New Three Kingdoms Tales: Starting as the expressionless Liu Bei

Wang Yun looked in the direction of the sound and saw a person sitting leisurely on the stone steps of the pavilion.

The man was over seven feet tall, with a slender build. His pale white scholar's robe was slightly worn from washing, which only accentuated his rugged and imposing appearance.

He had a handsome face with a slightly austere expression on his cheeks. He had a long, black beard with three strands that flowed gently as he spoke, giving him an air of dignified composure.

Wang Yun squinted and saw the face clearly. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and the heart that had been hanging in his throat settled back into his stomach.

He patted his chest and strode towards the pavilion, his voice carrying a hint of relief at surviving a close call.

"Chen Gongtai? Hahaha! It really is you!"

Chen Gong, holding a wine jug, walked down from the pavilion unhurriedly, a half-smile on his face, but his tone was cold and stern:

"Minister Wang, your elaborate scheme is utterly vicious! Aren't you afraid that if word gets out, it will bring about the extermination of your entire clan?"

Wang Yun quickly pressed his still-pounding heart, waved his hand, and complained with a wry smile:

"Oh, Chen Gongtai, I'm an old man, but what you just said really scared me! I thought that traitor Dong had sent people to arrest me."

Chen Gong suddenly stopped smiling, straightened his clothes, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and solemnly bowed to Wang Yun, saying in a loud voice:

"Brother, you risked your life to save the Han Dynasty; your plan will surely be remembered for eternity. I deeply admire you. Please accept my bow!"

Wang Yun quickly stepped forward, supported Chen Gong's arms and helped him up, repeatedly saying "Not at all," but his eyes couldn't hide the pride of being recognized by someone who knew his worth.

He looked around and lowered his voice to Chen Gong, saying, "Brother, this courtyard isn't the place to talk. Come, let's go inside and talk behind closed doors."

Chen Gong shook his head, tilted his head back, took a gulp of wine, and laughed loudly:

"No! Brother, you don't understand. If two people conspire in secret, they will surely be overheard. On the contrary, by conspiring openly in public, you can prevent others from eavesdropping."

Seeing Wang Yun's puzzled expression, he took half a step forward and explained in a low voice.

"I overheard the whole thing: you and Li Ru plotting your plan to eliminate Dong Zhuo in the house."

"It's fortunate that I overheard it. If it had been Dong Zhuo's spy planted in your mansion, my friend, you would probably be beheaded by now."

Wang Yun frowned deeply. The two men's secret plots were bound to be overheard; only by plotting loudly in public could they avoid being eavesdropped on? This was truly the first time he'd ever heard of such a claim.

He looked the long-lost friend up and down, his tone hesitant and confused: "Brother, how...how did you know all this?"

Chen Gong smiled slightly, reached into his sleeve, and pulled out a palm-sized cricket jar.

The jar looked quite old; most of the paint on it had peeled off, but he had polished it until it shone.

"Brother, since leaving Cao Cao, I have awakened an extremely powerful ability."

He lifted the lid of the jar, and inside lay a cricket, its entire body black, its two antennae twitching gently, and in its mouth was a neatly rolled-up piece of paper.

Chen Gong took out the note, unfolded it, and handed it to Wang Yun.

"My cricket brings me three random pieces of information every day. These days, I've survived in this chaotic world thanks to it."

Wang Yun took the note, squinted, and looked down to examine it closely.

It was written densely on top:

At 10:00 AM today, Wang Yun's elaborate scheme will reach its most crucial step.

The direct conflict between Lü Bu and Dong Zhuo is about to erupt, and Li Ru and Wang Yun are secretly plotting to eliminate Dong Zhuo. You can sneak into Wang Yun's house and eavesdrop on their conspiracy.

Infiltration method:

Behind Wang Yun's residence is a hidden door, concealed in the gloomy forest next to his house. It seems that Wang Yun is raising something in that forest; you can take this opportunity to sneak in, hide under his bed, and eavesdrop on their plot.

Wang Yun's face gradually darkened. He slowly raised his head, his cloudy old eyes staring straight at Chen Gong, his voice suddenly turning cold, as if interrogating a spy caught red-handed:

"Brother, you saw it all?"

Chen Gong's confident smile froze for a moment. He quickly spread his hands in front of him and hurriedly explained:

"Brother, I didn't see anything, I didn't see anything at all! You can rest assured! I, Chen Gongtai, swear to heaven that I will never utter a single word about this."

"I have come here at great risk not to coerce you into giving me anything, but out of genuine sincerity to pledge my allegiance to you, my lord. If you do not reject me, I, Chen Gong, am willing to serve you as my lord, offering advice and strategies to help you achieve your ambitions and become the most powerful ruler in the world!"

Wang Yun stroked the few strands of white beard on his chin, his expression gradually softening, and a smile returned to his lips. He reached out and patted Chen Gong on the shoulder, saying loudly:

"Excellent! What ambition! If destiny truly favors me, Gongtai shall be my hero!"

He sighed deeply, looked up at the azure sky above, and his voice carried a rare touch of genuine emotion.

"In these chaotic times, to unexpectedly encounter an old friend is truly a stroke of good fortune!"

He suddenly seemed to remember something, his brows furrowed again, and he turned to stare at Chen Gong, his tone full of doubt:

"Oh, by the way, Gongtai, how did you get into Chang'an? There are arrest warrants plastered everywhere in the Central Plains, how did you manage to sneak into my residence without any trouble?"

"Also, I heard you went to join Cao Cao to fight for a greater cause? Why are you coming to join me now?"

After hearing this, Chen Gong sighed deeply, a trace of undisguised loneliness and regret flashing across his thin face.

He picked up the wine jug in his hand, tilted his head back and took another big gulp, then wiped his mouth with his sleeve and said in a hoarse voice:

"This is a long story. Cao Cao, on the surface, is full of loyalty and righteousness, but in his heart, he is an extremely treacherous and wicked man. I have already abandoned him."

Wang Yun stepped forward, staring intently into Chen Gong's eyes, and tentatively asked in a low voice, "Could it be about 'I would rather betray others than be betrayed by them'?"

Chen Gong gave a wry smile, nodded, and lowered his eyes to look at the empty wine pot in his hand, as if watching a joke that had long since gone cold: "Exactly."

He sighed again, placed the wine pot on the stone railing beside him, looked up at Wang Yun, and his tone was full of weariness and vicissitudes.

"After leaving Cao Cao, I wandered around, looking for a wise and virtuous lord who was truly worthy of my service."

"But in these past few days, all I've seen are empty vessels of food and drink in tents and starving corpses by the roadside. Nothing has been gained, absolutely nothing!"

He gave a wry smile and added, "I was truly desperate, so I followed the information this cricket brought me and sneaked into Chang'an to seek refuge with you, brother."

After listening, Wang Yun patted Chen Gong on the shoulder to comfort him.

"Don't worry, Gongtai, our good days are just around the corner! We'll be drinking and eating meat every day!"

Chen Gong took a deep breath, as if exhaling all the unpleasant memories from his lungs, before raising his head again and asking solemnly, "May I ask, my lord, how is the chained scheme progressing?"

Wang Yun laughed heartily, his eyes filled with smug satisfaction. He subconsciously lowered his voice and said, "The outcome is already decided. Now we just need to wait for that father and son to turn against each other, and then we can reap the benefits."

Chen Gong slowly shook his head, stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said:

"I overheard your discussion with Mr. Li under the bed earlier. Although the plan was already very thorough, I believe it could be improved. I would like to ask you to allow me to make some minor modifications to this plan."

Wang Yun's eyes lit up, and he raised his hand in a gesture of invitation, saying with a smile, "Please speak freely, Gongtai. I am all ears."

Chen Gong slowly closed the cricket jar, then opened it again, and a brand new note floated out.

He presented the note to Wang Yun and said solemnly, "My lord, this is the third intelligence I have received today. It details Dong Zhuo's fatal weakness. Please take a look."

Wang Yun took the slip of paper, unfolded it, and examined it closely. It was densely covered with writing:

Dong Zhuo was a man with a dual personality, one of good and one of evil.

The virtuous cherish the people and aspire to restore the Han dynasty; the wicked are cruel and bloodthirsty, single-mindedly seeking to usurp the Han throne and establish themselves—this is the dominant personality currently occupying his body.

The weakness of the evil Dong Zhuo lies in the fact that whenever Dong Zhuo activates his bizarre transformation and kills hundreds of innocent people, the good side within him is forcibly awakened and struggles for control of this body.

Dong Zhuo's weakness lies in his fear of sourness and his indecisiveness.

Chen Gong looked at Wang Yun's gradually gleaming, aged face, smiled slightly, and cupped his hands, saying, "My lord, I have a plan. It will surely eliminate that traitor Dong Zhuo and restore peace to the world."

Wang Yun was overjoyed and grabbed Chen Gong's wrist, saying urgently, "Speak quickly! Gongtai, speak quickly! I'm all ears!"

Just as Chen Gong was about to speak, a deafening roar suddenly came from outside the newly installed wooden door of the Prince's Mansion.

The sound was like a thunderclap, causing the branches and leaves of the old locust trees in the courtyard to tremble.

"Wang Yun! Wang Yun!"

The next moment, the door was blasted into pieces by a terrifying force.

Splinters of wood flew everywhere, and dust billowed as a tall figure slowly emerged from the swirling dust.

The man wore a three-pronged purple-gold crown, with two long pheasant tail feathers stuck behind his head, fluttering in the night wind as he strode forward.

The tips of those two tail feathers curled up slightly, just like the antennae on a cricket's head.

Chen Gong frowned slightly, and suddenly a blue panel that only he could see appeared in his mind, with rows of data jumping rapidly on it.

Cricket Name: Lü Bu

[Spiritual Awareness Status: Activated]

[Combat Strength Assessment: Extremely Strong]

[Intelligence Assessment: Extremely low. However, it is still more than a hundred times higher than that of an ordinary cricket.]

[Cricket System Overall Comments: A top-quality cricket, a once-in-a-century find! What are you waiting for? Quickly throw out the cricket jar and catch it!]