Vol 9 Chapter 145 (2/2)

“Sure.”

“Follow me.” Cao Ren said as she turned around and walked off.

The 3 of us looked at each other and followed behind her. When I moved, I could feel that the encampment seemed to be holding its breath. When I looked about, I saw that though the troops were busy with their own stuff, their eyes were following us.

“But you didn’t give me any sort of signal that you were coming. If you had, I would have awaited for you at the gates.”

“Un?” I was surprised to hear what Cao Ren said, “I did yell out my presence a little while ago.”

“Un? You did? I guess the troops at the tower did not communicate this to me fast enough.” Cao Ren replied with a smile, “The troops now are rather tired and are on high alert so it can’t be helped that they made a mistake. I hope you do not take it to heart.”

“Ah, of course not.”

Naturally I did not believe her. It would have been too much of a risk for the troops not to have known that we were coming today. If any of us had turned back by accident, there was no doubt that we would be pierces by hundreds of arrows.

“By the way, what’s with the get-up you all are wearing?” Cao Ren said as she looked us over.

“We couldn’t wear what we usually do when we left the city.” Wen Yuan immediately replied with some dissatisfaction in her tone, “We risked a lot to come out here to meet you only to receive this sort of treatment. How could you aim your arrows at a few unarmed people?”

“Ah, please forgive us. Please forgive us.” Cao Ren chuckled and bowed to all of us respectfully.

“By the way, as I was making my way to the gates, I also heard something from the troops who came to report to me.” Cao Ren continued as she got up and curled her hair with her finger, “I heard that before you came into the encampment, you were bickering over something. Is that true?”

“Eh?”

They saw us huh? I did not know how I ought to explain this and turned to look at Wen Yuan and Chen Gong who seemed stunned. It’s not like I can say that it was because Chen Gong felt that our att.i.tudes did not make us seem like actual defectors right?

“Un? What’s the matter?” Cao Ren said with raised eyebrows when we did not answer right away and hazarded a guess with her smile still on, “Ah~ Could it be that one of you has the intention of backing out now?”

“No, not at all.” I said as I looked down but then realised that this might make me seem suspicious and decided to raise my head.

Wu. When I raised my head, I saw that Cao Ren was looking at me. Did she catch me looking away? This mistake could have just destroyed our credibility in Cao Ren’s hearts.

“Lord Guan Yu, you don’t need to hide it for me at this point.” Just as I was getting tongue-tied over how to respond to Cao Ren, Chen Gong spoke up.

“… Eh?”

“Hide what?” Cao Ren asked as her eyebrows leapt up.

“Yes, it is important to me but I think it’s better to say it instead of being suspected.”

“No, I am not suspecting you…”

This time, it was Cao Ren who had to look away. Of course, it was clear that she was suspicious of us from the very beginning. However, it seemed like having it thrown back at her left her at a loss as to how she should react.

However, as for what Chen Gong said…

“Alright, since Chen Gong doesn’t mind, then I’ll say it.” I said as I relaxed my expression, “Chen Gong and Wen Yuan were actually planning on acting like sisters when leaving the city. But because Chen Gong did not wear her thick-soled shoes, they were taken for mother and daughter instead.”

“Eh? Is that so?” Cao Ren said as her smile widened. Looks like this is the sort of thing that seems hilarious to everyone.

“It’s just a frivolous matter.” I shook my head, “Please don’t mind it that much.”

“Oi oi oi, how can we not min dit?”

“We mind it even if you don’t!”

Wen Yuan and Chen Gong suddenly got serious because of what I said. Looks like recounting the incident struck a sore spot for them. If it were not for a desperate need for a cover story, they probably hope that this incident remains buried in the depth of their hearts.

“Hahaha!” Cao Ren laughed from the bottom of her heart when she heard our exchange.

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