It was late in the night, and the curtains of darkness had descended upon the forest. Tonight’s moonlight was exceptionally bright, so bright that it was comparable to the full moon of midautumn. But even so, it could not s.h.i.+ne through the myriad layers of yellowing leaves, and only scattered dots made it through to the forest floor.

Because we were afraid of exposing our presence, we never lit any lights since the sky turned dark, and now we can only count on our sense of touch to advance further.

From time to time, the cries of insects would resound from the tall gra.s.s. I don’t know what insect that is, all I know is that the cries were chilling and were cries that the dying made.

“Tread lightly everyone, and listen closely for anything out of the ordinary.” I lightly ordered, and Yi De as well as the 2 platoons of soldiers nodded slightly in affirmation.

Just now, as I was lying in my tent, I heard some dubious noises and sounds of people talking coming from the forests. I’d thought that it was my misconception or some soldier had awoken suddenly for some reason and emerged from my tent, not fully suspicious that mischief may be at work. However, I didn’t expect that everyone had also heard what I heard.

Because I felt that something was amiss, I told Feng Xian and the rest before bringing this small band into the forest to investigate.

For me, the cries of insects was truly a hindrance. Not only did it interfere with my sense of hearing, it also impaired my concentration.

— *Sou* *Sou*

(TL: Sound of something zooming past, like an arrow or someone sprinting.)

Behind!

“Take care of your back!” I yelled and raised my broadsword as I turned and stared at the tall gra.s.s.

“Behind, is it?”

“Yi De wait–”

“Yaa~”

Before I could even finish my words, Yi De had already swept up the Serpent Spear which seemed at odds with her size, and turned in the air before slamming it down onto the tall gra.s.s.

Because of her height, Yi De had to jump up in the air to exert strength.

All we heard was a *Bang*!, and the 2 trees shuddered as many leaves fell.

“… How was it?” I weakly asked.

“n.o.body, it doesn’t feel like I cut anyone.” Yi De said disappointedly.

On hearing this, I heaved a small sigh of relief.

Hai~~~~ I really can’t stop her. What if the other side had set a trap?

Maa, I do have to admit that my little sister is not the average reckless idiot who will be easily taken in by a surprise attack.

“Un, the presence that had been hiding in the gra.s.s has dissipated.” I said as I inspected the area. “But don’t get careless and pay attention to your surroundings. What we heard just now was not a delusion. They are definitely still nearby.”

Are they spies? How many? 1… From the presences, a maximum of 2.

“But big sister, you really are impressive, to be able to tell the enemy’s position so quickly just from detecting their presence.” Yi De said nonchalantly with no nervousness whatsoever as she put in strength into her arms to pull out the Serpent Spear that was stuck in the ground, throwing up much soil about.

“It’s nothing much. You can learn it if you just sit around quietly a little more.” I swept my vision across the surrounding tall gra.s.s before focusing on areas further afield. “But now is not the time for this, if you want to learn it, I can teach you any time.”

“No, I don’t want to. Too troublesome.”

“…”

Yi De… Can’t you give me some face in front of 2 platoons…

–*Sou* *Sou*

Un?

“General Guan, it came from the south this time.”

“Un, I heard it.”

The opposite direction from before huh? …

— *Sou* *Sou*

Un?!

“Th, this one came from the west!”

“Everyone be careful, there are 2!!” I focused my line of sight on the centre of these 2 directions as I called out to be able to defend attacks from both direction.

— *Sou*

“Th, there’s movement on this side as well!”

What?! The east as well?

— *Sou*

“Big sister, there are sounds coming from the direction where we first heard sounds from.” This time, even Yi De heard it loud and clear.

“Tch!” I clicked my tongue as I raised my broadsword anxiously.

Does this mean that we have been surrounded? … I’d thought there were only one or two but now things have gotten troublesome.

And just like that, the sounds of something moving through the gra.s.s came from all 4 directions. These sounds were making me much more infuriated than the insect cries.

“Big sister, what do we do now? Attack in all directions?”

“No! It’s too dangerous!” I firmly denied Yi De’s suggestion.

Attacking in all directions meant scattering our forces, and with so many sounds in the gra.s.s, we don’t know how many the other side has…

“…”

Un? Wait a second.

“Big sister?”

“Be quiet for a moment…”

*Sou* *Sou* *Sou*

I listened closely to this unpleasant sound.

*Sou* *Sou* *Sou*

… So that’s what it’s about.

“Oh~” I probably had a look of realisation now.

These sounds were not because many people were moving about. They were made intentionally!

When listening closely, the sounds that came from all 4 directions had a certain rhythm, and sounded like someone who was kicking the gra.s.s on 2 sides of the road in turn as they walked.

Like this… Are there 4 people? No, less than 4… I can only detect 2 presences.

But thinking about it from their angle, why would they try to attack us when we have a numerical advantage? Do they not know their limits or is this action backed by legitimate strength…

“Ah~~~ Hu~~~” I took a deep breath and gave a long exhalation while I was deep in my thoughts. “Stay here everyone, and don’t move… Ah, Yi De you too.”

“Eh eh? Why?”

“Just do as I say first.”

I brushed off Yi De who pouted at this, and closed my eyes once more. I then stuck my Green Dragon Crescent Blade into the ground and grabbed a clump of hair with my left hand and stroked it.

‘What people call cultivation is to understand oneself, and also understanding nature and the world in the process of doing so.’ This was something Wen Yuan said to me not long after we met. I felt that it made sense and made it a personal ethos of mine.

Being able to detect presences was something I slowly learnt after that.

I relaxed both my mind and body. Now, all I needed to do was to be one with nature and focus on what my instincts told me.

An instant later, I opened my eyes.

The left!!!

“Yaa~~~~~~~” As I roared out, I pulled out my broadsword that was stuck in the ground and swung it with my left at the tall gra.s.s and trees to my left!

The shockwave from the sharp blade laid waste to everything that the Green Dragon Crescent Blade swept through, slicing through the tall wild gra.s.s and leaving slash marks on trees.

Just then, an unexpected *ding* rang out as the blade of my Green Dragon Crescent Blade was stopped by another weapon that emerged from the gra.s.s.

Was there someone as expected? Looks like their reaction is pretty quick.

Because it was too dark, and they were still hiding in the gra.s.s, I could not tell who they were.

“You– Wu!!” Just as I was about to ask, a silver light shot out from the gra.s.s next to me and I had to retract my broadsword and jump back.

“Ya~~~~” Yi De yelled as she somersaulted towards the gra.s.s patch and slashed down– “… Un? … Tch, there’s no one again!”

Though Yi De had reacted swiftly in the follow-up attack, it did not land on its mark.

“Don’t worry, this way!” I pointed as I began running while Yi De and the rest followed suit. “Seems like this fellow has a poor const.i.tution as their breathing seems rather ragged.”

And wasn’t this fellow using double short spears? That’s a pretty rare weapon huh~~

Of the people I know, only one uses twin short spears. But she wouldn’t be here right? We haven’t met since we left Beihai after all.

While I was deep in my thoughts, the figure of the one ahead could be seen from the few rays of moonlight that made it through the forest.

“Stop running!” Yi De from behind bellowed loudly all of a sudden, which I must admit gave me quite a shock.

“Yi De what are you shouting for?! They’re going to run even harder now that you shouted!”

“Oh right!” Yi De exclaimed as she scratched her head in realisation. I looked at the figure again helplessly and as expected it appeared to be getting away.

“Yi De, bring some troops and cut them off!”

“I got it.” Yi De replied and then brought a platoon through a different route.

Kuh, that fellow seems to have increased their pace, did they sense that we sent a team to cut them off? It feels like they won’t make it at this rate.

“… Ah!~~~”

Un?

Just as I was about to give up, the figure in front slipped and cried out in the gentle voice of a young girl.

Un… What a clumsy spy huh.

“Ou~~~~ Ch~~” She was still moaning, and it was so loud that even we could hear it clearly.

And in the time when she fell, we chased up and quickly narrowed the gap.

“Thief! Give up already!” I yelled at her as she appeared in full view and began to advance more cautiously.

“… Kuh!”

The figure that had been lying on the ground suddenly rotated and stopped in a kneeling position before slas.h.i.+ng at my calf with the short spear in her left hand.

“Naive!” I did not step back, and instead blocked the blow with the sheath of my broadsword. After her left spear ricocheted off my sheath, she rotated again with the momentum and slashed toward my right calf. Just as before, I did not back up and gripped my Green Dragon Crescent Blade tightly as I leapt above the trajectory of the spears. Immediately after I leapt up, I positioned myself so that I landed on the flat of the spears and firmly held them to the ground with my body weight.

“Don’t bother struggling further! If I’d wanted to, your head would have left your body long ago!” I roared toward the fellow on the ground who was still in a kneeling position. Because of the difference in height, her face was still not visible.

“…”

“Un?” I’d said all there had to be said but she still remained silent.

All of a sudden, her hand reached up above her head straight for me.

“What!” I instinctively raised my broadsword to block but then remembered that she no longer had any weapons.

A feint!

The feint worked and by the time I raised my broadsword, the figure had charged ahead and stood up from a forward roll before running off.

“Kuh! Stop–”

“Stop running~~”

Before I could finish my words, I heard another deep voice from the forest ahead.

Un? This voice is…

Just as I thought up till here, the owner of the voice appeared before me with a torch in her hand and a halberd in the other which was pointed at the figure from before.

“Feng Xian!”

“Oh! Yun Chang, you’ve been hard at work huh!” Feng Xian said with her usual expression.

Thank to the light from her torch, I began to gradually see the figures behind Feng Xian. Wen Yuan was naturally there, and…

“Yun Chang, are you alright?”

“Big brother?! Why did you come here! It’s dangerous here!!” I exclaimed as I walked over to big brother.

“I was worried so I followed them.” Big brother said casually as he rubbed his head.

I had more to say, but when I saw the twin swords, which big brother could barely even swing, hanging by big brother’s waist, the anger in my heart dissipated instantly.

Instead, warmth filled my heart and, regretfully, made my cheeks turn red.

“Wh, what kind of danger would we be in? Who do think we are huh?” I stammered as I put my hands on my hips and turned my face so he wouldn’t see my embarra.s.sed look.

“Maa, that is right.” At times like this, big brother would always let things go. He really doesn’t know what I’m thinking. And then he turned to the shadowy figure. “This must be the enemy scout!”

“Ah ah, I’ve been chasing her all night.” I answered, and walked over to big brother to have a good look at the scout under the light from the torch.

Un? Why is she wearing a mask?

“Don’t bother saying anymore and just kill me.” That person said harsh words but her delicate tone was devoid of any strength.

“Maa, it wouldn’t hurt to talk for a bit. Come, for starters, say where you–” Big brother walked over and peeled off her mask. But when we saw who she was, we were all stunned. “Tai, Tais.h.i.+ Ci?!”

No wonder I kept getting the feeling that I’d seen her attack patterns before. Along with a slim and small figure as well as a delicate voice, she is without a doubt, Tais.h.i.+ Ci.

But… Why is she here?

“Eh? Ah, sorry about it, I have a bit of nightblindness so I can’t see so clearly yet.” Tais.h.i.+ Ci seemed very calm as she rubbed her eyes roughly while we brought the torch closer. “Ah~~ Let me see– L, Lord Liu Bei!!!”

“Ah, h.e.l.lo.” Big brother gave a stiff greeting with an even stiffer smile in response to Tais.h.i.+ Ci’s surprised expression.

“Th, then the one just now with the broadsword is–” Tais.h.i.+ Ci said as she pointed at me.

Now then you know huh.

“In any case, what’s going on? Can you explain yourself?”

Attacking all of a sudden, could it be that Tais.h.i.+ Ci had joined Yuan Shu? If that’s the case, then she really has fallen.

“Ah, that’s right, I should explain everything clearly. But let me start by introducing myself, since my position has changed quite a bit since the time we met in Beihai.” Tais.h.i.+ Ci finally stood up and said in a respectful tone. “I am the Subduing General of the Household, Tais.h.i.+ Ci Tais.h.i.+ Zi Yi, and my lord is now Sun Ce Sun Bo Fu. I have come with my lord to eradicate the traitor Yuan Shu.”