Tormenting Zhang Ji Again
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Seeing that Ju Yi remained unmoved, Zhang Ji's face twisted in rage as he said:
"Since you are seeking death yourself, you have no one to blame but yourself."
He directly drew his waist blade and slashed at Ju Yi in front of him, seemingly intending to kill him and seize the treasure blade.
"Ding! Zhang Ji's skill 'Loot and Kill' activated, increasing his force by 2 points. Zhang Ji's current force: 87!
Zhang Ji's skill 'Plunder Life' activated, increasing his leadership by 3 points. Zhang Ji's current leadership: 78!"
Seeing Zhang Ji's fierce attack, Ju Yi protected the luxurious treasure blade with one hand while drawing his personal sword with the other to engage Zhang Ji in battle.
Although Ju Yi's force was clearly much higher than Zhang Ji's, his weapon was not handy, and he had to guard the treasure blade. For a moment, the two fought on equal footing.
After fighting for more than ten rounds, Zhang Ji realized that Ju Yi was stronger than him, and continuing like this was not a solution. He turned his head and shouted:
"Li Meng, Wang Fang! What are you two doing? Hurry up and help me!"
At Zhang Ji's command, two of the ruffians he led stepped forward and said to him:
"Big brother, don't worry! We're coming to help you now!"
With that, both men drew their waist blades and rushed forward to join the fight.
"Huh? Li Meng and Wang Fang? Why do these names sound familiar?"
Yuan Shu, who was watching from behind, felt a sense of déjà vu when he heard Zhang Ji call out these names.
He said to the system, "System, check the attributes of these two."
"Ding! System received the command, searching for the attributes of Li Meng and Wang Fang."
"Search complete!
Talent Li Meng's attributes:
Force: 81, Leadership: 52, Intelligence: 45, Politics: 27, Charisma: 33, Luck: 53
Talent Wang Fang's attributes:
Force: 79, Leadership: 43, Intelligence: 41, Politics: 28, Charisma: 23, Luck: 49"
Wow, both of them had force values around 80. Yuan Shu thought to himself, "Not bad, Zhang Ji is quite skilled at recruiting allies."
Li Meng and Wang Fang were not weak. Under the three-person siege, Ju Yi gradually struggled to keep up. He was slashed on the back by Li Meng, leaving a bleeding wound.
Seeing that the time was right, Yuan Shu turned to Shi A and said:
"Shi A, go up and rescue that gray-robed man."
"Understood!" Shi A cupped his hands toward Yuan Shu, then drew his sword and joined the battle, while two wandering swordsmen stepped forward to hold off Li Meng and Wang Fang.
The four wandering swordsmen brought by Shi A all had force values around 80, so dealing with Li Meng and Wang Fang was not an issue.
Thus, Shi A ignored Li Meng and Wang Fang, raising his sword and going straight for Zhang Ji.
"Ding! Shi A's skill 'Sword Duel' activated, increasing his force by 5 points. Current force: 96!"
Zhang Ji had been moments away from defeating Ju Yi and was feeling excited.
Suddenly, Shi A charged in, catching him off guard and stabbing him in the shoulder.
"Ah! Damn it! Who is it?!"
With Shi A's treasured sword piercing him, Zhang Ji howled in pain, his bloodshot eyes filled with hatred.
Shi A smiled at Zhang Ji and said:
"It's you again. We really have fate, don't we?"
"It's you?!" Zhang Ji clutched his wound, blinking his beady eyes, clearly recognizing Shi A.
At the same time, he recalled the fear of being dominated by Shi A's swordsmanship before.
Who the hell wants fate with you?! You ruin my plans every time!
Zhang Ji was furious at Shi A but helpless—his strength was far inferior.
Glancing at Li Meng and Wang Fang, he saw they were also being suppressed by Shi A's men. Zhang Ji knew that the plan to seize the treasure blade had failed.
He said to Li Meng and Wang Fang, "Stop fighting, retreat!"
The two were struggling in battle, and upon hearing their leader's order to retreat, they breathed a sigh of relief and quickly came to protect the injured Zhang Ji as they fled.
Shi A watched them retreat but did not pursue them.
Yuan Shu had ordered him to rescue the gray-robed man, not to kill Zhang Ji.
He only needed to follow Yuan Shu's instructions.
Besides, killing someone openly on the streets of Luoyang would cause unnecessary trouble. Shi A did not think it was worth getting entangled in a murder case over someone like Zhang Ji.
Zhang Ji and his men felt somewhat relieved when they saw that Shi A was not pursuing them.
Zhang Ji turned back viciously and threatened Shi A, saying:
"You've ruined my plans time and time again! Just you wait! If you ever fall into my hands, I'll make sure you suffer a fate worse than death!"
In a fleeting moment, Zhang Ji caught sight of Yuan Shu and Zou Rong behind Shi A, and his hatred deepened.
At this moment, Zou Rong was not wearing a veil, and her stunning beauty ignited Zhang Ji's jealousy, making him wish he could tear Yuan Shu apart.
However, the situation was not in his favor, so he could only suppress his hatred and leave with his subordinates.
Shi A paid no attention to Zhang Ji's threats. In his eyes, only cowards talked big when they couldn't win a fight.
"Many thanks to the young hero for saving my life!" Seeing Shi A drive away Zhang Ji and his men, Ju Yi was deeply grateful and clasped his fists in respect.
Shi A smiled and said, "If you want to thank someone, thank my lord. I was merely following orders."
As he spoke, he gestured toward Yuan Shu.
Ju Yi quickly walked up to Yuan Shu, bowed deeply, and said with gratitude:
"Many thanks, young master, for saving my life!"
Ju Yi was well aware of the situation today. Zhang Ji and his men were nothing but scoundrels, and if Shi A hadn't helped, Ju Yi would have been doomed.
It was no exaggeration to say that Yuan Shu had saved his life.
Yuan Shu seized the opportunity to gain Ju Yi's goodwill and spoke to him with great concern:
"Brave warrior, there is no need for such formalities. I see that you are an exceptional man, a true hero of this era.
How could I allow petty villains to gang up on you and humiliate you?"
Yuan Shu's words filled Ju Yi with joy.
Ju Yi was an extremely proud man, always believing himself to be an outstanding general of his time.
But no one ever recognized his talent.
Now, Yuan Shu had praised him as a hero upon their first meeting, making Ju Yi feel as if he had finally found someone who understood him.
Moreover, Yuan Shu had saved his life, a debt Ju Yi found difficult to repay.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Ju Yi gritted his teeth, took the treasured sword from his body, and said to Yuan Shu:
"Young master, I have no way to repay such a life-saving kindness.
This blade is the Seven-Star Treasure Sword, which I risked my life to obtain. I am willing to present it to you as a token of my gratitude!"
With that, he held out the Seven-Star Treasure Sword to Yuan Shu.
Looking at the sword in front of him, Yuan Shu thought to himself, What do I need this piece of junk for?
What I want is a great general!
The Seven-Star Treasure Sword was indeed luxurious, a prized possession for many nobles and officials.
But to Yuan Shu, it was nothing more than scrap metal, completely worthless.
Smiling, Yuan Shu gently pushed the sword back into Ju Yi's hands and said:
"A nobleman does not take what another cherishes. If I were to take your treasured sword, how would I be any different from those scoundrels just now?"
Hearing this, Ju Yi had no choice but to put the sword away and said to Yuan Shu:
"You are truly a man of great righteousness, young master. I am deeply impressed. I will now return this treasured sword to the Wang family and then come back to repay your kindness."
There was only one renowned Wang family in Luoyang, and that was the Taiyuan Wang family, to which the capable minister Wang Yun belonged.
It was also the family of Yuan Shu's mother, Lady Wang.
[Author's note]: *Footnote 1: Li Meng and Wang Fang were from Wuwei and served under Dong Zhuo.
In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the two volunteered to fight Ma Teng and Han Sui. Wang Fang was killed by Ma Chao in a single spear thrust, while Li Meng was captured alive and later executed in public.*