The Emperor's Blood Edict
After Zhang Fei took the little one and Jia Xu back to their quarters, I immediately summoned everyone.
"Kim Gong. What is it with that serious look on your face?" Liu Bei asked, eyeing me.
"Don't you think it's about time we escaped this Heo Do?" I cut straight to the point.
"...Hmm. You're right. But Cao Cao won't let us go that easily." Liu Bei's expression hardened instantly. He knew it too. If we stayed like this, we'd end up absorbed into Cao Cao's army—that was the ending.
"I know a place to run to." I patted Jia Xu on the shoulder. Come on, spill it. My bag of tricks.
"One option is to head to Yong Province and seek shelter with Ma Teng," Jia Xu said in her soft, drawling tone.
"Ma Teng..." Liu Bei's face grew grave.
"Yong Province is on the frontier, out of Cao Cao's reach. Plus, Ma Teng is currently at odds with Han Sui. With our military strength, we could leverage that to build a foothold and rack up some debts in our favor." Jia Xu explained.
"Indeed... I've heard of Lord Ma Teng's reputation." As Liu Bei spoke, he glanced subtly at me. It was clear he had something to say just to me and our close aides, but with Jia Xu here—someone we hadn't fully trusted yet—it was hard to dive deep.
"By the way, Kim. Who is this woman...?" Guan Yu showed her discomfort right away. She'd been wondering but only now asked.
"Who's that?" Zhang Fei, lifting and lowering a heavy training stone like it was nothing, sized up Jia Xu.
"This is Jia Xu. She was a strategist under Zhang Xiu—extremely clever. We're starting to need a brains-of-the-operation, so I brought her on board." I introduced her.
"Jia Xu... One of Dong Zhuo's people, then Li Jue and Guo Si after that." Liu Bei looked a bit uneasy.
Yeah. Everyone Jia Xu had served was a traitor through the ages. If she stuck to canon and went to Cao Cao next, she'd achieve the traitor trifecta crown.
"Her resume is like that, sure, but she had her reasons—circumstances beyond her control." I jumped right into convincing Liu Bei.
"In these chaotic times, who doesn't have a past? What matters is ability." Nitpicking history in this era was pointless.
"Hmmm..." Liu Bei still eyed Jia Xu suspiciously.
"If anything goes wrong because of Jia Xu, I'll take responsibility and fix it. And if I can't... I'll cut open my own belly!" I declared my seppuku oath on the spot.
"M-My lord..." Jia Xu gazed at me with a touched expression.
She's the one I brought in—I had to own that much.
"If Kim Gong puts it that way." Liu Bei sighed and pulled out a crumpled cloth.
"What is it, brother?" Zhang Fei tilted his head at Liu Bei.
"It's an imperial edict from His Majesty." Liu Bei stated flatly.
"From His Imperial Majesty...!" The room buzzed at his words.
"An edict commanding the formation of an anti-Cao alliance to assassinate the traitor Cao Cao. His Majesty wrote this in his own blood." Liu Bei held up the edict with righteous indignation.
Commanding the anti-Cao coalition to slay the traitor Cao Cao.
Written in the blood of His Majesty the Emperor.
The Emperor's blood edict... In the game, it was a pretty significant event item. Holding it boosted your reputation when killing Cao Cao-aligned characters—a shared weapon for the whole faction.
Given how tangled the karma webs were in this game, reputation management was a pain. This was a top-tier artifact. Just taking out Cao's men, the false emperor, or other traitors skyrocketed your fame—perfect for grinding prestige.
"Ma Teng's name is on it too." Liu Bei pointed to Ma Teng's name on the list.
From the Emperor's view, Ma Teng—making a name with brute force on the frontier—was someone worth pulling in.
"His Majesty tasked me with going out and rallying the lords. Convincing Ma Teng in Yong Province could be a good start." Liu Bei smiled as he said it.
"Hmph." Jia Xu eyed the edict with cynical amusement.
Yeah. I knew what Jia Xu was thinking. No one was going to rally around this edict anyway. But she kept it to herself.
Still, Jia Xu was overlooking something.
Legitimacy matters. Liu Bei was the man who, under the banner of purging Han traitors, mocked the imperial house and eventually founded his own kingdom. This edict would prove precious all the way to the late game.
"Xiliang, huh... Sounds good, but how? We're under watch everywhere." Zhang Fei grumbled in frustration.
"I have a plan for that." Jia Xu smiled sweetly at Zhang Fei.
"I'll convince Cao Cao. Once I do, we'll all head to Xiliang together on the set date." Jia Xu seemed awfully confident.
"If you can pull that off, teacher, this Liu Bei will thank you for life!" Liu Bei must have an eye for people. He seemed set on backing Jia Xu now.
"Leave it to me." Jia Xu smiled, bowed to Liu Bei, and withdrew.
After hashing out our future moves in broad strokes...
"You all are such innocents." Jia Xu chuckled at me.
"If I tipped off Cao Cao about that edict, you'd all be executed... And you blurt it out to someone you just met." Jia Xu sounded exasperated.
"I believe you won't." I brushed it off while subtly watching her. No way she's plotting something sneaky, right?
"Once I decide to use someone, I trust them. That's my creed. And the creed of our whole Liu Bei army." Inside, I was a bit spooked, but I played it cool.
"Trust... Does that even exist in this era?" Jia Xu smirked.
"I trust you." No real certainty, but I said it with conviction.
[Persuasion 73 + Affinity Bonus 10]
Jia Xu is convinced by your words.
Whew. Good thing. The magic status window came through.
"...H-Hah!" Jia Xu's face suddenly flushed crimson. She started averting her eyes from me in a strangely evasive way.
"You really are... a peculiar bunch." Jia Xu cleared her throat awkwardly.
"Don't worry. I've already decided to serve you as my lord. No betrayal from me." Jia Xu chuckled.
"Good. I trust you." I took her hand to show solid faith.
"Hyah!" But Jia Xu yanked her hand back with a cat-like squeak. Oops. Too bold with the skinship?
Anyway, we decided to lay low until Cao Cao brought up the Xuzhou campaign.
Thinking I'd do some sword practice, I grabbed a wooden sword and headed to the backyard—only to find it occupied.
"Hoo... Hoo..." Zhang Fei was swinging a wooden sword weighted with stones, over and over.
Oh. Zhang Fei training too? Sparring later to smash him, then.
As I approached with that in mind, there was another early bird.
"Uncle! Uncle!" A cute little girl was pestering Zhang Fei. Her twin tails reminded me of someone.
"Scram, kid." Zhang Fei kept swinging without looking her way.
"I drew a cat. Look!" But the kid ignored him, showing off her ground sketch of a cat.
"Hah! That's a cat? Looks like a dog!" Zhang Fei snorted and played along. "It's a cat!!" The kid got mad and started smacking Zhang Fei's legs.
"Uhahat! Hit me harder!! This Zhang Fei won't budge!" "Uncle, you're cheating!!" Zhang Fei and the girl were bickering like crazy.
"Whoa. Zhang Fei, who's the kid?" Looked fun, so I jumped in.
"Ah, Kim. No idea. She's bugging me mid-training." Zhang Fei said.
"Uncle!! I told you my name!! Ha!! Hu!! Hui!! Ha Hu Hui!!" The girl introduced herself.
"Ha Hu..." From the Ha Hou clan, huh. It clicked.
"You Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan's niece?" I asked the kid.
"Yeah! That's right!!" She nodded eagerly.
"Got it. Say hi to them for me." I did feel a bit bad for those two. Chun Seol and I had looted all the treasures from their fallen kingdom that they were supposed to take.
"Okay." The kid nodded at me, then latched onto Zhang Fei's leg again. Her clinging power was goblin-level.
"Uncle, you stink of sweat. Ehehe." Ha Hu Hui giggled, hanging off him.
"Beat it, kid. If I stink, you'll leave on your own." Zhang Fei seemed genuinely annoyed.
Xiahou Yuan's niece... Yeah, Ha Hu Hui. After her dad died in the chaos, Xiahou Yuan basically adopted her as a daughter and doted on her. A glimpse into Xiahou Yuan's tiger-hearted side.
And... she ends up marrying Zhang Fei of all people. Their kid becomes Liu Shan's wife and empress. Some accounts say Zhang Fei kidnapped her, others a lovers' elopement... Either way, key figure in Shu Han's lineage.
Seeing this, the age gap is brutal... I'd just witnessed prime evidence for the Zhang Fei lolicon theory.
"Jeez, what a pesky kid." Zhang Fei acted oblivious now, but these two getting hitched... Fate's connections are hard to predict.
"Kim, let's spar. And you, kid—stay back or you'll get hurt." Zhang Fei waved her off.
"No way! I'm drawing my cat!" Ha Hu Hui scampered to the corner, sticking out her tongue.
"Then come at me, Kim!! I'll turn you into mincemeat!" Zhang Fei grabbed his practice spear, grinning.
"Mincemeat? Oh... Like when you got crushed in that soccer game." "Grahhh!!! Fine!!! I'll shut that mouth!!" We launched into sparring.
"Uncle! Go for it!!" Ha Hu Hui cheered Zhang Fei, waving wildly.
"Quiet, kid!" Zhang Fei grumbled, a bit embarrassed, readjusting his spear.
I'd been wondering when Cao Cao would bring up Xuzhou. Finally, at the council meeting, he did.
"Time to subjugate those Sun bastards squatting in Xuzhou on their own." Cao Cao got right to it.
Xin Ye was stable now, so Cao Cao was eyeing a big play: swallowing Xuzhou and Nanyang at once.
"Yun Dek, this Cao Mengde will see your grievances properly avenged." Cao Cao boomed a laugh at Liu Bei.
"I am grateful for the Prime Minister's grace." Liu Bei replied politely, then glanced at Jia Xu. Wondering how she'd sway Cao Cao.
"Prime Minister, may I speak?" Jia Xu, who'd been silent beside me, raised her hand, drawing all eyes.
Was it her beauty, or that subtle charisma? Everyone turned to her.
"Ah, you're... that strategist who nearly burned my daughter alive." Cao Cao smiled, tilting his head.
"Attacking Xuzhou is sound strategy... but I have concerns." Jia Xu continued carefully, staring straight at Cao Cao with her yellow eyes.
"Speak." Cao Cao twirled his scholar beard, all ears.
How's she gonna shoot this down? I was hooked.