Zhou Yu woke up from a fainting spell. He was in bed, being tended to by a field medic. His arrow wound had reopened due to his unbridled rage.  Rage that had been rekindled by Zhuge Liang. In an attempt recapture territory that originally belonged to the Kingdom of Wu but was captured by Shu, Zhou Yu had offered to help Shu attack a mutual enemy, and would while on the march, establish themselves in the stolen territory, reclaiming it. Unfortunately, Zhuge Liang was cunning and saw through the ruse, trapping Zhou Yu's advancing army and forcing a retreat. Zhou was about to send out orders to his generals to have them prepare for battle when a messenger arrived with a letter from Zhuge Liang himself. In it, the enemy strategist warned that if Zhou Yu were to engage in such a lengthy conflict, their mutual enemy to the north, Prime Minister Cao Cao would surely take advantage of the situation. Feeling a sense of hopelessness and defeat, having been thwarted at every turn by this young upstart, Zhuge Liang, Zhou Yu could feel his death approaching and decided to pen one last letter to his lord, Sun Quan. His advisors gathered around, concerned for his failing health. All he could do was apologize for his failures, but even then, he was not allowed to finish for he swooned again as rage, frustration and sorrow overtook him. The next few days were a fevered nightmare for him, while the only intelligible things he could say in his waking moments were, "Oh Heavens! If you created Zhou Yu, then why did you also create Zhuge Liang?"

At the age of 35, this promising young general died from frustration.