The cloth bore a stark message: "The real Imperial Seal of the Realm is in Yuan Benchu's hands!"
From that single sentence, Li Shuangmu instantly understood why Western God had suddenly withdrawn from the allied warlords' camp. Simply put, they intended to completely crush the alliance of the eighteen warlords!
"What a scheme, what a scheme..." Li Shuangmu pursed his lips and murmured inwardly. "Whether this claim is true or false, Cao Cao cannot possibly ignore it. But once he does, with the alliance leader and the Imperial Seal of the Realm involved, can this warlords' alliance still remain stable? In this situation, no matter how shrewd Cao Cao is, I'm afraid he'll have no choice but to jump into the pit Western God dug for him, won't he?"
Li Shuangmu quietly placed the cloth back on the table before Cao Cao. Cao Cao calmly asked, "What are your thoughts on this?" Li Shuangmu lowered his head and cupped his hands. "Forgive me, my lord, but I dare not speak recklessly." Cao Cao nodded and said nothing. Just then, a voice sounded from outside. "Report, my lord! General Liu's forces have returned to camp!" Cao Cao blinked, stroked his short beard, then pulled out a piece of cloth and began writing swiftly. Once the ink had dried, he stamped it with his personal seal, rolled up the cloth, and handed it to Li Shuangmu. "Deliver this secret letter to Liu Xuande." Li Shuangmu accepted it. "Yes, my lord."
After leaving Cao Cao's tent, Li Shuangmu could not help rubbing his forehead. In a voice so low even he might not have heard it clearly, he said, "How did it come to this..."
Meanwhile, Yuan Shao also received news that Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei had returned to camp.