"Do you regret it?" Li You asked, looking at Zhuge Liang.
"There's nothing to regret. My elder brother chose the path he believed in. At least, before I had access to these core secrets, his choice was correct. My brother has good judgment," Zhuge Liang replied calmly. His demeanor wasn't as sorrowful as Li You had expected; in fact, Zhuge Liang's calmness was so unsettling that it made Li You feel a bit uneasy. Zhuge Liang was too composed.
"Your brother chose his own path, but you know that path is wrong. Don't you feel any guilt?" Li You asked, curious.
"If my brother wanted to come, he would have. But since he hasn't, he must have his reasons. Since he has already chosen his path, what's the point of me feeling guilty? I don't believe that once my brother made up his mind, anything I said could change his decision," Zhuge Liang responded, his tone indifferent and unfeeling.
The information about Zhuge Jin joining Sun Ce was brought to Zhuge Liang by Li You himself. Originally, Li You had thought Zhuge Liang would have some strong reaction, but from what he could see now, Zhuge Liang was as calm as ever, no different from any other time.
"Kongming, you are the most brilliant young man I've ever met. Your talent lies in understanding, without a single mistake, but your nature is too cold. It's rare to see anything that can shake you," Li You sighed.
Zhuge Liang didn't comment; he simply looked at Li You calmly. He knew that if Li You had personally come to deliver this information, it wasn't just to remind him about Zhuge Jin. There must be another reason.
"Kongming, you excel at understanding the grand picture. There's something I need you and Xiaozhi to handle. The two of you can complement each other perfectly. What I want you to do is infiltrate Yuzhou and Yangzhou, and use your methods to suppress Sun Ce's rise. Make sure they don't have the freedom to act on other matters," Li You said, his tone gentle.
"I'll do my best," Zhuge Liang said after a long pause, his brows furrowed. This task seemed extremely difficult.
"Don't worry, we'll provide you with support," Li You said with a smile. "General Gan Xingba, Deputy General Taishi Ziyi, and the newly recruited Danyang soldiers from Xuzhou under Chen Shuzhi."
"Do I have command authority?" Zhuge Liang asked, surprised.
"How could that be?" Li You laughed when he saw the look of surprise on Zhuge Liang's face. After all, Zhuge Liang hadn't yet reached the level where he could completely control his emotions.
Zhuge Liang nodded, realizing that he had been too hasty. Gan Ning was the actual commander of the navy, and Zhuge Liang had neither the experience nor the qualifications to command him.
"However, if you can win them over and get them to follow your lead, that's not something we can interfere with," Li You added with a smile when Zhuge Liang didn't respond.
Zhuge Liang remained silent, deep in thought. He had noticed something interesting, and after a while, he asked, "Master Li, how long do you think it will take?"
"What?" Li You was momentarily confused, then nodded. "It's hard to say, but it shouldn't take too long. Wenhe and I are also trying to resolve it, but things are happening too quickly with Sun Ce and in Jingxiang. We need to make some adjustments."
"I have no objections. But I would appreciate it if Master Li could help complete the planning and construction of the city outskirts," Zhuge Liang said respectfully.
"Here, when we believe someone is capable of holding their own, we give them a folding fan," Li You said as he took out a blood-red, grayish-white folding fan from his robe, slowly opening it. The fan seemed to shimmer with a light that resembled flowing blood, encased in a jade-like glow.
"This is my folding fan. When Zichuan had several made, I immediately chose this one," Li You said with a smile.
To Li You, this fan symbolized his dark past, the pain he had endured, and the endless bloodshed he had caused. But now, all of that was wrapped in a jade-like glow.
The same went for Jia Xu, whose dark wooden fan bore almost no decoration, yet Jia Xu had immediately taken to it and always kept it with him.
When they had selected their fans, each person had, to some extent, revealed their true nature. Now, it was Zhuge Liang's turn. Li You laid out the remaining ten or so fans. There had been about twenty made, and these were all that were left.
Zhuge Liang glanced at the fans, and he had a vague feeling that while each fan had its own meaning, none of them suited him.
"None of them suit you?" Li You asked, already guessing what Zhuge Liang was going to say from the look in his eyes.
"Indeed, none of them align with my temperament," Zhuge Liang replied calmly.
"I thought so. When Zichuan brought out these fans, he said that each one had its own meaning, and finding a fan that resonated with you meant that, in some way, you were unparalleled," Li You sighed.
"You might think I'm joking," Li You continued when he saw Zhuge Liang's skeptical expression. "But after observing for these past few years, I've realized that Zichuan was right. Those who took a fan they were drawn to have neither damaged nor lost it, and in some ways, they are indeed unparalleled."
"Zizhong's fan represents wealth—it's very lavish. Weishuo's fan represents fame—it's plain but has a faint, lingering fragrance. My fan represents the past, and Wenhe's fan represents concealment. As for the others, you can guess based on who uses them," Li You explained, smiling at Zhuge Liang. He was curious to see how Zhuge Liang would react to the truth.
When Fazheng couldn't find a fan he liked, he had exploded upon hearing this, but then he grabbed one from Jia Xu, declaring, "If I can't find a fan I like, then I'll just take one at random. Since it's about fate, then my power is fate!"
In reality, the fans were a final test of character. The first batch was made with specific people in mind; Chen Xi had tailored each one to match the recipient's character, and when they were chosen, it was clear that each fan had something in common with its owner.
Take Mi Zhu's luxurious fan, for example. It was the only one with such opulence, and when chosen based on character, the outcome was predictable. Liu Yan had the self-awareness to pick the simplest fan, and the dark-hearted Jia Xu naturally gravitated toward his fan. This accuracy wasn't due to the fans themselves but rather the people choosing them.
"I won't take any. A fan doesn't define me—I am who I am. I'll have one made when my wife arrives," Zhuge Liang said calmly, shaking his head. He was completely unfazed by Li You's attempt to rattle him.
"Kongming, if you can keep this mindset on the battlefield, I have nothing more to teach you. The rest is up to experience," Li You said with a satisfied smile, indicating that Zhuge Liang had passed the final test.