At this, Brian Lewis slapped Chris Lewis heavily on the shoulder and laughed, “Whether or not you are the Imperial Uncle’s nephew, I still have to thank you tonight. If you hadn’t discovered the Cao army in time, we would all be finished.”

Chris Lewis felt his face flush. He knew that Brian Lewis had already seen through him—if he were truly Liu Bei’s nephew, he wouldn’t have tried to escape in the middle of the night.

“So, General, what do you plan to do?”

“I want to break out, return to Ancheng County first, and if that’s not possible, head south.”

Chris Lewis shook his head. “Ancheng County has already been overrun by Xiahou Yuan’s cavalry. General Gong’s entire force was wiped out. I ran into them on the road. Heading south is no longer possible, General. I advise you to hold the camp and wait for the Imperial Uncle to come to our aid.”

When Brian Lewis heard that Ancheng County had fallen and Gong Du’s army was destroyed, his face turned deathly pale. This was his last hope, and now it was gone.

“The Imperial Uncle can barely take care of himself—how could he possibly help me?”

Brian Lewis was utterly despondent and turned to walk wearily back to his tent. Chris Lewis followed behind, saying, “General, the Imperial Uncle will definitely come to save us!”

A trace of mockery appeared at the corner of Brian Lewis’s mouth. “Just because his nephew is here?”

“No!”

Chris Lewis said anxiously, “If he doesn’t come to save us, then he’s not the Imperial Uncle. General, holding the camp is our only way to survive.”

Brian Lewis stopped, thought for a moment, and said, “Perhaps you’re right. The Imperial Uncle’s benevolence and trustworthiness are known throughout the land. If he doesn’t come to save me, he will lose the trust of the world.”

Brian Lewis’s spirits lifted again. He gratefully cupped his hands to Chris Lewis and bowed. “Thank you, young master, for clearing my doubts. Brian Lewis nearly made a grave mistake.”

He shouted loudly, “Hold the camp! If the camp falls, none of us will survive!”

The Cao army attacked five times, but each assault was repelled by the Yellow Turban forces, who took advantage of the terrain and weather. Over a thousand were killed or wounded. Although Yu Jin was furious, there was nothing he could do but order the withdrawal of the attacking troops. Night assaults on the camp were indeed disadvantageous for them.

At this moment, Frank Hall hurried over with two captured Yellow Turban soldiers. “General, these are enemy sentries we caught. There’s good news!”

“What good news?” Yu Jin glared at the two prisoners.

Frank Hall kicked the two Yellow Turban prisoners to their knees. “Speak!”

One of the prisoners, trembling, said, “The camp has run out of food. They’re surviving by slaughtering horses. At most, they can hold out for five more days.”

This news made Yu Jin narrow his eyes. After a moment’s thought, Frank Hall stepped forward and said, “Since the enemy is out of food, why not just besiege them?”

Yu Jin shook his head. “Liu Bei has already fled west. The Chancellor only gave us two days. I don’t want to wait any longer.”

He resolutely gave the order, “Pass on my command: the army is to withdraw immediately!”

At daybreak, the Yellow Turban forces were surprised to find the Cao army had withdrawn. Cheers erupted throughout the camp. Brian Lewis was overjoyed and immediately ordered, “The army will descend the mountain and retreat east!”

When Chris Lewis heard the order to descend the mountain, he panicked and rushed to Brian Lewis, shouting, “General, this is a ruse by the Cao army to lure us out! If we go down the mountain, the whole army will be wiped out. We must not retreat—we should send someone to the Imperial Uncle for help!”

Brian Lewis was out of food and didn’t want to keep slaughtering horses. At this point, he wouldn’t listen to Chris Lewis’s advice. His face darkened and he snapped, “Who are you to dare disrupt the army’s morale? Say one more word and I’ll kill you myself.”

Chris Lewis hadn’t expected him to turn hostile so quickly. After a moment, he could only sigh, “Fine! I wish you a safe journey, General.”

Brian Lewis sneered, “You pretended to be the Imperial Uncle’s nephew, and now you want to run? Dream on!”

He ordered his men, “Tie these two up and take them to the Imperial Uncle for punishment!”

“Young master, I told you, you really shouldn’t have gone to him. He’s a Yellow Turban bandit—he doesn’t care about honor. Now look, we’ve both been captured, and our lives are in danger.”

Chris Lewis and Stephen Wood were bound hand and foot and slung side by side over a horse. Stephen Wood was full of resentment and kept grumbling.

Chapter 8: On the Brink of Life and Death

Chris Lewis, however, bit his lip and said nothing, his gaze occasionally darting to the burly man escorting them. The pouch containing the bronze seal and other credentials was on the man’s back.

The man was illiterate and didn’t know Chris Lewis’s true identity, but he was very interested in the short sword, which he was now brandishing in his hand. Judging by his expression, he had already decided to keep it for himself.

“Young master, what do we do now? We can’t return to Jingzhou—we might die at the hands of the Cao army.” The more Stephen Wood thought about it, the sadder he became, and he actually started to cry.

Chris Lewis turned and glared at him fiercely. Stephen Wood was so frightened he didn’t dare cry anymore. He was also puzzled—why was the young master so silent?

At noon, a warhorse galloped over from the distance. The rider shouted, “The general orders a short rest!”

The soldiers all sat down to rest. The burly man escorting them dragged Chris Lewis and Stephen Wood off the horse and threw them to the side, snarling, “You get a break now, but you’ll be back on the horse soon.”

The man sat on the other side to play with his new short sword. Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Chris Lewis spat out a piece of sword tip from his mouth, making Stephen Wood’s eyes go wide—so that was why he’d been silent all this time.

“Hurry and cut my ropes. The Cao army will be here any moment.” Chris Lewis understood that stopping after only twenty-odd miles meant something must have happened.

“What about me?”

“Stop talking and cut me loose!”