Chapter 4: Encounter on the Road

...

By the time Chen Xi arrived in Chenliu, the ride he had intended to hitch was already gone. Cao Mengde had already issued his manifesto. Estimating by this pace, if Chen Xi could truly make it to Hulao Pass, he would likely encounter the three brothers—Liu Xuande and his kin—who were currently nothing more than background characters.

"Young Master, where are we going now?" Chen Lan asked, standing to the side after brewing a pot of tea for Chen Xi. As for sitting down, Chen Xi had suggested it many times, but to no avail.

"To Suanzao. We don't have much of a reputation, but fortunately, I am a scholar, and I am the top son of the Chen family from Yingchuan. It shouldn't be a problem to blend in," Chen Xi said helplessly. His original plan was to follow Cao Cao's troops; as a famous righteous man of the era—before he became a villain—Cao Cao wouldn't kill a mere hitchhiker like him for no reason.

"Oh, are we leaving right now, Young Master?" Chen Lan asked, tilting her head.

"Let's go, let's go. Let's see if we can run into another group along the way that can give us a lift." Chen Xi drained his tea in one gulp and walked toward the carriage. Come to think of it, before leaving, Fan Liang had given him quite a bit of travel money; he estimated it would be enough to last him three to five years of wandering.

With a layer of mental power wrapped around him to prevent people from noticing his carriage, Chen Xi sat inside and continued explaining the knowledge of mental extraction to Chen Lan, though progress was clearly slow.

"Young Master, we might have to sleep in the open tonight," Butler Chen said with a bitter smile. "We must have taken the wrong turn at the fork in the road earlier."

"Ha. It's fine." Chen Xi looked somewhat embarrassed; he had been the one insisting on this route. He casually picked up a rice cake and shared it with the two of them, swallowing it down with cold water. "Well, rice cakes aren't too bad."

"Eh? Young Master, look, is that cooking smoke over there?" Chen Lan took two bites of her rice cake and glanced north by chance, her sharp eyes catching a plume of smoke rising in the distance.

"There are people! Let's go mooch a meal; these rice cakes are truly terrible." Chen Xi immediately overturned his previous statement and directed Butler Chen to run toward the smoke.

As the saying goes, "looking at a mountain can exhaust a horse," and running toward smoke was much the same. What looked like a thin wisp of smoke from afar turned out to be a massive expanse upon closer approach.

"With this scale, could it be one of the warlords' camps?" Chen Xi hesitated, stopping not far from the smoke. At this time, warlords could be good or bad; if you followed one and they were in a good mood, they might protect you; others might drive you away, and some might even rob you...

"Young Master, should we go take a look?" Chen Lan asked curiously.

"Let's look. We're already this close; it would be a shame not to. I wonder which warlord it is. Forget it, I'll use a small spell to go check it out." As he spoke, Chen Xi shrouded himself in mental power, slowly blending into the surrounding environment. Originally, this spell had many loopholes, but thanks to Chen Xi's improvements, it was now considered top-tier.

After sneaking closer, Chen Xi looked at the large encampment and the rows of white horses. Staring at the flag in the center, he rubbed his chin, his mood improving significantly. He had encountered a pure nationalist—the White Horse General, Gongsun Zan.

"Who goes there!" Just as Chen Xi was planning to head back, summon his butler and maid, and "eat the rich" by hitching a ride, a thunderous roar erupted. Heaven help him, Chen Xi could swear he had never heard a louder shout in his life; his ears were still ringing.

Before Chen Xi could react, a dark-faced, burly man leaped over ten meters from within the camp, charging straight toward him.

*Thud!* Without using any weapon, the man's landing created a crater several meters wide in the ground.

The impact sent Chen Xi's form stumbling out from his concealment. Looking disheveled, he frowned at the burly man. The moment the man appeared, Chen Xi's mental power had surged; almost every nerve in his body was signaling one thing: danger, extreme danger, absolute danger.

"Who are you, to dare spy on the main camp?" The voice, like rolling thunder, surrounded Chen Xi. As soon as the words were spoken, a flurry of cavalry rushed out of the camp, surrounding him.

"Would you believe me if I said I just came for a meal?" Although terrified, Chen Xi grew calm once he was surrounded. To some extent, a person like him was a resource in these chaotic times; as long as he demonstrated his value, these warlords wouldn't care about such trifles.

Before the opponent could speak, Chen Xi said with a smile, "This area is sparsely populated. I saw smoke from afar and thought it was a household, hoping to stay the night. I didn't expect it to be an army. Out of necessity, I had to come and investigate. After all, the armies of this world are of different classes; some provide protection to traveling scholars, while others... well, there's no need to mention them."

Hearing this, the burly man's brow furrowed as he glared at Chen Xi. "Do you have proof?"

"From that move just now, you should know that what I practice is different from yours. If we practiced the same, I would have almost no lethality against you. As for mental power, as long as I stay by your side, given your strength, I believe you would be confident in being able to restrain me at any time." A sharp glint flashed in Chen Xi's eyes. He was gambling on whether the man was Zhang Yide. This strength, this physique, this voice, and this location—it was highly likely.

"That is true. Since you are a scholar, tell me where you are from. Our Liaoxi troops will not harm you." The man nodded, accepting Chen Xi's logic. He was confident—extremely confident—and his strength fueled that confidence.

"Chen Zichuan of the Chen family from Yingchuan," Chen Xi said helplessly. "I suspect you are Zhang Yide."

"Eh? You actually know me?" The man froze, then a look of joy crossed his face. As for the mention of Yingchuan, he had no idea what it meant.

"Fine." Chen Xi shrugged without further comment. Missing out on Cao Cao and meeting Liu Bei was another good choice. Moreover, the current Gongsun Zan was not as tyrannical as he would become later and wouldn't mind a few followers.

"Third Brother, I heard you caught a spy?" Just as Zhang Fei was about to speak, another voice came from behind.

*Average looks, quite large ears, and long arms,* Chen Xi muttered inwardly. Behind Zhang Fei stood a burly man with a red face; there was no doubt it was Guan Er-ye. Thinking further, Chen Xi sighed; he was certain now that this world leaned much more heavily toward the *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* than historical fact.

"Scholar Chen Zichuan greets Lord Xuande." Chen Xi bowed to Liu Bei. Regardless, he was currently being detained, and he couldn't afford to offend them.

(End of Chapter)