Chapter 9: The Golden Lotus

  "Lü Bu said slowly, 'Brother, I'd like to teach you my secret skills. It's a great honor for me if you're willing to be sworn brothers with me.' However, it's not that simple in this era. People didn't just become sworn brothers because they got along. In the late Eastern Han dynasty, everything was entangled with interests. Unless two families were of similar social status, they wouldn't become in-laws. Aristocratic sons would only marry daughters from other aristocratic families to strengthen their ties. Similarly, people from different backgrounds wouldn't just become sworn brothers for no reason. For example, Sun Quan, the emperor of Eastern Wu, often drank and laughed with his subordinates, but he never considered becoming sworn brothers with his high-ranking officials like Zhou Yu or Lu Su. At most, he would say to Zhou Yu, 'I regard you as a brother.' On the other hand, Liu Bei was a member of the Han royal family, but his family had declined and was not much different from ordinary people. That's why he became sworn brothers with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who were also commoners. However, because of Liu Bei's humble origins, aristocrats like Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu would mock him and his sworn brothers as 'peddlers' or 'butchers'."

  Anyway, got sidetracked.

  Lü Bu also knew in his heart that áo Liè was the second son of Liu Yu, the governor of Jiuyuan, and his family status was not comparable to his own, but he had an impulse, and blurted out words of sworn brotherhood.

  Ao Lie's face first showed shock, then great joy, and he fell to the ground, saying: "Lie is just a humble child, able to get big brother's favor, Lie is lucky for three lifetimes. Little brother Ao Lie, pays respects to big brother." Lü Bu had been watching Ao Lie's expression all along, naturally seeing the genuine joy on his face. So he also fell to the ground and said to Ao Lie: "Bu can become sworn brothers with virtuous younger brother, this life is enough."

  The two men stretched out their hands, tightly grasped each other's arms, and then simultaneously patted them, supporting each other to stand up. Lü Bu said: "I am twenty years old this year, I don't know how old you are, my younger brother?" Ao Lie happily replied: "This year is eight years old, big brother is exactly one cycle older than me." In the Eastern Han Dynasty, although there was no twelve zodiac signs yet, people also generally recognized the custom of twelve years as a cycle.

  Lü Bu also said with joy: "Isn't the fate of us brothers destined by heaven? How can it be so coincidental?" Ao Lie asked: "When is Big Brother's birthday?" Lü Bu replied: "September 9th."

  This time, Ao Lie was shocked and said in disbelief: "September 9th? It seems that big brother was right, the fate of us two brothers is indeed destined by heaven, and I was also born on September 9th."

  Lü Bu was overjoyed when he heard this, and pulling Cao Cao's arm, said: "What are we waiting for? You have a good horse, quickly go buy some wine. I'll go into the valley to hunt a few animals as offerings. Tonight, we brothers will not return until we're drunk."

  Ao Lie responded with a single word, whistled to recall the grazing Snow Dragon Colt, and rode away. Lü Bu looked at Ao Lie's receding back, his face filled with boundless joy, muttering to himself: "Good brother, as long as I live, no one will be allowed to bully you."

  About an hour later, Ao Lie rode back on the Snow Dragon Colt, and saw that Lü Bu had already killed a wild boar, a sika deer, and a pair of pheasants. The two lit three incense sticks and arranged the game hunted by Lü Bu in front of the candles, then opened two earthenware jars of wine and placed them on either side.

  The two men looked at each other, then simultaneously knelt down to the ground. Lü Bu spoke first: "I, Lü Bu, am willing to become sworn brothers with Ao Lie, sharing fortune and hardship together; if I betray this oath, may a thousand arrows pierce my heart and kill me."

  "I, Ao Lie, am willing to become sworn brothers with Lü Bu, sharing fortune and hardship together. If anyone dares to harm my brother, I will surely punish them. If I betray this oath, may a thousand arrows pierce my heart and kill me."

  Lü Bu listened to the oath in his ear and was deeply moved. He said, "Second brother, I agree that we should share good fortune together, but what do you mean by 'share difficulties'? Are you saying that big brother is just a figurehead? When there's trouble, do you still need me to take the blame?"

  Ao Lie picked up the wine jug beside him and said loudly: "Big brother, don't worry about anything else. At this moment, you and I should drink a whole jug together! If we compare martial arts skills, I'm not as good as my big brother, but if we compare drinking, haha, big brother may not be able to beat me!" Lü Bu was distracted by Ao Lie's words and didn't say anything else. He picked up the wine jug beside him and clinked it with Ao Lie's, shouting: "Cheers!"

  The two men raised their wine jugs to their mouths and poured the liquor into their mouths like water. Their movements were almost identical, but they had different thoughts in mind. Lü Bu thought: Second brother, if you are in trouble, I will definitely die to save you, but if I, Lü Bu, have an unavoidable disaster, it would be better for me to die alone rather than drag you down with me?

  But Ao Lie's heart was thinking: Big brother, if history continues to develop according to its inertia, your future disasters will be many. At that time, no matter how far away, as brothers, we will inevitably cross mountains and seas to save you.

  In an instant, the two jars of wine were emptied by the two men. Lü Bu wiped his mouth and laughed loudly: "Refreshing! Haha, I'm no longer a lonely man!" Ao Lie put down the jar, his face flushed with drunkenness, and slurred: "Big brother, little brother is very happy... come on, let's drink more." As soon as he finished speaking, he felt dizzy and fell to the ground with a thud.

  Lü Bu looked at the fallen áo Liè and couldn't help but laugh and scold: "Still boasting about your drinking capacity? Drunk from just one jar? Don't think that by changing the subject earlier, I would be fooled by you. Humph, it should be 'shared fortune, brother bears the hardship' instead."

  When Awu Lie woke up, he found himself lying in his own room. Looking at the familiar decorations around him, Awu Lie knew that it must have been his elder brother Lü Bu who had sent him back. He wanted to get up, but felt weak all over and had a splitting headache.

  The door creaked open and Frost's slender figure appeared in Ao Lie's line of sight.

  "Second Master, you're awake?" Frosty walked to the bedside with a bowl and said to Ao Lie: "This is a hangover soup, drink it quickly." Ao Lie took the hangover soup from Frosty and drank it all in one breath. He felt that his severe headache had improved a bit, then asked: "How did I get back?" Frosty smiled and replied: "It was the young master you met at the market yesterday who sent you back. When he left, he even left a poem for you." Ao Lie curiously asked: "A poem? Big brother still writes poems? Quickly recite it to me." Frosty's smile bloomed like a flower as she giggled and said: "The young master said, 'Big talk is not shameful, competing in drinking capacity, self-inflicted entanglement, rotten drunk like mud.'" After finishing, she burst into another fit of giggles.

  Ao Lie crooked his head, bitter face said: "This is also considered poetry? The oil poem is almost the same." Turning his head again to Xue Er said: "Xue Er sister, don't laugh anymore, this time I'm really embarrassed, from now on I won't drink wine again." Xue Er still smiled lightly, at the same time stretched out both hands and pressed them on Ao Lie's temples, gently massaging.

  After a while, Ao Lie felt much clearer and reached out to hold Frost's jade-like hand that was massaging him. He said, "Frost sister, I'm feeling better now. Can you help me prepare my writing tools? There's something I need to do." Frost nodded obediently and got up to walk to the desk, starting to grind the ink.

  Taking advantage of Xue Er's ink grinding, Ao Lie thought seriously for a while. People in this era don't understand acupoints and internal meridians very well, if he teaches Wuji Jiuyang Gong to his brother Lü Bu, it's possible that he might practice it into madness. He can only choose a suitable technique for him as an alternative.

  He closed his eyes, and Ao Lie carefully recalled the characteristics of Lü Bu's martial arts in his mind, combining them with what he had learned in his past life to verify each other. Finally, he chose a method that, although not comparable to the Nine Extremes Yang Skill, could still be considered top-notch - the Nine Changes Tianlong Jue.

  The most striking feature of this technique is that it first trains the muscles, bones, and skin, and then trains the essence, energy, and spirit. In other words, when starting to practice this technique, one begins with external training, and when the external strength reaches its peak, the internal organs will also become strong and resilient during the cultivation process, making it easier to cultivate internal energy without the risk of going astray.

  The downside is that it takes effect relatively slowly, and it requires a high level of innate talent and physical quality from the practitioner. Of course, for Lü Bu, Ao Lie didn't need to consider whether his talent and physical quality met the standards - if even he couldn't meet them, then no one in the world could.

  After making up his mind, Ao Lie walked to the table and took over the brush handed over by Shuang'er. He carefully drew on the silk cloth. The Nine Changes of the Heavenly Dragon Technique are divided into nine changes. The first five changes are for practicing external skills, while the last four changes are for practicing internal strength. Ao Lie was very careful with every stroke, striving to highlight every detail of the operation in the painting, which would also make it easier for Lü Bu to practice.

  After finishing the drawing, Ao Lie took up his pen and pondered for a while. Then, on each picture, he wrote down his own insights and some details that needed attention during cultivation in simple and concise language that Lü Bu could easily understand. By the time all this was done, more than an hour had passed. Xue Er had been quietly standing by, and now she saw Ao Lie put down his pen, took out a handkerchief from her bosom, and gently wiped away the sweat beads on his forehead.

  Zhuo turned his head and smiled at Shuang'er, saying: "Shuang'er sister, you said that the poem my brother gave me, uh, well, even if it's a joke poem, I should still return him a poem, shouldn't I?" Shuang'er nodded lightly and said: "As the ancients said, 'coming but not going is impolite', Second Master indeed should return a poem to that young master."

  The brilliant moon of Qin, the passes of Han,

  A long expedition of ten thousand miles, and still no return.

  But if the flying general is at Dragon City,

  He will not allow the barbarian horses to cross the Yin Mountains.

  Shuang'er read it softly again and praised: "The second young master's poem is really well-written, with an extraordinary momentum." Ao Lie turned his head and smiled: "Doesn't Shuang'er think that my handwriting is also very good?" Shuang'er covered her mouth and laughed: "The second young master is indeed... who has ever praised himself in such a roundabout way? Shuang'er doesn't understand what good handwriting is, but she feels that the second young master's handwriting is as beautiful as a dragon flying and a phoenix dancing. However, some days ago, when Cai Shi Jun came to visit, he said that the second young master's handwriting was worthy of being paired with silver hooks and iron paintings, and the eight characters 'pen walking dragon snake'."

  As soon as Cai Yong was mentioned, Ao Lie's face immediately showed a hint of embarrassment, and he stuttered: "That, uh, is it? Frost sister, can we not mention that Cai Shigong?" Frost noticed Ao Lie's abnormality, thought for a moment, and suddenly understood: "Oh, I understand, Second Master is shy, haha, that Cai Shigong will be Second Master's father-in-law in the future."

  Ao Lie was scolded by Shuang Er, who said angrily: "You mentioned him again after I told you not to, see if I don't draw a flower on your face!" As she spoke, she picked up her brush and began to paint on Shuang Er's face. Shuang Er hastily ran out, laughing as she went: "Second Master is afraid of his father-in-law, haha, Second Master is actually afraid of his father-in-law..."

  The next moment, a burst of silvery laughter and a series of urgent and exasperated shouts of pursuit filled the entire courtyard.