Chapter 159: Li Yuan's Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Who is fighting? There were only the original five households in the Yun family estate, and they got along quite harmoniously. Fights among the tenants were extremely rare. Even if there was one, it was usually handled by Old Liu the Sixth. It had never been brought to Yun Hao before, and Yun Hao was very curious about which sacred personage had come to his estate to hold a tournament.

Seeing that trouble had broken out on Yun Hao's estate, Old Sun could only remind Yun Hao to come to his courtyard after he finished dealing with it, and then left on his own.

The young master of the Duke's estate, and Lord Zhang who returned with you. Master, you had better go and take a look, they have even drawn swords. Liu the Sixth stomped his feet in anxiety, his face twitching into a bun-like shape.

The young master of the Duke's estate! Yun Hao immediately thought of Li Yuanba. Usually, the people on the estate called Li Er the Second Master. As for that brute Li Yuanji, he probably wouldn't even dare make eye contact with Zhang Zhongjian, let alone fight him. When it came to combat capability, among all of Li Yuan's sons, only Li Yuanba could measure up against Zhang Zhongjian.

Stepping out of the greenhouse, Yun Hao heard the clanging sound of weapons clashing. Taking a few quick steps to the front courtyard, he saw Zhang Zhongjian and Li Yuanba locked in a fierce battle. Actually, calling it a fierce battle wasn't entirely accurate; the two brothers were sparring with strict rules. Zhang Zhongjian wielded a long dark-iron saber, while Li Yuanba held a heavy cast-iron staff.

Zhang Zhongjian slashed at Li Yuanba with his saber, and Li Yuanba countered with a strike from his staff. Sparks erupted in the center of the arena from time to time. Li Jing and Hongfu stood to the side with their arms crossed, occasionally offering commentary. Anyone who knew better understood they were sparring, but an outsider would have thought they were inspecting the quality of the weapons. In just this short while, Zhang Zhongjian's saber had several notched edges, and Li Yuanba's staff had several chips. Such fine weapons were being thoroughly ruined by these two blockheads.

The long saber collided once again with Li Yuanba's heavy staff amidst a splatter of sparks. The saber could no longer withstand the supernatural strength of the two men and shattered into three pieces. One of the fragments flew straight toward Yun Hao!

Thud! Yun Hao felt the broken blade fly past his cheek by a hair's breadth, embedding itself into a pillar and still vibrating incessantly.

Hahaha! Good, exhilarating! Exhilarating! Zhang Zhongjian laughed heartily and cupped his fists toward Li Yuanba. This fellow was always like this when he encountered an opponent he couldn't easily defeat; he had acted the exact same way last time when he fought Li Jing to a draw.

Yun Hao's face turned green. Dammit, if it had been just a fraction of an inch off, I'd be done for. Never mind that Sun Simiao was standing nearby, even if Hua Tuo and Bian Que formed a team to treat him, he'd probably still have to report to the underworld.

Why are you two fighting again for no good reason? You didn't hit me this time, but the pillar is innocent. What if you had hit a child? Even if you didn't hit a child, hitting flowers and plants wouldn't be good either...! Yun Hao pointed at the two fellows and let loose a torrent of complaints. I almost kicked the bucket. If I don't find an excuse to chew you out, how can I do justice to myself?

Good people don't live long, while scourges live for a thousand years. You brat, you're still kicking. A long saber isn't enough to finish you off. Little brother, your strength is remarkable. If your forms were a bit more refined, I wouldn't last ten moves against you. Zhang Zhongjian's words almost choked Yun Hao to death. Ignoring Yun Hao entirely, he went straight back to talking with Li Yuanba.

Oh, what's wrong with my forms? Second Brother also said my forms weren't good, but I think they're great. Hearing martial arts being discussed, Li Yuanba's interest spiked immediately. The two fellows stood right there in the courtyard chatting like old friends, completely ignoring Yun Hao, who was on the verge of a full-blown meltdown.

Hey! You, don't even think about having any more wine in the future. And you, don't ever come freeloading meals at the Yun family again. Treated completely like air, Yun Hao snapped and issued the most ferocious threat he could muster. And then, he watched as the two fellows walked away with their arms around each other's shoulders...

Old Liu the Sixth, spike the braised pork knuckles with enough croton beans for ten people. Put it in the brewed wine too. Hurry up, hurry up...! Furious to the point of leaping in rage, Yun Hao immediately ordered Liu the Sixth to administer the laxative.

Unflinching in the face of danger, truly a prodigy. When he grows up, he will undoubtedly become a hero of his generation. Li Jing looked at Yun Hao with a smiling expression, his eyes filled with appreciation.

Indeed! Legend has it that Zhou Yu commanded troops at age seven, and Gan Luo became a prime minister at twelve. Young Master Yun possesses great inner strength and will undoubtedly rise to become a general or a prime minister in the future. Such a prodigy is rarely seen in five hundred years. Being able to make the acquaintance of little brother here is truly Hongfu's supreme fortune in three lifetimes. Hongfu looked at Yun Hao, smiling as she tossed him heavy flattery.

You praise me too much, virtuous couple! With Li Jing and Lady Hongfu singing the same tune as husband and wife, their praises made Yun Hao feel rather embarrassed. Yun Hao hurriedly stood beneath the eaves and bowed respectfully to Li Jing and Hongfu.

Hahaha! A boundless future awaits! Li Jing laughed and walked away with Hongfu.

Being praised by a generation's Military God made Yun Hao feel refreshed and clear-headed. The slight displeasure from just moments before was quickly thrown to the back of his mind. Seeing that Li Jing and Hongfu had walked far away, he began humming a tune as he walked back. With such a rare moment of leisure, who had the mood to discuss medicinal herbs with Old Sun? Taking a nap was the real priority; recently, his tailbone had been aching faintly. This was a sign of growing taller. Scientists had said that growth happened during sleep, and in his past life, his height of one meter sixty-five had left him with deep regrets. In this life, he was determined to grow to one meter eighty.

Master, giving them croton beans... isn't this... Liu the Sixth asked tremblingly. Even if he were given eight times his courage, he wouldn't dare drug Li Yuanba's food. That fellow was practically the local emperor of Jinyang City.

Forget it! Forget it! A magnanimous person doesn't hold a grudge against petty ones! Extremely magnanimous, Yun Hao waved his hand and dismissed Liu the Sixth.

Returning to the greenhouse, there was no Old Sun to disturb people's peaceful slumber, and no Li Yuanba or Zhang Zhongjian who loved to fight...!

I've been scammed! Yun Hao sat up straight from the recliner, giving Yuan'er beside him a huge start.

Damn it, I've been scammed by those bastards. Could a generation's Military God like Li Jing really not tell that I was scared out of my wits? He deliberately praised me just to help out his sworn brother Zhang Zhongjian. And that detestable Lady Hongfu—no wonder Zhang Wuji's mother said the prettier a woman is, the more venomous she is.

These two shameless hypocrites played a double act and played right into the palm of their hands. Brilliant! Truly brilliant! Yun Hao realized that in front of these human spirits, he was nothing more than an amateur. A puff of empty flattery had hoisted him up to the clouds. You couldn't trust a single punctuation mark coming out of these people's mouths.

A fall into the pit, a gain in your wit. Yun Hao decided to go into secluded cultivation. To put it bluntly, he was going to hide and avoid seeing people. If he couldn't afford to provoke these folks who were craftier than monkeys, couldn't he at least afford to hide from them?

When spring arrived, Zhang Zhongjian left for parts unknown. Li Jing and Hongfu also left, likewise for parts unknown. Yun Hao couldn't understand why, since they were supposedly the Three Heroes of the Dust, they had to split up when leaving. Moreover, one went east while the other two went west. Could it be a triangular love affair...?

This poor Daoist is going to Zhongnan Mountain to gather herbs! Old Sun dropped a single sentence and announced he was leaving as well.

Daoist Master Sun, please stay! Yun Hao immediately blew his top.

When Li Jing, Zhang Zhongjian, and Hongfu left, Yun Hao hadn't cared in the slightest. Aside from ravaging his wine supply, those three scoundrels hadn't done a single good thing. But Old Sun was different; he was a top-tier physician. The kind of person money couldn't even hire. How could he be let off so easily?

This junior has manufactured some medical instruments these past few days and was hoping to ask the Daoist Master to examine them.

Oh, what strange contraption have you cobbled together this time? Old Sun was already desensitized to Yun Hao's endless bizarre skills. Hearing that Yun Hao had come up with something good, his eyes widened instantly, completely forgetting the original purpose of his trip.

Yun Hao had tried manufacturing a simple stethoscope many times. Just for the membrane on the top, he had experimented with no less than twenty kinds of materials. Finally, he settled on dried deer fascia, a material he had prepared specifically for Old Sun. Bringing it out now to reel Old Sun in was the exact right timing.

Old Sun fiddled with it for a while without figuring out its purpose. It wasn't until Yun Hao took it, pressed the apparatus against his bare chest over his heart, and said, Daoist Master Sun, this thing can hear abnormal heart and lung sounds in a person. It's especially useful when treating pulmonary diseases. Of course, using it to listen to a heartbeat is also quite good.

Old Sun took to the device almost instantly. Snatching Yun Hao over as his patient, he pressed it against Yun Hao's chest and listened for a long time. As he listened, the look in Old Sun's eyes toward Yun Hao changed.

Yun Hao's heart skipped a beat. Could Old Sun have heard something?

Daoist Master Sun, did you hear something? Yun Hao's little heart beat wildly, terrified of hearing about some terminal illness from Old Sun's mouth.

Old Sun ignored Yun Hao's question, brushed the bewildered Yun Hao aside, walked over to Yun Hao's desk, pulled open the drawer, and began rummaging through it on his own.

It's over! It's all over! Old Sun has learned bad habits from those three fellows and has started treating this place as his own home.

Soon, a simple syringe made from a bamboo tube was also flipped out. This was the item Yun Hao had prepared to further entice Old Sun. Dug out along with it were a pair of small silver tweezers, a jar of high-purity alcohol, and some cotton wool bought from foreign merchants at a high price.

If you have any such items in the future, just bring them all out at once. Don't always keep little tricks hidden. Do you really think a few items like this could stop this poor Daoist from leaving? Old Sun spoke with absolute firmness. After packing up the items on the desk, he walked straight back to his small courtyard to continue his research.

Daoist Master Sun, this junior was in the wrong. Yun Hao bowed deeply toward Old Sun's retreating back. As soon as Old Sun's figure disappeared through the moon gate, a smile bloomed across his face like a fox that had successfully stolen a fat chicken.

It seemed Old Sun intended to stay. For someone with such a detached concept of property, breaking through the boundaries of adult politeness was crucial. As long as Old Sun started treating his belongings like a child would, it showed he was beginning to accept the Yun family. Today's move was a very good start.

Li Yuan returned, bringing back extremely bad news. The newly enthroned emperor, Emperor Yang of Sui, Yang Guang, was extremely cold toward him. During the period of national mourning, he didn't even arrange a single private audience. For a regional governor carrying heavy responsibilities, this was an extremely strong political signal.

With no other choice, Li Yuan presented his beloved prized horses as tribute to this cousin who stopped acknowledging relations the moment he became emperor. The practice of bribery was a fine tradition of the country, and it was clear that Yang Guang liked the horses very much. He had the horses brought in during the morning, and by the afternoon, someone from the palace arrived to invite Li Yuan to stay for dinner.

During dinner, both sides reviewed their many years of traditional friendship. Li Yuan expressed that the imperial throne was an inalienable part of Yang Guang, and that he would offer absolute loyalty to the new emperor, hoping that His Majesty the Emperor would continue to trust him and allow him to achieve brilliant new feats in his post as the commander stationed in Jinyang.

Yang Guang expressed complete confidence in Li Yuan's ability and sense of responsibility. Since the two families were relatives, there was no need to stand on ceremony with superficial formalities. As an emperor, he was still approachable and considerate of his subordinates. Affairs in Jinyang would be entrusted to Li Yuan from now on, and so forth!

The banquet concluded to the mutual delight of both parties. A heavily intoxicated Li Yuan even performed a Huxuan dance for Yang Guang. Rumors had it that his hips swiveled with extreme flair.

You brat should not wander around aimlessly lately. When we were in Luoyang, the Duke of Yue even asked about your whereabouts. If you aren't careful and get hauled back, that would still be the best-case scenario. If the Duke of Yue develops the intent to kill, how could you possibly keep your life? On the road back from Luoyang, Li Yuan had fallen ill. After arriving in Jinyang, his coughing never stopped.

Yun Hao knew this was due to exhaustion, which was something he couldn't cure. Fortunately, he had a scapegoat on hand, and he grandly introduced the divine physician Sun Simiao. Li Yuan immediately cast the brat aside in favor of the expert.

No way! Why would a Duke keep dragging me into things? Even if I'm unwilling to enter Yang Su's estate, it shouldn't come to the point of finishing me off! Hearing that someone wanted to kill him, Yun Hao, who had been putting on a polite act in front of Li Yuan, immediately sobered up.

Those who cannot be used by me shall be killed! If it were during the Three Kingdoms period, the Duke of Yue would definitely be a figure like Cao Cao. Now he serves as the Left Minister of the Secretariat, wielding power that shakes the court—one person below the emperor and above tens of thousands. He cannot be offended! Li Yuan had also given himself a massive headache over this matter.

Just him? Does he even deserve to be called a capable minister in times of peace, or a treacherous hero in times of chaos? Yun Hao's mind conjured up that face covered in age spots; this fellow probably didn't have two good years left to live.

A capable minister in times of peace, a treacherous hero in times of chaos. You brat actually know about things from the Three Kingdoms era? Li Yuan was immediately startled by Yun Hao's two-line appraisal, never expecting that such a young child could utter such profound words.

Uh...! Yun Hao didn't know what to say for a moment; his tongue had slipped. He had actually blurted out lines from Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Damn it, Luo Guanzhong's ancestors didn't even know where they were playing in the sand yet. In this era, where on earth would a Romance of the Three Kingdoms come from?

When I was little at the marketplace, I heard a storyteller talk about it. At the time, I just felt these two sentences were unfathomably deep, so I remembered them. Duke, you flatter me! With no other choice, he could only push the blame onto a storyteller. The estate had been destroyed anyway; could Li Yuan really go all the way to Tujue to cross-examine a storyteller?

These two sentences appraise Lord Cao right down to the bone. The Duke of Yue, indeed... Li Yuan suddenly stopped himself, staring straight at Yun Hao as he asked, What other stories did that storyteller tell? Tell them to this old man. Li Yuan suddenly felt a strong urge to hear how that storyteller narrated the tales of the Three Kingdoms.

Yun Hao was amused. He had listened to Yuan Kuocheng's storytelling of Romance of the Three Kingdoms no less than twenty times. Asking him to tell Three Kingdoms stories meant he had found the right person.

It is said that the general trend of the realm is that after a long period of division, it must unite; after a long period of union, it must divide. The seven warring states of the late Zhou dynasty merged into Qin. After the fall of Qin, the states of Chu and Han contended and merged into Han. The Han dynasty arose when Gaozu beheaded a white snake to launch an uprising and unified the realm. Later, Emperor Guangwu restored the dynasty, which was passed down until Emperor Xian, whereupon it finally split into three kingdoms. Tracing the cause of this chaos, it mostly began during the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling. Emperor Huan imprisoned the virtuous and trusted eunuchs. Upon Emperor Huan's death, Emperor Ling ascended the throne, and Grand General Dou Wu and Grand Tutor Chen Fan assisted each other in ruling. At that time, eunuchs such as Cao Jie and others seized power. Dou Wu and Chen Fan plotted to eliminate them, but the secret leaked, and instead, they were harmed, causing the palace attendants to become even more lawless thereafter...