Next day, the early meal eaten, Guan Yu came to the city wall and offered his challenge. The Governor seated himself on the city wall and bade his veteran warrior go out to accept it. At the head of a few horsemen, Huang Zhong dashed across the drawbridge. The two champions engaged, and at the end of half a hundred bouts neither had the advantage. On both sides the soldiers cheered lustily.
When the drums were beating most furiously, suddenly Guan Yu wheeled round his horse and fled. Of course Huang Zhong followed. Just as the moment for the feint arrived, Guan Yu heard behind him a tremendous crash and turned to see his pursuer lying prone upon the ground. Huang Zhong's steed had stumbled and thrown him.
Guan Yu turned, raised his sword in both hands, and cried in a fierce tone, “I spare your life, but quick! Get another horse and come again to battle.”
Huang Zhong pulled his horse to its feet hastily, leapt upon its back, and went into the city at full speed. The Governor was astonished and asked for an account of the accident.
“The horse is too old,” replied Huang Zhong.
“Why did you not shoot since your aim is so perfect?” asked the Governor.
“I will try again tomorrow,” said Huang Zhong. “Then I will run away as if overcome, and so tempt him to the drawbridge and then shoot him.”
Han Xuan gave the veteran a gray horse that he usually rode himself; Huang Zhong thanked him and retired.
But Huang Zhong could not forget Guan Yu's generous conduct, nor could he understand it. He could not make up his mind to shoot the man who had spared his life. Yet if he did not shoot, he betrayed his duty as a soldier. It was very perplexing, and the whole night spent in thinking it over found him still undecided.
At daybreak a man came in saying that Guan Yu was near the wall and challenging them again. So Huang Zhong gave order to go out.
Now Guan Yu, having fought for two days and not having overcome Huang Zhong, was very ill at ease. So he called up all his dignity when he went forth to fight that day. When they had got to the thirtieth bout, Huang Zhong fled as if he was overcome. Guan Yu pursued.
As he rode away, Huang Zhong thought in his heart, “He spared me only yesterday, and I cannot bear to shoot him today.”
Putting up his sword, Huang Zhong took his bow and twanged the string only; no arrow flew. Guan Yu dodged, but seeing no arrow in the air, he retook the pursuit. Again Huang Zhong twanged an arrowless bowstring, and again Guan Yu dodged, but no arrow came. Then Guan Yu said to himself, “He cannot shoot,” and pressed on in pursuit.
As they neared the city wall, the veteran stopped on the drawbridge, fitted an arrow, pulled the bow, and sent an arrow flying that just hit the base of the plume on Guan Yu's helmet.
The soldiers shouted at the display of marksmanship. Guan Yu was taken aback and set off for camp with the arrow still sticking. Then he heard that Huang Zhong's skill was said to be equal to piercing a willow leaf at a hundred paces, and Guan Yu understood that he owed this warning in the shape of an arrow in his plume to gratitude for sparing the veteran the preceding day.
Both withdrew. But when the veteran leader went up on the wall to see the Governor, he was at once seized.
“What have I done?” cried Huang Zhong.
“I have seen these last three days that you were fooling me; you were slack the day before yesterday, which proved you had some sinister intention. Yesterday, when your horse stumbled and he spared you, it showed that you were in league with him. And today you twice twanged a vain bowstring, while at the third shot you only hit your opponent's helmet. Dare you say there is no secret understanding in all this? If I do not put you to death, it will assuredly redound to my own hurt.”
Han Xuan ordered Huang Zhong to be executed outside the city gate. Han Xuan also met the intercession of the officers by saying, “Any one who pleads for the condemned shall be regarded as in the plot.”
The executioners had hustled the old man out of the city and the sword was in the air and on the point of descending, when a man suddenly dashed in, cut down the lictor, and rescued Huang Zhong.
“Huang Zhong is our bulwark;” shouted he, “to destroy him is to destroy the Changsha people. This Governor is too fierce and cruel, too lightly values good people, and is too arrogant toward his officers. We ought rather to kill him, and those who will, let them follow me.”
All eyes turned toward this bold speaker, who was bronzed and had eyes like the Cowherd's star. Some of them knew him as Wei Yan, a native of Yiyang. He would have followed Liu Bei from Xiangyang but, unable to come up with him, had gone into the service of Han Xuan. Han Xuan took exception to his arrogant carriage and lack of polish and neglected him. And so Wei Yan had remained in the city without office.
