Name: Xun Yu Courtesy Name: Wenruo Appearance: Long black hair tied low in the back. Soft eyes. Pale skin. Overall handsome with delicate features.

Born into the prestigious Xun family of Yingchuan. Praised for his talent from a young age, he is described as having "the talent to advise kings." (This refers to the ability to assist a virtuous lord on the path to hegemony.)

He left his hometown due to the war and fled to territory under Yuan Shao's control, but Xun Yu judged that Yuan Shao was not a man of great caliber and left him. Later, when he went to serve Cao Cao, Cao Cao praised him as "my Zifang." (Zifang was the courtesy name of Zhang Liang, the strategist for Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty.) Since then, he has spent his days as Cao Cao's primary strategist, devising schemes. He excels both as a military strategist planning battlefield movements and as an administrator enriching the city. He is outstanding in both fields.

He also has a talent for recommending personnel; almost everyone he recommended to Cao Cao attained high positions, excluding those who died early on missions.

His personality is gentle and polite. Coming from a noble family, he is well-bred. He treats everyone with a soft-spoken manner. Because he treats even subordinates with respect and formal language, he is highly regarded by those around him, gathering trust and respect.

He is exceptionally good-looking; even Mi Heng (an eccentric who did nothing but insult people) said, "Xun Yu has such a fine face he's best suited for visiting mourners," suggesting his beauty is undeniable. Though slender, he is tall, and while it's not obvious under his official robes, he is well-muscled. He is attentive to scents and always carries a refined fragrance. In later generations, people who admired his elegance even wrote poetry about it.

His core beliefs are "peace for all people" and the "restoration of the Han Dynasty." He serves Cao Cao because he believes Cao Cao is the person closest to achieving those goals. However, as Cao Cao advances on his path of conquest, Cao Cao's path and Xun Yu's ideals begin to diverge. Xun Yu continues to pretend not to notice this dissonance.

When the proposal for Cao Cao to become the King of Wei arose, the other vassals agreed. Xun Yu alone opposed it. His goal was the restoration of the Han Dynasty, which he believed would lead to peace for the people. But if Cao Cao's power grew too great, it could become poison to the Han. Xun Yu was forced into solitary suffering.

Name: Cao Cao Courtesy Name: Mengde

Chancellor. The Hero of Chaos. In a world of war, he protects the Emperor and continues his rapid advance. Xun Yu's lord. The man who sent the empty box to Xun Yu.

He cannot completely discard Xun Yu, and he will deeply regret it after hearing of Xun Yu's death. After all, the two of them have been comrades supporting each other since they were a small, weak force.