Chapter 495: Blindfolded Boy
"The Han Dynasty is in decline, treacherous ministers are in power, the Yellow Turbans are in chaos, and the people are in misery. I have overestimated my own abilities and want to spread justice to the world, but my wisdom and skills are shallow and I have not achieved anything. I only hope that you can enlighten my ignorance and save me from danger. It will be a great blessing."
In a dilapidated remote village in Langya State, Xuzhou.
Xia Yu sat opposite a blindfolded boy. The boy had a handsome face, red lips and white teeth. He seemed to have an eye disease and his eyes were covered with a black cloth.
But even so, it can still be seen that the boy has a very handsome appearance, and he will surely be a handsome and dignified person when he grows up.
That’s right, the blindfolded boy in front of him is the young Zhuge Liang. Xia Yu has read the script.
Although according to the current time, Zhuge Liang should be only three years old, but this is a modified version of the Three Kingdoms, so there is no problem that Zhuge Liang was fifteen or sixteen years old in the seventh year of Guanghe.
At the beginning of the time travel, Xia Yu thought he had come to an ordinary ancient time until he was taken to the mountain by an old man named Zuo Ci, and that mountain was called Tianzhu Mountain.
The old man Zuo Ci is also not a simple person. His name is Yuan Fang and he is a Taoist priest with the Taoist name Mr. Wujiao.
After learning this information, Xia Yu was a little confused. Zuo Ci was an alchemist in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, so didn't that mean he had come to the late Eastern Han Dynasty?
It would have been fine if it happened in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, but the key point was that he had a junior sister in Tianzhu Mountain, and her name was Hong Jing.
Well, now he understood everything. He had traveled into the death game developed by Koei Tecmo, "Crouching Dragon: Fall of Sky"!
The background of this game is set during the Yellow Turban Rebellion. The Three Kingdoms period was very long, and the game only tells the beginning part of the Three Kingdoms.
Because it is a modified version of the Three Kingdoms, some monsters and demons from Chinese mythology, as well as various magical techniques for cultivating immortals, appear in the game.
In other words, this is a mythical version of the Three Kingdoms!
Of course, because it is a magical modification, some people with strong will also possess magical powers, that is, guardian beasts. Those who possess guardian beasts can use the power of the beasts.
In addition to their own sacred beasts, sworn brothers can also share guardian sacred beasts.
As far as Xia Yu knows, Liu, Guan and Zhang shared the sacred beast Azure Dragon, Yuan Shao had the sacred beast Black Tortoise, Cao Cao had the sacred beast Vermillion Bird, and Sun Jian's family had the sacred beast White Tiger...
The game's protagonist, the Volunteer, is a social terrorist. Whenever he meets someone with a guardian beast, he will successfully form a sworn brotherhood with the person. Therefore, the protagonist will own as many guardian beasts as there are.
Xia Yu was naturally very interested in guardian beasts, but unfortunately he didn't have one. However, after becoming sworn sisters with junior sister Hong Jing, he successfully got the guardian beast Xiezhi.
After realizing that he could obtain the other party's divine beast through sworn brotherhood, Xia Yu was even more surprised, because from his observation, it was not possible to share divine beasts in general sworn brotherhoods. Otherwise, if a group of people became sworn brothers, wouldn't everyone be able to have a guardian divine beast?
But soon, Xia Yu thought of another possibility. Maybe he traveled through time to become the protagonist of the game, the Volunteer Soldier, so he could share other people's guardian beasts.
After all, the protagonist must have some special features.
Just like William and Xiu of Nioh, they have at least a dozen guardian spirits on them. So what if his volunteers have multiple guardian beasts?
As he grew up in Tianzhu Mountain, Xia Yu became more and more certain that he was a volunteer soldier, because he could learn the magical techniques of Tianzhu Mountain almost instantly. Within a few years of practice, he became the number one person under Zuo Ci.
Only the protagonist of the game, the Volunteer Soldier, has this kind of talent.
Possessing such an excellent talent, Xia Yu naturally felt a surge of ambition in his heart. In this world, many princes rose up and fought for the Central Plains, so why shouldn't he give it a try?
He wanted to ascend to heaven and unify the Central Plains.
Therefore, Xia Yu stationed his troops at the foot of Tianzhu Mountain while practicing Taoism in Tianzhu Mountain. Seven years later, he hurried to Xuzhou Langya State and finally found the blindfolded boy in a small village.
After all, this is Zhuge Liang. Although he is not yet an adult, the game plot is about to begin, and he has to kidnap the other party in advance to avoid being abducted by the corrupt alchemist Yu Ji.
Facing Xia Yu's sincere invitation, the blindfolded boy shook his head: "I can't be called a sir. Liang is just a villager who has just settled in the village. Please ask the general for help."
"Why, you don't give me face?"
Xia Yu's face suddenly darkened. He drew out the long sword from his waist and stabbed it into the straw mat, which made the blindfolded boy's eyes twitch.
Although he was blindfolded, he could actually see the outside world. The blindfold was only to limit his special abilities.
Seeing that the blindfolded boy had been shocked by his domineering aura, Xia Yu laughed: "Haha, sir, don't be nervous, we were just joking!"
"Ha ha……"
The blindfolded boy laughed dryly. What else could he do? Could he reply, "Really? I don't believe it?" He was afraid that the other party would get angry and draw his sword to kill him.
After laughing and joking, Xia Yu's expression became serious and he looked at the blindfolded boy steadily. Noticing that the atmosphere was becoming serious, the blindfolded boy also stopped laughing.
"I will not hide it from you, Military Advisor. I wonder if you know the descendants of dragons? They are a clan blessed by the ancient dragons, and now there is only one descendant left."
When these words were spoken, the blindfolded boy was startled and did not notice that Xia Yu's address to him had changed from Mr. to Military Advisor.
As for the descendants of the dragon, he naturally knew about them. It would be more accurate to say that no one knew the descendants of the dragon better than him. After all, he was the last of the descendants of the dragon.
Faced with Xia Yu's aggressive gaze, the blindfolded boy couldn't help but look away, although because of the black cloth covering his eyes, others couldn't tell that he had looked away.
"Oh? Why did the military advisor look away? Could it be that the military advisor knows something?"
You can see it even though I'm blindfolded?!
The blindfolded boy was startled. He re-examined Xia Yu, who was wearing shiny silver armor, and asked, "I don't know why the general said that. Liang is just a commoner. How could he know about the descendants of the dragon in the legend?"
"Haha, now that things have come to this, the military advisor is still unwilling to admit his identity?" Xia Yu suddenly pointed at the eyes of the blindfolded boy and said meaningfully: "Although the military advisor has blindfolded himself to seal the power awakened by the disorder of qi, some alchemists can still sense it."
"It just so happens that I am an alchemist, so please don't fool me, military advisor."
His identity was completely exposed. The blindfolded boy smiled bitterly and said, "Since the general has already guessed Liang's identity, why did he tease Liang before?"
"Did I? No."
Xia Yu pretended to be dumbfounded, and suddenly changed the subject: "Perhaps the military advisor does not know that your identity has been exposed. Soon, this village will be attacked by the Yellow Turban bandits."
"How could it be!"
The blindfolded boy was shocked. He thought he had hidden his identity very well, so how come he still brought trouble?
Seeing this, Xia Yu said in an unfathomable way: "Everything in the world has its own reincarnation. As the spirit of all things, humans can begin to absorb and refine true energy after mastering the five elements and the energy of heaven and earth."
"People who learn to refine true qi are called alchemists. Alchemists absorb the spiritual energy of all things in the world and gather it in their dantian. The true qi can be used to make elixirs, and can also be used to perform magical arts."
"As a secret treasure of the immortal way, the elixir naturally possesses incredible power. But even more powerful than this ordinary elixir is the legendary real elixir."
"It is said that those who take the real elixir can achieve immortality and ascend to heaven."
Hearing this, the blindfolded boy was stunned. Whether it was immortality or ascension to heaven, it was the lifelong pursuit of the emperors of the world. He did not expect that the secret treasure called Zhendan could actually make it happen.
But...why did the other party tell him this?
"Haha, are you wondering why I am telling you all this?" Xia Yu chuckled and said, "You will know soon."
"The effect of the True Pill is very powerful, but the requirements for refining it are also very strict. First, a large amount of Qi is needed. How do you get the Qi? The simplest way is to let many people die through disasters and wars, and then absorb their Qi."
"Secondly, you need a 'container' to absorb this energy, and this container is the dantian of the people of the clan blessed by the ancient dragon in the legend, which is your dantian."
Ignoring the surprise of the blindfolded boy, Xia Yu continued, "Qin Shi Huang, who once unified China, also tried to refine the elixir in order to achieve immortality, but he failed in the end. However, the method of refining the elixir through war has been passed down, which is also the reason why wars were frequent in dynasties after the Qin Dynasty."
"Perhaps they know, or perhaps they don't know, that the Qi that emerges through war is not true Qi, but evil Qi. Although evil Qi is the same as true Qi, excessive use of it can affect the mind and turn a person into a demon."
"The eunuchs are now in power and the people are living in misery. The Yellow Turban Rebellion was also caused by someone secretly fanning the flames and provoking a war."
"The man who secretly provoked the war was the corrupt alchemist Yu Ji. He secretly used elixirs to support the Yellow Turban Army, turning them into demons through the evil elixirs he made, in order to fight against the Han army."
"In this way, Yu Ji can not only obtain a large amount of Qi, but also help him find the descendants of the Dragon's Blessing Clan through the spread of war, and provide him with a container for alchemy."
"According to the intelligence I have gathered, soon, Zhang Liang, the general of the Yellow Turban Army, will lead the Yellow Turban Army to this place and spread the flames of war to this place, in order to force out the descendants of the dragon."
After hearing what Xia Yu said, the blindfolded boy looked extremely ugly. The villagers of the small village accepted him, but he brought disaster here.
After a few seconds, the blindfolded boy looked at Xia Yu. He understood why Xia Yu told him all this, but he still wanted to ask.
"May I ask what your life ambition is, General?"
"A true man born in troubled times should carry a three-foot sword and accomplish unparalleled feats."
Xia Yu pointed out the window and said with great passion: "In the past, Qin King Ying Zheng unified the world. I should look up to him."
"At the end of the Han Dynasty, the country was in chaos, and the princes rose up. The strong ones crossed states and counties, while the weak ones dominated counties. They fought and attacked each other, causing chaos in the country. Behind this endless melee was a heavy price of countless bones and thousands of miles of barren land."
"Bones are exposed in the wild, no roosters crow for a thousand miles, and only one in a hundred people survive. The thought of it breaks one's heart. How can a man like us sit idly by and watch such a tragic scene?"
"For the sake of all people in this world, I will end the war and unify the country!"
The Han Dynasty hasn't fallen yet, and you want to unify the country...
The blindfolded boy resisted the urge to complain. He was very tactful and did not say it out loud. Instead, he asked again: "May I ask, General, after the world is unified, who will rule it?"
"Naturally, the world belongs to the people. The ruler is the boat, and the people are the water. The water can carry the boat, but it can also overturn it."
Xia Yu directly used Xunzi's point of view. After all, this point of view still makes sense even in later generations.
He had no intention of promoting any core socialist values in this era. The fate of Wang Mang is still fresh in our memory.
Besides, if someone tells ordinary people that everyone is equal in this era, they might think that the person who says this is hysterical.
The blindfolded boy could feel the sincerity in Xia Yu's words, and since he still needed him to protect the village, he immediately knelt down on his knees and bowed to Xia Yu.
"In order to achieve the general's ambition, Liang is willing to serve as a dog and horse."
"Military advisor, please stand up quickly." Xia Yu stepped forward happily and helped the blindfolded boy up.
It worked. He got the only UR-level general in the Three Kingdoms.
"I still don't know your name, my name is Xia Yu, courtesy name Zichuan, I am a Taoist practitioner of Tianzhu Sect in Tianzhu Mountain."
Facing Xia Yu's self-introduction, the blindfolded boy's mouth twitched. This lord is really...
But thinking about it carefully, there was indeed no formal self-introduction between the two of them. After all, Xia Yu asked him to join as soon as he arrived, and he had no chance to get a word in.
After tidying up his clothes, the blindfolded boy bowed and said, "I am Zhuge Liang, with the courtesy name Kongming, nickname Wulong, and the last descendant of the Dragon's Blessing Clan."
"Okay, okay!" Xia Yu laughed and walked forward, patted Zhuge Liang's shoulder hard, and then hugged him.
"Military Advisor Zhuge, you and I hit it off right away. How about we both cut off a chicken's head and burn yellow paper? How about we become sworn brothers in front of Lord Guan?"
He remembered that Zhuge Liang's patron saint was Yinglong, a mythical beast that could bring the dead back to life.
After the brotherhood, he can also obtain Yinglong's protection, which is equivalent to having an additional means of resurrection, and it is not a one-time thing. How can he not be tempted?
"My Lord, why do we have to cut off a chicken's head and burn yellow paper to swear brotherhood? And who is this Master Guan?"
"Master Guan is... um."
Xia Yu paused and suddenly remembered that Guan Yu seemed to be still alive at this time and had not become a symbol of loyalty.
Otherwise, when Liu, Guan and Zhang swore brotherhood in Peach Garden, they didn't need to worship the peach tree. They could have just worshipped Guan Erye directly.
Guan Yu: I worship myself?
"That's not important, Military Advisor. Since you have become my man, I will naturally not treat my own people unfairly. You want to protect this small village that has taken you in, right? "
Zhuge Liang nodded hurriedly. He still had deep feelings for this small village that was willing to accept him, and he didn't want the village to suffer disaster because of his own reasons.
"Well, Military Advisor, follow me back to Tianzhu Mountain. I will take you to see the elite soldiers and generals in my command."
At this time, Zhuge Liang had already recognized Xia Yu as his lord, so he naturally would not refuse. He was also naturally curious about the elite soldiers and generals that Xia Yu mentioned.
Of course, he was also very curious about Tianzhu Mountain. It was said that Tianzhu Mountain was a secluded place for people who practiced Taoism. Many ordinary people who wanted to seek immortals and ask for the way wanted to join the Tianzhu Sect. Unfortunately, their shoes were worn out from walking, and they still couldn't find Tianzhu Mountain, let alone join the Tianzhu Sect.
