NOVPUBZhao Yun holding two wild geese captured from the south, said marrying in winter was not ideal, as it was difficult to obtain a flock of wild geese required for the feudal lords’ wedding ceremony. Moreover, it was simply unrealistic for Chen Xi to shoot down two live geese from the sky and ensure their survival, so Zhao Yun had to resolve this matter.
Luckily, Zhao Yun was not burdened with many tasks, so he rode his Night Illuminating Jade Lion all the way to Eastern Wu to fetch two live geese, returning safely. As for the river bandits troubling the Yangtze River, if they saw someone riding a horse over the river surface, they would not dare to attack, unless they were imbeciles.
That said, since Sun Ce had patrolled the Yangtze River, there had been a significant decrease in the number of river pirates, to the extent that the Lu Family did not even know whom to pay the road tolls to anymore.
Well, someone did make a move. On Zhao Yun’s return journey while he was riding on the river surface, he was intercepted by a lavish large boat.
"Who are you to block my path home?" Zhao Yun held his spear and stared at the two handsome men opposite him, one of whom had a build comparable to Xuu Chu’s.
"Greeting, I am Sun Bofu from Eastern Wu, subordinate to the General of the Vanguard Yuan Gong, along with Zhou Yu and Zhou Youping," the three men at the bow of the boat said, bowing towards Zhao Yun.
"May I inquire why the three gentlemen have come?" Zhao Yun stopped his horse and scrutinized the trio. He could clearly sense that two of them had achieved the Inner Qi Manifestation level, though the teenager named Sun Bofu seemed just on the verge of that level, and the man named Zhou Youping was only at the same standard as Gan Ning.
What caused Zhao Yun to be wary was Zhou Yu, standing to the left of Sun Ce, whose occasional flickers of spiritual power imparted a sense of danger.
"The three of us are returning to Shouchun along the river. Seeing you ride across so effortlessly, we couldn’t help but feel the itch to exchange a few pointers. Would you be willing to enlighten us?" Sun Ce arrogantly said.
Sun Ce now truly embodied the spirit of a king. The last time he crossed the Yangtze, he had not achieved Inner Qi Separation. Consequently, he was ambushed by Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin, who had already mastered it. After a bout of combat, he made a breakthrough, and then with his overwhelming aura subdued Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin. Later, with their help, he unified the river pirates along the middle and lower Yangtze River into a navy.
Not long afterward, Sun Ce, aided by Zhou Yu, triumphed over Wang Wei and Wen Pin in Jiangxia and executed Wang Wei while capturing Wen Pin. It didn’t take long for Wen Pin, isolated and abandoned by his acquaintance Wei Yan who had fled, to surrender to Sun Ce’s charismatic might, as Sun Ce treated prisoners well and showed great potential.
Following Yuan Shu’s defeat, he relocated his government to Shouchun and when he summoned Sun Ce to take up a post there, Sun Ce encountered Liaoo Li in Jiangxia. Somehow, they hit it off, and Sun Ce brought Liaoo Li to meet Zhou Yu.
After some exchange, Zhou Yu was shockingly impressed by Liaoo Li’s vision. Not only for its remarkable foresight, which marked him as a mastermind of his generation, but Sun Ce also appointed Liaoo Li as the Chief Historian of Jiangxia to handle the affairs of Jiangxia in his absence, persuaded by Zhou Yu’s recommendation.
Afterward, they took a boat and set out on their journey, and on the river surface, they encountered Gu Yong, who had resigned from his official position. The two hit it off immediately. Gu Yong had been planning to visit Mount Tai to see how his junior sister Cai Yan was faring. However, upon meeting Sun Ce on the Yangtze River, he felt the trip was worthwhile. Romantic affairs and being a monarch like Wang Ba seemed to have no value at all. Without a second thought, Gu Yong decided to throw in his lot with Sun Ce.
Continuing their journey towards Shouchun, they met Yu Fan, who had fallen out with his father over interpretations of "The Book of Changes." After having a deep conversation with Zhou Yu, Yu Fan was completely impressed by Zhou Yu’s profound knowledge and decided to join Zhou Yu without hesitation.
Not long after the boat had travelled a few dozen miles, they encountered Dong Xi and father and son Ling Cao, who had come after hearing about Sun Ce. After a pleasant exchange, the three bowed their heads and pledged themselves to their new lord, Sun Ce. It was as if Sun Ce had some cheat activated as he gained three valiant generals, all accomplished in both civil and military affairs.
Then, as the Little Overlord journeyed on, he occasionally met several famous individuals. Either they were subdued by Sun Ce’s overbearing aura and breadth of vision, or they were intimidated by Zhou Yu’s extraordinary wisdom. In any case, almost everyone Sun Ce met joined him.
The reason for the "almost" was because there was one they met who had yet to be convinced by Sun Ce, and Zhou Yu’s extraordinary wisdom seemed to have no great effect on him either. For now, this person was still aboard their ship.
"Wow, we’ve encountered someone else on the river, huh? This one is actually a master of Inner Qi Manifestation. You two must be really lucky to have met three masters of Inner Qi Manifestation on the Yangtze River, and two have even joined you, tsk tsk tsk." Pang Tong peeked out upon hearing noises outside, and out of curiosity, stuck his head out only to see Zhao Yun, to which he exclaimed in surprise.
That day, Pang Tong met Zixu at the border of Jingzhou and Yuzhou. Although he had planned to go to Mount Tai, after hearing from Zixu that going there might lead to being trapped in Xuzhou and even danger to life, Pang Tong thought about the demon-like nature of Zixu and decided to head in a different direction, setting his sights on Eastern Wu instead.
Later, on the river, he ran into Sun Ce’s large ship. Sun Ce thought that someone as ugly as Pang Tong must not have had an easy life. Believing in the fate of serendipitous encounters, he invited Pang Tong aboard without any hesitation. Pang Tong, who had a rather peculiar personality, only saw awe in Sun Ce’s eyes with no disdain or pity. He consequently threw his own small boat aside and jumped onto Sun Ce’s grand vessel.
Sun Ce was also peculiar in his own way. Having met an ugly man on the road, he treated him with normal courtesy, but he went so far as to treat him like a guest and naturally invited Pang Tong to dine with him.
Ancient people liked to boast and shoot the breeze over wine after a meal, comparing their skills and accomplishments, and the conversation inevitably turned to the great affairs of the world. As a result, Zhou Yu and Pang Tong engaged in a verbal duel and neither could quite figure out the other, which made it all the more intriguing.
Zhou Yu was infamous for his ferociousness, a fact not unknown to Sun Ce. Liaoo Li had a foresight that seemed almost supernatural, and even after several days of probing by Zhou Yu, he hadn’t fully grasped Liaoo Li’s abilities. Now, upon picking up this ugly man on the river, Zhou Yu felt somewhat at a loss on how to proceed. This made Sun Ce realize that it must be the spirit of his deceased father blessing him with such talents. 𝓃𝓸𝓿𝓹𝓾𝓫.𝓬ℴ𝓶
Consequently, Sun Ce’s enthusiasm for Pang Tong grew. The Little Overlord didn’t mind other people’s ugliness at all; as long as someone was capable, Sun Ce wouldn’t care about their appearance. He thought about how unflattering it would be for two handsome men like him and Zhou Yu to stand together without someone to contrast with. An ugly individual beside them would immediately make them shine even brighter.
Despite all this effort, Pang Tong still didn’t give a definite answer. However, he seemed determined to stick to the ship and not disembark. Initially planning to head to Eastern Wu, he now decided to stay aboard Sun Ce’s ship and see everything through to Shouchun. This gave Sun Ce a lot of reassurance and even more confidence in his own charm. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to vote and support it on qidian.com. Your backing is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
