Broken Hourglass
Chapter 10
The wide orb of the night poured its light upon the man who was gazing at the sky.
After Sun Ce imprinted the sight on his mind, he finally covered the short distance and went to join him once their eyes met.
" The moon has a strange colour tonight, as though it bleeds."
" There's a rumour I have heard when I lived in Shu... whenever this occurs the invocation of magic is possible, among other things. But it's also said this phenomenon is entirely connected to the movement of the winds and especially those that blow from the south."
Sun Ce smiled and said, " I think the second theory might prove useful in a battle with ships, we can know when we can move faster and towards what direction."
" It's obvious you have been thinking about battles... but isn't still early to completely sever our connection with Wei?"
Sun Ce realized what his partner wanted to discuss, " Why are you saying this? What have they done to deserve our respect?"
" I don't support them, Sun Ce. But now that we have established a land, it takes more thinking before we make a decision. Most of all, we need to know the correct timing, so the kingdom won't fall in chaos."
The lord shook his head, " I don't count cautiousness as a strategy. We lose the present if we wait for the future."
Zhou Yu ignored the first comment and insisted a bit more, " Please try to understand my point. The land's defence comes first and we still haven't raised it to a satisfying level that will allow us to think about an offencive operation against a larger kingdom."
" Zhou Yu, I find your suggestion to set defence as our first priority very reasonable but..." He turned towards him and grasped his hand in his as if he wanted to transfer an important meaning not only through his voice but also through the thoroughfare of touch, " Even if I tried hard, I could never abandon the idea of battle, it is a significant part of my essence. If I lose it, I will be lost too. It beckons me all the time, it goes beyond my supervision. My brother Quan is different though, he is not possessed by the spirit of war like me... he would always listen to you because you are a careful strategist."
" Sun Ce."
" I may live many, many years but never recover my full vitality... nothing is certain. That's why I want to fight now with what power is still in me."
Zhou Yu didn't try to say anything else, he suddenly felt numb. Sun Ce's words had melted the warrior's stubbornness concerning this subject.
Sun Ce raised his gaze up to sky. Zhou Yu saw that his lord's eyes had a peculiar shine and he almost seemed to be praying secretly to the moon not to deprive the breathing from his body and to continue to exist in the world of the living... This formed a strange fantasy in the thoughts of the warrior, a personal certitude that he would always do his best for Sun Ce for a very long time, until the end of his finite existence... but his lord would continue his fights for all eternity, remaining young and full of vigour. He needed to believe, with a childlike naivety, that Sun Ce could surpass mortality.
Then, a gleam from some indefinable source of the past casted a light on his thinking... it was something that Sun Ce told him long ago, when he asked him how he felt about death, " We will cease to exist one day and we may be forgotten over the passage of time... but something will remain and that will be our emotions and actions, they will leave their unseen traces in this world, inspiring others to seek and experience what we did..."
He stood up, in response to the gentle pat on his shoulder that intended to divert him from the world of thoughts.
" No matter what decision or idea I stand for, it's always the kind that I believe is the best for you. I want you to remember that." Zhou Yu said to his partner before they part for the night. The message was simple but something in the tone of his voice perplexed Sun Ce.
He stopped to face him, but Zhou Yu had already turned and headed to his room.