Chapter 9

The end of 209 was marked by the marriage of Liu Bei and Lady Son.

The union of the Liu and Sun families, a testament to their alliance, brought peace to Jing Province after a long period of chaos, with the three powers keeping each other in check.

Liu Bei focused on internal affairs, making Gong’an his base to solidify control over the southern part of Jing Province, including parts of Nan Commandery given by Zhou Yu. With Liu Qi’s death, Liu Bei officially became the Governor of Jing Province, and the region quickly fell under his influence.

Zhao Yun, thanks to the efforts of the brave general Li Tong, managed to escape with his life. Even Guan Yu was impressed by Zhao Yun’s bravery in breaking through the encirclement to rescue him.

Guan Yu, who had maintained a strong defense against Cao Cao’s many famous generals and successfully retreated, was appointed as the Governor of Xiangyang and General of Tanggu, settling north of the river.

My father, Zhang Fei, was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Xinzheng and became the Governor of Nan Commandery. Initially overseeing only the southern part of Nan Commandery given by Zhou Yu, he later became the full Governor of Nan Commandery after Sun Quan, persuaded by Lu Su, lent him the rest of the region.

And that sound also meant that Zhou Yu had passed away.

The news of Zhou Yu’s death spread rapidly across the Central Plains, just as I was about to embark on an expedition to Yizhou.

Zhou Yu, who had gained nationwide fame after the victories at Chibi and Nan Commandery, had a significant impact with his death.

Perhaps my intervention could have changed things, but it flowed as the future was destined. In fact, it was funny that I was worried.

The injuries Zhou Yu sustained in Nan Commandery were far from light. Even Zhao Yun, a seasoned warrior, judged that Zhou Yu had died.

In such a situation, without proper rest and preparing for an expedition, his body couldn’t hold out. His death was inevitable. Even if I had stayed by his side to manage his health, his survival couldn’t have been guaranteed.

I understood that in my head, but it still left a bitter taste. I thought I had shed the lingering feelings from my past life, but they still remained like a lump in my heart.

I hid the tea leaves he had once given me in an unseen place. My thoughts of Zhou Yu were stored away with the tea in a corner of my mind.

The external situation was roughly this: Sun Quan was busy with Zhou Yu’s funeral and filling his vacant position, while Cao Cao was catching his breath after consecutive defeats at Chibi and Nan Commandery.

As mentioned earlier, Liu Bei, busy with internal affairs, showed no significant military movements, making the 15th year of Jian’an a truly peaceful year.

In those peaceful days, I stayed in Nan Commandery with Zhang Fei.

In the battle of Nan Commandery, I reflected on my own immaturity. No matter how good one’s talents and abilities are, potential that isn’t properly nurtured is just a facade.

I left the military camp. I hadn’t left the military position permanently. As an ordinary infantryman, there was no need to resign, and returning wouldn’t be a problem.

When I returned home, I was greeted not by Zhang Fei but by my mother, Lady Hahou He, and my younger sister, Zhang Yan.

“Sister!”

The warmth of my ten-year-old sister and my four-year-older sister hugging me tightly,

“Take care of your body…”

The love in my mother’s voice, tears welling up as she saw the scars on my body,

“From today, I will formally teach you.”

My father’s enthusiasm to pass on all his martial arts to ensure I would never get hurt again,

All these things reminded me that I was their family.

I melted into their family like that. After all, Chang-ran’s memories and emotions were all left to me, so it could be seen as going through an early adolescence.

Anyway, days were busy learning martial arts from my father, being half-dragged by my mother for grooming and management, and doting on my younger sister who followed me around.

By the time winter ended and spring began, I had grown almost half a handspan compared to when I first awakened my past life. I had been exercising, but growing this much, is this what a growth spurt is?

As my body grew, so did my strength, and the intensity of my training increased day by day. Step by step. Having experienced a real battle and the tightrope of life and death, I was steadily growing under the guidance of my teacher, Zhang Fei.

But I wasn’t just holed up at home training all the time. I also had my own interactions.

I had met Zhou Yu a few times before he died (he was very close in Nan Commandery then), and once Guan Ping came to visit me.

Today was a special day. It was the day to keep the promise of doing only basic training once a week and spending the rest of the time with my younger sister.

Coincidentally, Zhang Fei was away on official business today, so I planned to heal by touching Yeon-yi’s soft, mochi-like cheeks.

“Sister? Are you going to keep touching them?”

“Mmm~ I want to touch them forever?”

“R-really? Mmm, sister, you’re making it hard to eat…”

Seeing me keep fiddling with her cheeks, Yeon-yi expressed her cute concern that she couldn’t eat. You don’t know that your answer stimulates my heart even more, little sister.

Seeing my younger sister, sitting on my lap, fidgeting with her fingers, I let go of her cheeks and said,

“Shall we do cat’s cradle?”

“Okay!”

My younger sister jumped off my lap and ran off somewhere, moving her short legs vigorously. The sound of her running echoed through the house.

Hmm, this world doesn’t have much for children to play with. I taught Yeon-yi cat’s cradle because I didn’t know what to play with her, and now she always pesters me to do it with her.

‘I didn’t think I’d be doing something from elementary school again.’

In my past life, boys and girls usually played separately, but I was good at going back and forth between them, so I often played girls’ games too. Especially with jacks and hopscotch, I dominated the whole school.

While reminiscing about the past, Yeon-yi returned with the string. Well, not just returned, but already had the string looped around her fingers, ready to play. How enthusiastic.

“Sister’s turn!”

Cat’s cradle is quite a challenging game, but Yeon-yi deftly manipulated the string with her chubby fingers. Must be good genes. I had already mastered the Thousand Character Classic and was reading classics by the age of nine.

“Ah… it fell.”

Being so young, Yeon-yi’s short fingers sometimes made mistakes.

“It’s okay, you’ve improved a lot, our Yeon-yi?”

“Yep! I followed what sister showed me last time!”

The solo cat’s cradle? I only showed her once, and she remembered? Definitely not ordinary genes.

“Shall I show you? Wait~”

Before I could finish, Yeon-yi was already moving her fingers. Her little hands deftly manipulating the string were so cute that my hand naturally went to her head. Ah, so this is why adults used to pat my head. My looks are pretty good, even if my behavior isn’t.

Spending time with Yeon-yi naturally made me understand my mother’s feelings. Though there’s a four-year age difference, with my past life memories, she felt more like a niece than a younger sister.

If Yeon-yi ever wanted to join the military and go to the battlefield, even I would stop her. Thinking like that, I realized how much my mother’s heart must have ached when I returned injured from the battlefield.

I know there’s the arrangement of the mountain god, but my parents don’t know that. My father, being highly skilled, probably recognized my potential and allowed it, but my mother, despite being from the Hahou family, must have had her limits.

“Ta-da! I did it!”

Hmm, thinking again, no matter the potential, I wouldn’t let her go.

“Wow~ our Yeon-yi is really good?”

“Hehe, right?”

How could I send this little one?

After showing off her cat’s cradle skills, my younger sister boldly said that since she showed me something, I should show her what she wanted.

“Sister, show me that.”

“That?”

“Like, swinging the sword like this and that. You know?”

Yeon-yi, with her short tongue, explained while swinging her arms.

I practiced both the sword and spear, but usually used the spear when Zhang Fei was around and the sword more when alone.

And my sword training was mostly Liechtenauer longsword techniques. Longsword techniques are definitely more visually appealing. If it’s not purely for self-cultivation or demonstration, longsword techniques are unmatched.

“Then, shall I give it a try?”

“Wow!”

Clap clap clap clap!

With my younger sister clapping like a seal behind me, I gripped the sword. Though larger than my peers, my small frame made even a standard Han sword feel like a longsword.

“Hoo.”

Adjusting my breath, I held the sword in the middle stance. The Pflug stance.

And the swordsmanship began, flowing like water, unceasing like the wind, continuously changing stances, linking cuts and thrusts.

To an observer, it might be called a sword dance. The transitions were smoother and sharper compared to last year. The acceleration increased. The sound of the sword cutting through the air faded from my ears.

At the moment of executing a Zornhau (diagonal cut) from Ochs to Vom Tag,

“Uh, uh, wait, if you do this…”

A commotion arose at the entrance of the estate.

“Uh, sister?”

Hearing the flustered voice of the servant guarding the gate, Yeon-yi looked at me with a scared face.

“It’s okay. Sister will handle it.”

This ‘sister’ thing has stuck now. Hearing it so often from Yeon-yi, I don’t feel much resistance to calling myself that.

Putting aside the trivial matters, I tried to assess the situation when a servant ran up to me and hurriedly spoke.

“B-big sister! N-now, I mean…”

“Old Guo. Don’t panic, speak slowly. Here, take a deep breath.”

The elderly servant, whom I called Old Guo, calmed his breath at my words.

“Now, can you speak? What’s the matter?”

“A guest has arrived, but…”

“And?”

Even if it’s an uninvited guest, people with business for Zhang Fei occasionally knock on our door. Each time, the servants would ask me what to do if neither Zhang Fei nor my mother were available. Before I could express my doubt, Old Guo shouted.

“It’s Lady Son!”

Bang!

With Old Guo’s urgent shout, the gate made a loud noise as if it had been smashed open.

And without the host’s permission, a group of people shamelessly stepped over the threshold and boldly entered the courtyard, their footsteps grating on my ears.

Finally, the inner gate separating the outer and inner courtyards opened.

Despite needing the host’s permission to pass, the uninvited guests stepped through as if it were their own home.

I stood in the center of the inner courtyard, holding my sword, facing the uninvited guests.

The woman at the front, dressed in luxurious attire, had sharp, upward-slanting eyes and an aura reminiscent of a fierce beast.

Her trained body, not fully concealed by her clothes, was elastic, and the sword at her side, far from being a mere decoration, showed signs of frequent use, evoking the image of a black panther.

“Are you Chang-ran?”

Without a doubt.

She was none other than Sun Quan’s sister, Liu Bei’s wife, Lady Son.