Liu Bei POV
I have actually been to see her a couple of times over the past few days. She looks much better but had some resistance towards bathing. After my ardent pleading and a little unintentional scaring by Feng Xian, she obediently went to bathe with 2 female servants.
The notice has been sent out and if anyone knows her, they should be appearing soon as the word should have spread out by now. Ah, I went a little off-topic. Let’s go back to the other 2 in the mansion.
The 2 remaining in the mansion are the ones who were in Hua Tuo’s makeshift ICUs, Yi De and Yuan Zhi. They are fine now and are busy with their own things. Yi De has not allowed herself to slack off at all and has insisted on helping the Fan state people. As such, she has gone to the magistrate’s office from time to time to help Wen Yuan with administrative work. Apart from that–
*Ta* *Ta*
I peered outside as I lay on the bed and saw a short figure pacing outside my room. She had a short braid and held her hands in front of her chest as she paced faster and faster.
This is the third time she is doing this today.
“Yi De? Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Eek!”
And just like the previous 2 times, she uttered small shrieks of surprise and ran off and hid away.
Un… It’s clear that Yi De wants to talk to me and it’s likely to be about what she did not manage to say before. But it seems like she still does not have enough courage to speak up or she would have come in by now.
Never mind, I will just wait for her.
… But…
I applied strength and sat up as I plucked out a strand of straw from my mattress and played with it mindlessly.
Today should be the day Yuan Zhi is ready to leave. I did not want this day to come but it’s not like I can do anything to stop it. Well then, instead of waiting for her to come to see me, I might as well go to see her.
That was my plan for today and the reason why I have not left my room today was because I was preparing myself mentally.
But it’s about time.
I got out of bed and slowly made my way to the door. When I opened the door, the sunlight shone into my eyes and I was forced to squint for a while before my eyes got used to the glare.
It was rather cold outside but I opted to wear just a single, thin layer of clothing and did some on-the-spot exercises to warm myself up as I got used to the temperature before heading towards the room on the left.
When I turned, I saw Yi De hiding behind the corner as she stared at me but did not pay any attention to her and continued to Yuan Zhi’s room.
*Dang* *Dang* *Dang*
…
“Is it Xuan De?”
“Ah, yes.” I replied in a somewhat shaky voice which I believe was because of the cold.
“Come in, it’s not locked.”
“Alright.” I said as I nodded instinctively and entered the room. In reality, no one here really locks up at night. I wonder if it’s because of their confidence in their skills.
As the door opened with a creak, a thick, sweet fragrance filled the air. I could tell that this was from her sugar water. However, it seems like Yuan Zhi’s own scent is mixed in as well.
No, perhaps it might be more appropriate to say that the usual fragrance of sugar water had Yuan Zhi’s scent mixed in. Of course, this is where I am going to stop thinking about this topic.
I blinked as I entered and saw that Yuan Zhi was in the left side of the room. She had her back to me and was in the midst of packing with everything she had on the bed. In her hands was a gourd and she was wiping it over. As I walked over, she finished wiping it and wrapped it in a clean cloth.
Looks like her OCD is still there even though she had overcome her past.
“Packing?”
“Un, I’m almost done.”
“Is everything ready?”
“Un, everything is ready.” She said as she pointed at a table nearby.
On it were several thick cloths and a metal seal. These were used to get through the Passes. Though Fan city is not especially far from Xuchang, there are still a few Passes to get through on the way there.
“Even though you should indeed bring these things with you.” I said as I looked at the other documents on the table, “I believe Meng De will personally come out to receive you or at least send someone to do so.”
“Is that so?” Yuan Zhi said as she nodded absentmindedly and tossed her things into her bags, “Looks like Xuan De and Cao Cao have a pretty good relationship huh?”
“Haha, it’s just a normal one.” I said as I smiled stiffly, “We worked together for a while some time ago and we happened to come to an understanding of each other.”
“Un~ But from a more serious perspective, I hope that Xuan De can understand what his position is. On the battlefield, there are no friends, only allies and enemies.” Yuan Zhi said as she looked at me with a stern expression, “Like this ploy with me for example. I hope that Xuan De can keep this in mind. I do not think that Cao Cao is a benevolent individual in the least.”
“Un, you’re not the first one to tell me this and I have given this some thought as well.” I nodded as I met her with a serious expression as well, “Don’t worry. I know what to do when the time comes and I won’t forget what happened with you either.”
Un, that’s for the best then, Yuan Zhi said with eyes as she returned to packing.
The problem of Meng De is not something that can be easily dealt with… And with how things have become by now, I understand fully that Meng De intends on wiping me out.
…
… No. Now is not the time to be thinking about the long term. Even though this is the last bit of time I have left with Yuan Zhi, it’s a little difficult for me to find a topic of conversation.
“Ah, umm, is there anything I can help with?”
“No no, Xuan De just needs to sit there and wait.” Yuan Zhi immediately denied me and pointed me to a small stool by the side.
I did not dare to disobey her orders and sat down obediently. I looked about and saw that the room was speckless. Looks like she had thoroughly cleaned the room even though we were only going to stay here for just a few days.
If only Guan Ping would have a fraction of this OCD… Speaking of which…
“Ah, by the way… Did everyone else come by already?”
“Un? Ah, everyone else has come by already.” Yuan Zhi said as she turned to me and nodded, “Xuan De is the last one to come.”
“Eh? Really?”
Uwaa… I did not expect that everyone would come to say a few words before I did…
“Everyone was busy though and just came by to say a few words before going back to work which is understandable.” Yuan Zhi said casually as she began to bag up the trash.
“Yuan Zhi, that almost sounds like you were saying that I have nothing to do. Hahaha!”
“It’s not nice but yes that is what I was implying.”
“Hahaha… You’re so strict…”
I did not reveal it but I was actually quite hurt by those words.
“That was just a joke. Xuan De, why did you take it so seriously?”
“… Eh? A joke?”
“Yes. I heard from everyone that it’s quite fun to trick Xuan De.”
“Don’t listen to their nonsense… Really, you are all too much!” I acted like I was throwing a tantrum at her and she smiled at me as she finished up packing and made to pick up the 2 big bags on the bed.
“Ah, let me help you.”
“There’s no need actually.” Yuan Zhi said but still left a big bag for me and went ahead and left the room.
Wu!
When I picked up the bag left for me, it was surprisingly heavy. But since I had already offered to help, it would be way too pathetic to back out and all I could do was grit my teeth and carry out this bag with both hands.
Liu Bei POV
I have actually been to see her a couple of times over the past few days. She looks much better but had some resistance towards bathing. After my ardent pleading and a little unintentional scaring by Feng Xian, she obediently went to bathe with 2 female servants.
The notice has been sent out and if anyone knows her, they should be appearing soon as the word should have spread out by now. Ah, I went a little off-topic. Let’s go back to the other 2 in the mansion.
The 2 remaining in the mansion are the ones who were in Hua Tuo’s makeshift ICUs, Yi De and Yuan Zhi. They are fine now and are busy with their own things. Yi De has not allowed herself to slack off at all and has insisted on helping the Fan state people. As such, she has gone to the magistrate’s office from time to time to help Wen Yuan with administrative work. Apart from that–
*Ta* *Ta*
I peered outside as I lay on the bed and saw a short figure pacing outside my room. She had a short braid and held her hands in front of her chest as she paced faster and faster.
This is the third time she is doing this today.
“Yi De? Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Eek!”
And just like the previous 2 times, she uttered small shrieks of surprise and ran off and hid away.
Un… It’s clear that Yi De wants to talk to me and it’s likely to be about what she did not manage to say before. But it seems like she still does not have enough courage to speak up or she would have come in by now.
Never mind, I will just wait for her.
… But…
I applied strength and sat up as I plucked out a strand of straw from my mattress and played with it mindlessly.
Today should be the day Yuan Zhi is ready to leave. I did not want this day to come but it’s not like I can do anything to stop it. Well then, instead of waiting for her to come to see me, I might as well go to see her.
That was my plan for today and the reason why I have not left my room today was because I was preparing myself mentally.
But it’s about time.
I got out of bed and slowly made my way to the door. When I opened the door, the sunlight shone into my eyes and I was forced to squint for a while before my eyes got used to the glare.
It was rather cold outside but I opted to wear just a single, thin layer of clothing and did some on-the-spot exercises to warm myself up as I got used to the temperature before heading towards the room on the left.
When I turned, I saw Yi De hiding behind the corner as she stared at me but did not pay any attention to her and continued to Yuan Zhi’s room.
*Dang* *Dang* *Dang*
…
“Is it Xuan De?”
“Ah, yes.” I replied in a somewhat shaky voice which I believe was because of the cold.
“Come in, it’s not locked.”
“Alright.” I said as I nodded instinctively and entered the room. In reality, no one here really locks up at night. I wonder if it’s because of their confidence in their skills.
As the door opened with a creak, a thick, sweet fragrance filled the air. I could tell that this was from her sugar water. However, it seems like Yuan Zhi’s own scent is mixed in as well.
No, perhaps it might be more appropriate to say that the usual fragrance of sugar water had Yuan Zhi’s scent mixed in. Of course, this is where I am going to stop thinking about this topic.
I blinked as I entered and saw that Yuan Zhi was in the left side of the room. She had her back to me and was in the midst of packing with everything she had on the bed. In her hands was a gourd and she was wiping it over. As I walked over, she finished wiping it and wrapped it in a clean cloth.
Looks like her OCD is still there even though she had overcome her past.
“Packing?”
“Un, I’m almost done.”
“Is everything ready?”
“Un, everything is ready.” She said as she pointed at a table nearby.
On it were several thick cloths and a metal seal. These were used to get through the Passes. Though Fan city is not especially far from Xuchang, there are still a few Passes to get through on the way there.
“Even though you should indeed bring these things with you.” I said as I looked at the other documents on the table, “I believe Meng De will personally come out to receive you or at least send someone to do so.”
“Is that so?” Yuan Zhi said as she nodded absentmindedly and tossed her things into her bags, “Looks like Xuan De and Cao Cao have a pretty good relationship huh?”
“Haha, it’s just a normal one.” I said as I smiled stiffly, “We worked together for a while some time ago and we happened to come to an understanding of each other.”
“Un~ But from a more serious perspective, I hope that Xuan De can understand what his position is. On the battlefield, there are no friends, only allies and enemies.” Yuan Zhi said as she looked at me with a stern expression, “Like this ploy with me for example. I hope that Xuan De can keep this in mind. I do not think that Cao Cao is a benevolent individual in the least.”
“Un, you’re not the first one to tell me this and I have given this some thought as well.” I nodded as I met her with a serious expression as well, “Don’t worry. I know what to do when the time comes and I won’t forget what happened with you either.”
Un, that’s for the best then, Yuan Zhi said with eyes as she returned to packing.
The problem of Meng De is not something that can be easily dealt with… And with how things have become by now, I understand fully that Meng De intends on wiping me out.
…
… No. Now is not the time to be thinking about the long term. Even though this is the last bit of time I have left with Yuan Zhi, it’s a little difficult for me to find a topic of conversation.
“Ah, umm, is there anything I can help with?”
“No no, Xuan De just needs to sit there and wait.” Yuan Zhi immediately denied me and pointed me to a small stool by the side.
I did not dare to disobey her orders and sat down obediently. I looked about and saw that the room was speckless. Looks like she had thoroughly cleaned the room even though we were only going to stay here for just a few days.
If only Guan Ping would have a fraction of this OCD… Speaking of which…
“Ah, by the way… Did everyone else come by already?”
“Un? Ah, everyone else has come by already.” Yuan Zhi said as she turned to me and nodded, “Xuan De is the last one to come.”
“Eh? Really?”
Uwaa… I did not expect that everyone would come to say a few words before I did…
“Everyone was busy though and just came by to say a few words before going back to work which is understandable.” Yuan Zhi said casually as she began to bag up the trash.
“Yuan Zhi, that almost sounds like you were saying that I have nothing to do. Hahaha!”
“It’s not nice but yes that is what I was implying.”
“Hahaha… You’re so strict…”
I did not reveal it but I was actually quite hurt by those words.
“That was just a joke. Xuan De, why did you take it so seriously?”
“… Eh? A joke?”
“Yes. I heard from everyone that it’s quite fun to trick Xuan De.”
“Don’t listen to their nonsense… Really, you are all too much!” I acted like I was throwing a tantrum at her and she smiled at me as she finished up packing and made to pick up the 2 big bags on the bed.
“Ah, let me help you.”
“There’s no need actually.” Yuan Zhi said but still left a big bag for me and went ahead and left the room.
Wu!
When I picked up the bag left for me, it was surprisingly heavy. But since I had already offered to help, it would be way too pathetic to back out and all I could do was grit my teeth and carry out this bag with both hands.
