"Yes! They certainly will!"
Xiao He's playful expression turned serious, and he answered with certainty. After a pause, he explained, "Whatever ruins people explore or treasures they seek, the greatest danger isn't just the ruins themselves. The threat from their own kind is greater still. Everyone entering the tomb must be prepared for that! Besides, they'll gamble on there being another way out of the Secret Trove of King Wu of Zhou-and the odds aren't small!"
At this point, Xiao He smiled and asked in return, "If the Huan King hadn't invited us, would you have given up, my lord, even if I explained his intentions?"
"No! Before coming here, I already knew things wouldn't go smoothly. Why would I back down so easily?" Li Yuan answered without hesitation.
Indeed, Li Yuan had always considered himself an unparalleled genius whose talents went unrecognized, born in the wrong age. After finally toppling Lord Chunshen, Huang Xie, he had seized Sishui Royal City, gained an excellent base, and established his dominance over the region. Then he had acquired Xiao He, an illustrious minister renowned through the ages, whose divine strategies and uncanny calculations shook the world-a nation-stabilizing talent known as the "Civil Minister."
Who could have expected the Zhang Chu Faction to expand so wildly that Sishui Royal City could barely breathe, much less spread its wings? Li Yuan had exhausted every scheme merely to survive without being swallowed up. Once the Zhang Chu Faction fell, Western Chu emerged, followed by rebel armies from every direction, powerful enemies of other races, and more, leaving Li Yuan constantly frazzled and overwhelmed.
Li Yuan believed his overall qualities-talent, character, strength, and even looks-were no worse than those of Liu Bang, Xiang Yu, Chen Sheng, the Huan King, and the other leaders whose might shook