Vol 8 Chapter 57 (1/2)

VOLUME 8 CHAPTER 57: DON’T TELL ME THIS IS A SECRET LATE NIGHT RENDEZVOUS (5)

Liu Bei POV

After Liao Hua, Guan Ping and I concluded that this driver wasn’t part of Cai Mao’s faction, there are other more important things to do before boarding the carriage.

The night sky was dark and the winds blew strong as the clouds covered the moon entirely.

I haven’t done this before, but even a newbie like myself knows that this time tonight is the perfect time to bury a corpse.

“*Heixiu* *Heixiu*~” Liao Hua and I each carried 1 arm while Guan Ping who was comparatively much stronger than us carried him by both legs.

“My lord should slow down a little, there’s a stone path ahead, don’t trip over.” Liao Hua bade me to be careful. Just as she finished, I nearly tripped over.

It was almost pitch black at this point as there were no lamps around. We didn’t feel good about setting up our own lamps either and after some discussion, we decided to commence our operation in the dark entirely.

Of course, burying the dead fake driver wasn’t just my idea. In fact, Liao Hua was the one who first proposed it.

She said that dealing with the corpse was top priority as it couldn’t be left to decompose in the courtyard after all. And if we were to hide it, it had to be buried deep and well enough so that it couldn’t be found as we would have a hard time explaining things if someone were to dig it out.

And so, we decided to bury it behind a large rock in the small garden located in the middle courtyard. It was a good hiding spot and gra.s.s had just begun to bud just 2 days ago so it would help to hide the corpse.

To be honest, my hands were shaking the whole time we were burying the corpse. Though I’ve seen people getting killed and have even killed people since coming to this era, this is the first time I’m actually burying someone, someone who had a strong intent to kill me.

Ah, the last time I saw someone being lowered into a grave was in Xu state– Ah, before that I remember seeing Liu Bei’s mother being lowered into her grave as well.

“My lord, your hands have stopped.”

“Ah, un.”

Liao Hua was overseeing our work. I thought that Liao Hua was an easy-going and nonchalant person but it looks like she’s very concerned with the details. As expected of a former Registrar.

In comparison, Guan Ping who was of a humble background is much more easier to get along with and typically only minds her own business.

After we finished burying the fake driver, we could finally rest easy. After we dusted ourselves down and I put on a more formal looking jacket, we headed to where the real carriage driver was.

“Ah, you’re done with your business, your lords.h.i.+p?”

“Ah, un. Yes, it’s all done, all done.”

I was a little nervous at his question but the big, burly man did not ask any further. Perhaps he feels that he doesn’t have the right to ask any further as an ordinary citizen.

The carriage was very small, and didn’t seem like it was made for carrying human pa.s.sengers at all. When I reached out and touched the wooden walls and surfaces, it felt rough and I was even injured by several splinters which hurt a fair bit. Even so, it seems like the carriage was repurposed as there wouldn’t be sitting cus.h.i.+ons otherwise.

When you think about it, this man is actually rather brave. If I were in his shoes, I would have ran away for my life after being robbed of my money and the proof. I doubt Cai Mao ever expected that an ordinary citizen of Xiangyang city would actually endeavor to complete the mission given to him by the Governor even after being robbed.

When I realised this, I felt that this man might be someone special. Perhaps he might be a rather famous Jing state general in the near future.

“What is your name?” I asked out of curiosity.

“Ah, my lord. My name is not worth mentioning.” He said, his face looking much better than before perhaps because we didn’t suspect him any further and followed him along.

The more he doesn’t want to tell me, the more I want to know.

“Just tell me, I’ll remember it.”

“Ah, this humble citizen has a family name ‘Pan’ but no given name. I live on the 3rd alley of the 3rd street in the east side of the city so you can just call me Pan San Zi.”

“Oh, un.”

I was rather surprised when he told me about his name. I’m not sure if it’s my knowledge of history that is lacking or is he really is an unknown commoner but I have definitely not heard of that name before.

It feels like a shame for someone with such strong values to be only featured as a carriage driver in a small scene in these chaotic times.

Of course, even if I were to tell him to ‘buck up and be a feudal lord~’ or something similar, he would just stare at me in disbelief.

And so, that means he will likely live on as a carriage driver until the day he dies in his sleep one day, or perhaps be forcefully drafted and die in a battlefield somewhere.

Ah, what is the meaning of life? I began to ponder this philosophical question of mine, even though I knew I wouldn’t be able to arrive at an answer.