Laying the Foundations (4)
Since Minju had sparked this whole affair, he intended to take on the role of delivering Liu Bei's letter to Lu Bu himself.
But Liu Bei immediately shook his head. Deep furrows of anguish creased his brow.
"No. It's too dangerous. I absolutely oppose you going in person, Yide."
"That's precisely why I'm going."
Minju's response came swift and resolute, without a flicker of hesitation. He stared straight into Liu Bei's eyes across the table. Right now, Liu Bei was worried as a brother, but as a leader, it was time to play his surest card.
"Lu Bu is a beast. We need someone who won't cower before him, who can break his spirit with words or force if necessary. Send some half-baked messenger, and his head will roll before he even reads the letter. And above all... Lady Diaochan will remember me. That brief exchange at the Hulao Gate will be the key to these negotiations."
Liu Bei's expression grew even heavier, his lips trembling faintly.
"Yide..."
"Elder Brother."
Minju refused to yield an inch. He leaned forward with Zhang Fei's massive torso, lowering his voice.
"If we send some amateur and get rejected, there won't be another chance. Lu Bu has the instincts of a wild animal. He'll decide whether to open his heart based on the weight of that first outstretched hand. I'm not just delivering a piece of paper."
Minju thumped his broad chest.
"I'll see how Lu Bu reads this letter—with what eyes—and what expression Lady Diaochan wears at his side. Only by gauging the scene firsthand can we know how far we can push, where his true intentions lie. That's the only way to advance to the next step."
Guan Yu, who had been listening silently from the side, turned to Liu Bei. His phoenix eyes narrowed slightly.
"Elder Brother, it's dangerous, that's true—but Yide's words ring true on every count. Among us three, he's the only one who can handle this."
Liu Bei couldn't find the words, letting out a deep sigh instead. He always cherished his brothers more than his own life. Zhang Fei, in particular, was the sore thumb who threw himself into the roughest, most perilous tasks first. But the man sitting before him now wasn't the old reckless Zhang Yide, charging headlong like a wild boar. This was a strategist who gazed down at the vast chessboard of the realm and volunteered for the riskiest move himself.
That unfamiliar maturity plunged Liu Bei into even more tangled emotions.
After a long silence, Liu Bei finally spoke in a trembling voice.
"...Go, then."
A brief spark flared in Minju's eyes.
"But I won't send you alone. I'll attach the swiftest riders from the army as your escort, and Yunzhang will accompany you to the border region. If things go south, turn back without delay. Understood?"
Guan Yu nodded heavily.
"Understood. I'll guard your back with my life."
Only then did Minju relax, flashing a small smile.
"That'll do. Feels solid."
Liu Bei carefully folded the meticulously penned letter, slipped it into a silk pouch, and sealed it. Strength pressed into his fingertips as he stamped the red wax. The air in the room suddenly grew heavy.
This was no mere greeting or alliance proposal. It was the Liu Bei faction's bold first declaration of ambition toward the chaotic world—a ambitious gambit launched from the foothold of a minor fief.
The next morning dawned early, the sky murky as spilled ink, the earth still cloaked in the biting chill of night frost. Inside the city gates, horses snorted clouds of breath, ready to go, while a handful of elite guards checked Zhang Fei one final time amid taut tension.
Minju buckled a sword to his waist and secured the Zhangba Snake Spear—Zhang Fei's signature weapon—to the saddle. Guan Yu, gazing down from horseback, issued a low warning.
"Yide, this road is no battlefield. Cutting down foes is easier than piercing their hearts."
"I know, Second Brother."
"Where words precede blades, shadows loom darkest. Stay sharp."
Minju chuckled softly, adjusting his reins.
"That's one thing I'm confident in. Few can outtalk me in a war of words."
Guan Yu's lips twitched ever so slightly—a fleeting smile—before his grave expression returned.
"Lu Bu will test you. He might crush you with arrogance or provoke your rage with insults. Don't waver. If you falter, so does Elder Brother's will."
"Yes, I'll keep it in mind."
"And... if Diaochan is by his side."
Guan Yu paused, as if choosing his words.
"Don't dismiss her words lightly. A woman's whisper can upend the realm more than a man's flashing blade."
Minju mulled the weight of that, nodding slowly.
Liu Bei stood before the gates. He approached personally, tightening Minju's helmet straps, then gripped his shoulder firmly.
"Don't push too hard. If it goes wrong, tear up the letter and come back."
Short words, but laced with worry, trust, and a brother's guilt for sending his sibling into the jaws of danger.
Minju didn't erupt in his usual booming laugh. Instead, he replied in a low, measured tone.
"Elder Brother. I won't return empty-handed. I'll bring back a firm answer."
"Good. Come back alive. That's my one command to you."
Minju mounted without looking back.
Clop-clop—! Hooves thundered across the frozen gate pavement. A small elite escort followed, with Guan Yu's main force shadowing like heavy clouds for a stretch.
Cold morning wind lashed Minju's cheek. Staring ahead, he murmured inwardly.
'Now the real trial begins.'
Securing land from Gongsun Zan was just the prologue. Pulling the time bomb called Lu Bu into Liu Bei's fold was a gamble on another level entirely.
It wasn't mere alliance. It was grasping a double-edged sword—bare-handed. Grip it right, and it could cleave the heavens; wrong, and it'd sever your own wrist.
Guan Yu, riding abreast, slowed his mount slightly and asked,
"Nervous, Yide?"
Minju answered honestly, no pretense.
"Yeah. Heart's about to burst."
"Yet there's a smile on your lips."
"Nerves make me grin more. Isn't the thrill sharpest right before the deadliest bet?"
Minju twisted his mouth into a mad glint of resolve. Guan Yu studied his profile in silence for a moment, then dropped a low, weighty line.
"Finish safe and come back. I'll have the drinks ready."
That plain promise tugged at Minju's chest.
"Got it. Best appetizers, please."
Soon, the road forked three ways. From here, only Minju and his small escort would accelerate toward the danger zone for rendezvous with Lu Bu's forces. Guan Yu had to turn back at the agreed point.
Guan Yu reined in. Minju pulled up too. The brothers locked eyes wordlessly.
"Fight your way out if you must. But... remember, that's not where you die."
Minju bowed his head in salute.
"Understood."
Then he wheeled his horse and whipped it forward. Dust billowed as the mounts surged ahead.
Beyond the cold, barren plain waited a colossal name he would soon face.
Lu Bu, Fengxian. The realm's mightiest warrior, branded traitor for slaying his lord—yet too strong for anyone to ignore. Now, a solitary wolf pondering his next move alongside his sole haven, Diaochan.
In Minju's bosom lay Liu Bei's sealed letter. A single silk sheet. Yet its contents were vast enough to redraw the map of chaos.
Wind whipped fiercer, fluttering his robes. Minju narrowed his eyes at the horizon.
"Good."
He muttered to himself, spurring his horse faster.
"Time to knock on the tiger's den for real."
Thus, Zhang Fei raced toward Lu Bu, bearing the name of Liu Bei's first nest, Pingyuan, in his heart. The chaos's next current would twist in wholly new directions—depending on the light that letter cast in Lu Bu's hands, or how deeply the man in Zhang Fei's skin pierced Lu Bu's heart.