Chapter Ten: Confirming Identity

Western Han Dynasty, the fifth year of the Yuanshou era, a corner of the Weiyang Palace.

Liu Ju emerged from the opening first, followed closely by Huo Qubing, Zhuge Liang, and the trio of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei. Liu Ju looked around, confirming that he had indeed returned to the Great Han, and nodded repeatedly. He was becoming increasingly accustomed to this routine.

Wait, his elder brother did not seem to have come along to the Western Han.

The quartet from the Eastern Han crawled out of the opening and, before they even had a chance to brush the dust from their clothes, began to look around. The first thing that caught their eyes was a majestic palace standing several dozen zhang away. Looking further into the distance, they discovered that it was not just a single palace, but an entire complex of buildings. The astonishment in the eyes of the Eastern Han group could not be concealed. It seemed they had truly arrived in the Former Han.

"Little... Your Highness the Crown Prince, may I ask where this place is?" Liu Bei had almost called him "Little Ju," but swallowed the words back. It was undeniable that Liu Ju was his ancestor, so calling him "Little Ju" would be disrespectful, and he doubted Liu Ju would accept being called "Progenitor." Thus, he followed Huo Qubing's lead and addressed him as Your Highness the Crown Prince.

"Uncle Xuande, just call me Little Ju. As for this place, it is the Weiyang Palace, one of the three palaces of our Great Han."

The Weiyang Palace, built by the Supreme Ancestor, the High Emperor!

A look of deep curiosity appeared on Liu Bei's face. Because the Weiyang Palace had been burned to the ground during the collapse of Wang Mang's usurped regime, the founding emperor of the Later Han, Emperor Guangwu, had moved the capital from Chang'an to Luoyang and built four new palaces. As someone who had personally seen the imperial palace in Luoyang, Liu Bei felt from the bottom of his heart that compared to the Weiyang Palace before him, the four palaces of Luoyang were like a small witch meeting a great one.

While observing the palace, Liu Bei also remembered something—a matter of the utmost importance.

"Supreme... Little Ju, I wonder if we might be able to see His Majesty, the Martial Emperor."

"No." Huo Qubing refused them without a second thought. He had brought them here to prove through facts that it was the fifth year of the Yuanshou era and that he was indeed Huo Qubing. As for the identities of the others, they were still unknown, so how could he possibly bring them to see His Majesty?

Normally, given Zhang Fei's explosive temper, he would have stepped forward to confront anyone so arrogant. However, at this moment, Zhang Fei was as timid as a quail. There was no helping it; just the name "Huo Qubing" was enough to keep him from acting rashly.

"Champion Marquis, the Han house is currently on the verge of collapse, the imperial order has been lost, and we are in dire need of His Majesty's assistance."

Huo Qubing remained cold. "I have now proven my identity. Do you have any way to prove yours?"

"Champion Marquis, that is easily done. I shall take you to the years of the Later Han, and then you will know that what I say is true."

Huo Qubing nodded. This suited his intentions perfectly. "Then what are we waiting for? Let us go."

***

Under Huo Qubing's urging, Liu Bei, who had just arrived in the Western Han, embarked on another journey.

Meanwhile, back at the farmhouse, Zhang Bo lay on a lounge chair under the veranda, staring blankly at the sky. He had never imagined that such a bizarre phenomenon would happen to him. It seemed that apart from him, the four from the Eastern Han and the pair of Liu Ju and Huo Qubing had all disappeared. Having previously harbored doubts, Zhang Bo now believed it to be mostly true. Liu Ju was likely the real eldest son of Emperor Wu of Han.

Thinking of this, Zhang Bo made a firm decision. Since he and Liu Ju were on such good terms, he certainly could not let him follow the path recorded in history. The Disaster of Witchcraft had to be nipped in the bud. Not only Liu Ju, but the same went for Huo Qubing. He would not let this Great Han God of War die young again. Of course, saving Liu Ju and Huo Qubing were linked in certain ways. If Huo Qubing were still alive, the Disaster of Witchcraft would likely never occur. Saving Huo Qubing would, in all probability, save Liu Ju as well.

"Elder brother, elder brother."

Hm? Zhang Bo looked toward the door. He saw Liu Ju and the others had returned to his farmhouse.

"Oh, Little Ju, you've returned so soon?"

"Elder brother, why didn't you come with us just now?"

Zhang Bo was silent for a moment. He wanted to follow Liu Ju to the Western Han, but who knew why he couldn't pass through? Suddenly, Zhang Bo remembered something: why could the "cosplay" Eastern Han quartet go through? Could it be... A bold thought rose in his mind.

"Little Ju, I wanted to go with you, but it seems I am unable to."

A look of confusion appeared on Liu Ju's small face. "Elder brother, why is that?"

"I do not know."

"Then, elder brother, we are going to the Eastern Han. Would you like to come with us?"

Liu Ju's words caused a look of surprise to appear on the faces of the Eastern Han quartet. Why would Crown Prince Liu Ju call the Later Han the "Eastern Han"?

"Your Highness, is it possible that this 'Eastern Han' refers to the Later Han?"

Facing Zhuge Liang's inquiry, Liu Ju nodded. "Indeed, I actually learned this naming convention from my elder brother."

"You do not know about the Eastern and Western Han?" Zhang Bo looked at the Eastern Han group.

"We ask the shopkeeper to enlighten us; how did this naming of Eastern and Western Han come about?"

"The capital of the Western Han was Chang'an, and the capital of the Eastern Han was Luoyang. Chang'an is in the west, and Luoyang is in the east."

So that was it. A look of realization dawned on Zhuge Liang's face. But soon, he realized something else—what Liu Ju had said about bringing this shopkeeper to the Eastern Han. Could it be that the shopkeeper before them was not a person from the Eastern Han period?

"Shopkeeper, listening to His Highness, it seems you are not a person of the Eastern Han era."

If Zhuge Liang had asked this before, Zhang Bo would have scoffed, but after everything that had happened, he now believed that the identities of the group were not so simple. In other words, they were the real Liu, Guan, Zhang, and Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang's question also caught the attention of Huo Qubing, who was standing to the side.

"That's right, I am from a world nearly two thousand years after the Eastern Han."

Because they had already been through it once, they were not as shocked as before.

"Shopkeeper, that is a bit too outlandish."

Faced with Liu Bei's remark, Zhang Bo shouted internally: Should I not be the one finding this outlandish? I just returned to the village to open a simple farmhouse, how could I have imagined that so many historical figures would come here?

Of course, after a brief moment of surprise, they did not forget their ultimate goal: to go to the Eastern Han. And this time, Zhang Bo intended to try it himself. Unlike going to the Western Han, this time there was no need to crawl through any dog holes. According to Liu Bei, they just had to walk along the small path, and they would reach Xinye.

Zhang Bo wore a look of confusion. Are you kidding me? He knew every road in the village; how could walking along a small path lead to Xinye? Although Zhang Bo was skeptical, he followed them to verify the authenticity of the Eastern Han quartet.

After walking for about two or three minutes, Zhang Bo looked back and saw that only the roof of his farmhouse remained visible. Just as Zhang Bo turned his head back, he discovered that everyone had disappeared again.