NOVPUB"Put away your caution, it’s fine to keep an eye on me, but leave him alone." Gan Ning stepped to the side to shield Chen Xi, fearing that Guan Hai might go mad and attack Chen Xi, "Lord Xuande’s strategist, Chen Zichuan, you should have heard of him."
Guan Hai remained unmoved, staring intently at Gan Ning and still cautious. He did not want to be caught off guard and taken advantage of due to his current vulnerability. Caution was imperative.
"I am Gan Xingba, you must know that. You’ve been staying on my ship, General Guan must have told you about me," said Gan Ning, pointing to his own nose as he saw Guan Hai’s guarded demeanor.
"I know, General Guan said if anything really happened, I should go to Gan Xingba!" Guan Hai nodded and said, "But I don’t know if you are Gan Xingba. How can you prove you are!"
"You’ve got me there!" Gan Ning was somewhat flabbergasted. He took out his official seal, placed it on the ground, and gently pushed it over, saying with a pang of distress, "This is the official seal of the Naval Chief of the Great Han Dynasty, the one and only."
"I can’t read," Guan Hai admitted, who by now believed them to seven or eight parts, yet still maintained his suspicions.
"What do you want to do then?" asked Gan Ning, exasperated, having never encountered such an impervious fellow.
"General Guan has ordered you to go to Yiizhou, but right now, I have some matters I hope you can help with. We are on our way to Lujiang and might need to fight a battle. I hope you can lend a hand," Chen Xi said, patting Gan Ning’s shoulder and motioning for him to step aside. He moved forward a few steps, confident that Guan Hai had already confirmed their identities.
"You can’t win the fight?" Guan Hai asked, clearly taken aback.
"No, we are just unsure of the scale of the battle that might ensue. It’s just a precaution," Chen Xi explained calmly, "Of course, if General Guan is unwilling, we will still follow General Guan’s military order and take you to Yiizhou."
"Can you guarantee my identity won’t be exposed?" Guan Hai asked.
"We can ensure it won’t be exposed, as long as you don’t mention your own name. In Lujiang, a place where nobody has seen you, no one will know who you are. If necessary, you can use a false name," Chen Xi said, raising an eyebrow. With such a question from Guan Hai, it meant permission was granted, but out of concern for General Guan’s instructions, he was just worried about revealing his identity.
"Alright, it’s settled then. I won’t take action unless necessary," Guan Hai nodded, then made a gesture for Chen Xi and Gan Ning to depart.
After Chen Xi and Gan Ning passed through the cabin, Gan Ning started to grumble, "What bad luck, for such a powerful man to be so obstructive. I had thought he was incredibly honorable, but it turns out he’s such a person when you meet him. What bad luck, he even makes excuses when it comes to killing."
"His identity is special; he can’t help but be cautious, and it doesn’t necessarily conflict with being honorable. Based on his actions in Qingzhou before, he still deserves the words ’faith and righteousness.’ Don’t be too demanding; he’s just being cautious," Chen Xi said with a smile, reassuring Gan Ning. He knew Gan Ning wouldn’t take the matter to heart, but consoling him would help them get along better in the future. Chen Xi certainly didn’t want his good intentions to cause any issues.
"Forget about it then. Let’s not worry about him," Gan Ning waved dismissively and said, "Let’s go, let’s go. Since he’s promised, he’ll surely be careful when the time comes. Such a person’s integrity still needs to be acknowledged."
After giving orders for everyone to conduct their daily training, Gan Ning spent the rest of his time fishing with Mi Fang and his party. In the end, Zhuge Liang confirmed something: fishing with a large hook and hemp rope in this area was much more reliable than using a fishing rod, silk line, and baiting with small worms. 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝔭𝖚𝖇.𝔠𝔬𝖒
Aside from Zhuge Liang’s dissatisfaction with his fishing rod’s inability to catch fish and almost feeding himself to the fish when he switched to a large hook and hemp rope baited with meat, he still had a great time fishing in the afternoon. Of course, Zhuge Liang, who almost became fish food, enjoyed his fish dinner even more, as if venting all his frustration on the fish.
While Chen Xi and Zhuge Liang were enjoying their fish at sea, Guan Yu had already sped on horseback within the territory of the North Sea. One had to admit that in this era, even a mediocre horse could be quite fast. If it were Red Hare, by now, he would probably be close to the borders of the Qi State. This was the advantage of a good horse. However, returning to the subject at hand, if it had been a group of people, they certainly wouldn’t have been able to reach such speeds.
"Where is the lord?" It could be said that it was either good luck or something else that Guan Yu had managed to run into Fa Zheng, who was out with his father, inspecting the people’s conditions. He pulled the reins and came to a halt next to Fa Zheng. Then, the dust kicked up by his horse enveloped Fa Zheng, who had just opened his mouth to greet him, leaving him covered in dirt and grime.
"Ptui, ptui, ptui, ptui!" Fa Zheng said gloomily, his face dark with annoyance, "General Hua..."
With an embarrassed look on his face, Guan Yu could tell from Fa Zheng’s expression and tone that he was somewhat annoyed, but it was truly an accident.
"Dad, take it easy. This is General Jianwei Guan Yu, under Lord Xuande’s command." Just then, Fa Zheng’s father poked his head out of the carriage and prepared to disembark. Fa Zheng was no longer concerned about the earlier incident and quickly went forward to steady him, then he introduced his father to Guan Yu, saying, "This is my father."
"Zijian has the honor of meeting the elder," Guan Yu dismounted and paid his respects to Fa Yan. Thankfully, Fa Zheng’s father was an old man blessed with a later-life son, looking much older than Guan Yu.
"It is nothing, nothing. My son is somewhat unruly; the general should not take it to heart." Fa Yan noticed Fa Zheng’s displeased face and patted his son’s shoulder, signaling his son to maintain good relations with the other party.
"The elder’s words are too kind, Xiaoo Zhi has always been this way. If he has any complaints, he shows them on his face and wouldn’t hide them. We are all aware of that," Guan Yu said, bowing to Fa Yan, seeing Fa Zheng’s simmering anger.
"Alright, I’m just an old man. To see my son so daring and assertive today makes me more than satisfied. My son, you should return to the North Sea to preside over its affairs. Your father saw your capability," Fa Yan lovingly looked at Fa Zheng. He was very pleased with his son’s achievements and did not wish his son to continue neglecting his duties under the guise of inspecting the people’s conditions just to show off his own brilliance.
Fa Zheng forced a smile, "Dad, I really am inspecting the people’s conditions. Bringing you along was just to relax and wander about. Rest assured, there’s no need for someone to be stationed in the North Sea; really, all is well, nothing major is happening lately."
Watching from the side, Guan Yu felt a twitch at the corner of his eye. He patted Fa Zheng, and with a puzzled look on Fa Zheng’s face, led him aside and told him everything that had recently happened, causing Fa Zheng’s face to blanch.
"You’re not joking?" Fa Zheng asked, trembling.
"You think I ran hundreds of miles to make a joke with you? Are you a fool? Don’t you know I was drilling soldiers at Mount Tai?" Guan Yu said exasperatedly, "Hurry and come back to the North Sea with me. I still have to report the recent events to Lord Xuande. Almost all of the documents sent by Lub Zijing never made it to their destination. You’re really something!"
With a dark expression, Fa Zheng went up to his father, tugged at the corner of his mouth to form a smile, and said, "Dad, we’re going back to the North Sea. You’re right, the North Sea really does need someone in charge. Just after I left, something went wrong!"
(To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to recommend tickets and monthly passes at Qidian.com. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)
