Zhou Yu and Sun Ce were shoved into a gloomy house, landing in the dirt. As Zhou Yu rose, Sun Ce grabbed his collar.
“You’re smart; why didn’t you use your brain this time?!” he growled, teeth gritted.
Zhou Yu was at the end of his rope too.
“Don’t you know anything? That bastard will kill anyone without batting an eye! He was about to behead you without question!”
Sun Ce stilled, and Zhou Yu continued quietly, “When I was in Luoyang, Father and I went to welcome Dong Zhuo, and Hua Xiong was at the banquet. He got plastered and beheaded a serving girl!”
Sun Ce had never heard of such an insane person before and found himself at a loss for words. Finally, he sighed.
“That he’s in charge surprised me. We’re in deep trouble,” Zhou Yu said.
Sun Ce shifted to peek out of the dingy window.
“I saw that drunkard’s uneven steps, so I thought I could easily knock him out. I didn’t think he’d be a powerful martial artist. I can hear people being held in the next room; I bet they were captured.”
Zhou Yu paced in the tight space. “Why are they pretending to be members of the Yellow Turban Army? Why did he come here to capture these people?”
Sun Ce didn’t respond, instead quietly watching Zhou Yu. When their gazes met, Zhou Yu saw that Sun Ce’s eyes were unreadable, and he remembered what was weighing most heavily on his heart.
“I heard He Jin is chasing down and killing his political opponents to remove dissidents,” Sun Ce said matter-of-factly. “A month ago, Li Jue came to visit under the orders of He Jin and Dong Zhuo to entice my father to join them. They want to remove the Three Counsellors of the State system. When my dad heard the news, he immediately sent someone to inform your dad. I was afraid that something would happen to you, so I came to check.”
Zhou Yu felt a warm glow in his chest, but Sun Ce wasn’t finished. “I guess I was still one step behind. For anyone to actually disguise themselves as members of the Yellow Turban Army means that Dong Zhuo’s probably also involved… Ah, I was careless.”
“Can you see my dad?” Zhou Yu asked.
Sun Ce was silent for a moment, then shook his head. “He’s not in the next room, so he might have been taken back to Luoyang. Let’s figure out how we’re going to escape first. Hua Xiong’s definitely suspicious and will question us thanks to what you said earlier. When he does, we need to make him lower his guard before finding a way to escape.”
Zhou Yu smiled bitterly. “It won’t be easy.”
“Confining me won’t do him any good. My dad has our back, and since Dong Zhuo wants to drag in my family, how could he do anything to us?” Sun Ce said.
That’s only the case for you… Zhou Yu thought. Hua Xiong wasn’t going to be merciful to Zhou Yu’s family, so Sun Ce had to escape first.
“When he calls for us, follow my lead,” Sun Ce warned. “That bastard’s so drunk he doesn’t know up from down.”
“Yes, yes,” Zhou Yu said. “You’re brilliant.”
Sun Ce began to smile before looking out the window. Even though they were in grave danger, Zhou Yu felt safe. Sun Ce’s smile was that reassuring.
The door to the cramped, dark room opened, and a group of people stormed in. They held Sun Ce down to bind him.
“Stop! We’ll cooperate!” protested Zhou Yu.
Sun Ce glanced at him meaningfully, trying to convey calm, and Zhou Yu found himself tied up a few moments later. The two of them had their hands bound behind their backs as they were shoved to their knees in Hua Xiong’s house.