The Fledgling Prepares to Take Flight 4

Gong’an was in an uproar.

It was due to a major incident caused by Lady Sun, who had been relatively quiet since the incident with Zhang Ran.

Was the security lax? That was certainly not the case. The one guarding Gong’an was none other than Zhao Yun. On top of that, Zhuge Liang was directly overseeing the administration of Gong’an.

Despite the presence of Liu Bei’s boasted best administrator and best bodyguard, Lady Sun had succeeded in abducting Liu Shan.

The inevitable manpower shortage due to the entry into Shu. Lady Sun had pierced through the moment when the defenses weakened with a truly innate sixth sense.

Using armed maids as her military force and her status as Liu Bei’s wife, Lady Sun secured Liu Shan and immediately headed towards where she had prepared a boat.

However, what greeted her there were not the subordinates sent by her brother Sun Quan.

“You’re late, my lady.”

How could she forget the girl who addressed her while approaching, having restrained the people presumed to be sailors?

The girl, who had grown surprisingly tall in such a short time, was waiting for her along with a group of soldiers following her.

“Zhang Ran…”

Lady Sun called the girl’s name in a low, subdued voice.

The unpleasantness of having her actions read, and the shame that it was by this girl who had already once humiliated her, colored Lady Sun’s face red.

“I should at least bid you farewell. However, you’ll have to leave behind the person you’re holding.”

“Hah, farewell? Do you intend to greet me with iron again? You don’t seem to have ambushed troops anywhere, do you think you can stop me with just these ten or so men?”

As Lady Sun said, the number of soldiers Zhang Ran had brought was not many. Zhang Ran’s actions this time were not an officially sanctioned military operation.

No matter how close to private armies the troops led by each general were due to the foundations not being fully established yet, moving over a hundred armed troops to Gong’an where the official residence was located could be problematic.

The dozen or so soldiers now following Zhang Ran were merely those who had chosen to accompany her to follow her orders, and strictly speaking, it was an unauthorized departure.

They were soldiers who had chosen to follow Zhang Ran even knowing they would be punished, soldiers who had completely become Zhang Ran’s people.

But Zhang Ran answered calmly:

“Those who have grasped the situation will soon send a pursuit team. Time is on our side. Just send Adou this way. Then we’ll open the way for you without resistance.”

“Let’s see how long such words will last.”

Lady Sun, or rather Sun Rin who had now thrown away her married life with Liu Bei, drew the sword she was wearing. The well-maintained blue blade flashed as it reflected the sunlight.

As the maids following Sun Rin began to draw their swords, Zhang Ran and her soldiers also grasped their weapons.

Despite the overwhelming numerical disadvantage of ten against a hundred, there was no fear on the faces of Zhang Ran and her soldiers.

They were men, so they were larger in build, and with their backs to the river and at least comrades guarding their sides, they only had to block enemies coming from the front.

They just had to hold out. Since neither side had any intention of retreating, all that remained was a clash.

“Attack!”

§

My opponent was Lady Sun. Unlike 2 years ago, when I was not even 10 years old and sent Chokupak believing she was not a match for me, Lady Sun now approached cautiously, truly wary of me.

It was natural. The difference between then and now was truly unbelievable.

The average height of adult men in this era is about 150cm. Even that’s an estimate, with the maximum being around 160cm. Some estimate as low as 140cm, so 150cm seems about right.

How tall could women be, being genetically smaller than men and unable to eat as well due to the harsh environment of this chaotic era? Even Lady Sun, born with the superior genes of the martial Sun Jian and well-fed and raised, was only about 160cm tall.

And my height at 11 years old was close to 150cm, as if I were still a person from the 21st century. Honestly, in the 21st century this height would be just five or six centimeters above average at most, but in this era it was a transcendent growth rate.

Considering my father’s height of nearly 190cm, genetics truly are supreme regardless of the era.

However, I wasn’t the only one who inherited good genes.

Clang!

“Hah!”

“Ugh!”

The moment our swords first clashed, Lady Sun and I thought simultaneously:

‘Why is this woman so strong!’

To Lady Sun, I was an 11-year-old brat, and to me, Lady Sun was a pure 3rd century woman without any cheats.

As both had been anticipating their own victory, a feeling of bewilderment crossed between us when the opponent proved stronger than expected. However, I was the first to snap out of it.

When with Sun Quan she might be different, but since coming to Jingzhou, Lady Sun’s opponents had been at most the maids accompanying her. None of them would have been stronger than Lady Sun. If there had been, they would have broken through us and boarded the boat already.

But I was different.

‘I spar with that monster Zhang Fei every day!’

Kagaganggg!

The blade rides up along the blade. Swordsmanship is not just about clashing swords.

Rather, blocking a sword with a sword is the worst option. If you don’t know how to deal with the aftermath of swords meeting, if you really don’t know, then you should just get hit.

But Lady Sun was no mere foot soldier, and befitting the daughter of the Tiger of Jiangdong, she quickly shook off my sword.

It seemed her strength was slightly greater than mine. Or perhaps it was superhuman strength brought on by a sense of crisis.

‘It’s almost even, I’d say.’

I took advantage of the moment Lady Sun retreated slightly to check the overall situation.

So far, the soldiers were holding off the maids well. As both sides were unable to openly engage in deadly force, the flow of battle was turning in our favor.

If casualties occurred, this would become an official problem, which both sides seemed to subconsciously realize. However, perhaps frustrated by being blocked by me, Lady Sun bit her lip and shouted:

“Kill if you must! Open the way somehow!”

Having finally crossed the line, Lady Sun swung her sword with killing intent, unlike before.

“You don’t need to hold back either! Stop them even if you have to kill!”

I shouted angrily. We couldn’t lose a single one of them. They were my few people. They were precious and valuable connections who followed me believing in me despite being under such a strict father.

This time, I attacked first. I had been relaxed thinking time was on my side, but that was only in a situation where neither side was using deadly force. If my people died, it didn’t matter whether we bought time or not, it was just a loss.

A severe loss.

‘I absolutely won’t let them die.’

Despite the sudden attack, Lady Sun remained calm. A taut string of tension connected me and Lady Sun. Whoever broke it first would crumble.

Swords clashed, sometimes deflecting, sometimes dodging, as we exchanged blows.

And when another test of strength unfolded, Lady Sun changed the direction of her blade with technique.

A flexible attack that overturned the expectation that she would rely on her strength advantage to decide the match.

Though she had said the soldiers could be killed, she couldn’t bring herself to kill me, so Lady Sun’s blade rushed towards my shoulder.

For her, it was a decisive strike. A gambit thrown by Lady Sun who was pressed for time. It was a fighting style reminiscent of my own from when I was younger.

‘Unfortunately, that was a bad move.’

Tang!

Lady Sun’s blade didn’t reach my shoulder. The crossguard, extended longer than a normal sword, the quillon, blocked her sword.

Korean swords also have quillons, but they’re not very large. However, the sword I used had a quillon extended like a crossguard to match the longsword fencing I had learned.

The advantage brought by an unfamiliar swordsmanship and an unfamiliar sword shape in this era. I didn’t miss the opportunity that had come to me.

Liechtenauer swordsmanship is a comprehensive martial art that includes not only swordsmanship but also wrestling and body techniques. I grabbed her wrist and twisted it. Lady Sun, her arm caught by me, felt a blade touch her neck before she could resist.

“Everyone stop!!”

My booming voice, inherited from Father Zhang Fei, echoed across the ferry.

Seeing Lady Sun subdued by me with a sword at her neck, the maids lowered their swords with dumbfounded expressions.

No matter how important the mission, their mistress was Lady Sun. The moment her life was taken hostage, further combat was impossible.

“Put your swords on the ground and step back to one side.”

The maids hesitated, looking at each other. Wondering if they were going to prioritize the order over Lady Sun’s life, the atmosphere that had relaxed with my shout tightened again.

It was a simple matter that could be resolved if Lady Sun gave the order, but knowing I couldn’t kill her, she kept her mouth shut even with a blade at her neck.

A critical situation. As even the retreating maids were watching the situation between me and Lady Sun while slowly approaching, at that moment.

Thud thud thud thud!

“They’re here.”

The sound of hoofbeats of extremely few cavalry on the horizon.

It was the sound of an alarm signaling the end of time, and the sound ensuring our victory.

Hearing the faint sound of hoofbeats, Lady Sun also realized there was no more hope and seemed to give up, her tense body going limp.

“It’s too late now, drop your sword.”

Only then did the maids drop their swords one by one.

Clang, clang, clang.

After retrieving the sword from Lady Sun’s hand as well, I released her. Of course, two soldiers stuck by her side so she wasn’t completely free.

After handing Lady Sun over to the soldiers, I passed through the disarmed maids who had stepped back, approaching the small boy who had been held hostage by them.

Liu Shan, 6 years younger than me, was tiny as befitting his age of 5. The little one, smaller than our little one at home, didn’t seem scared of this situation at all, standing composedly without crying.

‘He may be incompetent, but the blood of a ruler doesn’t lie, I suppose?’

Even people who don’t know the Romance of the Three Kingdoms well know that Liu Shan was incompetent. His childhood name Adou later became an insult used to call stupid people.

However, there was such a discrepancy between the stupid Adou I knew and the Liu Shan looking at me with clear eyes that I doubted if they were the same person.

“Young Master Liu.”

As I called him, kneeling on the ground to match his eye level, Liu Shan who had been staring intently at my face opened his mouth wide.

“Pretty big sister…”

My expression crumbled at Liu Shan’s muttered words, and I unknowingly furrowed my brow.

“Pfft.”

Following the sound of someone daring to laugh, I saw Zhang San hurriedly turning his head away, knowing how much I disliked being treated as a woman.

I’ll deal with you later. Zhang San watched me and Liu Shan as intently as a middle-aged woman watching a youth drama, unaware of his own fate.

However, things did not flow as he hoped.

With the sound of hoofbeats growing louder, a majestic shout was heard from the pursuit team that appeared.

“Lady Sun, halt!!”

Along with the deep, resonant shout, a general appeared. How many tall, handsome men with manly spirit comparable to my father, riding white horses could there be?

Zhao Yun had arrived.

Unlike his dramatic entrance, he had nothing to do. The situation had already ended, and all that remained was to take Liu Shan back.

Zhao Yun checked on Liu Shan’s well-being first before turning his attention to me.

“And who might this young lady be?”

Come to think of it, it’s been almost 3 years but this is the first time I’m seeing Zhao Yun.

Zhang Ran’s memories vaguely recall Zhao Yun’s face, but seeing that Zhao Yun doesn’t recognize me right away makes me realize how much I’ve really grown.

Putting aside my reflections for later, I answered him with a salute:

“I am Zhang Ran, eldest daughter of General Zhengliao.”

“Zhang Ran? You mean General Zhang’s daughter? My… that little girl has grown so much. I didn’t recognize you. My apologies.”

“It’s alright. Much time has passed. More importantly, we should deal with this situation first.”

“You’re right. Let’s save the rest of our talk for when we return.”

Zhao Yun ordered the soldiers he brought to collect all the maids’ weapons before greeting Lady Sun.

Despite committing such a serious offense, Zhao Yun’s attitude towards Lady Sun was extremely polite. However, his tone was not.

“Your actions this time have crossed a line.”

“Hmph! Are you going to arrest me then?”

“Go back. And deliver this message. This time, you went too far.”

“…How dare you threaten the Sun family!”

Lady Sun shouted sharply, gnashing her teeth in anger. Though Zhao Yun was speaking politely, the pressure from the anger felt in that respect must have been considerable, but Lady Sun was Lady Sun indeed.

However, does a tiger cower when a black panther rages? Zhao Yun instead stepped closer to Lady Sun and spoke in an unwavering tone:

“Deliver the message clearly.”

“……”

Lady Sun lost the battle of wills. She turned her body sharply, avoiding Zhao Yun’s eyes, and scolded her innocent maids.

“What are you doing! Hurry and release those people and board the ship!”

The maids moved quickly to release the sailors I had captured earlier and prepared to board. Given their numbers, the cleanup was soon over. Just before boarding the ship, Lady Sun glared at me.

Her eyes, which had some goodwill mixed in during our first meeting, were now just vicious and fierce.

“You certainly manipulated Chokupak well.”

The maid she had handed over as the price for her bet with me. But who wouldn’t know that her real purpose was to monitor me and my father?

“You knew we wouldn’t just let it happen, my lady.”

“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have failed.”

I remained silent at those words. In reality, we succeeded in catching her only after mobilizing Zhang Fei as well, so we barely managed to stop her.

But the fact that she broke through the first line of defense of Zhuge Liang and Zhao Yun alone gave credibility to her words.

Therefore, Lady Sun’s words indicated that this incident was carried out with thorough preparation, and further elevated my achievement in preventing it beforehand.

There was no point in refuting out of unnecessary emotion; it would only diminish my own merit. I don’t know what Lady Sun was aiming for with her words, but I didn’t deny them and simply acknowledged them.

“Perhaps so.”

Knowing that further excuses would be futile, Lady Sun boarded the ship without another word. The ship that had been moored slowly began to move as they unfurled the sails and raised the anchor.

The pursuit team still remained dismounted, watching the ship depart.

Though it would no longer be the case, perhaps it was a courtesy towards one who had once been their lord’s wife. It was possible because Liu Shan had been safely rescued.

When the ship seemed to have gone far enough, Zhao Yun spoke:

“Everyone, prepare to return.”

At his words, the pursuit team mounted their horses in perfect unison. It was the swiftness befitting well-trained elite troops.

“Ran, what will you do? It might be best if you return with me.”

In truth, an incident of this magnitude would normally require bringing me to the official residence for questioning, no matter how much merit I had earned. Zhao Yun’s suggestion rather than an order was his consideration for me.

“I will accompany you.”

“Good. We have spare horses, so I’ll lend you one.”

They were each leading two horses so they could change mounts without stopping if one tired during the pursuit. Of course, there were enough horses left even after our group of about ten mounted.

“Thank you. However, my soldiers don’t know how to ride horses and might fall behind. Would it be alright if I lead them and follow slowly?”

“Do so. I’ll go ahead and report to the lord in advance.”

“I appreciate your consideration.”

I distributed one horse each to my soldiers from those provided by the pursuit team.

They had chosen the gentlest ones from there too, so even though it was their first time riding, the soldiers somehow managed to mount successfully.

As I was about to mount my horse, a sudden commotion broke out behind me. Everything had ended well, so what could be the problem now?

“No!”

“Young Master, we must return now.”

“No!”

Liu Shan had become a broken record of “No,” and Zhao Yun, who had been so dignified just moments ago, was now at a loss.

Despite having held him so preciously to his bosom and fought his way out of mortal danger at Changban, Zhao Yun’s pleas fell on deaf ears as Liu Shan kept throwing a tantrum.

“Young Master, if you want to play in the water, I can go back and ask the lord to—”

“That’s not it!”

I secretly giggled. Yes, this is Liu Shan. It’s surprising that he didn’t cry and remained calm at 5 years old, and his clear pronunciation is impressive, but a child is still a child.

Still, Liu Shan was known to listen to his ministers’ words uncannily well, so I thought this would end soon enough, when Liu Shan’s clear voice struck my eardrums:

“I want to go with the pretty big sister!”

“Huh?”