Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 198 Fang Skill
late at night.

The two children were underweight but healthy. They didn't need to be breastfed when they were first born, and Zuo Yuan fell asleep with the children.

Liu Bei instructed Bian Ji to personally take care of Zuo Yuan, and for the time being, no one was allowed to enter the inner room except for Xiu Niang; even maids and servants were not permitted to enter.

Liu Bei then went to the stone house in the corner of the manor.

There are no prison cells in the manor; this stone house is an empty warehouse.

This is where thieves are being held right now.

Xiu Niang had already woken up the strange thief in the afternoon. Zhang Fei kept watch in the stone house, but Liu Bei did not allow anyone to interrogate him.

A large group of burly men surrounded the thief in the warehouse, but no one spoke.

Upon seeing Liu Bei enter, Zhang Fei stood up timidly and asked, "Brother..."

Liu Bei didn't say anything, but patted Zhang Fei on the shoulder, telling Zhang Fei not to blame himself.

Zhang Fei's personality is indeed not very good at guarding; he is more suited to leading the charge. However, he never slacked off when he served as the captain of the guard, so today's events are not his fault.

Liu Bei took off the sword from his waist, walked towards the thief, squatted down, and stared into the man's eyes.

The person was bound like a dumpling, the wounds on his neck and face had not been treated, his broken elbow was at an odd angle, and his body was trembling slightly, clearly enduring pain.

Upon seeing Liu Bei's gaze, which was as if he were scrutinizing a piece of pork, the man's pupils contracted sharply, but he did not show much panic.

Liu Bei pulled the man's right hand away and squeezed it twice.

His hands felt much softer than normal, with few calluses at the base of his fingers and no hard skin on his knuckles, but his fingertips were covered in calluses, and his nails looked only half the size of a normal person's.

This is neither a death squad nor an assassin.

This person has undergone long-term training, but it's probably not martial arts; rather, it's some kind of unorthodox skill.

For example, climbing, contortion, and manual techniques.

This person was agile and incredibly fast, and was even able to sneak into a courtyard guarded by 500 people—he seemed to have the air of a 'martial arts master'.

In reality, these people who could perform tricks and sleight of hand were what the Han Dynasty called "fangji" (方技).

These people have their own traditions, and many traveling performers who perform acrobatics are of this type.

These days, there are quite a few people with special skills, and it's considered a very popular profession. After all, it's a skill, and powerful families, wealthy clans, and even royalty in various regions would specifically recruit or train such retainers.

On the contrary, Liu Bei's side was the exception.

Liu Bei's system was based on military merit, so petty thieves and scoundrels had little chance of getting ahead and thus rarely came to his attention.

This thief clearly didn't come to kill anyone. He wasn't the kind of person who regularly practiced martial arts, and he didn't have any weapons on him. He only tried to rush into the delivery room after being discovered, which also shows that he knew very well that he couldn't escape by running away.

This is a 'spy in the middle,' meaning a spy who failed to infiltrate the ranks.

"I am pregnant today, and I have no intention of killing anyone, nor do I want to know who sent you..."

Liu Bei stood up and said calmly, "I just want to know, how exactly did you get into my house?"

Liu Bei naturally wanted to know who had sent this person, but there was a trick to everything; asking directly would not get anyone to tell the truth.

Moreover, how the thief got in is indeed very important.

During this period, a large number of displaced people in Xihe were recruited as tenant farmers. It is inevitable that someone would be placed in the ranks. Liu Bei and Zuo Yuan also placed people in various places. The underworld soldiers have always been working as underworld soldiers in various places. This is all inevitable and normal.

The greater one's power, the more frequently one will encounter assassination attempts or spies in the future. Ever since Wang Yue's assassination attempt, Liu Bei has been aware of this and has increased the protection for himself and his family.

Today's situation was already special, and the house was heavily guarded. After Zuo Yuan was taken to the delivery room, all the guards waited outside the courtyard, making the entire manor essentially a military camp.

If thieves can still break into a place even if the guards have completely surrounded it, then where is there any place that is safe?
For Liu Bei, this was a feeling he had never experienced before.

When he had no children, Liu Bei was almost fearless and not particularly worried about his own safety.

But it's different now.

When a man becomes a father, the worry in his heart actually outweighs the joy.

When you don't have children, facing danger can be a way of life. You can face any danger, whether it's swords and rain or water and fire, all for the thrill.

But if you still face danger after having children, that's irresponsible.

"Having received the teachings of an immortal, I possess the arts of the Five Elements, and can enter and leave the mansions of the wealthy with ease..."

The man spoke, his voice hoarse.

"Snapped!"

Before he could finish speaking, Liu Bei slapped him across the face with the scabbard: "Don't try to fool me with such words... I just didn't want to kill anyone, but I didn't say I wouldn't make you wish you were dead... Who brought you in here?"

"I stole the doctor's robe and sneaked in among the doctors before dawn, thinking I could go straight to the inner courtyard. But I didn't expect that Doctor Du would start arranging things as soon as he entered the courtyard... So I had no choice but to hide in a corner, and ended up hiding there for the whole morning..."

The man's cheeks swelled up, and he finally told the truth.

Before dawn, Xiuniang brought a large number of medical staff to make preparations, dozens of people, including a wet nurse, who was a woman who had just given birth with Xiuniang last month.

Since it was Xiu Niang who brought her in, the guards didn't really check her carefully, after all, no one wanted to delay Zuo Yuan.

Liu Bei breathed a sigh of relief—it was fortunate that he had sneaked in by taking advantage of the special circumstances and the guards' psychology; at least there was no traitor within his own ranks.

This method of sneaking into the courtyard is similar to how Zhang Fei sneaked into the Wangdu Inn by carrying firewood.

Zhang Fei also let out a long breath and glared at the surrounding retainers.

“Go on... why did you come here, what do you want... don’t make me ask you one question after another.”

Liu Bei glanced at the thief, his face expressionless.

"I, Liu Gen, have come on the Emperor's orders and have no ill intentions..."

The man spoke with some hesitation.

At this point, there was another "slap," and Liu Bei's sword sheath struck the other half of the man's face: "You don't have the ability to deceive me... I'll give you one last chance. If you say anything false again, you won't need to say anything more."

Imperial order?

Do they think Liu Bei is a fool?
If the emperor could command skilled craftsmen to do this kind of work, how could things have come to this?
"...I am indeed carrying out an imperial decree, and I have come here seeking the Emperor's auspicious purple aura!"

The man stretched his neck, probably trying to look like a wise man, but he was tied up and lying diagonally on the ground, his face swollen and bruised, and his stretched neck made him look like he was waiting to be slaughtered.

"Ha...an imperial decree?"

Liu Bei stopped hitting him and shook his head: "I've already told you, you don't have the ability to deceive me, you've already lost your chance... Yide, deal with this thief..."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

Imperial decree? If the emperor had the ability to monitor all officials, he wouldn't have ended up in this predicament.

Besides, if one truly carries out an imperial decree, one should present it when arrested.

Looking at Liu Bei's retreating figure, Liu Gen gritted his teeth and refused to change his words: "Commander Liu, it is usually rare for clouds and rain to fall in mid-autumn, but today at noon there was a great thunderstorm! Commander Liu's son was born with the blessing of thunder and rain, which is a sign of the world's well-being! I have come here on the imperial mission of your son!"

The surrounding troops were all utterly horrified.

"Yes... a strange phenomenon from the sky, brother!" Zhang Fei's eyes widened as he muttered in a low voice.

Liu Bei sighed and turned around: "You've made up three excuses in three sentences. Your magic skills aren't up to par..."

“Those are my children, Liu Xuande's children… Even Heaven is not qualified to be the father of my children!”

"Luckily, I was always thinking about seeing the baby born with my own eyes, and luckily I didn't leave early... otherwise my family might have really fallen for your trick."

"The imperial decree you speak of, is it from the Empress, Marquis Shi, or perhaps General He and Yuan Shao?"

Zhang Fei glanced at Liu Bei, swallowed hard, and ordered his troops to begin scouting the area around the stone house.

Liu Gen, however, stared wide-eyed as if he had seen a ghost.

"Your rhetoric is far inferior to your sleight of hand..."

Liu Bei smiled sarcastically: "Shi Zimiao is your master, right? I've heard that he knows Taoist magic, has the ability to summon gods and ghosts, and can even become invisible... So this is what his Taoist magic is like."

"If you had remained hidden within the wall undetected, you would have likely appeared suddenly at the time of my child's birth, uttering those words about the purple aura coming from the east in the name of an immortal... and then plotted against my children?"

"You probably didn't expect me to stay in Xihe all this time, did you?"

Liu Gen was truly panicked: "Commander Liu... is he a fellow traveler?"

Liu Bei pulled out the tortoise shell and bone coins he had taken from Zong Yuan years ago from his bosom: "How can I, Liu Xuande, follow the same path as you? This is the true hexagram of the Book of Changes, not your unorthodox and heretical ways."

Upon seeing the tortoise shell, Liu Gen sighed deeply and closed his eyes: "It was actually King Wen's divination..."

"You tricked my newborn children and lured me into this so-called celestial phenomenon... If this matter is not accomplished, what will become of you, Liu Gen?"

Liu Bei continued to ask.

This is indeed the method used by diviners...

Liu Bei was always good at a combination of guessing and deception. If he guessed wrong, so be it, but if he guessed even slightly close to the truth, he could make people think that Liu Bei knew everything, thus making them reveal the truth themselves.

But the odds of this being a lucky guess are too high.

"Liu Qidu commands several thousand armored soldiers and tens of thousands of civilians. He also possesses the divination of King Wen. He must already be well aware of such matters... So why ask?"

Liu Gen gave a wry smile, looking at the tortoise shell in Liu Bei's hand.

“I’ve already consulted the oracle… Do you know why I’m so late? Do you know why I know so much? I was just dealing with the wet nurse at home; she doesn’t have a mouth as hard as yours.”

Liu Bei made another guess—since the intention was to use the 'words of the immortals' to commit fraud, it was obviously to lure away the newborn child. This would most likely require a wet nurse to cooperate, who could act as both a shill and a nurse.

Upon hearing this, Liu Gen's face turned ashen: "...Kill me, please, Commander Liu, spare her. She only thought I possessed immortal magic; she knows nothing else. She is innocent..."

It seems that the wet nurse was indeed an accomplice.

“I’m not killing anyone today… If you don’t want her to die, why did you involve her in the first place? Besides… instead of worrying about the wet nurse’s life or death, you should think about your own family.”

Liu Bei let out a soft breath.

Liu Gen stopped speaking and simply closed his eyes, awaiting his death.

Liu Bei turned and left to deal with the wet nurse.

……

The wet nurse was indeed innocent; she was simply deceived by Liu Gen, who believed him to be a celestial master from the Xihe Medical Clinic. While Liu Gen couldn't fool Liu Bei, he was more than capable of fooling ordinary people.

But this charade was ruined from the start by Bian Ji and Zhang Fei, so it couldn't be performed again.

And that raccoon dog—if it hadn't suddenly attacked, Liu Gen might have been able to force his way in with the wet nurse's help.

But who knew that the people and animals in Liu Bei's territory were all so unpredictable...

Of course, regardless of whether the wet nurse was innocent or not, she was certainly not very bright.

People who aren't smart shouldn't breastfeed their own children; Zuo Yuan actually has plenty of breast milk.

Liu Gen spent that night in extreme fear.

He thought he wasn't afraid of death, but when he knew he would die at dawn, even the most fearless person would feel fear.

Add to that Liu Bei's parting words—"Think of your family..."

So, the next day, Liu Bei saw Liu Gen, whose face was bluish-purple and who looked like a walking corpse.

It looks exactly like a ghost.

"Liu Gen, you should leave now. Go back to where you came from."

Liu Bei did not intend to kill him; instead, he released him directly.

"What does Commander Liu mean? You're not going to kill me? I beg Commander Liu to give me a quick death!"

Liu Gen looked at Liu Bei in horror.

"Why would I kill you? You should think carefully about how you're going to report back to your lord... or rather, whether you need my help, so you don't go back alive only to bring ruin to your whole family..."

Liu Bei still had a faint smile on his face, but in Liu Gen's eyes, it looked like a demon grinning.

Liu Gen was stunned for a moment, then his whole body began to tremble.

If his lord allowed Liu Gen to try to kidnap Liu Bei's family, then it's obvious who had Liu Gen's family in his hands.

If Liu Gen completes his mission or dies in Xihe, his family should be able to survive.

But what if you fail to complete the mission but return alive...

"What does Commander Liu want to do?"

Liu Gen asked, his lips trembling.

“My children have been tricked away by the sorcerer Liu Gen, so of course I must raise an army to demand an explanation… You, Liu Gen, claim that you are acting on the emperor’s orders, so naturally I must seek an explanation from the emperor—isn’t that exactly what your lord wants to see?”

Liu Bei smiled and waved to Zhang Fei, signaling him to release the prisoners.

……

At the end of August in the third year of Zhongping, Liu Bei led 5,000 elite troops to Huai County in Henan.

During the journey, Zhao Yun was recruited back into Liu Bei's army—he was sentenced to exile in Liangzhou. Since Liu Bei was going to Liangzhou to reinforce the city, it was considered that he was directly exiled.

After Liu Bei arrived, the White Wave Army lifted the siege of Huai County and retreated to Shanyang, where they began negotiations with Liu Bei.

Meanwhile, Liu Bei had Guan Yu and Zhang He "recapture" the Mengjin ferry crossing and sent an envoy to Luoyang.

The envoy was Jian Yong.

Moreover, Jian Yong did not go to the court, but went directly to the West Garden.

Originally, the emperor did not intend to meet Jian Yong, since Jian Xianhe was not of a high enough rank.

However, Jian Yong then went through Zhang Feng's connections and directly asked Zhang Feng to convey a question to the emperor: "The sorcerer Liu Gen claims to be acting on imperial orders and has tricked my elder brother Liu Xuande into giving birth to his newborn children. My elder brother is currently negotiating with the rebels in Hanoi... I would like to ask Your Majesty, what is the meaning of this imperial order? And how should these negotiations with the White Wave Army proceed?!"

(End of this chapter)