Mythical Three Kingdoms

Chen Xi had not expected Li You to create such a commotion, a sword thrust directly into the table—impossible to ignore. What had been a lively conversation came to an abrupt silence as everyone turned their attention to the wobbling, humming Precious Sword stuck in the table, no one daring to speak.

At that moment, the sternness emanating from Li You even made Zhuge Liang, sitting across from him, feel pressured. Zhuge Liang remembered Li You’s consistently indifferent demeanor and wondered what could have angered the typically calm Li You to such an extent.

”Oh...” Suddenly hearing the silence from the outer hall, the Zhang Clan’s matriarch frowned, then stood up, bowed, and said, ”Gentlemen, please wait a moment; I will go see what has transpired outside.”

”May I ask why Master Li is so agitated,” Zhuge Liang stood and bowed to Li You, asking. He had clearly heard that phrase, ”If heaven is unjust, I must strengthen myself; through a thousand ages, for all eternity, man shall triumph over fate.” What had been said to provoke Li You, always so composed, to utter such defiant words?

At this time, Fa Zheng also stood and looked at Jia Xu, equally curious about what conversation could drive Li You to speak in such a manner—a conversation he had not been privy to was troubling and irritating.

”Ha ha ha, to resent the injustices of heaven... the common people in the Central Plains cannot even fill their stomachs. We exert our full strength just for a trace of peace in one region, diligently guarding the populace of a single territory. We follow the trends and expend ten years’ efforts to restore the glory of Huaxia, and now I find that there are lands with three harvests a year, three harvests!” Li You pulled out his sword without displaying any visible joy or anger.

”Lady Zhang, please calm down. Xuande has gone to change his clothes and will arrive shortly. Matters of state should be deferred until later,” Lady Zhang bowed gracefully to Li You, replying with a clear voice, taking Liu Bei’s place for the first time in public.

Without waiting for Li You’s response, Lady Zhang beckoned to the servants outside the door, directing them to remove the table and replace it with a new one set with food. Then, she ordered the musicians and dancers to perform earlier to reinvigorate the atmosphere. Only after making sure that Li You was not about to lose his temper again did she slowly make her exit.

”Send someone to inform Lord Xuande that his attire is of little importance, and recount to him word for word what has happened in the main hall,” Lady Zhang instructed the maid beside her after leaving. By now, Liu Bei’s maids also knew to treat Lady Zhang as the Matriarch when necessary, no longer hesitating as they had before.

”Wen Ru, you made quite the scene; was that really necessary?” Chen Xi gave a wry smile, looking at Li You who sat beside him with a gloomy expression, utterly baffled about the source of Li You’s previous anger.

”Wen Ru, calm down, calm down. Those places will be ours sooner or later; rest assured, rest assured,” Lub Su was also trying to console Li You, while Jia Xu’s expression had clearly darkened considerably.

”You don’t understand; neither Zijing nor Zichuan have truly seen the tragedies of this mortal world. Zichuan hails from an aristocratic clan, Zijing has endless amounts of money and grain; you haven’t experienced it,” Jia Xu said in a low voice. ”Compared to after you took control of Mount Tai, the situation in this region doesn’t even count as tragic. In Xiliang, you encounter people fighting to the death for a single meal, who then turn into someone else’s meal upon their own death!”

At this moment, Jia Xu’s eyes flickered with a cold light, unlike Lub Su and Chen Xi who had never witnessed the realities of the world; he had truly seen thousands of refugees reduced to a mere handful and bore witness to tragedies inflicted by the Han Dynasty’s inability to aid, resulting in the people of Yongliang having to venture out for food, with not one in ten returning.

Compared to the dire straits of Yongliang, where people truly lacked food, in the regions of Qing and Yan, if conditions were poor, there were noble families to rob. Once the refugees reached a certain point, they could steal from a few aristocratic clans and have food—though with terrible casualties. This kind of suffering is incomparable to the severity of places like Yongliang.

Especially after Chen Xi took charge of Mount Tai, the situation in Qingzhou could hardly be considered dire; at least Chen Xi ensured that to guarantee the numbers of the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou, disaster relief never ceased. Although the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou couldn’t eat their fill, at least they did not starve to death. Particularly since those people were united, not one could eat their fill, yet none would starve to death. It’s estimated that the true starvation deaths were no more than ten percent, which absolutely could not compare with the complete silence of chickens over a thousand miles in Yongliang.

”Uh, I indeed haven’t seen truly dire situations. The worst was in Xuzhou, and apart from that, at least after I came to Mount Tai, I’ve tried to save quite a few civilians,” Chen Xi nodded and said. He did not share the profound sentiments that Li Youu and Jia Xu had towards food, but that didn’t prevent him from understanding such feelings.

”I generally do not watch human tragedies; I only strive to do my best, just like now,” Lub Su said with a calm expression, ”No matter how tragic the times may be, I will not curse them. I will use my hands, my brain, to change these times. I cannot alter the past miseries, but if the world remains the same after my death, it would be my incompetence!”

Jia Xu nodded, the responses from Chen Xi and Lub Su were in two different directions, but both of their answers deeply moved Jia Xu.

Jia Xu couldn’t help but reminisce whether he had such enlightenment twenty years ago? It seems that he only started to have such thoughts ten years ago. However, eight years ago, Jia Xu completely gave up the dream of changing the world, only living for himself as if the shackles of the world were not his to break. Now, he has grown accustomed to self-preservation.

Li Youu looked sideways at Jia Xu; Lub Su’s words greatly resonated with his own thoughts. In contrast to Jia Xu, Li Youu had never changed his mind about smashing the rules of the world, whether he was covered in wounds from retaliation or betrayed by Dong Zhuo. Even when he became completely disillusioned, he never changed.

”Right, one should not only look at the past. The future is what’s most important. If the world remains the same after our deaths, that would be our incompetence,” Chen Xi nodded, deeply moved by Lub Su’s words. No matter how bad these times get, at least we are all striving to make them better.

”It all comes down to one thing: if heaven does not bestow, then let us take it ourselves!” Li Youu said with a cold laugh.

”Count me in,” said Jia Xu, a ripple of emotion crossing his eyes. ”Mired for a decade, when self-preservation becomes habit, and habit becomes an instinct ingrained in the body, even I’ve grown too accustomed. If I cannot even control my own thoughts and actions, am I still myself? A person should leave something behind in a lifetime. If heaven is unjust, I will seize for myself, who would dare to stop me!”

At that moment, the edge that Jia Xu exuded was so dazzling that Chen Xi couldn’t help but find it blinding, the ultimate brilliance.

For how many years had it been since he had seen such sharpness? Li Youu couldn’t help but be drawn in; was this the Jia Wenhe he had been waiting for? Perhaps, radiant with unhidden sharpness, was this the true Jia Wenhe?

”Hehehe, how could I be absent from such a significant matter,” said Liu Bei, who had changed clothes and overheard the conversation midway. He finally stepped out of the inner chamber when Jia Xu spoke.

”Lord Xuande,” Chen Xi saluted, and the others also stood up to greet him.

”Today is a private banquet; there’s no need for formalities,” Liu Bei told everyone, then turned back, his thoughts returning to the four individuals before him, sighing deeply. ”Zichuan, how good it would have been had you been born twenty years earlier.”(To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian ) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)