Liu Bei POV
“Ah… Lie down, Yuan Zhi.” I said when I saw that she was still sitting there with her back exposed to the wind.
“Un.” She nodded and lay back down on the bed with my help. Because she still had a hangover, I gingerly lowered her onto the bed. Even so, she frowned as I did so.
After I laid her down, Yuan Zhi heaved a sigh of relief, as did I. I then capped the gourd and replaced it before shifting my gaze to Yuan Zhi and saw that there was a patch of dried blood near her waist on her white gown.
This injury was the one we found on her after we broke the 8 Doors Golden Lock formation. The entire lower right half of her gown had already been covered in blood by then. Even so, she did not say anything nor did she panic the entire time when we brought her back to the mansion.
We were really lucky to have Hua Tuo who took about 4-6 hours to save Yuan Zhi. When she came out of the operating room, the first thing she did was berate all of us for not bringing her back earlier. But how could we have known this?
Of course, I do feel guilty about it and I blame myself as well for not picking up on it despite being so close to her for so long. And this is also why I rushed here so quickly when I heard the commotion earlier.
“Is your injury alright now?”
“Un, much better.” She said and nodded slightly as she faced the ceiling with her eyes closed, “Lord Hua Tuo’s medication has been very effective and my abdomen is fine now.”
“I see, that’s good then.” I said and heaved a sigh of relief as I rested my hands on my hips, “But Yuan Zhi, you really should have said something about your injury.”
By the way, Yuan Zhi is not wearing her bandana at this time. She is actually really beautiful even when her big, round and bright eyes are closed.
“Hmhm,” Yuan Zhi snorted as her lips curled up, “It was just a flesh wound.”
“What do you mean flesh wound, you very nearly died back there.” I said calmly, suppressing the rage inside as I looked at her.
“Perhaps.” Yuan Zhi said patronisingly as she nodded, “I may have years of training in martial arts and a decent mastery of it but I am not a warrior at heart and do not really understand its tenets. But since I took the field, I will fight till the very end and never back down.”
“But that’s…”
I understand what she means of course but she’s clearly pushing herself and too hard too I might add. If not, why would she have drunk so much liquor? She clearly drank to boost her guts and also to numb the feeling of pain she felt from her wound. As I thought about this, I sighed in amazement.
“But this is my fault as well for not detecting your injury earlier.” I said as I sat beside her and smiled bitterly, “But really, when did you get injured? And to think I never detected it…”
“That huh~” Yuan Zhi frowned and hesitated for a while before answering me, “If I remember correctly, it should be just as the battle in the city was ending.”
“Eh?” I got a shock and felt terrible at how I failed to detect this, “That early?”
Yuan Zhi nodded.
“So you sustained an injury while fighting in the alleys before you rescued me?”
“Un,” Yuan Zhi nodded again, “I was careless when fighting in the alleys for a moment. There were too many people inside and I made a mistake.”
She opened her eyes by just a little and reached down to feel her wound, “It still hurts huh…”
“Of course it does.” I said as I smiled helplessly, “Your wound was deep and you lost a lot of blood so there was no way that you would heal so quickly.”
“Haha, I guess you’re right.” Yuan Zhi said and smiled.
“… Yuan Zhi.”
“Un?” Yuan Zhi uttered as she opened her eyes slightly and looked at me, probably because she detected the seriousness from my tone.
“The battle this time was won thanks to your efforts but personally speaking, I do not wish to achieve victory by sacrificing you.”
“…” Yuan Zhi remained silent and only spoke up after a while, “Even if it means losing the battle?”
Ah… Yuan Zhi’s words stumped me. I am not someone who has highfalutin moral views and merely do things based on whether I feel they are correct or not. If Yuan Zhi dropping out meant that the battle would definitely be lost, then I would not approve of it. But this is not what I should be saying here.
“I do indeed have to admit that it would have been a terribly difficult battle if you hadn’t come with me.” I replied as I raised my head and looked at Yuan Zhi’s wound, “But this doesn’t mean that we should sacrifice the people who are important to us. If you hadn’t come with me back then, I’m sure that we would have achieved victory somehow just by relying on my other companions.”
Of course, my presence was not critical in the least.
“Are you sure?” Yuan Zhi asked as she looked at me.
“Probably, but it will undoubtedly be a very harsh battle. I believe in them, that they will pull through in their own way.”
Yuan Zhi remained silent but her eyebrows jumped slightly.
“Alright, I understand.” She said after a while as she gave a long sigh, “I won’t push myself this hard in the next battle.”
“Un, that’s the best then.” I nodded as I placed my hand on her wound, “Have you been applying Hua Tuo’s medication? It still hurts now right?”
“Un… It’s alright.” Yuan Zhi replied calmly.
To be honest, I doubted if it did not hurt badly as I have not been able to get an accurate read on her emotions except during our conversation at the market. She might say it’s alright now but it might just be that she does not want me to worry.
“But I would really like it if Xuan De can remove his hand.”
“Eh? Ah, sorry about that.” I uttered as I hurriedly removed my hand. Only when she reminded me did I realise how improper my actions were. No matter what, it was not right of me to just put my hands on a young woman’s abdomen.
“Ah, but it’s good that there’s nothing serious now.” I continued, feeling awkward once more and turned away.
“Hu…” At the same time, Yuan Zhi gave a long exhalation. I turned back and saw that her eyes were wide open and she was staring at the ceiling.
“What’s the matter, Yuan Zhi? Do you feel unwell?”
Yuan Zhi shook her head, “No, I just feel like I spent all of my life force in this battle.”
“Eh?”
“And my voice is still hoarse.”
I was wondering why her voice sounded a little hollow this entire time too but it was just because she was hoarse. It’s no surprise as she was yelling very loudly during the battle despite being a soft-spoken person usually.
“I suppose. You should have stayed on the sidelines and gave commands as a strategist.” I grumbled at her.
“You have no right to say that, Xuan De. Look at you, charging at the frontlines despite being a feudal lord.”
“Fighting alongside one’s retainers is the rightful duty of a lord and I did nothing wrong.” I retorted, feeling unjustly blamed.
“Hai, have you forgotten who it was who fell into the Tan stream? Xuan De, don’t forget that you are the lord here and if you die, everything is over.”
“Wu…” I was completely silenced by Yuan Zhi bringing up my fall into the stream.
“But that’s fine.” Yuan Zhi decided to show me some mercy when she saw my troubled look, “Those generals will definitely protect you.”
Liu Bei POV
“Ah… Lie down, Yuan Zhi.” I said when I saw that she was still sitting there with her back exposed to the wind.
“Un.” She nodded and lay back down on the bed with my help. Because she still had a hangover, I gingerly lowered her onto the bed. Even so, she frowned as I did so.
After I laid her down, Yuan Zhi heaved a sigh of relief, as did I. I then capped the gourd and replaced it before shifting my gaze to Yuan Zhi and saw that there was a patch of dried blood near her waist on her white gown.
This injury was the one we found on her after we broke the 8 Doors Golden Lock formation. The entire lower right half of her gown had already been covered in blood by then. Even so, she did not say anything nor did she panic the entire time when we brought her back to the mansion.
We were really lucky to have Hua Tuo who took about 4-6 hours to save Yuan Zhi. When she came out of the operating room, the first thing she did was berate all of us for not bringing her back earlier. But how could we have known this?
Of course, I do feel guilty about it and I blame myself as well for not picking up on it despite being so close to her for so long. And this is also why I rushed here so quickly when I heard the commotion earlier.
“Is your injury alright now?”
“Un, much better.” She said and nodded slightly as she faced the ceiling with her eyes closed, “Lord Hua Tuo’s medication has been very effective and my abdomen is fine now.”
“I see, that’s good then.” I said and heaved a sigh of relief as I rested my hands on my hips, “But Yuan Zhi, you really should have said something about your injury.”
By the way, Yuan Zhi is not wearing her bandana at this time. She is actually really beautiful even when her big, round and bright eyes are closed.
“Hmhm,” Yuan Zhi snorted as her lips curled up, “It was just a flesh wound.”
“What do you mean flesh wound, you very nearly died back there.” I said calmly, suppressing the rage inside as I looked at her.
“Perhaps.” Yuan Zhi said patronisingly as she nodded, “I may have years of training in martial arts and a decent mastery of it but I am not a warrior at heart and do not really understand its tenets. But since I took the field, I will fight till the very end and never back down.”
“But that’s…”
I understand what she means of course but she’s clearly pushing herself and too hard too I might add. If not, why would she have drunk so much liquor? She clearly drank to boost her guts and also to numb the feeling of pain she felt from her wound. As I thought about this, I sighed in amazement.
“But this is my fault as well for not detecting your injury earlier.” I said as I sat beside her and smiled bitterly, “But really, when did you get injured? And to think I never detected it…”
“That huh~” Yuan Zhi frowned and hesitated for a while before answering me, “If I remember correctly, it should be just as the battle in the city was ending.”
“Eh?” I got a shock and felt terrible at how I failed to detect this, “That early?”
Yuan Zhi nodded.
“So you sustained an injury while fighting in the alleys before you rescued me?”
“Un,” Yuan Zhi nodded again, “I was careless when fighting in the alleys for a moment. There were too many people inside and I made a mistake.”
She opened her eyes by just a little and reached down to feel her wound, “It still hurts huh…”
“Of course it does.” I said as I smiled helplessly, “Your wound was deep and you lost a lot of blood so there was no way that you would heal so quickly.”
“Haha, I guess you’re right.” Yuan Zhi said and smiled.
“… Yuan Zhi.”
“Un?” Yuan Zhi uttered as she opened her eyes slightly and looked at me, probably because she detected the seriousness from my tone.
“The battle this time was won thanks to your efforts but personally speaking, I do not wish to achieve victory by sacrificing you.”
“…” Yuan Zhi remained silent and only spoke up after a while, “Even if it means losing the battle?”
Ah… Yuan Zhi’s words stumped me. I am not someone who has highfalutin moral views and merely do things based on whether I feel they are correct or not. If Yuan Zhi dropping out meant that the battle would definitely be lost, then I would not approve of it. But this is not what I should be saying here.
“I do indeed have to admit that it would have been a terribly difficult battle if you hadn’t come with me.” I replied as I raised my head and looked at Yuan Zhi’s wound, “But this doesn’t mean that we should sacrifice the people who are important to us. If you hadn’t come with me back then, I’m sure that we would have achieved victory somehow just by relying on my other companions.”
Of course, my presence was not critical in the least.
“Are you sure?” Yuan Zhi asked as she looked at me.
“Probably, but it will undoubtedly be a very harsh battle. I believe in them, that they will pull through in their own way.”
Yuan Zhi remained silent but her eyebrows jumped slightly.
“Alright, I understand.” She said after a while as she gave a long sigh, “I won’t push myself this hard in the next battle.”
“Un, that’s the best then.” I nodded as I placed my hand on her wound, “Have you been applying Hua Tuo’s medication? It still hurts now right?”
“Un… It’s alright.” Yuan Zhi replied calmly.
To be honest, I doubted if it did not hurt badly as I have not been able to get an accurate read on her emotions except during our conversation at the market. She might say it’s alright now but it might just be that she does not want me to worry.
“But I would really like it if Xuan De can remove his hand.”
“Eh? Ah, sorry about that.” I uttered as I hurriedly removed my hand. Only when she reminded me did I realise how improper my actions were. No matter what, it was not right of me to just put my hands on a young woman’s abdomen.
“Ah, but it’s good that there’s nothing serious now.” I continued, feeling awkward once more and turned away.
“Hu…” At the same time, Yuan Zhi gave a long exhalation. I turned back and saw that her eyes were wide open and she was staring at the ceiling.
“What’s the matter, Yuan Zhi? Do you feel unwell?”
Yuan Zhi shook her head, “No, I just feel like I spent all of my life force in this battle.”
“Eh?”
“And my voice is still hoarse.”
I was wondering why her voice sounded a little hollow this entire time too but it was just because she was hoarse. It’s no surprise as she was yelling very loudly during the battle despite being a soft-spoken person usually.
“I suppose. You should have stayed on the sidelines and gave commands as a strategist.” I grumbled at her.
“You have no right to say that, Xuan De. Look at you, charging at the frontlines despite being a feudal lord.”
“Fighting alongside one’s retainers is the rightful duty of a lord and I did nothing wrong.” I retorted, feeling unjustly blamed.
“Hai, have you forgotten who it was who fell into the Tan stream? Xuan De, don’t forget that you are the lord here and if you die, everything is over.”
“Wu…” I was completely silenced by Yuan Zhi bringing up my fall into the stream.
“But that’s fine.” Yuan Zhi decided to show me some mercy when she saw my troubled look, “Those generals will definitely protect you.”
