Liu Bei POV
“Are we still going to see her then?” Wen Yuan asked. I initially wanted to say no but when I looked at her face, I saw that she seemed relatively concerned about the child.
“Un… Let’s go. No matter what, we ought to go and show our faces.”
This is what we did with Yi De as well. When I finished, everyone nodded and we looked at Yi De.
“Yi De, bring us to her.”
“Un, got it.” Yi De nodded and turned around as she headed towards the inner courtyard.
“Where did Guan Ping leave the child?” Yun Chang asked as we entered the inner courtyard.
“Lord Guan Ping left her in a room near the third courtyard which seems to be her own room.”
“Eh~ Won’t it be very messy then~” Yun Chang said with a disdainful look.
“Haha, it’s actually… Un, alright.”
Is it really that bad?!
“We’re here. *Dang* *Dang* *Dang*” Yi De said as she knocked on the door but there was no reply so she knocked again.
“A-ah, yes.”
“We’re coming in.” Yi De said softly before pushing the door open.
As we entered the room, we found that it was a complete mess. The floor was completely covered in weapons, bamboo scrolls and clothing and it felt like there was not too much difference between this room and one of the rooms we had been in just now in the robbed mansion.
“Hai~ This Guan Ping. I’ll deal with her later.” Yun Chang said with a red face as she began picking up the stuff in her room, starting with the clothing. When the little girl saw Yun Chang fly into a rage, she seemed even more timid and curled up into the side.
“Ah, little girl, don’t be afraid. It’s alright.” I smiled as I headed towards her with everyone else following behind me into the messy room.
“Wu~~~” She backed up even more just as we entered and pointed at us.
“Eh? What’s the matter?” I asked. As I looked at the finger, I saw that she was not pointing at me but beside me. Un? What’s the… Ah, I get it.
“What’s the matter?” Feng Xian asked when she saw me looking at her. Everyone except her had realised what was up by now. But how do I tell her? It’s really difficult and inappropriate to say it explicitly.
“Ah…” Feng Xian uttered when she realised what we meant and looked stunned. She then frowned and closed her eyes before yelling at the child, “Oi! Brat! What do you mean by that!”
“Ah, Feng Xian, don’t…” I said, trying to calm her down. I then looked at the child and saw that her eyes were wide open and she was shivering while curled up in the corner of the bed.
“… Wu~~~~”
In the end, she could not hold back her tears and ended up crying. This was difficult. We were not that young but we did not really have much experience with children after all.
Ah~ If only Gan Qing were here. She would definitely be able to pacify her. But now, we can only use the simplest and perhaps most effective method.
“Feng Xian, ah… Everyone, please wait outside.”
“Eh~ Why do we have to go out along with my lord (Lu Bu) as well? Isn’t it only my lord (Lu Bu)–”
“Wen Yuan, what are you trying to say?” Feng Xian coldly interrupted Wen Yuan who took a step back and nodded before turning around to leave.
“Xuan De, will it be alright with just you?”
“Will you be okay?”
Zi Long and Chen Dao expressed concern as well.
“It’ll be fine, it’ll be fine~” I said as I smiled stiffly and pushed them all out of the room. When I turned back, I saw that Yun Chang was still cleaning up the room and said, “Yun Chang, you too. You can clean up later.”
Guan Ping will definitely mess up the room again so it’s fine if it remains messy for a while longer.
“Come on, Feng Xian.”
“…”
Feng Xian did not protest and merely bit her lips as she slowly turned around and left. The others looked at me but did not think there was anything to be worried about and left.
*Pa*
I closed the door lightly after everyone left. Naturally, I did not seal off the room as this would only arouse their suspicion. Well then, next is…
“Alright, little girl.” I said as I sat down on the bed. When I did so, she scooted to the corner even more with a fearful expression that made me feel terrible inside. I looked to the side and found that there was a plate of spring onion biscuits.
“Here, have some.” I said as I brought the plate before her, “Some of the people you saw before may look scary but every one of us, me included, are good people.”
It’s a little weird to be saying that I am a good person myself but I think it’s fine under these circumstances.
“Are you feeling alright?”
She was stunned for a moment but quickly shook her head.
“That’s good then.” I nodded and continued to look at her. Her eyes were fixed on the spring onion biscuits the entire time. I cannot blame her, the smell of spring onions is really good even from where I am sitting. She is definitely starving too but she’s still too wary.
“Well then, I have some questions for you. I’ll ask and you answer, is that okay?” I asked, deciding to put aside the issue of getting her to eat for now. She looked up at me and nodded slightly. She seemed to be a little cold even with the blanket so I decided to take off my coat and draped it over her before asking my first question, “Are you a resident of Fan city?”
*Nod* *Nod*
Your family… Ah, it’s best I avoid asking that.
“What’s your name?”
“…” She did speak but her voice was too soft for me to hear it clearly.
“Umm… What did you say?”
“… Kou Feng.”
“Kou Feng, is that right?”
*Nod* *Nod*
Right now, her eyes were fixed on me and she did not seem to be as guarded as before. But Kou Feng huh… To be honest, it does not sound like a girl’s name at all. But now that I think about it, the others too have the same issue. Guan Yu, Zhang Fei… Never mind, now is not the time to think about this.
“Ah… Kou Feng, just now, why did you call me… Daddy?”
“Ah.” When I finished, she turned away and buried her face into her legs as she held up her doll that she had been carrying around before.
“Umm… My family… Is already…”
Only when I heard her slowly speak did I realise that she was crying and not that she was shy.
“So…” She spat out and stopped there. But I already knew what she meant. To put it simply, she hopes that I can adopt her. But from where I stand, the answer is easy.
“Though I do indeed feel very sorry and even sad for you, I cannot do so.”
“…”
“But don’t be too sad,” I knew that my answer would hurt her but I had no choice and decided to carry on, “I’ll send some men out today to find your relatives. Since you’re a resident of Fan city, there should be some surviving relatives of yours out there. No matter how distant they may be, it’s still better than staying with a complete stranger.”
“…”
She finally looked up and nodded. I was not lying really. From how big her house is, she is most definitely from an affluent family and there should be some relatives out there who can accommodate an extra person.
“Well, that’s that for now then.” I said as I got up, “You should be exhausted so go get some rest. I’ll come by again over the next few days.”
When she saw that I was going to leave, she did not stop me but she did try to return my coat.
“It’s fine, keep it for now. I can have it back whenever.” I said and turned back to look at the spring onion biscuits. I decided to take one, surprising her and bit off a large chunk, “Un~ Delicious. If you don’t finish the rest soon, someone else might eat them.”
…
She was stunned for a moment but quickly grabbed the biscuits and crammed them in her mouth. She looked really untidy and messy doing so but it’s better than her not eating at all. I smiled as I looked at her and then left the room quietly.
Liu Bei POV
“Are we still going to see her then?” Wen Yuan asked. I initially wanted to say no but when I looked at her face, I saw that she seemed relatively concerned about the child.
“Un… Let’s go. No matter what, we ought to go and show our faces.”
This is what we did with Yi De as well. When I finished, everyone nodded and we looked at Yi De.
“Yi De, bring us to her.”
“Un, got it.” Yi De nodded and turned around as she headed towards the inner courtyard.
“Where did Guan Ping leave the child?” Yun Chang asked as we entered the inner courtyard.
“Lord Guan Ping left her in a room near the third courtyard which seems to be her own room.”
“Eh~ Won’t it be very messy then~” Yun Chang said with a disdainful look.
“Haha, it’s actually… Un, alright.”
Is it really that bad?!
“We’re here. *Dang* *Dang* *Dang*” Yi De said as she knocked on the door but there was no reply so she knocked again.
“A-ah, yes.”
“We’re coming in.” Yi De said softly before pushing the door open.
As we entered the room, we found that it was a complete mess. The floor was completely covered in weapons, bamboo scrolls and clothing and it felt like there was not too much difference between this room and one of the rooms we had been in just now in the robbed mansion.
“Hai~ This Guan Ping. I’ll deal with her later.” Yun Chang said with a red face as she began picking up the stuff in her room, starting with the clothing. When the little girl saw Yun Chang fly into a rage, she seemed even more timid and curled up into the side.
“Ah, little girl, don’t be afraid. It’s alright.” I smiled as I headed towards her with everyone else following behind me into the messy room.
“Wu~~~” She backed up even more just as we entered and pointed at us.
“Eh? What’s the matter?” I asked. As I looked at the finger, I saw that she was not pointing at me but beside me. Un? What’s the… Ah, I get it.
“What’s the matter?” Feng Xian asked when she saw me looking at her. Everyone except her had realised what was up by now. But how do I tell her? It’s really difficult and inappropriate to say it explicitly.
“Ah…” Feng Xian uttered when she realised what we meant and looked stunned. She then frowned and closed her eyes before yelling at the child, “Oi! Brat! What do you mean by that!”
“Ah, Feng Xian, don’t…” I said, trying to calm her down. I then looked at the child and saw that her eyes were wide open and she was shivering while curled up in the corner of the bed.
“… Wu~~~~”
In the end, she could not hold back her tears and ended up crying. This was difficult. We were not that young but we did not really have much experience with children after all.
Ah~ If only Gan Qing were here. She would definitely be able to pacify her. But now, we can only use the simplest and perhaps most effective method.
“Feng Xian, ah… Everyone, please wait outside.”
“Eh~ Why do we have to go out along with my lord (Lu Bu) as well? Isn’t it only my lord (Lu Bu)–”
“Wen Yuan, what are you trying to say?” Feng Xian coldly interrupted Wen Yuan who took a step back and nodded before turning around to leave.
“Xuan De, will it be alright with just you?”
“Will you be okay?”
Zi Long and Chen Dao expressed concern as well.
“It’ll be fine, it’ll be fine~” I said as I smiled stiffly and pushed them all out of the room. When I turned back, I saw that Yun Chang was still cleaning up the room and said, “Yun Chang, you too. You can clean up later.”
Guan Ping will definitely mess up the room again so it’s fine if it remains messy for a while longer.
“Come on, Feng Xian.”
“…”
Feng Xian did not protest and merely bit her lips as she slowly turned around and left. The others looked at me but did not think there was anything to be worried about and left.
*Pa*
I closed the door lightly after everyone left. Naturally, I did not seal off the room as this would only arouse their suspicion. Well then, next is…
“Alright, little girl.” I said as I sat down on the bed. When I did so, she scooted to the corner even more with a fearful expression that made me feel terrible inside. I looked to the side and found that there was a plate of spring onion biscuits.
“Here, have some.” I said as I brought the plate before her, “Some of the people you saw before may look scary but every one of us, me included, are good people.”
It’s a little weird to be saying that I am a good person myself but I think it’s fine under these circumstances.
“Are you feeling alright?”
She was stunned for a moment but quickly shook her head.
“That’s good then.” I nodded and continued to look at her. Her eyes were fixed on the spring onion biscuits the entire time. I cannot blame her, the smell of spring onions is really good even from where I am sitting. She is definitely starving too but she’s still too wary.
“Well then, I have some questions for you. I’ll ask and you answer, is that okay?” I asked, deciding to put aside the issue of getting her to eat for now. She looked up at me and nodded slightly. She seemed to be a little cold even with the blanket so I decided to take off my coat and draped it over her before asking my first question, “Are you a resident of Fan city?”
*Nod* *Nod*
Your family… Ah, it’s best I avoid asking that.
“What’s your name?”
“…” She did speak but her voice was too soft for me to hear it clearly.
“Umm… What did you say?”
“… Kou Feng.”
“Kou Feng, is that right?”
*Nod* *Nod*
Right now, her eyes were fixed on me and she did not seem to be as guarded as before. But Kou Feng huh… To be honest, it does not sound like a girl’s name at all. But now that I think about it, the others too have the same issue. Guan Yu, Zhang Fei… Never mind, now is not the time to think about this.
“Ah… Kou Feng, just now, why did you call me… Daddy?”
“Ah.” When I finished, she turned away and buried her face into her legs as she held up her doll that she had been carrying around before.
“Umm… My family… Is already…”
Only when I heard her slowly speak did I realise that she was crying and not that she was shy.
“So…” She spat out and stopped there. But I already knew what she meant. To put it simply, she hopes that I can adopt her. But from where I stand, the answer is easy.
“Though I do indeed feel very sorry and even sad for you, I cannot do so.”
“…”
“But don’t be too sad,” I knew that my answer would hurt her but I had no choice and decided to carry on, “I’ll send some men out today to find your relatives. Since you’re a resident of Fan city, there should be some surviving relatives of yours out there. No matter how distant they may be, it’s still better than staying with a complete stranger.”
“…”
She finally looked up and nodded. I was not lying really. From how big her house is, she is most definitely from an affluent family and there should be some relatives out there who can accommodate an extra person.
“Well, that’s that for now then.” I said as I got up, “You should be exhausted so go get some rest. I’ll come by again over the next few days.”
When she saw that I was going to leave, she did not stop me but she did try to return my coat.
“It’s fine, keep it for now. I can have it back whenever.” I said and turned back to look at the spring onion biscuits. I decided to take one, surprising her and bit off a large chunk, “Un~ Delicious. If you don’t finish the rest soon, someone else might eat them.”
…
She was stunned for a moment but quickly grabbed the biscuits and crammed them in her mouth. She looked really untidy and messy doing so but it’s better than her not eating at all. I smiled as I looked at her and then left the room quietly.
