WRITTEN BY XAPHHJULY 8, 2016

Meng De POV

“Meng De, we managed to grab 4 supply caravans this time! This should be more than enough to last us for 3 months!”

I was now sitting in my tent which I had been living in for a long while now and sipping tea as I listened to Yuan Rang’s excited voice. Though the tea was brought from Xuchang, it didn’t taste as good as when I drank it in Xuchang.

“One-eyed girl, that may be so, but if we keep this up, we’ll be on the losing end.” This wasn’t me, but Feng Xiao who called Yuan Rang by her nickname, and covered her mouth as she continued, “We may have the supplies, but we don’t have the troops. The best way forward is to burn down their main supply cache and force them to retreat. If we stay hot on their heels, we should be able to eke out a win.”

“But the righteous side is us, why should we fear Yuan Shao?” Xu Huang said with a ferocious look in her eyes. Just her bloodl.u.s.t alone was enough to make Yue Jin who sat beside her lean onto Li Dian.

“Xu, Xu Huang, those words of yours are only worth 50 marks.” Though she was visibly shaken, Yue Jin still gave her opinion, “Even if righteousness is not on our side, we will still attain victory. Right, Man Cheng?”

Yue Jin asked Li Dian, hoping to get a supportive opinion but Li Dian only stood there in a daze with a book in her hands for a long while before she replied, “Wen Qian, I think that before we are generals, we are warriors. So instead of thinking about such things, we should probably think about how we can improve our martial arts. We were both beaten black and blue by Gao Lan and Zhang He the last time after all.”

“That is… Another matter altogether.” Yue Jin blushed in embarra.s.sment as Li Dian touched on her pain point and turned her face away.

Seeing that they had stopped talking, I felt that I should say something.

And so, I set down my tea cup.

“Alright alright. We are at a steep disadvantage and so any amount of small schemes won’t help. As Feng Xiao said, we must force Yuan Shao to retreat.” I looked at Feng Xiao, and saw that she had a look of irritation, probably because she could guess what I was about to say next. I laughed inside and continued, “That said, the Yuan army camps are over 1,000 and there are dozens alone just nearby Guandu even if we discount Liyang. Some are obvious, some are hidden, and so it will be difficult to find the supply cache, so that cannot be our main plan–”

“Oh? Then the Imperial Chancellor must have come up with something else then?” Before I could finish, Feng Xiao spoke up, probably displeased with what I said.

“Un, that huh~” I closed my eyes before opening them again and sweeping through everyone’s faces, “Not really~”

“Hey! Meng De! How can you still be in the mood to joke with us huh~”

“I just wanted to let everyone relax, Yuan Rang.” I looked over at Feng Xiao as I said so and when our eyes met, she turned away.

I’d thought she wouldn’t speak but she did so after sighing, “I believe the Imperial Chancellor has some business to attend to. Why don’t you go and deal with that instead of wasting time here?”

“Geh…”

“Un? The Imperial Chancellor has business to attend to?”

“Ah, un. Yes…” I said, trying my best to hide my emotions.

I looked at Feng Xiao again and found that she wasn’t even looking at me anymore. That fellow, how much does she actually know. It feels like nothing I do escapes her…

I involuntarily shuddered and escaped the tent as I mounted a fast horse and left the encampment.

I started cultivating an interest of riding and camping in the mountains several years back. Even now, when I no longer have the time to camp, I still like to ride up the mountains and see the ravines, rivers and waterfalls.

At this moment, I was at the peak of an unnamed mountain. The slope wasn’t steep and so I was able to effortlessly lead my horse up.

If I said that I found this mountain by accident, that would be a lie. If I said that I ran out because I suddenly felt like seeing the scenery, that would be utter nonsense.

I’d searched for and found this mountain to be suitable a few days back. And the reason why I did so was purely to serve as a meeting point with a certain someone.

I tied the horse to a tree and walked towards the cliff and looked outside. What greeted me was the sight of Liyang city which wasn’t too far away.

Though it looks far, I still got gooseb.u.mps seeing the black tents covering the entire landscape. Fires were now being doused as it was morning, and columns of black smoke rose up to the sky.

Just then, a faint scent came. It was now winter and in the north, very few flowers bloomed in winter. Moreover, this mountain was barren.

The source of the scent was someone else.

“Has she reached?” I smiled and turned my head.

There wasn’t anything there, and the scenery I saw as I walked over remained untouched. Only after I looked closely did I see another horse tied beside mine.

“Stop hiding Xu Zi Yuan, aren’t we old friends~” I spread my arms wide, to show I had friendly intentions. I know what kind of person Zi Yuan is, how introverted she is, and I doubt she has changed much over the years.

“… Meng De.” A weak voice came from behind the trunk of a withered tree. I looked over and saw some clothing poking out from the sides.

“It’s been a while, Zi Yuan.”

“… It’s been a while.” Zi Yuan said as she poked her out and saw me. She sized me up for a bit before smiling.

“How is it? How has Ben Chu been treating you?”

“Un, still alright.” Zi Yuan had by now lowered her guard and came out from behind the tree. She still had the same expression as back then, a smile that was not born out of happiness.

“Umm…” I was about to speak up when she raised her hand. In that hand, she held a letter.

The letter I had sent to her anonymously.

“Did Meng De really send this letter?”

“Of course I did, how would you have seen me here if it wasn’t?”

“Un.” She sank into thought, and nodded, “I may have come now, but could it really go as you wrote in the letter…”

*Kata* *Kata*~

“Cao Meng De! You!” Along with the sound of horse hooves, an angry yell that sounded like a rich young miss could be heard, and not too far away, a girl with wavy hair wearing luxurious clothing was coming toward us as she held a sword in her hands.

My lips began to curl at this sight.