In 214, after the warlord Liu Bei seized control of Yi Province from Liu Yan's successor Liu Zhang, he recruited Li Fu to serve under him as a scribe (書佐). Li Fu later rose through the ranks to serve as the Chief of Xichongguo County (西充國縣; south of present-day Langzhong, Sichuan) and then as the Prefect of Chengdu (成都令).