Liu Bei POV
“Eh? By benefactor, do you mean the one who was singing just now?”
When I thought about the singing just now, my head started to ache.
“Yes, which means that Imperial Uncle was drawn here by that singing right?” Huang Zu said as she smiled stiffly.
“How could I not, it’s quite unique after all.”
“I understand.” Huang Zu said, her smile still plastered on.
As I looked at her smile, the feeling that she’d changed grew stronger. Perhaps it was indeed as she said, that she no longer felt burdened by her previous responsibilities.
“But, now that you mention it… I wonder where my benefactor has gone to…” Huang Zu said and turned to go back. But after walking several dozen paces back, it seems like she didn’t find anyone.
“Benefactor~” Huang Zu roared out after taking a deep breath. I have to say that this yell of hers is the same as before.
“Umm… I wonder where she went…” Huang Zu said as she scratched her head and then looked at me, “Forget it, I’m not looking anymore.”
Eh?! You’re giving up just like that? That’s your benefactor right…
“Imperial Uncle need not be so surprised. My benefactor acts like this from time to time.” Huang Zu said with a smile as she held her waist. She then took a deep breath and looked up, “Speaking of which, why is Imperial Uncle here. Didn’t you return after the Battle of Jiangxia?”
“Ah, yes.” I honestly answered at this sudden question of hers.
“Then why are you here now?”
“Ah… That huh.” Just as I expected, the conversation soon came to this.
It’s really complicated to begin with and it’s still a bit difficult and painful to recount the whole ordeal. At the same time, she’s still a general of Jing state and it might not be nice for her to hear some of what I went through.
“To put it simply, a lot has happened and I’m now on my way to Xinye.” I said, divulging as little as possible. She looked at me with a disgruntled expression
“Fine.” She said as she huffed and did not ask any further.
Seeing that she did not mind, I heaved a sigh of relief. I cannot possibly tell her about how Lady Cai gives Liu Biao a regular dose of poison if she asks me about Liu Biao’s status after all.
“But since you’re still alive, why haven’t you gone to report to Xiangyang?”
“Un, I came out here with my benefactor. And–” Huang Zu nodded and pointed in the direction of Xiangyang, “I don’t know what my benefactor has to do or where but after she’s done, I will be heading back to Xiangyang alone.”
“You’re going to–”
“I’m going to seek an audience with my lord and ask for forgiveness.”
Forgiveness? As expected huh.
“Administrator, it’s been a while now but I still don’t think that losing the city was your fault.”
“That is not important,” Huang Zu shook her head as she smiled, a smile that contained a tinge of sadness, “What matters is that the city was lost. The city was lost and I am still alive so I must go and ask for forgiveness.”
“Un… Actually…”
I wanted to say more but when I remembered what Huang Zu was like, I decided that saying more would be futile. At the same time, I know Liu Biao will not blame Huang Zu and I wonder what kind of expression Huang Zu will have if she knew how Liu Biao reacted when he heard of her death.
As I thought so, I dusted myself… Eh?
“Ah…” Just then, I realised that my reins had disappeared, “Eh?! Where is Dilu?!”
I went ahead of Huang Zu and looked about but couldn’t find Dilu anywhere.
… Could it be… That it ran away?
“Scholar, you need not panic. Your horse is here.”
*Ta* *Ta* *Ta*
Just then, a tender voice along with the sound of horse hooves could be heard coming from my blind spot. The voice was very calming and just hearing it made me feel like I was emptied of troubles.
Un? When I turned to look, I saw Dilu just 3-4 centimeters away from my face.
Ah?! I got a shock and took several steps back, catching a glimpse of a girl I’d never met before sitting atop Dilu.
She was wearing a greyish-white multi-layered silk gown. Her black hair was tied back in a ponytail and there was a bright red cloth tied around her forehead just above her eyes. As such, I could only see half of her eyes and her vision was probably partially obscured,
She was slim and short but she seemed to control Dilu with ease. Her facial expression was rather serious and devoid of cheer. I cannot not see her eyebrows but I have the feeling that she’s frowning. It’s a good thing that her face is not sharp or she would feel very unapproachable. It’s not quite right to say this but she feels a bit like an airhead.
“Benefactor. I see you went to chase down the horse huh.” Huang Zu said as she lowered her head and bowed.
Eh? Is this the benefactor that Huang Zu was talking about? Does that mean that she’s also the singer from before?
Her voice does indeed sound similar but her countenance is quite different from what I expected. She has not stammered either like before.
That person nodded and smiled at Huang Zu before dismounting. She is not very tall but she is very agile. She dismounted using just 1 hand and landed without making a sound.
When she landed, she began to head over to me slow and handed me the reins after she was just 3-4 paces away from me, “Here, take it. Don’t just leave the reins to a treasured horse lying around.”
Her tone was rather cold and when I looked up, I saw that the smile she’d shown Huang Zu was gone now. My guess is that she’s being cautious of me by handing me the reins from a distance away. I don’t know who she is but she’s being way too cautious.
I felt a little uncomfortable and my impression of her worsened a little. As I stared at her, I reached out to take the reins, “Many thanks.”
But now that I think about it, does this mean that this girl chased down Dilu when he ran off just now? Leaving aside how she managed to mount a galloping Dilu, just having to steer it about in the forest is already a considerable feat.
As I thought so, I saw her retract her hand immediately after handing over the reins and return to where her camp was without even paying any further mind to Huang Zu, who walked over to me and looked like she wanted to say something but then decided against it and jogged over to the girl.
“Ah, right.” Just as I was looking at their backs, the red bandana girl stopped and turned back to look at me, “I shouldn’t be telling you this but I will anyway. If you ride it for too long, that horse will bring harm to you.”
Eh? I frowned, befuddled at why she was saying this.
When she saw this, she turned back fully and continued, “I’m well-versed in horses and this horse brings bad fortune to its owners. If you happen to have anyone you hate, you can give this horse to that person.”
When she finished, she neither bowed, saluted, said farewell nor did she wait for a reply and just turned back and continued on her way.
But her not listening is one matter, my saying what I want to say is another altogether.
“I’m afraid I can’t agree with what you just said.” I saluted as I said so, “If it really does bring bad fortune, then I should kill it now and prevent it from bringing further harm to others instead of giving it away. Moreover, it is my opinion that one should not subscribe to the thought that a mere horse can mess with one’s fate.”
I admit that this was a bit rude of me. But I really do not like that person’s attitude at all.
“… Eh?” When I finished, she just stood there and uttered a single word.
“Benefactor?” Huang Zu said as she looked at her.
What happened? Was she surprised by what I said?
“… Is that so?” She said. I looked up and saw that she was looking at me with a more amicable expression and a gleam in her eyes.
She then blinked and said slowly, “I take back what I just said.”
Liu Bei POV
“Eh? By benefactor, do you mean the one who was singing just now?”
When I thought about the singing just now, my head started to ache.
“Yes, which means that Imperial Uncle was drawn here by that singing right?” Huang Zu said as she smiled stiffly.
“How could I not, it’s quite unique after all.”
“I understand.” Huang Zu said, her smile still plastered on.
As I looked at her smile, the feeling that she’d changed grew stronger. Perhaps it was indeed as she said, that she no longer felt burdened by her previous responsibilities.
“But, now that you mention it… I wonder where my benefactor has gone to…” Huang Zu said and turned to go back. But after walking several dozen paces back, it seems like she didn’t find anyone.
“Benefactor~” Huang Zu roared out after taking a deep breath. I have to say that this yell of hers is the same as before.
“Umm… I wonder where she went…” Huang Zu said as she scratched her head and then looked at me, “Forget it, I’m not looking anymore.”
Eh?! You’re giving up just like that? That’s your benefactor right…
“Imperial Uncle need not be so surprised. My benefactor acts like this from time to time.” Huang Zu said with a smile as she held her waist. She then took a deep breath and looked up, “Speaking of which, why is Imperial Uncle here. Didn’t you return after the Battle of Jiangxia?”
“Ah, yes.” I honestly answered at this sudden question of hers.
“Then why are you here now?”
“Ah… That huh.” Just as I expected, the conversation soon came to this.
It’s really complicated to begin with and it’s still a bit difficult and painful to recount the whole ordeal. At the same time, she’s still a general of Jing state and it might not be nice for her to hear some of what I went through.
“To put it simply, a lot has happened and I’m now on my way to Xinye.” I said, divulging as little as possible. She looked at me with a disgruntled expression
“Fine.” She said as she huffed and did not ask any further.
Seeing that she did not mind, I heaved a sigh of relief. I cannot possibly tell her about how Lady Cai gives Liu Biao a regular dose of poison if she asks me about Liu Biao’s status after all.
“But since you’re still alive, why haven’t you gone to report to Xiangyang?”
“Un, I came out here with my benefactor. And–” Huang Zu nodded and pointed in the direction of Xiangyang, “I don’t know what my benefactor has to do or where but after she’s done, I will be heading back to Xiangyang alone.”
“You’re going to–”
“I’m going to seek an audience with my lord and ask for forgiveness.”
Forgiveness? As expected huh.
“Administrator, it’s been a while now but I still don’t think that losing the city was your fault.”
“That is not important,” Huang Zu shook her head as she smiled, a smile that contained a tinge of sadness, “What matters is that the city was lost. The city was lost and I am still alive so I must go and ask for forgiveness.”
“Un… Actually…”
I wanted to say more but when I remembered what Huang Zu was like, I decided that saying more would be futile. At the same time, I know Liu Biao will not blame Huang Zu and I wonder what kind of expression Huang Zu will have if she knew how Liu Biao reacted when he heard of her death.
As I thought so, I dusted myself… Eh?
“Ah…” Just then, I realised that my reins had disappeared, “Eh?! Where is Dilu?!”
I went ahead of Huang Zu and looked about but couldn’t find Dilu anywhere.
… Could it be… That it ran away?
“Scholar, you need not panic. Your horse is here.”
*Ta* *Ta* *Ta*
Just then, a tender voice along with the sound of horse hooves could be heard coming from my blind spot. The voice was very calming and just hearing it made me feel like I was emptied of troubles.
Un? When I turned to look, I saw Dilu just 3-4 centimeters away from my face.
Ah?! I got a shock and took several steps back, catching a glimpse of a girl I’d never met before sitting atop Dilu.
She was wearing a greyish-white multi-layered silk gown. Her black hair was tied back in a ponytail and there was a bright red cloth tied around her forehead just above her eyes. As such, I could only see half of her eyes and her vision was probably partially obscured,
She was slim and short but she seemed to control Dilu with ease. Her facial expression was rather serious and devoid of cheer. I cannot not see her eyebrows but I have the feeling that she’s frowning. It’s a good thing that her face is not sharp or she would feel very unapproachable. It’s not quite right to say this but she feels a bit like an airhead.
“Benefactor. I see you went to chase down the horse huh.” Huang Zu said as she lowered her head and bowed.
Eh? Is this the benefactor that Huang Zu was talking about? Does that mean that she’s also the singer from before?
Her voice does indeed sound similar but her countenance is quite different from what I expected. She has not stammered either like before.
That person nodded and smiled at Huang Zu before dismounting. She is not very tall but she is very agile. She dismounted using just 1 hand and landed without making a sound.
When she landed, she began to head over to me slow and handed me the reins after she was just 3-4 paces away from me, “Here, take it. Don’t just leave the reins to a treasured horse lying around.”
Her tone was rather cold and when I looked up, I saw that the smile she’d shown Huang Zu was gone now. My guess is that she’s being cautious of me by handing me the reins from a distance away. I don’t know who she is but she’s being way too cautious.
I felt a little uncomfortable and my impression of her worsened a little. As I stared at her, I reached out to take the reins, “Many thanks.”
But now that I think about it, does this mean that this girl chased down Dilu when he ran off just now? Leaving aside how she managed to mount a galloping Dilu, just having to steer it about in the forest is already a considerable feat.
As I thought so, I saw her retract her hand immediately after handing over the reins and return to where her camp was without even paying any further mind to Huang Zu, who walked over to me and looked like she wanted to say something but then decided against it and jogged over to the girl.
“Ah, right.” Just as I was looking at their backs, the red bandana girl stopped and turned back to look at me, “I shouldn’t be telling you this but I will anyway. If you ride it for too long, that horse will bring harm to you.”
Eh? I frowned, befuddled at why she was saying this.
When she saw this, she turned back fully and continued, “I’m well-versed in horses and this horse brings bad fortune to its owners. If you happen to have anyone you hate, you can give this horse to that person.”
When she finished, she neither bowed, saluted, said farewell nor did she wait for a reply and just turned back and continued on her way.
But her not listening is one matter, my saying what I want to say is another altogether.
“I’m afraid I can’t agree with what you just said.” I saluted as I said so, “If it really does bring bad fortune, then I should kill it now and prevent it from bringing further harm to others instead of giving it away. Moreover, it is my opinion that one should not subscribe to the thought that a mere horse can mess with one’s fate.”
I admit that this was a bit rude of me. But I really do not like that person’s attitude at all.
“… Eh?” When I finished, she just stood there and uttered a single word.
“Benefactor?” Huang Zu said as she looked at her.
What happened? Was she surprised by what I said?
“… Is that so?” She said. I looked up and saw that she was looking at me with a more amicable expression and a gleam in her eyes.
She then blinked and said slowly, “I take back what I just said.”
