Chapter 001 My Brother is Liu Bei

  "Ah——” Liu Xiu let out a long sigh, and sat silently for a moment. He then rubbed his hands together to warm them up, first wiping his face, before gently patting down his entire body. Only then did he slowly open his eyes, using the sliver of morning light peeking through the window gap to take in this unfamiliar yet familiar room.

  Three months after arriving here, he has gone through shock, fear, confusion and a hint of rebirth. He has accepted the reality in front of him, abandoned those useless complaints, and began to consider more practical difficulties. From this point on, Liu Xiu always thought that he was a person with nerves as thick as shamelessness, facing all kinds of difficulties, he could always concentrate his energy on solving problems at the fastest speed, rather than indulging in those emotions that were of no use.

  It was with this excellent character that, in a deal that would last a lifetime, he exchanged his savings for a certificate of authenticity from a certain expert, only to have it ultimately deemed a forgery. After falling ill and not recovering, he spent ten years making himself an expert at creating forgeries, then carefully laid out a plan, causing the bricklayer with a conscience worth only three thousand yuan to pay the price of defeat and bankruptcy.

  That night, he avenged his great hatred by burning the fake Tang Bohu's "Scholar-bird-and-flower" painting that was soaked with his heart and blood in front of his forgetful friend. He then got drunk and on his way home, he encountered two thugs who attacked him. As a scholar who made a living by forging artworks, he was a weak bookworm through and through, and would pant like a dog after running just 100 meters. Of course, he was no match for the two thugs. Although he fought back furiously like a mad dog, he still got stabbed twice and fell to the ground, becoming a dead dog.

  At that moment, he suddenly realized that the destruction of the flesh was the most thorough and direct, and in the face of brutal force, everything else was just a fleeting cloud.

  Perhaps it was the heavens that had eyes, when he opened his eyes, he found himself not standing in front of Yanluo for trial, but reborn in Gaoyang County at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Although the four walls were vastly different from the environment he was familiar with before, for him who didn't like the steel and concrete jungle deep down, these four earthen walls weren't that unacceptable.

  What's more, he also got an unexpected gift, that is his current body is extremely strong, as strong as a bull. If his previous life had half of the strength he has now, he believes that even if he wasn't a match for those two thugs, at least he could have escaped with his life and not died so miserably. Maybe, he would still be standing in front of that brick house again, humiliating him once more, repaying him once more.

  Although there was no evidence, he didn't doubt that the two seemingly accidental thugs were hired, maybe he couldn't find evidence, but he had never been a person who stuck to so-called evidence, compared with those seemingly fair but actually distorted laws, he believed in his own strength, even if this strength wasn't strong enough.

  There's no such thing as "what ifs" in this world, so Liu Xiu stopped thinking about those things. After all, it was already ten years ago when he prepared to take revenge on that bricklayer with extensive connections inside and outside the circle, he had mentally prepared himself for it, let alone now that the outcome seems not to be the worst after all.

  Although this result is also not the best.

  Liu Xiuxiu was only a master of forging artworks, but not a historian. He knew the history related to artworks like the back of his hand, but apart from that, he was still in the stage of listening to stories. For more than three months, he still didn't understand what year it was now, only knowing that it was roughly at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. This place was called Zhuo County and should be in the north, but where exactly, he wasn't clear either.

  He knew these things, on the one hand because he had a certain understanding of the style of furniture and decorations in the house, knowing that they were from the Han Dynasty. On the other hand, it was because he had heard that he had a younger brother in this life, who although not born to him, was a very famous figure in history. In combination with his own age, he roughly knew that it should now be the late Eastern Han Dynasty, and the famous Yellow Turban Rebellion had not yet appeared. The great Han Dynasty was still like a magnificent high-rise building, although internally already rotten, its external appearance still maintained an invincible grandeur and strength.

  After roughly understanding the era, Liu Xiu also learned that his new home, although still considered relatively well-off, was absolutely not powerful or influential. He knew that in the near future, he would have to face the biggest problem of keeping his life safe. In a chaotic world, people are not as good as dogs in peaceful times. Although Liu Xiu had some bookish pride, he understood this principle. He also had self-awareness, knowing that art might bring him a carefree life in a peaceful and prosperous era, but it couldn't guarantee even a thread of safety in a chaotic world. Even if you could create beautiful works with your brush, it was not as practical as a knife.

  Liu Xiu is not that kind of overbearing and talented person, since his younger brother who was said to be born with a noble fate was destined to be a long-distance runner, rushing about all his life, only finally finding stability in the great southwest, why should he believe that he could make a heroic appearance, summon heroes to follow him, point his sword and conquer the world?

  So running away seems like a more feasible plan and he now has a body that seems quite suitable for running.

  So Liu Xiu is now most devoted to exercising his body, he treats exercising as his past life's fake career, putting in wholehearted effort, every morning and evening sitting quietly to cultivate his energy, during the day he plays with those stone weights and stone locks in the courtyard, at night he still goes out for a long run with heavy loads, seizing every opportunity to make himself stronger.

  The "father's" icy gaze and the "mother's" heart-wrenching tears were not within his consideration, he didn't even have any interest in figuring out why this father looked at his own son with such coldness, a coldness that was even less than when looking at that younger brother who seemed to be already very distant from him. Was it because he wasn't originally his biological child? Or was it because that young boy had said something very impressive and believed that he would definitely have more promise than his own son in the future? Liu Xiu acknowledged that this young boy indeed did turn out to be promising, but currently speaking, apart from being a bit mature for his age, there wasn't much difference between him and other children, not even a hint of an innate noble aura.

  Liu Xiu stood up, walked out of the room, and exercised in the courtyard. He then began to fiddle with the stone locks again, practicing until he was drenched in sweat and exhausted before stopping. Sitting on the stone lock, he looked at his sweaty skin and bulging chest muscles, revealing a satisfied smile. After resting for a while, just as he was about to get up to go to the front yard to fetch water to rinse off, a young man of about fifteen or sixteen years old hurried over with a bucket, smiling before speaking.

  "Big brother, I've brought water for you to take a bath. Hurry up and wash yourself clean, you're all sweaty, it won't look good if Master sees you like this."

  Looking at the warm and almost flattering smile on the young man's face, Liu Xiu smiled. Although he thought that the component of Hu Lai Lai who determined that he would be a nobleman in the future was relatively high, he couldn't help but say that even if it was Hu Lai Lai, it was still a bit of a clever Hu Lai Lai.

  Because this young man is the one who can make Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun surrender their lives, make the wise Zhuge Liang come out of the mountain to assist, and stand on an equal footing with the treacherous Cao Cao and the heroic Sun Quan, Liu Bei, also known as Liu Xuande.

  "Thank you." Liu Xiu nodded, Liu Bei smiled silently, put down the water bucket, turned around and took a wooden basin, poured the water into the basin, rushed to Liu Xiu before him, dipped a coarse cloth towel in the water, then naturally turned behind Liu Xiu, helping him wipe the sweat on his back while laughing: "I'll help you wipe your back."

  Liu Xiu responded with a sound, sitting still without moving, enjoying the service of the future Shu Emperor, but didn't have any complacent feeling, instead secretly furrowing his brow. Maybe it was because he had seen too many hypocritical people in his past life, or maybe it was because he knew that this emperor who truly rose from humble beginnings was most skilled at winning people's hearts, so he felt a instinctive sense of vigilance towards Liu Bei's actions today.

  Because he has been in this world for more than three months, Liu Bei has visited him several times, but has never served him so actively. On the contrary, when Liu Bei is in front of him, his head is always held high, rather than being as gentle and humble as he is in front of his "father" Liu Yuanqi and "mother" Tangshi.

  Liu Xiu gazed at the rippling reflection in the water basin, looking at his own square face with a hint of naivety and roughness between his eyebrows, wondering what secrets lay behind Liu Bei's unusual behavior today. In order to deal with that brick family, he had been lying in wait for ten years, thinking that he still had some insights into human nature.

  The enemy does not move, I do not move.

  Liu Xiu had his back to Liu Bei and couldn't see the expression on Liu Bei's face, but he felt Liu Bei's hand pause for a moment as he wiped the sweat from his brow before quickly recovering his composure and wiping away the rest of the sweat. Only then did he turn to face Liu Xiu, scrubbing his hands in the water as he spoke: "Big brother, you look like you're fine now?"

  "Hmm." Liu Xiu smiled and nodded, curling up his arm to strike a pose, showing off how healthy he was.

  Liu Bei took a glance at him and handed over the handkerchief he had just wrung out, letting out a sigh of relief: "Now I can rest assured, you'll definitely be fine when you go to study."

  "Reading books?" Liu Xiu asked casually while wiping the sweat off his body. He didn't look at Liu Bei's face, but was extremely surprised in his heart. He didn't know if Liu Bei liked reading or not, but he thought that someone who could achieve great things wouldn't be illiterate. However, he clearly remembered what kind of person this body originally was - there wasn't a single piece of paper or pen to be found in his room, definitely not someone who liked reading books.

  He was mentally prepared for this, even if it were the so-called prosperous age, there would still be a large number of illiterate people, and now that printing had not yet appeared, the spread of books relied on hand copying, and those who could read and write were even less likely to be everywhere. From the things in this courtyard, one can probably guess that the original "Liu Xiu" was probably a rough and uneducated person who couldn't recognize a single character.

  It's no wonder he's illiterate, but Liu Bei should know better, why did he bring up reading books?

  "Yes, Mr. Li sent someone to invite Old Man Liu to the city to discuss our education." Liu Bei stood up and looked at Liu Xiu who was quietly wiping his sweat, his eyebrows furrowed involuntarily. Three months ago, Liu Xiu suddenly fainted and lay in bed for several days. Although he quickly recovered, Liu Bei felt that something about him had changed. His eyebrows were still the same, his eyes were still the same, but the expression between them was no longer as carefree as before, it had become duller. Moreover, he no longer spoke as much as before and listened more often, giving Liu Bei a strange feeling that this Liu Xiu in front of him was another person.

  Liu Xiu did not speak, but only smiled silently. He knew that the Li Jun mentioned by Liu Bei was the famous scholar who had predicted that Liu Bei would rise to prominence in the future. His full name was Li Ding, and he was a celebrity in Zhuo County, where few celebrities emerged. No wonder his "father" was respected in the village and was delighted to accept Li Ding's invitation.

  Liu Bei saw Liu Xun not speaking, and helplessly twitched his mouth, then continued to say: "This time is different from the usual, this time's master is our Zhuo County's great scholar Lu Zhi Lu Zigang. After growing up, he has been studying and serving as an official outside, if it weren't for his poor health, returning to his hometown to rest and recover, we wouldn't even have a chance to see him, let alone become his disciple and study under him. Big brother must know that he is the disciple of Ma Rong, the great Confucian scholar of Fufeng, if one can enter his door, even just as a recorder, in the future becoming a minor official in Zhuo County would be no problem."

  Liu Bei spoke slowly and calmly, but Liu Xiu detected a hint of unease in his tone. As soon as Liu Bei mentioned Lu Zhi's name, he remembered that Lu Zhi was able to leave his mark on history not because of his academic achievements, but ultimately because of two students: one was Liu Bei himself, who was now persuading him to study, and the other was the famous Baima Gong Sun Zan, although neither of them seemed to have much learning.

  It turns out that Liu Bei has not yet become a disciple of Lu Zhi up until now.

  "Big brother has been devoted to martial arts, probably doesn't know how many ways Uncle has thought of to give big brother a way out. Now that the opportunity has come, he's become Lu Zhu's disciple. In the future, even if it's someone from the powerful Mao family, they'll have to show some respect when mentioning him." Liu Bei said calmly and lightly, seemingly not in a hurry at all.

  The Mao family? Liu Xiu thought for a long time, but still couldn't remember who this person was. However, from Liu Bei's tone of voice, it could be inferred that the Mao family was probably a prominent figure in the nearby area, possibly even a local tyrant.

  Having a good teacher is equivalent to having a golden rice bowl, this principle Liu Xiu also understands. Although the system of master-disciple inheritance has been abolished since ancient times, having a famous mentor when pursuing a master's or doctoral degree is still a great honor and will be very beneficial for future competition. Moreover, in feudal society, the relationship between teacher and student was as close as that between father and son, as people say, "One day as a teacher, a lifetime as a father", this applies to learning martial arts as well as learning literature.

  But "himself" obviously doesn't like reading books, why does Liu Bei keep saying "we" and "you will be how you will be in the future"?

  Liu Xiu was thinking, his "mother" Tang Shi walked over with a sullen face, glanced at Liu Bei, and Liu Bei immediately stopped talking, bowed his head and said: "Greetings, Madam Bo."

  "Hmph!" Tang said with a scowl: "You don't need to say any more. Let's not mention that my Ah Xiu was ill and his body hasn't recovered yet, even if he wasn't ill, he's the kind of person who gets a headache just by looking at books. He's not born to be a scholar, can't become one of those noble people. He won't go read books, you don't need to persuade him, it's better for you to go back and help your mother weave more straw shoes, then take them to the county town to sell, who knows, maybe you'll even gather some tuition fees."

  She scolded him severely, leaving Liu Bei's face completely red with embarrassment, and he could only mumble a few words before turning around and hastily retreating.

  "And what's gotten into him, wanting to read books now! He can go crazy on his own, but no, he has to drag you along and make our family spend money...!" Tang was still scolding Liu Bei, who had already disappeared from view. Her tone was full of indignation as she spoke, while also instructing Liu Shu: "Son, when your father comes back later, just tell him that you're not feeling well and can't read books yet. Did you hear me?"

  Liu Xiu suddenly enlightened, thought for a moment, and then smiled, saying: "Mother, I also want to go read books."

  Tang suddenly stopped talking, pushed Liu Xiu away, looked at him with some concern and hesitated: "Son, is your body really not well yet, or have you been fooled by that kid's words again?"