Lu Bu had long seen through Sun Jian. He gave a cold smile, "General, as long as you protect Jiangdong well, it will be the greatest help to the King of Chu."
"What does the General mean?" Lu Bu's status was now no less than Sun Jian's, so these words made Sun Jian choke.
"Do you mean I must defect to the King of Chu before you will let me go!" Sun Jian sneered, "Who knows if these black-clothed men today were sent by the King of Chu himself, just to stage a show!"
Lu Bu spread his hands, dismissively, "This General doesn't need to resort to such tricks. If you have the guts, kill me. Otherwise, it's all empty talk!"
These words struck Sun Jian to the core. He wished he could kill Lu Bu, but he lacked the ability. He could only snort coldly, "Don't try to provoke this General with such words. You, Lu Bu, are not exactly a paragon of virtue either!"
"Good, good, good! This General will surely make you remember this lesson!" Lu Bu lightly flexed his wrists. "Let's see if the General is more skilled or if I am!"
Sun Jian wished he could slap himself. How could he be Lu Bu's match, especially when he was injured?
"General, if you defeat me like this, it would be an unjust victory. How about I return to Jiangdong, recuperate, and then we'll fight to the death!" Sun Jian said hastily, afraid that if he was a moment slower, Lu Bu would kill him.
"General, is this truly your intention? If there are any further changes, what then!" Lu Bu smiled coldly and asked, "Do you expect this General to accompany you all the way to Jiangdong under this pretense? What a clever plan!"
"Fengxian, you worry too much!" Sun Jian subconsciously reached out to pat Lu Bu's shoulder. Lu Bu quickly dodged, "Besides our Lord, no one else is allowed to be so familiar with Fengxian!"
Sun Jian's smile froze abruptly. He had intended to win Lu Bu over with his gesture, but Lu Bu's reaction made that impossible. Sun Jian withdrew his hand with a disgruntled air, forcing back his anger, and bowed slightly, "Then I bid farewell to the King of Chu. I hope we may meet again one day!"
"That's more like it. The King of Chu finds you an eyesore. If it weren't for the need of your watch over Jiangdong, he would have wanted to see you destroyed and your clan wiped out, not just seven or eight hundred times, but countless times."
Raking up old grievances! Sun Jian's face flushed with anger, but he eventually suppressed his rage and hurried to leave. Seeing his state, Lu Bu added another jab.
"General Sun, travel safely. Don't lose your life!" Striking at his heart, Lu Bu gave a cold smile. "If you lose your life, even if our Lord doesn't take Jiangdong, it will surely be lost!"
Sun Jian stumbled several steps, nearly falling from his horse. Lu Bu turned and left. With the previous incidents of the black-clothed men, who would dare to make a move now? It would be suicidal.
"Fengxian, take your time. Be careful that one day the King of Chu doesn't become suspicious. Perhaps going to Jiangdong with me might save your life!" Sun Jian thought for a long time before uttering this. Just as he saw Lu Bu freeze, ready to smile knowingly,
Lu Bu suddenly turned, drew the long spear stuck in the ground, and threw it. It moved with incredible speed, shattering the hair ornament as if it were tofu. "If you want to die, you can say a few more words."
"You, you're not afraid of the King of Chu's punishment if you kill me? He'll surely make your life miserable!" Sun Jian shouted with all his might, kicking hard at his horse's flanks. The steed darted away like lightning.
"Our Lord treats me so well. He just needs to know my name. You don't need to worry about anything else!" Lu Bu retorted.
As Sun Jian rode further away, he shivered. He touched the sweat on his head. "Fortunately, I ran fast. Otherwise, that beast would have really killed me!"
Lu Bu let Red Hare carry him leisurely towards Liangzhou, while Sun Jian's journey was far less comfortable, constantly fleeing, wishing he had several horses to switch between.
Perhaps he forgot that he already had five or six, but they were too fast, and even the horses couldn't keep up.
Seeing Jiangdong just across the river, Sun Jian's weary heart finally settled, a joyous expression on his face. "I, Sun Jian, have finally returned! I will surely make the King of Chu and the others pay their blood debts!"
"If we hadn't killed Zhang Rang, perhaps Jiangdong would already be in a position to claim kingship and dominate!" Sun Jian sighed repeatedly, but few could hear his words.
As the wind swept through the tower before the coming storm, a small boat stood alone by the bank. The boatman calmly smoked a cigarette. Seeing Sun Jian rise, he spoke, "Do you wish to cross the river? My small boat can take you across!"
"I do wish to cross. I will surely spread the word about you, old man," Sun Jian promised without blushing.
"Then I thank you, young master," the boatman said as his boat drew closer. "Young master, don't forget your promise!"
Sun Jian quickly bowed. "If I benefit from your kindness, old man, I will surely keep my word!"
"Here comes the boat!" The old man rowed his small boat closer. "Where are you from? Jiangdong doesn't seem to have people dressed like you!"
Sun Jian wished he could tear off his clothes. Thinking of the black-clothed disguise he had worn to escape, he blushed and explained cautiously, "Don't worry, old man. I am originally from Jiangdong. I've just adopted a fashionable attire. If Jiangdong also adopts such attire, it will surely boost agriculture!"
The old man looked him up and down and sighed heavily. "This old man can't understand you young people. Well, as you wish!"
"Thank you, old man!" Sun Jian excitedly picked up his weapons and led his horse onto the small boat. Just then, he heard the old man shout!
"Young man, how can you be so rude? My boat is small. If I take you, there will be no room for anything else. If I take your belongings, you'll have to wait for the next trip!" the old man patiently explained.
Sun Jian understood. In an instant, he made a decision. If it were any other time, he would never abandon his luggage. But where was he now?
Jiangdong was just across the river. What could possibly happen?
"This young man was inconsiderate. Please forgive me, old man!" Sun Jian quickly bowed and, in a flurry, threw off all his belongings.
"Come aboard," the old man gently paddled. "Hold on tight. Be careful of the wind and waves. What if something happens."
"Thank you, old man!" Sun Jian bowed and thanked him, then chatted with the old man casually. The old man smiled at Sun Jian. "Where are you from, young man? When did you leave Jiangdong?"
"I dare not deceive you, old man. I left Jiangdong three months ago. Now that I'm returning home, my heart is a bit uneasy. I wonder what has changed!" Sun Jian chuckled softly. "But we are all striving to make Jiangdong stronger and seize the Central Plains. No matter what, everyone should work together!"
"Is that so? Is that so?" the old man smiled and nodded. When the boat reached the middle of the river, he stopped rowing and remained still.
"Old man, why is this? If you want more silver, I can give it to you. Why are we stopping here!" Sun Jian said hastily. "As long as you take me to Jiangdong, there's nothing I won't give you!"
The old man slowly took off his straw hat, a slight smile on his lips. "This old man is old and doesn't want anything. I just want to do my part for the younger generation and prevent them from falling into turmoil again!"
Sun Jian's heart trembled. The river was swift. If anything happened to the boat, neither of them would survive.
The old man silently pushed the paddle into the water. "Even if this old man wants to save your life, countless people in Jiangdong will not agree!"
"Son, your father has avenged you!" the old man sneered a few times. "Today, I'll make him be your escort!"
Sun Jian's brow furrowed. He sensed something was amiss and quickly explained, "Old man, I am not from somewhere else. I am truly from Jiangdong. I am Sun Quan of the Sun family in Jiangdong!"
"Bah! What makes you think you have the ability to impersonate General Sun? You will surely die today!" The old man spat fiercely, then pulled aside the worn cloth covering the bottom of the boat, revealing a large hole plugged with wood.
"You, what exactly do you want to do!" Sun Jian's voice trembled. Being killed by Lu Bu would be one thing, but he absolutely could not die at the hands of his own people! "I am truly from the Sun family of Jiangdong!"
"The Sun family has its own emblem wooden token. If you can produce it, this old man will believe you!" the old man said mockingly. "Otherwise, you will drown in the river with this old man."
"I am from the Sun family of Jiangdong!" Sun Jian quickly spoke in the Jiangdong dialect. "I am not impersonating anyone."
"Hmph!" The old man snorted. "Betraying Jiangdong makes you even more deserving of death!"
The old man kicked away the wooden plug, grabbed a fish spear, and violently poked several holes in the boat. Sun Jian's face turned ashen. Before he could plug the holes, water already rushed into the boat.
"Die with me!" The old man's voice was like a haunting summons, his hoarse tone scraping against Sun Jian's ears. "Die together!"
"No, I can't die, I can't die!" Sun Jian muttered to himself, then quickly crawled to the bottom of the boat. "I can still live, I can still live!"
"This old man wants to see how many holes you can plug!" With each thrust of the fish spear, the boat became riddled with holes. Sun Jian hastily took off his clothes and plunged into the water. This was his only chance of survival.
The old man let out a wild laugh and jumped into the water. Sun Jian took a deep breath and tightly grabbed the old man's legs. With such a burden, Sun Jian naturally couldn't escape.
With a resentful gaze that made Sun Jian tremble, Sun Jian reluctantly submerged. With a chop to the old man's shoulder, he watched the old man slowly sink. He then pulled him onto the boat and slowly pushed the boat forward.
It was the dead of winter, and the Wu River was wide. Sun Jian soon lost his strength, gently leaning on the small boat, which seemed on the verge of sinking. Helplessly, he could only swim with all his might.
He tied a rope around himself and watched the shore get closer. Ten meters, nine meters, eight meters... two meters.
"Old man, please watch over the prosperity of Jiangdong for me!" Sun Jian pushed the small boat hard, then stumbled back and slowly sank to the bottom of the water. "Jiangdong, I can never go back..."