New Three Kingdoms Tales: Starting as the expressionless Liu Bei

In the shadows of the corner of the palace wall, Cao Cao stood with his back to the ruins, hands on his hips, whipping Wei Wu at the corner of the wall, letting out a torrent of water.

He had been holding in a lot of anger, and he had been holding in his pee for quite a while. Now, it all came out at once, splashing onto the charred gravel and creating tiny droplets of water.

He let out a long sigh of relief, and his shoulders slumped slightly.

Cao Ren, standing behind him, silently turned his face away, pretending to look at the embers of the fire that had not yet been extinguished in the distance.

That pee was so satisfying!

Cao Cao shrugged, straightened his robes, and turned around to meet the gazes of Liu Bei, Gongsun Zan, and Yuan Shu.

He showed no embarrassment whatsoever. Instead, he put his hands on his hips and laughed heartily at the three of them: "Brother Xuande, Brother Gonglu, General Gongsun, I am very satisfied with your performance tonight!"

He raised his hand and pointed to the three feudal lords present, his tone full of the exhilaration and triumph after the great battle.

"Fortunately, you sided with me. If you had sided with Yuan Shao, you would have been killed by me along with Yuan Shao."

Cao Ren asked curiously.

"My lord, why do you say that?"

Cao Cao chuckled slyly.

"Because as long as Cao Mengde has a breath left, he is invincible! Hahahaha..."

Seeing Cao Cao unleash his crazy side again, Liu Bei and the other two exchanged helpless glances.

After Cao Cao had finished laughing, Liu Bei stepped forward and subtly interrupted his maniacal laughter: "Brother Mengde, I have a question about tonight's events. Could you perhaps answer it for me?"

Cao Cao took the wine jug from Cao Ren and took a swig. Wine dripped down his chin, which he wiped away casually. He was clearly in a good mood, so he nodded, indicating to Liu Bei that he could speak freely.

"Brother Mengde, now that you possess Yuan Shao's soul, why not use it to blackmail him and force him to stop? A wise and virtuous ruler like Cao Cao would not personally risk his life against Yuan Shao unless absolutely necessary, would he?"

Cao Cao narrowed his eyes and chuckled.

Liu Bei's flattery was perfectly timed, hitting the nail on the head. He was in a great mood and was happy to say a few more words: "Although I possess Yuan Shao's soul, this thing is of little use to the supernatural itself. It only works on you living people who still have a purpose to achieve."

"In other words, the monster inside Yuan Shao's body would love for me to destroy Yuan Shao's soul on the spot. That way, Yuan Shao's soul would never be able to return, and it could occupy that body forever."

Liu Bei nodded slightly, then took another half step forward without making a sound, and continued to ask, "Lord Cao is indeed a rare and truly cunning hero. However, Lord Cao, I have another question that I would like to ask you."

Cao Cao was in a good mood and let out two pig-like grunts through his nose: "I'm in a good mood today, so I'll answer you one more time. But don't ask more than three times. After asking this, don't ask again."

Liu Bei recalled a question that had flashed through his mind during a previous battle, but he hadn't had time to think about it deeply then. Now was the perfect time to ask Cao Cao.

"Lord Cao, besides retrieving Yuan Shao's soul from your hands, is there any other way to completely eradicate the evil spirit within him?"

Cao Cao put down his wine jug, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly said:

"As far as I know, besides the one you mentioned, another method is to find the anomaly's own fatal weakness and eradicate it completely. Of course, there are definitely other methods, but these are the only two I know."

After saying that, he suddenly stopped smiling, stared directly at Liu Bei, and his tone became serious: "Xuande, did you smile tonight?"

Liu Bei felt a chill run down his spine, but his face remained impassive; he simply shook his head resolutely.

He knew that Cao Cao was testing him. Although everyone present heard him laugh out loud, what makes a good ruler? It is to know one's mistakes, correct them, but never admit them.

Cao Cao looked at his stubborn denial and knew he was lying, and also knew that he still did not trust him.

He sighed, his tone unusually sincere: "Remember, from now on, no matter who you're facing, you're not allowed to smile, not even a hint of expression. Because tonight you smiled, and with the blessing of Heaven, Sun Jian used the Imperial Seal of the State, gaining power comparable to yours."

A sense of doubt arose in Liu Bei's mind, wondering why Cao Cao was suddenly being so kind as to take the initiative to remind him.

But he still didn't say anything, he just shook his head again.

He knows he made a mistake tonight and he will correct it in the future.

But Liu Bei would never admit his mistake!

Cao Cao didn't press the matter further, but simply smiled and said, "Xuande, it's getting late. Let's all return to our camps and rest. How about we meet at the pavilion tomorrow?"

Liu Bei nodded. Cao Cao then turned and, with Cao Ren, who was full of questions, was about to leave.

He had only taken a few steps when Liu Bei's voice suddenly came from behind him: "Mengde, are you a time traveler?"

Cao Cao paused, stopping in his tracks. He turned his head slightly, a look of reminiscence on his face, as if searching for some familiar yet distant word deep within his long memory:

"Time traveler? That word sounds familiar, but I just can't quite place it..."

He shook his head, shaking off the daze, and his tone became firm and clear again.

Whether I am a time traveler or not is not important. What is important is that I am Cao Mengde.

He raised the wine jug in his hand, took a small sip, and sighed deeply.

"Gentlemen, since ancient times, there have been those who are treacherous yet appear loyal, and those who are deceitful yet appear truthful."

"Loyalty and righteousness, and wickedness, can never be discerned from appearances."

"Perhaps you misjudged me, Cao Cao, before."

"I misread it again today."

"Perhaps I will still be wrong tomorrow."

"But I am still me."

"I'm never afraid of others misjudging me."

After saying that, he strode away without looking back, his tattered battle robe fluttering in the night wind behind him.

Cao Ren, filled with questions, quickly followed. Only Liu Bei and the other two remained standing, watching the receding figure, speechless for a long time.

Cao Cao's figure had completely disappeared into the night, leaving only his lament about "great villains appearing loyal" still faintly echoing in the ears of the three.

Liu Bei, Gongsun Zan, and Yuan Shu stood still, none of them speaking, remaining silent for a long while. The amount of information from the chaotic battle just now was too much for each of them to process slowly.

A night breeze swept by, stirring up a few charred fragments on the ground, and Gongsun Zan was the first to come to his senses.

He rubbed his face, which was dry from the fire, and touched his empty stomach. He turned to the two men beside him and said, "Gentlemen, things tonight can't be sorted out in a short time. Why don't we go to my camp, sit down, and eat and talk?"

They turned and headed towards Gongsun Zan's camp. Night had fallen, and the ruins of Luoyang were only vague outlines in the darkness. Every now and then, they stepped on charred wood scraps, which made a crisp, cracking sound.

They hadn't gone far when Guan Yu and Zhang Fei emerged from behind the ruins on the other side.

Just now, Liu Bei and his two companions had important matters to discuss with Cao Cao, so they sent these two roughnecks away to find their own wine. Now, seeing Liu Bei about to leave, the two wiped the wine stains from their mouths and strode after him.

It was already pitch black, and since they had no torches, they could only grope their way forward by the embers of the still-burning fire in the distance.

Liu Bei and Yuan Shu walked side by side in the middle of the group, whispering and plotting something.

Suddenly, Liu Bei tripped over something, stumbled, and fell to the ground.

He frowned, propped himself up on his arms and slowly stood up. Just as he was about to turn around to see what had tripped him, he heard a faint sound coming from beside his feet.

"Yuan Shao is here; another city is about to fall..."

The voice was hoarse and ethereal, like a sigh seeping from a crack in the ground, sounding particularly eerie in this scorched ruin.

The crowd looked down in the direction of the sound and saw a figure lying face up among the rubble, his clothes charred and tattered, his face covered in soot and blood, almost blending into the ruins.

Zhang Fei looked down and immediately flew into a rage, shouting:

"Hey! You blind fool, do you even know you tripped my brother? If anything happens to him, I, Zhang Fei, will poke a thousand holes in you today!"

He got so into cursing that he made a move as if to kick him.

Liu Bei reached out to stop him, and by the moonlight, carefully examined the face smeared with cigarette ash. The more he looked, the more familiar it seemed.

He leaned closer, then suddenly his expression hardened, and he blurted out, "Aren't you Zhuge Liang's pageboy, Ah San?"

Everyone present was stunned and looked down at the person on the ground.