Mythical Three Kingdoms

”Generally speaking, when I start losing, I can’t even stop it,” Chen Xi commented with a wry smile, which utterly frustrated Zhuge Liang to the point where he didn’t bother to continue with the words of praise he had intended to say.

”What’s so funny!” Zhuge Liang said irritably to Lu Xun, who was giggling uncontrollably beside him, ”Have you learned accounting yet?”

”Henghengheng, you underestimate me too much. I have not only mastered accounting, but also secret codes, adapting to circumstances, and the numerology, investigating things, Yin Yang Bagua, mystical tactics, and formations you taught me,” Lu Xun bragged, slapping his chest proudly.

Though Lu Xun found it somewhat overwhelming to learn all this, it could not be denied that once he got the hang of one thing, he understood a hundred others. The basics provided by Zhuge Liang, coupled with a heavy dose of reality check from him, had spurred Lu Xun to study extremely hard, and with a brain only slightly less capable than Zhuge Liang’s, he had now mastered them all.

”You’ve learned everything?” Zhuge Liang was somewhat skeptical, but he didn’t show it, saying with composure, ”That’s good, then. I won’t test you. I’ll give you some new material later, just study it yourself, and ask me if you don’t understand.”

Instantly, the prideful Lu Xun felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on him. His previously triumphant expression faltered as he looked at Zhuge Liang’s indifferent demeanor, not sure what to make of it.

Lu Xun had hoped to see a look of surprise on Zhuge Liang’s face. He thought Zhuge Liang would doubt him and then test him, but he hadn’t expected the other’s nonchalance. Suddenly, he felt a great reverence, wondering how long it had taken Zhuge Liang to learn all this. Was all of Lu Xun’s swift mastery of these numerous subjects trivial in Zhuge Liang’s eyes? How long had it taken Zhuge Liang originally?

”Wow, Boyan, you’re incredible~” Chen Xi said, extremely pleased upon hearing Lu Xun’s lengthy list of accomplishments, praising him involuntarily.

”Forget it, it’s nothing much,” Lu Xun said casually, waving his hand and not taking Chen Xi’s praise to heart.

”But then again, Kongming seemed to have skipped all these basics,” Chen Xi recalled teaching Zhuge Liang back in the day when he just handed him a stack of books and told him to read them. Many things didn’t make sense in elementary school, but they did as one continued to study. What you didn’t learn in elementary school might not be understood then, but you’d definitely understand without studying in college.

”I didn’t learn the basics. I remember I couldn’t understand most of the things I picked up at first, but I got it later on. I did the difficult things first and the easy ones later,” Zhuge Liang said, glancing up at Chen Xi, still annoyed when thinking about the study materials Chen Xi had given him at the time.

”Oh, that doesn’t really matter, as long as you kind of get the gist of it,” Chen Xi said with disinterest, which made an already deflated Lu Xun feel even more discouraged. So it seemed his efforts over this period were all in vain.

”Ah, keep it up. Let’s head back to Mount Tai by carriage. Once we’re at Fenggao, you’ll see what I mean by bustling; that’s a prefecture city I’ve put quite a bit of effort into building,” Chen Xi said as he noticed the carriage and escort arranged by Xun Yan were ready. He patted Lu Xun, who looked a bit deflated, and said.

”Okay, I’ll remember that, Master,” Lu Xun replied weakly, then after watching Chen Xi get into the carriage, he thought for a moment and asked, ”Master, what should I do if I want to surpass that guy?”

”You want to surpass him? You’re not the same type as he is. How can you surpass him? If you try to match his strengths with your weaknesses, you’ll have no hope in this lifetime. But if you play to your strengths, not to say that you’ll overshadow him, at least you’ll be able to compete with him on an even field,” Chen Xi advised Lu Xun, ”Don’t feel psychological pressure; he’s not a normal person. Don’t compare yourself to him in areas you’re not good at.”

”Oh,” Lu Xun nodded with some disappointment, but felt much better inside, ”Master, do you have any quick way to get ahead of him? That guy is so annoying.” Lu Xun whispered to Chen Xi as he saw Zhuge Liang getting into the carriage.

”Well, let me think,” Chen Xi said with a wry smile. Lu Xun was somewhat proud, while Zhuge Liang seemed indifferent. Zhuge Liang was currently crushing Lu Xun in every aspect, so naturally Lu Xun felt uncomfortable. However, Lu Xun’s willingness to speak to Chen Xi like this showed that he truly regarded Chen Xi as his master.

”Oh, when we get to Mount Tai, I’ll find someone for you. You can learn from him for a while. Not to say you’ll surpass Kongming, but at least you’ll be able to take advantage of him a few times. How about that?” Chen Xi, seeing that Lu Xun was under a lot of psychological pressure, said after some thought, as one cannot fail when bringing up a disciple.

”There’s such a person? Thank you, Master,” Lu Xun’s face brightened.

”Yes, you can also learn military strategies from him. In that regard, he might be better than Kongming. At least in terms of cunning and bizarre strategies, he’s effortless. Plus, his personality is very lively,” Chen Xi reassured him. It seemed that Fa Zheng’s current personality indeed became rather lively after being toyed with back and forth by Guo Jia, but admittedly, he did not hold grudges anymore.

”That’s great, fantastic! I love military strategies,” Lu Xun said, his mood blooming joyfully, ”Who is he?”

”Zhuge Liang,” Fa Zheng suddenly stuck his head out and said. Lu Xun immediately shrunk back.

”Oh, Boyan seems a bit scared of you,” Chen Xi glanced at Lu Xun and nodded to Zhuge Liang, ”Xiaozhi’s temperament is better suited, he probably will get along with him. And Xiaozhi can’t stay in the North Sea for long, it’s good to find him something do.”

”Mhm,” Zhuge Liang nodded and retracted his head. As he did so, he glanced at Lu Xun, whose face revealed puzzlement. Why did Lu Xun feel pity in Zhuge Liang’s eyes, and what didn’t he know?

”When we get back, I’ll take you to visit Great Scholar Cai and report in, then you’ll also get to read the books of the Eastern Pavilion,” Chen Xi got into the carriage, then reached out to pull Lu Xun up. Cai Yan didn’t have it easy either; when Second Miss Cai ran away in her childhood and Cai Yong was so strict, memorizing the entire collection of the Eastern Pavilion’s books, she must have had a shadow from her childhood and youth.

”Thank you, Master,” Lu Xun, feeling free from Zhuge Liang’s shadow, was in high spirits. He was very satisfied with Chen Xi’s arrangement and responded much more energetically, yet he didn’t see the pitying look on Zhuge Liang’s face. With Fa Zheng’s eclectic tastes, poor Lu Xun, only twelve years old, might or might not withstand it.

”Later, come to me and I’ll give you a book on military strategy and another on psychology,” Zhuge Liang patted the freshly excited Lu Xun beside him, not wishing to crush him too much, letting him enjoy his time in the carriage before he had to deal with Fa Zheng, not knowing what kind of future awaited.

Meanwhile, Chen Xi opened the letter Guo Jia had given him, a circle of six lines of divination with an eight trigram in the center, and the paper cut into a square. It was impossible to tell which side was the beginning and which was the end; only one corner had the fourth trigram written with ”Gen Above, Kan Below.”

”Whew, good thing there are differences between top and bottom. If you interpret it starting from ’Kan Above, Gen Below,’ then the first one can’t be solved. What a hassle, what is Fengxiao trying to do?” Chen Xi slowly deduced the original cipher while quietly cursing in his heart, as Guo Jia had really made this quite complex. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, your votes and monthly tickets at are greatly appreciated. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)