Defeated, Zhou Yu threw up his hands, which Sun Ce grabbed to pull Zhou Yu to his feet.
The two of them continued to walk. After a few paces, Sun Ce turned his head back. “Actually, my dad doesn’t know I left the army to come to Shu County.”
Zhou Yu couldn’t believe his ears. “What?!”
“Don’t be so loud!” Sun Ce pleaded. “Actually, I was thinking of you, so I made a special trip.”
Zhou Yu felt weak; he’d thought Sun Jian’s army was close by, but Sun Ce had come here alone. There were no reinforcements to speak of! They had no way to escape their situation.
The sun had already risen over the two dampened youths, and they trekked along the mountain path.
“I sent my family’s servant off with a message,” Zhou Yu said.
“Shh.” Sun Ce grabbed him, darting them both off to one side of a fork in the road. A group of martial artists, all carrying blades, yellow scarves wrapped around their heads, were walking slowly up the road.
“Where did they go…”
“Shit, how could we lose them…”
Their voices grew distant. Zhou Yu and Sun Ce exchanged a glance; there was no reason to argue over who would go back now. Instead, they followed the men.
Sun Ce circled around in a large loop and said quietly, “Here.”
He climbed the slope of the mountain, dragging Zhou Yu behind. Clambering up the cliff, the two of them peeked out. Their vantage point revealed a valley of small houses surrounded by a circle of sentry posts, all framed by mountain peaks. Within, people were milling about. It looked like a military encampment of about a hundred.
Seeing how the camp was arranged, Zhou Yu knew things were bad.
“Doesn’t that look like the layout of an official army?” Sun Ce asked skeptically, his mouth pressed to Zhou Yu’s ear. “These people are rigorously trained, and their camp is well organized. There’s even a hitching post for their horses. These are the habits of army troops.”
“Let’s get closer,” Zhou Yu replied, worried. Were these troops pretending to be Yellow Turban rebels? This situation was more complicated than he’d expected.
“You wait; I’ll go down,” Sun Ce replied.
Unable to let him to walk into danger on his own, Zhou Yu tailed him. Sneaking into a camp like this in the middle of the day could be deadly. But since his father’s life was on the line, Zhou Yu couldn’t let this drag out any longer.
Sun Ce silently knocked out one of the gate guards with his staff while Zhou Yu climbed into a tree, observing the houses from above. A man exited one of the buildings; he was wearing an imperial officer’s uniform, his face bright red. It was clear he’d been drinking, and he staggered around, wasted.
Zhou Yu jolted, gesturing for Sun Ce to retreat, but Sun Ce ignored him, darting behind another small house to peek inside.
“Who’s there?!” someone shouted angrily after being startled awake.
Sun Ce withdrew, but the man was alarmed, and someone else came charging from inside.
“They’re right inside! Don’t come down!” Sun Ce roared.
His words were for Zhou Yu’s benefit—Sun Ce meant to sacrifice himself. Then Zhou Yu could escape and report what he’d seen. Zhou Yu wiped his sweaty palms as Sun Ce pulled out his long staff, bowling over the soldiers who rushed him. Arrows flew toward him, and Sun Ce struck them out of the air with his staff. The commander of the troops charged in, his eyes blazing like fire as his rage peaked.
“Now you’re asking for it!” he shouted.
That cry made Zhou Yu’s eardrums ring, but Sun Ce didn’t even flinch as he swung a powerful blow at his new opponent.
The commander’s long spear crashed against Sun Ce’s staff. Sun Ce could only attack three times before a single spear-thrust sent him tumbling. This warrior was extraordinary, and the class of his style was so rare that Zhou Yu had only seen it a few times before. Once Sun Ce fell, the soldiers surrounded him and pinned him against the ground.
“How many companions do you have?” The general smiled coldly. “Come out! Now!”
Sun Ce grinned back icily. “Impressive. I admit defeat.”
The general unsheathed his sword and pressed it against Sun Ce’s neck. “I’ll count to three. Come out or his head hits the ground.”
“Go back and report, now!” Sun Ce shouted.
“Stop!” Zhou Yu called out.
He leaped from the tree, tossing aside his Chijun sword as he cupped his hands in salute.
“General Hua, what brings you to such a desolate place, where there isn’t even a trace of civilization?”
The general’s expression darkened, and he didn’t speak. Sun Ce came back to his senses and he looked that military general up and down, dumbstruck.
“Hua Xiong?!”
It was indeed the warrior Hua Xiong, whose name was renowned across the Yang and Jing provinces. It surprised him this young man could recognize him on sight, and he inspected Zhou Yu from head to toe but couldn’t discern his identity. Unbeknownst to him, when Zhou Yu was with his father in the capital, he had seen Hua Xiong once. Obviously since then Zhou Yu had grown and changed in appearance, but Hua Xiong hadn’t changed much.
“Who are you?” Hua Xiong asked, suspicious.
A thought flashed into Zhou Yu’s mind and he bowed deeply. “General Hua, I am—”
“General!” The ferryman they had been looking for approached and removed his bamboo hat. “These are the two we’re looking for! Capture them!”
“Grab them!” Hua Xiong shouted.
“General Hua, please listen!” Zhou Yu pleaded.
The soldiers came forward, grabbing both of them and dragging them into a secret chamber. Zhou Yu continued to shout futilely, “General! Don’t be deceived! There’s a conspiracy here…”
Hua Xiong’s face twitched as Zhou Yu and Sun Ce were forced away.