New Three Kingdoms Tales: Starting as the expressionless Liu Bei

"Sister Yu! Elder Kuai! Are you home?"

In Xiaopei East District, Sun Qian, carrying a large pile of daily necessities, knocked on the wooden door of a simple house.

After a while, the door was opened from the inside, and an old man with dark skin and a cane appeared behind it.

Upon seeing that it was Sun Qian, the old man was taken aback at first, then a smile appeared on his face:

"Sun Qian? What brings you here? Aren't you an official in Xuzhou Prefecture? How come you have time to come back to Xiaopei? Come, come in quickly."

Sun Qian carried the things he brought into the house before explaining with a smile:

"Elder Kuai, I've been staying in Xiaopei with Magistrate Liu for a while, so I came to visit you."

He paused, then scratched his head and chuckled, "Where's Sister Yu? I need to talk to her about something."

After thinking for a moment, Kuai said, "It seems she went to the Pei Gong Temple, saying she went to ask Emperor Gaozu for blessings."

Peigong Temple? Emperor Gaozu?

After listening, Sun Qian smiled helplessly.

Sister Yu is really something. If she really wanted to pray for good fortune, she should have gone to the Bawang Temple in Xicheng District. I heard that praying at the Peigong Temple in Dongcheng District will bring bad luck.

After all, Heaven is watching what people do. If any disrespectful words were to fall into the ears of the founding emperor, there would be retribution.

After chatting with Elder Kuai for a few minutes, Sun Qian took his leave and went straight to the Peigong Temple to find his sweetheart, Liu Ruyu, whom he always called Sister Yu.

As a child, Sun Qian was short and thin, and was often bullied by his peers.

On one occasion, he was surrounded and punched by a group of children at the alley entrance. It was Sister Yu, who was three years older than him, who rushed out and chased away all the bad boys.

Sun Qian still remembers that scene. He looked at Sister Yu, his heart pounding, and half-jokingly said that he would marry her when he grew up.

Liu Ruyu smiled and said that he was just a good-for-nothing now. If he wanted to marry her, he should study hard. Once he passed the exam and became an official in Xuzhou Prefecture, she would give Sun Qian a surprise.

Young Sun Qian, full of enthusiasm, readily agreed.

In the days that followed, Sun Qian studied diligently by the light of a hole in the wall, overcoming fifty-four tribulations before finally passing the imperial examination and gaining admission to Xuzhou Prefecture.

He immediately told Sister Yu the news. Liu Ruyu simply smiled, handed him a piece of candy, and said that this was a surprise.

Looking at all the hardships he had endured over the years, only to receive a piece of candy in the end, Sun Qian felt an indescribable sense of loss.

He didn't say much, thanked Sister Yu, bid farewell to his parents, and set off for Xuzhou Prefecture to take up his post.

He neither ate that candy nor threw it away; he simply kept it hidden in his inner pocket.

Deep down, he harbored some resentment towards Sister Yu, resenting her for deceiving him with a joke for so many years.

So later, when Liu Bei took control of Xuzhou and Tao Qian was still alive, Sun Qian followed Liu Bei back to Xiaopei to stay, but he passed by his home three times without entering and stayed in Xiaopei all day, just so that Sister Yu would not know that he had returned.

Until the Battle of Meijiu River ended, Sun Qian suddenly had an inexplicable premonition.

If I don't go find Sister Yu now and resolve this issue, I'm afraid I'll never have another chance.

This premonition was like a thorn in his heart, making him restless and his mind filled with all sorts of chaotic thoughts.

So this time, Sun Qian took the initiative to find Liu Ruyu, wanting to propose to her, but he was worried and didn't know if it would work out.

Before even reaching the Pei Gong Temple, Sun Qian sensed an extremely strong and eerie aura surging out from the direction of the temple.

Such an aura, how could it be?!

His heart tightened, and he knew something was wrong. He spurred his horse to go even faster.

Logically speaking, Xiaopei City is home to Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and their army of over 100,000. Where did this strange creature come from that dares to cause trouble in the city? Are they tired of living?

Or is it that someone deliberately released a strange creature to slaughter people, setting a trap to lure someone into a trap?

Sun Qian suddenly stopped in his tracks, but when he thought that Sister Yu might still be at the Pei Gong Temple, he couldn't care less about anything else.

He gritted his teeth, repeating one sentence over and over in his mind: Sister Yu, you absolutely cannot get hurt.

On a rooftop not far away, a man stood with his hands behind his back, watching Sun Qian's hurried figure with a meaningful smile on his face, slowly stroking his long beard.

When Sun Qian rushed into the Pei Gong Temple, it was already in a mess.

A waterlogged ghost stood before a broken incense table, clutching a long, tough waterweed in each hand.

Each swing was accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, the water plants like two poisonous whips, mercilessly lashing at the pilgrims who couldn't escape in time.

Sun Qian quickly scanned the area and spotted Sister Yu, trapped under rubble at the corner of the collapsed wall.

He was both shocked and anxious, and rushed over, scrambling and crawling, desperately moving the stones one by one.

When Liu Ruyu saw Sun Qian, she was utterly astonished: "Gongyou? What are you doing here? Weren't you in Xuzhou Prefecture?"

After the initial surprise, anxiety immediately welled up in her eyes, and she urged him repeatedly:

"Gongyou, run! Don't worry about me! That monster is about to attack; you'll die if you stay here!"

Sun Qian did not answer, but his hands moved faster and faster.

He quickly moved the rubble off Sister Yu, carefully pulled her out of the ruins, looked solemnly into her eyes, and said, word by word:

"Sister Yu, you protected me when we were little, now it's my turn to protect you. Remember, as long as I'm here, you'll be here too."

After saying that, he saw that Sister Yu had an injury on her leg. Without caring whether she objected or not, he picked her up, rushed out of the temple, mounted his horse, and fled into the distance.

Upon seeing the fallen monster, a fierce light suddenly flashed in its scarlet pupils.

It abandoned the other people in the temple and, dragging its dripping body, chased after Sun Qian.

Its arrogant aura coalesced into a layer of scarlet blood light, which stood out starkly in the misty environment.

Despite being a water monster, it was surprisingly fast on land, managing to keep up with Sun Qian's horse speed without being left behind.

Sun Qian, carrying Liu Ruyu, spurred his horse into the bustling city. The streets were packed with people, vendors and pedestrians crammed together, leaving barely any space for a horse to pass.

Sun Qian was a skilled horseman and could usually find an opening to slip through. When he couldn't avoid it, he could only knock people over, and even trample several civilians who couldn't dodge in time.

He couldn't care less about that right now; the drowning monster was relentlessly pursuing him, so he could only run desperately toward Xiaopei Prefecture.

Once they reach Liu Bei's Xiaopei Prefecture, where 100,000 men are stationed, this drowning monster will surely die. Even if it doesn't, it will always be able to be saved.

He repeatedly encouraged himself in his heart, as if he could already see that lifeline just ahead.

Although the people in the bustling city were NPCs, they were not wooden stakes. Seeing this scene, they all stepped aside and made way for Sun Qian.

Sun Qian felt relieved; with no obstacles, his horse could increase its speed once again.

But just then, Yu Jie in her arms suddenly cried out in surprise.

Sun Qian suddenly looked up and saw a little girl standing blankly in the middle of the road ahead, as if she had been frightened and was not moving at all.

Sun Qian frowned, gave the reins a tug, and tried to go around her on the right.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew by, carrying a greasy puddle of wine, which landed squarely on the road in front of him.

Sun Qian couldn't dodge in time, and his warhorse's front hooves stepped on the slippery wine, causing the horse to lose its balance and crash to the ground.

Sun Qian and Sister Yu were thrown violently away and crashed heavily onto the ground covered with rubble.

Sun Qian was thrown to his senses, his face covered in blood. He staggered to his feet, but before he could even see clearly what was in front of him, a piece of waterweed lashed out from the air, sending him flying with tremendous force.

Sun Qian fell to the ground again, the pain making his vision go black, and his bones felt like they were falling apart.

But he gritted his teeth and shakily got up from the ground again.

No! I cannot fall! I still have formidable enemies to defeat, I must fight again!

With unwavering resolve, Sun Qian looked up and saw the monster that had fallen into the water grab Yu Jie's neck and, right in front of him, begin to gnaw at her from her calves.

"Let her go!" Sun Qian roared hoarsely, his eyes bloodshot, his finger pointing straight at the drowning monster.

Even though he was burning with rage, something held him in place, preventing him from losing his temper and rushing forward.

The grotesque figure tore off half of Liu Ruyu's thigh from the water, chewing it until his mouth was full of blood. He then gave Sun Qian a twisted smile, his voice full of mockery:

"I like your fear, and I like your helplessness even more. Keep being a useless piece of trash; you can't do anything."

After saying that, he took another bite of meat, a look of extreme enjoyment on his face.

Sun Qian stared intently at it, his chest heaving violently, his fingernails digging deep into his palms.

Not far away, Guan Yu stood on the rooftop with his hands behind his back, watching this scene from afar. His brows were slightly furrowed, and he muttered to himself:

"This Sun Gongyou is truly patient. His beloved woman is almost completely devoured, yet he still doesn't use the Wood Demon within him?"

He paused, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes, and his voice lowered even further:

"Could it be that he saw through my scheme? As expected of Wen Guanyu, who controls the wood element among the five elements. Very well, I'll add fuel to the fire for you."