Chapter 28: Finally Home, Time to Turn Jingzhou Upside Down!

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While Xu Chu stood there in stunned bewilderment, Xiao Fang had already begun examining Xu’s mother.

He checked her pulse, examined her pupils, and performed various other tests. He clearly understood medicine, yet his methods were wholly unlike those of ordinary physicians.

“Who... who are you?”

Xu Chu finally came to his senses and moved forward to stop him.

Liu Bei hurried over to hold him back and explained, “Zhongkang, do not worry. This is my military adviser, Xiao Fang. He is highly skilled in medicine and once saved my wife’s life.”

“With him treating her, your mother will surely be saved.”

Xiao Fang?

Liu Bei’s military adviser?

And skilled in medicine as well?

Xu Chu eyed the young scholar before him with suspicion. He had never heard of Xiao Fang, yet his gaze held both hope and worry.

“Your mother must have been badly frightened just now. Her blood pressure rose sharply, causing cardiac arrest.”

“If we begin resuscitation immediately, there is still a chance of saving her.”

“Brother Xu, please step aside.”

Xiao Fang ushered Xu Chu away, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Xu’s mother.

Xu Chu was not the only one confused.

Liu Bei and the others were equally baffled.

They had no idea what “cardiac arrest” or “elevated blood pressure” meant.

“Mr. Xiao... what is cardiac arrest?” Xu Chu asked haltingly once he had recovered from his shock.

“In simple terms, it means the heart has stopped beating.”

“What? Her heart has stopped?”

Xu Chu turned deathly pale.

If her heart had stopped beating, did that not mean she was dead?

“Mother! Mother!”

With a cry of grief, Xu Chu’s eyes instantly filled with tears, and he was about to throw himself upon his mother’s “corpse” and wail.

“It is still too early to mourn. Your mother was found in time. If we administer first aid now, there may yet be a chance of reviving her.”

“Whether she can be saved, however, will depend on her fate.”

Xiao Fang drew a deep breath and prepared to begin.

Xu Chu was utterly bewildered. If her heart had stopped beating, then surely she was already dead.

Could a dead person really be brought back to life?

Even Liu Bei and Jian Yong, though they had witnessed Xiao Fang’s medical skill before, stared on in astonishment. They simply could not believe that Xiao Fang possessed the power to “raise the dead.”

Under the eyes of the entire assembly, Xiao Fang began pressing down upon Xu’s mother’s chest.

“What are you doing!”

Seeing Xiao Fang treating his mother’s “corpse” so disrespectfully, Xu Chu had intended to step forward and stop him.

But just as the words reached his lips, he reconsidered. Liu Xuande’s military adviser might behave strangely, but since his mother was already dead, there was no harm in letting a dead horse be treated as though it were alive.

What if Xiao Fang truly possessed extraordinary medical skills?

Thus, Xu Chu suppressed his doubts and anger for the moment. Standing to one side with his fists clenched, he watched Xiao Fang attempt to save his mother by means that seemed utterly bizarre.

“Brother, I know that Military Adviser Xiao saved Sister-in-law and is skilled in medicine.”

“But this old lady’s heart has stopped beating. Does that not mean she has breathed her last?”

“If even the dead can be brought back to life, then is he not some kind of immortal?”

Zhang Fei leaned close to Liu Bei’s ear and muttered softly, his eyes full of doubt.

Suspicion flickered in Liu Bei’s eyes, and he shook his head slightly.

“Our military adviser is unfathomable. We cannot judge him by ordinary reasoning. Even now, I still cannot see through him...”

Zhang Fei gave an “oh,” scratched his head, and continued watching Xiao Fang save the old woman with avid curiosity.

Who knew how much time had passed?

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Xu Chu’s mother, whose breathing had already ceased, suddenly convulsed. Then she began gasping for air in great, ragged breaths.

“She’s alive!”

“Brother, Military Adviser Xiao really brought a dead person back to life!”

Zhang Fei’s eyes bulged wide as he shouted in shock and excitement.

Everyone around them was astounded, as though they had just witnessed a miracle.

“Could the military adviser truly be...”

Liu Bei’s eyes were filled with disbelief, and for a moment he could not find the words.

“Mother! Mother!”

The anxiety that had consumed Xu Chu instantly turned to wild joy. He rushed toward his mother.

Xiao Fang, meanwhile, let out a long breath, climbed down from the cart, and lowered his sleeves.

“Military Adviser, you truly are divine!”

“Even someone who had breathed her last can be brought back to life by you. You must be that legendary... that...”

Zhang Fei could not recall the name. He scratched his ears and cheeks in frantic desperation.

“You mean Bian Que reborn!” Liu Bei supplied with a smile.

“Yes, yes! You are Bian Que reborn!”

“In all my life, I have never seen a marvel like you—someone so clever and farsighted, yet capable of raising the dead.”

“No, that is not right! I have never seen the like even in my previous life!”

Zhang Fei’s incoherent praise made everyone laugh.

Xiao Fang merely smiled and said self-deprecatingly, “General Zhang is jesting. I do not possess the ability to raise the dead. The old lady was simply fortunate.”

He was not being deliberately modest. The method he had used to save her was something any ordinary person with even a little first-aid knowledge could perform.

Xu’s mother had simply been lucky. If she had suffered some other acute illness, then given the medical conditions of the age, Xiao Fang would truly have been helpless.

“Mr. Xiao, I thank you for saving my mother’s life!”

“Please accept this bow from me, Xu Chu!”

After settling his mother, Xu Chu approached Xiao Fang with profound gratitude and bowed deeply.

Xiao Fang hurriedly helped him to his feet, exchanging the customary words of humility and courtesy.

Xu Chu, however, wore a solemn expression. He pounded his chest and said, “I, Xu Chu, always repay a debt of gratitude. If there is anything you require, Mr. Xiao, you have only to say the word!”

“So long as it lies within my power, I shall not hesitate to give my life for it!”

Xiao Fang’s eyes shifted slightly toward Liu Bei, and he smoothly seized the opportunity.

“If not for our lord stepping forward to rescue Brother Xu from the Yellow Turban siege, I would never have had the chance to save your mother.”

“If anyone is owed a debt of gratitude, it is our lord whom you should thank.”

“My lord is a descendant of the imperial house and possesses the lofty ambition of restoring the Han. At his side, he is precisely in need of a tiger warrior such as yourself.”

“Brother Xu, if you are willing, why not join my lord? Together, let us assist him in restoring the Han and accomplishing this great undertaking.”

Xiao Fang passed the credit to Old Liu, then took the opportunity to recruit Xu Chu on Liu Bei’s behalf.

Xu Chu’s figure trembled, and he turned to look at Liu Bei.

“I must eventually submit to some lord. Lord Liu helped me escape the Yellow Turban siege and even gave me grain and provisions. He is truly a benevolent and righteous ruler.”

“I brought several hundred brothers north precisely in search of food. Liu Xuande possesses a hundred thousand hu of grain. If I join him, would I not have no further worries about provisions?”

“Besides, Mr. Xiao saved my mother’s life. He has personally invited me to join Liu Xuande. If I refuse, would I not become an ungrateful wretch?”

Xu Chu’s thoughts turned rapidly as he weighed his options in silence.

After a long while, the hesitation in his eyes vanished, leaving only resolve.

“I, Xu Chu, am but a commoner. To encounter a benevolent and righteous lord such as Lord Liu here beside the Ying River is a blessing granted by three lifetimes of fortune.”

“I am willing to lead my eight hundred men and submit to Your Lordship. I shall serve at your side through every hardship. I humbly ask that you accept us!”

Xu Chu declared his allegiance with fervor and immediately bowed deeply before Liu Bei.

Liu Bei was overjoyed. He hurriedly helped Xu Chu to his feet and laughed.

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“Zhongkang, you need not belittle yourself. You are a commoner, but I, Liu Bei, am no more than a man from a poor household.”

“Yet though my position is humble, I have never dared forget my country!”

“Now that I have gained the aid of a tiger warrior such as you, Zhongkang, the restoration of the Han is that much more attainable!”

Thus Liu Bei successfully recruited Xu Chu.

The bond between lord and vassal was established.

“There is still no loyal and courageous warrior at the military adviser’s side to protect him. Zhongkang, would you be willing to undertake this important responsibility?”

Liu Bei had naturally not forgotten the reason he had sought to recruit Xu Chu in the first place.

Xu Chu did not hesitate. He cupped his hands and replied, “Since I have submitted to Your Lordship, I shall naturally obey your commands.”

“Moreover, Military Adviser Xiao has shown me an immense kindness. To protect him is an honor for me!”

Liu Bei breathed a sigh of relief.

At last, he had found a loyal and courageous warrior to serve as commander of Xiao Fang’s personal guard. One of his greatest concerns had finally been settled.

Xiao Fang patted Xu Chu on the shoulder and smiled.

“Zhongkang, from this day onward, I place my life in your hands.”

Xu Chu did not realize that Xiao Fang was joking. He immediately replied with a solemn expression, “Military Adviser Xiao, rest assured. I will stake my life to ensure your safety.”

“Even if Lü Bu himself came, he would not touch a single hair on your head!”

Hearing Xu Chu’s declaration, Xiao Fang felt reassured as well.

The Xu Chu of history had saved Cao Cao from the battlefield time and again.

Besides, as a military adviser, Xiao Fang would not need to personally enter the fray. If Xu Chu had been able to protect Cao Cao, then protecting him should surely be well within his abilities.

Thus, after this chance encounter, Liu Bei successfully won over both Liu Pi and Xu Chu.

Liu Pi possessed considerable prestige among the Yellow Turban forces in Runan. When word spread that he had submitted to Old Liu, it immediately set off a chain reaction among the Yellow Turbans throughout Runan.

Before even a month had passed, several other Yellow Turban forces, led by Gong Du and others, came one after another to submit to Liu Bei.

At Xiao Fang’s suggestion, Liu Bei selected the finest among them and incorporated them into his army. In the span of a single month, he gained seven thousand fresh troops.

Adding the more than three thousand soldiers he had brought from Xuzhou, Liu Bei’s total strength once again exceeded ten thousand men.

A hundred thousand hu of grain was a great deal, but even such reserves could not be consumed without replenishment.

After resting and training his forces for half a month, Liu Bei led his army out of Runan and continued westward.

It was winter of that year.

Liu Bei led ten thousand troops into Biyang, a city east of Nanyang Commandery.

At dusk, Xiao Fang climbed the walls of Biyang and gazed into the familiar lands before him.

Four full months had passed since he had left Jingzhou and set out on his journey to “talk Old Liu into” coming to Jingzhou.

“I wonder whether Eldest Sister, Second Sister, and Third Brother are all well,” Zhuge Liang murmured behind him, clearly missing the older and younger siblings from whom he had been separated for several months.

The graceful, dignified face of Xiao Fang’s beloved wife, Zhuge Lan, also rose unbidden before his eyes.

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder. To be honest, I am beginning to miss your sister too.”

After sighing softly, Xiao Fang ordered, “Liang, have Zhongkang give you a detachment of men. Go to Longzhong and bring your sister and the others here.”

“We are about to become enemies of Liu Biao and turn Jingzhou upside down. It will no longer be safe for your family to remain near Xiangyang.”

Zhuge Liang agreed at once and hurriedly accepted the order.

Xiao Fang’s gaze stretched toward the northwest, a cold glint appearing in his eyes.

“Next comes the question of how to deal with Zhang Ji and his nephew—and help Old Liu seize Wancheng...”