Xu Shu | Shu

Name: Xu Shu

Age: 34 (Born 173)

Appearance: Xu Shu is a tall, slender man (Standing at 6 ft) with gray eyes and scruffy, messy dark hair. He has rough patches of stubble, and is rarely seen without the loose green hood he wears around his neck, which he can pull over his head at any time. He typically has a soft, neutral expression, with a slight nervous frown.

Personality: Despite being very intelligent, Xu Shu is a very humble man in Liu Bei's service. He has little ambition, no self-confidence, and thinks he fails his purpose especially when compared to Zhuge Liang. Xu Shu's got a stronger ability to use empathy within his strategies, revealing a contrast to Zhuge Liang's methods for efficiency. In scenarios where they are together, Pang Tong advises his friend to have a more optimistic perspective of himself. Xu Shu tends to be on the shy and reserved side, preferring to hide under his hood and keep to himself. He tends to trail off and hesitate in his sentences, or start them with “Um...” or “Err...” He has a very difficult time saying no to requests, and ends up being pushed around without quite meaning to. Xu Shu will happily praise his comrades and those he perceives as better than him-- which is most people. Xu Shu has a very self-deprecating nature.

Xu Shu’s weapon of choice is a sword with a hooked dagger attached to it by a long string-- he moves extremely quickly in combat, able to outthink and outmaneuver his combat opponents.

Background: Xu Shu was from Yingchuan Commandery. His original given name was Fu, and he was born into a poor family. He was a swordsman in his early life; when he was 16, he once helped someone take revenge by killing another person. To avoid being recognised, he covered his face with white chalk and let his hair run wild. He was later arrested by an official, who asked him for his name, but he did not reply. The official tied him to a cart, paraded him through the streets, and asked for any person who could identify him. No one came forth. Xu Shu's fellows rescued him later. He was so grateful to be saved that he gave up his life as a swordsman and became a scholar-- though he’s still very talented with his sword and keeps in practice for battle.

When Xu Shu first attended school, his mates ostracized him because of his background, but he remained humble and hardworking. He woke up early, cleaned the school alone, and paid great attention to his studies. He met Shi Tao and became close friends with him. In the early 190s, when wars broke out in central China, Xu Shu and Shi Tao moved south to Jing Province, where they met Zhuge Liang and befriended him. During his time in Jing Province from the late 190s to the early 200s (about a decade), Xu Shu maintained close friendships with Zhuge Liang, Shi Tao and Meng Gongwei. They traveled and studied together.

When Liu Bei was stationed at Xinye County, Xu Shu visited him and received a warm reception. Xu Shu recommended Zhuge Liang as an adviser to Liu Bei. As of now, Xu Shu is working as Liu Bei’s sole strategist, while Liu Bei is working under Liu Biao, ruling Jing Province with safe prosperity.