Chapter 134: Chen Fan of Jiangdong and Zhou Gongjin

“Gongjin, it’s time to eat.”

“Hmm? Are you calling me?”

Chen Fan pointed at himself. Although the system had already informed him that he was in the Three Kingdoms Red Cliffs scenario before entering, he still wanted to confirm his identity immediately.

“Yes, Master.” The young man with a refined and handsome face nodded shyly.

“Oh, alright then.”

Chen Fan picked up his chopsticks but noticed that the dishes before him were all cold and mainly fish, which he disliked. Glancing at the young man again, he inwardly grumbled, “Why is it a guy? Shouldn’t it be a beautiful maid instead?”

Seeing Chen Fan hesitate, the servant asked, “Lord Gongjin, is the food not to your taste?”

Chen Fan chuckled to himself, “Doesn’t everyone have a personal average taste rating? Wait... what did he just call me? Gongjin? Then I must be...”

Flipping through his limited historical knowledge and piecing together the current storyline, Chen Fan quickly realized the role he was playing—Zhou Yu, styled Gongjin.

“Where is my Xiao Qiao?” Chen Fan grinned and blinked as he asked.

The servant looked puzzled and slowly said, “Your Xiao Qiao? Lord, have you been lovesick? Back then, you and Sun Ce went to seek her hand in marriage, but since you couldn’t afford the bride price from the Qiao family, you were turned away without even seeing her. Have you forgotten that?”

“Then who is my wife now?” Chen Fan scratched his head; the plotlines in this scenario were all different.

“You don’t have a wife. You’re still a bachelor,” the servant bluntly pointed out.

“I...” Chen Fan frowned, a hint of murderous laughter flickering in his eyes.

The servant continued, “Because you didn’t marry Lady Qiao back then, you and Brother Sun Ce embarked on the path of entrepreneurship. Poor Sun Meng has worked himself to illness. Now the family business is under his younger brother Sun Quan’s name. After years of effort, things are starting to look up. But suddenly, Cao Cao from the north has arrived. Whether to fight or negotiate, no one has decided yet.”

Chen Fan wiped the drool from the servant’s mouth, stood up, and asked, “Has Zhuge the rustic arrived?”

“He’s here,” the servant replied immediately. “Not just Mr. Kongming, but all of Liu Bei’s top generals and strategists have arrived. Eastern Wu hasn’t been this lively in a long time.”

“Oh, that’s good. I won’t eat anymore; I’m heading out.” Chen Fan grabbed his sword awkwardly and hung it at his waist. Historically, Zhuge Liang was the master of verbal duels, but now it seemed Chen Fan would take that role.

“Wait, Lord, your lord has left you a silk pouch,” the servant called after him.

“Hm?”

Chen Fan was a little puzzled. After all, in the history of the Three Kingdoms, Zhou Yu’s strategies were so renowned that for external matters, people asked Zhou Yu, and for internal ones, Zhang Zhao. He was undoubtedly a top-tier figure. Why would Sun Shiwan have to come and advise him?

Taking the pouch, Chen Fan carefully opened it and couldn’t help but sneer coldly.

“Identity: witch.”

The special effects of the scenario were impressively realistic. Although Chen Fan could not see the great river in his view, he could still hear the roaring Yangtze River beside him.

Even though this was Eastern Wu’s territory, the designers had considered players’ Shu Kingdom attachments and adjusted the weights so players were more likely to randomly encounter famous Shu generals and strategists. Looking around at the twelve people seated, only four were dressed as Eastern Wu figures; the other eight were Liu Bei’s men.

“Gongjin, you’re here. Please take your seat,” Sun Quan raised his hand, drawing Chen Fan’s attention to the empty seat at position six.

“Thank you, Lord,” Chen Fan bowed slightly before sitting.

No sooner had Chen Fan settled than a voice beside him spoke, “You must be Zhou Yu?”

“Yes, that’s me. What is it, Mr. Kongming?” Chen Fan turned his head and noticed the unmistakable feather fan in his counterpart’s hand.

“Haha, nothing much. I just hope we’re not on opposing sides, or else we’ll see the drama of the ‘Three Humiliations of Zhou Yu’ again,” Zhuge Liang smiled. “I feel ‘Zhuge Zhixing’ sounds odd. Let’s stick with the original name—just call me Kongming.”

“Alright, Zhuge the rustic,” Chen Fan replied with a dry laugh, secretly cursing, “Don’t let me catch you as a wolf, or I’ll send you off with a bottle of poison tonight.”

Before the game officially began, there should have been an introduction to the rules, but the scene was noisy, and Sun Quan, who was running the show, couldn’t get a word in.

“Greetings, I’m MC Yunzhang,” suddenly, the bearded man at seat eight stepped into the aisle, holding his Green Dragon Crescent Blade, singing and drinking as he went.

“Hey-yo~ Guan Gong’s big blade swings for you, breaking through five passes and six generals alone. The beard flutters in the wind once again. Brothers, double-tap 666 and let’s go!” Guan Yu waved his blade like a boisterous street performer, shouting to passersby for applause. “Oh no, my beard got caught! Someone come help me!”

“Pfft~” Chen Fan couldn’t help but laugh, burying his face in the table. This guy had finally lost it.

Compared to the highly recognizable Shu generals and strategists, the Eastern Wu characters required more brainpower. Chen Fan thought for a moment; the only ones who could be brought to the stage were Lu Xun, Gan Ning, Lü Meng, Lu Su, and Zhang Zhao. But looking at the other three, he couldn’t match any distinctive features, only distinguishing whether they were civil or military.

In truth, Chen Fan wasn’t familiar with Eastern Wu either; only a handful of names came to mind.

“Ahem, with the enemy at the gates, everyone must concentrate. Today marks the formal alliance between Sun and Liu. I don’t want petty squabbles to spoil the harmony. Cao Ahman from the north is advancing fiercely. Whether to fight or negotiate remains undecided, and I’m troubled by this. You all debate and come to a conclusion; I will abide by the majority’s opinion. Any objections?”

Sun Quan’s expression turned stern. The cold, unsmiling face finally regained some authority.

The room fell into a deathly silence. Chen Fan had tried this before in the Republican-era police station; even if there were objections, it was futile and only caused ill feelings. Besides, this was a competition; better to be serious.

The scene Sun Quan hoped for unfolded as expected. “Very well, since there are no objections, it’s getting late. Please retire to your rooms and rest. We’ll reconvene first thing tomorrow morning.”

As Chen Fan rose, Zhuge Liang called after him, “Won’t you come out tonight to divine the weather? See when the east wind will rise?”

“No need. What’s the point in divining? Man proposes, but heaven disposes,” Chen Fan replied lazily. He saw no use in staring at stars and the moon; the key was knowing how to calculate.

“How about a contest of borrowing arrows? Let’s see who can get the most arrows from the enemy,” Zhuge proposed again.

“Borrow arrows?” Chen Fan hesitated. Why was this guy so insistent on sticking with him? Even if he went, it wouldn’t prove anything. “Where are we borrowing from?”

Zhuge waved his fan and pointed across the great river. “From Cao’s camp.”