Liu Bei POV

“Eh? Liu Bei.”

… Un? When I heard the girl’s astonished voice, I looked up and saw that her eyes were bulging. Because her eyebrows were raised even further than before, her bandana was now no longer obscuring her eyes.

Is my name that surprising to people? Hahaha.

Alright, I am actually quite delighted inside. I never thought that so many people would know about me even though I haven’t achieved much.

And I believe that this charisma is not limited to the name of Liu Bei. No matter what, there should be some significant that comes from me as a person.

“… Could it be… The one Kong Ming was talking about… But… Wasn’t it supposed to be in Xinye…” While I was indulging in my ego, the girl lowered her head and held her chin as she whispered softly. It was too soft for me to hear it and I was not inclined to ask her to repeat herself as she has a stuttering problem which will probably get worse if she feels nervous.

“Umm… Is there any problem?” I asked, hoping that she could explain herself. I could guess that she definitely has some issue troubling her that is related to me.

“Ah? Ah– Huhu.” She suddenly became alert when she heard my question and shuddered before hurriedly flailing about. At the same time, it seems like she bit her tongue from nervousness and she pulled down her bandana such that it now completely covered her eyes.

“No– othing, it’s just me, my own thing, that’s all…”

“I, is that so…”

She did her best to allay my concerns but she still ended up stuttering twice in such a short sentence. This nervousness ended up infecting me, making me stuttering as well.

Thereafter, it seemed like her troubles remained unresolved as her mouth opened and closed but no word came out.

“Benefactor, calm down. You won’t be acting up like this once you calm down.” Huang Zu could not watch any longer and interrupted us as she brought the girl a gourd and poured a cup of that mystery liquid for her.

When she received it, she finished the cup in one gulp and gave a long sigh, seeming much better than before.

“Ah, don’t be too alarmed Imperial Uncle. My benefactor acts like this sometimes, it’s a common phenomenon.” Huang Zu said with a rare, calm expression of hers when she saw my troubled look.

“My benefactor may have a stuttering problem but this is dependent on the situation. I too thought that it was strange at first.” She said as she recrossed her legs, “I’ve recently found out however, that my benefactor only stutters when she’s anxious, nervous or in some other pressing situation.”

“Huang Zu, do, on’t say anymore.” The girl hurriedly interrupted her and said so with a serious expression as she adjusted her bandana. If she’s stuttering now, and her face is red, does that mean she’s feeling shy now?

… Looks like this girl is cuter than I initially thought.

“Do, on’t look…”

“Ah! Ah, sorry.” Looks like my old problem is acting up again. Every time I think about a person, my eyes will instinctively focus on said person.

“Un…” She looked at me and cleared her throat before she said, “Alright, let’s return to the topic we were at before.”

“Oh, un.” I hurriedly a.s.sented. It’s not much but I did receive some degree of hospitality from her after all. Some awkwardness may have arisen but I still have not solved the is

sue for which I came here for.

“Umm, the reason why I came here is to ask for directions.” I said as I did my best to remember the route Sima Hui told me about, “Ah… If I continue straight, will there be a small village?”

“Yes.” The girl nodded and looked at Dilu before she continued, “You will probably need about 4-6 hours to reach that village roughly speaking. It will take us a little longer to reach there compared to you.”

“Oh~” I nodded. 4-6 hours was still a little too long. It was a good thing that I’d left early. If I’m lucky, I’ll make it there before dusk and get a room somehow. When I thought about this, I looked at the bags hanging by Dilu’s sides and realised that money is a very important thing at all times.

“Ah, by the way, would you both be heading to that village as well?” I asked when I realised that the second half of what she said implied that she was heading there as well.

“Un.” She nodded, “We’re going there as well.”

When she said this, she paused and stared at me for about 3-5 seconds before stiffly raising her finger and continued in a pose that was somewhat like a teacher, “I don’t know if you know but the place we are headed to is a small city called Xinye that is further north of that village.”

“Eh?” I was surprised and all that filled my head was how different she spoke when she was not stuttering.

But in the next instant, Huang Zu reacted first and yelled out. “We’re going to Xinye as well?!”

“What’s wrong?” The girl was bewildered and frowned slightly.

Huang Zu looked at the girl and then at me before she continued, “From what I know, Imperial Uncle is too…”

Un? Me? What does it have to do with me?

…

… Wait, what did that bandana girl just say?

“Xinye?!” I was shocked and got up from the stool with a bewildered expression, “What a coincidence! I’m heading to Xinye as well.”

“Eh?” She was shocked. Clearly, she did not expect that I would have the same destination as her.

For me, this was something to be grateful about. If we are headed in the same direction, then we can go together. It’s fine if we are a bit slower, at least I will not be thinking too much and I have companions.

But then, when I looked over, the girl’s eyes were wide open and she was looking in my direction but she was not looking at me.

“Could it be… Ah… So it’s supposed to be… Like that…” She muttered softly. I could only hear several words here and there but could not make out what she was talking about. All I knew was that she had come to some kind of realisation.

“Un? Umm, may I ask what’s the matter?”

“Ah, no. It’s nothing.” She shook her head, seeming much less nervous than before and looked at me again. But this time, she tilted her head, seeming troubled before she sighing once more.

“That works as well.” She said, and then got up as she took off her vest, “Huang Zu, we should be moving soon.” She said as she starting packing away the gourd and the bowls.

“Eh?” Huang Zu was surprised at this but she got up anyway. The girl did not bother explaining herself and merely continued packing her stuff. After she was done, she even patted the rucksack.

“Shall we go then?” I said as I looked at them.

“Un…” Huang Zu nodded and looked at the girl, “Benefactor, didn’t you say that we would be circling the outskirts of the city for several days to practice your singing first? I don’t know what has changed but your singing practice isn’t over so will it be alright to head to Xinye now?”

When the girl heard this, she stopped what she was doing and answered softly without turning back.

“The reason why I need to practice is because of what my friend told me.” I do not know if it was just my misconception but her eyes flitted to me as she said so, “I was just tired of waiting so I decided to come out and practice in the first place but the goal of my singing has been reached.”