Chapter 073: Who Are You, Really?

“The dead have no need to know my name!”

It was a man’s voice—arrogant, wild, and, above all, strikingly familiar to Lü Lingqi. She reined in her horse and turned, only to be utterly stunned by what she saw.

A coiling dragon halberd, a triple-pronged golden crown, a robe of crimson brocade bedecked with a hundred blossoms, armor wrought in the likeness of beasts devouring heads, all linked in shining chains! All this, adorned upon a single figure—and the horse he rode was none other than the Red Hare.

“Father?!”

A surge of shock mingled with delight swept over Lü Lingqi; for a moment, she thought she must be dreaming.

Zhang Fei, too, was dumbstruck. Was this not Lü Bu himself, clad in that unmistakable array? Had he not already died? How could he appear here—was this truly a haunting?

The notion that he faced Lü Bu’s ghost made Zhang Fei’s hair stand on end, cold sweat beading down his back. Forcing himself to muster courage, he bellowed, “Quit your tricks, specter! Taste your grandfather’s spear!”

He swung the Serpentine Spear of Eight Trigrams with lethal intent, locking his killing aura directly onto the ‘Lü Bu’ before him.

Cao Peng, mistaken for Lü Bu, felt an immense murderous force bearing down upon him, as if it might pierce him through. He swept up his coiling dragon halberd and struck directly at Zhang Fei’s spear.

With a single blow, his domineering might forced the Serpentine Spear aside; Zhang Fei’s arms went numb, barely able to keep hold of his weapon.

Fierce Zhang Fei was left in utter disbelief.

“Impossible! You can’t be Lü Bu!”

Yet the more Zhang Fei protested, the more his heart wavered—could this truly be Lü Bu’s spirit?

That overwhelming, peerless power—he knew it intimately, having crossed weapons with Lü Bu countless times.

“Heh, who I am—you’re welcome to guess!” Cao Peng seized the moment of Zhang Fei’s shock and lashed out again with his halberd, assaulting his foe with merciless force.

This time, striking by surprise, Zhang Fei was caught unprepared. Confronted by such domineering strength, his Serpentine Spear was knocked clean from his grasp, spinning away and embedding itself in the ground.

Unarmed, Zhang Fei had no choice but to meet the descending halberd with his bare palms.

A thunderous crash echoed out.

Zhang Fei felt a crushing blow to his chest, sent flying from his horse and tumbling across the ground, battered and disheveled.

Cao Peng did not press the attack, but seized the advantage, pulling Lü Lingqi up onto the Red Hare with him.

“Go!”

He spurred the horse into a gallop, not pausing for an instant.

Lü Lingqi was still lost in the shock of it all, too dazed to wonder why he had spared Zhang Fei’s life.

In truth, Cao Peng’s current strength was not enough to kill Zhang Fei. His victory owed much to Zhang Fei’s fear and incomplete focus. Moreover, the divine-demonic halberd technique he had acquired included a secret art: by suddenly concentrating and unleashing fierce, domineering power, one could strike with more than double one’s true strength.

It was by all these means together that he had managed to defeat a warrior of Zhang Fei’s caliber.

Cao Peng chose not to pursue the kill. If he failed, he would only waste precious time, and Guan Yu had yet to appear. He intended to take Lü Lingqi to a remote corner of Xuchang before releasing her.

Yet even as he reached a secluded spot, a powerful murderous aura bore down from behind.

Without turning, he raised his halberd to block.

The clash of metal rang out, sparks flying in every direction.

Cao Peng turned to face his new adversary: a burly man in a green robe, bearing the Blue Dragon Crescent Blade, his face flushed crimson.

Damn it, wasn’t this Second Master Guan?

No wonder he hadn’t been with Zhang Fei—he’d taken a shortcut, waiting to intercept if Zhang Fei failed.

Cao Peng’s heart tightened. The previous clash with Zhang Fei had already left him suffering the backlash from his technique. Guan Yu, now standing before him, was even mightier than Zhang Fei—he had little hope of prevailing.

What worried him more was that, should the fight drag on and the city’s soldiers arrive, he would find himself trapped with no escape.

While these thoughts whirled in his mind, Guan Yu, recovering from his initial shock, also quickly assessed his opponent. Though this man’s appearance matched Lü Bu’s, Guan Yu keenly sensed a difference in bearing. Besides, Guan Yu was proud by nature—even if the real Lü Bu had risen from Hell, he would not hesitate to cut him down again.

“Scoundrel—prepare to die!”

With a mighty cry, Guan Yu urged his horse forward, the Blue Dragon Crescent Blade scraping along the ground, showering sparks in its wake.

The blade rose, slicing through the air with a shriek as it crashed down toward Cao Peng.

Beneath the arc of that blade, Cao Peng’s eyes widened to the brink of tearing; he knew Guan Yu’s famed technique was no idle threat. Each of the three descending strikes was stronger than the last, their momentum stacking layer upon layer. In his current state, he might well fall beneath Guan Yu’s horse.

He had no choice but to gamble.

In one swift motion, he swallowed the Gold Tiger and Leopard Tempering Pill he’d prepared. The coiling dragon halberd swept up to meet Guan Yu’s first strike.

As the divine weapons collided, the pill’s power surged through Cao Peng. Withstand Guan Yu’s pressure, he forced his own strength beyond its limits.

The Blue Dragon Crescent Blade was parried aside, surprising Guan Yu. But in the blink of an eye, the second strike came, lower and sweeping wide.

Cao Peng, disadvantaged in speed, had no time to recover his halberd for defense; any attempt would only leave him vulnerable. It was a deadlock—so he steeled his resolve, thrusting the halberd straight for Guan Yu’s chest.

Startled, Guan Yu realized that such a move would doom them both. Unwilling to die with this man, he deflected the blow, only to be shaken back by Cao Peng’s force.

Having driven Guan Yu back, Cao Peng wasted no time, spurring the Red Hare into a wild gallop, leaving his pursuer far behind.

Unable to catch up, Guan Yu swore loudly, then gradually gave up the chase.

Cao Peng rode hard to a desolate part of the city, finally letting Lü Lingqi dismount.

He trusted that, after such an ordeal, Lü Lingqi would not be foolish enough to throw herself into danger again.

He, too, needed to make his escape and quickly hide this disguise.

Sensing his imminent departure, Lü Lingqi asked, “Who exactly are you?”

Though unwilling to believe it, the clever woman was now certain beyond doubt—this was not her father.