VOLUME 9 CHAPTER 61: DON’T TELL ME THIS IS A SLEEPLESS NIGHT IN XINYE (1)
Liu Bei POV
Haa~ I gave a long yawn.
It’s rather chilly at night here so I used all of the neatly folded blankets that I found beside the bed. By the way, I have always wondered why people in medieval shows wear so many clothes but now I know why. It’s simply because clothing is really thin in this era. For example, I am wearing a set of long silk gowns which are very thin and facilitates air flow so much so that it’s practically not any different from being naked.
Naturally I am still wearing it of course. I am not like Zhou Cang who will just sleep naked. Perhaps it’s time I got Gan Qing to teach her some manners and propriety.
Un… I continued to think about random, unimportant things to divert my attention away from what will happen tomorrow and here on out. Basically the kind of minor things that you would forget in 5 minutes. This is the only way I can fall asleep eventually.
Un… Tomorrow huh?
Unfortunately, in life, things happen regardless of one’s will. The more I tried not to think about it, the more my mind was drawn to it. In the end, it became the focus of my thoughts and naturally, I could not fall asleep.
As I looked at the rafters, all I thought about were the battles that were coming soon. I thought about how we should deal with the enemies and how I could avoid detection.
In particular, I really wondered if Zhou Cang’s helmet will work. I was planning on paying a visit to her room before going to sleep but I was afraid that I would trigger her memories of what happened before so I decided against it.
At the same time, several people filled my mind, namely Yi De, Huang Zu and Meng De. I cannot be sure that my guess is right, but I am confident that she would at least be sorry to hear that I was dead. She would then logically consider what steps she could take to advance her cause. I know, Meng De is a far more capable and thoughtful leader than I am.
And now, I have once again become her foe. To be honest, I was pretty shaken when I heard that there was chance that Meng De would refrain from attacking our humble county town if she knew that I was alive when Yun Chang and Yuan Zhi gave their proposals on what to do.
And personally, I would really like to tell the world that I am still alive. There might not millions of people eager to hear this, but at the very least, there are many who are just like my companions and would like very much to know that I am still alive. They have the right to know that. And it would be better for everyone as well.
But when we came to a decision not to do so, I was well and truly gutted. And so, that is one reason why I am unable to sleep.
I tossed and turned as I lay in bed, unable to find a position where I was able to abandon all these thoughts. In the end, it only made me sweat and I got up, put on my shoes and went outside to cool off.
It’s probably been about an hour since I left the main hall. When I listened closely in the courtyard, all I heard were the sounds of insects and birds.
Even though so much has happened, everyone else has been able to sleep huh? I wonder if they know some secret techniques to sleeping easier. Perhaps I should try looking for Hua Tuo and seeing if she has any sort of medicine that are the medieval version of sleeping pills. Like… Mafeisan or something.
Hai… As I continued to engage in random thoughts, I went to take a seat on a stone chair in the middle of the courtyard. I looked up and saw that cloud cover was still heavy and the moon was fairly obscured.
“Haa~~~” I yawned again, feeling rather tired this time. But after some tears came out, I did not feel tired anymore.
Hu… It’s not like I can see a starry sky everyday too. Why does the weather have to be like this so much? That said, the weather is much worse in modern times. I am getting too used to good weather that when the weather turns for the worse, I feel highly uncomfortable.
“Xuan De?”
Un? I do not know if it’s a delusion of mine but it seems like someone called out to me. It was rather dark however and I was tired so I could not recognise who it was.
“It’s me. May I ask… Who is it?” I felt a little bad about it but I still asked anyway. At the same time, I turned around to see.
“Me.” That person answered in a manner that you would only expect someone to act in a comedy. Come on, if I knew who you were, I would not have asked.
Just as I turned around, the clouds parted, letting the moonlight s.h.i.+ne through a tiny sliver, but just enough to provide me enough light to see. At the same time, the person approached me and when I finally got a good glimpse, I saw that I was face to face with her b.r.e.a.s.t.s with my nose almost touching them.
This cannot be helped as I was sitting down while she was standing after all. Moreover, I really could not make out too much with the little light available. Based on what I could see, her development is about the same level as Mi Zhen and Yi De. But compared to them, she’s clearly taller.
“Un?” I decided to stop guessing and looked up.
“Ah…” And when I did so, she looked down as well and gave a small gasp of surprise when our eyes met.
“Ah, it’s Yuan Zhi–”
“Ah!” Before I could finish, before I could even salute her, Yuan Zhi backed up just like when she first saw me and covered her chest with clenched fists.
“Un? What’s– Ah!” I did not understand why she did this at first but I soon realised why and stopped my words. I guess I was being a little rude, staring at her b.r.e.a.s.t.s… And acting completely nonchalant thereafter, “U, umm…”
“No, d-d-d-don’t say anything.” I was about to explain myself but she hurriedly interrupted me. The clouds have not closed the small gap yet so I could see the red hue on her cheeks, “I, I know, it was dark so you couldn’t see.”
“Ah, un.” I nodded and added, “But I’m really sorry… That was rather rude of me…”
“No…” She softly replied.
“Ah, umm.” Since she did not want to talk about this, I should move on, “By the way, why is Yuan Zhi still awake?”
Yuan Zhi should retired before me but yet she’s still awake, probably because she could not fall asleep.
“Un…” Yuan Zhi nodded and relaxed her hands but frowned, “I couldn’t sleep because of what will happen tomorrow.”
Looks like her reason for not being able to fall asleep is about the same as me. Unlike me, it’s probably a lot worse.
“Nervous?”
“… Not entirely.” She was about to nod but then she shook her head.
“Well then, why not take a seat here as well?” I said as I patted a stone chair beside me. It was clear that neither of us could not sleep for a while yet after all and though the clouds were thick, rainfall should be some ways away still.
“… Un.” Yuan Zhi thought about it for a moment before nodding and went over to take a seat without even wiping the surface first.
“So, what was keeping you up?”
“Un…” Yuan Zhi sank into thought as she stared at the ground and began to speak slowly after a moment, “I’m still not too sure about the exact deployments yet… To be honest, when I saw that Xuan De has so many talented retainers…”
“Ah… That’s fine.” I think I understand where she is coming from, “If you think that someone is uncooperative, let me know and I’ll deal with it.”
“That’s not it…”
Eh? She denied it almost immediately. I was pretty confident about it too.
“… Umm, I’d like to ask you something.” She said, looking rather doubtful as she placed her hand on the table between us, “Lord Lu Bu, Lord Zhang Liao, Lord Chen Gong and all the others; are they all your companions?”
“Un? Yes.” I said instantly, “Does it not seem like that?”
“Will they partic.i.p.ate in the upcoming battles as well?”
“Yes.” I nodded right away and remembered what happened before and decided to tell her now that I had the chance, “Ah yes, now that you mentioned it, Lord Huang Zu told me that she will be partic.i.p.ating as well so I’ll be troubling Yuan Zhi to make the necessary arrangements.”
“Eh?!” She gave a surprised cry and a rather funny look when she heard this.