They bobbed along on a little wooden raft, engulfed by the backdrop of the azure river, the dark, inky mountains, and the endless sky, where a lone swallow flew homeward… The kite, its long tail fluttering gently, drifted with the wind in that same blue sky.
“Sun Bofu.” Zhou Yu pried his sword from the tree. “How did you recognize me?”
The man before him was indeed Sun Ce, and he laughed before approaching Zhou Yu and clasping an arm about him tightly. Then he punched him in the head.
Zhou Yu shoved him away, aggrieved, and admonished him for fooling around. Sun Ce dragged Zhou Yu along, and Zhou Yu dragged his sword along. It wasn’t long before Zhou Yu was dragged all the way back to the inn by this apelike old friend of his.
✦ ✦ ✦
Night fell on the western side of the mountain, and their campfire flickered beside the remains of the inn, casting warm light on Zhou Yu’s and Sun Ce’s faces.
“My father sent me here to investigate,” Sun Ce said. “I didn’t know Uncle would be at this inn.”
Zhou Yu frowned, and he let out a short, distracted hum. Sun Ce’s hand found Zhou Yu’s shoulder in a reassuring pat.
“Don’t worry, they only want money. I already sent someone back to report on the situation.”
“I’m afraid that—” Before he could finish his sentence, Sun Ce’s hand extended over Zhou Yu’s shoulder to snake around his neck, his other hand slapping over Zhou Yu’s mouth.
Zhou Yu blinked.
Sun Ce pushed him away with a laugh before nudging him with his fist again. Zhou Yu wasn’t used to this jocular interaction, and he envisioned puffing up like an angry cat. Yet, he found that he couldn’t really summon the energy to be angry.
“How have the past few years been?” Sun Ce asked. “When I first heard you were studying in Luoyang, I wanted to go and meet up, but my father had been given a new post in Changsha, so we couldn’t leave.”
“Not bad,” Zhou Yu replied, absentmindedly adding more fuel to the campfire. “Reading, accounting, managing the family business, obeying my father’s teachings, looking after my mother… It went by quickly. What about you? And how did you manage to recognize me?”
“Remember, my father gave your father the ancient sword Chijun as a present. How could I not recognize it?” Sun Ce asked, chuckling.
Zhou Yu nodded, and Sun Ce clapped his back.
“My mother stuck me with a younger brother, so I have to deal with nuisances from morning to night until my brain is fried. Same old, same old: reading, practicing martials arts, drilling troops…”
Zhou Yu began to laugh. He shook his head, but he didn’t know whether he was laughing at Sun Ce or himself. This man’s life was much more exciting than his own; he didn’t seem like he could stop for even a moment.
Zhou Yu continued, “Why did you come here alone? Your father’s not concerned?”
Sun Ce laughed but did not respond. Instead, he flicked away the hay stalk in his mouth. Then he raised an eyebrow at Zhou Yu.
“Rest up and replenish your strength so tomorrow we can head up the mountain to investigate.”
Zhou Yu blinked, thrown off by this shift in topic, but Sun Ce had already lain down. Despite his apprehension, Zhou Yu decided to go to sleep too.
The night winds blew, scattering peach blossoms into the air. Zhou Yu hadn’t rested all day, and his body was exhausted, yet he tossed and turned restlessly as he worried about his father. In contrast, after a few short moments, Sun Ce’s breathing evened out, and he sank into dreams, sleeping soundly.
Foreboding thoughts haunted Zhou Yu, and it wasn’t until the moon rose high into the sky that he finally managed to drift off.