New Three Kingdoms Tales: Starting as the expressionless Liu Bei

"Gentlemen, sirs!"

"Welcome, everyone! Your presence is a great honor to join us for this banquet!"

At the banquet, Cao Cao raised his wine cup high, his face beaming, and loudly welcomed the various lords who had come to the feast. When the three brothers Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei arrived, his enthusiasm only increased, and he personally took the wine pot and poured wine for each of them.

Zhang Fei, without any hesitation, picked up his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp. Guan Yu and Liu Bei, however, were more cautious, alarm bells ringing in their minds as they immediately recalled Cao Cao's earlier infamous act of poisoning wine.

Cao Cao stood before them, watching them with a smile. The two men stared at each other, their hands holding wine cups frozen in mid-air, unsure whether to drink or not, fearing that the cup might contain deadly poison.

Seeing this, Cao Cao smiled helplessly, reached out and took the wine cups from the two men, each taking a sip to prove his innocence.

Guan Yu was relieved, clasped his hands in thanks, took the wine cup, and slowly sipped it.

Cao Cao then turned his gaze to Liu Bei, his eyes holding a half-smile, as if to say: Your second and third brothers have already drunk, why are you, the eldest brother, still holding back?

Liu Bei had no choice but to pick up his wine cup and take a few small sips. Cao Cao then nodded in satisfaction and turned to leave.

As the wine entered his throat, Liu Bei felt his eyes brighten, a warm current rising from his dantian, as if strength had been injected into his limbs and bones.

This wine is truly excellent. No wonder there's a famous line in the new Three Kingdoms: "Wine is like an old hero; the more you drink, the more courageous you become." It certainly lives up to its reputation.

However, he did not indulge in the wine. After taking a small sip, he put down his cup and instead assessed the situation, observing the unfolding events. Yuan Shu, who was not far away, did the same, only taking a small sip, fearing that getting drunk would ruin important matters.

Yuan Shao, however, was quite the opposite. Having experienced a series of bizarre and terrifying events during the day, he was already disoriented and eagerly sought to numb himself with alcohol. He gulped down bowl after bowl of strong liquor as if it were water. The assembled lords were all stunned.

Next up was the drinking game, a specialty of the new Three Kingdoms series. Amidst the clinking of glasses, toasts, urging others to drink, and even forcing others to drink—all sorts of tactics were employed, creating quite a lively scene.

Liu Bei managed to drink a few cups, then feigned being unable to hold his liquor, leaning against Tang Xiaohu's muscular arm and pretending to doze off. His eyes were narrowed to slits as he silently surveyed the entire room.

Cao Cao, on the other hand, remained as usual. He was either shuttling between banquets, toasting and boasting to various lords, or standing on the stage, reciting a few lines of his own two-line quatrains.

Gongsun Zan seemed to be a starving ghost reincarnated, burying his head in his food and eating voraciously from beginning to end. On the table in front of him, several deer heads, which had been gnawed clean, were already scattered haphazardly.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were drinking with Cao Ren. From a distance, Zhang Fei was gesticulating wildly, spitting as he spoke, his eyebrows dancing with excitement.

Liu Bei didn't need to listen to guess that this dark-skinned fellow was definitely bragging to Cao Ren about his second brother's recent feat of beheading Hua Xiong.

Han Fu, Sun Jian… Liu Bei squinted, scanning the people at the table one by one. Suddenly, Yuan Shao, who was drunk at the head of the alliance, staggered to his feet.

He staggered, swaying from side to side, clearly very drunk. Had it not been for his bodyguards supporting him in time, he would have collapsed to the ground long ago.

Liu Bei took it all in. When he vaguely heard Yuan Shao muttering that he needed to go to the outhouse, a surge of joy filled him. His opportunity had arrived.

As long as you go to the outhouse, you'll have a chance to meet Yuan Shao alone and reveal all the strange and unusual rules. If you can also bring Yuan Shu along, the matter will be mostly settled.

Thinking of this, he whispered a few words to Tang Xiaohu. Then he slowly got up, and with the support of Tang Xiaohu's strong arm, he limped away from his seat and followed him away.

As he passed by Yuan Shu's table, he subtly gave him a wink. Yuan Shu was taken aback at first, but when he caught sight of Yuan Shao's staggering figure ahead, he immediately understood. He also pretended to be too drunk and ordered his guards to help him to the outhouse.

In a dark corner of the banquet hall, unlit by candlelight, those eerie eyes blinked again, taking in everything. Then, they transformed into an extremely thin, blood-red shadow, silently burrowing into the ground and disappearing.

Inside the outhouse, Yuan Shao was hunched over the latrine, vomiting violently. Under the influence of alcohol, this leader of a family that had held high office for four generations could no longer hold back. He grabbed his bodyguard's sleeve and tearfully recounted his ordeal that day.

"Waaaaah... I really saw a ghost today! That Cao Cao, he... he's simply inhuman!"

"Mother... I miss you so much... It's so scary out here, I want to go home..."

"Croak!"

Before he could finish speaking, another wave of nausea surged through his stomach. He abruptly buried his head in the latrine and vomited violently once more. His bodyguard stood helplessly by, his face full of worry. He wanted to pat his back but dared not approach.

Yuan Shao waved his hand weakly and said in a hoarse voice, "Get out...leave me alone."

He vomited for a while longer, until only bile remained, before finally stopping, utterly exhausted. He slumped against the cold wall, gasping for breath, his face deathly pale, his breath barely a whisper.

He raised his dazed eyes and looked at the bronze mirror on the wall. The man in the mirror was ashen-faced, tears streaming down his face; he bore none of the dignity befitting a man from a family of high-ranking officials. The dignified Yuan Shao had been so frightened by the descendant of a eunuch. It was truly unbelievable!

Yuan Shao grew angrier the more he thought about it, a surge of anger rising to his head. He struggled to his feet, ready to rush out of the outhouse and confront Cao Cao at the banquet.

However, he was completely unaware. Deep within the filthy latrine behind him, a sticky, blood-red ghostly figure was slowly crawling out along the latrine wall, silently sliding towards the wall, and suddenly disappearing into the bronze mirror.

After staggering two steps, Yuan Shao realized that he had vomited all over himself and smelled terrible.

In this disheveled state, how could he possibly face the assembled lords? He had no choice but to retreat and give an order to his personal guard standing watch outside the door, instructing him to quickly fetch a set of clean clothes.

The guards obeyed, their footsteps fading into the distance. A deathly silence fell over the outhouse.

Yuan Shao slumped back into his chair, his mind racing with a thousand thoughts. How should he approach Cao Cao later? Should he probe indirectly, or be direct?

If Cao Mengde vehemently denies it, what will he have to offer in response? Or should he simply bury this shocking and bizarre affair deep in his heart forever?

Lost in thought, he suddenly thought of Liu Bei. That man who remained calm and composed throughout, never revealing his emotions. He had planned to visit him personally after the meeting to find out the truth.

But when they arrived at the Nineteenth General's Mansion in the afternoon, they were turned away at the door. The soldier on guard was expressionless and coldly said, "My master knew that the Alliance Leader was coming, so he went out of the city to hunt. He has not returned yet, and his fate is unknown."

Yuan Shao was stunned and even doubted his ears. It wasn't until the soldier mechanically repeated it that he was sure he hadn't misheard.

Anyone else, subjected to such mockery, would have been enraged on the spot. But Yuan Shao was not. After a brief moment of astonishment, he simply glanced deeply at the simple thatched hut, said nothing, and turned to leave.

Now, upon closer reflection, his mind was filled with even more doubts. Liu Bei was clearly deliberately avoiding him. But why? What had he done wrong to make the other party avoid him like the plague?

Yuan Shao looked at his disheveled reflection in the bronze mirror and fell into confusion once again.

Suddenly, a strange, eerie wind swept in from outside, extinguishing a row of torches on the wall with a whoosh. Darkness, like thick ink, instantly engulfed the entire outhouse. There was not a ray of light, not a sound.

Yuan Shao was so frightened that he trembled all over, thinking that an assassin had attacked. He hurriedly got up and rushed towards the door he remembered. But he hadn't run two steps before he crashed into a solid wall.

He was terrified; he clearly remembered this was the door! Could it be that he had panicked and run in the wrong direction?

He immediately turned around and sprinted in the other direction. This time, there was nothing in front of him, and he didn't hit any walls. But he ran for more than a hundred meters without touching any edge.

Yuan Shao grew increasingly panicked. There was only pure darkness, pitch black. He couldn't see anything, nor hear any sound. Absolute silence, like being in a cold tomb.

Fear completely consumed his reason. He ran frantically, his legs moving mechanically, but he could never reach the end of this darkness.

He ran wildly for more than a minute, his legs gradually feeling like lead, and amidst his heavy breathing, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

Yuan Shao turned around abruptly, only to see a bronze mirror hanging in mid-air not far behind him, emitting an eerie and chilling red light. It was the mirror from the outhouse. On its surface, several distorted and terrifying scarlet characters were slowly emerging.

"Yuan Shao, you cannot escape."

Yuan Shao felt a sudden jolt in his heart, as if struck by lightning, and froze on the spot. How...how could it know my name?

Before he could figure it out, the blood-written words twisted and wriggled like living things, recombining into new sentences.

"This afternoon you went to visit Liu Bei, but even though he was in his residence, he deliberately avoided seeing you. His intentions are unfathomable."

Before he could finish speaking, a blinding flash of blood suddenly appeared in the mirror, and Yuan Shao instinctively closed his eyes. When the bloody light dissipated and he opened them again, a clear image had appeared in the mirror.

Liu Bei brandished his double-edged sword, slashing fiercely at a burly stranger. The blade struck flesh, producing a crisp, metallic clang. The burly man was unharmed, even sporting a smug, excited grin on his face.

This, this is... invulnerability to swords and spears! Isn't this Hua Xiong's evil ability?

The mirrored scene shifted again. Liu Bei brought over a bucket of water, and the burly man, mounted on his horse, submerged his head deep in the bucket. Time ticked by, and after more than twenty minutes of holding his breath, the burly man remained motionless.

Even though Liu used a torch to burn the burly man's arm all over, the man's arm remained intact.

Impervious to water and fire! Yuan Shao was completely stunned. He had forgotten his fear and was completely captivated by the image in the mirror.

The bronze mirror continued its eerie projection, replaying scenes familiar to Yuan Shao in reverse.

Outside Chenliu City, Zhang Fei spurred his horse and shouted, "Boy, quickly go and call Yuan Shao to come out and greet us!"

At the city gate, Zhang Fei, without a word, punched the gatekeeper, leaving him with a bloody head. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei then engaged in a fierce battle with the city's soldiers. Finally, the scene vanished like bubbles, and the mirror returned to its original state.

Yuan Shao stared blankly at the mirror. There, on his face, slowly appeared the features of a tiger. The tiger's face wore an eerie smile, as if mocking his incompetence.

A strange, black, twisted horn had sprouted from the top of his head. On each of his wrists grew a shark-like pectoral fin, its edges sharp as knives, seemingly capable of easily slicing through everything in the world.

How could he have become like this?

On the mirror, a brand new line of blood-red words slowly emerges, carrying a chilling malice.

In this alliance of warlords, who is the leader, you or Liu Bei?