Vol 9 Chapter 48 (1/2)

VOLUME 9 CHAPTER 48: DON’T TELL ME THIS IS THE REUNION IN XINYE (6)

Liu Bei POV

“Welcome back, my lord.” Wen Yuan spoke up first before Feng Xian and saluted me, flas.h.i.+ng her signature refres.h.i.+ng smile at me. Her puffy eyes betrayed her underlying emotions however.

Ah… I really am not used to it. Whenever I see the traces of crying on someone’s face, I feel like crying myself.

“Ah, I’m back.” I hurriedly replied before I started choking up.

“Xuan De.” Feng Xian called out in a listless voice as she grabbed onto my arm, “…You’re… You’re really back…”

I looked at Feng Xian and saw that her hair was messy and her limbs were covered in cuts and scars. Looks like she definitely went berserk while I was missing. When I realised this, I felt intensely guilty as I never expected that my death would be such a blow to the usually quiet Feng Xian.

But now that I consider what Feng Xian has been through before joining me, especially with respect to her previous feudal lords, I should have expected this. And so, I decided to squat down into the muddy water and grabbed Feng Xian’s arm as I softly replied, “Ah, I’m back. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

I did my best to make my tone as kind as possible for Feng Xian. She stared at me and then her eyes began to wander around me. Then–

Hu… She gave a long sigh and fell over backwards.

“My lord!”

“Feng Xian!” I yelled as I tried to reach out and grab her but was too late. Luckily, Wen Yuan was there to prevent Feng Xian from falling over.

“Xuan De, you’re back huh? You’re back huh?” Feng Xian mumbled over and over as she lay against Wen Yuan. It seemed like she had recovered a little and she looked at me, the corners of her mouth curling upwards as she said, “I won’t say anything but I’m sure, for now at least, that I don’t want to go anywhere else.”

“… Ah, I understand.” I nodded. I do not actually know why she is saying this however, since there should not be anyone here who wants her to leave.

But now I can reaffirm of my importance, that I am needed by many more people. There is no doubt of that whatsoever. Because of my carelessness, I nearly lost my life. It might not be worth much, but there are a lot of people who would be hurt if I were to be gone. The past 2 incidences are enough to confirm this.

“Ah yes, where is Yi De? And where is everyone else?”

“They’re all in their own rooms in the inner residence to the back.” Yun Chang said as she made her way over to where I was.

“I’ll go get them!” Guan Ping piped up as she dashed out.

Un? Just then, I looked over at Yun Chang and saw that she was looking troubled. Looks like she is starting to feel a little embarra.s.sed about our hug just now.

“Hu, how about that? I guess this is ‘mission complete’ eh?” Zi Long spoke up for the first time as she placed her arm around Yun Chang’s shoulders, looking very pleased. Yun Chang, however, did not seem too keen on praising her and merely frowned in response.

“I do feel that this is thanks to Lord Zhao Yun and the journey to find big brother cannot have been easy.” Yun Chang said as she saluted Zi Long. She looked calm but it did not seem to actually be the case. Before I could figure out this contradiction, Yun Chang looked elsewhere as she said, “Well then, can you tell me who this lady is…”

“That is…”

“Un? Ah! Let me introduce you.” I hurriedly spoke up when I realised she was looking at

Yuan Zhi. Introducing her to the rest was naturally my responsibility. As I helped Feng Xian up, I walked over to Yuan Zhi and extended my hand towards her, “This is an esteemed individual who a.s.sisted me on my way back. She is capable and efficient and even makes a good sweet water.”

“Additionally, her swordsmans.h.i.+p is excellent.” Zi Long added.

Go on, introduce yourself. I said to Yuan Zhi with my eyes. Yuan Zhi looked at me, and then at the rest, and gulped as she saluted, “Ah, I’m X, Xu Shu, Xu Y, Yuan Zhi. I, I’m f-f-from around here.”

Ah… She stuttered huh… I thought and looked at the rest who seemed confused and unsure of how they ought to react.

“Please don’t mind it, everyone. Yuan Zhi is just a little nervous.” I said and smiled. When I turned back, I saw that Yuan Zhi had pulled down her bandana again. Her behaviour made her seem like the weird transfer student who could not blend in with the rest of the cla.s.s.

Sigh, even though Yuan Zhi is a really great person to be with too.

“Umm, that’s actually fine.” Yun Chang said after a moment and looked at me, then at Yuan Zhi, with a troubled look as she asked Yuan Zhi, “Umm, Lord Xu Shu, are you here to join us?”