Chapter 49 The Flying Spearhead

Lu Bu rushed excitedly to the martial arsenal of Luoyang to search for his Painted Halberd, leaving Pei Qian and Zhang Liao staring at each other in bewilderment.

The head of Luoyang's martial arsenal should normally be managed by the Colonel of the City Gate (Zhijinwu), but during the reign of Emperor Ling of Han, this official title was frequently bestowed upon unrelated individuals, gradually transforming into an honorary title. Consequently, the martial arsenal slipped from the control of the outer court into the hands of the eunuchs.

Later on, after Jian Shuo was eliminated, compounded by Yuan Shao and Cao Cao leading troops to storm the palace and executing many of the leading eunuchs, the post of the head of the arsenal had remained vacant for a long time. It was now staffed only by a few armoury keepers and other personnel responsible for daily cleaning and tidying. Naturally, Lu Bu could "inspect" it however he pleased, and could even take things home to "inspect" them at his leisure...

Originally, the Han dynasty's martial arsenal contained a truly vast number of treasures. However, in the fifth year of the Yuankang era during the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han, lightning struck and a fire consumed the arsenal, destroying numerous treasures in a single blaze. Otherwise, even more precious artifacts would have been preserved down to later generations.

Let us first take a look at a brief inventory of the precious treasures destroyed by the heavenly fire at that time:

The Head of Wang Mang: It was quite bizarre that the head of a generation's emperor was made into a specimen and stored in the arsenal... What kind of stat-boosting effect would one get by acquiring such a rare item? +100% success rate on enemy curses?

Confucius's Wooden Clogs: These had actually made intimate contact with and absorbed the foot aura of the sage... Equipped, they grant +100% surrender persuasion rate?

Emperor Gaozu of Han's Sword of Slaying the White Serpent: This finally bordered somewhat on a proper weapon... If represented as a video game item with numerical stats, it would at least be a treasure with +100 Destiny...

Along with these, over two hundred other precious items were buried in the flames, accompanied by countless weapons of various kinds...

Zhang Liao was of a delicate and sensitive disposition. He was deeply afraid that Pei Qian might become angry over Lu Bu's abrupt departure, because whether in ancient or modern times, there was never any logic to the host running off halfway through hosting a feast. Therefore, he said to Pei Qian, "The Marquis of Duting is merely straightforward and unrestrained in nature, with no other intentions. I hope Ziyuan will not take offense."

"Being straightforward and unrestrained is precisely for the better! How could I take offense?" In saying this, Pei Qian was not merely exchanging polite pleasantries. Just imagine: Lu Bu's martial prowess value was already so extraordinarily high. If he were not a straightforward and simple person, but instead possessed a belly full of scheming tricks like someone like Xun Yu, who under heaven would ever be able to stop him?

Sensing that Pei Qian truly did not speak in falsehood, Zhang Liao set his mind at ease and, on Lu Bu's behalf, urged Pei Qian to partake of the food and wine.

The Red Hare was, after all, a swift steed. In less than no time, even before he arrived, Lu Bu's hearty laughter could be heard echoing all the way as he swaggered back, shouldering a Painted Halberd with a beaming expression.

Upon entering the back hall, ignoring the hard-earned blue bricks of the floor, Lu Bu slammed the Painted Halberd straight down into the middle of the hall with a resounding *clang*. The hard bluestone bricks were pierced right through as easily as if they were tofu.

Lu Bu picked up a wine bowl, drained it in one gulp, grabbed the wine pitcher, and intended to pour more, but feeling that it wasn't satisfying enough, he simply took the wine pitcher directly, tilted back his neck, and chugged more than half of it. Only then did he exhale a satisfying breath of alcohol, caressing the Painted Halberd with an expression of supreme triumph as he said to Pei Qian and Zhang Liao, "Exhilarating! Truly exhilarating! Come! Take a look at my treasured weapon!"

Pei Qian sighed inwardly. Lu Bu's way of speaking was really...

However, this Painted Halberd did indeed somewhat resemble some of the designs Pei Qian had seen in later generations, except that those later replicas were merely simulations, entirely lacking the cold, flashing gleam and awe-inspiring murderous aura of the one right before his eyes.

Pei Qian estimated that the Painted Halberd before him was at least eleven or twelve feet long. At the tip of the halberd shaft was mounted a flattened spear point, with crescent-shaped sharp blades on both sides connected to the spear point via two small branches. The edges flashed with a cold light, and a single glance revealed them to be extremely sharp. Intricate carved patterns adorned both the halberd tip and the crescent blades, making it very ornate. At the joint where the tip met the shaft was a *Taotie* animal-mask swallowing socket, rendered with vivid and lifelike imagery. The overall shaft was a dark red, and winding intricate *Chilong* (hornless dragon) patterns twisted down from top to bottom all the way to the butt of the handle...

Lu Bu's triumphant feelings were evident in every expression, and he said cheerfully, "This was forged by Gongshu Hua from extraterrestrial meteoric iron. It can slice through iron like mud and sever a hair blown against the edge... The armoury keeper originally refused, but I..."

Realizing he might have let slip something he shouldn't have, Lu Bu hastily stopped himself. Dragging Zhang Liao along, he insisted they test out some moves together to experience a real combat sensation.

As Zhang Liao was also curious to see how Lu Bu's newly acquired weapon would perform, he readily agreed. The two of them rushed out to the courtyard to begin sparring, bullying the flowers and plants that had only just narrowly escaped destruction earlier.

Whether due to the structural design of the Painted Halberd or because the craftsman had embedded some subtle mechanism within it, when Lu Bu swung the Painted Halberd, the sound of the wind was distinctly different from the whistling sound of a regular spear. It was as if some living creature were attached to the halberd, wailing in a shrill shriek as Lu Bu brandished it, seizing people's souls and unsettling their minds...

After only a few exchanges between Lu Bu and Zhang Liao, Zhang Liao, who had not yet fully adapted to the weapon, grew slightly careless. The tip of the spear in his hand was caught by the small side branch of the Painted Halberd, and Lu Bu smoothly gave it a twist. With a sharp *snap*, the severed spearhead flew spinning into the air, hurtling directly toward Pei Qian's head!

Pei Qian saw a flash of cold light rushing toward his face, and his scalp went instantly numb...

At that exact moment, Lu Bu kicked off the ground, bounding several paces across in a single leap. Extending his long, ape-like arms, he flicked the long Painted Halberd upward. With a soft *thud*, the spearhead was driven powerfully into the ceiling beam...

When Pei Qian finally recovered his wits, he found himself standing between Lu Bu and Zhang Liao, both of whom were staring intently right at him...

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Pei Qian asked, somewhat bewildered.

"Brother... weren't you scared just now?" Lu Bu asked.

Pei Qian nodded and said, "I was a little scared at first, but aren't I fine now?" *Nonsense, who wouldn't be scared, but being scared is useless, isn't it? Besides, I had two experts like you right here.*

Lu Bu burst into hearty laughter. He drove the Painted Halberd back down into the bluestone bricks of the floor, picked up a bowl of wine, handed it to Pei Qian, and said, "My brother is truly extraordinary, quite unlike those timid, pedantic scholars! Come, come, let us drain this bowl together..."

Zhang Liao also raised a bowl of wine to signal Pei Qian and drank it down with him, a trace of a smile in his eyes as he said, "When we spar, weapons are frequently broken. In the past, there were some civil officials who encountered the exact same situation as you, but only you, Ziyuan, remained completely calm in expression and composed in movement..."

*Uh, at that time I was simply frightened out of my wits—*

However, a thought immediately occurred to Pei Qian. This was the late Eastern Han dynasty, and a massive chaotic war period was about to begin. For a civil official like himself, if he lacked the protection of formidable martial generals like Lu Bu, Zhang Liao, or others, a random flying blade could easily end his life right on the spot—since these two top-tier martial artists were right in front of him, could he learn a move or two so that he could at least protect himself in moments of crisis?

"Brother, you want to learn martial arts? Hmm, what you say makes a certain amount of sense, but..." Lu Bu reached out, patted Pei Qian up and down, frowned, and said, "My style of martial arts is probably not something you can learn... It's not that I'm unwilling to teach you, but my brother, your physique..."

Having finished speaking, Lu Bu shook his head in disdain...