Liu Bei POV
Chen Gong told her? That was unexpected.
— Alright.
I thought back to Chen Gong’s soft reply a few days ago amidst my surprise. I did not expect it but it does seem like she became more serious in her work after that. This, I believe, is not a misconception of mine.
“Liao Hua, about the villages…”
“It’s still in progress. From what I know, there seems to be a new village coming into Xinye city tomorrow.”
“Un un, very good.” I said and began commanding the horse to proceed, “Alright, help me thank Chen Gong later. And do remember to rest when you can.”
Liao Hua did not speak and merely saluted in response as we left. Just as we left the mansion, we found the last member of our little party waiting for us behind a corner.
“Yun Chang? Why are you here?” I uttered in surprise as I stared at the girl in front of me with wine-red hair.
“What are you talking about?” Yun Chang asked, “You were the one who called me to come right?”
“That is true but…” I looked at the sky and saw that it had not changed much, “But Yun Chang came a little too early, no? We were supposed to meet an hour later.”
“I-I was just thinking that big brother specially requested for me for this mission!” Yun Chang blabbered with a red face, “And besides… I wanted to see big brother sooner…”
“See me? What for?”
“Nothing!” She cried out in exasperation when she heard what I asked and sighed as she looked at me, “So what is this important thing about? Big brother never made any mention of it in the letter.”
“Ah, I didn’t tell you anything, yes…” I said as I recalled that I had not told Chen Gong about this when I told her to send a letter to Yun Chang. I only mentioned this in passing last night at dinner to the rest in Xinye city as well.
“Come, let’s talk along the way.” I said as I put on the grass circlet.
“By the way, how long is big brother going to put this grass helmet on for? Did Lord Xu Shu tell you anything about this.”
“She didn’t. I’ve been troubled over this as well.”
I might as well take the chance to seek advice about this from Zhuge Liang while I am at it. This feels important as I do not remember Liu Bei ever faking his death.
“So, big brother, where are we headed to today?”
“Ah, oh. We’re going to Longzhong today.”
“Longzhong huh…”
“Un,” I said as I tossed the bamboo scroll to Yun Chang, who caught it and opened it up, before I continued, “2 days ago, I sought out Sima Hui and asked if there were any talented individuals nearby and he recommended this person in Longzhong.”
I made a small lie here. Sima Hui never recommended Zhuge Liang to me after all but this way, it will save me a lot of time and effort.
“This is a really simple map.”
“Yes but it’s easy to understand and it’s not too far anyway.”
There are no villages which we will pass through and we just need to keep riding along the stream and we will get there.
“The one we are looking for, what’s his or her name?” Yi De asked.
“Ah, I heard that she is Zhuge Liang Zhuge Kong Ming. Sima Hui called her Crouching Dragon.”
“Have you both heard of her?” I asked just in case but they shook their heads.
I knew it.
“Is this Kong Ming fellow formidable?” Yun Chang asked as she closed the scroll, “How is she compared to Lord Xu Shu?”
“That’s not easy to compare…” I said as I rubbed my chin, “But under normal circumstances, one would think that Zhuge Liang is superior.”
If I had not met Yuan Zhi beforehand, I would have given this answer without hesitation but now that I have experienced how capable Yuan Zhi is, it’s difficult to say so.
“Un~ If that’s really the case then I would like to meet her.” Yun Chang said with some interest and then seemed to recall something and looked at me, “By the way, why did you ask for the both of us to come?”
“Eh?!”
“Yes, it’s about time you told us.” Yi De chimed in as well. Looks like I will not be able to buy time now. If I do not give a good reason, it will not be nice to Yun Chang who had to come all the way here from Fan city.
… Hu. What else can I say that is true but is not related to the history reason?
“Actually, there’s nothing special that I need you both to do. I could actually go by myself.”
“Then why…”
“But… How do I put this…” When it came to the important part, I began to feel embarrassed and stammered for a while before I managed to continue, “To me, and all of us, inviting a talented individual to be our strategist is a critical task. If I went alone, I might feel weak.”
I then looked at Yun Chang and Yi De in turn, “Yun Chang and Yi De are my sworn sisters. Amongst everyone, I feel the closest with you both and feel more at ease when I look at you both.”
“W-what!” Yun Chang exclaimed and frowned before turning away, “That sort of reason is really difficult to accept!”
“Haha, but that is the truth.”
Yes, I do mean it. Back when we separated in the Battle of Xu state, I was always thinking of them both and they have been a part of almost every major event I have been in. It’s almost as if they were my guardian angels. I wonder if the actual Liu Bei invited his brothers to go with him for the same reason?
“Though it’s rather mushy, it is the big brother I know.”
Seems like Yun Chang has accepted this reason.
“Haha, no need to praise me, Yun Chang.” I said as I chuckled and looked at Yi De and saw that she was troubled. Naturally, I knew why she was troubled and called out to her, “Yi De.”
“Eh?”
“Even if you have lost your memories, I still feel secure looking at you so please don’t have such a lonely expression on.”
When she heard this, she looked surprise and her eyes bulged but then a warm gaze filled her eyes and she smiled at me, “Un.”
Yes, Yi De is really great like this as well.
— Open the gates!!
While we were talking, we had already reached the gates which opened with heavy, dull clunks.
“Let’s go then.”
“Un.”
“Yes.”
“”Jia!””
I swung down the reins, as did the other 2, and we galloped forth. Today was a good day, a good day to seek out a talented individual.
Longzhong, and Zhuge Liang, I am coming.
The first thing I have learnt from this trip is that the excitement and anticipation often wears out during the journey. This is something I should have realised during my spring trip in elementary school.
Unlike then, this 40+km journey has subjected my buttocks to untold pain for the last 3 hours. It really is incomparable to motion sickness from the travel buses.
The way to Longzhong was unlike what I said earlier about ‘just following along the stream’. There were many slopes, hills and potholes here and there, and it was a tumultuous ride from the start. Midway through, I tried to hold my breath to try and calm myself down but it did not last naturally. Before long, I was rocked in every direction so much that I began to feel grateful that I had not eaten anything beforehand.
“Big brother, we’re almost there.” Yun Chang said with ease as she pointed ahead, “If I’m not wrong, that patch of farmland should be Longzhong already.”
“Haa… Haa…” I huffed and puffed as I struggled to make my horse decelerate and only managed to do so after some time.
“I see, we’ve reached huh?” I said as I wiped the sweat off my forehead and looked about. I thought that Longzhong would be a city about the size of Xinye but there was no sign of any walls. Looks like Longzhong is just a village.
“Wait here, big brother. I’ll go and ask the farmers over there.”
Liu Bei POV
Chen Gong told her? That was unexpected.
— Alright.
I thought back to Chen Gong’s soft reply a few days ago amidst my surprise. I did not expect it but it does seem like she became more serious in her work after that. This, I believe, is not a misconception of mine.
“Liao Hua, about the villages…”
“It’s still in progress. From what I know, there seems to be a new village coming into Xinye city tomorrow.”
“Un un, very good.” I said and began commanding the horse to proceed, “Alright, help me thank Chen Gong later. And do remember to rest when you can.”
Liao Hua did not speak and merely saluted in response as we left. Just as we left the mansion, we found the last member of our little party waiting for us behind a corner.
“Yun Chang? Why are you here?” I uttered in surprise as I stared at the girl in front of me with wine-red hair.
“What are you talking about?” Yun Chang asked, “You were the one who called me to come right?”
“That is true but…” I looked at the sky and saw that it had not changed much, “But Yun Chang came a little too early, no? We were supposed to meet an hour later.”
“I-I was just thinking that big brother specially requested for me for this mission!” Yun Chang blabbered with a red face, “And besides… I wanted to see big brother sooner…”
“See me? What for?”
“Nothing!” She cried out in exasperation when she heard what I asked and sighed as she looked at me, “So what is this important thing about? Big brother never made any mention of it in the letter.”
“Ah, I didn’t tell you anything, yes…” I said as I recalled that I had not told Chen Gong about this when I told her to send a letter to Yun Chang. I only mentioned this in passing last night at dinner to the rest in Xinye city as well.
“Come, let’s talk along the way.” I said as I put on the grass circlet.
“By the way, how long is big brother going to put this grass helmet on for? Did Lord Xu Shu tell you anything about this.”
“She didn’t. I’ve been troubled over this as well.”
I might as well take the chance to seek advice about this from Zhuge Liang while I am at it. This feels important as I do not remember Liu Bei ever faking his death.
“So, big brother, where are we headed to today?”
“Ah, oh. We’re going to Longzhong today.”
“Longzhong huh…”
“Un,” I said as I tossed the bamboo scroll to Yun Chang, who caught it and opened it up, before I continued, “2 days ago, I sought out Sima Hui and asked if there were any talented individuals nearby and he recommended this person in Longzhong.”
I made a small lie here. Sima Hui never recommended Zhuge Liang to me after all but this way, it will save me a lot of time and effort.
“This is a really simple map.”
“Yes but it’s easy to understand and it’s not too far anyway.”
There are no villages which we will pass through and we just need to keep riding along the stream and we will get there.
“The one we are looking for, what’s his or her name?” Yi De asked.
“Ah, I heard that she is Zhuge Liang Zhuge Kong Ming. Sima Hui called her Crouching Dragon.”
“Have you both heard of her?” I asked just in case but they shook their heads.
I knew it.
“Is this Kong Ming fellow formidable?” Yun Chang asked as she closed the scroll, “How is she compared to Lord Xu Shu?”
“That’s not easy to compare…” I said as I rubbed my chin, “But under normal circumstances, one would think that Zhuge Liang is superior.”
If I had not met Yuan Zhi beforehand, I would have given this answer without hesitation but now that I have experienced how capable Yuan Zhi is, it’s difficult to say so.
“Un~ If that’s really the case then I would like to meet her.” Yun Chang said with some interest and then seemed to recall something and looked at me, “By the way, why did you ask for the both of us to come?”
“Eh?!”
“Yes, it’s about time you told us.” Yi De chimed in as well. Looks like I will not be able to buy time now. If I do not give a good reason, it will not be nice to Yun Chang who had to come all the way here from Fan city.
… Hu. What else can I say that is true but is not related to the history reason?
“Actually, there’s nothing special that I need you both to do. I could actually go by myself.”
“Then why…”
“But… How do I put this…” When it came to the important part, I began to feel embarrassed and stammered for a while before I managed to continue, “To me, and all of us, inviting a talented individual to be our strategist is a critical task. If I went alone, I might feel weak.”
I then looked at Yun Chang and Yi De in turn, “Yun Chang and Yi De are my sworn sisters. Amongst everyone, I feel the closest with you both and feel more at ease when I look at you both.”
“W-what!” Yun Chang exclaimed and frowned before turning away, “That sort of reason is really difficult to accept!”
“Haha, but that is the truth.”
Yes, I do mean it. Back when we separated in the Battle of Xu state, I was always thinking of them both and they have been a part of almost every major event I have been in. It’s almost as if they were my guardian angels. I wonder if the actual Liu Bei invited his brothers to go with him for the same reason?
“Though it’s rather mushy, it is the big brother I know.”
Seems like Yun Chang has accepted this reason.
“Haha, no need to praise me, Yun Chang.” I said as I chuckled and looked at Yi De and saw that she was troubled. Naturally, I knew why she was troubled and called out to her, “Yi De.”
“Eh?”
“Even if you have lost your memories, I still feel secure looking at you so please don’t have such a lonely expression on.”
When she heard this, she looked surprise and her eyes bulged but then a warm gaze filled her eyes and she smiled at me, “Un.”
Yes, Yi De is really great like this as well.
— Open the gates!!
While we were talking, we had already reached the gates which opened with heavy, dull clunks.
“Let’s go then.”
“Un.”
“Yes.”
“”Jia!””
I swung down the reins, as did the other 2, and we galloped forth. Today was a good day, a good day to seek out a talented individual.
Longzhong, and Zhuge Liang, I am coming.
The first thing I have learnt from this trip is that the excitement and anticipation often wears out during the journey. This is something I should have realised during my spring trip in elementary school.
Unlike then, this 40+km journey has subjected my buttocks to untold pain for the last 3 hours. It really is incomparable to motion sickness from the travel buses.
The way to Longzhong was unlike what I said earlier about ‘just following along the stream’. There were many slopes, hills and potholes here and there, and it was a tumultuous ride from the start. Midway through, I tried to hold my breath to try and calm myself down but it did not last naturally. Before long, I was rocked in every direction so much that I began to feel grateful that I had not eaten anything beforehand.
“Big brother, we’re almost there.” Yun Chang said with ease as she pointed ahead, “If I’m not wrong, that patch of farmland should be Longzhong already.”
“Haa… Haa…” I huffed and puffed as I struggled to make my horse decelerate and only managed to do so after some time.
“I see, we’ve reached huh?” I said as I wiped the sweat off my forehead and looked about. I thought that Longzhong would be a city about the size of Xinye but there was no sign of any walls. Looks like Longzhong is just a village.
“Wait here, big brother. I’ll go and ask the farmers over there.”
