Chapter 420 Their Decision – Part Two (1/2)
Chapter 420 – Their Decision – Part Two
Pang Tong's decision triggered the desire of other villagers in Zhuge Liang's village as well.
Xu Shu worried about his friend, so he accepted Liu Bei's invitation. He wanted to witness if this naïve junior could turn an unknown underdog into a dragon.
The majority of villagers had a good impression on Zhou Cang and Wei You. Most of them decided to follow them to Ye.
The only ones that stayed were elders and their slaves, who refused to part their hometown.
Sima Hui and his family had not decided yet, but everyone in his family voted that Tong's side was the right choice.
In the end, Sima Hui put more weight in Tong's academies and his title as the emperor. They accepted Wei You's goodwill and followed them.
Zhuge Liang could not decide since he understood that he was too young to participate in the grand war of hegemony. Thus, he stayed.
.
A week later
Pu Jing gathered information from Xiangyang, and he found Zhuge Liang's whereabouts. Without wasting his time, Pu Jing followed Zhuge Liang's trace to the mountain of Xiangyang outskirts.
Many scholars settled down on this mountain, forming a small village here. The courtyard that this young strategist resided in was in the middle of the bamboo forest.
Pu Jing ran into many Zhuge Liang's acquaintances, which made it easier for him to find the target's resident.
”Is this the one?” Pu Jing asked an elder.
”Yes. Sir, are you from Ye?”
Pu Jing got curious, ”Why do you think that I'm from Ye?”
”Many people from Ye visited this place a few days ago. Are you one of them, too?”
”…”
Pu Jing paused. His face was expressionless, but his mind was stirred.
'Zhang Tong sent his men here, too!? I have to hurry.'
Fear that Tong would snatch all young strategists to his kingdom before Cao Cao, Pu Jing rushed into Zhuge Liang's courtyard.
Betraying Pu Jing's expectation, Zhuge Liang was still there with many elders, playing weiqi (Go) together.
Many old men frowned as they did not approve of Pu Jing, who interrupted their game.
”Who are you? What are you doing here in our courtyard!?”
Pu Jing's still had indifferent expression, ”I'm here to escort Zhuge Liang and all scholars in this resident to Xuchang. Please come with me and do not resist. Be warned that this is not a request. It's an order.”
”Xuchang? Not Ye City?”
”Yes. Xuchang.”
”So, you're Cao Cao's man.”
”… You can say that.”
”We refuse.”
”Didn't I tell you that it's an order?”
”We have no obligation to follow you there.”
”Very well,” Pu Jing summoned his souls. He did not bother speaking with a cliché line, such as [All of you can die here]. Instead, he launched a preemptive strike at an elder to demonstrate his seriousness.
The soul punched the elder through his chest, which killed him.
Zhuge Liang and the others were horrified. This was their first time seeing an immortal at work.
”I repeat. Come with me. That's an order.”
”…”
No matter how smart Zhuge Liang was, he could not defy the mysterious power of Pu Jing. Furthermore, Pu Jing's intimidation aura told the sleeping dragon that the assailant was a veteran fighter.
Without a choice, Zhuge Liang complied, ”Leave them alone. I'll go with you.”
”Good. First, accept the invitation.”
Pu Jing chose to bind Zhuge Liang with his clan invitation.
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Zhuge Liang saw the system messages for the first time. He looked at transparent screens, astonished.
”Wow.”
”Press [Yes], now!”
Pu Jing did not like risk factors. He knew that Zhuge Liang could always betray him and Cao Cao at any time once they arrived in Xuchang. To stop this strategist from joining anyone, Pu Jing forced Zhuge Liang to join his clan first.
Afterward, they could slowly persuade this young genius to work with them.
Meanwhile, Zhuge Liang hesitated. His instinct cried that as soon as he pressed it, his future would be grim.
He prayed in his mind, 'Is this the end of my future? Being enslaved by Cao Cao of all people?'
The face of Wei You and Zhou Cang appeared in Zhuge Liang's mind. He regretted that he did not accept their invitation a week ago.
'No matter how smart or how skillful ones are, someone will best them one way or another. Fate is cruel.'
Zhuge Liang gained enlightenment as he shed a tear of regret.
He raised his finger, pointing at the [Yes] button.
At that moment,
*WHOOSH*
An arrow flew to the direction of Pu Jing's head at high speed.
Someone ambushed the premiere!
Pu Jing's second soul caught the arrow. The two souls turned toward the direction of the shooter.
A muscular man, revealing his bare chest, glared at Pu Jing from a distance. His left hand held a longbow, while his right hand pulled another bolt from his quiver.
He had brown messy long hair and tanned skin. Aside from his naked upper body, he wore a belt with bells hanging from it. The shorts he wore were also made from old clothes which looked like a used rag.
This man was the pirate that Zhou Yu scouted, Gan Ning.
The pirate disregarded the souls and fired another arrow. As soon as the bolt was released, Gan Ning backpedaled, running away from Pu Jing.
The former premier caught the arrow again.
One of his souls pursued Gan Ning while the other remained by his real body.
”HELP! SOMEBODY!!”
The elders in the courtyard screamed. Their voice echoed across the mountain.
Pu Jing turned around and sent his first soul to kill the elders.
The massacred ended with all village elders, who had chosen to remain in this village, lay dead in Zhuge Liang's courtyard.
”Press the [Yes] button, or you're next.”
Witnessed the massacre, Zhuge Liang pulled his hand away from the screen.
He glared at Pu Jing, ”Why did you have to kill them? They're harmless people.”
”They got on the way.”
”That's it?”