Zu An took the straw sandals and the straw mat into the house with him, hoping to use them to conceal his identity. He would have to deal with officials once he reached the county. It would be troublesome if someone figured out his true identity.

However, he quickly realized that the two items were artifacts. The sandals allowed even a mortal to move as lithely as a swallow. The mat contained a simple Ki Gathering Formation, which allowed one to sleep well while gathering natural ki from the surroundings to nourish themselves.

Zu An was amazed by the vast changes in the world. Not a single thing here was normal. At least with his cultivation and formation knowledge, he could easily decipher how the two artifacts were made. I guess I can at least make a living in this world.

He had noticed that even though he retained his abilities, his connection with the world was nowhere near as tight as before. Furthermore, the world laws seemed to be suppressing his strength. His recovery was no longer as fast as before. If he depleted his ki and vitality, he would have to find other methods to replenish them. In fact, he even had to consume food to survive now.

No wonder those villagers are working hard despite being cultivators. That was the reason Liu Bei, despite his abilities, had to weave straw sandals and straw mats to buy ki food and pills.

He followed the information he had gotten from the villagers and made his way toward the nearest county. When he saw the words ‘Zhuo County’ at the entrance, his eyes narrowed. The starting point of this space-time fragment coincided with that of the ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’[1].

This was for the best, though. It was a low starting point, but it represented boundless possibilities.

The garrison guards thoroughly checked his body and his goods before letting him in.

According to the discussions around him, Zu An learned that the Yellow Turban Rebellion had just broken out, and the Yellow Turban Army was going around raiding counties. Zhuo County’s officials were afraid that the Yellow Turbans would dispatch a spy to infiltrate their ranks, so they were thorough with their checks.

Based on what Zu An knew, the Yellow Turban Rebellion only lasted a year before it was suppressed. The remnants of the rebellion continued to wreak havoc afterward, but they weren’t enough to pose a threat. However, he also recognized that this world might not necessarily observe the history he was familiar with. There was no guarantee that the Yellow Turban Rebellion would be suppressed so easily.

He spent some time wandering the streets to gain a better idea of the situation. He learned that the governor was recruiting locals into a volunteer army to counter the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Quite a few skilled individuals displayed interest in joining the volunteer army.

He observed the situation without interfering. He had come to Zhuo County to gather intelligence, as well as to recruit the two most important allies in Liu Bei’s life: the two ferocious generals who could rival ten thousand soldiers—Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Based on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, they first became acquainted in Zhuo County before eventually taking an oath of fraternity in a peach garden.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were Liu Bei’s starter SSR cards. He couldn’t miss them. At the same time, he was curious to know how strong they were. The two of them were supposed to be among the top experts in this world. Through them, he would be able to get a gauge of where he stood in this world.

But despite searching the entirety of Zhuo County, he was unable to find them.

This brought a frown to his face. Could it be that the external interferences in this world have changed its trajectory, such that I can’t trigger the ‘Oath of the Peach Garden’ event anymore? Just thinking about the possibility of having to fight against Zhang Fei and Guan Yu in the future made him tremble in fear. That absolutely couldn’t happen.

He settled down at an empty space in the market to sell his straw sandals and straw mats. At the same time, he pondered about how he could find Zhang Fei and Guan Yu in Zhuo County.

The sun gradually set in the west. He managed to sell most of his sandals and mats, earning several hundred coins. The coins in this world weren’t made from gold, silver, or copper, but a unique metal. They contained trace amounts of natural ki, and they were inscribed with the imperial court’s runes, thus making them hard to replicate.

He was about to head into the shops to buy some ki food and pills to get a gauge of this world’s purchasing power when he heard a commotion.

“Sounds like a fight.”

“Both of them are beauties!”

“Go, let’s take a look.”

Zu An chuckled. It looked like there was no lack of nosy spectators across the world. He initially thought that they might be Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, but he nearly lost interest as soon as he heard that they were women.

But on second thought, his goal here was to find the first-generation universal deities’ soul fragments. As far as he knew, all the first-generation universal deities were women. Though I can’t be so lucky as to stumble upon them just like that, right? Thus, he quickly made his way over.

At the eastern area of Zhuo County, a white-robed woman with a disposition resembling an ice mountain that had been frozen for ten thousand years coldly stared at a black-robed woman. “Are you buying or not?”

The black-robed woman had long, cascading hair. Unlike the frosty white-robed woman, she replied with a flirtatious smile, “What do you sell here?”

The crowd buzzed in excitement as they wondered why these two beauties would descend upon a minor town like Zhuo County.

“How can you be so ignorant? That white-robed woman is an outsider, but that black-robed woman is a renowned merchant in our county! She monopolizes the blood businesses in the neighboring counties!”

As the ordinary populace here were far stronger than the mortals of other worlds, the wild beasts in this world were also extraordinarily powerful. They often preyed on travelers. Their blood and flesh were valuable, as they could replenish one’s vitality and be used for medicine. The black-robed woman had to be extremely powerful to monopolize this lucrative business.

But the white-robed woman remained unfazed. “I sell green ki beans. They can swiftly replenish a cultivator’s ki.”

“Is that so? Let me inspect the product.” The black-robed woman stuck her hand into the bag and pulled out a fistful of green beans. Then, she shrugged. “These aren’t green ki beans but bean powder. Are you a scammer?”

The spectators whispered among themselves.

“The white-robed woman is in trouble.”

“Boss Zhang is clearly here to stir trouble. That woman must have offended Boss Zhang somehow.”

“That white-robed woman looks strong. She might not necessarily lose.”

...

The white-robed woman glared at the black-robed woman. “You’re doing this on purpose.”

“What are you saying? Don’t malign me. You’re the one trying to pass bean powder off as green ki beans,” the black-robed woman replied with a smile.

The white-robed woman chose to ignore her. She picked up her bag of green ki beans and left.

However, the black-robed woman wasn’t about to let her go. She grabbed the white-robed woman’s shoulder and said, “Oi, you can’t leave yet.”

The white-robed woman immediately twisted her body as her hand flew straight for the black-robed woman’s neck. However, the black-robed woman was prepared for the attack and dodged it with ease.

“Heh, I thought you wouldn’t get angry,” the black-robed woman snickered.

The white-robed woman charged at the black-robed woman, using her finger as a sword. A terrifying shockwave rippled from her.

The crowd fled in horror, fearing that they would be implicated in the clash.

Only Zu An remained on the spot, braving the furious winds. He couldn’t help but think that something was very weird about this world.

—

Note from Starve:

To clarify, the Three Kingdoms era is a huge bundle of fiction mixed with facts.

‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ is one of the Four Classics in China, and it is through this book that most people learn about the Three Kingdoms. However, this book is fictional, though the events described there are based in history.

For instance, Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, and Guan Yu were known to be close, but the Oath of the Peach Garden is said to be a fictional event.

As I’m translating the raws up to date, I’m not sure if this distinction makes a difference. Nevertheless, I’ll try to highlight it wherever I can.

1. The Three Kingdoms refers to the time period, whereas Romance of Three Kingdoms is a fictional book about the Three Kingdoms’ history. ☜