Su Yuntao Isn't Bad

Then, Su Yuntao began his journey.

He followed Zhuge Liang out of Longzhong to meet Liu Bei.

"I, in my ignorance, have sought to uphold righteousness throughout the world, yet my wisdom is shallow and my methods lacking, leading to my current plight. However, my ambition remains undiminished. What strategy would you propose, sir?"

Zhuge Liang gently waved his feather fan: "I am willing to offer my humble service to you, General."

At that moment, goosebumps broke out all over Su Yuntao's body.

He followed Zhuge Liang to Jiangdong, where he engaged in a debate with the scholars.

"There is a distinction between the scholar of a gentleman and the scholar of a petty man. The scholar of a gentleman is loyal to his lord and loves his country, upholding righteousness and abhorring evil, striving to benefit his own time and leave a name for posterity. As for the scholar of a petty man, he concerns himself only with trivialities, specializing in calligraphy and prose, composing poems in his youth and exhausting his life over scriptures. Though he may have thousands of words under his pen, he possesses not a single strategy in his heart!"

At that moment, Su Yuntao longed to slam the table and cheer.

He followed Zhuge Liang to borrow the east wind and burn the Red Cliff.

"Everything is ready, except for the east wind."

When the east wind rose, Su Yuntao trembled, his eyes burning with heat.

He followed Zhuge Liang as he angered Zhou Yu three times.

"If Heaven created Zhou Yu, why must it also create Zhuge Liang!"

As Zhou Yu coughed up blood and collapsed, Su Yuntao felt a complex mix of emotions.

He followed Zhuge Liang as he captured Meng Huo seven times.

"To capture and release, to release and capture again, until his heart is truly won—that is the only way to ensure lasting peace."

When Meng Huo knelt in submission, Su Yuntao finally understood what it meant to "conquer the heart above all else."

Finally, he followed Zhuge Liang on his six campaigns to Qishan.

On the Wuzhang Plains, the autumn wind blew desolately.

Zhuge Liang sighed toward the heavens: "I can no longer lead the army to punish the rebels! Oh, vast Heaven, why must it end like this!"

The Seven Star Lamp flickered out.

The general's star fell.

Su Yuntao fell to his knees and wept bitterly.

"Prime Minister—!!!"

He did not know how much time had passed.

Su Yuntao slowly opened his eyes.

The horizon was already turning a pale, fish-belly white.

Dawn had arrived.

He looked down at the Romance of the Three Kingdoms in his hands, tears sliding down his cheeks and dampening the pages.

He cried for a long time.

When he finished, he wiped away his tears and prepared to close the book.

The moment his fingers touched the back cover—

A golden light surged from the book and plunged straight into the center of his brow.

Su Yuntao shuddered.

Countless pieces of information flooded his mind like a tidal wave—

Military tactics, strategy, human nature, the political landscape, the timing of heaven, the advantages of terrain, and the harmony of men...

Everything Zhuge Liang had spent his life comprehending was now growing wildly within his mind.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his gaze had changed.

It had become profound.

It had become clear.

[Resonance Reading]

[Reader: Su Yuntao]

[Book Read: Romance of the Three Kingdoms]

[Resonance Level: Deep Resonance]

[Inheritance Gained: Demonic Wisdom (Wisdom significantly increased, strategy bordering on the supernatural, ability to perceive human hearts, predict the situation, and plan thousands of miles away)]

[Feedback to Host: Crouching Dragon]

Su Yuntao stood where he was, quietly feeling the new things taking root in his mind.

Then, he smiled.

His smile was light, and very faint.

He looked up toward the direction of Holy Soul Village, the place where the child he had seen during the day lived.

During the day, he had awakened his spirit at the ancestral hall.

At night, his book "fell" here.

It was just right for him to pick up.

It was just right for him to see.

It was just right for him to obtain the inheritance.

How could there be such a coincidence in this world?

Su Yuntao took a deep breath, his gaze becoming incredibly complex.

"Mr. Su Mo..." he murmured, "You left this here on purpose, didn't you?"

That was it.

It had to be.

He had wanted to read this book so badly during the day, and Su Mo must have noticed.

He must have calculated that they were fated to meet.

That was why he "dropped" it here on purpose, waiting for him to come and pick it up.

This was a stroke of fortune bestowed upon him.

And he, having come in such a hurry, had arrived empty-handed.

Su Yuntao looked down at the book in his hand, then touched the money pouch in his robe—it contained his salary for the month, thirty silver soul coins.

After a moment of thought, he took out the pouch and, along with the copy of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, placed them gently on the threshold of Su Mo's house.

Then, he stepped back three paces, straightened his clothes, and bowed deeply until his hands touched the ground.

"This junior, Su Yuntao, came in a rush and failed to observe proper etiquette."

His voice was very soft, for fear of waking the person inside.

"When the time comes, I will surely bring a gift and visit in person to express my gratitude."

Having said that, he took one last deep look at the tightly shut door.

He turned and left.

His figure disappeared into the morning mist.

Su Mo yawned as he pushed open the door.

He had tossed and turned half the night, so he had gone to bed late and woken up late as well.

He prepared to go look for that copy of Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

But as soon as he looked down.

On the threshold, a book lay quietly.

Beside it was a money pouch, bulging and full.

Su Mo froze.

He bent down to pick up the book; it was indeed Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

He flipped through it to find the pages intact, with even the dog-eared corners carefully smoothed out.

He opened the pouch to find thirty silver soul coins, stacked neatly inside.

The purchasing power of these thirty silver soul coins was equivalent to three thousand yuan in his previous life.

Su Mo: "???"

He looked around, but there was no one.

He looked down at the book, then at the money.

Suddenly remembering something, he raised his right hand.

The character "Dao" appeared on the back of his hand, and the sights and sounds from Romance of the Three Kingdoms yesterday flooded into his mind as information.

Su Mo stared at the line of text, silent for three seconds.

Then he looked down at the money in his hand.

He was silent for another three seconds.

"So..." he murmured, "Su Yuntao thought this book was a stroke of fortune I intentionally dropped for him?"

"And then he finished reading it, gained enlightenment, was moved, and even sent me money?"

The corner of Su Mo's mouth twitched.

He swore, the book really had been dropped by accident.

Really.

But Su Yuntao clearly did not think so.

Su Mo looked at the thirty silver soul coins in his hand; this was enough for him and his mother to live on for three months.

He looked again at the record of "Deep Resonance."

He suddenly felt that this misunderstanding...

Actually seemed quite nice?

"This Su Yuntao..." Su Mo tucked the money pouch away and muttered to himself, "He's not bad at all. He even knows to pay for reading books."

He turned back toward the house, intending to give the money to his mother.

As for the "deliberate bestowal of opportunity" that Su Yuntao imagined?

Let it be a misunderstanding.

The people on this Douluo Continent all seemed to have something wrong with their heads, his mother excepted, of course.

Early morning.

Su Mo pushed open the door, preparing to set up his stall as usual.

He looked up and froze.

A person was standing at his doorway.

A six-year-old boy with short hair, three bumps on his forehead that hadn't fully faded, and holding something wrapped in a lotus leaf, stood perfectly straight.

It was none other than Tang San.

Su Mo was silent for a second.

He felt as if he had opened the door the wrong way.

"...How long have you been standing here?"

"In reply to Master, this disciple arrived at the hour of the rabbit," Tang San answered respectfully. "I was afraid of disturbing Master's rest, so I dared not knock and simply waited here."

The hour of the rabbit?

Su Mo looked up at the sky, estimating it to be a little past seven in the morning.

In other words, this kid had been standing at his door for nearly three hours?

"You..." Su Mo opened his mouth, "Aren't you cold?"

"I am not," Tang San shook his head. "This disciple has the Mysterious Heaven Skill to protect my body."

He then seemed to recall something and said excitedly:

"If Master wishes to learn it, this disciple can teach you."

Su Mo: "...No need."

I already know it.

Tang San stepped forward and offered the lotus leaf bundle with both hands: "Master, this is the breakfast this disciple prepared for you early this morning. It is simple fare, but please do not take offense."

Su Mo took it and opened it to look.

Two coarse grain buns, a small dish of pickled vegetables, and a bowl of warm rice porridge—wrapped in a lotus leaf, it was actually still steaming.

Su Mo looked up at Tang San.

Tang San wore an expectant expression.

Su Mo looked back down at the breakfast.

This child was serious.