Liu Bei trembled all over with rage. His face, which had always presented an image of benevolence and virtue, was now twisted by fury taken to its utmost extreme.
The secret report in his hand had been crushed into a ball of wastepaper, his knuckles white from the force of his grip.
Outrageous.
Absolutely outrageous.
He had never imagined that Fa Zheng and Li Yan would actually dare commit such a heinous act of treason.
Only yesterday, the Heavenly Screen had let slip that they would murder their lord for glory.
And by this morning, they had actually slaughtered Liu Zhang.
This was no surrender. This was a pledge of allegiance sealed in blood!
Liu Bei had ten thousand "motherfuckers" in his heart and did not know whether to say them.
Whatever else Liu Zhang might have been, he was still a kinsman of the Liu imperial clan, a legitimate descendant of Emperor Xiaojing, someone whom Liu Bei had to address as "royal elder brother" by seniority.
He might have been a little useless, a little indecisive, a little poor at judging people... but he was still one of their Liu family.
This domain belonged to the Liu family.
And now?
Two traitors within their own household had simply bundled it up and handed it to some slave leader who had appeared out of nowhere.
This was no longer merely a slap in the Liu family's face. This was dragging the ancestral tablets of the Liu clan out of their ancestral shrine, throwing them onto the ground, and viciously stomping on them.
"Traitors to the realm."
"Fa Zheng, Li Yan-these two are truly traitors to the realm!"
Liu Bei finally lost control and burst into curses, his voice turning somewhat shrill with rage.
"Worse than pigs and dogs!"
Beside him, Zhang Fei could no longer restrain himself. His leopard-like eyes bulged, his fury made his hair bristle beneath his cap, and his great hand slammed onto the table with a bang.
"Elder brother is right!"
"Those two damned traitors can't see past their own noses!"
"What does that Yang Feng amount to?"
"Doesn't he just rely on the Heavenly Screen's demonic arts to bewitch people?"
"Does he think everything will be fine now that he has Yizhou?"
"Today, that Heavenly Screen is supposed to talk about his great battle with Cao Cao and Lü Bu!"
Spittle flew from Zhang Fei's mouth. He was clearly furious to the extreme.
"That scoundrel Cao may be no good man, but even I respect his skill at commanding troops."
"Not to mention that slave of three surnames, Lü Bu. Who under heaven can beat him?"
"With those two joining forces, how could that brat Yang Feng possibly survive?"
"Aren't those two fools just rushing over to be buried alongside Yang Feng?"
Guan Yu, who had remained silent all this while, slowly opened his phoenix eyes, a cold glint flashing through them.
He stroked his magnificent beard, his voice low and resonant as a bell.
"Third brother speaks truly."
"Fa Zheng and Li Yan are shortsighted men who chase quick gains. They are not worth worrying about."
"It is only a pity that our Great Han has lost yet another province to such rebels."
Listening to his two younger brothers' furious curses, the rage in Liu Bei's heart subsided a little, only to be replaced by a deeper sense of helplessness.
What good did cursing do?
Yizhou was already gone.
He was still trapped in this tiny Yuzhou, living under another's roof, unable to move.
He, Liu Bei, had nothing but a heart burning to restore the Han imperial house, yet he lacked even a patch of territory where he could put his abilities to use.
That Yang Feng, on the other hand, had taken the Land of Heavenly Abundance that countless people dreamed of, easily, with nothing but his mouth.
Where the fuck was the justice in that?
Was he really doomed to wander from place to place all his life, watching others build their achievements?
No.
I refuse to accept it.
Liu Bei drew a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his resentment and jealousy.
He knew this was no time to blame heaven and others.
His only hope now had to rest on his greatest enemy.
What a colossal irony.
"Second brother, third brother, things have come to this. There is no use saying more."
Liu Bei spoke slowly, his voice carrying a trace of hoarseness and exhaustion.
"What happens next depends on Xu Capital."
"Cao Cao and Lü Bu... you must deliver this time. Whatever you do, don't lose."
As he said those words, he felt as though his heart were bleeding.
Let Cao Cao win?
Wouldn't that only strengthen his hold over the emperor and leave me with even less chance in the future?
But if Yang Feng won...
If a man who could take even Yizhou with his tongue then defeated the allied armies of Cao Cao and Lü Bu head-on, who under heaven could stop him?
Of two evils, choose the lesser.
He would rather face a familiar, powerful Cao Cao than a mysterious, unpredictable Yang Feng.
With that, the three brothers raised their heads in unison and gazed into the empty sky, where everyone's fate seemed to hang.
Meanwhile, in Xiangyang, Jing Province.
Inside the inspector's residence, Liu Biao sat stiffly upright, but his faintly trembling hands betrayed the extreme terror within him.
He was the most frightened of them all.
Yesterday, the Heavenly Screen had made it perfectly clear: Yang Feng would take Yizhou, then Jing Province.
It was like a death notice, first telling you that your neighbor would die, then telling you that you were next.
Now, the neighbor really was dead.
What about me?
Should I start preparing my coffin too?
"My lord, there is no need for alarm."
Standing below, Kuai Yue saw Liu Biao's fear and hurried to reassure him.
"In my view, Yang Feng is merely a grasshopper after autumn. He won't be hopping about for much longer."
"Oh?"
Like a man clutching at a life-saving straw, Liu Biao asked urgently, "What do you mean?"
Cai Mao chimed in as well. "Staff Officer Kuai is absolutely right."
"My lord, consider what sort of man Cao Cao is."
"His calculations leave nothing out, and he commands troops like a god-the foremost strategist of our age."
"And what sort of man is Lü Bu?"
"Before Hulao Pass, the eighteen allied lords trembled at the mere mention of his name-the foremost warrior under heaven."
"Now that the foremost in strategy and martial prowess have joined forces, their twin swords united, how could a mere Yang Feng of Huainan possibly match them?"
"He has taken Yizhou, and his momentum may appear tremendous, but his foundations are unstable. He has merely built a tower on sand. A gust of wind will topple it."
"Once the allied armies of Cao Cao and Lü Bu win and Yang Feng dies, that so-called 'Great Yang Empire' will crumble to dust in an instant."
"When that happens, not only will we have nothing to fear, we can seize the opportunity to advance west and pocket the masterless Yizhou."
These words slowly eased Liu Biao's taut nerves.
That's right.
What am I afraid of?
Cao Cao and Lü Bu are still up front, holding the line.
If the sky falls, the tall ones will bear it.
All I need to do is wait for them to kill Yang Feng.
He let out a long breath and picked up his teacup with a show of composure, blowing at dust that was not there.
"Let us hope so."
Meanwhile, on Wolong Ridge a thousand li away, Zhuge Liang was packing his belongings at an unhurried pace.
Zhuge Liang carefully placed several rolls of bamboo slips into a cloth bag, a faint, serene smile on his face.
The young bookboy attending him asked in bewilderment, "Sir, where are we going?"
"The realm is in such chaos. Shouldn't we wait a little?"
Zhuge Liang raised his head and glanced at the sky beyond the window, his gaze so deep it seemed capable of piercing past and present.
"Wait?"
He chuckled softly and shook his head.
"We cannot wait any longer."
"Alas, now that this Heavenly Screen has appeared out of nowhere, it has become the player who determines the realm's fate, while we are all chess pieces."
His voice carried a trace of ruefulness.
"Yang Feng has ridden the Heavenly Screen's momentum and already shows the signs of one favored by heaven's mandate."
"Look, he said he would take Yizhou, and Fa Zheng and Li Yan killed Liu Zhang and offered it to him with both hands."
"This Yizhou is probably only the very beginning."
Zhuge Liang's gaze grew fervent, as though he could see the surging torrent of the future.
"Today, the Heavenly Screen will reveal the defeat and demise of Cao Cao and Lü Bu."
"If... if what this Heavenly Screen says comes true, if Yang Feng truly can, by his own strength alone, defeat the greatest political cunning and the greatest martial prowess of our age."
"Then no one under heaven will be able to withstand his edge."
"This realm will come under Yang Feng's rule."
He turned and patted the boy's shoulder, his tone carrying an unquestionable resolve.
"A fine bird chooses its tree to roost in; a worthy minister chooses his lord to serve."
"We must hurry and join this future lord of the realm before the course of the world becomes entirely clear."
The boy listened as though lost in clouds and mist, but still nodded firmly.
"Yes, sir."
Just as the various powers throughout the realm harbored different thoughts, some shocked, some angry, some delighted, and some worried.
Xu Province.
Atop the towering city gate, the north wind whipped fiercely, stirring the robes of Lü Bu and Chen Gong.
They, too, had received the news from Yizhou.