Liu Bei POV
Eh!
I exerted strength and hoisted my bags atop my hose before mounting it. Even though I was the first one to start doing this, Yun Chang and Yi De were faster than me though this is something to be expected of course.
“By the way, why did you choose to go today?” Yun Chang asked as we made our way out, “It’s been about 10 days or so since the last time.”
“Yes, because I received a letter from the boy the last time.”
“A letter?”
“It arrived yesterday, saying that Zhuge Liang had returned the day before and he had told Zhuge Liang everything I told him to.” I said as I nodded and reached for my sleeve pocket before remembering that I had left the letter on my desk, “In any case, the letter said that it’s a good time for us to go.”
“I see.” Yun Chang said but then looked troubled again, “But since Zhuge Liang knows that we are going, why doesn’t she come to see us instead?”
“Aiya~ She’s a hermit after all. There’s no such thing as a hermit leaving their secluded abode to seek out a feudal lord after all. And besides, I’m not an accomplished feudal lord to boot.”
“Un…” Yun Chang grunted unhappily and frowned.
“But really.”
“Un?”
This time, it was Yi De’s turn to voice her doubts, “If that hermit called Zhuge Liang has no intention of joining the mundane world, then why would she have made the boy send us a letter?”
“That’s… Perhaps Zhuge Liang was not aware of it? And the boy just sent a letter on his own accord.”
“But we never told the boy to send a letter on that day.”
“Wu…”
That’s right. It does not seem like that boy would so proactively send out a letter to tell us.
“So,” Yun Chang hazarded a guess, “Could it be that the Zhuge Liang fellow does intend to join the mundane world but think too highly of herself?”
“Hahaha, how could that be?” I chuckled as I shook my head.
Despite my reply, I too was troubled by these revelations. It does indeed seem to be the case that the boy sent the letter under Zhuge Liang’s instructions but why then did she not show herself? I do not understand but this should not get in the way of having a meeting with Zhuge Liang.
“Don’t worry, Yun Chang.” I said, looking to allay some of Yun Chang’s concerns, “I can assure you that this person is worth the second trip.”
When I finished, Yun Chang merely looked at me as she said, “… I hope so.”
After having familiarised ourselves with the route to Longzhong after our first trip, the journey was significantly shorter. Looks like experience is a very useful thing indeed.
“We’re here again huh?”
In the distance were the rice fields which we saw the other time. Today’s weather was much better than the weather when we were here the last time. There were no clouds in sight at all to obscure the blue sky and the sunlight shone down, making me feel warm. Even though I was sweating from the heat, it quickly helped to cool me down from the gentle breeze after we stopped moving.
Spring is already upon us huh?
As I wiped the sweat off my face, I could feel my buttocks feeling sore once again. Thanks to Zi Long’s special ‘care’, my whole body has been aching practically everyday and every time I get jolted or bounced on horseback, I can feel my muscles creaking and when the ride was especially turbulent, I even wondered if my bones would break.
“Ah~ We’re here again huh?” Yun Chang said as she sighed. Looks like the fatigue is really getting to her.
“But this place is really nice.” Yi De said as she looked about. Looks like she’s really taken with this place.
“But it’s best that we get to Crouching Dragon Ridge as soon as possible, before she ends up leaving for something.” Yun Chang said as she turned her horse in the right direction and began slowly riding over with Yi De and I behind her.
“Ah, my lordships, where might you all be headed to?” Just then, a voice came from behind us.
I looked around and saw someone who looked like a villager of sorts coming over to us with a hoe in his hands. Looks like he has just finished with his morning plowing.
“Us?” I said as I pointed at us to which he nodded, “Ah, we’re going to Crouching Dragon Ridge. After that bit of mountains is Crouching Dragon ridge right?”
“Yes, yes, you’re right.” The man said but then began waving his hands dismissively, “But if you were to try to go now, they might not let you.”
“Why is that? Could it be that the village chief has made the decision to seal off the mountain routes?” Yun Chang asked as she came over.
“No, no, no, not at all.” He shook his head, “There’s been a landslide 2 days ago and the dirt roads have been buried under a lot of mud and the farmers have gone to deal with it.”
“I see.”
“Yes, which is why there aren’t much people around in the village.”
I looked about the village and saw that there were indeed significantly less people around than the last time. But why did this happen, and why now of all times… We were able to make it to the location at least the last time but now, we cannot even get there.
“Then how long will the clean up take? About half a month?”
“Eh?” The man seemed surprised at my pessimistic guess and shook his head, “No, no, no, of course not. The landslide only sent mud that is slippery and loose which poses a hazard for travellers. It’s not like the road has been sealed off.”
“Ah, so we will be able to use it still then?”
“That is so.” He nodded and pointed to the side, “If you must go, then you can use this route but you need to wait for the loose soil and mud to be cleared.”
“Approximately how long will that take?” Yun Chang asked.
“Everyone left to work on it first thing in the morning so it should take about another hour or so before it’s done.”
An hour huh? I looked at the sky. It should still be before noon even if we wait for an hour. Plenty of time.
“Big brother, what do we do? Shall we wait here?”
“Un…” I sank into thought for a moment as I held my chin and eventually nodded, “Let’s wait. It’s just an hour after all. We had to wait 2 weeks the last time too.”
I really have been waiting for this ever since I came to this era. But it’s not like I can tell Yun Chsng this.
“Alright, we’ll wait then.” Yun Chang nodded, seemingly convinced by my argument, “She’s a great sage after all so let’s treat her as one.”
“But it’s not ideal to wait here. We should find someplace to rest up.” Yi De said as she caressed her horse, “They didn’t get fed last night and the horses seem a little lethargic today.”
Un… That does make sense. I too would like to rest my sore buttocks.
“Well then… Farmer, is there any place in the village where we could rest.”
“Yes, there is,” He said as he turned around after having made to leave, “If you follow the main road that goes through the village, you will eventually see a wooden lodge to your left. It’s a restaurant where you can rest.”
“Do they have horse feed?”
“They do. Longzhong isn’t very big but there are always travelling merchants passing by. There’s an inn right beside the restaurant too.”
“Alright then, let’s head there.”
“Alright.” Yun Chang nodded, “*Gu~~* Wu!”
When she spoke, her stomach cried out as well. I looked at her and saw her looking both surprised and embarrassed.
“T-this is…”
“Don’t mind it,” I smiled stiffly, “Let’s have something to eat while we’re at it.”
None of us has eaten before coming here so it’s about time we started feeling hungry, I thought as I dismounted and led the horses on foot for fear of the horses trampling on the crops.
“Is it that one?”
After about a dozen paces, we made it to the end of the first patch of rice fields and a wooden lodge soon came into sight. There were a lot of red auspicious paper stuck on it and many barrels of liquor around. It’s easy to identify it as an inn, that’s for sure.
“It has to be.” Yun Chang replied to me as I continued to look at the inn. For a simple village inn, it seems rather well-equipped and even refined.
“–Although possessed of talent rare, this man has made no name.”
While I was preoccupied with my thoughts, refined singing could be heard from the lodge. I could not understand the meaning of the lyrics but from the tune and the words used, it’s probably a poem or song from this era.
“There’s someone singing in the inn.” Yun Chang said as she listened closely. Compared to me, she actually understands the songs after all, “Un… It’s not a song that has been collected and published by the Han and is a original song. The tune isn’t too traditional either…”
Yun Chang becomes a completely different person when it comes to culture and the arts. Even though we all had humble backgrounds, the difference between the 3 of us is massive.
“Yi De, do you understand the song?”
Yi De smiled stiffly as she shook her head, “How could I understand it? For some reason, all I can think of is that I want to sleep when I hear it.”
That is true. You are Yi De after all. If you were Guo Jia Guo Feng Xiao, you might have even joined in and sung along. Of course, it’s not too nice to bring up people that have passed away.
Liu Bei POV
Eh!
I exerted strength and hoisted my bags atop my hose before mounting it. Even though I was the first one to start doing this, Yun Chang and Yi De were faster than me though this is something to be expected of course.
“By the way, why did you choose to go today?” Yun Chang asked as we made our way out, “It’s been about 10 days or so since the last time.”
“Yes, because I received a letter from the boy the last time.”
“A letter?”
“It arrived yesterday, saying that Zhuge Liang had returned the day before and he had told Zhuge Liang everything I told him to.” I said as I nodded and reached for my sleeve pocket before remembering that I had left the letter on my desk, “In any case, the letter said that it’s a good time for us to go.”
“I see.” Yun Chang said but then looked troubled again, “But since Zhuge Liang knows that we are going, why doesn’t she come to see us instead?”
“Aiya~ She’s a hermit after all. There’s no such thing as a hermit leaving their secluded abode to seek out a feudal lord after all. And besides, I’m not an accomplished feudal lord to boot.”
“Un…” Yun Chang grunted unhappily and frowned.
“But really.”
“Un?”
This time, it was Yi De’s turn to voice her doubts, “If that hermit called Zhuge Liang has no intention of joining the mundane world, then why would she have made the boy send us a letter?”
“That’s… Perhaps Zhuge Liang was not aware of it? And the boy just sent a letter on his own accord.”
“But we never told the boy to send a letter on that day.”
“Wu…”
That’s right. It does not seem like that boy would so proactively send out a letter to tell us.
“So,” Yun Chang hazarded a guess, “Could it be that the Zhuge Liang fellow does intend to join the mundane world but think too highly of herself?”
“Hahaha, how could that be?” I chuckled as I shook my head.
Despite my reply, I too was troubled by these revelations. It does indeed seem to be the case that the boy sent the letter under Zhuge Liang’s instructions but why then did she not show herself? I do not understand but this should not get in the way of having a meeting with Zhuge Liang.
“Don’t worry, Yun Chang.” I said, looking to allay some of Yun Chang’s concerns, “I can assure you that this person is worth the second trip.”
When I finished, Yun Chang merely looked at me as she said, “… I hope so.”
After having familiarised ourselves with the route to Longzhong after our first trip, the journey was significantly shorter. Looks like experience is a very useful thing indeed.
“We’re here again huh?”
In the distance were the rice fields which we saw the other time. Today’s weather was much better than the weather when we were here the last time. There were no clouds in sight at all to obscure the blue sky and the sunlight shone down, making me feel warm. Even though I was sweating from the heat, it quickly helped to cool me down from the gentle breeze after we stopped moving.
Spring is already upon us huh?
As I wiped the sweat off my face, I could feel my buttocks feeling sore once again. Thanks to Zi Long’s special ‘care’, my whole body has been aching practically everyday and every time I get jolted or bounced on horseback, I can feel my muscles creaking and when the ride was especially turbulent, I even wondered if my bones would break.
“Ah~ We’re here again huh?” Yun Chang said as she sighed. Looks like the fatigue is really getting to her.
“But this place is really nice.” Yi De said as she looked about. Looks like she’s really taken with this place.
“But it’s best that we get to Crouching Dragon Ridge as soon as possible, before she ends up leaving for something.” Yun Chang said as she turned her horse in the right direction and began slowly riding over with Yi De and I behind her.
“Ah, my lordships, where might you all be headed to?” Just then, a voice came from behind us.
I looked around and saw someone who looked like a villager of sorts coming over to us with a hoe in his hands. Looks like he has just finished with his morning plowing.
“Us?” I said as I pointed at us to which he nodded, “Ah, we’re going to Crouching Dragon Ridge. After that bit of mountains is Crouching Dragon ridge right?”
“Yes, yes, you’re right.” The man said but then began waving his hands dismissively, “But if you were to try to go now, they might not let you.”
“Why is that? Could it be that the village chief has made the decision to seal off the mountain routes?” Yun Chang asked as she came over.
“No, no, no, not at all.” He shook his head, “There’s been a landslide 2 days ago and the dirt roads have been buried under a lot of mud and the farmers have gone to deal with it.”
“I see.”
“Yes, which is why there aren’t much people around in the village.”
I looked about the village and saw that there were indeed significantly less people around than the last time. But why did this happen, and why now of all times… We were able to make it to the location at least the last time but now, we cannot even get there.
“Then how long will the clean up take? About half a month?”
“Eh?” The man seemed surprised at my pessimistic guess and shook his head, “No, no, no, of course not. The landslide only sent mud that is slippery and loose which poses a hazard for travellers. It’s not like the road has been sealed off.”
“Ah, so we will be able to use it still then?”
“That is so.” He nodded and pointed to the side, “If you must go, then you can use this route but you need to wait for the loose soil and mud to be cleared.”
“Approximately how long will that take?” Yun Chang asked.
“Everyone left to work on it first thing in the morning so it should take about another hour or so before it’s done.”
An hour huh? I looked at the sky. It should still be before noon even if we wait for an hour. Plenty of time.
“Big brother, what do we do? Shall we wait here?”
“Un…” I sank into thought for a moment as I held my chin and eventually nodded, “Let’s wait. It’s just an hour after all. We had to wait 2 weeks the last time too.”
I really have been waiting for this ever since I came to this era. But it’s not like I can tell Yun Chsng this.
“Alright, we’ll wait then.” Yun Chang nodded, seemingly convinced by my argument, “She’s a great sage after all so let’s treat her as one.”
“But it’s not ideal to wait here. We should find someplace to rest up.” Yi De said as she caressed her horse, “They didn’t get fed last night and the horses seem a little lethargic today.”
Un… That does make sense. I too would like to rest my sore buttocks.
“Well then… Farmer, is there any place in the village where we could rest.”
“Yes, there is,” He said as he turned around after having made to leave, “If you follow the main road that goes through the village, you will eventually see a wooden lodge to your left. It’s a restaurant where you can rest.”
“Do they have horse feed?”
“They do. Longzhong isn’t very big but there are always travelling merchants passing by. There’s an inn right beside the restaurant too.”
“Alright then, let’s head there.”
“Alright.” Yun Chang nodded, “*Gu~~* Wu!”
When she spoke, her stomach cried out as well. I looked at her and saw her looking both surprised and embarrassed.
“T-this is…”
“Don’t mind it,” I smiled stiffly, “Let’s have something to eat while we’re at it.”
None of us has eaten before coming here so it’s about time we started feeling hungry, I thought as I dismounted and led the horses on foot for fear of the horses trampling on the crops.
“Is it that one?”
After about a dozen paces, we made it to the end of the first patch of rice fields and a wooden lodge soon came into sight. There were a lot of red auspicious paper stuck on it and many barrels of liquor around. It’s easy to identify it as an inn, that’s for sure.
“It has to be.” Yun Chang replied to me as I continued to look at the inn. For a simple village inn, it seems rather well-equipped and even refined.
“–Although possessed of talent rare, this man has made no name.”
While I was preoccupied with my thoughts, refined singing could be heard from the lodge. I could not understand the meaning of the lyrics but from the tune and the words used, it’s probably a poem or song from this era.
“There’s someone singing in the inn.” Yun Chang said as she listened closely. Compared to me, she actually understands the songs after all, “Un… It’s not a song that has been collected and published by the Han and is a original song. The tune isn’t too traditional either…”
Yun Chang becomes a completely different person when it comes to culture and the arts. Even though we all had humble backgrounds, the difference between the 3 of us is massive.
“Yi De, do you understand the song?”
Yi De smiled stiffly as she shook her head, “How could I understand it? For some reason, all I can think of is that I want to sleep when I hear it.”
That is true. You are Yi De after all. If you were Guo Jia Guo Feng Xiao, you might have even joined in and sung along. Of course, it’s not too nice to bring up people that have passed away.
