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Later that night, in a small pavilion at the back of the compound, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei sat in silence, a jug of wine untouched between them. Zhang Fei looked out into the moonlight, jaw clenched. "He's not the same anymore, second brother," he muttered. "Not the big brother we swore with under that peach tree."
Zhang Fei the let out a bitter laugh, low and humorless. "All those years… all those battles, all that hardship… for what?" His voice was heavy with disappointment, his hand clenched around the ceramic cup. "I used to say I'd follow big brother into hell itself. Now I wonder if he hasn't already brought us there."
Guan Yu remained silent, his eyes not on the wine, but staring into the distance, as if searching the horizon for some trace of the man he once called brother.
The silence between them was not comfortable, but neither of them moved to fill it with false reassurances. There was something sacred about this quiet grief, the mourning of a bond once thought unbreakable.
Zhang Fei slammed his cup down on the wooden table, the crack echoing in the pavilion. "This isn't the man we swore loyalty to at the Peach Garden."
Guan Yu closed his eyes, remembering that day under the blossoms. The wine, the oath, the camaraderie. They were just young men then, burning with passion, united by idealism.
The world was cruel, yes, but they believed they could make it better. Liu Bei, their elder brother, had inspired them with his dreams of restoring the Han, of bringing peace to a shattered land.
But now…
Before either of them could speak further, the faint sound of footsteps reached their ears. Instinct sharpened their posture. Hands went to hilts. The air tensed.
But from the shadows emerged familiar figures, men they knew. Kuai Liang, Kuai Yue, Wang Xiu, Cang Xiu, Chen Dao, Liao Hua, and Sun Guan. All approached without weapons drawn, their faces grim but unthreatening.
Zhang Fei narrowed his eyes. "What are you all doing out here at this hour?"
Kuai Liang stepped forward, his tone calm but direct. "We've come to speak with you, Generals Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. About Lord Liu Bei's actions yesterday, and today."
The pavilion went still. Guan Yu's hand slowly dropped from his sword hilt, though his expression remained unreadable. Zhang Fei scowled, shifting his weight like a restless animal.
Kuai Yue raised both hands, his voice measured and firm. "We come in peace. Not to accuse, not to provoke. But to share something… that both generals deserve to know."
He gestured, and Cang Xiu stepped forward with a small wooden box in his hands. The lid was removed carefully, almost ceremoniously. Inside, stacks of letters, scrolls, and ledgers, tied with red string, aged with wear but preserved well.
"What is all this?" Guan Yu asked, his voice calm but carrying the edge of suspicion.
"This are evidences," Kuai Liang replied. "Of what Lord Liu Bei has been hiding from all of us. Of who he truly is."
Zhang Fei's eyes darted from face to face. "What are you talking about? Speak plainly."
Chen Dao nodded to Kuai Yue, who took the box and motioned for them to follow.
"Not here," he said. "Let us speak in private, General Guan Yu and General Zhang Fei."
Wordlessly, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei led the group into a side chamber of the compound. The room was modest, just a large table, some stools, and lanterns hanging from the beams above, but it was quiet and secure. Once inside, the door was shut behind them.
The flickering candlelight cast long shadows across the walls, Kuai Yue placed the wooden box on the table and slowly began to remove its contents.
"These are letters from officials and commanders lord Liu Bei dismissed without reason, some of them former loyal retainers who questioned his orders. Here," he said, handing a scroll to Guan Yu.
"This one was written by a commander named Liu Yong, just weeks before he was removed from office. He speaks of how Liu Bei began making decisions for his unit without any council with him, cutting off those who questioned him."
Guan Yu unrolled the scroll and read silently, his brows furrowing with every line.
"This ledger," Kuai Liang added, sliding another document toward Zhang Fei, "shows discrepancies in the grain reserves. Supplies marked as 'delivered to the people' were instead redirected to private storehouses under lord Liu Bei and his accomplices control."
Cang Xiu chimed in, "There are receipts with the seal of a merchant syndicate from Yi Province, one that's been receiving favors and waivers in exchange for 'donations.' It's all here."
One by one, the documents were laid out. Letters of betrayal. Lists of funds misappropriated. Statements from dismissed officers. Hidden alliances with corrupt officials. Guan Yu read through a missive from a small town administrator, written in secret, pleading for intervention against Liu Bei's heavy handed taxation.
Each piece added weight to their shoulders.
Guan Yu, his face ashen, reached for the final document, a confession.
Written in the shaky hand of a clerk named Fan Yi, it detailed how he had been ordered to falsify records, to hide the exploitation of the peasantry, to ensure Liu Bei's public image remained untarnished.
"I could no longer bear the guilt," the confession read. "The people starve while the granaries overflow for the wealthy. The soldiers bleed while their pay is withheld. I write this knowing it may cost me my life, but the truth must be known."
After they finished reading the letter of confession, both brothers sat in stunned silence. The room, though warm with candlelight, felt cold.
Then Zhang Fei let out a strangled laugh, bitter and broken. "All these years… we fought for this?"
Guan Yu closed his eyes. The weight of realization pressed down on him like a physical force.
The oaths sworn under the peach tree. The battles fought side by side. The unwavering belief that they served a man of virtue.
All of it a big fat lie.
Kuai Liang's voice cut through the silence. "We did not come to you lightly, Generals. But after what happened yesterday… after both of you see how he treated Lady Gan… we knew you had to see the truth."
Zhang Fei's voice was hoarse when he responded. "No wonder you all distanced yourselves from him. You knew. You all knew, and we were the only fools still singing his praises."
Sun Guan nodded solemnly. "We did not want to believe it either, General Zhang Fei. But the truth reveals itself, whether we are ready for it or not."
Guan Yu's jaw was tight, his mind a storm. "Why didn't any of you tell us sooner?"
"We tried," Wang Xiu said gently. "But we feared the weight of brotherhood might cloud your judgment. And we weren't ready. We needed proof, solid proof. We gathered it, piece by piece, under the two Master Kuai's and General Cang Xiu manuver. Risked exposure to obtain it. Now that we have solid proof and hearing what you both witness yesterday, we couldn't keep it hidden from you anymore."
The silence that followed was heavier than before. Zhang Fei stood, pacing like a caged tiger.
"Do you know what it means?" he growled. "If all this is true… if our brother is no longer the man he was… we've been fighting for a lie. Bleeding for a lie."
Guan Yu's voice was a whisper. "No… not a lie. Maybe not at first. The dream was real once. But something changed."
He looked up, his eyes burning with quiet fury. ".Maybe the crown corrupted him. Or maybe… he was always this man, just hiding it well."
Zhang Fei turned to him, desperate. "What do we do, second brother? What the hell do we do now?"
Guan Yu didn't answer right away. Instead, he looked at the documents again, his heart heavy with betrayal. He had devoted his life to loyalty, to justice. To Liu Bei. But what if that loyalty was now misplaced?
Then Guan Yu straightened, his expression hardening into resolve.
"We will confront him."
Zhang Fei bared his teeth. "Damn right we will."
Cang Xiu's eyes widened. "You can't be serious, generals. After what we've just shown you, after what he's capable of—"
Guan Yu cut him off. "We swore an oath. If we are to break it, we will do so to his face."
Zhang Fei nodded fiercely. "No sneaking around. No knives in the dark. We'll look him in the eye and tell him exactly what we think of his virtue."
The others exchanged uneasy glances.
Chen Dao sighed. "Then you will break your bond right there and then."
Guan Yu's gaze at this time doesn't wavered. "Perhaps. If that was what it needs to see who he truly was for the two of us, then we take it."
After that the two of them goes out to confront Liu Bei, and found him still in his study, surrounded by maps and half, empty cups of wine. His eyes, bloodshot and shadowed, flicked up as the door opened.
For a fleeting moment, something like hope flickered across his face.
"Yun Chang. Yide."
Then he saw their expressions.
And the hope died.
Zhang Fei didn't bother with pleasantries. "We know, Big Brother."
Liu Bei's brow furrowed. "Know what?"
Guan Yu stepped forward, placing the wooden box on the table between them.
"Everything."
Liu Bei's face went very, very still. Then, slowly, he reached out and lifted the lid. His expression didn't change as he scanned the contents.
When he looked up, his voice was eerily calm.
"Where did you get these?"
Zhang Fei's laugh was hollow. "Does it matter?"
Liu Bei's fingers twitched. "It matters very much."
Guan Yu's voice was like steel. "The question isn't where we got them, Big Brother. The question is, are they true?"
A beat of silence. Then Liu Bei leaned back in his chair, his lips curling into something that might have been a smile.
"What if they are?"
Zhang Fei recoiled as if struck. Guan Yu's breath caught. Liu Bei spread his hands. "Did you think virtue alone could build an empire? That righteousness could feed an army? That kindness could topple warlords?" His voice dripped with contempt.
"You two, you've always been so simple. So pure. The noble warrior. The fearless general. But the world doesn't run on oaths and honor. It runs on power."
Zhang Fei's voice was a whisper. "We fought for you…"
Liu Bei's smile turned pitying. "And I used you. Just as I used everyone else."
Guan Yu's hand went to his blade.
Liu Bei didn't flinch. "Will you kill me, Yun Chang? The brother you swore to die for?"
Guan Yu's fingers trembled.
Then, slowly, he let go.
"No."
Liu Bei's smirk widened. "I didn't think—"
"But our oath is broken." Guan Yu's voice was final. "From this moment forward, you are no brother of mine."
Zhang Fei spat on the ground. "Rot in hell, liar."
Liu Bei's amusement faded. "You'll regret this." Guan Yu turned away. "No," he said softly. "We should have done it years ago." And with that, they left. Left the study. Left the mansion. Left Liu Bei.
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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