Chapter 61
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Do the Three Brothers Dream of the Peach Blossom Paradise? (3)
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As the saying goes, the carriage rolls on even if the dog barks.
Kim Yul agonized over it, but he didn't stop serializing. And Guan Yu steadily charged toward the glory laid out for him—and the death that would follow.
But there were subtle revisions.
Scattering hints and foreshadowing of his death indiscriminately throughout.
"Isn't that the scene where he's playing Go and starts whimpering like a little girl with 'three-three'?"
"Why do you know more about memes than history?"
"Exactly. You should've cut the internet when building my model. Do you have any idea how many abyssal horrors I've glimpsed because of you?"
Kim Yul felt guilt creeping up his spine, but he ignored it and focused on writing.
The basic framework remained the same.
In the siege of Fan Castle, Pang De's arrow struck Guan Yu's shoulder with a devastating single-target strike, producing a grand effect sound.
And in the novel, Hua Tuo—who should have already died—revived with the elixir of Yi To Jeon Saeng and came personally to treat Guan Yu.
Here.
- General, you already wield power beyond mortal flesh, and your body has reached its limit. This treatment is merely a stopgap.
- It's fine. My body was meant to be burned for my brother's great cause anyway. Even if I must rise to die, I won't grovel to live. Ma Liang? Let's play a game of Go.
By slipping in the mention that his lifespan was already at an end, he tossed in a foreshadowing cushion for the readers.
Of course, it was easy to miss for those skimming through.
But there are heavy readers who devour more novels in a day than anyone else—and unless they drop a series, they chew every last bit with relish.
"Kiiiim Yuuuuuul!"
"Come on in, mongrel."
"How dare you call this noble self 'mongrel'! Hmm, anyway... don't tell me... Guan Yu... dies...?"
"Uh... well..."
Kim Yul's heart softened a bit at the illusion of an invisible tail drooping limply.
Even so.
The mongrel might whine, but Kim Yul kept running.
Also.
There had been a similar event in the orthodox history and the novel, but he exaggerated the temporary alliance between Cao Cao and Sun Quan for dramatic effect.
- If Guan Yu lives, we'll never claim Jingzhou, let alone the central plains. Even if it shakes the nation's foundation—even if it means allying with our old foe—we must seize this chance to take him down!
Along with Cao Cao's fury upon hearing of Pang De's death, vowing to unleash hordes of his ultimate weapon, the Tiger Cavalry.
- As Zhou Yu said before dying, we can't reach the future without breaking Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu. So we must form a secret pact and strike Guan Yu first. Let posterity call us cowards—here, we have no choice but to stab him in the back!
Sun Quan, true to his scavenger nature, openly plotted a backstab.
Separated from his brothers, Guan Yu now faced the malice of two great powers head-on in a powder-keg crisis.
Even that airheaded Chloe had grasped the gravity of the situation.
"K-Kim Yul? This lady is feeling a bit uneasy... Surely Guan Yu doesn't die...?"
Despite her slightly venomous looks, Chloe—who was surprisingly weak to plot twists where main characters died—prodded Kim Yul's back cautiously.
"Uh... well..."
Kim Yul's heart softened again at the sight of Chloe's drooping eyes and ears.
Still, he couldn't stop.
Berthus Duke's third son, Regios, believed there was always something to learn from failure.
The tales of his father's exploits he'd heard since childhood weren't all unmitigated triumphs—but even minor setbacks carried the magic to flip into greater successes.
Naturally, Berthus Duke had drilled one lesson into him repeatedly during his education.
Before plotting against an enemy, gauge their strength thoroughly.
And always ponder where to strike to make them hurt most.
Ironically, the man himself had poked the porcupine that was Kim Yul wrong and gotten burned, but Regios resolved to turn even that failure into a lesson.
"So you're still reading that guy's novels? Haha."
"To know your enemy."
True, the man possessed freakish strength.
But judging by his actions and efforts, he was a novelist at heart.
To challenge the man who'd humiliated him again, analysis was key.
So wasn't reading his novels and watching the magical plays the perfect way to 'understand the enemy'?
Back in the academy, taking 'Fundamentals of Literature' as a required liberal arts course, he'd wondered why he had to learn such nonsense.
But now, facing a lifelong rival, he finally understood.
A work expresses the author's emotions, thoughts, and experiences.
Thus, to analyze a work, one must discern what the author sought to convey.
A work reflects the reality the author wishes to portray.
Thus, to analyze a work, one must examine how the author perceives reality.
"Regios, you got a C+ in Fundamentals of Literature."
"Shut it. You're disrupting my focus."
He kicked his academy classmate—and fellow Capital Guard— in the butt for constantly sniping.
Then Regios dove back into the novel.
"I'll dismantle and dissect you thoroughly, Ulysses...!"
A sinister smile curled his lips as he devoured the latest installments of the two heroes' saga, aged three days like fine wine.
And then.
He saw it.
The impact one man—worthy of the moniker 'Army God' after layers of meticulously built narrative—could have on the battlefield.
A realm of combat far beyond the Six Slashes of the Blue Dragon that had awed him before, one only an absolute being could achieve.
He beheaded Pang De and captured Yu Jin alive.
He clashed with Cao Ren and drove him back, fought Xu Huang to a standstill.
And even amid it all, out of loyalty.
- A thousand gold to the one who takes Guan Yu's head!
- General Xu, what is this!?
Though they met as foes on the field, he showed respect for Xu Huang, with whom he shared a personal bond.
The true bearing of a grand hero!
And it didn't end there.
In the breathless battles, pursuits, and retreats—swallowing bitter defeat amid rear harassment—he never lost his valor against Sun Quan's treacherous troops.
Even Wu's famed generals—Lu Meng, Zhu Ran, and Pan Zhang—stepped up personally to hound Guan Yu.
"Hah..."
Though the tale cut off there for now.
In that sequence, Regios felt an indescribable surge of emotion.
No matter how he thought it over or mulled it.
This wasn't just a heroic saga of Guan Yu the individual.
Even as the empire achieved unification, the process was rife with discord and skirmishes.
And beyond the empire's reach, factions merged and split, breeding conflict.
"Ah, now it makes sense."
There was exaggeration, sure.
But considering the brute force that had sent him flying in one blow.
And Guan Yu's feats as depicted.
Guan Yu was surely a projection of the author Ulysses' own experiences.
A war hero from one of the nations destroyed in the 15-Year Great War, perhaps.
That explained his untraceable past and personal ties to the Saintess.
And why he'd fled to the empire—his identity would unravel quickly in a Great War survivor state...!
"You've finally shown your tail, Ulysses."
Kim Yul was definitely a pseudonym. Ulysses probably too.
Now, tracing this clue would reveal the man's true identity.
Regios smiled and set the newspaper down.
And thought.
Then, even in this crisis, Guan Yu surely wouldn't die.
Having cast off all doubts and agonies.
Kim Yul's hands moved without hesitation toward the ending he'd chosen.
But there was one part he'd hesitated over slightly.
Guan Yu's demise.
"The Luo Guanzhong version... feels a bit much, doesn't it?"
"Might as well go with the Mo Zonggang edition."
There were two versions of Guan Yu's end.
One was.
- Though Guan Yu attained divinity, he lingered too long in the mortal world. By the Jade Emperor's decree, return to heaven—do not contend with mortals.
A version where he ascended gloriously to become a true immortal.
The other was the infamous sequence: head lopped off, salted, boxed, and delivered to Cao Cao.
From Kim Yul's perspective, since he'd twisted the plot, battles, and fried his brain already, why not cap it with a flashy ascension ending?
"What if Saintess Roselin brands your forehead with a heretic mark again? And the genre suddenly shifts."
"Good point."
The icon of blunt honesty, this era's greatest intellect clump.
Historie's timely advice grabbed him by the collar.
.
.
.
The first to savor the finalized manuscript was, as always, the editor-cum-publisher's prerogative.
Harboring a sliver of hope that her warnings would have spared Guan Yu.
Chloe flipped through the pages.
"It's death... it's deaaath...!"
Thud!
Chloe let out a short shriek and toppled backward like Cao Cao beholding Guan Yu's head.
Kim Yul hurriedly caught her.
"Kim Yul... how can this lady ever trust you again... You really killed Guan Yu...!"
Chloe's soul had already half-melted away.
The next day.
The imperial capital received word of Guan Yu's passing in two lines.
- Happy dreams. We ran together.
- Now, our brothers' dream shall endure forever.