Vol 8 Chapter 39 (1/2)

VOLUME 8 CHAPTER 39: DON’T TELL ME THIS IS A SUDDEN CHANGE IN THE WINDS (6)

Liu Bei POV

This was a conclusion that naturally followed, and Liu Qi agreed with it as well, “Yes, our heads will probably roll in a while more.”

That’s fast… I was still hoping that they wouldn’t act at all. In fact, I am still hoping for that but that doesn’t seem very likely.

No matter what, looks like the likelihood they will act tonight is high.

“Alright, what do we do, uncle?”

And now we go back to square one.

Un… I began to ponder on how we ought to overcome this quandary with our 1:5 disadvantage.

What could allow us and the 50 or so troops defeat our enemies who number about 250?

… Isn’t there a very easy solution? I just have to let Zhou Cang, Chen Dao and Wen Ping charge at them! And just turn on musou mode!

Hahaha, no no no, that’s impossible. I quickly refuted my own thoughts. Though they are strong, I don’t think that the 3 of them can defeat several hundred on their own.

… Even if they can, I feel like it will be very shameful of me to propose this.

“Well, how about having our troops stall them while we swiftly escape?”

“No good, Cai Mao will definitely malign us thereafter.”

“All we need to do is explain ourselves first.”

“That’s impossible.” Liu Qi emphasised her point as she frowned, “Lady Cai is always by father’s side so she will definitely be faster. And the one who says it first will always have more trustworthiness.”

Un… Looks like that won’t work then.

“Can I seek my companions’ views?” I felt like I was out of depth here and wanted to seek the advice of my companions.

“No, just as I said from the very beginning, it’s for the best if only the 2 of us know about this.” As she said so, her eyes widened as she looked at me with suspicion, “Could it be that uncle has said it to the, already?”

“Of course not.” I hurriedly shook my head.

“But I feel that we should share this with them now that it has become an extremely dire situation even if we hadn’t before. It’s better to have more manpower on our side after all.”

“…” Liu Qi didn’t say anything, probably because she disagreed with what I said.

“Then how about Yi Ji at least? Doesn’t Yi Ji know about this?”

“Un, she does indeed know about it. This was something she brought up after all.” Liu Qi said but she didn’t nod.

“Then what’s wrong about it?”

“But this doesn’t mean that she is trustworthy,” She looked at me and said resolutely, “She may have raised this to induce nervousness in me. And if we should seek her advice, that would mean that we have no way of dealing with the situation at hand and it could result in a disadvantageous situation for us.”

Ah… How can you say it like that?

I felt that Liu Qi’s words were very off. It seems like she lacks some very fundamental things in her relations.h.i.+ps with her subordinates.

“Liu Qi, it couldn’t be that you don’t even trust your own subordinates right?”

“That’s not it. It’s just that I have no reason to trust them on this.” She pointed at me as she continued, “Uncle is different. We both have a common enemy, and you are a thorn in Cai Mao’s side so you won’t bring harm to me.”

“Aren’t you afraid that I might have secretly formed an alliance with Cai Mao?” I began to get angry and asked provocatively.

“That’s impossible. Uncle isn’t that smart and Cai Mao isn’t that stupid either.”

Wu… I have no way of retorting her at all. And my anger from before was completely doused by those words.

“Does Liu Qi really think that way?” I paused for a moment before I continued, “Do you really think that Yi Ji and Wen Ping are not trustworthy?”

“… I’m just being objective.” Liu Qi seemed to feel that she had gone a little overboard and sank into silence for a moment before she continued, “Cai Mao sent troops so there is definitely a commander here as well. Someone she trusts and is capable. And we don’t know who that is.”

“That’s true, but I doubt that anyone amongst our subordinates would be said commander.”

“That’s difficult to say,” Liu Qi shook her head, “Or perhaps uncle hasn’t had too many experiences with treachery.”

As she said so, Liu Qi’s expression became darker. I can more or less guess what she might have gone through and it probably wasn’t nice at all for her to become like this.

It’s not understandable. She’s been brought up as a boy since she was born, and only when her little sister Liu Cong was born did her conservative-minded father give up the notion of having a male heir. And this is probably one of the main factors which have shaped her experiences and made her how she is now.

Compared to Meng De, Liu Qi’s mask is a lot more spiky and hard. For her to have worn it for this long, I wonder how much she has hurt herself with it?

… I understand.

I thought for a moment before I nodded.