Vol 8 Chapter 85 (2/2)

“We’re about to set off for Xinye soon and we still have a lot of last minute work to do so we’re all rus.h.i.+ng.” I nodded and took the bowl Guan Ping got for me and took a sip.

Ah, this water is indeed very cool. It doesn’t lose out to Liu Biao’s too.

“So what is Yi Ji here for today?” I returned to the original topic now that Yi Ji has mostly recovered, “What did you say was going to be given to me?”

“Ah, about that, if my lord should send a gift to Imperial Uncle later, please do not accept it under any circ.u.mstances and do your best to refuse it.”

“Eh? A gift, what is it?”

Yi Ji picked up her bowl once more and downed its contents before she continued, “Do you still remember the Dilu horse?”

“Of course I do, isn’t that the prize horse which Feng Xian captured?”

“Yes, that’s the one,” Yi Ji’s face was expressionless as ever as she lightly nodded, “During this morning’s Court session, my lord raised the issue of Dilu and wished to give it to you as a gift in repentance.”

“Oh, I see.” I nodded as I took another sip of water nonchalantly.

“… You don’t feel surprised at all?” Yi Ji tilted her head and looked at me curiously.

“Ah… I’m okay I guess, just a little surprised.” I realised that my reaction was a little too dull and hurriedly tried to cover it up.

“Imperial Uncle is as strange as ever huh? I can’t believe you had such a bland reaction to receiving a prize horse.”

Yi Ji will never know that I knew about Dilu long before coming here.

No matter what, anyone who knows about the Three Kingdoms knows that Dilu is Liu Bei’s personal horse. So when she told me that Liu Biao was going to give it to me, I’m not surprised in the least.

Of course, all I know about the horse is just 2 things. One, is as I mentioned, that the horse will be mine. Two, the horse will save my life in the near future. That’s all I know about Dilu.

“And what about Dilu? Why can’t I accept this horse?” I wasn’t planning on giving too many excuses for my reaction and decided to advance the main topic, “Since elder brother is giving it to me, then there shouldn’t be anything wrong for me to accept it right?”

It’s my horse after all.

“Imperial Uncle, you must not ride this horse.” Yi Ji leaned forward as she said so and continued in a whisper, “This horse brings bad luck to its owners.”

I sank into silence after Yi Ji finished. Not because I was afraid but because I was puzzled by what she meant.

“Bad luck? So… It’s something like a curse?”

“Yes.” Yi Ji vigorously nodded. She looked like she was trying to look as serious as possible but she always has a blank, serious expression on so I don’t feel affected at all.

“Do you have any basis for this?”

“Before Court was in session today, Kuai Liang said the nature of the horse was such that no ordinary man could ride it and that bandit who did so received retribution for doing so.”

“Un, un, I see.”

Ah… Isn’t this just simple superst.i.tion at work?

As a youth from the 21st century, I don’t really buy what Yi Ji said. However, in this era, spells and Tao seem to exist here so I can’t deny it for sure.

But did Dilu really have this characteristic in the Three Kingdoms? I don’t know.

“Yi Ji, do you buy that explanation?”

“I didn’t at first, but Kuai Liang is an expert with horses and these aren’t baseless guesses.” Yi Ji said and leaned back into her seat, “The reason why I’m here to warn Imperial Uncle is because I’d rather err on the side of caution for this.”

“Un…”

But it’s not like what she said is impossible. I came here through some supernatural means and Yu Ji’s disappearance into thin air in Jiangdong isn’t scientific either. If science can’t explain these things, then superst.i.tion is not as baseless as it might seem to be.

But…

“Yi Ji, I’m really grateful to you for sharing this with me but I cannot possibly turn down Dilu.”

“… Why?”

“I don’t know.” I said as I shook my head.

“… You, don’t know?”

“Yes, I just feel that I ought to accept this horse.” I ignored Yi Ji’s puzzled stare and continued, “This is not out of greed, nor is it because I don’t trust you. Perhaps it’s a misconception of mine but I feel like I have no reason not to accept it. And no matter what, it’s a gift from my elder brother.”

As Liu Bei, I feel like Dilu should be my horse. Even I am surprised by this feeling I’m getting, a solid conviction that Dilu belongs to me, as though Liu Bei would be missing something without Dilu. Like Lu Bu without Red Hare, even if Red Hare is just a dog here.

Leaving that aside, this is something given to me by Liu Biao. He has decided it and it will be impossible for me to refuse it.

“But, should it really bring bad luck to you, what will you do?” Yi Ji asked with a frown.

“If it should bring bad luck to me, then I just have to accept my fate as such.”

I don’t have much to say about this. No matter what, I don’t believe that Liu Bei’s fate will end here.

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