New Three Kingdoms Tales: Starting as the expressionless Liu Bei

"Minister Wang, what brings you here?"

Jia Xu's voice was dry and hoarse, sometimes near, sometimes far, as if carried by the wind from a very distant place. "This is the first and last time I'll answer you."

Wang Yun's tense back relaxed slightly. The ritual to contact Jia Xu succeeded nine times out of ten. If it failed the last time, what was summoned was not an old friend, but a lonely ghost wandering between the realms of Yin and Yang.

If he had truly summoned a vengeful ghost, this old man would probably be in grave danger.

Since Jia Wenhe has arrived as promised, as long as I don't offend him or anger him, my life is safe.

He composed himself and looked at the figure by the dim candlelight.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see Jia Xu's face clearly. His face seemed to be shrouded in a thin mist, or as if it were deliberately obscured by something.

Jia Xu seemed to see through his thoughts, and before he could speak, he calmly explained, "Right now, you are dreaming, so naturally you can't see my face clearly. If you could see someone's face clearly in a dream..."

His tone paused slightly, taking on a chilling edge. "That means you've encountered a vengeful ghost that has already devoured a thousand people. At that point, it won't be called a ghost anymore; it'll be called a monster."

Wang Yun seemed to understand but didn't dare to ask any further questions, and simply nodded stiffly.

Jia Xu raised his hand and waved it gently, as if urging him to get straight to the point.

Wang Yun then suddenly came to his senses and quickly stepped forward, his voice filled with urgency and resentment:

"Brother Wenhe, I'm in grave danger! Today, that traitor Dong Zhuo forced me to drink blood wine in front of all the officials. If I don't get rid of him, he'll take my life sooner or later!"

He clenched his thin fists, his knuckles turning white. "I summoned you here today precisely for this matter. Please help me think of a way to get rid of that old scoundrel quietly."

Upon hearing this, Jia Xu nodded stiffly, then slowly sat down cross-legged.

He had watched the new Three Kingdoms 3,492 times, and with just a thought, he knew which plot point Wang Yun was currently at.

This plot point marks the beginning of a complex scheme. In the days to come, this Minister Wang will create many memorable scenes:

The miracle of surviving seven days without food or water;

A once-proud apprentice of the Third Company has fallen so low that he needs Lu Bu's help to survive.

There is also the famous essay "On the Transgression of Beasts," which has been passed down through the ages and left behind a chilling saying: If you want to get rid of beasts, you must first offer yourself to beasts.

After going through these fragments in his mind, Jia Xu slowly spoke:

"Dong Zhuo is a cunning and suspicious man, a truly treacherous villain. If you use ordinary tactics to plot against him, he will surely discover your scheme. Not only will you fail to eliminate him, but you, Minister Wang, will also find yourself imprisoned."

He paused, then lowered his voice even further, "I have a plan to take his life silently. However, this plan is extremely poisonous."

Wang Yun's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly pressed on, "Brother Wenhe, please speak freely."

A smile slowly bloomed on Jia Xu's face. The smile was stiff and distorted, sending chills down Wang Yun's spine.

"I have been freed from that eternal cycle of reincarnation for a long time. During that time, I happened to read a strange book in a later life, from which I gained a glimmer of inspiration, and thus came up with a way to get rid of the traitor Dong Zhuo."

"Lord Situ, you may employ a multi-pronged strategy. I possess a secret medicine called Love Poison. This poison can be hidden within the human body; it is colorless and odorless, and even a deity would not detect any difference when dissolved in water."

A glimmer of hope suddenly ignited in Wang Yun's eyes, and he asked urgently, "Brother Wenhe, do you mean to administer this poison directly to that traitor Dong Zhuo?"

Jia Xu slowly shook his head: "No. This poison must be administered continuously for seven days to be sure to kill. If it is administered even one day less, all previous efforts will be in vain."

"Dong Zhuo's mansion is teeming with spies and henchmen. If Minister Wang were to infiltrate and poison him for seven consecutive days, he would inevitably expose his weakness and suffer a backlash if he failed."

He raised his pale hands, his fingertips resting lightly on his knees, as if he were fiddling with an invisible chess piece.

"Therefore, you don't need to poison Dong Zhuo directly. You just need to find a woman of unparalleled beauty, secretly hide the poison in her body, and then offer her to the traitor Dong as a concubine."

"For the next seven days, you only need to quietly and continuously deliver the love poison into her body. Since she spends every night with Dong, the poison will naturally be transferred to Dong."

"When the seven-day period is up, Dong Zhuo will be dead, and that woman will go with him. At that time, no one will be able to trace it back to you, Minister Wang."

After listening, Wang Yun remained silent for a long time, his expression flickering in the candlelight. "This plan... isn't it too cruel? That woman is utterly innocent."

He clenched his fist, then raised his head and tentatively asked, "Brother Wenhe, why don't I use the pretext of a meeting to summon that traitor Dong to my residence, and then poison his tea directly? Wouldn't that be much simpler?"

Jia Xu shook his head, his pale face devoid of any expression.

"No. The final outcome of this elaborate scheme is predetermined by fate. You can modify the process, but you must never change the result of using that beautiful woman to end Dong Zhuo's life."

Wang Yun stood frozen in place, and after a long while, he managed to squeeze out a question: "Who...is that woman? What's her name?"

Jia Xu shook his head, his voice as fleeting as a wisp of cold wind passing through a crack in the door: "Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed. When the time comes, you will recognize her in the unseen realm."

Wang Yun sighed deeply, silently burying Jia Xu's chilling plan deep in his heart.

He remained silent for a moment, then couldn't help but ask, "Brother Wenhe, when will I be able to escape this eternal cycle of suffering like you?"

Jia Xu chuckled sinisterly, a light, airy laugh that sent chills down Wang Yun's spine.

"Wang Situ, you can never escape the cycle of eternal reincarnation. Because you are an important figure, and the eyes of fate are watching you every moment."

"And I am but an insignificant pawn; I can easily slip away with a few tricks. But if you truly wish to escape this cycle of reincarnation..."

He paused, his tone suddenly turning somber, as if to crush Wang Yun's last glimmer of hope. "It's not entirely impossible. Unless, in this cycle of reincarnation, someone can severely injure the Destiny Ghost itself. At that time, you might be able to escape."

He abruptly changed the subject, his tone becoming exceptionally heavy: "However, this is ultimately impossible. The will of Heaven is unyielding. The will of Heaven is invincible."

Wang Yun listened, seemingly understanding but not quite, and was about to ask something more when he suddenly heard faint calls, as if they were coming from a very distant place, piercing through layers of mist and drifting in intermittently.

"Godfather... Godfather..."

Wang Yun suddenly opened his eyes, and the source of the voice was none other than Diao Chan.