Just then, someone at the door heard the commotion but dared not barge in. He cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"
Liu Bang shook his head frantically, but dared not open his mouth to shout, only whimpering and moaning. I hardened my heart, grabbed the pot, and struck him on the head again. The boy winced in pain, his jaw loosened, and I seized the opportunity to shove the medicine into his mouth, then pinched his nose shut with both hands. Liu Bang couldn't bear it any longer, gasped for breath, and "Ha—" the medicine went down…
Liu Bang felt as if he had been electrocuted, a hint of despair flashing in his eyes. He shoved me away, got up, grabbed his neck, and jumped up and down, crying out, "What did you feed me?"
I chased after him, saying, "Sweetie, drink some more water and the medicine will take effect."
Liu Bang, upon hearing this, was terrified. He darted behind the table, trying to escape me. I chased after him relentlessly, the silver pot in hand. Liu Bang hopped around like a rabbit shot by an arrow, yelling, "Guards! I'm going to die!" A flurry of footsteps filled the doorway, and several guards rushed in. At the last moment, I managed to grab Liu Bang again, but when I tried to pour some water into his mouth, I realized I'd knocked the pot over. Seeing the guards closing in, I frantically grabbed an inkstone from the table, tilted it, and dripped ink into Liu Bang's mouth. The guards were terrified, their faces pale. Two quick ones pulled me down, dragging me by the collar. The others drew their swords; it seemed they would have torn me to pieces on the spot if they weren't afraid of bloodshed in the royal tent. I knew life and death hung in the balance in those few seconds. I desperately clawed at the ground, straining my neck to shout, "Liu Bang, Bang! You son of a bitch, you dare kill me?"
The guards, pale-faced and silent, dragged me out. At this point, I was guilty of dereliction of duty; good behavior might save my life. I scratched and clawed my way out, but I was still pulled to the door. Looking at Liu Bang, a large bloodstain swelled on his head, his mouth smeared with black ink, he sat sprawled on the table for a while, lost in thought, before suddenly waving his hand weakly and saying, "You can all get out of here."
I knew the medicine had worked as soon as I saw Liu Bang's eyes. I grabbed the door frame and said to the guards who were pulling me, "Did you hear me? I told you all to get out of here."
The guards said, "Don't worry, we'll take good care of you before we die!"
Liu Bang said, "Leave Xiaoqiang here, and I will pardon you all."
The guards looked at Liu Bang, then at each other, as if trying to determine if he had been driven mad by the beating and was talking nonsense. Liu Bang then said, "Go." Only then did the guards hesitantly walk out.
I jumped up and asked, "Are you alright?"
Liu Bang rubbed the large bump on his forehead and said dejectedly, "Why are you only arriving now—didn't you give Big Guy his medicine already?"
I asked in surprise, "How do you know everything?" Although he had seen Lan Yao, I hadn't told him anything about the Heavenly Dao.
Liu Bang snorted and said, "You guessed it already. Since we're alive again, the past life we remembered after taking the blue medicine must be from your time."
I have to say, this kid is smart!
Liu Bang then asked, "How are Ying Ge and Shi Shi doing?"
I said, "They're all staying at Brother Ying's place, which is great."
Liu Bang sighed, "So I'm the last one to take the medicine, ugh—"
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"I feel disgusted just thinking about where you take out your medicine. Can't you think of a better way, you bastard?"
I laughed and said, "You should be grateful. You know where those drug dealers stuff their drugs."
Liu Bang: "Ugh—"
I said, "Alright, alright, we can talk about the rest later. Let's deal with Brother Yu's matter first. He lost, so be it. You're not going to kill him now, are you?"
Liu Bang spat out the ink in his mouth, stood up, and said, "Who said that the big guy has to die!"
I stared at him as if I didn't know him at all...
Liu Bang spread his hands and said, "Understand the spirit—I don't care what method you use, even if it's just a helmet or a piece of clothing, the point is to create the illusion that the big guy is dead."
I breathed a sigh of relief: "Why is that?"
Liu Bang said, "If he doesn't die, there will always be people using his name to cause trouble for me. When will the world be at peace? People's hearts are so dirty these days, especially those who want to fish in troubled waters."
I nodded and said, "That's true." I began to understand why Xiang Yu couldn't defeat Liu Bang. After all, Liu Bang was ultimately concerned with the fate of the nation. If they were in each other's shoes, Xiang Yu probably wouldn't have thought so much; an overly arrogant person can never be a good leader.
I said, "What about his 50,000 men? What are you going to do with them?"
Liu Bang seemed a bit bewildered, and spread his hands again, saying, "You can't be that naive, can you? If these 50,000 people don't die, how can we serve as a warning to the world? After that, there will be 100,000 or 500,000 people opposing me. Which is more or less?"
I said worriedly, "But Brother Yu..."
Liu Bang scoffed, "Ha, I knew what he was talking about, such womanly compassion. Don't let that guy's tough exterior fool you; when it comes to fighting, my wife is better than him!"
I looked around and said, "By the way, is your wife here? I'd like to see her." I had heard that Liu Bang's wife was incredibly beautiful, but I had never had a chance to see her.
Liu Bang said in disappointment, "Don't mention her—Fengfeng, okay?"
"...We haven't been in contact for a while."
Liu Bang rubbed his hands together lewdly and said, "That slut, she's really something in bed..."
I said with a stern face, "What the hell are we talking about? Let's get down to business!"
Liu Bang scratched his head and said, "So what do you want me to do? I don't care if I die suddenly or anything. Anyway, even if I really kick the bucket right now, someone will still wipe out Big Guy. If you hadn't come, we would have been singing the Chu song by now."
I said with concern, "This is really troublesome. It would be great if we could move together..." I suddenly jumped up, "That's right, it really is possible!" Liu Bang also jumped up, "I really believe it!"
I said helplessly, "I really am capable."
Liu Bang chuckled and said, "I truly believe it."
After I told him about our plan to open up a military route to surround Jin Wuzhu, Liu Bang scoffed and said, "You didn't even say hello during such a lively opportunity—hey, how's Baozi?"
"Stop asking such nonsense, Brother Hanwang. My son's finished product is coming out next month, and I'll ask you to be his godfather. What do you think of my idea?"
Liu Bang thought for a moment and said decisively, "No. If 50,000 people surround me, they'll all fly away. Are all the soldiers fighting me Sun Wukong? How can the people's hearts be at peace if I sit on the throne like this?"
After thinking for a long time, a brilliant idea struck me: "Isn't the Wujiang River not far from here? Can I have all 50,000 people jump into the river?"
This time, Liu Bang simply said, "Fine... but are they willing?"
"I built the military road along the Wujiang River..."
Liu Bang nodded and said, "That's more like it. When we've settled our negotiations, I'll open a passage for you on the Wujiang River."
I ran to the tent entrance and shouted at the guards, "Bring me the things that were confiscated from me!"