Vol 9 Chapter 54 (2/2)

“Ah.”

“Un?”

I was about halfway through when Yuan Zhi said something as though she just realised something. The room was rather noisy so no one else noticed it but I was really surprised as her eyes were bulging. Compared to before however, her bandana was pushed up, revealing a pair of bright, large eyes that beheld charm that exceeded a quiet Zhou Cang.

“Ah… I remember now… This should be… Ah…”

“Un? What is it?”

“I already decided not to think about such useless things already…” She muttered as she pulled down her bandana, completely covering her eyes, “Eh! How could I have forgotten this… But n.o.body told me about this scenario at all…”

“What did you forget?”

“…”

She continued to ignore me and sank into silence. As for me, I have no idea whatsoever what that soliloquy was about. It seemed as though she regretted what she just said to me.

“Ah… Yuan Zhi?” I called out softly as I carefully poked her shoulders.

“Ah, it’s nothing.” Only now did she react and nod towards me with her bandana still covering her eyes, “I hope that Xuan De will not listen to what I just said. It was all just nonsense.”

“Ah… I don’t think it’s that much–” I began to feel nervous when Yuan Zhi said this as I was afraid that it was my att.i.tude that irked her, “That’s my issue. Your proposal was very good. Seriously.”

“No no no no…” Yuan Zhi bit her lip and shook her head as she denied what I said. Though her eyes are covered, I could still see that she felt regretful, “In any case, I hope that Xuan De can forget what I just said.”

“Umm…” I still had more to say but Yuan Zhi was being strangely adamant about this so I decided against it, “Alright, I’ll forget it. Will that do?”

“…” Yuan Zhi lightly tugged at her bandana, revealing half an eye and nodded before sinking into thought again, “Un… So you want to ask me what you should do right?”

It seems like she chose to act like our prior exchange never happened and turned back the clock to where I first asked her the question.

“Ah… Un.” I did not know why she had to do this but decided to go with the flow and nodded.

“Un…” But this time, Yuan Zhi sank into thought even longer than the last time, “I don’t know about the details but for the sake of safety, Xuan De should spread the truth about your survival.”

“Really?”

I did not expect that the answer she would give me this time was the same from the one she gave me before. But I could not ask her why as I had already promised to forget it.

“And we should stay here and not invade southward.” Yuan Zhi said somewhat mechanically but resolutely, unlike before.

“I… I see… But why should I announce that I’m alive?”

Perhaps Yuan Zhi is a lot stranger than I thought. All this while, I thought that she was just a clean freak, airheaded girl.

“Un, un.” Yuan Zhi nodded and stared at the candle hanging by the central pillar as she explained, “Xinye is the bridgehead into Jing state. Now that Cao Cao is gathering her troops at the border, it’s clear that she intends to invade Jing state. If we announce the truth, Cao Cao might not attack us.”

Now I get it.

“That means that… I am to be a neutral party then.”

Yuan Zhi nodded, “Based on my rough estimates, we should have 20-30,000 troops. In contrast, Cao Cao’s entire punitive force will likely be several hundred thousand strong. Our force is like a little bean to her. So before Cao Cao has sent an attacking force to our position, we should announce that Xuan De is alive and maintain neutrality. This way, Cao Cao will likely choose to go around us.”

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