Liu Bei POV
“Un…” Yuan Zhi did not ask any further and merely concluded with a quick message, “In any case, what I mean is that you are our lord so y-you should be more confident of yourself.”
Yuan Zhi stammered as she said so and turned away thereafter. Looks like she’s a little embarrassed about calling my ‘my lord’ or perhaps it reminded her of what happened a few days ago in her room, the little ritual we did.
“Yuan Zhi is right.” Zi Long added and gave me a wry smile, “Of course, I also want Xuan De to find a reason to live.”
Wu… Zi Long always pours cold water on me and my pride once again suffered a tremendous blow.
“By the way, is it alright for you to call me Xuan De? Shouldn’t you be calling me Shamoke?”
“Ah, it should be fine now.” Yuan Zhi nodded, “The battle has ended so there is no way that the enemy’s spies are still around. Even if they are, our strict borders and customs control will prevent them from leaving anyway.”
Oh~ I see.
Before we knew it, we had come to the end of the commoners’ procession and the sound of drums and cheers began to fade away. I looked up and saw that we were getting close to the mountain range to the north of the city. Further east was where Cao Ren and Li Dian’s former encampment used to be.
Naturally, we claimed all of their encampment while cleaning up the battlefield and brought back all of it to Xinye. We currently have about 10,000 troops remaining in total between Xinye and Fan city; and thanks to the gear, all of them now have a full set of heavy plate. It’s not just that, we also gained a good amount of provisions and bows and arrows as well. When the wall reconstruction works are complete, Xinye city can be considered a well-supplied and easily defendable city.
We really have Cao Ren and Li Dian to thank for this.
“Where are we going? Through the forest or the mountains?”
“The forest.” I answered Zi Long, “Yun Chang sent me a letter a while ago saying that she and the rest would be at the end of the forest waiting for us.”
The letter had come yesterday, just as we were thinking of going over as well. Yun Chang, Feng Xian and the rest should have the city under control by now.
“I wonder how its like at Fan city.”
“Yes, I wonder as well.” Zi Long said with an expectant voice, “Fan city is about 3-4 times as big as Xinye city so it will be difficult to improve its defences but it will make it easier to get more men and horses.”
It was clear that she was more excited about the latter. Then again, it was her who was able to raise an army of close to a thousand back when we had nothing in Yuan Shao’s territory. Of course, I am also very excited to see what Fan city is like. There should not have been any enemy attacks ever since Li Dian and Cao Ren arrived there so it must have grown well.
Un? I happened to turn around and noticed that Yi De had been silent the entire time and decided to call out to her, “Yi De?”
“Eh?”
“Umm… How are you feeling now? Are you alright?”
“Ah… Un.” Yi De seemed stunned and only responded after a while.
Is she still feeling unwell? To be honest, I did not want to bring her at all and it was Yi De who asked to come herself. Naturally this was a good thing and it also feels like Yi De is trying to establish closer relations with us. Or perhaps she is trying to act like how ‘Zhang Fei’ is supposed to be.
Or perhaps I am just over thinking things.
“If you feel uncomfortable at any point, just speak with Chen Dao. Don’t hold it in. Unlike a certain someone.” I said as I cast my gaze to the side.
“Wu.” Yuan Zhi mumbled and turned her head to the side.
“Un, I got it.” Yi De replied softly with a tinge of sadness. I do not know why she is sad but it seems like she has been brooding a lot of late. Is she still thinking about our exchange before? But since she has not come to speak to me, that means that she is not yet ready to tell me what is up with her.
“Is this the same forest as the last time?”
“Un un, it should be here.”
Just then, Zi Long and Chen Dao exchanged some words and I looked about to see that there was not a single leaf on the trees. I looked down at the ground and saw that most the leaves had rotted. It was clear from Zi Long and Chen Dao’s exchange that the forest was different during the time of the second battle yet it had changed so drastically over the course of mere weeks. Winter always seems to come quicker than expected but this time, it feels like winter has already passed us by.
“Zi Long, is spring coming soon?”
“Un… It should still be some ways away.” Zi Long replied and thought about it, “As a northerner, I must say that I am not too sensitive to seasonal changes.”
“If we were further south, winter would be 2/3 over. It gets colder the further north we get and it’s difficult to get a sense of winter setting in where we are now.” Yuan Zhi replied calmly as she raised a hand to feel the air, “The air is rather dry now so winter will only end in about 30-40 days.”
“I didn’t think that Yuan Zhi knew about such things as well.” I said, feeling impressed at her knowledge and realised as well that it was very likely Yuan Zhi was knowledgeable about a lot more things than we knew.
“But this really is the forest where the second battle took place. Though Li Dian and Cao Ren did clean it up, there are still visible bloodstains in the ground.”
I looked down and saw that it was indeed the case. There were clear signs of black, dried up blood on the dirt road when I looked down.
“I am very sorry about that.”
“Ah, Lord Xu Shu, don’t mind it, I had no intention of blaming you.” Zi Long hurriedly apologised when Yuan Zhi blamed herself.
“No, I think I should be blamed for it.” Yuan Zhi said with a pensive look, “After that battle, I realised that battles were by no means easy at all and often times, a single misjudgement can cause thousands and even tens of thousands of men to lose their lives. As the decision makers, we must always remember to be prudent and careful. Especially me.”
That is something I can really get behind. I never felt it when I was playing games but after being in the shoes of a feudal lord, I have found that it really is difficult to put your foot down and make a decision something.
“Lord Xu Shu.” Zi Long said as she saluted her.
“Un?” Yuan Zhi and I looked over at her and saw that Zi Long was smiling.
“Lord Xu Shu, I think I’m beginning to like you more and more.”
“Eh?! I-I-I-I-I-I di-didn’t s-s-say anything…” Yuan Zhi exclaimed and stammered.
“No, those were very enlightening words indeed.” Chen Dao added with a delightful smile plastered on her face.
“Un, I am in agreement as well.” Yi De added in as she nodded.
“Wu…” Yuan Zhi got even shyer when she got praised by the other 2 and pulled down her bandana and covered her eyes entirely.
“Lord Xu Shu, what’s up with you~” Zi Long taunted with a wry smile.
“Zi Long.” I called out to her and gestured for her to stop. Zi Long understood and merely smiled and did not continue. I then turned to Yuan Zhi, “Yuan Zhi, don’t be shy. You know what you need to say here right?”
Yuan Zhi remained silent for a long while before she eventually spat out, “… Thanks everyone.”
“Un, no need for thanks~” Zi Long replied in a rather girly tone which sent chills down my spine.
But really, the distance between Yuan Zhi and the rest of us has greatly shrunk. I do not know about the specifics but it is undoubtedly related to our conversation in the market. Or at least, that’s what I would like to think.
Liu Bei POV
“Un…” Yuan Zhi did not ask any further and merely concluded with a quick message, “In any case, what I mean is that you are our lord so y-you should be more confident of yourself.”
Yuan Zhi stammered as she said so and turned away thereafter. Looks like she’s a little embarrassed about calling my ‘my lord’ or perhaps it reminded her of what happened a few days ago in her room, the little ritual we did.
“Yuan Zhi is right.” Zi Long added and gave me a wry smile, “Of course, I also want Xuan De to find a reason to live.”
Wu… Zi Long always pours cold water on me and my pride once again suffered a tremendous blow.
“By the way, is it alright for you to call me Xuan De? Shouldn’t you be calling me Shamoke?”
“Ah, it should be fine now.” Yuan Zhi nodded, “The battle has ended so there is no way that the enemy’s spies are still around. Even if they are, our strict borders and customs control will prevent them from leaving anyway.”
Oh~ I see.
Before we knew it, we had come to the end of the commoners’ procession and the sound of drums and cheers began to fade away. I looked up and saw that we were getting close to the mountain range to the north of the city. Further east was where Cao Ren and Li Dian’s former encampment used to be.
Naturally, we claimed all of their encampment while cleaning up the battlefield and brought back all of it to Xinye. We currently have about 10,000 troops remaining in total between Xinye and Fan city; and thanks to the gear, all of them now have a full set of heavy plate. It’s not just that, we also gained a good amount of provisions and bows and arrows as well. When the wall reconstruction works are complete, Xinye city can be considered a well-supplied and easily defendable city.
We really have Cao Ren and Li Dian to thank for this.
“Where are we going? Through the forest or the mountains?”
“The forest.” I answered Zi Long, “Yun Chang sent me a letter a while ago saying that she and the rest would be at the end of the forest waiting for us.”
The letter had come yesterday, just as we were thinking of going over as well. Yun Chang, Feng Xian and the rest should have the city under control by now.
“I wonder how its like at Fan city.”
“Yes, I wonder as well.” Zi Long said with an expectant voice, “Fan city is about 3-4 times as big as Xinye city so it will be difficult to improve its defences but it will make it easier to get more men and horses.”
It was clear that she was more excited about the latter. Then again, it was her who was able to raise an army of close to a thousand back when we had nothing in Yuan Shao’s territory. Of course, I am also very excited to see what Fan city is like. There should not have been any enemy attacks ever since Li Dian and Cao Ren arrived there so it must have grown well.
Un? I happened to turn around and noticed that Yi De had been silent the entire time and decided to call out to her, “Yi De?”
“Eh?”
“Umm… How are you feeling now? Are you alright?”
“Ah… Un.” Yi De seemed stunned and only responded after a while.
Is she still feeling unwell? To be honest, I did not want to bring her at all and it was Yi De who asked to come herself. Naturally this was a good thing and it also feels like Yi De is trying to establish closer relations with us. Or perhaps she is trying to act like how ‘Zhang Fei’ is supposed to be.
Or perhaps I am just over thinking things.
“If you feel uncomfortable at any point, just speak with Chen Dao. Don’t hold it in. Unlike a certain someone.” I said as I cast my gaze to the side.
“Wu.” Yuan Zhi mumbled and turned her head to the side.
“Un, I got it.” Yi De replied softly with a tinge of sadness. I do not know why she is sad but it seems like she has been brooding a lot of late. Is she still thinking about our exchange before? But since she has not come to speak to me, that means that she is not yet ready to tell me what is up with her.
“Is this the same forest as the last time?”
“Un un, it should be here.”
Just then, Zi Long and Chen Dao exchanged some words and I looked about to see that there was not a single leaf on the trees. I looked down at the ground and saw that most the leaves had rotted. It was clear from Zi Long and Chen Dao’s exchange that the forest was different during the time of the second battle yet it had changed so drastically over the course of mere weeks. Winter always seems to come quicker than expected but this time, it feels like winter has already passed us by.
“Zi Long, is spring coming soon?”
“Un… It should still be some ways away.” Zi Long replied and thought about it, “As a northerner, I must say that I am not too sensitive to seasonal changes.”
“If we were further south, winter would be 2/3 over. It gets colder the further north we get and it’s difficult to get a sense of winter setting in where we are now.” Yuan Zhi replied calmly as she raised a hand to feel the air, “The air is rather dry now so winter will only end in about 30-40 days.”
“I didn’t think that Yuan Zhi knew about such things as well.” I said, feeling impressed at her knowledge and realised as well that it was very likely Yuan Zhi was knowledgeable about a lot more things than we knew.
“But this really is the forest where the second battle took place. Though Li Dian and Cao Ren did clean it up, there are still visible bloodstains in the ground.”
I looked down and saw that it was indeed the case. There were clear signs of black, dried up blood on the dirt road when I looked down.
“I am very sorry about that.”
“Ah, Lord Xu Shu, don’t mind it, I had no intention of blaming you.” Zi Long hurriedly apologised when Yuan Zhi blamed herself.
“No, I think I should be blamed for it.” Yuan Zhi said with a pensive look, “After that battle, I realised that battles were by no means easy at all and often times, a single misjudgement can cause thousands and even tens of thousands of men to lose their lives. As the decision makers, we must always remember to be prudent and careful. Especially me.”
That is something I can really get behind. I never felt it when I was playing games but after being in the shoes of a feudal lord, I have found that it really is difficult to put your foot down and make a decision something.
“Lord Xu Shu.” Zi Long said as she saluted her.
“Un?” Yuan Zhi and I looked over at her and saw that Zi Long was smiling.
“Lord Xu Shu, I think I’m beginning to like you more and more.”
“Eh?! I-I-I-I-I-I di-didn’t s-s-say anything…” Yuan Zhi exclaimed and stammered.
“No, those were very enlightening words indeed.” Chen Dao added with a delightful smile plastered on her face.
“Un, I am in agreement as well.” Yi De added in as she nodded.
“Wu…” Yuan Zhi got even shyer when she got praised by the other 2 and pulled down her bandana and covered her eyes entirely.
“Lord Xu Shu, what’s up with you~” Zi Long taunted with a wry smile.
“Zi Long.” I called out to her and gestured for her to stop. Zi Long understood and merely smiled and did not continue. I then turned to Yuan Zhi, “Yuan Zhi, don’t be shy. You know what you need to say here right?”
Yuan Zhi remained silent for a long while before she eventually spat out, “… Thanks everyone.”
“Un, no need for thanks~” Zi Long replied in a rather girly tone which sent chills down my spine.
But really, the distance between Yuan Zhi and the rest of us has greatly shrunk. I do not know about the specifics but it is undoubtedly related to our conversation in the market. Or at least, that’s what I would like to think.
