NOVEL WEB Chapter 102 - Reunion (3)
Chapter 102. Reunion (3)
“Hic.”
Zhang Fei, slumped over the table, let out a hiccup.
Just the bottles beside her already numbered over a dozen.
Why she was drinking so much was anyone’s guess.
It seemed her reputation as a drinker was still intact.
“Sorry for the embarrassing display.”
Liu Bei scratched her cheek awkwardly as she spoke.
“This child has a lot on her mind these days, so it seems she couldn’t hold back when we finally had a drinking session after so long.”
“Well, it’s fine. In today’s world, you have to be drunk just to endure. But still.”
This was an unexpected meeting, one that I hadn’t wished for, but I couldn’t deny that there was some warmth in seeing them again.
After all, I’d once shared drinks with Zhang Fei almost daily.
So I asked.
“If it’s not too forward of me, may I ask what’s troubling you?”
“Hm.”
Liu Bei only smiled, looking troubled.
Of course, it made sense.
I wasn’t approaching this as Unryong, but as just a wanderer.
I shrugged my shoulders, trying to play it off lightly.
“Well, there’s no obligation for you to tell me. I had no intention of prying into personal matters. I apologize if I made you uncomfortable.”
“No, not at all. But it is strange.”
“Hm?”
Liu Bei’s pitch-black eyes suddenly froze, staring directly into mine.
“You claim to be just a wanderer, yet you speak with officials as if it’s second nature. Oh, I don’t mean to scold you.”
Ah.
I realized that, in my current guise, I was no different from a commoner.
I shouldn’t be speaking so casually with a government official.
Liu Bei, she seemed all innocent on the surface, but she could be quite sharp when needed. Like a beautiful flower hiding its thorns.
“I can’t help but worry that it must be frustrating for you.”
I couldn’t afford to discard this disguise.
How was I going to handle this situation?
While I was racking my brain, Lü Bu slammed the table roughly.
“I might be mistaken, but… who’s being interrogated right now?”
She grabbed her cup with a rough hand as she spoke.
Then Guan Yu stepped in.
“Perhaps you should watch your words.”
Normally, if a commoner acted this way, they would be met with outrage, but Guan Yu didn’t do that.
She only exerted pressure with her subtly intimidating presence.
“Hmph.”
But Lü Bu was not one to back down.
“You should know that you get back what you give. Didn’t you learn that?”
“You haven’t revealed your identities. Shouldn’t you at least show your faces when you speak?”
Guan Yu and Lü Bu’s eyes clashed in the air.
Liu Bei, who hadn’t intended for things to escalate like this, patted Guan Yu’s shoulder gently.
Then it happened.
“Ugh…”
Zhang Fei, who had been slumped over the table, raised her upper body.
“Hah… Sister, this isn’t the time for this. Let’s leave right away.”
“Hm?”
Zhang Fei, who had suddenly stood up, spoke to Liu Bei without any context.
“I can’t stand it anymore. I’m too worried about what’s happening with that advisor.”
“Y-Yide, that’s not something we should discuss now…”
“You think it’s strange too, right? That Cao Cao suddenly declared war.”
“…”
I opened my eyes wide.
What did she just say?
“Something must have happened. It doesn’t make sense that we haven’t heard anything about the advisor’s situation for months, even with the ongoing battles with the Governor of Changsha.”
“Yide!”
“Wait a moment.”
I cut off Liu Bei, who was trying to stop Zhang Fei.
“What did you just say? Cao Cao declared war?”
“…Huh?”
“Tell me more, Yide.”
When I casually used her courtesy name, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei’s eyes widened in unison.
They looked at me as if I’d gone mad.
Ignoring their reactions, I asked again.
“Did something happen in the court? Why would Cao Cao declare war? And on whom?”
“…W-what’s with you all of a sudden?”
Zhang Fei, who had been groggy moments ago, seemed to snap back to her senses, her face bewildered.
“Hurry up and tell me.”
“T-The thing is…”
“The Governor of Nanyang.”
This time, Liu Bei answered instead of Zhang Fei.
“You seem quite interested in military affairs. Are you perhaps a martial artist?”
“Something like that. But the Governor of Nanyang… Are you talking about Yuan Shu?”
“This is sensitive information, so I can’t disclose more.”
Silence filled the tavern in an instant.
They were probably trying to figure out our true identities, but I had no intention of engaging in such games.
“Yeo.”
“Damn it, see? This is why you can’t trust that damn vixen.”
Lü Bu, scratching her head roughly, let out a deep sigh, clearly taken aback by the unexpected news.
I stood up immediately.
There was no time to waste.
“Hey! Where are you going?!”
“I need to speak with Cao Cao.”
“You…! What about what you’re doing now…?!”
“We’ll talk about it when we get back.”
“Hey!”
Even though Lü Bu called out to me, I turned my back on her and began to walk quickly.
Let’s think.
Cao Cao must have had her reasons.
Yes, she must have.
She was a far more righteous person than the image I had of her.
She wouldn’t wield the imperial family after seizing control of the court.
Creating a battlefield herself—there was no way. It was a ridiculous thought.
My siblings would never agree to something like this.
If things had reached such an unbelievable point, surely they would have sent word to me… expressed their grievances…
The thought made my skin crawl.
“Yeo, you’re sure the letter was delivered.”
“That old man said he’d deliver it properly, so she must’ve received it.”
“Yeah, she must have.”
I found myself imagining something that shouldn’t have even crossed my mind.
No way.
Cao Cao wouldn’t use my siblings…
“Stop.”
As I hurriedly opened the tavern door and made my way toward my dwelling, Guan Yu blocked my path.
Looking back, I saw Zhang Fei and Liu Bei watching us with uneasy eyes.
“At this point, we need to know your true identity.”
“…”
“I’m certain now. You’re not ordinary commoners.”
Guan Yu spoke with a determined expression.
Her aura was fierce, as if she was willing to use force if necessary.
But before she could say anything else, the villagers who had been inside the tavern, and those on the street, began to gather behind me.
Then, a woman’s back appeared in front of me.
Standing in my path was Hyeryeon.
She spread her small arms wide as if protecting something precious.
“I apologize for my humble intrusion, but these people have committed no wrongdoing.”
It seemed she had been observing the situation all along, and she now stood against Guan Yu, who was pressuring me.
But it wasn’t just her.
This time, an old man stepped forward from behind me—the same elder who had been at the forefront, crying the other day.
He urgently pushed Hyeryeon’s head down and cried out.
“M-My lord! This child is still young, so please, have mercy…! Hyeryeon, you mustn’t block the path of officials!”
“Then are you telling me to just stay put?!”
“…”
The old man silently watched Hyeryeon before kneeling.
“Hyeryeon may have acted rudely, but as this lowly old man speaks, I must say that this man does not deserve such treatment.”
Hyeryeon stared blankly at the old man before kneeling herself.
“If you wish to chastise these people, then strike us down instead!”
Finally, all the villagers surrounding us also knelt.
As if to say, if you want to stop him, you’ll have to trample over us first.
It was a bizarre sight.
Even Guan Yu, seemingly taken aback, instinctively stepped back.
“No, that’s not necessary.”
I let out a deep sigh.
Yes, there was no need for this.
I could no longer remain hidden anyway.
As I walked past them, the villagers slowly raised their heads.
I gradually removed the suffocating cloth.
“…S-Sir?”
Zhang Fei and I locked eyes.
She was trembling as if she had seen a ghost.
Liu Bei was no different. Guan Yu didn’t show it openly, but her wide eyes betrayed her shock.
“Unryong…”
“Well, it’s been a while, all of you.”
I smiled awkwardly.
Lü Bu clicked her tongue as if she’d known this would happen.
“Unryong…”
I met Hyeryeon’s gaze.
She hesitated briefly, then covered her mouth with both hands.
And with a dramatic thud, she fell on her bottom.
“H-Huh! Unryong…!”
The surroundings instantly erupted into chaos.
The hero of the coalition? Was this the Unryong they’d heard about in rumors?
Impossible!
Various voices buzzed around.
“You idiot, so this is how it ends?”
“Well, sorry about this, Yeo. You helped us, but it’s come to this. I can’t hide anymore.”
“Yeah, I get it, but still.”
“A-Anyway, Sir… Why are you here? Why would you be in a place like this?”
Zhang Fei, now entirely sober, approached me.
“Hey, damn it, don’t come any closer. It’s disgusting.”
“What?”
“You said there’s no need to hide anymore, right? So whatever.”
Lü Bu, echoing my thoughts, roughly tore off her own disguise.
Her red hair billowed out, and Zhang Fei flinched at the sight.
“…W-What…! Why are you here too?!”
It was truly maddening.
***
Inside a dust-filled room, scrolls lay scattered, and the walls were in disarray.
It hardly looked fit for habitation, yet a young girl occupied the space.
“…Alright. It’s done.”
The girl’s smile stretched unnervingly wide.
She wore an expression of pure satisfaction.
As if she had just conceived a brilliant strategy.
Just then.
– Creak-
“…What is it?”
“I thought you might want to take it easy.”
The young girl, Sima Yi, frowned as she glanced at the woman grinning slyly at her.
“There’s no time for that. The war is imminent.”
“True, but still.”
The woman handed a teacup to Sima Yi, sipping from another cup herself.
“The atmosphere here has been so grim lately. It’d be nice if a lovely young lady like you could lift my spirits a bit.”
“I told you, there’s no time for that.”
The woman’s soft pink eyes glimmered as she spoke.
“What are you running from? I think I have an idea.”
“Then don’t interfere.”
“Hm, remember, I still outrank you, right? Are you sure about this?”
“My lord has granted me extensive military authority. Even you have no right to interfere with my duties.”
“Haa… Honestly. You never back down.”
“…So, Master Wenruo, would you please leave? I was in a rather good mood.”
“Oh, don’t be like that.”
The woman, Jia Xu, simply shrugged nonchalantly at the girl’s defiant behavior.
She wandered around the room before stopping in front of a dusty Go board.
“Come on, how about a game? Working all the time will ruin you.”
“I’m fine. If you won’t leave, then I will.”
And with a bang, the door slammed shut.
In the quiet room, Jia Xu’s soft pink eyes glimmered with a hint of melancholy.
“This really is… I can’t find a place to belong.”
It was the truth.
The current court reeked of blood wherever one went.