New Three Kingdoms Tales: Starting as the expressionless Liu Bei

Upon hearing this, Li Ru immediately jumped up from the ground, nodding his head vigorously like a chicken pecking at rice, repeatedly saying:

"Yes! If Lord Xuande gives the order, I wouldn't even flinch if I had to kill my own parents!"

As he spoke, he seemed to suddenly remember something, and before the fervor on his face had faded, he quickly lowered his voice and said:

"Lord Xuande, I have another important military report to give! This matter is of utmost importance; you can finally avenge Gongsun Zan's betrayal!"

Oh? Gongsun Zan?

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei glanced at Li Ru again and nodded: "Tell me about it. If you do well, I might actually take you in, and even look at you with new respect."

Upon hearing the words "look at me with new eyes," Li Ru's face flushed with excitement, and he quickly recounted everything that had happened in Qingzhou Prefecture without holding back a single detail.

After listening, Liu Bei seemed to be deep in thought.

Gongsun Zan actually wants to give up the entire Qingzhou to me? This is truly unexpected.

However, after only a moment's thought, he snorted coldly in his heart, his tone carrying a hint of disdain:

"This must be a trap set by Gongsun Zan. He used me before and stabbed me in the back. I can't believe a single word he says now."

Li Ru readily agreed, "Lord Xuande is right; I was too naive. That Gongsun Zan is a treacherous villain!"

"If Lord Xuande wishes to eliminate him, I am willing to join the army and devise strategies to deal with him at the lowest possible cost."

Liu Bei nodded and said, "We can discuss this later. Right now, I have an important matter to entrust to you, and you must handle it well."

Li Ru was overjoyed. He quickly took off his ear, spat on it, carefully cleaned it, and then put it back as if nothing had happened.

I'm all ears!

Liu Bei was already used to such bizarre scenes.

Once Li Ru was ready, he explained the plan in detail.

Li Ru was stunned, and then praised Liu Bei's wisdom and strategy as a rare genius.

Liu Bei nodded calmly, his heart unmoved.

After arranging things for Li Ru, Liu Bei found Yuan Shu, gave him only a few hurried instructions, and then led Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun back to Xiaopei to set up camp overnight.

Yuan Shu watched Liu Bei's departing figure, his brows furrowed slightly, seemingly lost in thought.

Tang Xiaohu leaned close to Yuan Shu and whispered, "My lord, the master's attitude towards you seems to have changed. He doesn't seem as attentive as before."

Yuan Shu nodded and sighed:

"I can feel it. His mindset has changed so much, he's a completely different person. Perhaps this is just his growth. We don't need to ask too many questions, we just need to stand behind him and support him."

Yuan Shu kept staring at Liu Bei's back, unaware that a flash of scarlet killing intent was rapidly passing through Tang Xiaohu's eyes, which he quickly suppressed.

On the way back to Xiaopei, Zhang Fei woke up in a daze and learned what had happened from Guan Yu. He was so frightened that he immediately went to Liu Bei and stammered that he had made a mistake.

Liu Bei remained expressionless and did not reply.

After returning to Xiaopei, Liu Bei did not punish Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, or Zhao Yun in any way, but he never spoke a word to them again.

Guan Yu knew this was the calm before the storm. Their relationship with Liu Bei had long since deteriorated into a malignant tumor.

The reason this malignant tumor hasn't exploded yet is because fate is still holding it in check. If Liu Bei truly destroys the Destiny Trick, they will be the first to die.

Thinking this, Guan Yu's heart sank.

He can't sleep tonight; Liu Bei could become a supreme being at any moment. He must obtain the complete power of the Five Spirit Kings before Liu Bei does!

While things were peaceful on Liu Bei's side, things were quite lively on Cao Cao's side.

"My lord! You are too kind! In my humble opinion, with so many soldiers, why should we be afraid of Liu Bei alone?"

"Exactly! Those crickets with footprints were ours! Ours! It was that treacherous Liu Bei who stole them. In my opinion, Liu Bei is even worse than a beast!"

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao's face showed no joy whatsoever, but rather a hint of disdain.

He chuckled, glanced at the few supporting comedians, and then said loudly:

"I'll get the cricket with the footprints back sooner or later. It's just not the right time yet."

The straight men nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, and then stepped forward to offer their compliments:

"I see! Our lord is truly farsighted; we were short-sighted!"

"My lord, I must look at you with new respect once again!"

Cao Cao chuckled, then composed himself, beckoned Xun Yu to his side, and said in a low voice:

"Xun Yu, I have a task for you, I wonder if you could do it for me?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Xun Yu cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "My lord, no matter how difficult this task may be, I guarantee I will complete it successfully."

Cao Cao didn't rush to give instructions. He first walked to a big tree, loosened his belt, and swung his whip like Wei Wu.

The sound of rushing water filled the air. Xun Yu suppressed the smile on his lips and forced a smile to stay on his face so that he wouldn't laugh out loud.

The sound of water lasted a full twenty-seven seconds before stopping. Cao Cao, looking thoroughly satisfied, threw his head back and shouted, "That felt great! That was a truly satisfying piss!"

He pulled up his trousers, slowly walked to Xun Yu's side, patted him on the shoulder, and laughed:

"Xun Yu, I need you as an envoy to immediately return to Xuzhou. Liu Bei will never expect you to launch a surprise attack. After dawn, when Lü Bu wakes up, go find him immediately..."

At this point, Cao Cao paused, a playful smile appearing on his face: "Xun Yu, why don't you guess what I'm going to say next?"

Xun Yu was slightly taken aback, then laughed: "My lord, I guess you want me to persuade Lü Bu to form an alliance with us to jointly deal with Liu Bei, right?"

Cao Cao shook his head, his smile meaningful: "Xun Yu, you've guessed wrong this time. Liu Bei and I treat each other with the utmost respect; I have no intention of killing him."

"Heaven has just sent me a message, instructing me to make peace with Liu Bei and then jointly attack Gongsun Zan of Qingzhou. After taking Qingzhou, we will then cede it to Yuan Shao."

"Therefore, I want you to go to Xuzhou City, persuade Lü Bu to shoot the halberd at the gate, and call a truce."

Xun Yu was taken aback, then sighed softly, "It seems Heaven intends to use your hand, my lord, to correct history. My lord, perhaps you could join forces with Liu Bei to break free from this destiny?"

Cao Cao gave a self-deprecating smile, a hint of reminiscence flashing in his eyes, and shook his head:

"Those idiots aren't worth saving. I almost ruined the Destiny Ghost back then, but it was those 'pig lords' who stood by and watched, which caused me to fail at the last minute."

"I saw through them long ago; they're all a bunch of selfish and petty people."

"If I, Cao Cao, destroy destiny, they will reap the benefits; if I am defeated, they will continue to be the dogs of fate."

"So in this life, I gouged out all their eyeballs and offered them to Heaven as punishment."

As he spoke, Cao Cao put his hands behind his back, looked up at the bright moon in the sky, and sighed:

"The world misjudged me, Cao Cao, yesterday, and today; perhaps tomorrow, they will still misjudge me."

"But I am still me. I, Cao Cao, have never been afraid of being misunderstood."