleashed a flurry of lashes with his whip on several of his men, cursing as he struck, calling them "bastards" and "losing face" among other things

"General Qi, is that the Qi Laoda?" Xu Cheng recalled the soldier who had caused him quite a bit of trouble, and he was surprised to find that he had already been promoted to the position of General of the Gate under Hua Xiong, quite a rapid advancement! However, compared to himself, he still had a long way to go!" General Qi, is that the Qi Laoda?" Xu Cheng recalled the soldier who had caused him quite a bit of trouble, and he was surprised to find that he had already been promoted to the position of General of the Gate under Hua Xiong, quite a rapid advancement! However, compared to himself, he still had a long way to go! (Han Dynasty military ranks: Wuchang - Shichang - Dubo - Bai Ren Jiang - Yamen Jiang, Qidu, Buqu Duzheng - Biebu Sima (Military Sima) - Douwei (Qidouwei) - Xiaowei (but the five Xiaowei had almost become noble military positions, leaning towards civil service) - Zhonglang Jiang (Wuguan, Left, Right, and Huben Zhonglang Jiang are similar to the five Xiaowei) - Bijiang Jun - Pianjiang Jun - Zahu Jiang Jun (Bijiang Jun and Pianjiang Jun should be the lowest among Zahu Jiang Jun, but their status is different from the other two types of generals) - Sizheng, Sizhen, Qianhou Zuoyou Jiang Jun - Wei Jiang Jun - Biaoqi, Cheqi Jiang Jun - Dajiang Jun)

Xu Cheng glanced over and saw that Boss Qi had brought approximately 30 people, all of whom were panting on the side, and he already had an idea in mind

Xu Cheng couldn't help but smile wryly at the other person's reaction, "Truly a scion of a prestigious family, handling such a grand occasion!"

Xu Cheng touched his nose and thought to himself, "Am I really that famous?" Just as he was about to respond, someone interjected, "A mere junior officer dares to block the path of my master, what audacity! Step aside!" said a retainer.

"General? Haha!" Xu Cheng chuckled self-deprecatingly and replied, "I am not a general at all. Lord Cao, you jest. I am Xu Cheng, Xu Bogong!"

The two finally began to sense something, and Xu Huang felt an inexplicable gratitude, as this was supporting him. However, Yang Er felt dissatisfied, wondering why he had to be involved in this.

Originally, if it had only been like this, the first meeting of the three great overlords of the North in the future would have ended here. However, Yuan Shao's subordinates had always been excessively arrogant. When they saw Xu Cheng yielding, one of them actually said to Xu Cheng: "Next time remember, when you see my master, you must yield, do you understand?" The voice was not small, and everyone heard it.

Captain Xu's subordinates are quite skilled, but they have injured my attendant. What should be done about this? The final question was asked with a sharp tone, exuding an air of superiority.

Meng De! Xu Cheng felt overwhelmed, one Xu Huang was already surprising enough, but still within the realm of acceptance. Now, another super leader has arrived, making it unbearable. If they were to come, couldn't it have been at a better time?

This strike immediately stirred the atmosphere at the scene, with several generals beside Yuan Shao drawing their swords to protect their lord behind them, while others summoned the personal guards, totaling more than one hundred.

"So, you have decided to deal with them, right?" Seeing Xu Cheng pointing at the dozens of reinforcements on the other side, the two suddenly felt somewhat uneasy.

Indeed! Indeed! That soldier from Xiliang was completely unaware that disaster was imminent, and he kept nodding his head, saying: "General, don't you remember? We were originally all under General Qi. At that time, we were all personal guards of the Prime Minister. Later, you achieved merit and were promoted to a school captain, and General Qi also wanted to achieve merit, so he took us all out. He is now under General Huaxiong, serving as a gate commander!"

I have decided to support you!" After saying this, Xu Cheng immediately pulled back the other two bodyguards, pushing Xu Huang and Yang Er to the front. The two had not yet reacted when Qi Laoda approached, holding a whip still stained with blood. "You little brats, you have some nerve to dare to hit my subordinates! Now tell me, whose subordinates are you?" Although he was usually overbearing, he was not willing to provoke formidable characters for no reason, hence his inquiry. "You little brats, you have some nerve to dare to hit my subordinates! Now tell me, whose subordinates are you?" Although he was usually overbearing, he was not willing to provoke formidable characters for no reason, hence his inquiry.

Oh! Cao Cao was also taken aback. He had just seen Xu Cheng dressed in the uniform of the Xiliang army and did not want to provoke trouble, so he had stopped the two attendants. Unexpectedly, the person before him was actually Xu Cheng, who had been the subject of much rumor today. Unable to help himself, he scrutinized the other party again and then asked, "Are you the Xu Cheng, the Lieutenant Xu, who resisted Lü Bu, Lü Fengxian, outside the city of Luoyang?"

"I dare not," upon seeing the other party pay their respects, Cao Cao also returned the gesture, "This general is..."

Unfortunately, it was clear that fate did not want him to have an easy day today. Just as he was about to enter, a group of people was coming out from inside. Xu Cheng was about to step aside when one of them shouted, "Get lost!"

Isn't this the esteemed Colonel of the Imperial Army, Lord Cao Cao, also known as Cao Mengde? Xu Cheng took the initiative to pay his respects, as one cannot fault excessive courtesy. Moreover, can one afford to offend the person before them?

Xu Huang remained perplexed, but Yang Er, having followed Xu Cheng for a long time, had already begun to sense that something was amiss

No, no, no! The two hurriedly shook their heads and waved their hands, joking. Yang Er thought to himself: "I almost got disfigured; that kid actually used the kind of claw technique that only women use to slap my face, how despicable!" Xu Huang, on the other hand, thought: "If this keeps up, they might come looking for me, and I won't be able to survive in this world anymore"

The noisy tavern immediately fell silent

Xu Cheng smiled faintly and glanced at the imposing figure, thinking to himself: "This must be Yuan Shao, after all, he will be the future overlord of the North, I should give him some face!" He shifted his body to the side, making way.

What was unexpected to Xu Cheng was that Cao Cao was actually excluded by the other party and did not receive protection. "Indeed, Cao Cao is currying favor with Dong Zhuo, which naturally these fools cannot comprehend. Moreover, Cao Cao is also a descendant of the powerful eunuch Cao Teng"

Let's go! Do you really want to get cozy with them?" Seeing Xu Huang and Yang Er standing aside with unsightly expressions, Xu Cheng feigned a look of concern.

Hehe! Xu Cheng laughed, and upon hearing this laughter, Cao Cao was the first to react, "This is bad!" This was his first thought

With unanimous agreement, they naturally decided to leave immediately. Xu Cheng had been the leader back in the day, but he was quite adept at this tactic. After turning the corner, he insisted on taking Xu Huang back to the restaurant for another visit, feeling quite pleased. Although Xu Huang wanted to decline, he found it difficult to express this, especially since Xu Cheng had just helped him and clearly intended to support him. Thus, he could not voice his objections and instead turned to discuss the boxing techniques he had just used with Yang Er.

He waved to Xu Huang and Yang Er, beckoning them to come closer, and said: "You know each other, right!"

The situation paused for a moment. Seeing Xu Cheng merely smiling at him, Yuan Shao felt that he might have overreacted a bit. Thus, he waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to sheathe their weapons, and said:

Xu Cheng secretly sneered, contemplating how to deal with these individuals who nearly disrupted his plans, when a sound of hooves approached, accompanied by shouts of "Get out of the way, get out of the way!"

At this moment, Xu Cheng stood his ground. Seeing that Xu Cheng was blocking the doorway, two individuals who appeared to be attendants rushed over and pushed towards Xu Cheng, saying, "You dare! Step aside!"

Cao Cao was initially infuriated upon hearing the words of the attendant, thinking to himself how a mere subordinate dared to interrupt while he was speaking, considering himself to be of such importance. However, he was quite astute; upon seeing Xu Cheng voluntarily step aside, he chose not to say anything further. He cupped his hands in a gesture of respect towards Xu Cheng and led the way out. Yuan Shao followed closely behind, casting a glance at Xu Cheng from the corner of his eye, striding forward with confidence, while those behind him followed closely out.