New Three Kingdoms Tales: Starting as the expressionless Liu Bei

Liu Bei grabbed Gongsun Zan and pulled him into the ranks of his remaining soldiers. After making sure they were surrounded and wouldn't be eavesdropped on, he lowered his voice and spoke.

"General Gongsun, could it be that you are also... a time traveler?"

He didn't finish the last word. If Gongsun Zan knew what a "time traveler" was, he would have understood even if he had only heard the first two words.

Under Liu Bei's burning gaze, Gongsun Zan slowly nodded.

"I am," his voice was dry and tired, as if it came from a great distance, "but I am not entirely."

"I've been thoroughly washed away by those 4,985 rewatches of the new Three Kingdoms, and I've completely forgotten my memories of my past life. I only remember that I'm a time traveler, but I can't even remember what my name was in my past life, so you can treat me as Gongsun Zan himself."

Liu Bei's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't help but think of a question: if one day he broke the rules and was corrupted by something strange, would he also become like this?

Ten thousand replays of the new Three Kingdoms, ten thousand replays of the Guan Yu song. Just thinking about that number sent chills down Liu Bei's spine.

He knew himself all too well. With his willpower, he absolutely couldn't withstand the long, eroding influence of the new Three Kingdoms.

The song of Guan Yu would play repeatedly in my mind, grinding all the memories of my past life into dust bit by bit.

In the end, he will become the real Liu Bei of the new Three Kingdoms, because he has watched the new Three Kingdoms countless times, so he always has no expression.

Gongsun Zan raised his head and looked up at the azure sky above.

He opened his mouth, wanting to take a deep breath of fresh air, but unexpectedly a strong smell of blood rushed into his throat, choking him and making him frown.

Only then did he truly see the scene around him: severed limbs were scattered all over the ground, and blood had seeped into the soil, turning the entire courtyard dark red.

The moment the stench of blood filled his nostrils, a crack silently appeared on Gongsun Zan's back. A black tentacle slowly emerged from it, without a sound, like a tentative reach from the abyss.

Liu Bei's pupils contracted sharply. He took two steps back without making a sound, the rule flashing through his mind like lightning.

[Rule 3: Remember, in this world of bizarre rules, no one corrupted by the supernatural can be completely trusted. Even brothers can only be used to check and balance each other.]

This rule is the third one in the strange tales of Gongsun Zan's rules.

Liu Bei felt a chill run down his spine, and an extremely audacious idea shot straight to the top of his head.

Gongsun Zan is lying to him!

While Gongsun Zan was still in a daze, Liu Bei quietly picked up the double-edged sword from the ground, went around behind him, and stared intently at the black tentacle.

Without hesitation, he acted decisively!

Ten-Step Flying Sword!

Just then, Zhao Yun's voice rang out nearby: "My lord! Be careful! Liu Bei wants to harm you!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Gongsun Zan turned around abruptly, only to find Liu Bei's flying sword already at his back, inches away.

At the critical moment, the black tentacle suddenly shot out and struck the sword heavily, sending the double-edged sword flying and rolling to the ground with a clatter.

Gongsun Zan stared blankly at the tentacle, his pupils suddenly trembling violently.

A flood of sealed memory fragments rushed into his mind at that moment. He shuddered, then burst into tears of joy, grabbing the tentacle and kissing and nibbling at it: "Starving Ghost! You're still alive! That's wonderful, wonderful!"

Everyone present felt a chill run down their spines at his appearance. Zhao Yun was especially shocked, breaking out in a cold sweat and wondering to himself: What exactly did Liu Bei and his men do to their lord? How did they manage to turn him into such a madman?

Liu Bei took a few steps back, positioning himself so he could easily retreat to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's side. His muscles were tense as he stared intently at Gongsun Zan.

Gongsun Zan finally sensed that something was wrong and looked up.

He looked around and saw Liu Bei's tense expression, and immediately understood. He quickly waved his hand and explained:

"Xuande, you've misunderstood! This strange creature is called the Starving Ghost, and it was already inside Gongsun Zan's body when I transmigrated here."

"It made a pact with me long ago. I give it food and wine, and it lends me its strange powers. We have a symbiotic relationship, mutually beneficial. I'm not lying to you; you have to believe me!"

Liu Bei narrowed his eyes, quickly weighing the truth of these words in his mind.

If Gongsun Zan was telling the truth, then this is incredibly lucky. To be born with a controllable monster inside one's body right after transmigrating—isn't that a beginner's gift pack?

He then thought that his start wasn't bad either, with two strange servants by his side, one named Guan Yu and the other Zhang Fei.

Although these two are more like ticking time bombs than anything else, they are still two formidable generals.

The name "Starving Ghost" was good, and he secretly memorized it.

This is the first time I've ever heard of something so eerie having a name.

Liu Bei remained outwardly calm, but his mind was in turmoil. The strange entity within Gongsun Zan was called the "Starving Death Strange Entity," but what about Guan Yu and Zhang Fei? One was called the "Brainless Strange Entity," and the other the "Pretentious Strange Entity"?

Or are they both drunken charlatans?

It seems the rules of this world are much more complex than he imagined. Once this matter is resolved, he will definitely try to get some information out of Gongsun Zan.

Liu Bei snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head slightly.

He turned his gaze back to Gongsun Zan's face, his eyes scrutinizing him and also concealing a hint of estrangement.

"General Gongsun, with your current half-human, half-monster appearance, it's hard for me to believe you."

Gongsun Zan paused for a moment, then forced a bitter smile. There was no anger in that smile, only a hint of helplessness.

"Xuande, you're far too suspicious. But then again, in this strange world, being suspicious is indeed a good thing. As for my current state..."

He looked down at the faint crack behind him, his tone calming down, "I'll tell you why."

"The monster inside me has been in this body since I transmigrated here." He paused, as if considering his words, "So from the very beginning, I was never a normal person."

"After breaking the rules and being corrupted by something eerie, I was pulled into a void. There, I could do nothing but watch the new Three Kingdoms repeatedly. From beginning to end, and then back to the beginning from the end."

His eyes became somewhat unfocused, as if he were recalling a long nightmare.

"Over and over again, hundreds and thousands of times. I can't remember how much time has passed, but the beginning of that new third song, every single word, is etched into my bones."

"Eight months after the outbreak of the Golden Rebellion at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty..."

"So, Xuande, even if you pull my soul back, I am not a complete, normal person. I am destined to live in this world in this half-human, half-monster form." He withdrew his gaze and looked at Liu Bei again.

"Unless my hunger level drops to zero, this monster will detach itself. Or, there may be a higher rule that separates it from my body. Only when it is no longer inside me can I return to being a truly normal person."

"But then again, with such a demon inside you, would you be willing to give it up?"

Gongsun Zan spoke eloquently, yet Liu Bei could not find any flaws in his arguments.

Perhaps he had just gone through a bloody battle, and his mind was still buzzing, making it impossible for him to concentrate on analyzing the other party's logic sentence by sentence.

Liu Bei had only one thought in his mind.

Was Gongsun Zan telling the truth or lying? If he was telling the truth, then what does Rule 3 mean?

[Rule 3: Remember, in this world of bizarre rules, no one corrupted by the supernatural can be completely trusted. Even brothers can only be used to check and balance each other.]

If it wasn't the truth, then his nonchalant demeanor just now was incredibly convincing.

His fingers unconsciously gripped the sword hilt tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

I can't tell them apart, I really can't tell them apart.

What is real and what is fake?