Waking up in the middle of the night, I groggily reached for Diao Chan, only to find I was the only one in bed.

I sprang up, and there were eight burly men standing in the bedroom!

They were holding Diao Chan, and one of them was pressing a sharp blade against her throat.

Diao Chan smiled slightly: "Finally awake? You sleep like the dead!"

Her expression as she said this was as if there were no strangers in the room, and no one was holding a knife to her throat.

I hurriedly looked for my halberd.

Diao Chan continued to smile: "Don't bother looking, Song Xian already stole it."

I understood then; they had kidnapped Diao Chan but dared not harm me.

Even when I was deeply asleep, they only dared to silently steal my halberd.

Diao Chan gently said: "You should escape quickly. If you can reclaim your Red Hare horse, you can cross the Si River."

Diao Chan raised her voice: "Swine! I'm not a potato, I'm not Zhao Feiyan, I am Diao Chan, Diao Chan, Diao Chan!"

She thrust her neck forward, and the sharp blade pierced through her throat.

I roared and rushed forward!

Seven of the eight men instantly fled, leaving only the one holding the knife, who stood motionless.

He wanted to escape more than anyone else, but his legs were nailed to the ground, unable to move.

I held Diao Chan's body, unable to cry.

Song Xian and Wei Xu, along with a group of people, swarmed in and tied me up like a dumpling.

It took all their strength to tear Diao Chan from my arms...

The sky was already bright.

Wei Xu shouted to Cao's army outside the city: "We have captured Lü Bu alive!"

Xiahou Yuan outside the city didn't believe it. Song Xian threw my halberd down from the White Gate Tower.

I suddenly remembered the silk bag Guan Lu had left me. He told me to open it when faced with a great flood, and inside it said, "As long as the halberd is there, the person will be there; if the halberd is lost, the person will die."

Perhaps I misheard—Guan Lu's meaning was actually "As long as the halberd is there, the person will be there; if the halberd is lost, the person will die."

On the White Gate Tower, Cao Cao and Liu Bei sat.

Below the White Gate Tower, tied up were Gao Shun, Zhang Liao, Chen Gong, and me.

Cao Cao asked Gao Shun: "If you don't surrender now, when will you?"

Gao Shun stood tall and silent, and within moments, his head fell to the ground.

Cao Cao untied Chen Gong: "Gongtai, it's been a while?"

Chen Gong said nothing, walked straight to the execution platform, and stretched his neck for the execution.

Cao Cao pointed at Zhang Liao: "Why do you look so familiar to me?"

Zhang Liao cursed: "The great fire in Puyang City, too bad it didn't burn you, you traitor!"

The result was unexpected—Cao Cao, in shame and anger, wanted to personally kill Zhang Liao, but Liu Bei and Guan Yu stopped him, saying Zhang Liao was a loyal and righteous man, and should be kept.

Thus, Zhang Liao became Cao Cao's Zhonglang General.

This is our absurd world.

Gao Shun and Chen Gong, both valiant and loyal men, were killed.

While pointing at the nose of a mortal enemy and theatrically cursing a few times, one could survive and continue to be considered a loyal and righteous man.

But isn't there a common principle of loyalty and righteousness in our time, "When the lord is humiliated, the minister should die"?

Yet here I am, bound like a corpse, while Zhang Liao instantly became Cao Cao's Zhonglang General.

I suddenly laughed self-mockingly.

It's almost my turn, yet I'm still pondering those nonsensical so-called principles.

Sure enough, Cao Cao pointed at my nose, his tone neither angry nor joyful: "Alas, I really don't know how to deal with this one! Killing him would be a pity, keeping him is terrifying."

I knew what Cao Cao meant and turned my head without replying.

Cao Cao asked Liu Bei: "This guy is the world's first warrior, is he worth keeping?"

Liu Bei cleared his throat and pondered without answering.

Cao Cao continued to ask: "What is Xuande thinking?"

Liu Bei stroked his beard slowly and said: "I'm thinking of Ding Jianyang and Dong Zhuo."

I laughed again.

I finally understood the meaning of Guan Lu's last prophecy; he said I would die at the hands of a pair of soft, white hands.

Damn, it was spot on!

These "soft, white hands" could be Wang Yun, or they could be Liu Bei.

Cao Cao glared: "You're at death's door, and you can still laugh!"

I continued to laugh: "You can kill me, but you can't stop me from laughing."

I took a breath and kept laughing.

Thinking of Diao Chan, I said blandly: "Just kill me already."