There are not many historical materials about Zhou Buyi, only Pei Songzhi's notes describe this young genius. When Cao Cao got to Jingzhou, he heard that Zhou Buyi was very clever and immediately summoned him. At this time, a white magpie appeared, which was considered auspicious at that time. Cao Cao's literati all wrote articles to praise, so Cao Cao asked Zhou Buyi to write an article. Zhou Buyi waved away, and Cao Cao was very surprised to see it. He thought it was a child prodigy like his beloved son Cao Chong. Immediately put forward to marry her daughter to Zhou Buyi, who refused. In the same year, thirteen-year-old Cao Chong died, and Cao Cao sent someone to assassinate Zhou Buyi. Zhou Buyi died at seventeen.
It is also recorded that Cao Cao could not capture Liucheng for a long time. Zhou Buyi made ten moves for Cao Cao and immediately captured Liucheng. However, this record was refuted by later scholars, who thought that when Cao Cao attacked Liucheng, Liu Xian had not surrendered to Cao Cao, and Zhou Buyi was only sixteen years old. How could he give advice to Cao Cao in Cao Cao's barracks?
After Cao Chong's death, Cao Cao killed Zhou Buyi again, and Xelloss interceded for Zhou Buyi. Cao Cao said that Zhou Buyi was beyond your control, so he sent someone to assassinate the young genius. Many people in later generations thought Cao Cao was jealous because Zhou Buyi refused to be Cao Cao's son-in-law and appointed him as a negotiator. At the same time, he suffered a double blow from the defeat of Chibi and the death of his beloved son Cao Chong, so he was psychologically unbalanced and killed Zhou Buyi instead.