Vol 8 Chapter 99 (2/2)

*Neigh*~~~

Dilu cried out and then doubled down on its gallop as it further accelerated, rendering the option of jumping off invalid. In this sandy terrain, I would probably lose good chunks of my flesh and break my bones if I were to jump off from this speed. My abilities and guts are limited so this was impossible for me to gamble.

All I could do was to hug Dilu tightly as we pa.s.sed the small road. I didn’t stop trying to steer Dilu to the left but it was all in vain.

As I looked ahead, I saw a rapid flowing river up ahead. In front of the river was a tall, vertical cliff that was impossible to climb.

“Dilu! Dilu!” I howled at Dilu in a panic in the hopes of Dilu stopping before the river when I realised that we would be swept away by the river if we were to enter it.

But then all my efforts were in vain once again as water splattered with a *Pu* and drenched my clothing. I closed my eyes instinctively and when I opened them a moment later, I found that we were in the water. The river was deep and we hadn’t even reached the middle when the water level was at my calves.

What was scary was that Dilu continued to make its way deeper into the river even as the water level rose.

Ahaa… Ahaa… I was gasping from terror and couldn’t think of any solution.

Calm down! Calm down, will you! Calm down! Don’t forget, you’re Liu Bei! And this is Dilu! If Liu Bei met with this sort of mishap while riding on Dilu, wouldn’t that mean that a miracle will happen?!

As I convinced myself, I began to feel hopeful and grabbed the reins as I called out to Dilu, “Dilu! Dilu! Come, jump up the cliff! Come!”

— Halt, Imperial Uncle!

Before I could finish, several shouts came from behind. I anxiously turned around and saw that my pursuers from before had caught up. They found where I was and were currently galloping over!

Ah! There’s no worse predicament than this!

“Dilu! Jump! Dilu! I’m Liu Bei! Jump!” I was practically pleading with Dilu at the top of my voice and pulling on the reins with all my might now that I saw the pursuers were here.

*Neigh*~

But Dilu had no intentions of answering to my expectations and only gave a low neigh as it continued to make its way deeper into the river. Isn’t this practically suicide!

What’s going on! History isn’t supposed to go like this! I’m Liu Bei! How can I die here like this!

“Dilu! Give me a hand will you!” I tried over and over but nothing changed from the status quo.

When I turned back, I saw that the pursuers were now close and I was practically exhausted by now. All I could do was lament angrily, “Dilu! Dilu! Are you going to bring me bad luck today!!”

*Neigh*~~~

Just as I finished, Dilu took another step out–

Ah! I lost my balance and fell head first into the water. I instinctively grabbed on to the reins and tried to regain my balance but found that Dilu too had lost its balance and fell into the water. Only then did I realise that we’d reached the deep end and Dilu lost its footing.

But even so!

I pulled on to the reins, hoping to help Dilu reverse its steps. But even then, even in such a scenario where it is about to drown, it still continued forward.

“Dilu! Dilu!” I yelled out a few more times before I felt that I lost my balance completely and plunged into the water.

I knew that I’d fallen into the deep end of the river and flailed about as I struggled to stay afloat in the hopes of grasping onto a fallen branch. But for some reason, there was only water and Dilu around me and all I could grasp were the currents and bubbles.

Wu! Wu!

Un?!

In the distance, several grunts could be heard. This was definitely not from the currents and so I forced my eyes to open up and saw a man in a long gown swimming towards me. His hair was long and he was rather good looking with a thin stubble on his chin.

Lu Su?! Why is Lu Su here?! Could it be that he’s the representative for Jiangdong?!

Wu! Many thought swirled in my mind but now I was most concerned about getting saved. And so I stretched my hand out to grab onto Lu Su who was here to save me. But the distance between us slowly widened thank to the current–

Wu! Wu!

Wu…

He kept grunting towards me and I too did my best to respond but the distance between us continued to widen.

Wu… *Ke* *Ke*…

After struggling for G.o.d knows how long, Lu Su disappeared from my view and I felt myself being swept by the currents and I began to choke.

My nostrils and lungs were burning and very soon, I found myself sinking to the depths.

…

I couldn’t make any sound and could only force my eyes open just a little. As I looked at the darkness before me, various random thoughts filled my head but they quickly disappeared as I struggled to think.

Just before I closed my eyes, only one thought was left in my mind–

The Leap across Tan Stream… Is clearly impossible…

(TL: See /wiki/List_of_fict.i.tious_stories_in_Romance_of_the_Three_Kingdoms#Liu_Bei.27s_horse_leaps_across_the_Tan_Stream)

“Eh! What is this!” At the same moment, a young girl in Nanyang frowned as she exclaimed in her home.

Though she’s been frowning a lot of late, this is the tightest of frowns. She didn’t sigh nor did she get angry this time. She was only shocked.

“Liu Bei… Died again?”

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