"Hey, this is just the beginning! Didn't you hear this is only the first chapter of the first volume? That means there are many more chapters to come, and several more volumes!"
"That makes sense, but the main character is called White Face, so why is the book titled The Story of Big Ears' Ambition? Are they going to change the main character halfway through?"
"Well... why don't you just listen and see?"
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Chapter Eleven: A Terrified Liu Bei and a Bewildered Zhang Fei
"Oh, so that's how it is. This white-faced man is a descendant of one of the sons of the sixth generation of the Great Ears. He must be more than ten generations removed. In terms of seniority, he is the uncle of the twentieth generation of the Great Ears. In addition, he has become sworn brothers with the red-faced and black-faced men! No wonder, so that's where the name Great Ears Ji comes from!" A middle-aged man, who seemed to have discovered some incredible secret, suddenly realized.
"Yes, brothers are like limbs, wives are like clothes. If someone dared to say something like that in the Han Dynasty, they'd probably be confronted by a powerful female cultivator the next day, get a beating, and then have to apologize sincerely!"
"Hey, look at that world of Big Ears, there aren't many extraordinary powers. Even the strongest person in the world, the tiger who once fought the three brothers at Hulao Pass, could only take on twenty or thirty armored soldiers by himself at most. So, it's understandable that women don't have a high status."
"However, I think that after changing his name, White Face is going to become rich, right? Look, the book is called 'Big Ears Aspire to Success,' and now White Face has a status. He's practically a member of the royal family now. Could it be that his luck is about to change?"
"Well, not necessarily. I think with a ruthless figure like 'Good Wife' who can control the emperor and command the nobles, what difference would it make if he became a member of the royal family?"
"No, look at Hebei. Isn't there still the number one hero in the world, the former leader of the alliance, Lord Phoenix? He has both reputation and strength! Even if Good Wife is very powerful, she can't compare to him in terms of strength, right?"
"That makes sense. Maybe Phoenix and Good Wife got into a fight, and then Big Ears profited from it. It's like the snipe and the clam fighting, and the fisherman reaping the benefits!"
On the second floor, it was still the same private room. But now, the relaxed and cheerful atmosphere inside had completely vanished!
"Not bad, this story is quite good, very interesting. It's much better than the old ones that featured wandering knights, merchants, scholars, and officials as protagonists. War, war, that's what men should do!" Zhang Fei said with a smile, looking at the silent Liu Bei and Guan Yu. As he spoke, he drank another jar of fine wine.
Upon hearing this, Guan Yu, whose face had been flushed, spoke up. "Third brother, don't you think these three big-eared brothers are somewhat similar to us?"
"Like? Like what?" Upon hearing this, Zhang Fei was momentarily stunned. But thankfully, he quickly recovered.
"That's right. These three brothers, Da Erji, are white-faced, red-faced, and black-faced. Aren't they exactly like you and your two brothers? Eldest brother, aren't you white-faced? Second brother, due to his cultivation technique, has always been red-faced. And me, I'm the black-faced one!"
"Oh right, there's also the Oath of the Peach Garden. I was wondering why it sounded so familiar. We three brothers swore our oath of brotherhood in the peach garden in Zhuojun, didn't we? It seems so!" Zhang Fei scratched his head, puzzled.
Hearing Zhang Fei's words, Liu Bei's already pale face became even paler after he was covered in sweat.
"If I correspond to the white face, and you two correspond to the red and black faces, then Big Ears corresponds to the current royal family. The question is, who does the Yellow Turban Rebellion correspond to? 'The Azure Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise, the year is Jiazi, great fortune for the world,' what does this mean? Is it true or false?"
"Furthermore, after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, there was the corrupt official Fei Fei. Who is this Fei Fei? Then, there was the so-called alliance of eighteen warlords. What kind of alliance was this? It was clearly a plot to completely destroy the rule of the Han Dynasty!"
The more Liu Bei talked, the more excited he became. In the end, he was caught off guard and his power leaked out. The aura of a late-stage fourth-order cultivator suddenly erupted, and with a loud bang, the table in his hands was smashed to pieces.
"Perhaps, perhaps you're overthinking it, brother? This is just a storybook written by the Recluse of Lakes and Seas. He himself said that he just had a nightmare and then wrote this storybook based on the content of the nightmare..."
However, Zhang Fei also realized that what he was saying was somewhat unreliable. Therefore, his voice grew softer and softer, until finally, he couldn't continue speaking at all.
Originally, he hadn't thought in that direction, but after receiving Liu Bei's hint, he suddenly understood many things.
The Yellow Turban Rebellion, with everyone wearing yellow turbans on their heads, coupled with such obvious Taoist signage, is it not the Way of Peace?
The Yellow Turban Rebellion had three leaders, who were three brothers. They were called the Heavenly General, the Earthly General, and the Human General. The Way of Peace also had three leaders, who were also three brothers, named Zhang Jiao, Zhang Bao, and Zhang Liang.
That good wife was the daughter of a eunuch, and she wasn't good-looking either. She was short and ugly, and when she was young, she even stole a bride. Isn't that Cao Mengde?
And then there's the Phoenix Lord, the leader of the Eighteen Lords Alliance. He comes from the largest aristocratic family and is still an illegitimate son. He was once the most prestigious person among the younger generation. Isn't that Yuan Shao?
As for the "Fatty" in "Fatty's Misrule," he's fat, ruthless, from Xiliang, and from a respectable family. With all these qualities, isn't he just Fatty Dong? (I've worked with Fatty Dong in the Shushan world, so I know some of his basic information.)
So, the question arises: in "The Story of Da Er's Ambition," will other things really happen?
The Yellow Turban Rebellion, the corrupt rule of the powerful, the warlords' campaign against him, the warlords' struggle for hegemony... Are these stories true or false? Was someone deliberately creating them to confuse the public, or were they truly meant to serve as a warning?
The more Zhang Fei thought about it, the more frightened he became. After all, scaring yourself is the most terrifying thing.
To find out what happens next, stay tuned for the next episode!
"Here's a tip, keep talking! Here, this is twenty taels of silver!"
"Here are ten taels of silver. Now, continue!"
"Yes, I also want to know whether the Phoenix Duke, who has conquered the North, swept across all directions, and gained the support of the aristocratic families, will win this crucial battle, or whether the good wife who would rather betray the world than let the world betray her will win! Oh, by the way, this is a reward."
"Here, this is three taels of silver."
"This is five taels."
"This is one hundred taels!"
Looking at the piles of silver coins before him, the storyteller blinked painfully, swallowed hard, and said helplessly, "Ladies and gentlemen, today's storytelling ends here. It's not that I'm unwilling to say more, but that's all the storytelling I have to tell."
"So, where did this storytelling come from? And do you know this 'Recluse of Lakes and Seas'?" Liu Bei suddenly asked. At this moment, he had already come down from the second floor.
Sensing Liu Bei's imposing aura and seeing the dragon on his clothes, the storyteller knew that this man must be a member of the imperial family, someone he couldn't afford to offend.
"This old man doesn't know either..."
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Chapter Twelve: This Hermit of Lakes and Seas is truly treacherous and has ulterior motives!
Shunde Bookstore in Beijing.
This bookstore has a long history. Many people who have lived in Luoyang since childhood have heard of this bookstore; in terms of history, it is at least eight or nine hundred years old.
Over the course of eight or nine hundred years, a thick network of connections has been woven. No one knows exactly how many high-ranking officials and dignitaries are involved in this dense and complex web.
In addition, this bookstore has always been humble and unassuming, focusing solely on doing business honestly and diligently. Therefore, no one has ever dared to cause trouble.
However, today, all of that has changed!