Chapter 64
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: The Three Brothers Dreamed of the Peach Garden (6)
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Chengdu's Chancellor's Residence.
It was late at night, but candles still burned brightly in Zhuge Liang's office.
The place where his lord had departed.
Deep wrinkles furrowed Zhuge Liang's brow as he anxiously awaited news from Yiling.
At that moment.
Ma Dai burst in, covered in dust, his footsteps hurried.
"Chancellor! An urgent dispatch from the front lines!"
Zhuge Liang took the scroll from Ma Dai with trembling hands.
What it contained.
Was the deployment map of the Shu army encamped at Yiling.
Zhuge Liang's eyes widened as he scrutinized the layout revealed by the candlelight, soon filling with horror.
"Who in the world suggested His Majesty form such a camp? That man is surely a traitor to the realm—execute him at once and redeploy the formation!"
Ma Dai paled at Zhuge Liang's blazing fury.
He hesitated for a moment before finally speaking in a quivering voice.
"Chancellor... His Majesty inspected and set up the camp himself."
At Ma Dai's words.
Zhuge Liang stared blankly at the empty air in disbelief.
His legs gave way, and he collapsed to the floor.
How... how could this be.
When facing a smaller force with superior numbers, one must concentrate troops to display overwhelming might.
Yet stretching out a line over seven hundred li, ignoring the terrain, would make them perfect for defeat in detail.
And pitched deep in the forests—if the enemy used fire tactics?
...
...
"If the situation grows dire, persuade His Majesty to retreat to White Emperor City immediately. Fortunately, I've hidden a hundred thousand troops nearby as a contingency. Even if Lu Xun pursues, they won't lay a finger on His Majesty's person once he reaches there."
Why heavenly omens had felt chaotic near White Emperor City.
Why he had felt such a strong pull to that place—not even the front lines—and established the Eight Array Stones there.
A vague premonition become reality weighed heavily on Zhuge Liang's chest.
Watching Ma Dai hurriedly depart.
Zhuge Liang began preparations to leave Chengdu.
Though his absence would undoubtedly create a massive administrative vacuum.
His place was at his lord's side, where soldiers were needed.
Even if it meant defying orders, he should have gone with him.
He had realized it too late.
(To be continued in the next chapter.)
Though the protagonist of Part 2.
It ended from Zhuge Liang's perspective, refreshing the viewpoint and leaving a lingering sense that it could still be turned around.
But the powerful impression that events would unfold exactly as Zhuge Liang predicted allowed even those who hadn't read between the lines to intuitively grasp Liu Bei's crisis.
The salon filled with unrest in an instant.
"If only Zhuge Liang had gone with Liu Bei from the start...!"
"The nation's top two leaders can't both go to war. It was a rational decision. Still... it leaves a bitter aftertaste."
"Besides Zhuge Liang, the Liu Bei army has no other strategists with real influence... None at all..."
They couldn't help but sigh.
"But Zhuge Liang will come up with something...!"
"Zhao Yun! Like at Changban or the Seven Star Altar, Zhao Yun will save Liu Bei. He's always been Liu Bei's constant!"
Since Liu Bei had shat himself more than once or twice, some pinned their hopes on the two loyal retainers who always cleaned it up.
And the next day.
- I can't bear to look...
Even Chloe refused to read it first, and Kim Yul's manuscript once again cast a nightmare over the world.
The readers' vague conjectures, Zhuge Liang's predictions.
Manifested as Shu's future melting away in the flames at Xiaoting.
Even Liu Bei's attempt to retreat and regroup was properly snagged by Lu Xun at Ma'an Mountain.
He ended up retreating to White Emperor City over land, losing nearly all his troops and unable even to use the river routes.
The silver lining was.
- W-What is this!
- Stay calm! It's Kongming's trap!
Zhuge Liang's pre-arranged Eight Array Stones successfully blocked Lu Xun's pursuit, allowing Liu Bei to barely escape with his life.
- Ugh... my lord...! Have I arrived too late...!
Though he couldn't prevent the main force's annihilation, Zhao Yun arrived with reinforcements, letting readers catch their breath there.
And so.
"Ha! Pulling back troops here out of fear of Cao Pi."
"From Liu Bei's position, he couldn't refuse peace..."
The flames that bloomed at Yiling mercifully weren't brilliant enough to snuff out Liu Bei's life.
At least, up to that point.
But unfortunately for the readers, today's chapter was another massive serving.
They had no choice but to turn the pages, gripped by tension.
And one paragraph.
Another paragraph.
As their eyes devoured the text, Liu Bei's life flame burned steeply, flickering faintly like a candle with a worn wick.
At that moment.
Zhuge Liang arrived at White Emperor City.
"Your Majesty, your servant Zhuge Liang has arrived."
Liu Bei gazed at his most loyal retainer, the other half of his soul with whom he had lived like fish and water, through hazy eyes.
Tears welled in Liu Bei's eyes.
"Chancellor, my illness has seeped into my bones; recovery is impossible. We sought to set the world right and revive the Han together, yet I depart midway without achieving our great cause—what regret!"
"Your Majesty, you must preserve your health. There is still much to do..."
Liu Bei shook his head and extended a trembling hand.
Zhuge Liang clasped it with both hands.
It was a hand that felt no more vitality, utterly cold.
Liu Bei steadied his breath for a moment.
"Chancellor, your talents surpass Cao Pi of Wei tenfold; surely you can stabilize the realm and achieve our cause. ...Thus, if my son Liu Shan proves worthy, aid him. But if that child lacks promise..."
"Your Majesty...?"
"Become the master of Shu yourself, Chancellor."
At those words.
Zhuge Liang slammed his forehead to the floor with a thud and sobbed.
"How could I harbor such thoughts...! Even if my bones grind to dust and my body shatters, I shall bend my frame, exert every ounce of strength, uphold loyalty and integrity, and cease only in death...!"
Blood flowed from his forehead, but Zhuge Liang didn't stop—until Liu Bei's strained hand gripped his shoulder.
...
...
Liu Bei's gaze drifted toward the void.
Before his eyes.
The scene of their Peach Garden Oath shimmered.
Those young days.
The loyal heart to save the nation.
Youth, passion, benevolence.
And.
Guan Yu.
Zhang Fei.
My beloved brothers.
At the story's close.
An illustration appeared, one not included for a while.
They called it a chiastic structure.
Those who saw the illustration—especially the deep readers of the two heroes—couldn't tear their eyes away.
The Peach Garden Oath.
Under the peach tree, the three brothers sharing wine cups, vowing to die on the same day even if lives differed—just that primordial scene, that composition.
Beneath the peach tree with petals scattering fiercely.
The Hero Sword.
The Green Dragon Crescent Blade.
And the Serpent Spear stood planted.
"Ulysses, you damned bastard...!"
"Sob, sniff."
"This is... too much..."
Thanks to laying the groundwork like 'You must cry here,' the sensitive and deeply immersed readers were soon weeping soundlessly.
Truly.
It was a sorrowful day.
.
.
.
That day.
Rain fell over the Empire, right on cue.
Not enough for umbrellas, but enough to feel uncomfortably damp.
People ventured into the streets heedless of slightly wet clothes, weighed down by a heavy emotion.
And wandered aimlessly.
Their footsteps led to.
The place Chloe had created early in the serialization to elevate the high elves' status and promote the work.
The plaza's peach world tree.
Normally bustling with visitors, but with rain, clouds, and a somber mood.
Perfect.
For mourning.
Before the massively blooming peach tree, petals scattering like washed by rain.
Wildflowers, chrysanthemums, roses, all kinds of flowers.
Placed one by one.
Piling up gradually.
Though mere fictional characters, a small tribute to their tumultuous lives.
Or a homage to the author who shaped such gripping figures.
To define their emotions.
Pity after witnessing tragedy, emotional catharsis.
Catharsis.
That would fit.
The day Liu Bei officially died.
Kim Yul had a tumultuous day.
"Waaah!"
Enduring Esthea's fury since dawn, after she read the latest chapter and slammed her face against the lab door again.
Starting with Historie hugging and soothing Esthea.
He also witnessed the memorial unfolding before the peach world tree on the way to Novelpia headquarters, unavoidable as it was.
And.
[Condemn the Yiling Campaign for Promoting Environmental Destruction]
[Elves Never Lose in Forests]
[Repent and Awaken, Wicked Author Ulysses]
Forced to infiltrate the building via a secret entrance because protesters from the Full-Scale Elf Alliance surrounded Novelpia HQ with placards.
Overcoming those trials.
"Kim... Yul..."
Seeing Death and the Young Lady—who had been giggling yesterday—now sniffling like infested bread today.
Kim Yul let out a deep sigh.
His original sin ran deep indeed.