The Three Kingdoms: The entire Cao Cao camp thought I was weak and frail.

Lu Bu's attention was successfully diverted.

For a martial artist, the appearance of a seemingly familiar, frail scholar is far less likely to attract his attention than the arrival of the son of a fierce general.

His gaze shifted from Xun Hao to Sun Ce.

It was the look of a predator scrutinizing another cub.

"Sun Jian's son?" Lü Bu nodded, his tone calm yet carrying an innate arrogance. "Your father's martial arts were somewhat lacking; otherwise, he wouldn't have been defeated by Liu Biao."

Sun Ce's hand, gripping his sword, was bulging with veins.

"Lord Wen is right." Zhou Yu hurriedly stood up and stood in front of Sun Ce. "Bo Fu is young and still needs to be trained. How can he be compared with a hero like Lord Wen who is renowned throughout the world? Who in the world does not know that Lord Wen is invincible in horsemanship, and with his halberd, he has rendered the heroes of Guandong helpless."

Upon hearing this compliment, Lü Bu's facial features softened considerably, and he grinned, revealing a smug smile.

"Haha, you've got a way with words, kid."

Guo Jia watched this scene and laughed along.

He picked up his teacup, blew on it gently, and then slowly replied.

"Gongjin, you are mistaken. Marquis Wen is not only invincible in cavalry battles, but also formidable in infantry and naval warfare." "That's right, even if Marquis Wen's legs were sealed with yellow earth, he would still be the best in the world." Zhou Yu chimed in, maintaining perfect etiquette throughout, his words echoing Guo Jia's as if they were perfectly in sync.

This sounded strange, but Lü Bu loved hearing the phrase "the best in the world," and he couldn't discern the subtle curse-like meaning in it.

Looking at the four energetic young men before him, two of whom were exceptionally intelligent and the other two were remarkably brave, Wang Yun's desire to recruit and control them grew even stronger.

But these four people came to visit together today, as if the assassination of Xun Yanruo in the street yesterday was already over. Wang Yun was suspicious and always wanted to divide the four people so that it would be easier to recruit them.

Wang Yun, seated in the main seat, wore a warm smile. "Fengxiao and Yanruo, you two have traveled a great distance to escort the tribute gold, demonstrating Mengde's unwavering loyalty to the court. I am deeply gratified. After the tribute is handed over to the national treasury, I will certainly petition the Emperor for Mengde's reward and to commend you both! Mengde truly deserves the position of Governor of Yanzhou!"

These words effectively defined Cao Cao's status.

Guo Jia stood up. "Lord Situ is too kind. On behalf of my lord, I thank you."

Xun Hao also stood up, bowed, and said nothing more.

Wang Yun nodded in satisfaction, then turned his gaze to Sun Ce and Zhou Yu on the other side.

"Bo Fu, your father, Sun Wentai, was a valiant general of the nation. His death on the battlefield was a great loss to the world. You have inherited your father's will and come to Chang'an to share the nation's burdens. You are truly a young hero with commendable courage."

He changed the subject, his tone becoming earnest and meaningful.

"However, you are still young, unlike Mengde who has been managing Yanzhou for many years and has a strong army. In the future, you will need the court's support more."

These words sound like concern, but they are actually deliberately pointing out the gap between the two sides.

The act of praising one and suppressing the other clearly reveals the intention to divide and conquer.

Zhou Yu's expression remained unchanged. "What you say is true, Minister of Works. Bo Fu is young and needs to be tempered. I also hope that you, Minister of Works and the officials of the court, will not hesitate to give him your guidance."

He adopted a very humble posture, but Sun Ce's expression was not good; he felt that Gongjin had been wronged.

Seeing that the tea was almost ready, Wang Yun put down his teacup and let out a sigh of feigned regret.

"Speaking of which, I've recently heard some interesting tales circulating in the streets. I've heard that Yanruo possesses unfathomable abilities, even able to predict General Sun Wentai's defeat at Xianshan from a thousand miles away. I'm quite curious. Is there any truth to this?"

The once peaceful inner room suddenly cooled down.

Guo Jia's expression also darkened.

That old bastard Wang Yun really doesn't do any decent work.

After posing this fatal question, he casually picked up the teacup in front of him, gently blew on the steam, and adopted an attitude of being detached and purely watching the show.

"If Mr. Xun truly possesses such an ability to glimpse the secrets of heaven, and goes against the will of heaven, he will surely pay a heavy price. Such divine calculations may easily shorten one's lifespan."

After Sun Jian's death, Sun Ce was devastated. Zhou Yu comforted him, saying that such a person who pried into the secrets of heaven and cursed others at will would surely be punished by heaven and would not live long.

Those were meant to comfort him privately, but Sun Ce blurted them out in a fit of anger.

Shorten your lifespan!

The smile on Guo Jia's face vanished, and his peach blossom eyes darkened, revealing an undisguised ferocity.

"In my observation, General Bo Fu is reckless and unprepared, impetuous and lacking in strategy; he possesses only the courage of a brute, and will surely die at the hands of a villain one day!"

Zhou Yu abruptly turned to look at Guo Jia, "Mr. Guo, what a silver tongue you have! Since you're so adept at calculation, why don't you calculate your own? I observe that Mr. Guo is exceptionally intelligent, but alas, fate is cruel. I fear he won't live past forty!"

Before Guo Jia could retort, Xun Hao's cold and aloof eyes flashed with undisguised killing intent.

"Brother Gongjin, you have quite the sharp tongue. Since you say I'm peeping into the secrets of heaven, let me do the calculations for you. I predict that you will not live as long as Brother Fengxiao."

Having learned from Sun Jian's example, no one dared to underestimate Xun Hao's words.

"You're asking for it!"

Sun Ce was furious.

"Clang—"

The longsword was drawn, its cold light gleaming!

Dian Wei's iron halberd was instantly held horizontally in front of his chest, producing a dull metallic clang. The tension was palpable, and a murderous aura filled the air.

Wang Yun hurriedly stopped the brawl. He never expected that his provocation would lead to such a bizarre "curse killing" tournament.

Only Xun Hao himself knew the truth.

Guo Jia, thirty-eight years old.

Sun Ce was twenty-six years old.

Zhou Yu was thirty-six years old.

Neither of them was wrong.

A room full of short-lived people, righteously accusing each other of not living long.

As for himself, if it weren't for Guo Jia, who was like a "mobile power bank," he probably wouldn't have been able to use the "Last Plan" even three times before he would have died from exhaustion. He was the most vulnerable one among them.

"Ahem! Ladies and gentlemen!" Wang Yun coughed twice, trying to salvage the situation. "Young people are full of vigor and high spirits; let's not take their verbal sparring seriously, let's not take it seriously!"

Even so, the meeting ended on a sour note.

Lü Bu recounted the events that had occurred at the Situ's residence that day as a joke to his generals.

Gao Shun, who is usually silent, took the initiative to stand up today, contrary to his usual behavior.

"My lord."

"Gao Shun, do you have something to say?" Lü Bu was somewhat surprised. This general of his was usually as taciturn as a gourd, so why did he take the initiative to speak today?

"Back when Prime Minister Dong was in power, we suffered many losses due to Li Ru's schemes. Does our lord still remember that?"

After Lü Bu nodded, Gao Shun continued, "My lord is incredibly brave, unparalleled in the world. His generals are numerous and fierce, with no shortage of soldiers. The only thing he lacks is a strategist."

He paused, his gaze fixed intently on Lü Bu. "What you saw today, my lord, were Guo Jia and Xun Hao—eloquent, insightful, and possessing unfathomable abilities. If we could gain their assistance, it would be like adding wings to a tiger!"