Rusty
Just try telling Huang Zhong that his sword arm is rusty.
Whatever happened to respecting one's elders?
Oh, it's certain that when people are at home on their estates they'd pay respect to their grandparents and the people from whom they seek an inheritance, yet when it comes to work, when it comes to defending one's nation they seem to think that the old are no longer able to fulfill their duties.
I'm sure you've heard of someone asking why some wizened elder doesn't retire from his job. Or why an old porter should stop carrying heavy loads up tall mountains. I'm sure the people who say such things believe that they are kind and helpful, but haven't you youngsters heard of taking pride in your work?!
I spent my life fighting bandits and rebels across the realm, youngster. I was told by some cocky colleagues that I was past my prime before you lot were weaned. But I've- I've also saw men die. I've seen young men set aflame and talented, experienced men cut down by arrows. War is hell, don't let anyone tell you otherwise, yet combat has been my life.
I can name two famous men who could understand what I go through. Huang Gai is an enemy soldier, but he is an experienced and skillful one. The men fear him, and rightfully so. But strength is not the only trait that old men like me can have: Jiang Taigong was one of the greatest strategists in history, yet for much of his life people knew him as a 'mere' fisherman. Yet his wisdom guided King Wen of Zhou to gradually develop his Kingdom, and Jiang lived to see his lord's son King Wu defeat the great Empire of Shang and become a part of legend. Jiang Taigong forged the Zhou Dynasty with his mind, crushing the Shang Dynasty when he was eighty years old.
Of course, there's Yan Yan too, a faithful bodyguard and friend, but I guess we tend to overlook him.
Anyway,
There are those who laugh at my age. They say that I might become obsolete and that I should retire and rest and sleep. Sleep is for the dead, and for those who chuckle about being out-of-date, well, death and fatigue come for us all. No one can flee from death, but one would be a fool to accept its reach. I certainly won't succumb to its siren song of slovenly sleep.
These bones can still move even if others just as refined won't, and they'll keep moving as long as I breathe! I will not fade like some juicy steak left for days in the sun. I will not cease to move like an ox that has been forced to plow fields for decades, no, I am General Huang Zhong, Tiger General of Shu. I shall stand firm like a wizened oak, and those who'll try to cut me down will be crushed just like a clumsy woodsman who faces a falling tree. Don't underestimate me!