New Three Kingdoms Tales: Starting as the expressionless Liu Bei

That night, the moonlight was cold and white, like a thin layer of frost covering the roof tiles of Chenliu City.

A crow folded its wings and landed on a withered old locust tree branch. It tilted its head, its deep blue eyes darting around in the night, surveying the courtyard below.

Suddenly, a very faint, muffled sound came from under the tree. Startled, the crow flapped its wings, let out a shrill caw, and fluttered into the deeper night.

Four figures, as dark as four fallen leaves blown by the night wind, silently drifted down from the top of the wall. They moved with such lightness that they left no trace on their landings, without disturbing a single soldier in the mansion, and thus infiltrated the heart of the First Garrison General's mansion.

This was Yuan Shao's general's residence.

A dark and windy night is the perfect time to commit murder.

The two guards on night duty at the gate were completely unaware of the impending murder, still whispering among themselves in the lamplight.

"Hiss, why was the lord so strange when he returned tonight?"

The guard on the right squinted, trying to recall for a moment. That inexplicable chill from before seemed to creep back up his spine. He shivered and whispered in agreement.

"Yes, I also feel something's wrong. There's an aura of death about our lord. It's like... like his body has been cold for a long time."

The guard on the left's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly nudged him hard with his elbow and then pressed his index finger to his lips, making a shushing gesture.

He looked around in terror, a fine layer of cold sweat beading on his forehead. If anyone overheard this and it reached the lord's ears, they would lose their heads.

Little did they know, their "secret plot" had been overheard by four assassins. In the darkness, the four assassins exchanged a glance and shook their heads in unison.

In their view, the two guards were probably drunk and not thinking clearly.

The two guards, unaware that death was already at their throats, were still discussing which brothel had the best girls. Before they could finish speaking, something unexpected happened.

Two dark figures silently descended from the beam, sliding along the ground behind the two guards. Two hands clad in black iron finger guards simultaneously reached out and covered their mouths and noses.

A flash of cold light streaked across the wall, and two spurts of blood splattered onto the wall. The two guards didn't even have time to utter a sound before collapsing to the ground.

The four assassins gently dragged the body into the shadows, then pried open the door and slipped into the room silently like fish.

They located the bedroom, exchanged a gesture, and then burst through the inner door, lunging at the bed with lightning speed. A dagger was raised high, then plunged viciously into the raised area of ​​the bedding.

One cut. Two cuts. Three cuts. Each cut pierced through, but there was no expected dull thud of a blade entering flesh, no scream. Only an eerie emptiness traveled from the hilt of the sword back to the palm.

The four assassins froze in their tracks, finally realizing something was wrong.

"Are you looking for me?"

A cold, hoarse voice echoed from behind them. A chill ran down the spines of the four, and they whirled around. In the darkness, a pair of blood-red eyes hovered in mid-air, staring intently at them.

Yuan Shao's left half of his face still retained the magnanimous and dignified demeanor of an alliance leader. However, the right half of his face was adorned with the eerie smile of a fierce tiger. His bloodshot eyes glared menacingly, and two pale white shark fins gleamed eerily in the darkness.

"There's...there's a ghost!"

Two of the assassins were terrified by the half-human, half-ghostly appearance, letting out a soft scream and staggering backward, too afraid to face the eerie figure. The other two assassins, however, steadied themselves. Suppressing their fear, they exchanged a glance and forced out a few low growls through clenched teeth.

"What's there to be afraid of! He's just a charlatan! There are four of us, why would we be afraid of just one?"

"superior!"

Startled by their companion's shout, the two terrified assassins snapped out of their daze. "Yeah, what's there to be afraid of!" the four shouted in unison, brandishing their daggers and viciously stabbing at the terrifying figure in the shadows.

Unexpectedly, in the darkness, the corners of Yuan Shao's half-human face slowly turned upwards. The corners of his half-tiger face also slowly turned upwards. At the same time, the same eerie smile bloomed on both faces.

Four daggers slashed at him from all sides, but Yuan Shao's figure suddenly swayed, vanishing into thin air like a drop of ink falling into water before the assassins' eyes.

Where did he go? All four daggers struck empty air. The four assassins' pupils constricted, and they exchanged bewildered glances. How could the living person who was just standing before them have vanished into thin air?

In the dead silence, a muffled thud suddenly came from behind. It was like something rolling on the ground.

A chill ran down the spines of the three men, and they looked down at the sound. In the moonlight, a bloody human head rolled to their feet and stopped.

In those still-closed eyes, the last trace of bewilderment before death remained frozen. It was the same comrade who had charged ahead just moments before.

Holy crap! The remaining three felt their hair stand on end and frantically scanned their surroundings. Finally, in the shadows of the distant living room, they saw Yuan Shao. He was already standing there, facing them, flashing that chilling half-human, half-tiger smile.

Then, the three witnessed an even more horrifying sight. Yuan Shao slowly opened his mouth, the gaping wound extending all the way to the base of his tiger-like ears.

He lowered his head and began to devour the headless corpse at his feet with a dizzying speed.

The sickening sound of chewing echoed in the darkness. In moments, only a skeleton remained of the corpse.

Yuan Shao raised his blood-stained face and smiled slightly at the three men. Then, he strode towards them unhurriedly.

The slow footsteps echoed in the deathly silent room like a death knell striking everyone's hearts.

The three were terrified by what they saw and wished they could burst out of the door immediately. Only the leader of the assassins bit his tongue, forcing himself to calm down.

"Brothers, hold on." His voice was low but deep. "Chaos means death. Only by staying calm can we find a weakness in him. Only by finding a weakness can we get out of here alive."

Hearing this, the other two quickly suppressed their fear and focused their attention. Sure enough, Yuan Shao's steps were steady, but his speed was not fast. A glint flashed in one of the assassins' eyes, and he spoke urgently in a low voice.

"He's moving slowly; this is our chance! Let's split up and jump out of the windows to report this to the Prime Minister!"

"Ah San, you hold him off! The two of us will go first!"

There were two windows in the room. The three exchanged one last glance. Without hesitation, without saying goodbye, the two assassins turned abruptly and lunged desperately towards the two windows.

The assassin called Ah San gripped his dagger tightly, staring intently at Yuan Shao. A low, beast-like growl escaped his throat as he charged forward, resolute in his certain death.

He was willing to risk his life to buy his comrades even just a moment's time.

Yuan Shao glanced at the assassin rushing towards him, then at the two figures lunging towards the window, and simply smiled.

There was no anger, no mockery in that smile, only an absolute, unquestionable control. The chilling voice seeped into the entire room like ice water.

"None of you will escape."

Before he finished speaking, his figure vanished into thin air once more. Immediately following were two screams that rang out almost simultaneously, and two heads rolled to the ground at almost the same instant.

The two assassins' fingers were only an inch from the window frame.

Ah San stood frozen in place, the dagger in his hand still trembling slightly. Just now, he had rushed forward with all his might, but Yuan Shao hadn't even glanced at him, passing by like a ghost and instantly killing his two companions who had already reached the window.

His heart was filled with turmoil, and his teeth chattered uncontrollably. Yuan Shao was sometimes near, sometimes far, like a shadow or smoke; how could he possibly stop him?

Behind me, another chilling sound of flesh and bone cracking echoed. Crack, crack.

Yuan Shao slowly turned his head. His bizarre face, half human and half tiger, was covered in sticky blood, and the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned. He sized up the trembling assassin before him and let out a low, hoarse laugh.

"Dong Zhuo's assassins dare to attempt to assassinate this leader?" His voice was hoarse and cold. "Get out. Tell Dong Zhuo a message for me."

"Let him wash his neck clean and wait. I, Yuan Shao, will surely devour his flesh, sleep on his skin, drink his blood, pull out his tendons, and grind his bones to dust."

Ah San swallowed hard. If someone else had said those words, he would have just taken it as a bluff.

But he had just witnessed Yuan Shao lying on the headless corpse, gnawing on it with a loud crunching sound. This guy really intended to eat the Prime Minister whole.

Ah San's lips trembled for a long time before he finally managed to squeeze out his biggest question in a trembling voice.

"Yuan Shao, why...why do you rebel? Aren't you afraid that the Chancellor will slaughter your father Yuan Kui and your entire Yuan family?"

"Yuan Kui? Family?"

Yuan Shao paused for a moment while chewing. The smile on his tiger-like face faded, replaced by a cold indifference. He let out a long sigh.

"Just think of me, Yuan Shao, I've never had these things before."

After saying that, he didn't look at Ah San again, and nonchalantly lowered his head to continue gnawing on the remains of the corpse on the ground.

Ah San felt a chill run down his spine. Was this still human? He could even pretend his parents and family never existed. But then he thought, with Yuan Shao now appearing as a half-human, half-tiger, he probably couldn't really be considered human anymore.

Yuan Shao clearly had no interest in him, his mind completely absorbed in the food. Ah San dared not linger any longer, turning and scrambling away, disappearing into the night outside the door in the blink of an eye.

Little did they know, the Indians missed the best time to kill Yuan Shao, because at that moment Yuan Shao had just finished killing and eating people, and had stacked three layers of the Victory Army buff. Victory Army is bound to be arrogant, and arrogant Army is bound to be defeated!

Meanwhile, inside the General's Mansion of the Nineteenth Garrison, the summer heat was stifling, making it feel like a sauna.

Liu Bei and Yuan Shu tossed and turned, unable to sleep, so they decided to stay up all night and talk. Tang Xiaohu stood by their side, holding a large palm-leaf fan, and slowly fanned Liu Bei.

But that slight coolness was not enough to dispel the sweltering heat of the summer night.

Yuan Shu gazed at the starry sky outside the window and asked in a low voice.

"Xuande, didn't you say there would be assassins trying to kill my brother tonight? Is it really appropriate for us to sleep here like this?"

Liu Bei yawned lazily and wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes.

"Brother Gonglu, what you should be worried about is not your brother's safety. What you should be worried about is the safety of those assassins."

He paused, then continued, "You saw Yuan Shao's shark-fin-like fins with your own eyes after he transformed. One strike and a bronze mirror was cleaved in two. How many times could a few assassins possibly cut him?"

"Besides..." Liu Bei turned over, his tone a mix of drowsiness and composure, "The cunning Yuan Shao can't distinguish friend from foe. If we rashly go to help him, what if he kills us all? Wouldn't that be a terrible injustice?"

After hearing this analysis, Yuan Shu finally felt a sense of relief. However, deep down, a vague and inexplicable worry still lingered in his heart.

As night deepened, the summer heat subsided slightly. The two spoke in hushed tones, finally settling into even breathing.

Tang Xiaohu kept his eyes open, fanning himself with a palm leaf fan, one stroke after another, like a tireless machine faithfully carrying out the order to fan his master.