Vol 9 Chapter 28 (1/2)
VOLUME 9 CHAPTER 28: DON’T TELL ME THIS IS AN EMOTIONAL ENCOUNTER (5)
Liu Bei POV
No way… Is what I thought at first but then I soon realised that it was very possible that Cai Mai would go that far.
“In any case, the situation is still murky, and we don’t have any information on what is happening in Xiangyang.” Yuan Zhi said as she pulled out a plate from a stack and began wiping it with a piece of white cloth, “If what Huang Zu said is true, then Xuan De should be more careful until he reaches Xinye.”
“Looks like I’ll have to do that.” I nodded, beginning to feel anxious.
“Don’t worry, Imperial Uncle. After we’ve reached Xinye, I’ll help you check out the situation in Xiangyang when I go back to ask for forgiveness.”
“Ah, un. Many thanks for that.” I saluted Huang Zu.
Huang Zu seemed to be thirsty as she licked her lips and raised the pot to pour herself some tea but stopped halfway, “Benefactor, do you still have ‘that’?”
“Un, I do.” Yuan Zhi nodded and put down the plate as she got up and made her way to her pony. Looks like Huang Zu is quite taken with that sweet beverage.
Yuan Zhi then pulled out the gourd and shook it. The sound was rather loud and hollow, looks like there is not much of the sweet water left.
Un… In that case, I’ll drink it too. I will not have any opportunity to do so in future anyway.
“Xuan De wants this too?” Yuan Zhi seemed to see through my thoughts and asked.
“Ah,” I hurriedly replied and pushed my bowl to Yuan Zhi, “Yuan Zhi, to be honest, you can probably make a living off of this.”
“Eh?! Really!” Yuan Zhi shook violently when she heard my words for some reason and looked at me very excitedly and seriously.
“Ah~ A good amount was spilled.” Huang Zu was not perturbed by Yuan Zhi’s reaction at all unlike me who was shocked.
“Ah… Un.” I nodded, unsure how I ought to react and clueless as to why she would react so violently, “Is there any problem?”
“Ah… No, n-no…” She immediately placed the gourd on the table and waved her hands as she stuttered, “I, I’m fine…”
… That’s really weird. Why is she being so frantic about?
When she finished, she pulled her bandana down and covered her eyes again. From how red her cheeks look, she’s probably feeling shy again. This is not very nice to sat but Yuan Zhi is really fun like this.
Speaking of which, what was the historical version of Xu Shu Xu Yuan Zhi like? The name is really familiar but my knowledge of this person is about the same as Zhang Liao and Zhang He — I only know their names and nothing else.
With Xu Shu, I am not even clear which side she belongs to. From what I remember, she seems to belong to Shu but it also seems like that is not the case.
Un… Forget it. Thinking about this now is no use anyway since what happens here has significant differences with what I remember. Like Dilu leaping across the Tan river for example.
“Ah, that’s right!” Just then, a forgotten question sprang to mind while I was engaged in random thoughts, “Umm, Yuan Zhi. Do you know Teacher Shuijing– Sima Hui very well?”
“Un?” When she heard my question, she pulled up her bandana a little, revealing one eye as she replied, “I do. What’s the matter?”
If she knows Sima Hui well, then she should know the people that Sima Hui knows very well too right?
“Umm, I was wondering if you knew someone.”
“W
ho?”
“Zhige Liang, Zhuge Kong Ming.”
“Eh?” Yuan Zhi gasped when she heard what I said. When I looked over, I saw that her single revealed eye bulged. But it was just a single moment. When I blinked, her expression returned to normal and she had replaced her bandana so both eyes were showing. It was so fast that it was as if the expression of shock I saw was a hallucination of mine.
“Ah… I do indeed know her.” Yuan Zhi nodded.
I did not expect this even though I tried it anyway.
“Umm, may I ask where Zhuge Liang is right now? Do you know?” I asked immediately.
“I…” Yuan Zhi began to speak but she stopped at one word for a long while before she closed her eyes and said in a resolved tone, “I can’t tell you that for the time being.”
“Eh? Why?” I frowned and felt puzzled. Yuan Zhi, on the other hand, continued to keep her eyes closed and sighed.
“I do indeed know Kong Ming very well. Personally, I think that Kong Ming is the most talented refines scholar I have ever met. She’s been compared with Guan Zhong and Yue Yi before and these are not exaggerations in the least. She is that formidable.” Yuan Zhi opened her eyes as she said so. Within those eyes were an indescribable surety, “But this dragon cannot be awakened yet.”
(TL: Guan Zhong – /wiki/Guan_Zhong, Yue Yi – /wiki/Yue_Yi)
Why not? This question reverberated in my head several times. I thought of asking this but I gave up in the end.