Vol 9 Chapter 93 (1/2)

VOLUME 9 CHAPTER 93: DON’T TELL ME THIS IS A TEMPORARY RESPITE BEFORE THE NEXT BATTLE (8)

Li Dian POV

Battles are always endlessly coming one after another, be it for me or anyone else. However, in between each battle, people need to rest and recover. Right now, apart from those who are still in emotional and physical pain, everyone seems to have returned to long forgotten peaceful times. It was as if time had turned back to the reign of Emperor Wen of Han or Emperor Jing of Han.

Hu… Hu… I was now sitting at the steps at the entrance of main hall where I was wiping the glaive I had just gotten. Inside was Cao Ren who was sleeping atop of 3-4 cus.h.i.+ons.

This behaviour is a little unbecoming of the commanding officer of an army. If an a.s.sa.s.sin were to make their way in, a defenceless Cao Ren would be easy prey.

I turned around to look at her and turned back after I saw that she was still sleeping peacefully. She has been working endlessly the past few days with military administrative work so slipping up like this is forgivable.

It was clear that she was indeed exhausted so its fine to let her sleep for a bit, I thought as I returned my gaze to my blade. I then picked it up and took a swig of liquor from the bowl at the side.

*Pu*!

I spat out the liquor at the blade, making a rainbow under the rays of the sun. When I tilted the blade, I could see that it was gleaming and wiped it with a piece of silk cloth. I looked at it again and saw that it was thin but not brittle and flicked it.

It’s a good blade. I never imagined that there would be such a talented blacksmith in a place like Fan city. It cannot be compared to Xuchang of course but it’s more than good enough.

As I thought so, I casted my gaze to the side where my new hat was and put it on. Unlike with my new blade, the hats here are a lot nicer than the ones made in Xuchang. The craftsmans.h.i.+p is simply superb

“Ah.” Just as I was swinging my weapon about, a frightened and familiar voice could be heard.

I looked to the side and saw that it was Shen Pei. She was wearing her voluminous and loose clothing as usual. There were many layers and they were baggy. Her sleeves were basically long enough to touch the ground but she usually used them to cover her mouth. Beneath her curly hair were a pair of gleaming eyes with long eyelashes.

“Lord Shen Pei.” I put down my sword and saluted her. We are not in an encampment after all so there is no need to be too formal and bow.

“Lord Li Dian is here huh…” She muttered, seeming rather afraid, and looked at me but turned away quickly. Even though she’s a rather high ranking official, she’s still acting so timidly and childishly huh?

I really do not understand what Yuan Shao’s standards are with respect to promoting and employing retainers. If it were me, I would never have allowed a strategist like Shen Pei to command my army.

“Where is Lord Lu Xiang?” I asked after looking about and not finding any sign of her. I could guess where she was but I still asked anyway.

When she heard my question, Shen Pei looked troubled and nodded, “Un… She’s still outside the city.”

As expected huh? I thought as I s.h.i.+fted my gaze upwards and looked toward the north of the city. About a kilometer or so north of the city was a small forest. The scenery was fantastic and there were no signs of human activity nearby. And so, we buried Lu Kuang there a few days ago.

We originally planned on sending the body back to his hometown in Ji state but the journey was too long and there was no way we could subject his body to travel for the entirety of the first 7 days after his death so we buried him here with his head f

acing northward.

On the day of the burial, all of us were present. Lu Xiang did not cry on the day and merely sat beside the gravestone with a melancholic smile that soon faded away. We left that night but Lu Xiang continued to stay with the gravestone for 3 days and 3 nights. Thereafter, she continued to make daily visits even though it took almost half a day just to get there and back.

We of course understand this and so Cao Ren and I have been in charge of training of the troops so that Lu Xiang has enough time for herself. But now that the first 7 days of Lu Xiang’s death are almost over, I wonder if she has any intention of joining the discussions for our next steps. It’s not like she will contribute much to be frank but it’s necessary for everybody to be present after all.

To be honest, biding our time has its benefits but we should at least meet to discuss what we should do next.

“Ah yes, have you written the letter, Lord Shen Pei?”

“Eh?!” Shen Pei got a shock and trembled when she heard my voice. She stared at me with wide open eyes and only understood what I was talking about after a moment.

“Ah, I’ve already sent out the letter to Xuchang.” Shen Pei nodded as she took anstep back, “Everything has been… Reported as it happened.”

I see… So that means that Lu Kuang’s posthumous promotions will only be sent in a few days’ time. I wonder if my lord and Yuan Shao have already learnt of what happened here and I wonder how they feel when they heard that we lost. In particular, I wonder if Yuan Shao would feel sorrow for her general’s pa.s.sing.

I do not know her very well but probably… Not.

“Hai…”