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The private chamber within the Serenity Inn was dimly lit, the flickering candle casting shadows upon the walls as Kuai Yue and Kuai Liang sat in quiet contemplation. Their expressions were guarded, their minds sharp with calculation. The subtle signals they had received from Cang Xiu over the past weeks had intrigued them, but it was the rumors of Liu Bei that had truly piqued their interest.
As the door creaked open, both men straightened in their seats, their eyes narrowing slightly as Cang Xiu stepped inside. He moved with an air of confidence, his every step deliberate, his expression calm yet unreadable. He bowed respectfully before taking a seat across from the brothers.
Kuai Yue was the first to speak, his tone measured. "You have called us here, Cang Xiu. I assume you have something of importance to share."
Cang Xiu smiled faintly, meeting their gazes without hesitation. "Indeed. The rumors about Liu Bei's true nature, you must have heard them."
Kuai Liang's eyes flickered with intrigue. "We have. And we have also noticed the meticulous nature in which they spread." He leaned forward slightly. "Are you implying that you are responsible?"
A moment of silence passed before Cang Xiu nodded. "I am."
The brothers exchanged a glance, their sharp minds already piecing together the implications of his admission. Kuai Yue folded his hands together, his voice calm yet laced with curiosity. "Why?"
Cang Xiu exhaled softly before speaking. "Because I know Liu Bei's true face. Because I have seen the mask he wears and the lies he tells. And because my family paid the price for believing in him."
Both Kuai Yue and Kuai Liang remained silent, waiting for him to continue. Cang Xiu took a slow breath, his expression darkening. "My family once served under a noble house that supported Liu Bei in his early years. We believed in his cause, his supposed righteousness. But when the time came, he discarded us. He saw us as expendable, pawns in his grand ambition."
His hands clenched into fists. "My family was wiped out in a conflict he could have prevented. He had the means, the influence, but he chose silence. He chose self preservation. I was the only one who survived."
Kuai Liang studied him carefully. "And you have waited until now to act?"
A bitter smile crossed Cang Xiu's lips. "Revenge is not achieved through reckless anger. It requires patience and precision. For years, I have waited, gathering knowledge, and understanding his weaknesses. And now, the time has come."
Kuai Yue's expression remained unreadable, but there was a glint of calculation in his eyes. "And what do you seek from us?"
Cang Xiu leaned forward slightly. "Your support. Your influence. You are men of wisdom, men who have long observed Liu Bei's actions. Tell me, do you not see the truth beneath his facade?"
The brothers did not answer immediately. Instead, they exchanged another glance, an unspoken conversation passing between them. Finally, Kuai Yue spoke, his tone thoughtful. "We have indeed seen glimpses of what you claim. But knowing is one thing. Acting upon it is another."
Cang Xiu nodded, understanding the weight of their words. "Then let us act together. Liu Bei's downfall will not come through brute force but through the slow erosion of trust, and the unraveling of his carefully woven image. The rumors are only the beginning."
Kuai Liang exhaled softly. "You are playing a dangerous game."
A smirk played on Cang Xiu's lips. "So is he."
The room fell into silence, the air thick with unspoken agreements. The seeds of betrayal had been sown, and soon, Liu Bei would reap what he had long ignored, the consequences of his ambition.
The candlelight in the Serenity Inn burned low as Cang Xiu stood at the window of his private chamber, watching the shadows dance across the quiet courtyard below. His meeting with the Kuai brothers had gone even better than anticipated.
Kuai Liang, the stoic elder, and Kuai Yue, the cunning younger sibling, had both taken the bait. His performance, his carefully constructed tale of betrayal and loss at the hands of Liu Bei, had struck the right chords.
And more importantly, it had laid the foundation for what would become a meticulously orchestrated downfall of the so called "Righteous Hero of the Han."
Sitting down at his desk, Cang Xiu unrolled a piece of parchment, dipped his brush into the inkstone, and began to write. His strokes were precise and deliberate, each word crafted not just to inform, but to demonstrate progress, clarity, and loyalty.
"To Lord Lie Fan,
I humbly report that the operation within Xiangyang in Jing Province has achieved a significant breakthrough. Through a combination of persuasion and the strategic use of information, I have succeeded in gaining the cooperation of Kuai Yue and Kuai Liang.
Both brothers have agreed to work together with me to quietly undermine Liu Bei's influence from within. The seeds have been planted. Their roots will soon twist around the foundations of Liu Bei's authority.
I believe we are now in a position to begin the unraveling of his reputation, one strand at a time.
In loyalty and service, Cang Xiu"
After sealing the letter, Cang Xiu handed it over to a cloaked figure waiting in the hall. His comrades from the Oriole agents. Silent and precise.
The man bowed wordlessly and vanished into the night, disappearing through a concealed passage that led through the back alleys of Xiangyang. The message would be on its way to Xiapi within hours, delivered by a relay of riders trained to evade patrols and obstacles with deadly efficiency.
Several days later, in the inner city of Xiapi, Lie Fan stood in the garden courtyard of his residence, flanked by tall plum trees just beginning to bud. He held the sealed letter in his hand, its edges dusted with faint traces of travel. As he broke the wax and read the contents, a slow smile crept across his face.
"Cang Xiu… you've done well," he murmured, his eyes gleaming with quiet satisfaction.
The cooperation of Kuai Yue and Kuai Liang meant the chessboard was now firmly set. With those two within Liu Bei's ranks casting subtle doubt, stalling his ambitions from within, and the Oriole agents spreading the rumors in the right ears, Liu Bei's image would begin to fracture.
And once those cracks formed, they would spread. That image of a virtuous leader, a defender of the Han, would become his greatest vulnerability.
Lie Fan turned and called for his advisors. There were now plans to make, countermeasures to anticipate, and rumors to fuel. The next stage had begun.
Meanwhile, far to the north, beyond the harsh ridges and frigid wind of the Great Wall, a very different fire was being stoked.
In the vast open steppe, under the shadow of the mountains and the boundless sky, over 200,000 Xiongnu warriors stood gathered in a crescent shaped valley.
The air trembled with the distant rumble of hooves, the low murmur of impatient horses, and the sound of steel being sharpened. From their raised platform, Batu and Zolgar, the self proclaimed dual khans of the Xiongnu, addressed the throng of warriors.
Zolgar, his hulking figure clad in dark furs and bone ornaments, raised his hand for silence. His voice, rough and thunderous, carried over the plains like a war drum.
"Brothers of the steppe! Sons of the eagle and wolf! Two winters ago, the Xianbei dared to ride into our lands, torch our villages, steal our horses, and slay our kin as we launch a campaign against the Han!"
A roar of anger surged from the assembled warriors, their fists rising in unison. The memory still burned hot.
Batu stepped forward, his leaner frame draped in a cloak of white fox hide. His voice was sharp, his tone biting. "They built walls, they say. They learned the ways of the Han, they say. But what are walls built by cowards who hide from justice? They are vases, painted to look strong, but hollow within!"
Laughter rippled through the ranks, but it was followed by a surge of battle lust. Weapons were drawn and raised toward the sky.
"We will crush them," Batu growled. "We will burn their fortresses to ash. We will remind them what it means to awaken the fury of the Xiongnu!"
"Revenge!" Zolgar cried. "For every drop of blood they spilled, we will spill rivers! For every insult they carved into our pride, we will carve it back in steel and fire!"
The chanting began slowly at first, low and rhythmic, but grew into a thunderous wave. "Xiongnu! Xiongnu! Xiongnu!" It echoed through the plains like the coming of a storm.
The war drums beat once more, and the cavalry began their preparations. Scouts had already mapped the terrain to the east where the Xianbei had hastily erected fortifications.
These crude mimicries of Han garrisons would not stand long against seasoned warriors born to ride and strike like lightning.
Batu and Zolgar believe with the knowledge of terrain, mobility, and brutal shock tactics, they would shatter the Xianbei's illusion of safety.
Meanwhile, to the east of the Xiongnu horde, within the windswept plains of the Xianbei domain, a storm of worry gathered in the wooden halls of a fortress they have made in their border..
At the heart of the fortress, under the ceiling of the council chamber, Kuitou, as the leader of the Xianbei, stood before his assembled chieftain council, his brow furrowed in grim focus.
The long, crescent shaped table carved from blackwood bore maps inked with recent movements, red markers for enemy positions, blue for their own. At its center, a sculpture of the mountainous borderlands, crafted meticulously from clay and stone, displayed the terrain that separated them from the looming wrath of the Xiongnu.
Around him sat his most trusted chieftains, old veterans with beaded braids and new blood still flushed with youthful vigor.
The air was thick with tension, not just from the cold that crept down from the mountains, but from the knowledge that war was not merely looming, but galloping toward them.
Kuitou's voice cut through the murmuring like a blade.
"The reports are clear. Batu and Zolgar have mustered their tribes, over two hundred thousand strong. They march to the border, not to raid, but to annihilate."
A murmur of alarm rippled through the chamber. One of the younger chieftains, Yiluge, slammed his fist onto the table. "Let them come! We have beaten them before. The spirits of our ancestors ride with us!"
Several nodded, but their confidence was not shared by all. Wuluo, an older, grizzled warrior with frost white hair and a scar that split his lip, growled, "This is no raid, boy. This is vengeance. Batu and Zolgar will not be placated with skirmishes or posturing. They come to break us."
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Name: Lie Fan
Title: Overlord Of The Central Plains
Age: 33 (200 AD)
Level: 16
Next Level: 462,000
Renown: 1325
Cultivation: Yin Yang Separation (level 9)
SP: 1,121,700
ATTRIBUTE POINTS
STR: 951 (+20)
VIT: 613 (+20)
AGI: 598 (+10)
INT: 617
CHR: 96
WIS: 519
WILL: 407
ATR Points: 0