Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Having said that, Sima Lang tugged at Sima Yi, who behind him seemed to be still lost in thought.

Sima Yi followed behind Sima Lang, but his body was facing the other side. When Sima Lang pulled him, Sima Yi subconsciously turned his head 180 degrees, but his body remained still, making the scene appear somewhat eerie.

A wolf's gaze?!

Chen Qun frowned slightly, feeling somewhat surprised.

Such a countenance often belongs to a treacherous individual.

However, after Chen Qun clearly saw Sima Yi's face, he noticed that apart from the unusually sharp eyes, Sima Yi's features appeared restrained and honest.

Sima Lang forcefully slapped Sima Yi's head, forcibly synchronizing Sima Yi's head and body, before saying,

"Yi-di, what are you spacing out about?"

"I was thinking about that sand table. I seem to have found some clues," Sima Yi replied.

Chen Qun couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this.

What he laughed at was not Sima Yi, but Li Ji's overestimation of himself in thinking that the sand table was enough to measure the talents of the world.

Even a young man who looked no more than eleven or twelve years old dared to say he had found a way to solve it, so the difficulty must be average.

"Yi-di, can you redraw that sand table on paper?" Sima Lang asked again.

"Of course, I can," Sima Yi replied.

Chen Qun, who had been standing in place for a long time, was already a little impatient and immediately said,

"Since that's the case, why don't we go to the teahouse and order a pot of tea to discuss it?"

"Please," Sima Lang quickly replied.

Soon, the three of them set off together, escorted by five or six servants, heading to a nearby teahouse.

Afterward, Chen Qun sent someone to bring paper, ink, brush, and inkstone.

After briefly recalling, Sima Yi picked up the brush and began to draw on the paper.

Before a song in the teahouse was finished, Sima Yi, with his excellent memory and outstanding drawing skills, completely reproduced the contents of the sand table.

After Chen Qun took the paper, he blurted out a sentence.

"So complicated?"

Then, a trace of embarrassing awkwardness appeared on Chen Qun's face.

Although Chen Qun believed that sand table deductions were just a minor skill and was not very interested, Chen Qun had also been exposed to many sand table deductions.

However, such a complex sand table deduction was something Chen Qun had never heard of.

Immediately, in order to save face, Chen Qun concentrated and began to study it carefully. Sima Yi, who was sitting on the side, also emptied his mind, looking as if he was lost in thought, seemingly continuing to think.

For a time, it was Sima Lang, who knew his level was limited, who was "smacking" his lips as he savored the tea and enjoyed the opera performances below.

One song after another…

The tea also cooled down pot after pot.

Chen Qun's expression became increasingly unsightly, sweat dripped down his back, and there were also a few bloodshot eyes. He even unknowingly pierced the paper with his finger without realizing it.

'How… is it so difficult?'

Chen Qun prided himself on being a versatile talent of the era, with few scholars able to compare with him, but after this brain-draining thought, Chen Qun couldn't find a way to completely win in this sand table.

Not even a glimmer of hope.

Immediately, Chen Qun calmed his mind, subtly wiped the sweat from his forehead, put down the paper in his hand, and said in a deliberately relaxed tone.

"It's indeed a bit interesting. Although I already have a thorough solution, I still need some time to perfect it. How about I inform Boda when I have time to perfect it in the future?"

"No problem, no problem," Sima Lang quickly replied.

Although Sima Lang had also noticed some of Chen Qun's embarrassment and discomfiture, he naturally wouldn't expose it.

However, at this moment, a voice suddenly rang out behind Chen Qun.

"A gentleman should not deceive himself internally, nor deceive others externally. Why does Your Excellency need to deceive himself in such a way, not daring to face his shortcomings?"

Chen Qun, filled with shame and anger at having his thoughts exposed, suddenly turned his head, wanting to get angry, but found that the person standing behind him was actually a young man who seemed even younger than Sima Yi.

This made Chen Qun's anger unable to vent for a moment.

After all, Chen Qun was not willing to vent his anger on an ignorant young man.

Seeing this, Sima Lang quickly spoke up for Chen Qun. "What does a young man like you understand? Quickly leave."

Sima Yi, who had been lost in thought, was also attracted by the commotion. When he came back to his senses and looked, he found that although the young man standing behind Chen Qun was young, his words and actions naturally had a bit of composure.

Moreover, his face was like jade, his eyes were clear and deep, and his appearance could be called beautiful.

Facing Sima Lang's dismissal, the young man calmly bowed and said, "Langya Zhuge Liang, greetings to everyone."

Langya Zhuge?

Chen Qun quickly recalled and remembered the relevant figures. His ancestor, Zhuge Feng, had once held the official position of Sili Xiaowei, but in recent years, only one person named Zhuge Gui had served as the Taishan Commandery Assistant, and then… nothing more.

Families like this that have fallen into decline are often called poor families.

And Chen Qun has always disliked and disdained poor families.

For a noble family to fall to such a state, sometimes it is necessary to look for the reasons from within. Over the years, have the clansmen struggled and contributed to the family? Have they inherited the talents and aspirations of their ancestors?

Therefore, Chen Qun coldly said with some displeasure.

"Is Zhuge Gui a member of your clan?"

Zhuge Liang's eyes drooped slightly, and he replied. "Zhuge Gui is my late father."

Chen Qun sneered upon hearing this, and said disdainfully. "So, you are the son of a commandery assistant. How dare you speak of noble families?"

Upon hearing these words, Sima Lang couldn't help but frown slightly.

These words were undoubtedly too harsh for a young man.

In this way, this young man would inevitably fall into an embarrassing situation.

However, facing Chen Qun's ridicule, Zhuge Liang's youthful face did not show the slightest anger. Instead, he calmly asked,

"I wonder how Your Excellency compares to the Marquis of Guo?"

This immediately darkened Chen Qun's face.

Without a doubt, this sentence was referring to Li Ji, who had once been the Wu Commandery Assistant, satirizing Chen Qun for being so arrogant, so why did he need to accept the invitation to come to Wu Commandery?

No matter how arrogant Chen Qun was, he knew that his current reputation was far inferior to Li Ji, which made it difficult for Chen Qun to refute.

"Does a child deserve to discuss the heroes of the world?"

Chen Qun, who was embarrassed for a moment, could only disregard his face and forcefully suppressed him with age.

Zhuge Liang didn't say much, he just asked,

"May I ask for your name?"

"Yingchuan Chen Qun," Chen Qun replied.

"Today's words will surely be repaid in the future."

Zhuge Liang still maintained that calm and composed demeanor, even cupping his hands in a salute before turning to leave.

Chen Qun dismissed it with disdain, not taking Zhuge Liang's words to heart at all.

Only Sima Yi kept staring at Zhuge Liang's back until Zhuge Liang's figure completely disappeared around the corner.

An inexplicable sense of agitation and disgust surged in Sima Yi's heart, causing Zhuge Liang's appearance to completely attract all of Sima Yi's attention.

Moreover, Sima Yi had a faint intuition: they would meet again soon, very soon… (End of chapter)