Mythical Three Kingdoms

”Ziyu, you’re still in the mood for jokes!” Zhou Yu looked at Zhuge Jin with dissatisfaction.

”Gongjin, you’re losing composure! The situation isn’t that bad yet!” Zhuge Jin hinted with his usual kind-hearted smile.

”It’s bad enough.” Zhou Yu shook his head and didn’t say anything more, merely gazing toward the west, where Sun Ce and the Yizhou Army clashed, ”To fulfill Fa Xiaozhi’s wish, I compromised. Next, I will head to Jing-Xiang with great fanfare. I believe Shiyuan won’t disappoint me.”

”Send Derun and Zhongye to Xuzhou.” suggested Zhuge Jin. He would have been the most suitable to lure the defeated troops to Eastern Wu, but with the current ambiguous situation and Zhou Yu unable to stay in Shouchun to suppress internal issues, he had no choice but to remain.

”That might be best...” Zhou Yu hesitated before speaking.

Ever since the battle at Jiangxia, where Zhou Yu cleverly defeated Wang Wei and captured Wen Pin, Wen Pin had been converted by Sun Ce and since then had stayed in Shouchun under Zhou Yu’s command. Without significant military achievements to his name, his reputation remained virtually nonexistent to the world.

As a genuine Inner Qi Manifestation Rank master, he could be considered the most low-profile in the world, especially considering that he also possessed decent command abilities, making him a hidden ace in the hole.

As for the Derun that Zhuge Jin mentioned, that was none other than Kan Ze, who had replaced him. Kan Ze, too, was not well-known, which was why, upon understanding the current situation, Zhuge Jin chose someone like Wen Pin and Kan Ze—obscure but genuinely capable—to carry out the venture, partly out of opportunism.

”It’s a pity that Old General Cheng, under the guidance of Daoist Yu Ji, plans to seize this last opportunity to break through to Inner Qi Manifestation as the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi rises,” sighed Zhou Yu, at a critical moment like the present.

Although Zhou Yu had questioned the legitimacy of the Daoist named Yu Ji, he could not find any fault with him, and the Daoist had indeed helped Cheng Pu and others to noticeably improve their cultivation.

Just as some are hindered by the need to grasp the true nature of their spirit in their breakthrough to Inner Qi Manifestation, Cheng Pu was hindered by his control over Inner Qi. As for his spirit, it was already sufficient.

Thus, although Zhou Yu harbored reservations about Yu Ji, he never showed it to anyone. On the contrary, he always met Yu Ji with warm enthusiasm, forcing Yu Ji to suppress his fury and preventing him from showing even the slightest curiosity about Sun Ce.

Actually, Yu Ji’s original plan was to form a good relationship with Cheng Pu and, through him, to clarify Sun Ce’s routines and find an opportunity to transfer all of Sun Ce’s allotted time to another, but, to his misfortune, Zhou Yu got to him first. Compared to Sun Ce’s brash straightforwardness, Zhou Yu seemed to have all sorts of schemes, in Yu Ji’s view.

Importantly, Yu Ji could feel Zhou Yu’s suspicions. No matter how discreet Yu Ji was, Zhou Yu always seemed inattentive, but through divination, Yu Ji knew Zhou Yu was suspicious, and that was what kept Yu Ji from acting.

”Yu Ji...” After contemplating for a long time, Zhuge Jin decided that in this dire hour, he had to lay everything out, ”there is an issue with him, but I can’t pinpoint what it is. I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep an eye on him after you leave.”

”If we can’t keep an eye on them, doesn’t that clearly indicate a problem?” Zhou Yu stared at Zhuge Jin. ”Being forthright is better than this indecisive situation.”

”There’s no need to disturb Old General Cheng, whether it’s him, General Wen, or Derun, none will be taken seriously. If their hearts aren’t truly in it, I think we can save half of them,” Zhuge Jin shook his head.

In Zhuge Jin’s view, it didn’t matter whether Wen Pin or Cheng Pu went to fight in Xuzhou, the success of the withdrawal didn’t depend on their astounding abilities, but on how much the enemy valued them.

”We must choose the right point of entry for this battle,” Zhou Yu nodded his head, agreeing with Zhuge Jin’s words. What mattered more for the successful withdrawal of the troops invading Xuzhou was the judgement by Chen Deng, Zhang Fei, Yuzhou’s Fa Zheng, and Gan Ning about the fighting qualities of Yuzhou Soldiers.

It could be said that if there was a significant misjudgment, there might even be a possibility of turning the tables, although such a scenario was so improbable it was almost not worth considering.

”Next, we’ll see how Shiyuan performs. I hope he doesn’t disappoint me!” Zhuge Jin looked westward, just like Zhou Yu had done before, but his eyes and brows were touched with a hint of melancholy.

Upon seeing Fa Zheng appear below Shouchun City, Zhuge Jin knew something clearly that Zhou Yu did not, and that was his younger brother Zhuge Liang had arrived too. Moreover, with Zhuge Jin’s understanding of Zhuge Liang, if there really was a likely detachment, seven or eight out of ten it would be led by his brother.

[Kongming, it seems we are bound to meet on the battlefield sooner or later. I hope that when that time comes, I’ll be able to see your growth. The path I chose may not be the best, but I am content with it, and I hope you are too.] Zhuge Jin withdrew his gaze, his expression softened. He had long been prepared for such eventualities.

While Zhuge Jin and Zhou Yu were looking forward to Pang Tong’s astonishing performance, Sunx Ce was carrying the arrow-wounded Pang Tong, leading Jiang Qin, Yang Xun, Li Xinn, and others in a desperate flight. They had already been defeated in thirteen battles, fleeing from the border of Jingyi all the way nearly to the region of Yiling, with Yan Yan’s pursuing army relentlessly chasing them without showing any signs of fatigue.

To tell the truth, in such an era, for a top strategist to be hit by arrows was a sheer disgrace, but such a disgrace had indeed occurred.

Zhang Song diverted fire and countered celestial phenomena with Pang Tong, Liu Ba provided cover from the side, while Yan Yan and Zheng Du led a direct charge. The archers aimed at Pang Tong who, unable to divert attention from the arrows, took two hits.

The relentlessly pursuing Yizhou Army, exhilarated amidst their exhaustion, were beyond Pang Tong’s predictions with their mad schemes led by Zheng Du, Zhang Song, Liu Ba, and others. The initial scheme of using the local county soldiers as bait to hook a bigger fish had disastrously backfired on Pang Tong, as the feigned defeat turned real, resulting in seventeen thousand county soldiers scattering outright.

Afterward, during a relentless pursuit, the Yizhou Army showed no signs of weariness, biting at the heels of Sunx Ce’s routed troops and fighting continuously. After hundreds of miles of pursuit, they finally managed to completely rout Sunx Ce’s army and were indeed close to pushing all the way to Yiling in one go.

”Shiyuan, are you alright?” Sunx Ce looked worriedly at the weakened Pang Tong after he had been shot with arrows and asked, not too concerned about the rout of the county soldiers. Pang Tong had already briefed him on the plans, after which he had moved all his elite soldiers to prepare an ambush for the Yizhou Army, though up to now, they had not managed to execute it.

”I’m alright,” Pang Tong said with a pale face while dragging over a water bag and gulping down several mouthfuls. ”Those four relentless pursuers, just give me another thirty miles, and I’ll make sure they understand I’m not someone they can humiliate so easily!” (To be continued. If you like this work, please go to qidian.com to vote and recommend tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)