Liu Bei POV

As I peered out from under the table, I saw that she wore military issue boots unlike everyone else around here and began to wonder where she came from.

*Ta*… *Ta*… *Ta*…

Unfortunately for us, she began to walk in our direction, probably drawn by the food.

“Oi! Waiter!”

“Coming, esteemed guest! Would you like a bowl?” The waiter bowed before the woman and asked as she called out to him.

If this was what she came for, then that will be great.

“No, no need for that.”

… Unfortunately, that does not seem to be the case. But after listening to her voice from up close, I am now sure that she is a woman. However her voice is hoa.r.s.e, probably from shouting too much, and so I cannot even tell what her age is, much less try to match it with anyone I know.

“I want information on someone.” She said as she sat down on a wooden chair nearby, “Do you know if a man who is about my height, with medium length hair and looks a little silly and stupid has pa.s.sed by this area?”

Eh? Who is that supposed to be? A little silly and stupid… If it were not for this last characteristic, I would have thought that it would be me.

“Aiya, esteemed guest, this question is a little…” The waiter sounded a little exasperated, “The kind of man you just described can be found anywhere. Look, if I let my hair down, it’s medium length too. How is someone going to help you like that?”

“… Alright, let’s try again.” The woman said and thought for a moment before she spoke up, “Did a man wash up the river banks near your village recently?”

Eh!! So she really was looking for me!

“This is bad.”

“Xuan De, be vigilant at all times.”

Not only I was surprised, Huang Zu and Yuan Zhi were as well. Though needless to say, their surprise was much less than mine.

“A man who washed up… I really don’t think…” The waiter was actually trying to be helpful and sank into thought.

“Eh?” Just as the waiter was thinking, the woman uttered something and got up as she made her way to our table and said–

“… Whose horses are these?”

Wu!! This is bad!

In the next instant, my heart began violently thumping. The last time I was this nervous was when I fell into the river after escaping from Xiangyang. Even thought it was just a few days ago, I cannot believe that I am being subjected to such an uncomfortable feeling yet again.

“Ah, these 3 guests just came by as well.” The waiter began to blab and did not stop there, “But that’s weird. Their food is still unfinished and their luggage and horses are still here yet where are they?”

“Un…” The woman said as she began to pace about, making me feel very frustrated.

“Wu…” Huang Zu was the first one who broke the silence and muttered something under her breath as she reached out to the sword hanging at her waist. Though I just realised it, these really are dangerous times huh.

“We’ve been discovered.”

Eh? Even though we have not made much sounds nor actions, Yuan Zhi suddenly spoke up.

“What kind of maggots are you lot still hiding under the table? You’re not going to come out yet?” In the next instant, that woman began to yell at us. Looks like we have been found out after all.

“Looks like… We can only…” Yuan Zhi said as she placed her hand on her sword–

At the same

time, Huang Zu to my right roared as she drew her sword and slashed down at the woman, “Don’t be too hasty, benefactor! I will deal with her first!”

“Un?!” The woman was nimble and quickly stepped back just as the blade was about to cut her, narrowly avoiding the attack.

“Eh?!” In the next instant, the woman looked at me and exclaimed in surprise. Looks like she knows who I am and what I look like, is she really Cai Mao’s underling as we guessed?!

“Un?!” When Huang Zu saw the woman’s reaction when she saw me, she put her guard up and charged at her, “You fiend! Don’t think you will get your way!”

Hei! A flurry of attacks were exchanged and blocked within seconds as she made her way to the woman in no time at all.

“…”

I looked at the woman and saw her step back and swing over and over. No matter what kind of attack Huang Zu threw at her, that woman was able to predict it just a split second before and was able to neutralise it easily. However, unlike before, she seemed a little more frantic and her footing was less stable.

More importantly, her eyes were fixed on me the whole time.

“Ha!” Huang Zu roared as she stabbed at the woman viciously. But the woman leapt backwards several meters and landed softly beside her horse. She then drew out a long spear that had a bag that covered its blade.

“Un?” When she saw this spear, Yuan Zhi who had been quietly watching the battle spoke up slowly, “Huang Zu, wait…”

Before she could finish, Huang Zu leapt forward and closed the distance between her and the woman in one single, fluid motion. It was so fast that I could hear the sound of the air currents being sliced from her blade.

“Ha!” Huang Zu roared out once more as she stabbed out. Compared to the attack from before, it was clear that this attack was heavier and faster.

“… I see it!”

Eh? The woman muttered something under her breath and lowered her spear before raising it in one move–

In the next instant, I saw the weapon lodge itself under Huang Zu’s weapon arm and the woman applied strength as she raised the spear, sending Huang Zu flying in the air.

“Uwaa!” Huang Zu cried out loudly as she landed on the ground with a loud thud after spinning in the air. Looks like her wounds are pretty bad.

*Dang*!

The woman planted her weapon against the ground and pointed at Yuan Zhi as she yelled out, “Who are you people?!”

Though her voice was still hoa.r.s.e, there was still power in it. And this one yell was all it took to scare away all the pa.s.sers-by. Yet, even now, I still am unable to see her face.

“You b.a.s.t.a.r.d! You have the cheek to ask us that!” Huang Zu yelled weakly as she struggled to get up.

“Huang Zu, no need to say any further.” Just then, Yuan Zhi waved to Huang Zu as she said so and slowly walked up, “Your wounds are rather bad. Continuing to fight in that state is tantamount to underestimating your enemy.”

(Yuan Zhi…)

I whispered as I reached out to grab her sleeve, hoping to tell her not to push herself too much as it was clear that this a.s.sailant was not easy to deal with at all.

(Xuan De, don’t worry.)

I do not know if Yuan Zhi knows this but she merely shrugged my hand off and said this as she placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.

I looked at Yuan Zhi but could not feel relieved in the least. She was frowning and there were signs of fear in her airheaded expression. She looked like a single, lone foot soldier facing the commanding general of the enemy force.

But, if what happened to Huang Zu was true, then that meant that Yuan Zhi saved Huang Zu and was able to successfully escape from tens of thousands of troops. This was clearly no small feat and Yuan Zhi ought to extremely formidable. Given this, why is she afraid?

“Looking at your plain coa.r.s.e cloth clothing, you must be just an ordinary villager. To think that even ordinary villagers know swordsmans.h.i.+p these days, haha, the world has really changed. People have really become stupid huh.” The woman’s words were harsh but Yuan Zhi did not react at all and kept her hand on her sword.

This seemed to further anger the woman.

“You b.a.s.t.a.r.d…” She said as she raised the spear and pointed it at Yuan Zhi, “If you insist on getting violent, I don’t mind killing you both first before taking away Xuan De.”

What a forceful woman… Eh? Wait, what did she call me?

“Yuan Zhi, I think that–”

“Xuan De, you don’t need to say anything.” Yuan Zhi interrupted me and drew her sword before facing the woman with a bland expression, “I won’t let you be taken away.”

Yuan Zhi’s words had no strength in them at all. But an expressionless girl holding a long sword seemed more dangerous, and reliable, to me.

Though I had my suspicions about the woman, her aggression made it seem like she was Cai Mao’s underling. In that case, I ought to seek help from Yuan Zhi and Huang Zu.

“Yuan Zhi, I’m sorry to have troubled you.” I said softly. Because my weapon was lost, I could not fight alongside her, “It’s my own business yet I’ve dragged you both into my mess.”

“It’s fine,” Yuan Zhi said casually as she continued to look ahead and bent her knees, “I intended to join your side from the very beginning.”

… Eh?

“Yaa!” The woman roared out and charged just as Yuan Zhi finished as she stabbed with her spear. The woman had considerable strength in her legs as she leapt and brought the weapon to Yuan Zhi’s chest almost instantaneously.