Chapter Three: A Different Triple Visit to the Thatched Cottage

The agreed payment was supposed to be money, yet they were trying to pass off these handicrafts on him instead.

On the table before Zhang Bo’s eyes was not the bills and coins he knew so well, but a string of copper cash.

Though Green Prosperity Village was a replica ancient town, payment was always made in real silver and gold. Who paid with copper coins?

Zhang Bo did not hesitate and immediately gave chase.

But by the time he reached the doorway, the roads to left and right were already empty of the three men’s figures.

“Damn it, they ran off pretty fast.”

With no other choice, Zhang Bo huffed his way back to the inn.

“These three—if I ever catch you again, just wait.”

As that thought crossed his mind, he realized that Liu Ju was gone.

...

As the three men, Liu, Guan, and Zhang, walked along the road, they quickly noticed Liu Ju following them.

“Kid, why are you tailing us?”

Zhang Fei’s tiger eyes widened, his presence fierce and terrifying.

“Third Brother! Don’t scare the boy.”

Liu Bei shot Zhang Fei a glare, then turned back with a warm smile toward Liu Ju.

“May I ask why you are following us, young sir?”

Liu Ju clasped his hands in salute to the three men.

“I have heard that the three uncles are going to visit Master Sleeping Dragon at Sleeping Dragon Hill. I would like to go along as well, if the three uncles would permit it.”

This...

After a moment’s thought, seeing how courteous Liu Ju was, Liu Bei did not refuse.

Along the way, Liu Bei also learned Liu Ju’s name.

Though the name surprised him somewhat, that was all it did.

After all, the most famous bearers of that name were none other than the Prince Liu Ju of the Taizi tragedy and the Prince of Langya, Liu Ju.

The former, as Emperor Wu’s legitimate eldest son, was ultimately dragged into the calamity of witchcraft and sorcery accusations, rose in rebellion, and, after failing, was forced to take his own life.

The latter had already passed away in the first year of the Zhongping reign.

Perhaps because Liu Ju could be counted as one of Liu Bei’s own clan, Liu Bei felt somewhat more familiar with him.

Liu Ju also tactfully inquired of the three men who currently sat on the Han throne.

And then he received a jaw-dropping answer.

The current emperor was Liu Xie.

That deepened the suspicion in Liu Ju’s heart even further.

An hour and a half later, Liu Ju was already inside the thatched cottage.

He sat beneath the shade of a great tree in the cottage yard, the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms spread open on his lap.

But at that moment he had no mind to read at all. His gaze drifted forward, vacant and stunned, disbelief written all over his face.

He had just gone through the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms once more and discovered a major problem.

Sleeping Dragon Hill was in Nanyang Commandery.

Yet the journey had taken them only half an hour or so. How could they possibly have come from the ancient capital to Nanyang in so little time? That was nearly a thousand li away.

And then...

Liu Ju looked at the surroundings.

A thatched cottage; Liu Bei stood at the doorway, craning his neck in anticipation; Guan Yu reclined at the side of a waterwheel, eyes closed in rest; Zhang Fei leaned against a tree, eyes bulging, motionless.

The man they had come to see, Zhuge Liang, was still sleeping soundly inside the cottage.

It all seemed exactly as the book had described.

Only no one knew whether what followed would also unfold as written.

While Liu Ju was lost in thought, a voice came from within the cottage.

“Who was the first to awaken from the great dream? I know it all myself throughout life. In the thatched hall, spring slumber is full; beyond the window, daylight lingers long.”

At the sound of the voice from inside, Liu Bei straightened his appearance and quickly left the cottage doorway, beckoning to Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Liu Ju.

Seeing this, the three hurried to their feet and moved toward Liu Bei.

Guan and Zhang both wore expressions of resentment. After all, while Zhuge Liang had been sleeping soundly inside, they had been waiting outside for a full hour.

“Have any vulgar guests arrived?”

Zhuge Liang’s voice drifted out to everyone’s ears.

“Lord Liu, the Imperial Uncle of Han, has already been waiting outside for quite some time.”

“Why was this not reported earlier? Allow me to change my clothes and come meet him.”

In the span of a dozen breaths or so, Liu Ju saw a man emerge from the thatched cottage.

Eight feet tall, with a face as fine as jade, holding a feather fan and wearing a scholar’s scarf, draped in a crane-feather cloak, his features composed in a confident smile, as though he were an immortal being.

Liu Ju stared, dumbfounded.

So this was Zhuge Liang?

At that moment, Liu Bei looked solemn, bent forward, and performed a deep bow.

“A poor descendant of the Han house from Zhuo Commandery has long heard of your great renown, sir. It has thundered in my ears. I have twice come to pay my respects, yet have failed to meet you, and have left a letter behind. I wonder whether you have read it.”

In the face of Liu Bei’s great courtesy, Zhuge Liang returned the salute.

“A rustic from Nanyang, naturally slothful, I have repeatedly troubled the general with your gracious visits, and I am deeply ashamed. Please, General.”

With that, Zhuge Liang stepped aside, preparing to lead Liu Bei into the cottage.

“Please, sir.”

“Second Brother, Third Brother, little Ju, wait here.”

Watching Liu Bei’s retreating back as he entered the cottage, Zhang Fei turned mysteriously toward Guan Yu at his side and whispered,

“Second Brother, do you think this Kongming really possesses the kind of divine talent that Master Yuan Zhi praised?”

Guan Yu lightly stroked his long beard, his expression thoughtful.

“That I do not know. Since Master Yuan Zhi speaks so highly of him, he must have some extraordinary ability.”

“Two uncles, Zhuge Liang truly is a man of great talent.”

“Oh? Little Ju, why do you say that?”

Guan Yu stroked his beard lightly and asked Liu Ju.

At that moment Liu Ju took out the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, flipped to the section on Liu Bei’s third visit to the thatched cottage, and quickly scanned it.

Guan Yu’s gaze fell upon the oddly shaped object in Liu Ju’s hands.

It looked like paper, yet it was vastly different from the paper Guan Yu knew.

Not only was it white as snow, the characters upon it were tiny as mayflies. Guan Yu could barely make out a few of them, apart from the large character for “three” on the cover.

Liu Ju looked up at Guan Yu and, after some consideration, decided not to speak of the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms for now.

The matter involved far too much. To have come from the fifth year of the Yuanshou reign to the twelfth year of Jian’an, such a bizarre thing would hardly be believed if spoken aloud.

He planned to ask his elder brother’s opinion when he returned, after all, the book had been obtained from him.

“Uncle Yunchang, why don’t we make a guess? What do you think Uncle Xuande and Master Sleeping Dragon are discussing inside the cottage?”

“This...”

Guan Yu looked toward Zhang Fei, who was similarly at a loss, and helplessly shook his head.

They might be able to charge into battle, but as for guessing what their elder brother and Master Sleeping Dragon were saying, that was beyond them entirely.

If they had that kind of skill, why would they need Master Sleeping Dragon at all?

“Little Ju, could it be that you know?”

With a faint smile, Liu Ju said,

“Right now, Master Sleeping Dragon is probably advising Uncle Xuande to seize Jing Province first, and Yi Province afterward.”

!

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were stunned by this astonishing claim.

Yet they had no way to verify whether it was true.

Suddenly, Zhang Fei slapped his own forehead, nudged Guan Yu with his elbow, and signaled for the two of them to move closer to the cottage to listen to what their elder brother and Master Sleeping Dragon were discussing.

Guan Yu waved him off, indicating that such conduct would be very impolite.

But Zhang Fei could not restrain himself. Tiptoeing to the cottage doorway, he stretched out his ears to listen.

In barely a cup of tea’s time, Zhang Fei rose on tiptoe, slipped away from the doorway, and hurried back to Liu Ju beneath the tree.

“Little Ju, you’re a diviner. Not a single word off from what you said.”

Hearing Zhang Fei’s praise, Liu Ju showed no joy at all. Instead, his heart grew a little unsettled.

If it really was no different, then things were bad.