Since Fei Yu had already left with the letter, they could only wait on Lu Su. Zhou Yu had found himself in many dangerous situations before, but this time, his every move, his life, and Sun Ce’s life were all in someone else’s hands.
Thankfully Lu Su held that responsibility, and only he could.
Rain began to fall again. Amid the incessant patter of raindrops, it was as if the world had sunk into a dark haze.
On the third day, Fei Yu finally returned.
“Send a letter to Liu Biao immediately,” Sun Ce ordered, coming out of the tent. “Do exactly as we discussed.”
✦ ✦ ✦
As soon as they carried out the exchange with the messenger, Zhou Yu would release the falcon. Huang Gai and a group of generals trussed Sun Ce up.
“Tie me up as well,” Zhou Yu said.
Sun Ce remarked, “I alone am enough.”
“You haven’t sunk so low that your men would desert you, so if you add me, the Military Affairs General of the Left, it’ll seem more believable.”
After Huang Gai, Cheng Pu, and the rest discussed this, they agreed to tie Zhou Yu up as well.
“Zhou Yu, the lives of the entire army are now in your hands,” Huang Gai said.
“No problem.” Zhou Yu let his hands be bound in front of him as he explained, “Lu Zijing is the eldest son of the renowned Lu family of Shu County, and we have been friends since childhood. He will not let me down.”
“Whip me a few times, generals,” Sun Ce said, “and spare Gongjin his whipping.”
“You!” Huang Gai couldn’t find it in himself to do as he asked.
Zhou Yu smiled at Sun Ce. “You just like to find reasons for a whipping.”
“I’m always happy to,” Sun Ce said.
Zhou Yu took the whip and struck him perfunctorily a few times.
“Are these mosquito bites?” Sun Ce mocked. “Again!”
Huang Gai watched, dumbfounded. Then he had Zhou Yu press down Sun Ce’s legs, picked up the whip, and harshly whipped Sun Ce three times, eliciting a muffled grunt from him. His outer robes were sliced open, and his skin split. Zhou Yu’s heart twinged at the sight.
“The messenger’s here,” Zhu Zhi said, entering.
Huang Gai lifted the bound Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, leaning them against each other.
“General Huang,” Zhou Yu said, and the man turned. “Act as you see fit.”
Huang Gai nodded and ordered a heavy guard placed outside the tent. Despite Sun Ce’s tattered and torn robes and the mud and dirt smudging his face, he leaned against Zhou Yu, chuckling to himself. Zhou Yu’s forehead was furrowed deeply as he inspected the wounds on Sun Ce’s body.
“They won’t be an issue,” Sun Ce said. “But make sure to act convincingly when we get there.”
“I’m thinking, after we successfully escape, what we should do?” Zhou Yu said. “Should we go back to Shu County first?”
“What do you think?” Sun Ce asked, but Zhou Yu couldn’t decide. Sun Ce continued, “Once everyone successfully escapes danger, I probably won’t be able to fight anymore.”
“Is that what you think?” Zhou Yu looked into Sun Ce’s eyes, but he merely smiled bitterly.
Zhou Yu knew Sun Ce had been frustrated time and time again and was already weary. But this wasn’t the time to try to persuade him, so Zhou Yu let it be for now.
A while later the tent flap opened, and Sun Ce roared angrily, “You traitor!”
Cheng Pu brought someone in, angrily kicking Sun Ce in the face as he did. Shocked, Zhou Yu lost all color in his face.
“Bofu!”
Sun Ce’s nose bled profusely, and Zhu Zhi shielded the messenger behind him.
The messenger said, “Generals, this is a great service you have done.”
Huang Gai grunted coldly.
“When did you capture them?” the messenger asked.
“Three days ago,” Cheng Pu explained. “This little bastard was restless. I wanted to cut off his head and present it to Lord Liu but realized that couldn’t be justified to Great General Yuan…”
“Good!” the messenger said. “Very good!”
Zhou Yu glared darkly at the messenger, his expression filled with rage.
Huang Gai shouted, “What are you looking at?!”
He stepped forward and slapped Zhou Yu twice, and the corner of Zhou Yu’s mouth started to bleed. The messenger, wearing a set of leather armor and holding a horse whip, lifted Sun Ce’s chin to inspect him, and Sun Ce spat into his face. He exploded into a great rage.
Cheng Pu and Zhu Zhi moved forward, giving him a vicious beating. As Sun Ce slumped to one side, he gagged. Anxiety pulsed through Zhou Yu, his eyes bloodshot. The messenger spoke a few more words, telling the generals to watch them closely, before he and Huang Gai left to go write a letter, as well as to discuss the terms of surrender.
“Are you all right?” Zhou Yu asked. “Bofu?”
“Those were a few harsh blows…”
Sun Ce couldn’t stop coughing, and he hacked up a mouthful of red spit. His lips were split, so Zhou Yu turned his body, offering his shoulder to Sun Ce. With great difficulty, Sun Ce wiped his mouth clean on Zhou Yu’s shoulder before leaning against it.
✦ ✦ ✦
At midnight, guards came in to deliver their meal. They placed a basin on the floor, and the lower-ranked soldier asked, “Should I feed the two of you?”
“I’ll do it,” Zhou Yu replied.
The ropes on Zhou Yu’s hands were in a slipknot, so he freed them and shook Sun Ce awake.
“It’s time to eat, Bofu.”
Sun Ce blearily woke. His eye was already swelling. Zhou Yu fed him first and ate some of the remainder before tying his hands back up. The two of them shrank in the tent, like children that had been beaten, and slept curled up against each other.
When the sky lightened, the guards that the messenger had brought came to retrieve them. Grabbing a fistful of Sun Ce’s hair, they yanked him up before dragging him out of the tent. Sun Ce cursed loudly, but just as Zhou Yu’s concern peaked about them being held separately, someone came and hauled him out as well.
The guards locked them in a wooden prison cart. The moment Zhou Yu laid eyes on Sun Ce again, a heavy burden fell from his heart. Under Sun Ce’s tattered clothes, his pale skin was crossed in bloody lashes from the whip.
“Does it hurt?” Zhou Yu asked, concerned.
Sun Ce shook his head and gestured for him to move closer. The guards outside stuck a wooden stake in, smacking Zhou Yu on the head. It sent Zhou Yu spinning, and he collided with the side of the cage. Sun Ce erupted into a rage, and a loud roar burst forth from him as he rammed into the bars.
He almost broke the cage, and all the guards stepped back in unison, terrified. Zhou Yu quickly leaned up against Sun Ce, knowing he was truly furious.
“Don’t,” he warned quietly.
Sun Ce breathed heavily, incensed, and slowly calmed. An order was issued from afar, and the procession began to move. None of the guards serving as their escort dared to provoke them again.
Zhou Yu didn’t know what Cheng Pu and Huang Gai had told the envoy, but things went more smoothly than he expected, and no one came to humiliate them along the way. Sun Ce slept the entire time. His inflamed wounds started festering, so Zhou Yu grew worried.
“Hey,” Sun Ce said quietly one night, “aren’t you sleeping?”
Zhou Yu turned his head to watch Sun Ce. “You’re feverish.”
Sun Ce’s breaths were hot, and his skin was scorching to the touch. Rain on his wounded body had given him a fever, so Zhou Yu needed to find somewhere to have his illness seen to as soon as possible. They already arrived in Gong’an, and there were two more days until they would reach Xiakou. That was the only chance they had to escape.
“Hang in there,” Zhou Yu said. “Our opportunity is coming soon.”
That night the sky was blanketed by dark clouds, as if the heavens themselves were smiling down on Zhou Yu. In the pitch-black darkness, escape would be simple. But there was the most pressing matter, which made Zhou Yu teeter on the edge of changing his mind—Fei Yu hadn’t returned yet.