Liu Bei POV
…
After a while, Hua Tuo released her hand.
“How is it?”
“The same thing as the last time.” Hua Tuo said as she frowned, “It’s the same as the last time where she fainted due to shock.”
“She’s fine right?” I asked the pint-sized doctor, feeling like a parent who had brought a child to the hospital.
“Un… It’s difficult to say for now.” Hua Tuo said with a troubled expression, “But for now, we should bring her back to the mansion and let her rest.”
“Un… I understand.”
Looks like that’s the best I can get from her for now. But that’s fine. This can wait. We can find out more from Yi De when she wakes up.
*Kada*…
Un? What sound was that?
*Ka* *Ka* *Ka* *Ka*–
It’s from above! I looked up and saw that the pillars were beginning to bend and were continuing to do so. Looks like it cannot take much more.
“Quick, Hua Tuo! Take Yi De and get outside!” I hurriedly yelled to Hua Tuo when I realised that the pillars were about to collapse and put Yi De’s arm on my shoulder as I made my way out.
“Ah, alright!”
*Ka* *Ka* *Ka* *Ka*–
The sound of the pillars cracking continued and I began to feel terrified, to the point where I actually forgot to move until Hua Tuo began to get up and run. Just as we were about to reach the doorway, a loud crack unlike all the others sounded out–
And the pillars collapsed, making the building shake even more than before.
Just a bit more! We were already very near to the doorway and were just 4-5 paces away when just then–
“Watch out!” A voice came out and I instinctively looked up and saw that there was a log coming right for our heads.
Wu! We will not be able to make it!
At this moment, Hua Tuo and I could not get away and all I could do was turn and wrap my arms around Hua Tuo and Yi De and shield them with my body–
*Shua*– But then all of a sudden, a wind blew past us, a very quick and frantic wind.
— *Dang* *Dang* *Dang* *Dang*
As the wind blew past, the log did not land on us. Instead, it broke into numerous fragments and fell down all around us. When I looked at the fragments, I saw that the cuts around each fragment were smooth and uniform.
“Xuan De? What are you doing here?” A calm female voice spoke from behind me.
Un? I turned back and saw a familiar face. She had her red bandana and long, white robes on, as usual and as the wind blew, she seemed elegant and heroic.
“Yuan Zhi?” I called out and looked at the wood fragments lying about, “Did you–”
“Un, I saw some movement over here so I came over but I didn’t expect to see Xuan De and Lord Hua Tuo.” Yuan Zhi said as she nodded and sheathed her sword. She then looked at us and asked, “Lord Zhang Fei is…”
“It’s fine, she just lost consciousness.” I said as I did my best to seem like nothing had happened, “Yuan Zhi, why are you still here at this time?”
Our forces in the city should have joined up and gone after the enemy. I thought that only I fell behind. Did Yuan Zhi fall behind as well?
“I was exchanging information with the troops at the tower and am now preparing to go to the battlefield where our forces are.” Yuan Zhi said as she looked at us and went over to put Yi De’s other hand over her shoulder, “And then I saw you lot.”
I see. Looks like the yell from before was Yuan Zhi. I really was lucky huh?
“What’s the situation like now?” I asked impatiently, “How is it like inside the city? And outside the city? How are our troops doing?”
“Wait, wait.” Yuan Zhi said calmly as she helped up Hua Tuo, “Right now, what we need to do is pull Lord Zhang Fei out. Lord Hua Tuo is not doing so well either.”
“Ah, many thanks Lord Xu Shu.”
I guess she is right. I nodded at her and we left the building together. As we came out, the acrid smell of smoke entered my nostrils and my eyes began to water again. The nausea from before had not dissipated yet but it has improved somewhat. I always have to go through this every battle. This happens literally every battle but I wonder if this is a good or bad thing. If I were to ever be completely used to battle, I would probably feel like I have lost something important.
“Un…” Hua Tuo felt Yi De’s pulse again and frowned.
“It really is like the last time.” Hua Tuo nodded assuredly after a while and retracted her hand, “And it seems like her pulse is quicker this time as well.”
“Is that good or bad?”
“I don’t know.” Hua Tuo shook her head, “But the situation now is not optimistic for sure. Just like the last time, Lord Zhang Fei needs rest.”
When she finished, Hua Tuo took out a whistle from her sleeves and took a deep breath as she blew into it, “Haa— *Xu*~~~~”
The sound was not too loud and the sound was terrible but the pitch was very high.
*Tatatata*
Soon after, 3-4 men and women dressed in white and who did not seem like soldiers came running over.
“Ah, you’re…”
“Lord Liu Bei.” They greeted, saluted and bowed to me when sthey saw me.
“These are the members of my rescue squad.” Hua Tuo said as she extended a hand towards them and helped Yi De up, “Everyone, please bring Lord Zhang Fei back to the mansion as soon as possible and let her rest. One of you is to monitor her condition and report to me and Lord Liu Bei at once if there are any changes.”
“Yes!!” They acknowledged the order and began taking things out of their bags and began constructing what seemed to be a makeshift stretcher of sorts.
“I’ll help.” I said as I rolled up my sleeves and made my way over but was stopped by Hua Tuo.
“Leave it to us. We’ll take good care of her.”
“But…”
“Lord Liu Bei, there are more important things that you need to attend to right now.”
“That’s–”
I found myself at a loss as to what to say. I turned back to look at Yuan Zhi and saw that she was silent. But since she was still here, she was probably waiting for me.
“Un… Alright, I got it.” I nodded after thinking about it for a moment, “I’ll be leaving Yi De to you.”
I saluted them when I finished and they, including Hua Tuo, returned the salute before swiftly putting Yi De on the stretcher and then carrying her back to the mansion with Hua Tuo in tow.
“Hu…” I heaved a sigh of relief and focused myself as I saw them off and turned to Yuan Zhi, “Alright, what do we do now?”
“We leave the city. *Xu*~” Yuan Zhi said and put 2 fingers to her lips and blew some sort of whistle. Soon, 2 brown horses came galloping over and stopped beside Yuan Zhi. Looks like she really is good with horses huh?
“What about your usual horse?”
“This will do for now.” Yuan Zhi said as she mounted a horse, “What we need to do now is get to our forces as soon as possible. Of course, Xuan De can’t use his Dilu as it will reveal your identity.”
She really is cautious huh… Ah yes, I need to put down my leaves again.
“I’ll be repeating my question, what’s happening with our forces now?” I asked as I mounted the other horse, “They should be fighting now according to the plan right?”
“Un… According to the plan, yes. Jia!” Yuan Zhi said as she swung down her reins and galloped off. I too did the same and galloped after her as we headed towards the gates, making sure to avoid the bodies of the fallen as I did so.
I have to say though, my horsemanship has greatly improved. I wonder if it’s because of the advice Yuan Zhi gave me when we first met but it seemed like something started to click since then and I began to have a good grasp of controlling horses ever since. And so, I was actually able to catch up to Yuan Zhi before we reached the gates.
“Yuan…” When I caught up, I wanted to speak to her but her expression was severe and so I decided against speaking to her. But then it seemed like I was worrying too much as her expression did not seem to change when I spoke.
“Ahem,” I cleared my throat and steeled myself as I called out to her, “Yuan Zhi?”
“Ah…” When she heard me call her, she seemed to regain her senses but then sank into though very quickly again.
Liu Bei POV
…
After a while, Hua Tuo released her hand.
“How is it?”
“The same thing as the last time.” Hua Tuo said as she frowned, “It’s the same as the last time where she fainted due to shock.”
“She’s fine right?” I asked the pint-sized doctor, feeling like a parent who had brought a child to the hospital.
“Un… It’s difficult to say for now.” Hua Tuo said with a troubled expression, “But for now, we should bring her back to the mansion and let her rest.”
“Un… I understand.”
Looks like that’s the best I can get from her for now. But that’s fine. This can wait. We can find out more from Yi De when she wakes up.
*Kada*…
Un? What sound was that?
*Ka* *Ka* *Ka* *Ka*–
It’s from above! I looked up and saw that the pillars were beginning to bend and were continuing to do so. Looks like it cannot take much more.
“Quick, Hua Tuo! Take Yi De and get outside!” I hurriedly yelled to Hua Tuo when I realised that the pillars were about to collapse and put Yi De’s arm on my shoulder as I made my way out.
“Ah, alright!”
*Ka* *Ka* *Ka* *Ka*–
The sound of the pillars cracking continued and I began to feel terrified, to the point where I actually forgot to move until Hua Tuo began to get up and run. Just as we were about to reach the doorway, a loud crack unlike all the others sounded out–
And the pillars collapsed, making the building shake even more than before.
Just a bit more! We were already very near to the doorway and were just 4-5 paces away when just then–
“Watch out!” A voice came out and I instinctively looked up and saw that there was a log coming right for our heads.
Wu! We will not be able to make it!
At this moment, Hua Tuo and I could not get away and all I could do was turn and wrap my arms around Hua Tuo and Yi De and shield them with my body–
*Shua*– But then all of a sudden, a wind blew past us, a very quick and frantic wind.
— *Dang* *Dang* *Dang* *Dang*
As the wind blew past, the log did not land on us. Instead, it broke into numerous fragments and fell down all around us. When I looked at the fragments, I saw that the cuts around each fragment were smooth and uniform.
“Xuan De? What are you doing here?” A calm female voice spoke from behind me.
Un? I turned back and saw a familiar face. She had her red bandana and long, white robes on, as usual and as the wind blew, she seemed elegant and heroic.
“Yuan Zhi?” I called out and looked at the wood fragments lying about, “Did you–”
“Un, I saw some movement over here so I came over but I didn’t expect to see Xuan De and Lord Hua Tuo.” Yuan Zhi said as she nodded and sheathed her sword. She then looked at us and asked, “Lord Zhang Fei is…”
“It’s fine, she just lost consciousness.” I said as I did my best to seem like nothing had happened, “Yuan Zhi, why are you still here at this time?”
Our forces in the city should have joined up and gone after the enemy. I thought that only I fell behind. Did Yuan Zhi fall behind as well?
“I was exchanging information with the troops at the tower and am now preparing to go to the battlefield where our forces are.” Yuan Zhi said as she looked at us and went over to put Yi De’s other hand over her shoulder, “And then I saw you lot.”
I see. Looks like the yell from before was Yuan Zhi. I really was lucky huh?
“What’s the situation like now?” I asked impatiently, “How is it like inside the city? And outside the city? How are our troops doing?”
“Wait, wait.” Yuan Zhi said calmly as she helped up Hua Tuo, “Right now, what we need to do is pull Lord Zhang Fei out. Lord Hua Tuo is not doing so well either.”
“Ah, many thanks Lord Xu Shu.”
I guess she is right. I nodded at her and we left the building together. As we came out, the acrid smell of smoke entered my nostrils and my eyes began to water again. The nausea from before had not dissipated yet but it has improved somewhat. I always have to go through this every battle. This happens literally every battle but I wonder if this is a good or bad thing. If I were to ever be completely used to battle, I would probably feel like I have lost something important.
“Un…” Hua Tuo felt Yi De’s pulse again and frowned.
“It really is like the last time.” Hua Tuo nodded assuredly after a while and retracted her hand, “And it seems like her pulse is quicker this time as well.”
“Is that good or bad?”
“I don’t know.” Hua Tuo shook her head, “But the situation now is not optimistic for sure. Just like the last time, Lord Zhang Fei needs rest.”
When she finished, Hua Tuo took out a whistle from her sleeves and took a deep breath as she blew into it, “Haa— *Xu*~~~~”
The sound was not too loud and the sound was terrible but the pitch was very high.
*Tatatata*
Soon after, 3-4 men and women dressed in white and who did not seem like soldiers came running over.
“Ah, you’re…”
“Lord Liu Bei.” They greeted, saluted and bowed to me when sthey saw me.
“These are the members of my rescue squad.” Hua Tuo said as she extended a hand towards them and helped Yi De up, “Everyone, please bring Lord Zhang Fei back to the mansion as soon as possible and let her rest. One of you is to monitor her condition and report to me and Lord Liu Bei at once if there are any changes.”
“Yes!!” They acknowledged the order and began taking things out of their bags and began constructing what seemed to be a makeshift stretcher of sorts.
“I’ll help.” I said as I rolled up my sleeves and made my way over but was stopped by Hua Tuo.
“Leave it to us. We’ll take good care of her.”
“But…”
“Lord Liu Bei, there are more important things that you need to attend to right now.”
“That’s–”
I found myself at a loss as to what to say. I turned back to look at Yuan Zhi and saw that she was silent. But since she was still here, she was probably waiting for me.
“Un… Alright, I got it.” I nodded after thinking about it for a moment, “I’ll be leaving Yi De to you.”
I saluted them when I finished and they, including Hua Tuo, returned the salute before swiftly putting Yi De on the stretcher and then carrying her back to the mansion with Hua Tuo in tow.
“Hu…” I heaved a sigh of relief and focused myself as I saw them off and turned to Yuan Zhi, “Alright, what do we do now?”
“We leave the city. *Xu*~” Yuan Zhi said and put 2 fingers to her lips and blew some sort of whistle. Soon, 2 brown horses came galloping over and stopped beside Yuan Zhi. Looks like she really is good with horses huh?
“What about your usual horse?”
“This will do for now.” Yuan Zhi said as she mounted a horse, “What we need to do now is get to our forces as soon as possible. Of course, Xuan De can’t use his Dilu as it will reveal your identity.”
She really is cautious huh… Ah yes, I need to put down my leaves again.
“I’ll be repeating my question, what’s happening with our forces now?” I asked as I mounted the other horse, “They should be fighting now according to the plan right?”
“Un… According to the plan, yes. Jia!” Yuan Zhi said as she swung down her reins and galloped off. I too did the same and galloped after her as we headed towards the gates, making sure to avoid the bodies of the fallen as I did so.
I have to say though, my horsemanship has greatly improved. I wonder if it’s because of the advice Yuan Zhi gave me when we first met but it seemed like something started to click since then and I began to have a good grasp of controlling horses ever since. And so, I was actually able to catch up to Yuan Zhi before we reached the gates.
“Yuan…” When I caught up, I wanted to speak to her but her expression was severe and so I decided against speaking to her. But then it seemed like I was worrying too much as her expression did not seem to change when I spoke.
“Ahem,” I cleared my throat and steeled myself as I called out to her, “Yuan Zhi?”
“Ah…” When she heard me call her, she seemed to regain her senses but then sank into though very quickly again.
