New Three Kingdoms Tales: Starting as the expressionless Liu Bei

"General Lü, actually Diao Chan's real name isn't Diao Chan," Liu Bei said slowly, looking at Lü Bu with a serious expression. "Her name is Liu Chan. She is the descendant of a loyal minister and a member of the imperial family."

"What did you say?" Lu Bu stared wide-eyed at Liu Bei in disbelief, his mind a jumbled mess, unable to process what he had just heard.

A look of reminiscence appeared on Liu Bei's face as he gazed into the distance, as if looking through time at a long-forgotten past.

He was already chuckling to himself, and began to spout his wildly imaginative nonsense.

"Long, long ago, I married a woman and we had a daughter. It just so happened that cicadas were chirping outside the window at that time, so we named her Liu Chan. But at that time, the Golden Army revolted, the world was in turmoil, and government troops were chasing the Golden Army everywhere."

"They kill anyone wearing yellow clothes without distinguishing right from wrong, and they don't even spare people whose names contain the character 'yellow'."

"I am a member of the royal family, but those soldiers were illiterate and thought that 'royal family' meant 'Huang family,' so they treated me as a member of the Golden Army and chased me all the way."

He paused, his tone becoming lower, as if he were truly caught up in that painful memory.

"I was skilled in martial arts and managed to escape my hometown by sheer luck, but my elderly parents, my wife and daughters did not survive. My entire family was slaughtered, and only Liu Chan survived, wandering in the wilderness."

He sighed and continued, "That spring, Wang Situ went into the mountains to worship his ancestors. As he burned incense, a mountain breeze blew, and a wisp of incense ash fell on an orphan girl who had stolen some of the offerings."

"That orphan girl was Liu Chan. When Wang Situ heard her story, he felt pity for her and took her in as his goddaughter, renaming her Diao Chan."

"Later, I finally learned that Liu Chan was still alive and had been adopted by Wang Situ as his goddaughter. I was overjoyed. I sold all my possessions and rushed to Luoyang overnight, just to see her one last time."

"But I am of lowly status, dressed in rags, and unkempt, while Diao Chan is the daughter of the Situ family, like a celestial maiden in the heavens."

"When Minister Wang heard of this, he sent men to have me thrown out. However, he ultimately allowed my father and me to correspond. All of this was told to me by Diaochan in her letters."

As Liu Bei spoke, a tear welled up in his eye. He raised his head and looked directly at Lü Bu.

"Just yesterday, I received a secret letter from Diao Chan. The letter said that a general admired her, and she also fell in love with that general at first sight."

She asked me if I agreed to the marriage. I was shocked and couldn't believe it.

Liu Bei's gaze fell on Lü Bu's face, and the corners of his mouth slightly lifted, carrying a hint of scrutiny, yet also a hint of satisfaction.

"This general's surname is Lü, his given name is Bu, and his courtesy name is Fengxian. General Lü, you must be him?"

Clang.

The halberd slipped from Lü Bu's hand and crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

He froze on Red Hare, staring straight at Liu Bei, his lips moving slightly, but he couldn't utter a single word.

That face, which had just been ashen with anger, was now filled with unprecedented shock.

He was not a cunning person to begin with, and Liu Bei's words were sincere and detailed, as if he had personally experienced every scene, so he could no longer have any doubts.

He had never mentioned Diao Chan to anyone, not even his adoptive father Dong Zhuo. If Liu Bei was lying, how would he know?

He hesitated for only a moment before believing it.

He dismounted and rushed forward, reaching out to shake Liu Bei's hand. Liu Bei, however, stepped back half a step and raised his hand to stop him.

"General Lü, please be careful. You are now a general under Dong Zhuo, while I am the nineteenth warlord. It would be improper for us to shake hands and make peace here."

Lu Bu was taken aback and subconsciously asked, "Nineteen towns? Didn't my godfather say there were only eighteen towns...?"

But he immediately shook his head, banishing these irrelevant thoughts, and his tone became increasingly urgent, "General Liu is right, I lost my composure!" He then changed the subject, his voice full of pleading, "General Liu, Diao Chan and I are truly in love, please grant us your blessing!"

Liu Bei frowned slightly and lowered his voice, saying, "I, Liu Bei, have always treated people with benevolence and righteousness. Since you two are truly in love, I will naturally not stop you."

He paused, then looked up at Lü Bu with a meaningful gaze, "However, the way you addressed me just now..."

Lu Bu was taken aback at first, then his eyes lit up with wild joy, and he blurted out, "General Liu, if you don't mind, I'd like to become your godfather!"

Liu Bei quickly waved his hand, his expression solemn: "No, no. You have already acknowledged Dong Zhuo as your adoptive father. If you were to acknowledge me as well, wouldn't that be comparing me to him? You should choose a different form of address."

After saying that, he stared intently at Lü Bu, and then remained silent.

Lu Bu stood frozen in place, staring into those eyes for a moment. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and his lips trembled as he cautiously called out, "...Father?"

Liu Bei laughed wildly inside, his facial muscles twitching several times before he could barely keep his composure.

He coughed twice, nodded slightly, and replied in a low voice, "My son, Fengxian. I know that Dong Zhuo's army is hiding behind the mountains, and I also know that your mission is to lure the lords in the city out."

Lu Bu looked surprised and opened his mouth as if to ask his father how he knew, but Liu Bei continued, "I am ordered by Yuan Shao to go out of the city to take your head. If I fail, I will lose my life here."

Lu Bu blurted out, "Since Father is in trouble, you can take my head. I'll just use my strange power to grow another one later."

Liu Bei felt a chill run down his spine. Lu Bu's strength was truly unfathomable; even if his head was cut off, he could regenerate it on the spot.

On second thought, it makes sense, since they traded their brains for combat power.

He shook his head: "That's not a good idea. If I take your head back to claim credit, but you're still alive, the news will eventually reach Yuan Shao's ears. At that time, he will definitely know that we've been secretly dealing with each other, and I will not escape death either."

Lu Bu frowned, also at a loss.

If the head were truly taken, he feared he would never see Miss Diaochan again. But if he didn't lend a hand, this new father, Diaochan's biological father, would be in mortal danger, and Miss Diaochan would surely blame him if she found out.

Seeing that he was in a dilemma, Liu Bei smiled slightly and said slowly, "I have a plan that can both deceive Yuan Shao and save my life, and also lure the eighteen warlords out of the city to help you complete your mission."

Lü Bu suddenly looked up, his face full of urgency: "What plan?"

Liu Bei waved his hand, glancing quickly out of the corner of his eye at Yuan Shao, who stood with his hands behind his back on the city wall behind him, and lowered his voice to a level that only the two of them could hear:

"When we fight later, don't use any strange powers. Use real skills to exchange a few moves and fool Yuan Shao on the city wall and Dong Zhuo in the distance."

"Then you pretend to be outmatched, turn your horse and run towards Dong Zhuo's army. I will lead my second and third brothers to chase after them. At that time, Cao Cao will persuade Yuan Shao to launch a full-scale attack."

"Your mission is complete, and I can also report back with the excuse of 'Lu Bu's defeat and escape, and my valiant pursuit.' It's a win-win situation."

Lu Bu was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly.

Liu Bei turned back to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, about to give them instructions, when Zhang Fei, arms crossed and a sly grin on his face, spoke first:

"Brother, my second brother and I have both heard about your affair with that traitorous servant."

Guan Yu stood to the side, a meaningful smile on his red face, stroking his long beard with one hand and nodding slightly to indicate that this was indeed the case.

Liu Bei was taken aback at first, then his heart tightened and he immediately realized what was going on.

He had just been plotting with Lü Bu on the battlefield, and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei had just been assigned to the role of eavesdroppers. He had completely forgotten this rule.

He sized up Zhang Fei's sly smile and wondered if these two brutes were planning to take advantage of the situation and demand an exorbitant price.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Fei just chuckled and rubbed his large hands together as he approached:

"Don't worry, big brother, second brother and I are tight-lipped; not a single word will slip out. But, we do have a small request."

"Go ask Cao Cao for another twenty jars of that fine wine from Pei State. That wine is really potent; after drinking it, I feel full of energy."

Liu Bei breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, these two drunkards weren't very bright and only managed to come up with this request after all that.

What's a little wine? He now has two wealthy allies, Yuan Shu and Gongsun Zan, who can easily produce not just twenty jars, but two hundred.

However, he was well-versed in the power struggles of the new three factions and knew that if he agreed too readily, these two would definitely feel that he hadn't asked for enough and would make a fuss later.

So he frowned, feigning difficulty, and slowly extended one finger:

"Twenty jars is too much, ten jars."

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei immediately became anxious and began to pester Liu Bei relentlessly. After much back and forth, the three of them finally settled on fifteen jars of fine wine.

On a high mountain ten miles away, Dong Zhuo stood with his hands behind his back on the edge of the cliff, gazing at the two figures below the city.

He was too far away to hear what the two were saying or see their expressions.

But he didn't think much of it. He had always trusted Lü Bu, his adopted son.