The Struggle of Chaos, Chapter 108: Guan Yu’s Choice

The journey westward was a lonely one, with Guan Yu and Zhu Long leading the army at the very front. By now, Zhu Long had learned that in that single, brutal day, Guan Yu had lost almost all of his kin. Even having stepped onto the pinnacle of martial arts, Guan Yu could not shake the heavy burden weighing upon his soul.

"General Guan, I am not particularly skilled at comforting others, and I do not know what to say. But I understand your pain; I, too, lost all my family in a single night. That anguish is gut-wrenching, a memory that remains etched in my mind to this day. But we are men—men who must stand tall. Even if we are occasionally crushed, we must rise again and continue to fight," Zhu Long said slowly.

Although his words were not conventional comfort, for Guan Yu, they served as a form of masculine encouragement.

"Thank you, Commander Zhu. I, Guan Yu, am not so easily defeated," Guan Yu replied with a faint smile.

Zhu Long looked surprised. "The General Guan I know is not one to say 'thank you' so easily."

"People change, just as the future is full of change."

Along the way, the two men found solace in their conversation, drawing them closer together. Suddenly, a scout galloped over and reported, "General, we have discovered a small detachment of Qin troops ahead, roughly several hundred men. They are hunting down a small group of Han soldiers."

"The Han soldiers are likely survivors fleeing from North Wei City. I will go save them," Guan Yu replied.

"General, be careful. Let me take a few soldiers to accompany you," Zhu Long suggested.

"Commander Zhu, you worry too much. I am now at the pinnacle of the martial path," Guan Yu chuckled.

Only then did Zhu Long realize he had just tried to protect a warrior of that caliber. He could not help but smile helplessly. Guan Yu gestured, and followed the scout toward the fray.

On an open plain, hundreds of Qin soldiers were pursuing a dozen or so fugitives. The group wore the standard uniforms of the Cao army, along with some dressed as servants. The reason they were being hunted was likely the speeding carriage they were protecting in their midst.

As soon as Guan Yu arrived, he did not hesitate. He charged on horseback, his blade trailing, slamming into the flank of the Qin formation. The Qin soldiers stared in shock at the burly man wielding a massive blade, charging toward them like a madman.

"Who are you—" Before the soldier could finish, the great blade flashed before his eyes. With a sweep of green light and the crescent moon descending from the heavens, the fluid motion left the soldiers dead before they could even manifest their martial essence. If they had known they were dying at the hands of a martial arts pinnacle, they might have boasted about it in the next world.

Seeing they were saved, the fugitives cried out in joy. "Thank God, we are saved!"

Once the skirmish was over, Guan Yu led his men toward them. "Great hero, thank you for your righteous aid," the leader of the group said, stepping forward.

Guan Yu glanced at the sparse group behind him and asked, "Where are you from?"

"We are Han people who lived in North Wei City," the leader replied. "When the Qin army breached the city, we were fortunate enough to escape, but they would not let us go. Thank you, hero, for saving us."

Guan Yu nodded, at a loss for words. Both were drifters in the same world, and he knew not what to say. Just as he fell silent, a graceful figure stepped down from the carriage.

"Are you General Guan?"

Guan Yu looked up slowly. The woman was of perfect stature, with delicate shoulders and a slender waist. Her neck was porcelain white, her hair piled high like clouds, her brows curved and fine, and her lips red and teeth white. Her eyes were bright and expressive, with sweet dimples beneath her cheekbones. Though weary from the flight, she remained elegant and serene.

"Who are you?" Her beauty struck Guan Yu, and she felt oddly familiar, yet having rarely paid attention to women, he could not place her.

"My name is Zhen Mi," she said gracefully. "I am from Zhongshan and was the wife of Cao Pi, son of Prime Minister Cao of North Wei City. When you were in North Wei, General, I had the honor of seeing you."

"I see. Where is your husband now?"

Zhen Mi’s expression darkened. "He has fallen in battle."

When North Wei fell, only Cao Cao and Liu Bei escaped; the others were trapped within the locked city. Zhen Mi, however, had been sent to a nearby city by Cao Pi after a domestic dispute, which had inadvertently allowed her to escape the Qin encirclement.

Guan Yu looked at her. "What are your plans, Madam? Where will you go?"

"My home is gone; I do not know where to go," she said, lifting teary eyes to look at him pleadingly. "If you do not mind, General, could you allow us to join you? I cannot lead men in battle, but I will do my best to care for you."

There was desperation and hope in her gaze. Guan Yu could not refuse. "I do not know where I am going either, but I will be on the march for a long time. If you do not mind, you may come with us. I cannot guarantee your comfort, but as long as I live, I will protect your life."

With his permission, Zhen Mi’s tear-stained face broke into a smile—the first genuine smile she had felt in years. Eventually, those who had families or other attachments went their separate ways, but about half chose to follow Guan Yu on his journey to find Li Qiutong.

After several days of travel, they returned to Shu-Han City. But the city was now a desolate sight. News that Bai Qi had captured Luoyang had spread throughout the Han Kingdom, and the three-year Qin-Han war had reached its end.

Three days later, Li Qiutong arrived at Shu-Han City with nearly ten thousand men. Though he had heard the rumors along the way, the confirmation from Guan Yu that Liu Bei was dead and the Han Kingdom had fallen still filled him with profound grief. Even though he had only met Liu Bei once, the kind, friendly, and selfless "Big Brother" was a man Li Qiutong truly respected.

"Before he left, Big Brother said he believed you would inherit his unfinished cause and bring true peace to the people," Guan Yu said, kneeling on one knee. "From this day forward, I, Guan Yunchang, am willing to serve you, General, to fight by your side without regret." This was the third time the proud Martial Saint had knelt before another: the first was to his parents, the second when he swore his brotherhood. Now, he set aside his arrogance to face himself and others.

"General Guan, please rise," Li Qiutong said, helping him up. "I, Li Qiutong, lack the ambition of the King of Shu, but I promise that I will treat you like a brother. I will not let the King of Shu down."

"Thank you, General Li."

But reality was not so ideal. Ren Xingtian stepped forward. "Since that is the case, we must discuss our next move. We cannot stay in Shu-Han City. The Tang Kingdom is hunting us, and the Qin Kingdom could strike at any time. Surrounded as we are, we must find a place to regroup—a place that is safe for the short term."

Ren Xingtian’s words exposed the reality. They needed time to grow stronger, but where was safe in this world? Everyone fell silent.

"What about the City of Chaos?" Yang Ruiyun suggested. "With Big Brother’s current strength, even Lu Bu is no match for us. There are enough resources there for us to develop."

Ren Xingtian shook his head. "No. The City of Chaos is just a gathering place for mercenaries and warriors. We need our own territory—a place we can control, defensible and secure. If there is no better choice, it is an option, but not an ideal one."

"What about Zhenbei Pass?" It was the usually taciturn Biluo who spoke.

As everyone turned to her, she continued, "My full name is Beitang Biluo. My family has guarded Zhenbei Pass for generations. My female soldiers are also from there. We know it best."

Some were surprised, while others had already suspected as much.

"Why Zhenbei Pass? Isn't it just a checkpoint? It can't be that big," Li Qiutong asked.

Biluo explained slowly, "It is not just a pass. Zhenbei Pass sits within a miraculous canyon in the Tianlun Mountains, surrounded by towering peaks. Its central city is vast, comparable to half of Chang'an. It extends in a triangular shape, connecting the East and North regions. Two walls, hundreds of meters high, were built along the mountains—the legendary North Martial Realm. Within those walls, the Zhenbei Army stands guard. To the east lies the continent-famous source of Northern Spirit Cold Iron, and to the west is a land rich in spiritual energy, though it is a forbidden zone rumored to be the lair of fierce divine beasts. In size, it is no smaller than Chang'an."

Ren Xingtian nodded. "Indeed, it has excellent geography, but the North Martial Realm is formidable. We likely could not take it. Furthermore, the Zhenbei Army, hardened by constant war with the Northern tribes, is fierce. Even without a formal military formation, their siege experience and the advantage of those walls would make them nearly impossible to conquer, even for three full military formations."

"True, but that is from your perspective," Biluo said. "The internal problems of Zhenbei Pass are far greater than you imagine."

She explained: "Although it belongs to the Qin Kingdom, the people there have a poor relationship with them. Most residents are descendants of the soldiers who guarded the border. Our family, the Beitang, were the original generals. We consider ourselves 'Zhenbei people,' not 'Qin people.' A century ago, the Qin realized we were slipping from their control. We have no fertile land, but we have the unique Cold Iron. Through trade, we prospered. The Qin responded by stripping the Beitang and other elder families of their power, sending a new commander every ten years to act as City Lord. That Lord has absolute power, but the people of Zhenbei will not allow an outsider to dictate their lives."