Meet Zhou Yu

On an ordinary, uneventful night, I met Zhou Yu with a reed behind my head. The heroic Zhou Yu of The Three Kingdoms Period galloped on horseback.

The moon was fine, the air was clear, and even at night I recognized him. I was walking aimlessly on the bank of the river in a white nightgown, with my black hair hanging down and my bare, undelicate feet. The cool wet steam came towards me, and somehow I caught a whiff of burning wormwood, followed by the sound of drums, and leaving the bank, I sought the smell of wormwood and the majestic sound of drums, till I found a desolate wilderness, where tents were everywhere like mushrooms, fires were burning in front of them, and horses were resting their heads on the night grass, Faint snore on the earth rise and fall. It was at this moment that I saw Zhou Yu standing alone in the wilderness.

I was not as beautiful as Qiao. Zhou Yu noticed me because only two people in the wilderness had their eyes open, while everyone else was asleep. The two men looking at each other with their eyes in the moonlight were me and Zhou Yu.

I couldn't speak for a moment because I had met the man I wanted to meet most. That's the expression I usually get when I meet close people.

Zhou Yu was clad in armor, his eyebrows were like flying swords, his eyes were bright, and he had a fierce heroic spirit that made me tremble.

"Why do you tremble before the battle?" Zhou Yu said.

I wanted to tell him that his heroism made me tremble, only the irresistible charm of man made me tremble, but I could not speak.

I don't know what else is going on. Such a large-scale encampment and the battle that kept Zhou Yu awake at night must have been extraordinary. A sword polished before the war will be stained with blood. The war is not over until the knife is stained with blood. How many people's blood has pooled on the knives, and how many such knives have been abandoned in the loess to grow thick rust.

Zhou Yu did not care about my trembling, but threw a handful of wormwood into the campfire, and I understood the origin of the wormwood smell. But what of the drumming heard before?

As Zhou Yu turned toward the tent, I saw a drum on the ground and a horn hanging from the tent. He picked up his drumstick and beat it with cadence. Then he blew the horn again. He was intoxicated with the sound of war, his armor shining.

I said, "The sound of the drums bothers me."

Zhou Yu began to laugh, his smile like an echo in front of a snowy mountain. He put down his drumsticks and horns and walked towards me. He said, "What sound doesn't bother you?"

I said: "The sound of running water, birds, the noise of children, women's washing, men's drinking."

Zhou Yu laughed again. I saw the moonlight illuminate his teeth.

I said, "I don't like your armor yet. You look more handsome in cloth."

Zhou Yu said, "If I don't wear armor, how can I be heroic?"

I said: "You don't wear armor, is the real hero."

We don't talk anymore. The moon was slowly moving west, the bonfires were bright, the smell of wormwood was strong and faint, and the night wind was blowing the flags in front of the tents. I was sitting in the wilderness, and Zhou Yu was also sitting cross-legged.

We face each other.

He said, "Where are you from? Why show up before I go?"

I said, "I am a village woman. I went for a walk along the riverbank after reeds were harvested. I smelled wormwood and drum horns.

"You don't wish to meet me?"

"It is my greatest wish to meet you." I said.

"Don't you want to meet Zhuge Kongming?"

"No." I said, "Zhuge Kongming is a god. I don't associate with gods. I associate only with human beings."

"When you say Zhuge Kongming is a god, you clearly mock my hero's shortness of breath." Zhou Yu was excited.

"What's wrong with a hero being short of breath?" I said, "I like heroes who are short of breath. I don't like gods who never fall. Heroes fall."

Zhou Yu no longer laughed. He threw another handful of wormwood into the fire. I saw the moon faintly white, and its milky glow made the wilderness seem very soft and peaceful.

I said: "I should go back, the day is soon clear, time to go back to the baby, pigs and chickens also need to eat."

Zhou Yu did not move. He looked at me.

I stood up and repeated what I had just said. Then I turned slowly and reluctantly left Zhou Yu. I was shaking before I left, which is what I do when I leave close people.

I walked for a long time, but I did not dare to turn back. I was afraid to see Zhou Yu's shadow in the moonlight again. When I reached the riverbank, I could not help looking back. Suddenly, I noticed that Zhou Yu was no longer wearing armor. He was wearing a long robe of coarse white cloth. The horses were still grazing peacefully, and there was no more drumming, only the faint smell of wormwood. The shadow of a man who has survived countless centuries and is the most beloved of me is imprinted in the depths of my memory.

I reached out a pair of women's hands, trying to grasp his hand, but it was too far away, I caught only the wind blowing on the field.

On an ordinary, uneventful night, I met Zhou Yu with a reed behind my head. The reed is wet with my tears.