Chapter 14 - Leaving the Shell

Twin Jades of Jiangdong

"With a sweep of his foot, Zhou Yu sent the snow on the ground flying into the air, flurries of snow and plum blossoms covering the sky."

Translator(s): moon
Editor(s): jelly, namio

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At night, the entirety of the Yuan estate was as rowdy as it had been before. Zhou Yu and Sun Ce sat shoulder to shoulder on the bed, soaking their feet in the same tub. Sun Ce leaned on Zhou Yu, saying lazily, “Today, I sent Feiyu out and told my dad to send some troops to wait for us on the northern side of Wanling.”

“The journey will be cold with these snowy days,” Zhou Yu said. “I am grateful for the efforts of those soldiers.”

Sun Ce then said, “My uncle is in Waling. As soon as we arrive in Danyang, we will be safe.”

Sun Ce’s maternal uncle, Wu Jing, was the governor of Danyang. Zhou Yu knew that as long as they were able to leave Shouchun, what happened next was not something he had to worry about. Sun Ce leaned on him for a while longer, before rising and bringing over a cloth towel, wiping Zhou Yu’s feet dry for him. Zhou Yu pondered for a moment, before saying, “You do not need to worry about my mother being intimidated into following orders.”

Sun Ce replied, “It’s always good to make a few more preparations.”

Zhou Yu: “The matter of Yuan Shu obtaining the jade seal and detaining your mother and Sun Quan cannot be made public, so as long as we escape, he can only mutely accept his defeat. No one will dare to tell.”

Sun Ce then said, “He doesn’t dare to touch me, but I’m afraid that he’ll go after you. This time, you don’t need to go anywhere anymore, just follow me. I’ll bring your mother too, and we’ll go stay in Danyang first, our two families will live together. After I find firm footing, then I’ll take you to set up our governance.”

Zhou Yu didn’t say anything; he merely listened quietly. Sun Ce had drunk a little too much, and now his head hurt, so he smiled and said, “Let’s sleep, let’s sleep. Tomorrow is the first day of the new year, I’ll bestow you an envelope in the new year.”

Zhou Yu began to chuckle, having been reminded of the New Year celebrations during their childhood, when he had brought Sun Ce along with him to his relatives’ families to ask for money to buy candy with. He said casually, with amusement, “How old am I now, for you to give me an envelope for the new year. Are you waiting for me to go buy some candy so you can have it?”

Though he said this, that night was the night that Zhou Yu slept the most soundly. He knew that they were going to leave Shouchun soon, and with that, he finally let go of the heavy burden weighing on him. When he woke the next morning, Sun Ce had already long since begun to practice his staff techniques in the yard. Zhou Yu woke, filled with energy, and he put away the bedding, only to find that there was actually an envelope under his pillow.

Zhou Yu couldn’t resist chuckling at that. The envelope was also pretty hefty. He figured that those were probably silver taels, but when he opened it, he immediately froze with shock.

That was a waist tally made from golden-veined nanmu, and on it was carved a line of words: the Jianwei General of the Household, Zhou.

When he flipped it over to look, on the back was Sun Jian’s carven seal as prefect of Changsha, as well as Sun Ce’s seal as general.

The door to the room opened, and Zhou Yu, sword and human as one, shot out with an accompanying gust of wind. Sun Ce’s arms and torso were bare as he practiced his staff techniques, and he let out a loud shout of “Good!” as the two of them began to spar in the courtyard. With a sweep of his footwork, Zhou Yu sent the snow on the ground flying into the air, flurries of snow and plum blossoms covering the sky. His sword style was hard and his moves majestic, while Sun Ce’s staff techniques were like a fierce, raging wave. One staff became ten, ten became a hundred, and the sky filled with afterimages of staves, for a time sweeping forward like the raging sea, then standing firm like the bulk of Mt. Tai.

But Zhou Yu’s expression did not change at all. The Chijun Sword spun in the air, and no matter how Sun Ce tried to beat him down, his sword was like a lone boat made of a single leaf floating in a vengeful ocean, completely untouched from start to end.

“Good!” Zhao Yun’s voice called from one side. Upon seeing that Zhao Yun had come, Zhou Yu sheathed his sword and backed away, while Zhao Yun twirled his spear and leapt forward, his spear clashing with Sun Ce’s staff. It was like a falcon capturing a rabbit, and at times like a butterfly weaving through flowers; the two of them leapt into the air, sweeping the plum blossoms into the air with hulala sounds.

Cao Pi was already completely dazzled by this. The two of them were both using polearms, and with every move, the staff and the spear swept out and drew back in with grand sweeping gestures, extremely handsomely. Sun Ce let out a loud shout and exerted all his effort, and the hail of afterimages of his staff forced Zhao Yun into the corner. Finally, Zhao Yun could not fend it off any longer, and with a clear whistle, his spear shot out against that tide!

With a dang, the staff and spear collided. Sun Ce flipped and leapt away, and the two of them both stopped.

Sun Ce was already dripping with sweat as he breathed heavily. He had first practiced for almost half an hour, before then sparring with first Zhou Yu, then Zhao Yun, and now he was completely exhausted.

“Good moves,” Zhao Yun said, smiling. “Looks like that day, Zilong’s interference was not necessary.”

“How could that be,” Zhou Yu responded. “If it wasn’t for General Zhao coming to the rescue, us two would more or less have fallen to Lu Bu.”

Zhao Yun smiled, but he didn’t say anything. When he and Sun Ce had crossed weapons, Zhou Yu had seen that his hands were still very steady, and he wasn’t even short of breath; it was clear that his martial prowess was above the two of theirs. Just now, he had done nothing more than testing their skills.

Sun Ce returned inside to change. Zhao Yun then asked Zhou Yu, “Where did xiandi learn these sword techniques from? Can I borrow the sword for a look?”

Zhou Yu handed the sword over to him with both hands. Though they were both borrowing it for a look, Zhao Yun was clearly much more humble than the swaggering Lu Bu, and Zhou Yu explained, “Just now, what I used was not a sword style of the Central Plains, but rather the Sixteen Techniques of the Vast Sea that I learned from an overseas master four years ago.”

Zhao Yun nodded his head slightly, observing the Chijun Sword. He then said, “The style that xiandi uses is focused entirely on the element of water. It does indeed have the power of rivers and seas, and the might of thousands of crashing waves. Very impressive indeed. Zilong did not ask for a chance himself, instead choosing to steal a peek at a few moves; he hopes that xiandi will not take this to heart.”

With Zhao Yun’s abilities, his actions naturally could not be considered “stealing sword techniques”. But after a moment of pondering, he returned the long sword, saying, “I once learned a few sword techniques from my former master, named Seeing the Dragon in the Fields. Would xiandi be willing to exchange a few blows with yuxiong?”

Zhou Yu jolted, knowing that though the exchanging of blows was false, Zhao Yun wanted to teach him a few techniques as he did so, and thus he put all his effort into learning. After the span of one stick of incense, Zhao Yun had taught Zhou Yu the three moves of Seeing the Dragon, and had also pointed out the elements that comprised each of them, saying, “Seeing the Dragon in the Fields requires you to attain the recognition of the heavens; this technique requires the use of concealment, hiding, and secrecy as the main focus, before finally ‘revealing’.”

“Yes,” Zhou Yu said earnestly. “I am endlessly grateful for being able to receive Zhao-xiong’s pointers.”

Sun Ce brushed by him, having already changed, and Zhao Yun entered, sitting down with Cao Pi inside. Sun Ce said, pleased, “How are the matters that General Zhao is dealing with?”

Zhao Yun shook his head helplessly. It was clear that though he had come under Gongsun Zan’s orders, he hadn’t accomplished anything, and now his belly was full of suppressed rage.

“However many men you need, count on me to provide them,” Sun Ce said easily. “What are Lord Gongsun’s plans after that?”

Zhao Yun hurried to rise and thank Sun Ce. Meanwhile, Zhou Yu was completely at a loss for words - your own matters weren’t even taken care of, and yet here you are busying yourself with the affairs of others; you’re not afraid of being laughed at by Zhao Yun?

But Zhao Yun was very moved, and he replied earnestly, “Bofu-xiandi’s goodwill, yuxiong will remember, but your honored father’s troops are still stationed under the Hangu Pass. You must act for the greater good; today, if you and your father can keep Dong Zhuo under control, then you are doing a great benefit to all the lives in Hebei. If, because of a selfish wish of Zilong’s, he lets xiandi dispatch his troops, and hence cause the Central Plains to lose their last defenses, how can he rest easy?”

Sun Ce’s expression grew solemn. “Zhao-dage speaks truly, I had not thought it through fully. Please, sit.”

Zhao Yun sighed again, before saying to Zhou Yu and Sun Ce, “Last night, I kept mulling it over, again and again, and finally decided that leaving first is for the best. Great General Yuan, however, seems to have other plans, and said that when the third month of this year comes, Yuan Shao will send a letter to my liege, and at that time we will commence with the plan.”

Zhou Yu thought to himself, he isn’t planning on dragging Zhao Yun down as well, right? Though he did not know what Yuan Shao had planned for Hebei, the truth was that Jizhou was his territory… At that, Zhou Yu and Sun Ce both had a thought, and the two of them exchanged a glance.

“So these few days,” Zhao YUn said, “I will find a way to leave first.”

Cao Pi remarked unhappily, “If Yuan Shao wants to capture you, if you head from here back to Western Liao, that is a journey of some thousands of li. How will you be able to escape?”

“Even if I cannot escape, I must go,” Zhao Yun said. “I cannot drag it out any longer. If I keep dragging it out, things may change. My purpose in coming here today was to bid farewell to Sun-xiongdi and Zhou-xiongdi.”

Zhou Yu indicated that the two of them wait for a moment, and he pulled out a command tally, placing it on the table.

“I’ve thought it all through,” Zhou Yu said. “The night of the Lantern Festival, we’ll leave together. We’ll split up into three, and I will lead Yuan Shu’s troops away for you all.”

Zhao Yun looked at the command tally that gave its bearer the right of passage out of the city, then to Zhou Yu, then to Sun Ce.

Half a month later, the Lantern Festival in Shouchun.

The new year had begun, and everything had renewed itself. A bright moon hung in the sky, and on the Shouchun night, the markets were bustling with noise. The flower lanterns formed an ocean, and together with the fireworks, they lit up the night like silver flowers and flaming trees.

“Let’s go!” Sun Ce called, rushing over excitedly. “Let’s go wander the lantern markets!”

When Zhou Yu thought about how they were going to escape a certain doom this very night, he was so nervous that his stomach tied itself in knots, and yet Sun Ce seemed to be completely unaffected. Zhou Yu wanted to beat him up.

“I’m not going anymore,” Zhou Yu said. “You take Sun Quan to walk around for a bit, come back soon.”

“What are you afraid of?” Sun Ce asked. “Later tonight, Zilong will be following as well, are you still afraid that there will be something we can’t deal with? If one comes, then we’ll kill one; if two come, then we’ll kill a pair. Let’s go.”

Zhou Yu had no response to that, so he could only rise and follow Sun Ce out.

When they passed through the corridor, they saw Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Zhen Mi, Yang Hong, and the rest of them come towards them. They were heading to the garden to admire the lights, and the two sides exchanged a few cold sentences. Yuan Shu merely chuckled, telling Zhou Yu and Sun Ce to enjoy themselves as they wished. Yang Hong sent him a secret glance, and Zhou Yu nodded, meaning that everything had already been arranged as he had ordered.

They left the general’s manor behind them. This was the first time Sun Ce was going out to stroll through the streets after arriving in Shouchun, and he linked hands with Zhou Yu, leading Sun Quan, walking through the market. Zhou Yu had arranged for the men that Yuan Shu had given him to wait for him outside the city first, while Zhao Yun had taken Cao Pi out wandering, and Zhou Yu didn’t know where they had gone.

Sun Quan did not know about their plan to escape this very night, and he even smiled as he asked where Cao Pi had run off to. In the market, Zhou Yu bought him a pinwheel that kept going round and round, while he and Sun Ce took turns piggybacking him, to prevent them from being separated by the crowd. That night, the market was filled with young couples, young men and women decked out in bright robes, and when they saw Zhou Yu and Sun Ce carrying a young child who looked as if he had been carved from jade, none of them could resist glancing at them a little more. They felt that this ensemble was pretty amusing.

“I want to eat that,” Sun Quan said. “What’s that?”

“Stop eating,” Sun Ce said. “If you eat too much, you won’t be able to run around in a bit.”

“Let me eat some!” Sun Quan said loudly.

“What did Cao Cao’s son teach you…” Sun Ce was torn between crying and laughing. “You even dare to talk back now?”

“Buy it for him, buy it for him,” Zhou Yu said.

The thing that Zhou Yu was most afraid of was young children crying or fighting, because he always felt as if this was a truly difficult situation. He was afraid that in a bit, Sun Quan would be unhappy, and if he began to fuss right there in the market, that would be a disheartening scene of devastation. Every time, Sun Ce could only let Zhou Yu have his way, so he pulled out some money and handed it to him, saying, “Go, go quickly.”

Zhou Yu bought two sticky rice cakes, handing one to Sun Quan, while he himself started to eat the other one. Sun Ce asked, “How come I don’t have any?”

“Didn’t you say you weren’t going to eat?” Sun Quan asked.

“That’s right,” Zhou Yu teased. “Didn’t you say you weren’t going to eat?”

The rice cake was nice and warm, formed from glutinous rice sprinkled with crushed peanuts. Sun Ce was about to explode from anger because of these two, so Zhou Yu, while chuckling, handed his own half-eaten rice cake to him. Sun Ce took it and ate it, while Sun Quan squeezed into the mass of people, shouting as he went, “Cao Pi! Cao Pi!”

Zhao Yun had Cao Pi riding on his shoulders, and the two of them were currently standing before the stage, watching the wooden puppetry play. Sun Quan then began to climb all over Sun Ce, so Sun Ce could only let Sun Quan sit on his shoulders as he squeezed into the crowd.

Zhao Yun sent Zhou Yu a glance, and Zhou Yu nodded slightly, indicating that everything was prepared.

“All the belongings have been packed?” Zhou Yu asked.

“We have no baggage,” Zhao Yun said quietly. “Madame Yuan simply prepared some travel expenses for Cao Pi.”

The wooden puppets were enacting the play “The Legend of the Seven Magpies”, which told the story of the cowherd and the weaver. Cao Pi was watching fixedly, his eyes a little red. Zhou Yu teased him, “You haven’t really fallen in love with a great beauty, have you?”

“Nonsense,” Cao Pi said. “When I return in a few years, I’ll find her to be my wife.”

Zhao Yun couldn’t stop chuckling, almost sending Cao Pi tumbling down. The three of them watched the play for a bit, before Sun Quan found that Cao Pi seemed a little hurt, and he grabbed his hand, asking, “Have you… told Zhen-jie?”

“En,” Cao Pi replied. “I said that I would come back.”

The puppet play finished, and the crowd watching the play dispersed. The five of them then moved to sit shoulder to shoulder by the river, watching the colorful lights on the other bank. Sun Ce hugged one knee, his foot placed on the rocks by the river, while the lights of the lanterns winked in and out like a scene from a dream, to the point of seeming a little unreal. Zhou Yu knew that at this time, Sun Ce was also a little nervous; he was afraid of something going wrong.

When the lights of the lanterns faded away and the market was cleaned up, Zhao Yun took the two little children to buy some fried snacks. After that, Zhou Yu said, from his position at the entrance to the market, “Let’s go ba.”

“I haven’t said goodbye to Zhen-jie yet,” Cao Pi said.

“Don’t go back,” Zhou Yu replied, frowning. “There will be more chances in the future for you two to see each other.”

Cao Pi thought about it. Though he was reluctant, he knew that he could not afford to slow everyone down at this time, so he could only go along with it.

The carriage came to a stop at the mouth of the alley, and Sun Ce climbed on. Madame Wu was sitting in the carriage, but to their surprise, Zhen Mi was also there. She greeted the group, before she climbed down and began to talk with Cao Pi. Cao Pi’s eyes were red, and after talking with her in the alley for a while, he picked up Zhen Mi’s hand. Zhen Mi wiped Cao Pi’s eyes, before pulling out a tortoiseshell-patterned ring and handing it to Cao Pi.

“Everyone,” Zhen Mi said gently, “we shall meet again some day.”

“Madame Yuan, take good care of yourself,” Zhao Yun said, cupping his hands.

Zhen Mi left, and the rest of them all climbed onto the carriage. Upon seeing that Cao Pi was still a little dazed, Zhao Yun said, “You will see each other again in the future.”

Sun Ce chuckled. “She’s already married, you’re really set on marrying her?”

Cao Pi shot Sun Ce a glare.

Originally, Zhou Yu had been very nervous, but this matter of Cao Pi’s tickled him into amusement. The group laughed for a bit, before the Lady of Wu wiped the two children’s hands clean. When they passed by the backyard of the general’s estate, Zhao Yun led a horse out, escorting the group towards the exit of the city.

Because of the Shangyuan lantern markets, the gates to Shouchun would remain open until the zi hour. Sun Ce brought them to the city gates, where he bid farewell to Sun Quan and his mother, before he turned and headed back.

Zhou Yu’s heart did not stop thumping. When he handed over his waist tally, the officer glanced at them a few times. Clearly, he had already received the news that Zhou Yu was leaving the city that night, three people in total. One elder, one child, all of their identities matched. There was also a person from the general’s estate who stood next to the officer, and he helped check the entire horse carriage to make sure that there was no one hidden within.

That civil officer was one that Zhou Yu also recognized; he was one of Yang Hong’s subordinates, but technically, he shouldn’t know how many waist tallies Zhou Yu had. After the official finished checking, he was just about to let them go, but the city guard stopped him.

“The three of you,” the officer of the city guard said, “only have one waist tally, what’s going on here?”

Zhou Yu responded, “How would I know? You go send someone to ask Lord Yang! The citizens in the city have all left, and yet you won’t let us on official business leave?! This is my decree as an officer of the records, and if you dare to cause a delay, then don’t blame me for not being polite!” Saying this, Zhou Yu then looked towards that civil official, saying, “Isn’t that right?”

The civil official wasn’t sure what to do either. There were many people who wanted to leave the city tonight, most of whom had rushed from the regions surrounding Shouchun to celebrate the Lantern Festival. Right now the rush of the crowd was like the tide, and the horse carriage blocked the city gates, clogging up the opening that everyone behind was heading towards. The city guard only knew that there would be some people from the general’s estate leaving the city tonight. Since the subordinate that Yang Hong sent could not clarify the matter, he could only let them through to prevent them from holding things up, so that he wouldn’t be punished.

After all, as long as there weren’t more people than expected, that was fine. He couldn’t be bothered with caring about the rest.

Zhou Yu climbed onto the driver’s seat, and with a swish of his long whip, sent the carriage heading out of the city. When he turned back to look, the number of citizens near the gate was growing, and he could no longer find Zhao Yun.

Zhao Yun had one hand leading the horse, the other leading Cao Pi.

“Stop,” the officer said. “Identify yourself. I haven’t seen you before.”

Cao Pi pulled out the command tally. “This is from the general’s estate, see.”

The officer’s expression was one of suspicion. Zhao Yun was wearing a set of luxurious martial robes with a bodyguard’s sword belted at his side, and with a fluent Hebei officer’s accent he ordered arrogantly, “This individual is the nephew of Lord Yuan Benchu, and after celebrating the Shangyuan Festival, he is heading back to Jizhou. What squad are you from? What is your title? What arrogance!”

Zhao Yun stood at the city gates, handsome and imposing, like a jade tree in the wind. He was also a natural-born clothes rack, and was now wearing bright clothing. Cao Pi, on the other hand, had thick brows and large eyes, and was clad in the air of a scholar. He wore the tortoiseshell ring that Zhen Mi had given him, and now he showed it to the city guard.

“Do you recognize this ring?” Cao Pi asked.

The city guard didn’t dare to block his path after that, and let the two of them pass.

“Quickly.” Zhou Yu and his group met up with Cao Pi and Zhao Yun. Zhao Yun lifted Cao Pi into the horse carriage, while he himself changed his clothing, donning the outfit of a cart driver. He took Zhou Yu’s spot on the driver’s seat, while Zhou Yu mounted Zhao Yun’s horse.

“Where are your attendants?” Zhao Yun asked.

“I arranged for them to be at the inn,” Zhou Yu said. “We’ll travel under the dark of night tonight, and tomorrow night when we arrive at our lodgings, you take Cao Pi and leave first. Leave the rest of them to me.”

Zhao Yun asked, “How many men are there?”

Zhou Yu made a gesture, meaning there were twenty. Zhao Yun said, “With you, me, and Bofu, that is more than enough to deal with twenty men.”

“We cannot act recklessly,” Zhou Yu said. “Madame Sun and the two children are both here, and they might fall into enemy hands.”

The two of them discussed quietly for a little bit as they watched the city gates in the distance.

Zhao Yun said, “Bofu told me to pass this message on to you: if he did not appear in the time it takes to steep a pot of tea, we should leave first.”

“Wait a little longer,” Zhou Yu said earnestly. “For him to return to the estate, change his robes, and leave the city gates will also take quite a bit of time.”

To avoid rousing Yuan Shu’s suspicion, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu had agreed beforehand that after the lantern markets of the Shangyuan Festival concluded, Sun Ce would return to the general’s estate first. After he returned, he would then figure out a way to escape. But this method was very dangerous - if Shouchun closed the city gates, then Sun Ce would have no choice but to remain within the city.

And if the soldiers who had sworn their lives to this cause did not see Zhou Yu appear in the inn on the outskirts of the city, they would also grow suspicious. As soon as they reported back to Yuan Shu, their entire group would be in danger.

Upon seeing that the citizens had all left, the gates of Shouchun slowly closed. With a rumble, they separated the lamplight from inside from the darkness outside.

“Damn.”

That voice sent Zhou Yu into the depths of the abyss. He looked towards Zhao Yun, who said, “Stay calm, do not panic. If leaving the city was not an option, did you and Bofu arrange for your next movements?”

“If we leave him behind, then we’d have to wait until tomorrow,” Zhou Yu said anxiously. “But tonight, Yuan Shu might be planning to kill him…”

“Go first,” Zhou Yu said decisively. “Trust him, jia!”

Zhou Yu turned back and glanced once more at Shouchun, before sucking in a deep breath, praying silently that Sun Ce would catch up to them tomorrow.

Without knowing the outcome, Zhou Yu’s heart sank in his chest. Just as Zhao Yun was about to get the carriage moving, Zhou Yu said, “Wait a little longer, one ke more.”