Fearless Before the Halberd
Lu Bu's speed, faster than lightning, left not only Minju but even the ever-composed Guan Yu flustered. The sharp whistle of the weapon slicing through the air tore at their eardrums. Guan Yu's Green Dragon Crescent Blade and Minju's Zhangba Snake Spear hastily traced arcs in pursuit, but they were already a step too late.
Lu Bu's weapon, the Fangtian Halberd, came to a halt right before Liu Bei's throat—a mere hair's breadth away. The slightest twitch of Lu Bu's wrist would send Liu Bei's head tumbling to the dirt. A momentary silence gripped the clearing. Everyone gathered there held their breath.
Jin Gong, observing from horseback, saw his pupils tremble, while even Zhang Liao, who had been readjusting his grip on his weapon, froze like a statue. Guan Yu and Minju, charging with weapons poised, radiated explosive killing intent from every fiber of their beings—but with Liu Bei's life held hostage, they could do nothing.
Yet in that razor-edge moment of life and death, Liu Bei himself didn't so much as blink. Instead, he stared straight at the icy blade tip aimed at him and opened his mouth calmly, as if pausing mid-sip of tea to converse.
"Is this the way General Fengxian proposes his deal?"
Lu Bu's heavy-lidded eyes narrowed with a faint quiver. With his beast-like instincts, he could sense it: a vivid drop of blood welled from the skin where the blade touched, trickling down the cold metal. Yet Liu Bei's pulse remained steady. No tremor of fear, no cringing submission.
The tension hung so thick the air itself seemed ready to ignite. Liu Bei didn't retreat a single step. His breathing stayed even. It was as if he'd known from the start that the blade would stop here—or as if death itself bowed to his will.
For the first time, the fire in Lu Bu's eyes wavered violently.
"Why... don't you dodge? Are you unafraid of death, or are you mocking me?"
Liu Bei kept his gaze fixed on the Fangtian Halberd's tip and spoke again. His voice carried an uncanny weight.
"If even a single tiger cannot be tamed, how could one hope to embrace the realm?"
In the ensuing stillness, as if the wind itself had halted, Liu Bei's words gently filled the clearing.
"If you are truly a tiger, I must never flee. The moment I turn my back in fear, you will live out your days as a lonely beast, trusting no one, used and discarded till the end."
A faint tremor ran through Lu Bu's fingertips. He commanded the world through raw might, but this kind of pressure was utterly new. Liu Bei's words pierced deeper than any blade, straight to his heart.
"But if I stand firm and face you, you'll come to know it too: that not everyone in this realm merely fears or exploits you. That there is one here who truly cherishes your valor and seeks to understand your solitude."
"......"
The silence stretched, heavy as lead. Lu Bu stared piercingly into Liu Bei's eyes. There was no fear, no servility, no greed—only a steadfast will, like a rock silently enduring crashing waves. Before those clear eyes that seemed to see through the soul, Lu Bu felt an uncanny illusion of his own smallness.
At last, Lu Bu slowly withdrew his weapon. A sly, languid smile crept across his lips.
"Fascinating. Truly fascinating. Liu Xuande, was it? You're either the maddest man I've met... or the most terrifying."
The moment the Fangtian Halberd pulled back, Guan Yu and Minju flashed forward to shield Liu Bei, their auras primed to erupt. But Lu Bu showed no further intent to strike. From atop Red Hare, he gave Liu Bei another appraising once-over.
"Your answer pleases me. That stance, unafraid of losing your life—it's no easy mindset for others to possess."
Guan Yu gripped his Green Dragon Crescent Blade low and fixed him with a piercing glare.
"That doesn't excuse your insolence in testing our elder brother so recklessly. Dare such madness again, and I'll stake my life to claim your head."
Lu Bu snorted derisively—a supreme confidence born of absolute power. Lu Bu was Lu Bu, after all.
"Yun Chang, enough."
Liu Bei raised a hand to restrain his brothers. The spark could reignite at any moment. Without even wiping the blood beading at his throat, he asked Lu Bu politely,
"So, what is General Fengxian's final answer?"
Instead of replying, Lu Bu turned his head to gaze at Diaochan standing in the distance. Her eyes held no plea or demand—only a desperate sincerity, yearning to survive this chaos together and live as a human, not a monster.
Lu Bu exhaled, long and deep.
"I'll hold off on joining your command for now. I'm not built to grovel under anyone. Nothing stands above my head but the heavens—that's my way."
Minju and Guan Yu furrowed their brows and tightened their grips anew, but Lu Bu's next words made them pause.
"But cooperation? That, I will. At least until that ugly pig Dong Zhuo's head rolls. My halberd already has its target."
At that moment, Gao Shun stepped forward from behind the horses, where he'd been watching. In his calm, cool voice, he summed up the situation.
"We need a foundation to weather the chaos after Dong Zhuo's fall. General Liu needs the Han imperial legitimacy to sway the realm and overwhelming force to back it. While our goals align, no alliance could be sturdier. We'll be the only ones each can trust at our backs."
Liu Bei nodded deeply.
"Very well. I never intended to force General Fengxian to bend to my will. If we can stand side by side against a common foe, that suffices. Let us discover together what path truly serves the realm."
Lu Bu burst into booming laughter once more, the sound shaking Luoyang's night sky.
"I thought you pups were harmless, but you're fierce ones. Especially that black brute—Zhang Fei, right? Your mouth's foul, but that spear arm? It suits me fine. The weight behind that thrust was no joke."
Who'd have thought the day would come when Lu Bu offered praise? To play the part, Minju shrugged and slung his Zhangba Snake Spear over his shoulder.
"Even a tiger turns into a smart guard dog with the right master. Time you quit chasing bloodlust like a beast and reformed into a proper man. For Lady Diaochan's sake, at least."
Lu Bu shot Minju a murderous glare for a beat, then wheeled Red Hare around and yanked the reins.
"Let's go, Zhang Liao! Gao Shun! We accept their proposal—for now."
And so, in Luoyang's chill night air, history's strangest and most perilous alliance pierced through. Men who had thirsted for each other's blood moments ago now turned their blades toward a shared enemy.
From afar, Diaochan watched the scene, tension finally easing as she wiped tears from her eyes and softly closed them. The Connected Rings Plan she had woven had evolved beyond mere division—into a massive current poised to upend the realm.
But it wasn't over. No, this was only the true war's beginning. The tyrant Dong Zhuo still mocked the world from his golden throne in Luoyang, backed by Xiliang's blood-soaked legions and schemers like Li Ru.
They wouldn't fall easily.
But Minju was certain. The fixed trajectory of doom was shifting; history's mighty current churned toward an entirely new path. The pebble he'd cast into the vast lake of the realm had unleashed uncontrollable ripples.
Good. Phase one: success.
Minju gazed up at the crescent moon hanging in the night sky. It gleamed coldly.
Alright, Dong Zhuo. Your turn. I'll make you feel the bitter cost of the chaos you've sown—down to your bones.
Luoyang's night breeze blew cold once more. But mingled in it was no longer the stench of death. It was a sharper tang than blood, hotter than tears—the herald of a new era.
Minju clenched his fist. The dice were cast.
The next dawn, in Liu Bei's camp. Even under a gag order, word of the alliance with Lu Bu stirred a strange tension among the command staff. Guan Yu had risen early to drill in the training grounds, steadying his mind, while Minju pored over maps, rechecking Luoyang's troop deployments.
"Yide."
Liu Bei's gentle voice came from behind. Minju turned to see him holding two freshly made rice balls.
"Elder brother, couldn't sleep?"
"My mind's too restless. Without you, I'd never have dreamed of pulling that storm called Lu Bu to our side. Thank you."
At Liu Bei's earnest words, Minju scratched his head, feigning bashfulness.
"No need for thanks. It's all because your virtue runs deep, brother. Even Lu Bu tucked tail at your gaze."
"Haha, that rascal."
Liu Bei chuckled and patted Minju's shoulder. But Minju knew. The trials ahead dwarfed anything so far. Balancing a time bomb like Lu Bu while confronting the behemoth Dong Zhuo—this tightrope over an abyss.
Minju's eyes returned to the map. At Luoyang's heart lay Dong Zhuo's neck.
"Let's go, brother. Time to rebuild the realm."
Liu Bei nodded.
"Yes. Let's."
Luoyang's morning sun rose blood-red.