"Holy Emperor Guan?"
"Protector Jialan?"
"Literary Sovereign?"
"…Martial Saint?!"
The entire hall fell into stunned silence, and even Zhao Yun, Tiger Might General, stood there wide-eyed as if struck by lightning, because just from these titles alone, it already felt like Guan Yu had won in every possible way.
Zhang Fei was the first to break.
"Second Brother… became a god?!"
Guan Yu's face turned the color of a late-autumn jujube, deep red to the point of purple, and without saying another word, the man from Hedong threw out a stiff line.
"The light screen is over. I will go train."
Then he left at once, almost fleeing.
The moment he was gone, the side hall exploded into laughter.
"Second General has ascended to godhood!"
"Then after we die, won't we be under Second General's protection?"
"Just make sure you die after General Guan."
"What are you afraid of, even if your soul returns to the underworld, if he is already Holy Emperor Guan, he should be able to speak with the Lord of Mount Tai."
"And what if he has not become a god yet when you anger the Lord of Mount Tai?"
"You think I am that stupid? Only you would do something like that!"
Amid the noisy banter, everyone very naturally raised their thumbs.
Like.
Sun Qian, Jian Yong, and Mi Zhu looked amused and followed along.
Then a serious question appeared.
"What should we send?"
Liu Bei immediately rejected the previous plan.
"The horseshoe gold and gold wuzhu coins we sent earlier seem to be considered a huge fortune in the future."
"If we continue to send wealth, it would make us look vulgar, and worse, it may erode the resolve of the younger generation. They are still young, they must not be corrupted by money."
His words sounded righteous and upright, yet everyone present silently complained in their hearts, because he had clearly calculated the price of high-speed rail tickets and felt the pain.
They did not dare say it.
Someone did.
"Big Brother, are you still thinking about what they said, that you would stare your eyes out when you see a high-speed rail?"
Liu Bei flushed red and immediately launched into a string of lofty declarations about being a descendant of Prince Jing of Zhongshan and the future founding emperor of Shu Han.
The hall filled with cheerful laughter once again.
In the end, with Zhuge Liang proposing and Liu Bei making the final decision, the gift was settled.
A single sheet of paper.
Zhuge Liang personally wrote on it in neat, formal script:
How can the Han develop nuclear energy?
How can Shu Han achieve unification?
What mistakes exist in Zhuge Liang's governance?
And, added forcefully by Zhang Fei:
Has Zhang Yide ever been granted divine status?
Answer any one question, reward: ten horseshoe gold.
Zhuge Liang carefully dried the ink and handed it over.
Liu Bei received it with a solemn expression and placed the paper on the ground in the center.
Soon, as if responding to their intent, the light screen slowly unfolded once more.
Under everyone's gaze, the paper floated upward, drifted toward the screen, then the moment it touched, it dropped sharply.
Scarlet warning symbols filled the screen, casting a red glow over every face in the hall.
WARNING! WARNING! Suspected fraudulent content detected!
WARNING! WARNING! Suspected fraudulent content detected!
Do not send any content containing inducement!
Further attempts will result in a ban!
The paper fell to the ground, then burst into flames without wind, turning to ash in front of their eyes.
The atmosphere instantly turned stiff.
Zhuge Liang, however, remained calm.
"So that is how it is."
His gaze swept the room before settling back onto the desk.
He lifted his brush and wrote again.
This time, it was a simple calligraphy piece, finished swiftly, signed, sealed, and complete.
Just as he was about to send it up, Liu Bei stopped him.
With an embarrassed smile, Liu Bei said,
"Kongming, I have an immature idea."
Zhuge Liang paused.
?
…
Chengdu.
Wen Mang packed his spare clothes in the hotel.
He had already seen Huahua, and as for Taikoo Li, someone like him felt it was not quite his place, so perhaps it was time to go out and properly gather material.
Right then, his phone rang.
"Hello, who is this?"
"Is this Mr. Wen Mang? You have a package."
"Huh? I am traveling in Chengdu right now, can you leave it at a pickup station?"
"Sir, the package is already in Chengdu."
"…Huh?"
After sending off the courier, Wen Mang muttered about overly enthusiastic fans these days while opening the box.
It was another refined package, long in shape this time, and when he shook it slightly, he could hear a faint rustling inside.
"A scroll?"
He opened it eagerly.
Inside lay a neatly rolled piece of paper.
When he spread it open, he could not help but laugh.
In bold, proper script, six large characters were written:
Glory belongs to the people!
Below, the inscription was densely packed:
Written by Han Military Advisor General Zhuge Kongming, Winter of the 14th year of Jian'an.
Accompanied by: Governor of Jing Province Liu Xuande, General Zhao Zilong, General Huang Hansheng, Attendant Mi Zizhong, Jian Xianhe, Sun Gongyou.
On another line, in a more forceful hand:
General Zhang Yide, Acting General Guan Yunchang.
Every name even had its own seal.
The inscription was longer than the main text.
Wen Mang was stunned.
This reminded him of a scene from a TV drama, where Liu Bei's full introduction was so long it became absurd.
This piece was even worse.
Was this a group meeting or something?
Still, it was a gift.
And seeing all these historical figures' names together on one calligraphy piece created a strange, almost surreal beauty.
He took photos from multiple angles, quickly edited them, added a preview for the next episode, and posted everything in one go.
After finishing with the site, he hummed a tune, planning to shower again and head out for some spicy hot pot, but another call interrupted him.
He picked up.
Same pleasant female voice.
"Mr. Wen Mang?"
This time, he recognized it immediately.
The scam call from before he boarded the high-speed rail.
"No. I am Qin Shi Huang."
The other side laughed softly.
"I would like to ask, the Han-style horseshoe gold and gold wuzhu coins you posted earlier, are you willing to sell them?"
"And the glass dragon jade pendant you showed before, we are also interested, provided it is authenticated as genuine."
Wen Mang felt a strange suspicion forming.
"So, what, you cannot shop online over there?"
The voice remained patient.
"My colleagues and I are experts in history and archaeology. Based on the images and comparison with excavated gold wuzhu coins, we believe the items you possess are highly likely to be genuine."
"Genuine…"
Wen Mang repeated the words and fell silent.
"In that case, since you are in Chengdu, you can come to Sichuan University and visit our lab. At least you can confirm we are not scammers."
After hanging up, Wen Mang felt both uneasy and excited.
What kind of wealthy fan was this?
That heavy horseshoe gold, those glittering gold coins… if they were real…
Could he actually pay off his mortgage?
The thought struck deep.
"Those horseshoe gold coins…"
He muttered, then noticed a small red dot in the corner of his account.
[Historical Deviation Value: 3]
He tapped it.
A submenu opened.
[Danmaku Function Unlocked: Cost 1]
[Increase Audience: Cost 2]
Wen Mang stared at the screen.
Looks like he had a lot to think about.