During the late Eastern Han Dynasty, after Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei were separated in Xuzhou, Guan Yu remained in Cao Cao's camp. Upon learning that Liu Bei was with Yuan Shao in Hebei, Guan Yu decided to take Liu Bei's two sisters-in-law to join him, but Cao Cao refused to grant permission.

Relying on his own bravery and martial skill, Guan Yu successively passed through five checkpoints: Dongling, Luoyang, Yishui, Xingyang, and the Yellow River crossing. Along the way, he slew six enemy generals: Sun Xiu, Meng Tan, Han Fu, Bian Xi, Wang Zhi, and Qin Qi, thereby overcoming all obstacles to rejoin Liu Bei.