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Extra Chapter: On Every 50 powerstone
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"The peach blossoms are about to bloom this year..." Liu Bei stood in the backyard, gazing up at the peach tree.
"Big Brother!!!" Zhang Fei's thunderous voice echoed from the front courtyard, so loud that it reverberated throughout the entire compound. A little sparrow perched on the peach tree nearly lost its footing, flapped its wings frantically, and wobbled away into the sky.
"Big Brother is here—stop your bellowing!" Guan Yu, who had been slowly twirling his blade with his eyes closed in the backyard, frowned and snapped.
Zhang Fei immediately shrank his neck and shuffled inside. Truth be told, while he revered Liu Bei the most, it was Guan Yu he feared the deepest.
He glanced at Guan Yu first, relieved to see that his second brother had closed his eyes again, resuming his slow, deliberate blade practice in a horse stance. Only then did he turn to Liu Bei and say excitedly, "Big Brother! Haha! Guess what I managed to buy today?"
"Oh? What did you buy?" Liu Bei looked at him with a faint smile.
Zhang Fei grinned broadly and held up two fingers. "Two pigs! I got two pigs! Just happened to find someone selling them at the market, and luckily I snatched them up fast—" He suddenly realized he had misspoken and clamped his mouth shut, stealing a nervous glance at Liu Bei before darting his eyes toward Guan Yu.
Guan Yu had already stopped his blade practice. He stood with his weapon planted firmly on the ground, one hand stroking his long beard as he narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharp as a knife.
Zhang Fei flailed his hands in panic. "I paid for them! The full price! It's just that the Tang family from the west side of the city also wanted them, so, uh, so I had to..."
Liu Bei sighed, fixing Zhang Fei with a look that made his voice trail off until he finally hung his head. Shaking his head, Liu Bei said, "Third Brother, take the pigs to the military camp. One will be used to give the soldiers a good meal, and the other will be preserved for the road."
"Eh? Huh?" Zhang Fei stammered, "But... but... what about you, Big Brother? Shouldn't we keep one? Maybe just one?"
Liu Bei simply stared at him in silence.
"Then... half? Can we keep half?" Zhang Fei's round eyes brimmed with hope.
"Do as you're told and stop arguing!" Guan Yu snapped.
Still unwilling to give up, Zhang Fei made one last plea. "What if... what if we just keep a rib? Or—or a trotter? Just one trotter?"
Liu Bei exhaled softly, his heart softening. Finally, he nodded.
Zhang Fei beamed, afraid Liu Bei might change his mind, and immediately dashed off, muttering, "Good, good, this time I'll definitely keep the plumpest trotter..."
Liu Bei chuckled and shook his head. 'This is my Third Brother...'
Back when the peach blossoms were in full bloom, it was he who had grinned foolishly and said, "Big Brother, I'll follow you."
His prickly beard had bristled as he spoke, and without hesitation, he had sold all his family's possessions, using everything he had to raise an army...
Third Brother loved pork, especially trotters. He always claimed his strength came from eating them as a child. Yet now, it had been two months since he last tasted meat...
Third Brother loved millet wine, always boasting that he could drink endless cups without ever getting drunk. But it had been nearly half a year since he last had a single bowl...
And yet, he never once complained.
This was the same man who had once lived by the creed: 'No wine, no joy; no meat, no happiness.'
Third Brother had grown up wealthy, never knowing true hardship.
All the suffering he endured came only after he chose to follow me.
Even back when he had flogged the corrupt inspector and lost his official post, he had still grinned that same foolish grin and said, "Big Brother, I'll follow you."
Third Brother believed in me more than I believed in myself. He was certain I would achieve greatness.
When I was young, I was poor—dirt poor.
The only notable thing about my home was the crooked tree outside the door.
My martial skills were mediocre, my scholarship unremarkable. I had studied the classics, but I was no match for the truly brilliant scholars.
The only thing I could boast of was my distant lineage, tracing back to Prince Jing of Zhongshan. But Prince Jing...
He had been 'far' too prolific—his descendants were as numerous as weeds in a field.
My own diluted royal blood was but a faint glimmer in the dark night.
And yet, I yearned for that glimmer.
It was a longing rooted deep in my soul!
That year in the peach grove, Third Brother had listened quietly, then grinned and said, "Big Brother, I'll follow you."
The peach blossoms that year had been as cold and vivid as blood.
Under that flurry of falling petals, I, along with Second Brother Guan Yu and Third Brother Zhang Fei, had burned incense and sworn brotherhood.
Liu Bei turned his gaze to Guan Yu, who had resumed his slow blade practice with closed eyes.
Second Brother was a man of unwavering righteousness.
The sweetest dates I ever tasted were the ones from his cart.
I still remember the first time I saw him—nine feet tall, his face like dark jujube, sitting with the calm presence of a mountain.
Yet this mighty warrior had been pushing a cart of small dates.
I asked him, "Where do you hail from?"
Second Brother had answered plainly, "I killed a tyrant and fled here."
He spoke as if it were nothing, yet his words carried unshakable conviction.
He never hid the truth, never bothered with deception.
Just like his blade—direct, unstoppable.
Now, he practiced slowly, but when he struck in earnest, all one could see was a flash of steel...
That year, in the peach grove, beneath the falling blossoms, I had witnessed Second Brother's blade—bright as lightning, cold as the moon.
That year, amidst the chaos of battle, in the swirling yellow sand, I had seen Second Brother's blade again—gleaming crimson.
It was that blade that had carved a path for me through the storm of war, a path painted in blood.
From that moment on, no matter where I went, I felt safe. Because that cold, radiant blade was always there to guard me, just like the drifting peach blossoms of that long-ago spring—cold as moonlight, vivid as blood.
Lost in thought, Liu Bei was startled when Zhang Fei burst back in, noisily carrying an earthen pot. Inside was a steaming pork trotter.
Zhang Fei set the pot before Liu Bei and grinned. "Big Brother, you eat it." Then he gulped audibly.
Liu Bei smiled and shook his head. "Third Brother, you have it."
Zhang Fei glanced between Liu Bei and the trotter, then shook his head. "If Big Brother won't eat... then neither will I." But his eyes kept darting back to the meat.
Liu Bei laughed, drew his twin swords, and divided the trotter into three portions. "In that case, let us three brothers share it!"
Zhang Fei lit up with joy. He picked up one piece and offered it to Liu Bei, then handed another to Guan Yu before finally grabbing the last for himself. He brought it to his nose, closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply...
When he opened them again, he found both Liu Bei and Guan Yu staring at him, making him blush slightly in embarrassment.
Liu Bei raised his portion in a toast. "Though we have no wine today, let this meat serve as our pledge. When our cause succeeds, we shall drink our fill!"
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei roared in agreement.
Liu Bei lifted his gaze to the peach tree in the courtyard. The spring breeze was coming, and soon, the blossoms would bloom again—
That year in Zhuo Commandery, the spring wind had carried the fragrance of peach blossoms far and wide.
That year, the oath they swore had echoed through the heavens.
Now, as they prepared to raise their army, the small town of Xiami was no longer a place to linger.
Second Brother, Third Brother... let us embark on our journey, and together, chase the glory that is rightfully ours...
*****
A/N: Historically, the three did not actually swear brotherhood, but don't ask me why I wrote it this way.