Mythical Three Kingdoms: Martial Arts Reach Divine Ranks, I Alone Rule the World

"Strange! Could it be that autumn rains are coming tonight? That's why I shivered!"

Lousang Village is located in the northeast corner outside Zhuojun City.

Unaware that the Ten Attendants and others far away in Luodu had already set their sights on the descendants of Liu Sheng, Liu Bei, who was walking home carrying straw sandals that he hadn't sold out in the city during the day, suddenly stopped on a whim.

He frowned, raised his hand to look at the sky, and a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes.

"The moon is bright and the stars are few; it doesn't seem like it's going to rain!"

Liu Bei muttered to himself, then looked up at the sky again to make sure there were no clouds obstructing the view. Only then did he feel a little relieved and quickened his pace to head home.

Because he knew very well that his elderly widowed mother was most worried about him, her son, coming home late.

Whenever he came home late, his mother would hold a candle in her hand and sit under the big mulberry tree next to the yard to wait for him and show him the way home.

Thinking about this.

A warm feeling welled up in Liu Bei's heart, and his steps became more hurried.

Not long after.

He saw a mulberry tree with a tall and dense canopy in the distance.

Under the moonlight, the mulberry tree cast a deep shadow, like a giant open umbrella.

Upon seeing this, Liu Bei couldn't help but smile, and his eyes softened.

His home is in the courtyard next to the big mulberry tree.

however.

When Liu Bei approached the large mulberry tree and came to its base, he did not see his mother...

A hint of suspicion flashed across his face.

"Why isn't Mother waiting under the mulberry tree today? Is she preparing a hot meal for me?"

As Liu Bei said this, he glanced toward the courtyard gate.

It's better not to expect it.

Upon seeing this, Liu Bei's expression immediately changed slightly.

He found that the gate to the courtyard was completely closed, instead of being half-closed as it usually was when his mother was waiting for him to return.

Not only were the doors tightly shut.

Even the courtyard was quiet, without a sound or light.

"Oh no! Mother may be in danger!"

In an instant, Liu Bei's heart sank, and a chill ran down his spine.

Realizing that his home might have been burgled, Liu Bei threw the hemp rope holding the straw sandals on the ground and bent down to pick up a wooden stick from the ground.

The rough feel of the wooden stick calmed Liu Bei down a bit, and without any hesitation, he rushed towards the courtyard gate.

"Danger?"

"Where did the danger come from? Xuande, quickly put down the stick."

Before Liu Bei even reached the gates of his own courtyard, he heard a series of urgent sounds behind him.

The voice carried a hint of urgency, yet also felt vaguely familiar to him.

Liu Bei turned around and looked back, his eyes filled with wariness and doubt.

then.

Then they saw a scholar in plain clothes, with a straw in his mouth, bending over and sliding down a large mulberry tree.

The scholar's movements were quite comical, rubbing his legs against the tree trunk.

Just as I was about to slide down, I stumbled a little and almost fell when I landed.

"Constitutional peace?"

Liu Bei called out in surprise, his voice filled with astonishment and confusion.

The wooden stick he was holding loosened slightly, and his expression softened accordingly.

Although Liu Bei didn't know why his childhood friend would appear outside his house in the middle of the night when only his widowed mother was home, he was puzzled.

But Liu Bei knew one thing.

With this childhood friend around, he would never sit idly by and watch his mother fall into danger.

"It's me!"

After struggling to climb down the big mulberry tree, Jian Yong patted the bark scraps off his hands and spat out the straw in his mouth.

He went straight to Liu Bei and said, "Xuande, don't go home tonight."

"Before you came back, Yong had already informed Aunt Yu that you would be staying at my house tonight."

As Jian Yong spoke, he pointed to the gate of Liu Bei's house, raising his chin slightly to indicate, "Auntie might already be asleep. Knocking on the door now will only wake her up."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei frowned slightly.

His gaze swept over Jian Yong's face before he asked in a low voice, "Xianhe, what exactly are you up to?"

Then, without waiting for Jian Yong's reply, Liu Bei casually threw the wooden stick in his hand to the ground, preparing to pick up the straw sandals he had thrown on the ground earlier and brush off the dust.

Dirty straw sandals won't do; they'll be hard to sell when we get to the county town tomorrow.

After all, Liu Bei wasn't the only one selling straw sandals in the western market of Zhuojun County.

He needs to maintain the appearance of the straw sandals in order to sell them for a good price.

However, to Liu Bei's astonishment...

Before he could bend down to pick up the straw sandals from the ground, Jian Yong had already kicked the straw sandals, which were strung on a hemp rope, flying a good ten feet away.

Watching the straw sandals trace an arc in the air before landing with a dull thud on the ground.

"Um?"

Liu Bei, his hand missing its mark, froze, then slowly rose and glared at Jian Yong: "Xianhe, don't be ridiculous!"

"My dear Xuande, your wealth and honor are just around the corner, why would you need straw sandals now!"

Faced with Liu Bei's glare, Jian Yong not only did not back down, but instead gave Liu Bei a bear hug.

Then, without further ado...

He grabbed Liu Bei's sleeve and led him home.

Jian Yong was quite strong, but Liu Bei stood firmly in place, unmoved.

He pulled at Liu Bei, but couldn't budge him. He pulled again, but instead, Jian Yong stumbled and fell into Liu Bei's arms.

"Constitutional peace!"

Liu Bei quickly helped him up, saying helplessly, "If you don't explain yourself clearly tonight, I won't go with you!"

"There's no such thing as a free lunch. I don't believe that any wealth or fortune will fall into my lap for no reason."

As they were talking, Liu Bei realized that his childhood friend Jian Yong's actions while lying in his arms were rather indecent.

I don't know what I was thinking about.

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Liu Bei's face. He quickly helped Jian Yong to his feet and then took two steps back to maintain a distance from Jian Yong.

After Jian Yong regained his footing, he saw Liu Bei retreating and his expression immediately darkened.

He pursed his lips, a hint of resentment in his eyes: "Xuande, Yongke has no homosexual tendencies!"

"Even if I did... I wouldn't choose a roughneck like you."

After making a few sarcastic remarks to Liu Bei, Jian Yong composed himself and said seriously, "Xuande, are you aware that a nobleman surnamed Ji from Luodu has arrived in the city today?"

"A noble person surnamed Ji?" Liu Bei shook his head, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

"I've been selling straw sandals at my stall in the West Market all day; I have no time to concern myself with the affairs of important people."

Liu Bei looked his childhood friend Jian Yong, whose face was fairly good-looking, up and down, and his eyes became somewhat strange.

"Xianhe, that noblewoman surnamed Ji, could she be a woman?"

"If you want to go, then go yourself. Don't drag me into this." Liu Bei said, his expression turning serious and his tone resolute.

"Bei is a descendant of the Han imperial family. Although he has fallen from grace, he would never abandon his dignity to become a gigolo for some noble lady from Luodu."

"Once word gets out..."

Regardless of how she conducts herself, her mother inevitably becomes the subject of gossip when she talks to the old women at the edge of the village.

Upon hearing Liu Bei's words, Jian Yong was taken aback at first, then couldn't help but laugh and scold, "Xuande, what are you thinking!"

Jian Yong stepped forward and patted Liu Bei on the shoulder, teasingly saying, "If there really were a noblewoman surnamed Ji who needed male concubines, how could such a thing possibly fall to people like you and me!"

"Let me just tell you, that person is a man."

His surname was Ji, his given name was Yuan, and his courtesy name was Boda.

"I don't know where this sucker from Luodu came from. I've heard that there are many generous and righteous people in the Yan and Zhao regions. I've always admired him and am preparing to make his acquaintance."

After saying this, Jian Yong took out two invitations from his bosom and slapped one of them onto Liu Bei's chest.

"This was something Yonghao went through a lot of trouble to obtain."

"Tomorrow morning, Ji Boda will be hosting a banquet at Yingfu Restaurant, the largest restaurant in the county town. Why don't we go and take a look? Who knows, he might take a liking to us and ask us to be his bodyguards and accountants!"

As Jian Yong spoke, he gestured with his hands, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Wouldn't the money you get then be ten times better than what you make selling straw sandals all day?"

"Even if they don't like us, we can still get a free meal, right?"

"Anyway, it's a good deal!"