"Hello, is this Mr. Wen Mang? You have a package here. When would it be convenient for you to come pick it up?"
Wen Mang wiped the sweat from his forehead. At this time of year, stepping outside once felt like losing two whole pounds of sweat.
A fan gift?
Layer by layer, he opened the package. To his surprise, inside the small box lay a jade pendant glowing with a soft luster.
The pendant was a perfectly rounded hollow ring. A dragon, its head and tail joined, coiled around it twice, while smaller glass-like dragon motifs entwined the body. The craftsmanship was exquisite.
"A glazed-dragon jade pendant?" Wen Mang quickly dredged up the term from his memory.
"Not bad workmanship!" Wen Mang rubbed the pendant a couple of times and came to a conclusion:
A high-end Yiwu product!
On Taobao, it had to be worth at least twenty-five yuan!
A note was pressed beneath the pendant. Wen Mang unfolded it and saw neat clerical-script characters:
"One jade pendant, a small token of respect —
Liu Bei, General of the Left, Marquis of Yicheng Pavilion, Governor of Jingzhou."
"Is this some new kind of immersive interaction?" Wen Mang wasn't quite sure what to make of it.
In the end, he decided to put it away carefully. After all, this was his first fan gift — it carried real commemorative value.
After some thought, Wen Mang pulled out his phone, snapped two photos with a click-click, uploaded them to Site 13, and added a caption.
What he didn't notice was a faint new line of text that had appeared in the top-right corner of his account:
"Historical Deviation Value: 0"
…
The 14th Year of Jian'an, Gong'an County, Jing Province.
Ever since the last manifestation of the light screen, Kongming had simply moved his office into this side hall.
Twenty full days had passed since the light screen appeared. Aside from handling the administrative affairs of Jingzhou's four commanderies, Kongming spent nearly all his time studying the words revealed by the screen.
A servant reported, "Military Advisor, the Lord and the three generals have returned together!"
"Invite them in at once for discussion!"
The "three generals" were naturally Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun.
After the light screen vanished, Liu Bei had gone to inspect the four commanderies of Jingzhou together with Zhao Yun. With the region newly stabilized, suppressing bandits and pacifying the people were matters only Liu Bei could personally oversee.
Now that they were returning together, they must have run into Guan Yu and Zhang Fei on their return march.
Did this mean the fighting in Nan Commandery was settled?
Soon, Liu Bei — tall and imposing — Guan Yu, his face like a red date, Zhang Fei with his leopard jaws and tiger whiskers, and Zhao Yun with his broad face and heavy jaw all crowded into the small side hall.
"Big Brother!" Zhang Fei spoke up first. "Why are we cramming into this tiny hall? You can't even fit a victory banquet in here!"
Zhang Fei obeyed orders strictly in battle, but in peacetime he was famously addicted to wine. Ever since the Nan Commandery campaign ended, he'd been dreaming of the celebration feast — at least one full day of drunkenness… no, three!
Before he could finish complaining, a curtain of light suddenly unfolded in midair within the hall, stunning Guan Yu and Zhang Fei into wide-eyed silence.
Kongming, Liu Bei, and Zhao Yun focused their gazes.
This time, the light screen showed no moving images — only a few lines of text accompanied by several vivid pictures:
"Received a glazed-dragon jade pendant from a fan friend!
A very nice imitation Han-style piece — the UP really likes it!"
"That said, likes and subscriptions are more than enough!
Please restrain yourselves when it comes to monetary gifts!"
Below were four images of the pendant and a handful of comments:
"Damn, a newbie UP getting fed by fans this fast?"
"The UP's takes are interesting, but Sun Wu being trash doesn't even need that much argument — just look at the God of Xiaoyaojin."
"True. One hundred thousand troops nearly routed by eight hundred men and almost losing the commander — Sun 'Shiwan' Quan, lives up to the name."
"Sun Quan almost getting killed is from Romance, but eight hundred beating back a hundred thousand is still absurd."
"Shu-Han had the best shot, but Zhuge Liang worked himself to death. Meanwhile his rival Sima Yi lived to seventy-two."
"Went to the Wuhou Shrine in Chengdu last month — that couplet really hits hard. Prime Minister eternal! But why is Liu Chen there and not Liu Shan?"
"Everyone in Wuhou Shrine is a loyal martyr. Does Liu Shan deserve to be there? Isn't he ashamed?"
The number of comments was small, but the amount of information was staggering.
After carefully copying down Wen Mang's text, images, and comments, Zhuge Liang's expression turned solemn as he announced:
"Next, we shall jointly discuss the matter of General Guan Yu's death."
Liu Bei smiled gently at his peerless second brother.
The peerless second brother stared blankly at his elder brother.
"Big Brother… I died?"
"Yes. You died."
"How did I die?"
Liu Bei thought for a moment. "While guarding Jingzhou, you were ambushed by Lu Xun and Lü Meng working together, and in the end Sun Quan took your head."
Guan Yu fell silent, then looked to Zhuge Liang. "Military Advisor, my elder brother he—"
Zhuge Liang waved his feather fan. "Every word the Lord spoke is true. General Guan, please look at this."
He handed over a small booklet — Zhuge Liang's organized compilation of the light screen's revelations. On the cover were the words:
"An Analysis of Shu-Han's Chances of Unifying the Realm from a Strategic Perspective."
Though thin, the booklet was filled with shocking insights. Guan Yu was famed for remaining unshaken even if Mount Tai collapsed before him, yet the very first page made his eyes widen.
"These claims within…"
"Are precisely what we'll discuss next," Zhuge Liang said, flicking his fan.
"General Guan, how is Commander Zhou Gongjin's health?"
Guan Yu exchanged a glance with Zhang Fei. During the Nan Commandery assault, both had personally witnessed Zhou Yu being struck by a stray arrow.
Rumors had spread that night. The next day, Zhou Yu personally inspected the camp, dispelling them.
Yet that very act felt like concealment, planting unease in Guan Yu's heart.
Cao Ren, holed up in the city, knew nothing of this. In the following days, the Jiangdong army grew ever fiercer, while Zhou Yu appeared less and less frequently.
Fortunately, Nan Commandery was already at its breaking point. Within ten days the city fell, and Cao Ren abandoned it and fled.
With Jingzhou recovered and a letter from Liu Bei speaking of urgent matters, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei took leave of Zhou Yu and rushed back.
"When the two of you departed, did you see Commander Zhou?" Zhuge Liang asked.
"No," Guan Yu shook his head. "We were sent off by an aide under his command. He said the Commander was overwhelmed with affairs after the city's fall and would surely make proper amends next time."
"Was that aide surnamed Pang, given name Tong?"
"Indeed. An old acquaintance of yours, Military Advisor?"
Zhuge Liang sighed, fanning himself. "An old friend from Nanyang. Who would've thought…"
According to the light screen, Pang Tong would come to serve Lord Xuande next year, only to die young at Fallen Phoenix Slope — fate was truly cruel.
"General Guan, this booklet is a military secret. After reading it, pass it to the Third General. Then we shall discuss."
"The topic of discussion is this: how to avoid General Guan being beheaded by Sun Quan."
The thin booklet soon passed from Guan Yu's hands into Zhang Fei's. The moment Zhang Fei finished reading, the loudest voice in Shu-Han burst out:
"That Lü Meng — we saw him when attacking Nan Commandery! Never thought he'd be such a snake! Second Brother, wait here — I'll go chop off Lü Meng's head and avenge you!"
"Third Brother, no!" Guan Yu and Liu Bei both leapt up to stop him.
But the iron-tower-like man was already teary-eyed.
"Big Brother! Second Brother! We swore brotherhood, to live and die together — but Second Brother dies at a villain's hands! Big Brother fails to avenge him and dies of grief!"
"And poor old Zhang is left alone! Even the Military Advisor turns out to be short-lived! And Big Brother's son, A-Dou, turns out to be useless — in just forty years he squanders everything the three of us fought for!"
"I, Zhang Fei… my heart aches!"