Finding a Way to Survive (5)
"You've come a long way—must've been tough on all three of you."
I welcomed them into my room. "The spread's nothing fancy, but please eat up."
"Nothing fancy? This is fit for a king—it could break the table. And you made it yourself, didn't you?"
Xun You's words made me flush a bit. "It's nothing. Least I could do for guests from afar."
"All I need is booze."
"......."
Guo Jia shut her mouth under the glares from the other two.
"Haha, of course I've got plenty of booze. Got some top-shelf stuff as a gift not long ago."
My adoptive father, who'd been wandering around Chang'an, had left me some ridiculously expensive liquor. Serseo had received it while I was away, and it was the kind reserved for imperial banquets—worth a fortune. No wonder even Sima Hui had hounded me for a swig. We'd cracked one bottle together under the moonlight and gotten properly wasted.
Share it with these three? Maybe the old man had foreseen this and sent it my way.
"How've you been holding up? I'd rather hear it straight from you than from letters."
"Well..."
I could chat freely about Sima Hui or Sima Yi with just Xun You around. But with Sun Uk and Guo Jia here too, spilling things they didn't know would put them in an awkward spot. And if they learned how deeply tangled I was with Jingzhou affairs as a Cai family member, their view of me would shift.
Our positions had changed too much for old-friend banter. Core advisors to Cao Cao's army. In-law to Liu Biao's forces. Anyone looking in would whisper, "They're forming an alliance, aren't they?"
And honestly? They wouldn't be wrong. Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, and Liu Biao already held hands from Ji Province to Jingzhou—no open hostilities yet. But with the right nudge, it could solidify into something unbreakable.
So what was I supposed to say to Cao Cao's top strategists?
"Guess we can't just chat like old times."
"That's..."
"No misunderstanding—it's not like I've enlisted with Liu Biao. It's just that our interests are intertwined."
Being Liu Biao's in-law by marriage already forced me to watch my words.
"As for me..."
I gave them the bare bones of my situation—safe for sharing. Still teaching kids at the academy. Huang Shengyan's adopted son now. My adoptive mother Cai Xuan from Jingzhou's powerhouse Cai clan. The kind of public knowledge anyone digging into "Geum Taeyang of the academy" would uncover in minutes.
Why? Because my two biggest recent headaches were too dicey to spill. One was Xuzhou. The other, Master Munhu from Chang'an.
The first was too brutal to mention. The second? I didn't want to jinx it.
Above all...
No more helpful tips for Cao Cao's crew.
I'd recommended Sun Uk. Xun You too. Guo Jia? Just a drinking buddy.
Through letters advising them, I'd already meddled plenty in Cao Cao's army. No more risking betrayal of Master Munhu, screwing the greater good, or propping up Cao Cao.
"...That's how things are going."
"Wol-yeong."
Sun Uk, who'd been listening quietly, raised her cup. "Hard to be casual like before, right?"
"Obviously."
We'd all waded into the chaos. Guo Jia, already in Cao Cao's camp when we met, was one thing. But Sun Uk and Xun You had crossed that line the moment they joined up.
"Let me be direct. Why'd you come see me?"
"...Heh, some things never change."
"Huh?"
"You get guarded the second you sense a threat. Like a cat."
Her words hit me like a slap. "Me? A cat?"
"Hiss a little warning, but really you're backing away, slinking off."
"Spot on."
"See? We haven't even said why we're here, and you're already on edge."
"Good lord. A cat? For that?"
It stung.
"Anyone would be cautious. If Liu Biao catches wind of your visit, he'll unleash the hounds. 'Cao Cao's advisors scouting Jingzhou!'"
"That guy's got no spine. Not like you."
"Liu Biao..."
She wasn't wrong. Sure, I was hyper-aware of danger, but I refused to be lumped with that coward. He was spineless; I was just fighting to survive.
"Heh, kidding. We came for two big reasons. One, to see you. Two, to check the rumors."
"Rumors?"
"Yeah. Some kind-hearted landlord near the academy's lending his land to refugees for farming."
"......."
Me. If they cared about that...
"Cao Cao planning to hit Jingzhou? Wipe out the Xuzhou escapees for good?"
"Nothing like that. Can't even take Xuzhou yet."
"Our lord's not insane enough to strike Jingzhou while Yeon's a mess."
"We'll handle that. Don't worry."
"Good to hear."
Thankfully, Cao Cao didn't seem poised to attack Jingzhou. Even setting aside the rest...
"With Lü Bu alive and kicking, how could they march south? Lord's obsessed with recapturing him."
"Right now, it's purging traitors in Yeon."
Traitors in Yeon. I'd heard betrayal from within Cao Cao's ranks was key to Lü Bu seizing Puyang.
"Didn't Lü Bu scoop them up?"
"Some are holed up in their bases, holding out. Our strategists didn't need schemes—the generals just rolled in and took the counties. That's why we're here for something else."
"...To see how the Xuzhou refugees are faring."
Guilt flickered in their eyes, but that wasn't the main driver.
"Ever hear of tuntian?"
"......I know of it, but... you're not saying you came all this way for..."
"Yep. Our lord wants to implement it."
It clicked. "Handing traitor landlords' seized lands to the people?"
"Pretty much."
"Phew."
Relief washed over me. "...For a sec, I thought you'd marched troops to Heohyeon, ready to strike."
"Heh, booze finally going down easy?"
"Can we drop the war talk? Cheers. Relax and drink."
"Our cute kitty first?"
"......You lot."
Clink.
"In the grand scheme, yeah, a nobody like me's less than a cat..."
I set my cup down. "But at the table? I'm a tiger."
Safety confirmed—no holds barred.
"Let's drink till we drop, all together."
Glugggg... -_-
* * *
Late night. Zhuge Liang finished prepping tomorrow's lessons and stepped out for a personal errand.
Then she spotted it.
"What're you doing there?"
"Eek?!"
Sima Yi. Leaning against her master's door, she jolted and pressed a finger to her lips.
"......."
Hated rival or not, Zhuge Liang had never seen her this desperate. She wisely clamped her mouth shut and held out her palm.
-What are you doing?
"Uh, well..."
Zhuge Liang scribbled with her tiny hand. Sima Yi glanced around, hesitating.
"...Not something a brat like you needs to know."
Should she tell? No. Telling might blow it now. But leaving would make things weird.
"Eavesdropping on Master's room?"
"......Fuck. This is nuts..."
That look in her eyes. Zhuge Liang sensed something off in Sima Yi's shifty gaze and followed it back to Master's door.
What the hell was going on inside? Oh. Right. The women who'd visited the academy today—they were the ones.
She'd pieced it together from Serseo's horrified stare. Sun Uk. Xun You. Guo Jia. Names she'd overheard plenty.
Xun You especially—she'd briefly taught here as an academy instructor.
Master's close friends. Cao Cao's army insiders.
"......."
Zhuge Liang couldn't help a wry smile. A kid not even grown couldn't dictate to them, and she had no reason to resent Master for it.
Friends were friends. He wasn't loyal to Cao Cao—just tight with her advisors.
Even if one had killed in Xuzhou, it wasn't on him to blame or hate.
The evil was Cao Cao. The bad was Cao Cao.
Zhuge Liang had settled that in her heart. She'd just never let it show when talk turned to Cao Cao or Xuzhou.
Master probably suspected. Sima Yi was hesitating out of consideration, likely.
"Pfft."
Zhuge Liang found Sima Yi ridiculous. She wasn't some child. Young, sure—but her mind was adult-level sharp.
Treating her like a kid? Laughable.
"It's fine. Blame the hand that wields the blade, not the blade itself. So what're you even peeking at—"
Suddenly.
A sound Zhuge Liang had never heard in her life sent shivers through her whole body.
Sima Yi winced, trying to block her, but Zhuge Liang was already peering through the door crack, mesmerized.
"......!!"
Zhuge Liang corrected herself. She was a child.
"......Quiet. If they catch us, we're done."
Sima Yi's whisper made her seal her lips. Wrong as it was, Zhuge Liang peered silently through the gap.
One man. Three women.
Drinking together. Deep into the night.