New Three Kingdoms Tales: Starting as the expressionless Liu Bei

Once everyone was seated, Cao Cao began to speak.

"Lord Yuan, esteemed guests!"

"Although we have raised an army to punish the traitors, we still lack a legitimate cause."

Why?

"Because we lack an imperial edict."

"Without the Emperor's edict, how are we any different from the mutinous soldiers? How are we any different from Dong Zhuo?"

"Before I left Luoyang, the emperor personally gave me a secret edict."

As he spoke, Cao Cao took a beautifully crafted imperial edict from Cao Ren, stood up, walked to the highest point of the command platform, and stood directly in front of Yuan Shao, the leader of the alliance.

He held up the imperial edict, faced the assembled lords, and proclaimed in a loud voice.

"The eighteen vassal lords, receive the imperial edict!"

The lords below rose one after another, walked to the center of the command platform in front of Cao Cao, and knelt on the ground. Yuan Shao was no exception.

Liu Bei also stood up from his seat. He seized the opportunity and quietly walked to Yuan Shu's side, kneeling down with him.

"The treacherous minister Dong Zhuo usurped the throne, corrupted the palace, and slaughtered countless lives..."

As Cao Cao read the imperial edict, Liu Bei lowered his voice and spoke to Yuan Shu beside him.

"Brother Gonglu, I have some extremely important military information to tell you. There are too many people around here, could we speak in private?"

Yuan Shu glanced at Liu Bei, a suspicion creeping into his mind. What important military intelligence could a mere weaver of mats and seller of sandals possibly possess?

However, he nodded nonetheless, wanting to see what Liu Bei was really up to.

The two were kneeling at the very end of the line, so it wouldn't have been difficult for them to slip away unnoticed.

Liu Bei's plan was simple: take Yuan Shu to the outhouse to hide for a while, and then return him after Cao Cao finished reading.

As long as Yuan Shu is not present, no one will raise any questions. And as long as no one questions him, Cao Cao's strange behavior cannot be triggered.

But as soon as the two turned around, they were shocked to find Cao Cao standing behind them. The surrounding noise stopped abruptly, and it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Yuan Shu was so terrified that his face turned ashen, as if he had seen a ghost. He pointed at Cao Cao with a trembling finger.

"Meng, Mengde... Weren't you just on the stage? How did you suddenly appear behind us?"

Liu Bei was also startled, muttering to himself: This shouldn't be happening.

[Rule 3: The condition for Cao Cao to become enigmatic is that his authority is trampled upon and questioned.]

They were merely whispering among themselves offstage; that shouldn't be considered an insult to their authority.

After all, in the new Three Kingdoms, there are many people who call others by their given names, but very few who call others by their courtesy names.

This creates an awkward atmosphere where calling someone by their first name is seen as respectful, while calling someone by their courtesy name might offend them.

I was just whispering a few words to Yuan Shu, that shouldn't count, right?

Cao Cao, however, revealed an extremely kind smile and asked the two men.

"Brother Gonglu, Xuande, where are you two headed?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Cao Cao's gaze was fixed on Yuan Shu's face, as if trying to find a flaw in his expression.

Yuan Shu felt a chill run down his spine under his gaze, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he spoke in a trembling voice.

"Xuande and I are going to the outhouse. What's wrong, Mengde?"

Liu Bei remained expressionless, bowed to Cao Cao, nodded, and continued staring at the floor.

Cao Cao laughed heartily, walked to Yuan Shu's side, patted him on the shoulder, and his tone suddenly became strange.

"Brother Gonglu, as the vice leader, how can you just leave at such a crucial time?"

He leaned close to Yuan Shu's ear, lowered his voice, and added a light, casual remark.

"What will we eat now that you're gone?"

Behind him, Gongsun Zan, Han Fu, and others joined in the commotion, shouting in a sarcastic tone.

"What do you want to eat!"

"Yes, what should we eat?"

When Yuan Shu met Cao Cao's gaze, he felt a strange light emanating from those eyes, as if Cao Cao were admiring a bowl of incredibly delicious venison.

The feeling was clearly saying: He's going to eat me.

Damn it, I'm Yuan Gonglu, not Yuan Gonglu!

Yuan Shu turned around and saw that all the other lords, like Cao Cao, had that eerie smile on their faces, and he was immediately terrified.

He retreated several steps, but his foot slipped and he fell to the ground in a sorry state.

This series of bizarre events dealt a severe blow to Yuan Shu's psyche. The dignified vice-leader of the alliance was so frightened that he wet his pants on the spot.

Upon seeing this, Cao Cao burst into laughter.

"Brother Highway, I was just kidding! You're such an honest guy!"

After saying that, he returned to his seat and waved to Liu Bei, who had no expression on his face, indicating that the two of them should do as they pleased.

Liu Bei helped Yuan Shu up and headed towards the outhouse. As they passed a guard, he gave him a look, signaling him to fetch a clean pair of trousers.

Behind him, Cao Cao watched the two leave, gave Cao Ren a wink, and then picked up the imperial edict to continue reading.

Cao Ren understood and quietly retreated into the shadows, making his way towards the outhouse.

Inside the outhouse, Yuan Shu changed his trousers, clutched his pounding chest, took a deep breath, and his voice still trembled slightly.

"Xuande, what exactly happened just now? I clearly saw Mengde reading the imperial edict on the platform just a moment ago, how come he's standing right behind us now?"

Liu Bei did not answer immediately. He quickly scanned the surroundings to confirm that only the two of them were in the latrine. He then bowed to Yuan Shu.

"Please summon a trusted bodyguard, Brother Gonglu. Only then can I resolve your doubts."

Yuan Shu looked at Liu Bei suspiciously, but then he remembered that everyone else had been in chaos except for him, and he knew that this man must know the inside story. So he no longer hesitated and called a guard inside.

Liu Bei was relieved, and a barely perceptible smile appeared on his lips.

Just as he stepped into the outhouse, he caught a glimpse of several lines of black characters appearing on the wall.

The title reads: Outhouse Rules and Strange Tales.

Rule 1: Any two people plotting together will be eavesdropped on. Ensure a third person is present in your situation.

[Rule 2: Time flows differently inside the outhouse than outside. One minute inside is equivalent to only one second outside.]

[Note: If an eavesdropper succeeds in eavesdropping, the flow of time inside and outside the outhouse will be synchronized.]

[Rule 3: Do not linger in the outhouse, or something terrible will happen.]

[Rule 4: If you see a drastically different appearance in the mirror, do not panic; simply ignore it.]

[Rule 5: This rule was personally added by the Heavenly Will. You may choose to inform Yuan Shu of this rule, so that he will join you in fighting against the strange forces.]

However, you must protect him with extra care. Once Yuan Shu is corrupted by the supernatural, his memories will also be completely exposed to it.

He will still approach you as a normal person. You are responsible for the consequences.

God's Will!

Upon seeing the fifth point, Liu Bei felt a mixture of joy and worry.

To his delight, the God of Destiny personally intervened and added this rule for him, allowing him to glimpse more secrets.

What worries me is the choice itself; I don't know how to make the right move.

If not properly protected, Yuan Shu's memories will be completely stolen by the mysterious force.

In other words, all those rules will fall into the hands of the unorthodox.

At that time, Yuan Shu will approach him as a normal person. He will bear the consequences.

While Yuan Shu was changing his clothes, Liu Bei weighed the options carefully and finally made up his mind to tell him the rules.

Having more helpers means having a better chance of survival. Moreover, informing Yuan Shu of the rules would not only better protect him, but also prevent me from fighting alone.

Once Yuan Shu's personal guards had entered and were in position, Liu Bei explained all the rules to Yuan Shu in detail, along with the truth that this world had been strangely corrupted.

The only thing that was concealed was the identity of the time traveler.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shu was struck dumb, staggered, and nearly fell. Fortunately, Liu Bei reacted quickly and caught him.

Yuan Shu was incredulous. How could this once peaceful world have become like this? Could Liu Bei's words be false?

But when he recalled the strange looks Cao Cao and the other lords had given him, he knew that none of this was an exaggeration.

"Xuande, what... should we do next?"

Yuan Shu sighed softly. He had just learned that in the vast city of Chenliu, only he, Yuan Shao, and Liu Bei could be considered normal people.

The rest are all strange and bizarre.

Liu Bei was cautious by nature, and even when facing Yuan Shu, his expressionless face remained completely calm.

"Brother Highway, there's no need to worry. As long as we honestly follow the rules, no one can harm us in the slightest."

"Alright, we shouldn't stay here any longer. If we stay any longer, we might break the rules."

Yuan Shu nodded, his gaze sweeping over the guard standing at the door.

He was inherently suspicious, and a thought flashed through his mind: he wished he could kill this guard on the spot. After all, this man knew too much; only the dead can keep secrets forever.

Although Liu Bei had just told him that these soldiers were all NPCs and had no idea about the actions of the main characters.

But a weight remained in his heart, a weight that he couldn't shake off.

After careful consideration, Yuan Shu decided to heed Liu Bei's advice and not act rashly.

However, he secretly decided that once he got out, he would send a few trusted confidants to keep an eye on this guard day and night.

Report this immediately if this person makes any unusual moves.

Yuan Shu was unaware that this extremely cautious decision would later save his life.