Yun Chang POV

“Lord Guan Yu?”

“Ah, mother finally wants to let everyone rest huh?”

“Who said we’re going to rest?” I said as I tugged the reins just once more to slow my horse down, “Zhou Cang, tell the troops to continue advancing but marching normally is fine. No need to continue running.”

When I finished, they both heaved a sigh of relief.

“Haa~ Alright, got it.” Zhou Cang said as she yawned and then rubbed her bottom. I know that it’s sore from riding but it’s an act that no girl should ever be doing.

“Haa~” Guan Ping yawned and I felt an ominous premonition and turned back to see Guan Ping reaching for her b.u.t.t.

“Guan Ping! No touching!”

“Eek!” Guan Ping was so shocked that she nearly stood up on the horse.

“You’re a girl, how can you be committing such unsightly and unseeming acts!”

“B.. But Lord Zhou Cang also–”

“Lord Zhou Cang is Lord Zhou Cang!”

*s.h.i.+ku*… *s.h.i.+ku*…

… Wu. I was indeed angry but after seeing Guan Ping’s tearful look, I began to feel extremely guilty and decided to let up on her.

“Eh… Umm,” I stammered as I turned away. Even though I did not feel like I did anything wrong, I still felt compelled to console her, “Guan Ping, don’t mind it too much. Just change from now on. Your older sister Zhou Cang cannot be saved anymore but you should learn to differentiate between good and bad behaviour.”

“What do you mean good and bad…”

“Eh? Zhou Cang!?” When I heard a voice from behind, I turned back and saw Zhou Cang with a dismayed expression as she looked at me.

“When did you come back? Why didn’t you notify me?” I asked, doing my best to hide my panic and hoped that she did not hear what I just said.

“When you were saying ‘Guan Ping, don’t mind it’.”

Ah… So she heard everything huh?

“So, Lord Guan Yu, what did you mean by differentiating between good and bad behaviour?” Zhou Cang began asking furiously as she rode beside me, “After riding for so long, why can’t I touch my b.u.t.t for a bit?”

When she finished, Zhou Cang felt her b.u.t.t again as if she was trying to protest what I said.

“No, it’s not like you can’t…” I said, turning away and coughing even though I was a woman as well. Even though her figure is really good, she is far too crude. She would be a ravis.h.i.+ng beauty if she just tried a little.

But… It’s not too nice to say this, but it’s thanks to Zhou Cang’s flaws that big brother is not too enamoured with her. I always catch big brother staring at Zhou Cang, probably because he somewhat likes her. Big brother might not know it, but his thoughts are really easy to read.

“In any case, Zhou Cang can do what she wants but Guan Ping should not learn from her.”

“Oh… Alright, mother.”

“Why does it seem like it isn’t praise…” Zhou Cang continued to complain. Of course, I was indeed not praising her. If she could change just a little and be an example for Guan Ping, I would be very happy.

“Let’s leave that aside for now. After a little while, go and notify the combat engineers to start constructing our siege weapons. When we arrive at Fan city, we will commence a siege immediately.”

“Alright~ Got it~” Zhou Cang replied somewhat listlessly. Looks like she’s still both

ered by what I said before. Even though she’s normally a ruffian, she’s not such a forgiving person huh? Though I cannot say I am not at fault.

“No matter how I look at it, our attack this time would be more akin to a raid or a sneak attack than a siege which goes against my principles to be honest.”

“Mother’s… Principles huh?”

“Personally, be it in duels or battles, I always do things openly and fairly.” I said as I nodded and pointed my glaive to the skies, “For the sake of survival, we have to raid the enemy city. I can’t say this is a bad strategy but let’s call a spade a spade.”

“But what can we do? If we don’t go along with the raid, our chances of winning will greatly diminish.” Guan Ping said in puzzlement. This cannot be helped as Guan Ping has not found her path yet.

“Yes. Sometimes, one has to go against one’s own principles. But one must also never forget one’s heart.” I said as I looked kindly at her and sheathed my blade.

“So as I was saying, Guan Ping, Zhou Cang,” I said as I looked at Guan Ping and then at Zhou Cang, “If we can, I would like to declare an attack on Fan city before proceeding with the siege. What do you both think?”

“I’m fine with it.” Zhou Cang said as she tucked her hands behind her head, an act which made me think of Yi De, “And besides, by the time we get there, it’ll be impossible for the enemy to make any preparations in time.”

“As expected of mother. Even at a time like this, you choose to notify the enemy first.” Guan Ping seemed excited and balled her fists as she bounced about.

“Un.” I nodded. If it were not for how critical this battle were for our survival, I would have stopped to camp several dozen kilometers outside the city and send a notification letter to the city 2-4 hours before we attacked. Of course, I fully understand how dire our circ.u.mstances are.

…

*Tatatata*…

… Un? Just then, while no one spoke, all I could hear were the sound of our horse hooves landing against the ground and the sound of our troops marching.

*Tatatata*…

But why do I feel like the forest on both sides of the road seem a bit too quiet? It feels like the silence is forced.

“…”

“Ah, Lord Guan Yu?”

“Mother?”

I immediately raised my hand and pulled on the reins lightly to make my horse come to a halt. Zhou Cang and Guan Ping were surprised but they too stopped.

“Could it be that we’re rest–”

“Keep quiet for now.” I interrupted Zhou Cang’s gleeful question as I kept my hand raised and concentrated on the background noise.

… *Shashasha*

It was very quiet still and there seemed to be only the sound of tree leaves rustling and the song of the odd bird here and there.

No…

*Sha*… *Shasha*…

It seems like… The sound of clinking and rubbing. Could it be that there are villagers from Fan city out here chopping wood? No, it feels strange somehow. I frowned and looked about but did not see anything out of turn.

“Zhou Cang, do you hear anything?”

“Hear anything?” Zhou Cang frowned. Looks like she does no understand why I am asking her this. She looked around just as I did before replying, “No, I don’t hear anything other than normal forest sounds.”

“That is a given. I know too that there are sounds from the forest but is there anything else?”

Zhou Cang shrugged.

Un… Could it be a misconception of mine? No, wait a moment… Wen Yuan once said that breath was very important. What if I try to get a feel of the breath in the area?

Hu… I decided to give it a try and took a deep breath as I closed my eyes and concentrated.

The flow of air was concentrated around the surrounding area but this was from the breath of the troops behind us. In particular, Zhou Cang’s heaving is really striking.

Ah… It seems like… Like there is a weak breath surrounding us.

… It’s also very chaotic which means there is more than 1 person–

Ah! Could this be!!

“Zhou Cang, Guan Ping!” I opened my eyes wide in an instant and pulled my reins as I unsheathed my weapon. I looked about frantically and roared, “We’ve been ambushed! Tell the troops to–”

*Pah* *Pah*!

Before I could finish, the sound of firecrackers from both sides of the forest interrupted me and the sound of bowstrings being loosed could be heard from every direction. I looked up and saw a dense cloud of arrows shoot out from the forest and come raining down where we were.

“Ambus.h.!.+ Evade now!” I roared as I turned my horse to Guan Ping, who was still in a daze as she looked at the skies, “Guan Ping! Dismount! Now!”

“Eh?” Guan Ping was frozen and still in a daze so I reached out and wrenched her reins out of her hands before yanking her after me into the forest.

— *Sou* *Sou* *Sou* *Sou* *Sou*

d.a.m.n it! Soon, arrows and bolts of various sorts landed in the surrounding area where we stood just seconds before and the anguished and pained cries of our troops filled my ears.

Thos b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! They actually had an ambush here! I thought as I raised my blade and began swinging away to cut down the arrows that were flying towards where Guan Ping and I were.

“Guan Ping! Move! It’s time to use what I taught you!”

“Ah… Ah! I got it!”

Guan Ping finally regained her senses from my roar and began to help me cut down the torrent of arrows that rained down on us. However, her moves were not perfect and some arrows slipped past her attacks. Luckily, her movements and eyes were good so she was able to dodge any arrow that slipped through.

“Zhou Cang! Where are they shooting from?,”

“From the forests on both sides! About 100 meters on!” Zhou Cang replied while keeping her eyes on the sky and moving her neck and blade swiftly about to cut down the arrows.

“Soldiers! Calm down!”

“Don’t panic! Don’t panic!”

At the same time, the thousand-man generals had begun yelling out orders to the troops. I turned back and saw that most had gotten to the ground. 1 of the 3,000-man generals were hit and her lieutenants had ran over to help her. Further back, it seems like our formation were completely messed up from this ambush.