Reborn In The Three Kingdoms

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The wind howled through the trees, cruel and empty. ”It was him,” the king said, his voice low. ”Li Wei. He knew everything. The route, the plan, even the guards we trusted.” His hands curled into fists. ”But how? How did he know?” No one answered.

Mo Du, who was standing beside him, glanced back at the fortress, his face ashen. ”Forgive me, Your Majesty. But we must keep moving. If they pursue us—”

”They won’t, Master Mo Du.” Dal Gae cut in grimly. ”This wasn’t about killing Your Majesty and the two of us. It was about sending a message to Your Majesty.”

King Sansang’s jaw clenched as he turned to look at Dal Gae. ”What message?”

”That nowhere is safe for you, Your Majesty. Not even the heavily guarded Ansi Fortress.”

The king’s breath came in ragged gasps. Five of his most trusted generals, dead. General Seo Gun, who had welcomed them so warmly, was likely bleeding out in the fortress courtyard. And for what? To prove that Li Wei’s reach extended even to the farthest corners of Goguryeo?

No.

There was more to it. King Sansang knew it in his bones. This had been a trap set by Li Wei from the beginning. And he, alongside Mo Du and Dal Gae, had walked right into it without realizing it was a trap. The question is who told Li Wei, or where did he hear about this meeting?

After some time, King Sansang finally got on his horse, followed by Mo Du and Dal Gae. As they rode back toward the capital, the king’s shoulders sagged, not from exhaustion, but from grief. And behind his tired eyes, something hardened.

He had lost five of his greatest champions. The military would demand answers. The court would stir with rumors. And Li Wei would spin this as another failure of royal judgment.

But King Sansang would not break.

He would mourn them. He would remember every face, every voice, every loyal blade. And he would strike back.

When they returned to Gungnae, the sun had just begun to rise from the eastern horizon, casting a faint orange glow over the capital. The city was still wrapped in the drowsiness of dawn, unaware of the tragedy that had unfolded in Ansi.

King Sansang, alongside Mo Du and Dal Gae, entered the palace through a secret entrance used only in times of grave danger.

The passage was cold and damp, winding beneath the palace like the burrows of foxes. They moved in silence, their boots muffled by layers of dust and stone. None of them spoke—not because they had nothing to say, but because the words were too heavy to carry.

They emerged inside the palace, near the western wing that led to the royal study. Without pausing to rest or call for aides, they made their way there, footsteps echoing through the empty corridors. But when they opened the doors to the study, they halted.

Queen Woo was already inside.

She sat by the low table with a cup of untouched tea before her, dressed in a pale silk robe embroidered with silver plum blossoms.

The royal study was dimly lit by the first pale light of dawn, showing King Sansang, Mo Du, and Dal Gae showing their clothes torn, their faces streaked with dirt and dried sweat.

Her expression was composed at first, but as she saw their battered, dirt smeared appearances, her eyes widened in feigned shock. Rising swiftly to her feet, she walked toward King Sansang with hurried grace, her hand reaching for his cheek.

”My King,” she murmured, her fingers trembled as she reached up to brush a smudge of dirt from King Sansang’s cheek, ”what happened? What is this? Mo Du, Dal Gae, what is the meaning of this?”

The two men said nothing. Their faces were stone, their gazes averted.

King Sansang looked at her, at the worry in her eyes, the tremble of her hand. He let out a long, hollow breath and, without a word, he pulled Queen Woo into his arms, holding her tightly as if she were the only solid thing left in his crumbling world.

”Ansi has fallen,” he whispered. ”We were ambushed. Our five high ranking generals are dead. General Seo Gun may already be lost. They died buying us time to escape. The fortress... It’s aflame.”

Queen Woo’s body stiffened in his arms, but she kept up her performance. She pulled away just enough to look into his eyes, her own wide with disbelief. ”No,” she whispered, voice tight and frail. ”How could this be? How could such a thing happen?”

King Sansang slowly released his hug, his hands gripping her shoulders as he recounted the horror, the ambush, the assassins, the flames consuming the fortress. As he spoke, Queen Woo’s face paled further, her lips parting in silent horror.

”Li Wei knew,” King Sansang finished, his voice hollow. ”He knew about the meeting. He knew our route. He knew everything.”

Queen Woo’s hands flew to her mouth. ”But... but how? Who could have told him?”

She staggered, her knees buckling slightly, but King Sansang held her fast. He felt her body grow suddenly light, as if drained of strength, and he instinctively gripped her tighter, alarmed.

Still acting, Queen Woo leaned her head on his shoulder and whispered, ”I’m... I’m all right. Just... just dizzy.” She looked up at him with wide, fearful eyes, a look Sansang had never seen on her before. ”What will you do now, husband? The military will demand answers. The people will be in uproar. Li Wei... he will use this. He’ll twist this tragedy to strip you of what little power you still hold. He’ll use it to place the army under his direct control.”

Her voice cracked, trembling like dry leaves in the wind. ”He’ll turn you into a puppet, my King. Only allowed to speak, never allowed to decide.”

King Sansang closed his eyes. In that moment, it felt as though the walls were pressing in. The faces of the fallen flashed in his mind, General Jin Seong, last seen on the steps, roaring into the flames. The smell of burning flesh. The silence that followed.

And now this.

Queen Woo, shaking in his arms. Mo Du and Dal Gae, loyal to the end but helpless to stop the tide.

He opened his eyes. ”We can’t allow that.”

Queen Woo looked up, lips parted.

”In the court,” he said with steel in his voice, ”I will face Li Wei. Openly. I will not run. Before the ministers, before the generals, before the gods themselves. If this is to be my end, then I will meet it standing, not cowering in the shadows. I will not beg. If this is the moment fate has chosen for a reckoning, then so be it.”

Queen Woo reached for his hand, squeezing it gently. ”Then let me stay by your side—”

”No.” He cupped her cheek, his expression softening. ”You must leave the palace. Return to your family’s estate and stay hidden. You must be safe, my queen. If something happens to me...”

”Don’t speak like that,” she interrupted.

”—If something happens, you must live. Survive this. The children of my older brother, the royal bloodline, the future of Goguryeo, it may all depend on your safety.”

Queen Woo bit her lip. She looked away, as though fighting back tears, but inwardly she calculated. This was exactly what she wanted, for King Sansang to walk into the tiger’s den alone. Her role was complete. Now all she had to do was survive and wait for the storm to pass. But also at the same time, she felt a pang of something like guilt that she pushed away.

Mo Du stepped forward, his brows furrowed. ”Your Majesty, forgive me, but this is a dangerous decision. If we split apart now, our enemies will take advantage.”

Dal Gae added, ”Let us at least accompany you into court.”

King Sansang shook his head. ”No. You’ll only be targeted next. I need you both alive. When I confront Li Wei, he’ll strike not only at me but at everything I still hold close.”

His voice was resolute. There was no persuading him.

Mo Du and Dal Gae exchanged a look. They bowed deeply, their hands clenched into fists.

”Then we will stand behind Your Majesty until the end.”

As dawn crested over the palace, a new day began in Gungnae, but not with the usual ceremonies and songs. The bells tolled early, sharp and discordant.

Rumors of a disaster at Ansi Fortress began to spread among the court, and officials were seen hurrying through the palace gates, their robes billowing, their expressions grim.

Inside the royal chamber, King Sansang changed into full regalia. His armor, burnished but still scarred from past wars, sat heavy on his shoulders.

The crown upon his brow felt colder than usual. He stood before a polished bronze mirror, staring not at the reflection of a king, but of a man burdened by loss, wrath, and purpose.

Behind him, Mo Du and Dal Gae stood at attention.

”Ready the court,” the king said.

”Yes, Your Majesty.”

They left the chamber together.

Today, the throne room would not be a place of ceremony. Today, it would become an arena of war, not with swords and spears, but with words, accusations, and the raw struggle for power. King Sansang’s showdown with Li Wei will begin.

The throne room was packed when King Sansang entered, his robes immaculate once more, his crown gleaming atop his brow. The murmurs died instantly as all eyes turned to him.

Li Wei stood near the front, his hands tucked into his sleeves, his expression unreadable.

”Your Majesty,” he said, bowing just deeply enough to be polite. ”We were... deeply concerned about the news of Ansi and would like to ask for your guidance on this matter.”

King Sansang ignored him, striding past to take his seat upon the throne. ”Let us dispense with the pretense, Master Li Wei. You know exactly where I was and what happened last night.”

A ripple of shock passed through the court.

Li Wei’s eyebrows rose. ”I’m afraid I don’t follow, Your Majesty.”

”You know I was at Ansi Fortress last night,” King Sansang said coldly. ”Burned to the ground. Five of my finest generals were slaughtered. And you expect me to believe you had no hand in it?”

The room erupted.

”This is an outrage!” shouted a middle ranking General named Jae Wook, one of the few remaining loyalists. ”If the Lie Clan Supervision Bureau had any part in this—”

”Proof,” Li Wei interrupted smoothly. ”Where is Your Majesty’s proof?”

King Sansang’s knuckles whitened on the armrests of his throne as he heard what Li Wei said, trying to hold back his anger. ”Who else could have orchestrated such an attack? Who else benefits from the decimation of my loyal generals other than you and your bureau?”

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Name: Lie Fan

Title: Overlord Of The Central Plains

Age: 34 (201 AD)

Level: 16

Next Level: 462,000

Renown: 1325

Cultivation: Yin Yang Separation (level 9)

SP: 1,121,700

ATTRIBUTE POINTS

STR: 951 (+20)

VIT: 613 (+20)

AGI: 598 (+10)

INT: 617

CHR: 96

WIS: 519

WILL: 407

ATR Points: 0