Vol 9 Chapter 34 (2/2)

If I should commit any transgressions, please forgive me.

I would like to say that, but the me now cannot say such things. All I can do is look at Yuan Rang’s back disappear into the distance and silently pray for her.

Hu… I breathed out.

We are going to head south soon.

Li Dian and Cao Ren will be heading there and setting things up first before everyone else gets there. After that, I can finally get some exercise for once, I thought as I stretched my back…

“Meng De!! Cao Meng De!!”

Un?! Just then, a rather shrill but pleasant voice came from the distance. From how she’s yelling my name, she must be rather urgent. Though this voice is rather vexing, I cannot be more familiar with it.

“Oh~ Yuan Ben Chu, I’m here.” I smiled as I yelled out like she did.

“Cao Meng De!”

*Ta* *Ta*

She wore shoes that had very thick soles so whenever she stepped into the room, she always made an easily discernible sound. When I looked at that familiar face, I saw fury and anxiety. Her hair that is always l.u.s.trous and neat is now in a terrible mess.

“What is it that Ben Chu has come to look for me today?” I asked leisurely. I was planning on looking for her sooner or later to find out what she had been up to these few days.

“What are you doing?” Ben Chu looked at me with surprise and began to step over with wide strides, her expression growing worse with every step. I have seen many people get angry, but only Ben Chu’s anger seems sincere and not irritating.

“Cao Meng De, how can you just sit here so leisurely?” She delivered stinging insults to my face the moment she opened her mouth. Just as I was about to ask her why she was saying such things and where she had been, she opened her mouth and spoke first, “– Do you know what happened to Xuan De?”

…

I did not react immediately with the exception of my heart feeling squeezed. I lowered my head slightly and ma.s.saged my heart as naturally as I could muster.

Hai… I did not want to talk about this. I did not think that Ben Chu would be here just after I managed to deal with Yuan Rang.

As I thought so, I sighed. I cannot treat Ben Chu the way I did to Yuan Rang. Now, all I can do is steel myself and prevent her from blabbing too much about this.

“I knew of this a while ago,” I honestly admitted, “Looks like Ben Chu’s information sources aren’t as good huh?” As I said so, I did my best to appear casual. I tried to feign a smile at first but I found that this was impossible.

“No, I knew this a while ago as well,” Ben Chu got even more enraged as she said so, “I didn’t think that Xuan De would go missing.”

Eh? Missing? When I heard what Ben Chu said, I got a shock and my mind soon wandered.

Xuan De… Has gone missing? He’s not a kid.

Wait… If he really has gone missing and there is a mistake with my information…

I took a deep breath.

“Ben Chu!” I stood up immediately and stared at Ben Chu agitatedly, “When you said Xuan De went missing, where did you hear this from!”

“From where? Of course it’s from the south.” Ben Chu said as a matter of factly, “Didn’t Xuan De fall into a river? I’m afraid no one knows where he is now.”

Ah… So that’s it… I began to feel like I was an idiot for still holding on to that glimmer of hope. But I did not have time to feel rage for what I felt was sorrow for the person before me.

I went to where Ben Chu was, “Ben Chu, I don’t want to say this, but from what I’ve heard from Liu Biao’s side, they sent search parties which searched both up- and downstream. No one found a trace of Xuan De.”

“Doesn’t that mean that Xuan De was able to escape the river before someone found him?”

“But n.o.body has said they have found him right?”

“Meng De, you don’t need to say any further. Your information is completely unreliable.” Ben Chu said as she pointed at her chest, “I’ve sent my most elite cavalry to search for him these few days.”

“And have you found him?”

“Not yet,” Ben Chu shook her head and smiled, “But don’t worry, I’ll definitely find the missing Xuan De.”

Ben Chu said these words very confidently but I found that her breathing was ragged. Of course, I am no better. Every word I utter which makes her confidence waver drives me further into despair and also extinguishes further the remaining cinders of hope lingering in my heart.

This is why I am afraid to continue. I know it even if she does not say it, that she knows the truth deep down and is just running away.

I was like this for a short time as well.

But because of this, there are things that only I can say and so, I have to say them.

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