NOVPUBZhao Yun carried two big geese he had captured from the south. The trouble with getting married in the winter is exactly this: the flock of geese needed for the Feudal Lords’ ceremony is not easy to come by. Moreover, asking Chen Xi to shoot down two geese from the sky, and to ensure that they are alive, is utterly unrealistic. Therefore, the task had to be entrusted to Zhao Yun.
Fortunately, Zhao Yun had not much else to do. So he mounted his Night Illuminating Jade Lion and sped all the way to the south, bringing back two live geese. As for the river pirates who caused trouble on the Yangtze River surface, seeing someone riding a horse on top of the water, anyone with a brain would probably not dare to attack.
But speaking of which, since Sun Ce traversed the Yangtze River, the number of river pirates had greatly diminished of late, so much so that the Lu Family didn’t even know to whom they should offer protection money.
Well, there actually was someone who made a move. As Zhao Yun was returning, riding his horse across the river, his path was blocked by a ship, and it was a grand and majestic one at that.
"Who are you to dare obstruct my way home?" Zhao Yun held his spear as he eyed the two handsome men opposite him, one of whom was a burly man comparable to Xuu Chu in stature.
"We are the Eastern Wu’s Sun Bofu, Zhou Yu, Zhou Youping, servants of General of the Vanguard Yuan Gong," the three men at the bow of the boat saluted in the direction of Zhao Yun.
"May I know what brings the three of you here?" Zhao Yun halted his horse and watched them closely. Although he could clearly sense that two of the three had achieved the level of Inner Qi Separation, the young man called Sun Bofu, who seemed to be just seventeen or eighteen years old, was probably just on the verge of that level. The man called Zhou Youping was merely at the same standard as Gan Ning.
What made Zhao Yun wary was the man standing to the left of Sun Ce with a gentle and warm smile, Duke Zhou Yu. The sporadic flashes of spiritual power that he exuded made Zhao Yun feel a sense of danger. 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝔭𝖚𝖇.𝔠𝔬𝖒
"The three of us are traveling along the river back to Shouchun. Seeing brother riding across the river so freely and gracefully made us itch for a challenge. Would you honor us with a lesson?" Sun Ce said with an air of arrogance.
Sun Ce was now the embodiment of kingly dominance. The last time he crossed the Yangtze River, he had not yet reached the level of Inner Qi Manifestation and had been abducted by Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin, both of whom had achieved that stage. After a battle, he broke through to Inner Qi Manifestation and then, with a show of overt dominance, subjugated both Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin. With their help, he organized the river pirates from the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze into a navy.
Not long after, Sun Ce, with the help of Zhou Yu, defeated Wang Wei and Wen Pin at Jiangxia. He slew Wang Wei in battle and captured Wen Pin. It didn’t take long for Wen Pin to be subdued by Sun Ce’s dominance. Now alone, with his acquaintance Wei Yan having fled, Wen Pin felt that Sun Ce was a rather good man. He did not mistreat captives and possessed great potential, so he surrendered.
After Yuan Shu suffered defeat and relocated his administration to Shouchun, he summoned Sun Ce back to Shouchun to take a post. During his time in Jiangxia, Sun Ce encountered Liao Li, and somehow the two hit it off. Afterwards, Sun Ce took Liao Li to meet Zhou Yu.
After their exchanges, Zhou Yu was astounded by Liao Li’s foresight, truly to an indescribable degree. Not to mention anything else, with such exceptional long-term vision, Liao Li was undoubtedly a mastermind. Thus, convinced by Zhou Yu, Sun Ce appointed Liao Li as the Prefect of Jiangxia, to manage Jiangxia’s affairs in his absence.
After setting sail, they happened upon Gu Yong on the river, who had just resigned from his official post. The two hit it off immediately. Gu Yong had originally planned to visit Mount Tai to see how his younger martial sister Cai Yan was doing, but encountering Sun Ce on the Yangtze River made him feel that his trip was worthwhile. Love and desire for power paled in comparison to meeting a great leader like Sun Ce, so without any hesitation, Gu Yong decided to latch onto Sun Ce’s coattails.
They continued their journey towards Shouchun City, and on the way, they met Yu Fan, who had fallen out with his father over "The Book of Changes." Zhou Yu had a deep conversation with him, and Yu Fan was so impressed by Zhou Yu’s profound knowledge that he promptly decided to join Zhou Yu’s cause.
Not long after they had traveled several dozen li, they came across Dong Xi and Ling Cao, father and son, who had come to offer their allegiance. After a warm exchange, the three men paid their respects and pledged their loyalty to their lord. In short, Sun Ce seemed to be on an unstoppable streak, acquiring three valiant generals with both civil and military talents.
As they traveled, the Little Overlord occasionally encountered several well-known individuals. Some were overwhelmed by Sun Ce’s dominance and magnanimity, while others were subdued by Zhou Yu’s extraordinary wisdom. In any case, almost all of those who encountered Sun Ce ended up joining his ranks.
The reason I say almost is because there was one they met who had not yet been persuaded by Sun Ce, and even Zhou Yu’s exceptional wisdom seemed to have little effect on him. This person was still on the boat.
"Wow, we’ve encountered someone on the river again, and hey, this one happens to be a master of Inner Qi Manifestation. You two really have some luck, to meet not one, but three experts capable of Inner Qi Manifestation on the Yangtze River, and to have two of them join you," remarked Pang Tong, poking his head out curiously after hearing noises from outside, only to be surprised by the sight of Zhao Yun.
That day, at the border between Jingzhou and Yuzhou, Pang Tong had met Zixu. Although his original plan was to head to Mount Tai, after hearing Zixu’s warning that he could end up trapped in Xuzhou or even face mortal danger, Pang Tong considered Zixu’s demon-like nature and decided it would be better to head in another direction, and so he set off for Eastern Wu.
Then, he encountered Sun Ce’s large boat on the river. Sun Ce felt it was not easy for someone to be so unsightly and, believing that meeting was destiny, he invited Pang Tong onto the boat without hesitation. Pang Tong, who had a peculiar temperament and noticed Sun Ce looked at him with only amazement and no disdain or pity, threw his own small boat aside without a word and leaped onto Sun Ce’s large boat.
Sun Ce was also quite the oddity. It would have been normal to treat an encounter with an ugly man just like any other, but Sun Ce genuinely welcomed him as a guest and naturally invited Pang Tong to dine with them.
In ancient times, after meals and drinks, it was common to boast and chat to see who had more impressive skills. As the conversation drifted to the greater affairs of the world, Zhou Yu and Pang Tong engaged in a verbal sparring match, and neither could figure out the depth of the other. This was amusing.
Zhou Yu was infamously tough, and while others didn’t know, Sun Ce was well aware of this. Liao Li’s far-seeing eyes, even after many days of probing by Zhou Yu, hadn’t fully divined Pang Tong’s capabilities. Discovering that even Zhou Yu felt hesitant to engage with this unattractive man they had picked up confirmed to Sun Ce that this was a gift of talent sent by his late father’s guiding spirit from the heavens.
Thus, Sun Ce’s enthusiasm for Pang Tong suddenly grew. The Little Overlord did not mind other people’s ugliness; as long as they were capable, Sun Ce did not care, standing next to Zhou Yu, a fellow handsome man, without someone unattractive to contrast was not ideal — having an unsightly person beside him immediately made him stand out even more.
Despite much back and forth, Pang Tong was not yet giving any definite word but seemed to be stubbornly staying on the boat without disembarking. His initial intentions of heading to Eastern Wu had turned into a plan to stick with Sun Ce’s boat all the way to Shouchun City, which put Sun Ce quite at ease and bolstered his confidence in his own charm.(To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian.com to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is the biggest motivation for me. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
