Vol 10 Chapter 26 (2/2)

Un? Was that sigh mine? No, that is not… I do sigh a lot but I am sure that was not mine.

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ldquo;Yuan Zhi? Yuan Zhi, are you there?” I asked as I looked about but still could not find her. Let me think, if it is Yuan Zhi, she would definitely not be in an ordinary place.

Could it be… I looked up and indeed, there Yuan Zhi was, high up on top of the building.

Hai… She sighed again.

“Yuan Zhi, why did you run there?” I asked but she remained silent as she stared at the moon. Under the moonlight, I could see her face clearly and saw that though she was calm, there was a clear sign of sorrow.

The atmosphere was beyond awkward and low so I had to try to find a topic and decided to just go with the flow, “But really, we always meet like this huh? Remember the last banquet we had?”

“Yes~” I thought I would not get a reply but she did, “I’m afraid though that this will be the last time that we will be meeting like this.”

Eh? What do you mean by that? Why do you seem so serious?

“Yuan Zhi, what happened? You always say things which are incomprehensible.” I asked once more and thought of going up but I was not able to and merely sat down on the stone steps.

“I–”

“Don’t tell me you’re fine.” I interrupted her even though I was not sure that was what she was going to say, “You don’t look fine at all.”

“Un… To be honest, something big has happened. I did indeed act up just now but it was because I really had no idea how I ought to tell everyone about this.”

“So what happened? Is your mother feeling unwell?”

“No, my mother is fine. No need to worry about that.” Yuan Zhi denied this and paused before she continued, “What happened is that my mother has been transferred from the border to Xuchang.”

“To Xuchang huh… Isn’t that a good–”

Ah. I responded reflexively and only realised halfway through that what I was about to say was not right at all. Why was Yuan Zhi’s mother being brought to Xuchang? And who did that? The answer was obvious even to someone like me.

“Yes.” Yuan Zhi guessed that I had arrived at the answer and continued, “Cao Cao transferred my mother in. Of course, this isn’t because of altruism.”

“Then it’s to–”

“Bring me over.”

“Bring you over.”

The both of us said the same thing at the same time.

“And this letter was not written by someone else but by my mother.” Yuan Zhi said calmly, “Xuan De, did you know? My mother wishes for me to go to Xuchang and work for Cao Cao.”

“…”

“My mother has a very strong personality and will yet she is saying such things.” Yuan Zhi said in frustration and helplessness. It’s not strange for a mother to hope that their child can live peacefully and happily.

“I don’t blame mother. She has never lived comfortably and thanks to me, has been suffering for a long time now. She probably doesn’t want me to go around and cause trouble anymore.”

“… What does Yuan Zhi think then?”

From my, no our, perspective, we definitely do not want Yuan Zhi to leave. Though she did have some help from history, it was clear that we only had a preview of what Yuan Zhi was really capable of.

This is not the first time I am parting ways with a companion. Unlike before, there was always the small but steady hope that we would eventually reunite. This time, it does not feel like we will ever reunite if Yuan Zhi leaves.

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