Lin Xiangshun drove the truck all the way back to Yong’an Village.

Just as they entered the village, Zhao Jun suddenly remembered something. "Second Brother," he said to Lin Xiangshun, "let me get out here."

"What are you up to?" Lin Xiangshun asked.

"Yeah," Li Baoyu, squeezed into the passenger seat with Zhao Jun, asked curiously, "it’s already dark. Aren’t you going home for dinner, Brother?"

"No rush," Zhao Jun said. "I’m going to drop by Zhang Yuanmin’s place."

Hearing this, Lin Xiangshun turned the steering wheel. "In that case, I’ll hit the gas and take you right there."

The truck pulled up to Zhang Yuanmin’s house. Zhao Jun got out, pushed open the courtyard gate, and walked right in.

Just then, Yang Yufeng was coming from behind the house with an armful of firewood. Seeing Zhao Jun, she seemed pleasantly surprised. She dropped all the wood she was holding and came jogging toward him.

"What’s all this!" Zhao Jun was startled by her reaction.

Yang Yufeng reached him, and the first thing she said was, "Brother, you’re finally here!"

"Uh... Sister-in-law, what’s wrong?"

Yang Yufeng shook her head. She raised one hand and pressed her index finger against her nose, as if about to cry. With her other hand, she waved for Zhao Jun to follow her.

Zhao Jun followed Yang Yufeng to the front of her house. She pointed at the window, then turned and went back to pick up the firewood.

Zhao Jun peered through the window.

The sky was dark by now, and with the lights on inside, he could see clearly into the room.

He saw Little Lingdang at the kang table, bent over her homework. As for Zhang Yuanmin, his injuries seemed to have mostly healed. He was pacing back and forth on the floor.

The crucial part was that the man was holding a comic book—cupping it in both hands, in fact. He was walking and reading, reading and smiling.

Just then, who knows what exciting part Zhang Yuanmin had reached, but he stopped walking, clutched the book to his chest with both hands, tilted his head back slightly, and broke into a goofy grin.

’My God, not another one possessed,’ Zhao Jun thought, his skin crawling.

"Brother, please go inside and talk some sense into your big brother," Yang Yufeng said to Zhao Jun, her voice choked with tears as she returned with the firewood.

Zhao Jun found it a bit strange. It was just a comic book. At worst, he’d end up like Li Baoyu. What was with all the sobbing?

But Zhao Jun respected Yang Yufeng from the bottom of his heart, so he just said, "Alright, Sister-in-law. I’ll go in and check on my big brother."

With that, Zhao Jun pulled the door open and went inside.

"Hey, Brother!" Zhang Yuanmin, just snapping out of his reverie, was delighted to see Zhao Jun and cried out in surprise.

"Big Brother, you’re back on your feet?" Zhao Jun asked with a smile.

"Just about. Your big brother is tough as nails," Zhang Yuanmin replied with a chuckle.

Although the wounds on Zhang Yuanmin’s back had looked gruesome when Zhao Jun visited him after returning from Yongsheng Village, they were only superficial. All they needed was time to scab over and heal.

"Uncle Zhao!" Little Lingdang, on the kang, greeted Zhao Jun politely.

"Hey, Lingdang. You keep doing your homework." After replying to the little girl, Zhao Jun looked at Zhang Yuanmin—or more accurately, at the comic book in his hands.

_Romance of the Three Kingdoms!_

Seeing the four words on the cover, Zhao Jun recalled Yang Yufeng’s state just now, and his heart skipped a beat.

’Zhang Yuanmin often compares himself to Zhuge Wulong, and now he’s gotten his hands on a copy of *Three Kingdoms*. He’s probably going to pull some new stunt.’

"Brother, come on, have a seat on the kang." Seeing Zhao Jun staring blankly at the comic book in his hands, Zhang Yuanmin quickly beckoned him over.

Zhao Jun sat on the edge of the kang and noticed three more _Three Kingdoms_ comic books lying further in.

"Brother," Zhang Yuanmin began before Zhao Jun could even ask, speaking like a child showing off a new toy to a friend, "I’ve been home these past couple of days, and let me tell you, I’ve been doing a lot of reading."

"Ah!" Zhao Jun didn’t know what to say, so he just made a noncommittal sound.

Zhang Yuanmin sidled up to Zhao Jun, unable to contain his excitement. "Last time you came, didn’t I tell you? While I was lying in bed all those days, I came up with a bunch of brilliant strategies."

"Big Brother..." The very words "brilliant strategies" now gave Zhao Jun a headache.

But before he could offer some gentle dissuasion, Zhang Yuanmin held up his comic book and said, "But after all this reading the last two days, I’ve suddenly realized that everything I thought of before was wrong."

"Exactly!" Zhang Yuanmin said it was wrong, but Zhao Jun said it was right. "That’s the right way to think, Big Brother," he said. "Don’t spend all day dwelling on all that nonsense. Actually, I came here this time to talk to you about something."

"Brother, you listen to me first." Zhang Yuanmin raised a hand to stop him. "Brother, do you know who Wei Yan is?"

"Nope," Zhao Jun said, shaking his head. He wasn’t like Li Baoyu and his family; reading had given him a headache ever since he was a kid. As for characters from the Three Kingdoms, he only knew of the three brothers—Liu, Guan, and Zhang—plus Cao Cao and Zhuge Liang.

Besides those five, he didn’t even know who Lü Bu, Zhao Yun, or Sun Quan were.

Hearing Zhao Jun’s admission, Zhang Yuanmin began to explain patiently, "This Wei Yan, he’s a great general of the Insect Country..."

Zhao Jun wasn’t very educated, so he just listened to Zhang Yuanmin ramble. But Little Lingdang, off to the side, couldn’t stand it. She interrupted her father, "Dad, Dad, he was a great general of the Shu Kingdom. That word is pronounced ’Shu’."

"You do your homework." Zhang Yuanmin tilted his head at his daughter, then continued speaking to Zhao Jun without a hint of a blush. "Your big brother had a slip of the tongue. He was a great general of the Shu Kingdom."

"Alright, alright, Big Brother." Zhao Jun was completely lost and quickly cut him off. "I don’t understand any of this. Just tell me, whose side was he on?"

It was an odd question, but Zhang Yuanmin understood. "He was with Liu Bei’s side," he said directly.

"Ah," Zhao Jun nodded, indicating he understood.

Zhang Yuanmin continued, "I used to think Zhuge Liang was the smartest, but after reading these books, I think Wei Yan was the most impressive."

"How so?" Zhao Jun asked, playing along. He was curious too, since he’d only ever heard that Zhuge Liang was the smartest one in _Three Kingdoms_.

Zhang Yuanmin said, "Before, I always called myself Little Zhuge. Every time I went after a bear, I’d try to play it safe. But as you know, Brother, I’ve only gone bear hunting three times in total. Besides the time I went with those two scumbags, Minister Li and Li Erchen, the other two hunts were all based on my own brilliant strategies and ingenious plans."

It seemed Zhang Yuanmin’s recent reading hadn’t been for nothing; he was dropping one little idiom after another.

But the more he talked, the more confused Zhao Jun became. "Ah, so what happened?" he asked.

"AI!" Zhang Yuanmin heaved a heavy sigh and slapped the comic book down on the kang table. "Brother, let’s be honest. How were those plans of mine? Weren’t they supposed to be a sure thing? But every damn time, the hunt went sideways."

"Hey, Big Brother, wasn’t that just bad luck?" Zhao Jun thought he’d lost heart and was giving up on bear hunting for good, so he immediately offered a word of comfort.

But to Zhao Jun’s surprise, Zhang Yuanmin immediately continued, "These past few days, I’ve been reading and thinking. Look at that Zhuge Liang, huh? He was so smart, but he could never beat that Sima what’s-his-name.

"One time, he set a fire and almost burned that Sima guy to death, but wouldn’t you know it, it started pouring rain."

Zhao Jun was completely baffled. He asked, "Big Brother, what on earth are you talking about? I don’t get it."

"Brother, you should read more books when you have time," Zhang Yuanmin advised before continuing. "When I got to that part, I thought about my last two bear hunts. No matter how well I planned it at home, something unexpected always happened out there. So, I’ve decided! Next time I go hunt a bear, I’m not going to play it safe. I’m going to use a surprise attack!"

Hearing this, Zhao Jun’s eyes went wide, and he stared blankly at Zhang Yuanmin.