Vol 9 Chapter 9 (1/2)

Liu Bei POV

I remember escaping through the west gate of the city and falling into the river with Dilu. After that… Did I get rescued?

I should have sunk to the bottom of the river… Or was that just a misconception?

“Many thanks to you, my benefactors, for saving me. It was indeed a critical moment for me and I would have probably died if it weren’t for your a.s.sistance.”

“It’s nothing,” The girl said, “I saved you since I saw you. You just happened to be fortunate and weren’t meant to die yet, that’s all.”

“My disciple is right. The fate of all humanity is decided by heaven. If heaven has decreed that you are not to die, then live on you shall.”

The man’s voice came from some distance away. Immediately after he finished, heavy footsteps came my way.

“Un? You still can’t open your eyes?”

“Ah, un.” I nodded, “It’s a little too bright and I can’t take it.”

“Xiang Lang, go and shut the windows slightly.” Light footsteps moving away from me could be heard when he finished. Soon, the sound of windows being shut could be heard and the brightness of the room diminished a fair bit, “How is it now?”

“Un, much better.”

“If it’s better, then open your eyes and try to see.”

I did open my eyes a bit a while ago but only slightly and because I was still in a daze, I couldn’t be sure if what I saw was real.

“Alright,” I nodded and opened my eyes to look at the world.

“What do you see?”

“I see a middle aged man with a Lu Xun moustache and a girl with bangs.”

“Lu Xun?” The man frowned at these words but then he laughed, “The middle aged man with a moustache you see is me.”

I blinked and the field of clear vision expanded slightly, allowing me to see their faces better, “This is… You both are…”

I looked at the internal architecture. It was very simple, and was probably the standard thatched gra.s.s hut. The kind of housing that I lived in at Zhuo commandery was the same as this.

Though it looked like a proper house, I finally knew what it meant that these houses were poor at regulating temperatures. Even though I’d just woken up and not engaged in any physical activity at all, I’d already begun to sweat.

When I looked up, I saw that both of them were calm and collected and had no signs of perspiration whatsoever. The middle aged man was slightly lean. His hair was tied back in a bun and he had a moustache sitting on top of a smile. He wore a long, thin gown and had his hands at his back as he looked at me, in a posture that made him look like a scholar.

The girl seems very much like his disciple indeed for her expression is almost the same as his. The only difference is that she’s biting her lips a little.

“This is Yi city, a small commandery outside Xiangyang city. You were carried down the river and floated down westwards.” The man smiled as he saluted, “My surname is Sima, and my given name is just Hui, my courtesy name is De Chao. You can also call me Teacher Water Mirror.”

Eh? That name… I have some familiarity with it…

When he finished, he gestured toward the girl at the side  who saluted and obliged, “I am from this area and my name is Xiang Lang. I’ve been learning under Teacher Sima for a while now.” She then raised her head before she continued, “I have a question which I am unsure is appropriate or not.”

“I owe you my life. There is nothing you can’t ask me.” I quickly replied.

She didn’t stand on ceremony either and cut to the chase.

“May I ask if your predicament is related to the Governor’s banquet 10 days ago?”

Wu…

When I heard these words, I was forced to go through my painful memories of how I got into this situation. The reason why I had to escape the city was because of Liu Biao’s banquet where Cai Mao tried to kill me. Back then it was thanks to Liu Qi for securing my exit from the mansion that I was able to get out of the city.

“To put it simply… Yes, it is related.” I nodded but then felt that it was strange and asked, “By the way, how did you come to know of the banquet?”