Green Dragon

Green Dragon, Guan Yu’s sword, links his martial identity to the story of his death and the vengeance that follows it. Taken by Pan Zhang after Guan Yu is killed, the weapon becomes a token of that defeat; Guan Xing later recovers it from Pan Zhang and returns to camp carrying both the sword and proof that his father’s enemy has been overcome.

Identity and Association

The sword is closely associated with Guan Yu, appearing in the account of his death as one of the defining objects by which his spirit is recognized. In the vision on Jade Spring Mountain, Pujing sees Guan Yu riding Red Hare and wielding Green Dragon. The weapon helps make the dead general’s presence legible in a scene where his spirit appears before the monk.

Its significance extends beyond ordinary combat equipment: the story carries Guan Yu’s reputation and memory through the sword after his death. That connection becomes concrete when Pan Zhang, who took the weapon from Guan Yu’s body, later encounters Guan Xing while carrying the history of the killing with him.

Loss and Recovery

During the fighting against Wu, Guan Xing encounters Pan Zhang, his father’s enemy, who flees into a valley. Guan Xing takes shelter for the night at a farmhouse, where he discovers that Guan Yu is revered there and that offerings are made before his portrait. Pan Zhang arrives later, and Guan Xing confronts him. In the episode, Guan Yu’s spirit appears and blocks Pan Zhang’s retreat, giving Guan Xing the opportunity to kill him.

Afterward, Guan Xing takes back Green Dragon, the sword Pan Zhang had taken from Guan Yu’s body. The recovery reverses the weapon’s passage from father to killer: it is no longer held by the man associated with Guan Yu’s death, but reclaimed by Guan Yu’s son. Guan Xing also takes Pan Zhang’s head and rides back toward camp with it and the sword.

Narrative Significance

Green Dragon gives a material form to the story’s continuing bond between Guan Yu and Guan Xing. The father is dead, but the sword’s recovery lets his son answer the loss through action, while the appearance of Guan Yu’s spirit joins filial vengeance to supernatural intervention. The episode culminates in Guan Xing presenting Pan Zhang’s head to the first ruler and the camp rejoicing. Thus the sword is not merely returned: its recovery marks the reversal of Pan Zhang’s possession and the completion of a vengeance sequence begun with Guan Yu’s death.