Liu Bei POV
“Ah, alright.” I said as I hurriedly nodded and pulled on the reins to make my horse come to a halt. Yi De did so as well and breathed raggedly as she stopped beside me, giving me some reassurance that this horrific journey was not a delusion of mine.
“Yi De, please help me get some water. It’s in my bag over there.”
My body was still too battered to turn around easily and all I could do was to look ahead stiffly. The journey was long and our pace was quick, making it difficult for me to ask for a break or turn around to look for my water pouch. The only thing I had been able to do on the way here was to make sure my feather fan remained with me.
“Ah, you can just drink from mine.” Yi De said as she reached down and took her gourd by her waist and passed it to me.
I received it carefully and opened it before gratefully drinking several gulps of water from it. Despite the sand which flowed into my mouth from my face, I still continued to drink big gulps.
“Haa~ Many thanks.” I felt alive again and wiped my mouth as I passed the gourd back to Yi De who stared at the gourd and touched the cap, “What’s the matter?”
“Ah! It’s nothing.” She hurriedly said and looked away as she kept her gourd. Could she be unhappy that I drank too much? No, I should have only drank about a quarter of the gourd’s contents.
“Big brother.” Yun Chang called out as she rode over.
“How is it? Are we at Longzhong?”
Yun Chang nodded, “This is indeed Longzhong.”
“Good, good.” I nodded. It was not an easy task to get here but now we have.
“We should look for Zhuge Liang’s residence now.”
“Yes.” I said as I nodded at Yun Chang and dismounted. The surrounding scenery was really befitting that of a place to seclude oneself from the world.
“From what Teacher Sima said, everyone in the area should know about Kong Ming. I’ll just go ahead and ask someone.” I said as I headed towards the old farmers up ahead with my reins in hand, “Excuse me, old man–”
“The heavens is like a round dome while the earth is like a chess game~~~”
For some reason, the old man broke into a song along with the other old men in a sonorous voice that covered my voice when I began to speak to him. I turned to look at my sisters but they too seemed befuddled.
“Should we be trying someone else?”
“Un…”
I was inclined to go with what Yun Chang suggested but it was really too awkward to walk away after coming up to him. And so, I decided to wait for them to finish singing and sat down alongside Yi De and Yun Chang. As I suspected, the song that they sang was similar to the musicians from before, the sort of poetic song that Yuan Zhi too had sang. I am not sure what the lyrics mean but their singing is most definitely better than Yuan Zhi’s.
“Big brother, this poem is really good.” Yun Chang whispered in amazement to me.
“Honourable people are content in peace while shameful people engage in work~~~”
“Yun Chang, you understand what the poem means?”
“More or less. Just from listening to it, I can tell that the composer is an extraordinary individual.”
Un~ I did not think that the average peasant could be capable of such feats. Perhaps Longzhong is filled with talented people.
After about 1-2 minutes, they were finally done. Alright, time to continue asking them. Let’s start off by praising them a bit first.
“Hello, I was listening in on your singing just now and I have to say that it was really good.”
“Oh, so you understand it huh~”
“Ah… Un.”
Of course not, I tsukommi-ed in my mind but there was no way I could say this out loud. Not when an uneducated peasant could.
“That’s really impressive~” The farmer said as he gave me a thumbs-up, “I don’t even know what I’m singing to be honest.”
Eh?! Why are you singing something you do not even know!
(TL: *Cough* Anime song weebs *Cough*)
“Well, we’re doing farming work after all so if we don’t say something while doing manual labour, it will be very boring.” The farmer explained as he smiled, “It just so happens that we heard this song being sung every day and we learnt it. It’s pretty good for farming work rhythm.”
Haha… An astounding piece of literature has been used for farm work rhythm.
“Eh? Then if you all did not compose it, who did?”
“Ah, it’s a hermit in the village.” The farmer said with respect, “She’s Zhuge Liang, Zhuge Kong Ming.”
Ah! I knew it!
“Xuan De, could this be–”
“Un un,” I nodded at Yi De and continued to ask the farmer, “Old man, I’d like to ask, where does this Zhuge Liang fellow live?!”
“Ah, toward the south.” He said as he pointed, “You see the mountain over there?”
“Un un.”
“There is a ridge behind the mountain. It’s called Crouching Dragon Ridge. There is a forest there and the hermit stays there.”
Ah… That really is secluded. As expected of a hermit. I looked into the distance. The way the farmer said it made it seem like a walk in the park but it was not close at all.
“Hu,” I exhaled and swallowed some saliva before turning to the other 2, “Well then, let’s go.”
“Un, let’s go.”
“Xuan De, are you alright?” Yi De asked with concern, probably because she saw that I looked to be in pretty bad shape.
“We have to go regardless.” I said as I mounted my horse and began riding. Within no time at all, I felt nauseous again.
Ah… A mountainous route again huh? I thought as I looked up, hoping that the mountainous dirt roads were easier than before.
“Jia!” I swung my reins and galloped ahead.
This should be the last step now. Even if I am not Liu Bei, I still have to seek her out due to the fan. And once I do, I should be able to get answers to a lot of unanswered questions that I still have. This was what I told myself to hold it together.
The dirt road was not easy to traverse. Not only was there an incline, there were rocks strewn around so we could not travel at a fast pace. The worse part however, has to be the shaking atop the horse.
“But really, do all hermits have to live in such places…” Yun Chang complained as she frowned.
“Not really. Teacher Sima lived beside a stream.” I replied with great difficulty and clenched my teeth to prevent my pain and torment from showing on my face, “Perhaps… Perhaps they just don’t want to be found.”
“But they will be no matter what.” Yi De added, “Given how famous they are, they can be found easily as long as someone tries to.”
Un~ That does make sense. Even though they call themselves hermits, being famous seems to run counter to their chosen lifestyles. It seems odd that even the average peasant in Longzhong would know about Zhuge Liang’s name and address.
But on the other hand, I do not recall any other feudal lord attempting to get Zhuge Liang to leave the mountains. This seems odd. Or is it that I am unaware of such efforts? Could Zhuge Liang have received prior invitations? From Liu Biao perhaps, or someone else who used to be from the region like Yuan Shu.
In the end, all I can say is this is how fate has decreed it to be.
“Ah, but the scenery here is really beautiful.” Yun Chang gasped.
I looked around when I heard this and agreed. Snowfall had just started over here and the pine trees were slightly covered in snow, making for a silvery white silhouette that was a drastically different sight from the barren forest between Xinye and Fan city.
The cries of various animals, birds and insects could be heard throughout the mountain. When I took a closer look at the tree branches, I could see some buds. Looks like the signs of spring are here.
“This place really does seem like a nice place to seclude oneself in.”
“Yes, the scenery is beautiful and one can take in nature as well.” Yun Chang agreed with what I said as she looked about and continued, “But where are now? Have we reached Crouching Dragon Ridge yet?”
“Eh?” I looked around, “But we haven’t come across any tablet that says ‘Crouching Dragon Ridge’ yet?”
“Could we have passed by it?” Yi De asked as she pointed at the side, “But no matter what, we should be close now as there are signs of trees being chopped down all around us.”
Un~ I did not think that Yi De was so observant. But in that case, it should be here…
“Ah, big brother, look, there’s smoke up ahead!”
Un?! Smoke? I looked ahead and saw a small column of smoke rising up from the forest.
Liu Bei POV
“Ah, alright.” I said as I hurriedly nodded and pulled on the reins to make my horse come to a halt. Yi De did so as well and breathed raggedly as she stopped beside me, giving me some reassurance that this horrific journey was not a delusion of mine.
“Yi De, please help me get some water. It’s in my bag over there.”
My body was still too battered to turn around easily and all I could do was to look ahead stiffly. The journey was long and our pace was quick, making it difficult for me to ask for a break or turn around to look for my water pouch. The only thing I had been able to do on the way here was to make sure my feather fan remained with me.
“Ah, you can just drink from mine.” Yi De said as she reached down and took her gourd by her waist and passed it to me.
I received it carefully and opened it before gratefully drinking several gulps of water from it. Despite the sand which flowed into my mouth from my face, I still continued to drink big gulps.
“Haa~ Many thanks.” I felt alive again and wiped my mouth as I passed the gourd back to Yi De who stared at the gourd and touched the cap, “What’s the matter?”
“Ah! It’s nothing.” She hurriedly said and looked away as she kept her gourd. Could she be unhappy that I drank too much? No, I should have only drank about a quarter of the gourd’s contents.
“Big brother.” Yun Chang called out as she rode over.
“How is it? Are we at Longzhong?”
Yun Chang nodded, “This is indeed Longzhong.”
“Good, good.” I nodded. It was not an easy task to get here but now we have.
“We should look for Zhuge Liang’s residence now.”
“Yes.” I said as I nodded at Yun Chang and dismounted. The surrounding scenery was really befitting that of a place to seclude oneself from the world.
“From what Teacher Sima said, everyone in the area should know about Kong Ming. I’ll just go ahead and ask someone.” I said as I headed towards the old farmers up ahead with my reins in hand, “Excuse me, old man–”
“The heavens is like a round dome while the earth is like a chess game~~~”
For some reason, the old man broke into a song along with the other old men in a sonorous voice that covered my voice when I began to speak to him. I turned to look at my sisters but they too seemed befuddled.
“Should we be trying someone else?”
“Un…”
I was inclined to go with what Yun Chang suggested but it was really too awkward to walk away after coming up to him. And so, I decided to wait for them to finish singing and sat down alongside Yi De and Yun Chang. As I suspected, the song that they sang was similar to the musicians from before, the sort of poetic song that Yuan Zhi too had sang. I am not sure what the lyrics mean but their singing is most definitely better than Yuan Zhi’s.
“Big brother, this poem is really good.” Yun Chang whispered in amazement to me.
“Honourable people are content in peace while shameful people engage in work~~~”
“Yun Chang, you understand what the poem means?”
“More or less. Just from listening to it, I can tell that the composer is an extraordinary individual.”
Un~ I did not think that the average peasant could be capable of such feats. Perhaps Longzhong is filled with talented people.
After about 1-2 minutes, they were finally done. Alright, time to continue asking them. Let’s start off by praising them a bit first.
“Hello, I was listening in on your singing just now and I have to say that it was really good.”
“Oh, so you understand it huh~”
“Ah… Un.”
Of course not, I tsukommi-ed in my mind but there was no way I could say this out loud. Not when an uneducated peasant could.
“That’s really impressive~” The farmer said as he gave me a thumbs-up, “I don’t even know what I’m singing to be honest.”
Eh?! Why are you singing something you do not even know!
(TL: *Cough* Anime song weebs *Cough*)
“Well, we’re doing farming work after all so if we don’t say something while doing manual labour, it will be very boring.” The farmer explained as he smiled, “It just so happens that we heard this song being sung every day and we learnt it. It’s pretty good for farming work rhythm.”
Haha… An astounding piece of literature has been used for farm work rhythm.
“Eh? Then if you all did not compose it, who did?”
“Ah, it’s a hermit in the village.” The farmer said with respect, “She’s Zhuge Liang, Zhuge Kong Ming.”
Ah! I knew it!
“Xuan De, could this be–”
“Un un,” I nodded at Yi De and continued to ask the farmer, “Old man, I’d like to ask, where does this Zhuge Liang fellow live?!”
“Ah, toward the south.” He said as he pointed, “You see the mountain over there?”
“Un un.”
“There is a ridge behind the mountain. It’s called Crouching Dragon Ridge. There is a forest there and the hermit stays there.”
Ah… That really is secluded. As expected of a hermit. I looked into the distance. The way the farmer said it made it seem like a walk in the park but it was not close at all.
“Hu,” I exhaled and swallowed some saliva before turning to the other 2, “Well then, let’s go.”
“Un, let’s go.”
“Xuan De, are you alright?” Yi De asked with concern, probably because she saw that I looked to be in pretty bad shape.
“We have to go regardless.” I said as I mounted my horse and began riding. Within no time at all, I felt nauseous again.
Ah… A mountainous route again huh? I thought as I looked up, hoping that the mountainous dirt roads were easier than before.
“Jia!” I swung my reins and galloped ahead.
This should be the last step now. Even if I am not Liu Bei, I still have to seek her out due to the fan. And once I do, I should be able to get answers to a lot of unanswered questions that I still have. This was what I told myself to hold it together.
The dirt road was not easy to traverse. Not only was there an incline, there were rocks strewn around so we could not travel at a fast pace. The worse part however, has to be the shaking atop the horse.
“But really, do all hermits have to live in such places…” Yun Chang complained as she frowned.
“Not really. Teacher Sima lived beside a stream.” I replied with great difficulty and clenched my teeth to prevent my pain and torment from showing on my face, “Perhaps… Perhaps they just don’t want to be found.”
“But they will be no matter what.” Yi De added, “Given how famous they are, they can be found easily as long as someone tries to.”
Un~ That does make sense. Even though they call themselves hermits, being famous seems to run counter to their chosen lifestyles. It seems odd that even the average peasant in Longzhong would know about Zhuge Liang’s name and address.
But on the other hand, I do not recall any other feudal lord attempting to get Zhuge Liang to leave the mountains. This seems odd. Or is it that I am unaware of such efforts? Could Zhuge Liang have received prior invitations? From Liu Biao perhaps, or someone else who used to be from the region like Yuan Shu.
In the end, all I can say is this is how fate has decreed it to be.
“Ah, but the scenery here is really beautiful.” Yun Chang gasped.
I looked around when I heard this and agreed. Snowfall had just started over here and the pine trees were slightly covered in snow, making for a silvery white silhouette that was a drastically different sight from the barren forest between Xinye and Fan city.
The cries of various animals, birds and insects could be heard throughout the mountain. When I took a closer look at the tree branches, I could see some buds. Looks like the signs of spring are here.
“This place really does seem like a nice place to seclude oneself in.”
“Yes, the scenery is beautiful and one can take in nature as well.” Yun Chang agreed with what I said as she looked about and continued, “But where are now? Have we reached Crouching Dragon Ridge yet?”
“Eh?” I looked around, “But we haven’t come across any tablet that says ‘Crouching Dragon Ridge’ yet?”
“Could we have passed by it?” Yi De asked as she pointed at the side, “But no matter what, we should be close now as there are signs of trees being chopped down all around us.”
Un~ I did not think that Yi De was so observant. But in that case, it should be here…
“Ah, big brother, look, there’s smoke up ahead!”
Un?! Smoke? I looked ahead and saw a small column of smoke rising up from the forest.
