Xu Shu was from Yingchuan Commandery (潁川郡), Yu Province, which is in present-day central Henan.

He was a swordsman in his early life; during the latter part of the Zhong'ping era (184-189) of Emperor Ling's reign, he once helped someone take revenge by killing another person.

[4] When Xu Shu first attended school, his mates ostracised him because of his background, but he remained humble and hardworking.

In the early 190s, when wars broke out in central China, Xu Shu and Shi Tao moved south to Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan), where they met Zhuge Liang and befriended him.

[5] 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 (孟公威).

[6] When the warlord Liu Bei was stationed at Xinye County, Xu Shu visited him and received a warm reception.

Zhuge Liang later came to serve Liu Bei after the latter visited him thrice and consulted him on the affairs of their time.

Before leaving, he pointed at his heart and told Liu Bei, "I wanted to join you, General, in making great achievements.

During Cao Pi's reign from December 220 to June 226, Xu Shu served as a Right General of the Household (右中郎將) and a Palace Assistant Imperial Clerk (御史中丞).

In the novel, his original name was Shan Fu (單福), perhaps due to a misreading of the phrase "本單家子" in the Weilue.

Xu Shu was singing on the streets of Xinye when Liu Bei noticed him and asked him if he was either the "Sleeping Dragon" or the "Fledgling Phoenix" that Sima Hui spoke of.

Zhao Yun led his men to attack the formation and succeeded in breaking it and defeating Cao Ren.

Xu Shu also accurately predicted that Cao Ren would launch a surprise attack that night after his defeat.

After some time, Cheng Yu got close to Xu Shu's mother and learnt to mimic her handwriting.

On the way, he suddenly remembered something and immediately turned back to meet Liu Bei and recommend Zhuge Liang to him.

[13] The Chinese saying "His body is in (Cao) Cao's camp, but his heart is actually with the Han (dynasty)" (身在曹營心在漢; 身在曹营心在汉; shēn zài Cáo yíng xīn zài Hàn) is derived from this story about Xu Shu and another story about Guan Yu in Romance of the Three Kingdoms.