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As for the cons are the child, when grown, could become a rallying point for dissent, a figurehead for rebellion. Liu Bei's allies, those still loyal, might seek to use the child against him in the future. And lastly, mercy, in their world, was often mistaken for weakness.
Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, and Xu Shu exchanged glances, all of them sensing the weight of the decision their lord was about to make.
To let a seed of Liu Bei live…
It was not merely a moral dilemma. It was a matter of legacy, of security. The old proverb echoed in all their minds, Cut the grass and remove the roots.
Pang Tong took a step forward. "My lord, allow me to speak."
Lie Fan held up a hand, halting him. "I know what you wish to say, Shiyuan," he said softly. Then, turning his gaze to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei once more, he added, "This is not a decision I can make lightly."
Lie Fan's gaze flickered to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. "You understand what you're asking," he said. "This child… he or she will carry Liu Bei's blood. His name. In another time, under different circumstances, that alone would be a death sentence."
Guan Yu's jaw tightened. "Then let this be a different time."
Zhang Fei looked up, desperation tempered with resolve. "Then we will make it simpler, Lord Lie Fan. If sparing Lady Gan and the child is too much, then we offer ourselves in exchange. Take our lives, but let them go."
A hush fell once again.
Liu Bei thrashed harder at that, eyes bulging with fury. He spat his gag free, his voice hoarse but thunderous. "You fools! You would die for her? For that sniveling, useless wench and her bastard?! You think Lie Fan will keep his word? He's playing you!"
Guan Yu walked over and delivered a swift kick to Liu Bei's side, silencing him.
"You are not worth even your own breath," he said coldly. "Your cruelty ends here."
Lie Fan finally stopped pacing. He stood before the kneeling brothers, arms at his sides, his shadow long in the dim afternoon light.
"This is no easy request. The child is a symbol, not just of bloodline, but of threat. If I let it live, I risk allowing a spark to one day become a flame that burns all I've built."
Zhang Fei bowed lower. "Then we shall take responsibility for it. The child will live in secrecy. Let the world think it died here. Only we shall know the truth. We will raise it far from power, far from ambition. As a child, not a tool."
Zhuge Liang stepped forward now, his voice like cool spring rain. "My lord, this is dangerous. Such mercy may buy loyalty, yes. But it also sows uncertainty. Would you risk the lives of thousands even tens if thousands to save one child?"
Pang Tong nodded grimly. "And if word gets out that Liu Bei's blood lives, our enemies will use that against us. Already they whisper that you are ruthless. Some may interpret this kindness as weakness."
Xu Shu, more contemplative, said, "Yet it may also be a bridge. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are heroes in the people's eyes. Sparing this child could bind them to you in ways no oath could."
Lie Fan said nothing. The silence was heavy, pressing in on them all. At last, he turned back to the two kneeling generals.
"You have my answer. Lady Gan and the child will be spared, but under conditions. She will be kept under discreet watch, under a new identity. The child will grow in anonymity and without knowing of his true identity and ancestry. Should either of you break this vow or use the child for any political end, I will not hesitate to finish what I spared today."
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei bowed deeply. "We accept, Lord Lie Fan."
Liu Bei let out a bitter, broken laugh. "Even now you worship and listened to him? Even now you kneel like dogs?"
Lie Fan walked to him, crouched so their eyes were level.
"You lost, Brother Xuande. Not because of my armies, but because of who you became. Your brothers saw the rot before it was too late."
He stood and motioned to his guards. "Take him. Bind him in irons and place him in the deepest cell beneath the city. Let him await the trial that will come for him."
As the guards dragged Liu Bei away, screaming and spitting, the room finally exhaled.
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei rose to their feet, their postures less rigid than before. There was no joy in their eyes, only grim satisfaction.
Lie Fan studied them. "You two… what will you do now?"
Guan Yu exchanged a glance with Zhang Fei, then straightened. "If you'll have us Lord Lie Fan, we would offer our blades to you. Since we have no other place to go, and also go ensure you kept your promise to us."
Zhang Fei grunted. "It doesn't mean we're happy about it. Its better to serve you Lord Lie Fan, than any other warlord in this land."
Lie Fan's face brightened with a rare, unguarded smile, the kind that transformed him from an iron-willed statesman into a young man barely in his twenties. For a moment, the warlord disappeared, and what remained was a man both surprised and relieved. He hadn't expected this.
He thought perhaps Guan Yu and Zhang Fei might leave after he accepted their favor, and vanish into the mountains, living the rest of their life in seclusion or find other lord to off their service. But to offer their blades to him, even begrudgingly, was a gift he had not dared hope for.
"Favorability can be cultivated later," he thought. "Loyalty, once given, can be nurtured."
He looked between them, that smile still lingering like a crack of sunlight through storm clouds. "Ask anyone under my command, any soldier, any advisor—I do not go back on my word. I will keep the vow I made you. Lady Gan and the child will live, and they will live in peace. So long as you uphold your promise, I shall uphold mine."
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei looked at one another again, silently reading the other's mind. Then, without further hesitation, they dropped to one knee and cupped their hands in formal salute.
"We, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, swear allegiance to Lord Lie Fan," said Guan Yu, his voice steady and resolute. "So long as you hold your word, we shall hold our blades in your name."
Zhang Fei added, grumbling half-heartedly, "But don't expect us to sing your praises just yet. We're watching you."
Lie Fan chuckled. "I wouldn't want it any other way."
And just as they finished their oaths, Lie Fan's gaze flickered for a moment, he activate his skill the Eye of Erlang Shen to see the stats both this powerful warriors have.
• Guan Yu
STR: 935 VIT: 90 AGI: 82 INT: 70
• Zhang Fei
STR: 938 VIT: 93 AGI: 70 INT: 50
Lie Fan felt his heart soar. These were stats worthy of their fame in the novels and games, worthy of myth. Their strength was nearly unmatched, their vitality admirable, and even their agility surpassed many veterans.
Though Zhang Fei's intelligence was lower, his raw power and courage more than compensated for it. Guan Yu, with his balance of strength and poise, was a different kind of blade, precise, deliberate, powerful.
"Excellent," Lie Fan thought. "Whether separated or placed in the same unit, they would be pillars of any army."
"Rise, both of you," Lie Fan said aloud, his tone firm yet warm. "From this day forward, you are generals under my personal command. You will be part of the Qilin Army, my personal army, the beating heart of my military for now. There, you will have broader platform to showcase your strength and your loyalty rewarded."
Both men stood slowly. Zhang Fei cracked his neck with a grunt, and Guan Yu smoothed his beard with the dignity of a man who had made peace with an uncomfortable decision.
"We serve you my lorc, for now," said Guan Yu. "But should the day come when you break your word—"
"I won't," Lie Fan interrupted. "And I hope you never need to test that."
Meanwhile, within the Kuai Clan's ancestral residence, the main hall was quiet save for the murmuring of voices and the occasional shuffle of robes. The air was thick with incense, but the tension could not be masked by sandalwood alone.
Seated around an ornate table were Kuai Liang, Kuai Yue, Cang Xiu, Liao Hua, Chen Dao, Sun Guan, and Wang Xiu, each man lost in thought as they weighed their futures.
Kuai Liang, as the elder, steepled his fingers and broke the silence. "We must decide. Lie Fan has offered us a place in his court. Do we accept?"
Kuai Yue, as a pragmatist, tapped the table. "The question isn't whether we should accept. It's whether we have a choice."
Liao Hua frowned. "We do. He said we could walk away."
Chen Dao snorted. "And how long do you think we'd last if we did? Liu Bei is finished. The Sun Clan to the east had considered us their sworn enemies due to us serving Liu Bei. Cao Cao would sooner execute us than trust us. Lie Fan is the only power left standing."
Wang Xiu, the quietest among them, finally spoke. "But can we trust him? The news of him sparing Lady Gan and the child had spread, but what does that tell us?"
Cang Xiu, who had been listening with feigned neutrality, leaned forward. "It tells us he values loyalty over blind vengeance. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei knelt to him, and in return, he granted them honor instead of chains." He paused, letting the words sink in. "That is not the act of a tyrant."
Kuai Liang's eyes narrowed slightly. "You sound as if you've already made your decision, Cang Xiu."
Cang Xiu smiled faintly. "I sound like a man who recognizes survival when he sees it. Lie Fan doesn't just conquer, he rules. Look at how Xinye surrendered without bloodshed. Look at how quickly he placated the people of Xiangyang once he had captured it. He doesn't crush his enemies, he outmaneuvers them."
Sun Guan rubbed his chin. "And if we refuse?"
"Then we become relics of a dead regime," Cang Xiu said bluntly. "Men who clung to the past until the past swallowed them whole."
Silence fell once more.
Kuai Yue exhaled sharply. "Then it's settled. We pledge to Lie Fan."
One by one, the others nodded, some with relief, others with resignation.
All except Liao Hua, who still hesitated. "And if he betrays us?"
Cang Xiu met his gaze evenly. "Then we will know we chose wrong. But I do not think we will."
Kuai Liang stood, his decision made. "Tomorrow, we go to him together. As one."
At dawn, Lie Fan stood in the grand hall of Xiangyang's governor's mansion, now his command center. Around him was Zhang Chao, Zang Feng, Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, Xu Shu, Zhao Yun, Huang Chao, and the newly sworn Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, awaited the day's orders. Then the doors opened, and the Kuai brothers entered, followed by their companions.
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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