Liu Bei POV

“Yes, I thought that it was weird as well.” Yuan Zhi said as she shrugged and smiled bitterly, “Back when I was discussing this with my friend who told me to come here and everything about Xuan De, I said the same thing to her as well.”

“Eh? Really?”

No matter how I think about it, I am most definitely not able to give Yuan Zhi the future she desires after all, not for a very long time at least. So why did her friend send her here…

“But that’s fine. As I said before, I chose you. I have my own considerations after all.” Yuan Zhi said as she looked at me with a smile.

“So what are your plans after this?” I asked and hurriedly added on, “… Are you going to stay here with me?”

“Un…” Yuan Zhi sank into thought when she heard my question. Looks like she had not thought about this at all, “Yes… What should I do huh…”

“Well, it’s not the time to be thinking of this anyway.” Yuan Zhi said after a while and got up. I wonder if she reacted like this because she saw something from my face.

“Well then, I’ll be excusing myself.” She said and bowed before wiping her gourd and packing it in.

“By the way, is there anything you need me to do over the next few days?”

“Xuan De should just stay in the mansion and tend to administrative work.” She said as she looked the bamboo scrolls beside me, “There is a possibility that the enemy will send spies into the city and if your ident.i.ty is revealed, our plan will not work.”

Yes, my alleged death is the biggest reason why they accepted the defections by Yun Chang and the rest.

“Alright, I understand.” I said, feeling rather sad that there was nothing for me to do. It felt like I was being excluded from something everyone was involved in.

“But…” She continued, “When the battle happens, please join Lord Lu Bu’s battalion. Lord Zhang Liao will be leading a battalion on her own and it might be a problem for Lord Lu Bu to lead without a lieutenant.”

“Ah, that works.” I hurriedly nodded, feeling a little elated now, “I’ll speak with Feng Xian about this later then.”

Leading troops with Feng Xian huh… This is the first time I am doing this with her now that I think about it.

“Well then, I’ll be leaving now…”

“Sure, me too…” I nodded as I looked at the small mountain of bamboo scrolls beside me. I really feel bad about just sitting around here especially when it’s just me, “Ah, but where is Yuan Zhi headed to? The encampment?”

“… I will be heading to the encampment, but later.” Yuan Zhi said and paused, probably because she was considering if she ought to tell me where she was headed, and looked at me as she continued, “For now, I’m going to look for Huang Zu.”

“Huang Zu?”

“Un, I have something I want from her.” Yuan Zhi said as she picked up her bags, “It’s wartime now but Huang Zu should still have some.”

“Have some of what?”

I did not understand what she meant and turned back as I tilted my head but Yuan Zhi did not bother explaining and by the time I turned back, she had already disappeared. It’s not a big deal though. She must have her reasons for doing what she’s doing.

“Hu… Well then…” I said to myself as I set aside my conversation with Yuan Zhi and began crawling towards the pile o

f bamboo scrolls.

I do not know why but I always get the urge to retch whenever I see them. It’s said that this is a symptom of having too much pressure which I guess is true now that I have experienced it firsthand. The majority of the pressure I am feeling is from all this administrative work with the rest from the battle that has lasted about half a month or so.

As I thought so, I reached out and grabbed the first bamboo scroll at the top. When I opened it, the sight of untidy and endless rows of words greeted me. As such, I have no choice but to flip to the back, where Zi Zhong’s summary and advice is written. Honestly, I am only supposed to look at this after reading through the scroll but I have been largely basing my decisions on what she wrote.

Though I would like to say that it is a great help, I wonder why Zi Zhong does not just deal with it since she has read through it anyway.

— You are the lord. I cannot make the decision for some things.

Wu… I can hear Zi Zhong’s nagging already.

Hu… Never mind. I should be satisfied already. Everyone has already begun their work for what will happen in 3 days while I can leisurely deal with these scrolls. With such capable and hardworking companions, what more can I ask for?

I frowned and returned to my seat before wiping the table and picking up my brush. I then held it in a mostly appropriate form before writing some rather ugly words on the scroll. When writing on a bamboo scroll, one is supposed to write a column of words on one piece of bamboo. As my skill with the brush is rather limited, I write one column of words on 2 bamboo pieces. Even then, I sometimes make mistakes and write over 2 pieces.

…

It’s really quiet huh…

There was no signs of life outside at all even though the weather was nice out. The wind had been really strong the past few days, to the point where all of the leaves of trees in the courtyard had been blown away. Yet the breeze was now so gentle that it made almost no sound whatsoever.

Even Gan Qing and Mi Zhen have gone out to get groceries so I am the only one left in the mansion and it feels like it’s all mine. If I had resurrected instead of transferred, and into some rich family instead, I might be living like this every day.

Un… Just thinking about it makes me feel empty.

Haha, looks like I really am a m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t or is this my chuunibyou at play here?

…

It’s really quiet huh…

To be honest, I do like it when it is quiet and the only time when it is this quiet is when I am about to sleep. This is because there is always someone around me no matter what. I have rarely ever been alone for long ever since I have come to this era.

Un… I have to admit that I feel rather uneasy when I am alone. This feeling does come at night as well but it’s a lot more intense in the day. It’s a sort of hollow, lonely and cold feeling. It’s not like I feel overwhelmed by it but it’s discomforting nonetheless. This sort of feeling is kind of like what you would get in a haunted house.

Of course, there is no way I can tell this to anyone around. I am not a kid anymore and it’s really embarra.s.sing to admit to being afraid just because I am alone. If Zi Long were to hear about it, I shudder to think what kind of scolding I will get.

… Ah, wait. I finally remember that there is someone else in this mansion other than myself.

Yi De.

Where is Yi De?

Ever since the end of the first battle, I did not see Yi De much. There were many times where I thought of going to see her but either the timing was not right or I happened to be busy. I still have lessons to attend after all.

Yes… I still have lessons to attend. It’s really sad when you think about it.

But I wonder how she’s like of late and if she knows if the battle is fast approaching its climax.

Yi De… Has she remembered anything about me yet?

— Yaa!

Wu! I do not know why but every time I think about Yi De, the scene from that time flashes before me. Her expression and how she looked then has been perfectly stored in my brain for some reason. This is also why I stop myself from going into Yi De’s room every time I walk past her room. The awkwardness that will inevitably result from seeing her always puts me off from wanting to go in and see her.

…

But now that there is no one else in the mansion, this might be a good time to go and check on her. I have to say this first, I do not have any other evil designs. This is not one of those ‘my parents aren’t at home today…’ sort of moments.

Ahem, I cleared my throat. Even though there was no one around, I had to act properly. Next, I set down my brush and got up before heading to the doorway, thinking about what I ought to say as I did so.

“Ah…”

“Wah.”

Just as I was preoccupied with my thoughts, a short figure appeared before me. I nearly knocked into her but was able to stop in time and backed away.

“Ah, you’re here huh?” That person said in a rather tender and childish voice.

“Eh?” I looked up and saw that the one I had been thinking about was right before me, and called out to her instinctively, “Yi De?”

“Ah, yes.” Yi De smiled at me and did not seem to be uncomfortable.

Whew, the atmosphere did not get weird and it seems like Yi De does not mind what happened before.

… I hope.