It Wasn’t a Martial Arts World, but the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 95: The Renowned Physician (3)

“Are you sure this is the right place?”

Zhang Fei sighed heavily as she trudged along.

It had been five days already.

Thanks to their relentless march toward their destination, she felt like she’d lost what little weight she had.

“Yes, I’m sure.”

Liu Bei replied with a smile.

Always cheerful as ever, Liu Bei’s demeanor made Zhang Fei sigh even deeper.

Zhang Fei didn’t know exactly what Liu Bei and the Governor of Xu Province had discussed, but after meeting with him, Liu Bei had returned to her usual self.

She was back to being the kind and perpetually smiling older sister whose true intentions were hard to read.

“What the hell kind of mountain banditry requires such grandiose operations in a place like this?”

Zhang Fei brushed off her stray thoughts and refocused on why they were here.

It was the Green Forest, wasn’t it?

As the influence of the Green Forest grew, Zhang Fei, Liu Bei, and Guan Yu came to the farthest edge of Xu Province to subdue them.

The bandits had openly established their organization’s name and spread their presence, and since this was Tao Qian’s land, where he cared deeply for the people’s sentiments, it was only natural that they came here.

“Yide, this isn’t like you. You’re usually the one who can’t sit still in moments like this, rushing headlong into action. Why the long face?”

“…Yun Zhang unni.”

Guan Yu’s words were right.

If it were the usual Zhang Fei, she’d be the loudest, urging everyone forward in excitement to reach their destination as quickly as possible.

But now, Zhang Fei couldn’t be that way.

She looked up at Guan Yu with a face full of concern.

“…Have you not heard the news from the Central Plains?”

“You mean about Cao Cao’s forces and Sun Jian’s?”

“Yes, that.”

Zhang Fei clicked her tongue and spoke again.

“Something feels off.”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s no mention of our brother’s movements at all.”

“Are you talking about Unryong?”

“Yes.”

At Zhang Fei’s words, Guan Yu smiled faintly.

She then gently patted Zhang Fei’s head.

“If it’s Unryong, he’ll be fine.”

“Sigh… I hope so, but something doesn’t sit right with me. Knowing Cao Cao’s personality, she’d be flaunting my brother’s achievements, trying to keep him close by any means. But she’s gone to great lengths to erase his presence.”

“If you’re so worried, you can check on him once this is over. Big Sis will allow it too.”

Guan Yu’s suggestion made Zhang Fei glance over at Liu Bei.

Liu Bei nodded with a warm smile.

“Yes, I’m also curious about what Yide mentioned.”

“…In that case, fine.”

“Oh, we’ve arrived while we were chatting.”

Just as Liu Bei said, the three of them had reached their destination.

From not too far away, the village came into view.

The Han Dynasty was vast—a massive land.

Some areas were governed under the strict laws set by the imperial court, but there were also frontier villages like this, where those laws didn’t apply.

Naturally, such places often suffered from poor security and lacked proper government troops.

Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei first secured an inn. They unpacked their things.

Then, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei sat together, placing a steaming pot of tea at the center, and began their discussion.

“First, we should gather information. Once we locate the Green Forest’s base, we can proceed with the thousand troops we have stationed nearby to subdue them.”

“That sounds good. Let’s start by checking out the nearby taverns.”

Guan Yu and Liu Bei quickly mapped out their plan.

Meanwhile, Zhang Fei…

“Haaaa…”

…continued to sigh with a worried expression.

Liu Bei glanced at Zhang Fei and let out a wry smile.

***

“…You’re here again?”

I was diligently training when I sensed a familiar presence.

“Yes!”

Without turning my head, I knew exactly who that voice belonged to.

It was the girl named Hyeryeon, who had introduced herself the day she had brought a bundle of food.

Since then, despite my telling her not to come, Hyeryeon would leave food supplies at my doorstep.

“I told you not to come.”

“But didn’t you say that if I was just going to drop off food, I might as well show my face? Don’t worry. Since that day, I haven’t told anyone in the village about you, Doctor. I just come because I’m so grateful.”

“…”

Right.

I probably said that because it felt both funny and burdensome that she’d leave food bundles at the door without a word.

And truthfully, it wasn’t easy to outright reject her kindness when Lü Bu and I were short on funds.

The only money we had came from hunting the occasional bandits who wandered this way and receiving rewards, but even those had stopped showing up at some point, leaving us in a position where we could literally starve.

Of course, Lü Bu could hunt, and I could forage, but we had already hunted most of the game and collected nearly all the fruit in the area.

Besides, she was emphasizing how she kept our presence secret, so I figured it wasn’t a big deal anymore.

“Well, thank you.”

I finally sighed and accepted the bundle Hyeryeon had brought.

It felt heavy, packed full once again.

I wondered if I might end up getting fat from all this.

“Oh, and please take this.”

“What’s this now?”

“It’s a cloth that the child’s mother wove herself.”

Hyeryeon handed me a neatly woven handkerchief-like cloth.

“Wow, please thank her for me.”

I scratched the back of my head awkwardly as I accepted it.

Hyeryon smiled brightly and nodded vigorously.

I let out a wry smile and walked over to a nearby tree.

I picked up the cane leaning against the tree and slowly steadied myself.

I had recovered quite a bit.

In fact, I could now walk just fine even without the cane.

It seemed like it had been about a month since we came here.

I had tried sending letters to my younger siblings, including Cao Cao’s army, but I still hadn’t figured out an effective way to do it.

“What the hell, is this annoying girl here again? Don’t you ever get tired of it?”

Just as my worries piled up, a harsh curse came from behind.

Lü Bu had just returned after finishing her bath.

“…W-Well, it’s just that.”

“I told you to stop being so harsh, didn’t I?”

“What, are you taking her side now? Don’t forget who’s been taking care of you all this time.”

“Come on, why is this turning into that kind of conversation? I’m always on your side, Yeo, isn’t that obvious? I just mentioned that people from lower classes are sensitive to rude remarks.”

“…Hmph.”

The main reason I told Hyeryeon not to come here wasn’t just because of my training for a complete transformation; it was also because of Lü Bu.

For some reason, whenever Lü Bu saw Hyeryeon, she’d lash out as if she had some grudge against her.

When I asked why, Lü Bu explained:

“Don’t you remember that time? Even after you saved her, she couldn’t even bow her head properly and kept trembling in fear. I get sick just looking at such ungrateful wretches.”

Her tone was rough, but it was surprisingly understandable, so I couldn’t really argue with her.

I had told her to tone it down a bit.

After all, how many commoners could keep their composure in such urgent situations?

Seeing Lü Bu grind her teeth, Hyeryeon hid behind me, trembling slightly.

“Look at her.”

“Yeo.”

“Ugh, fine, fine! And aren’t you going to keep training? Or are you planning to just sit around like this forever?”

“…That’s not the case.”

I cleared my throat a few times and spoke to Hyeryeon.

“Well, you should be going now. Be careful on your way.”

“Yes!”

“…?”

I had noticed this for a few days now—whenever Hyeryeon made eye contact with me, she’d respond with a gleeful answer, shoulders trembling as if she owned the world.

It felt like I was looking at some idol fan, which left me feeling complicated.

Watching Hyeryeon, Lü Bu clicked her tongue from beside me.

“Well, now that the nuisance is gone, let’s start.”

“Calling her a nuisance… Fine, I got it.”

I adjusted my stance at Lü Bu’s words.

For the past month, we had been training together.

As a result, Lü Bu had become much better at managing qi, and I had regained some of my lost combat sense.

Moreover, I could see the flow of qi in greater detail, allowing me to move far more efficiently than before.

For instance—

“Alright, here I go.”

I took a step forward.

Lü Bu grinned and swung her halberd wide toward my side.

To be precise, she tried to swing.

Thud.

The trajectory of Lü Bu’s swing was abruptly cut off.

“…Ha!”

Lü Bu anticipated it and immediately launched a follow-up strike.

But once again, her flow was interrupted.

I merely predicted the direction of Lü Bu’s swing and blocked it faster.

Before her strikes could fully gain momentum, they were thwarted effortlessly.

Thanks to this, I could easily block Lü Bu’s attacks without exerting much effort.

This was

a technique possible only because I could see the qi with my eyes.

“I told you, there are too many unnecessary movements. Try to move more sharply.”

“Shut up!”

Whoosh—!

As Lü Bu’s halberd approached my head along its trajectory, I thrust my cane forward and struck Lü Bu’s Dokbi Acupoint.

“…?!”

Lü Bu collapsed, unable to exert any strength.

“Control your qi. Spread the qi throughout your body from your dantian. If you can’t manage that, you’ll never be able to use martial arts properly.”

Saying so, I tapped Lü Bu’s Dokbi Acupoint again.

Finally, Lü Bu sighed and stood up, brushing off the dust.

Our practice sessions always went like this.

I would point out Lü Bu’s movements, and she would accept the criticism, gradually sharpening her strikes.

In actual combat, it wouldn’t be this easy to suppress Lü Bu.

Moreover, Lü Bu was holding back, taking my physical condition into account, so it was somewhat embarrassing for me to be giving her instructions so confidently.

Yet, Lü Bu would always seem irritated at times like these, her face reddening as she exhaled sharply.

“Again.”

Lü Bu said, gripping her halberd so tightly that the veins in her hands were visible.

“What do you mean, again?”

I placed my hand on Lü Bu’s shoulder and made her sit.

“We’ve done enough for today. Now it’s time for circulation of qi.”

We had been sweating since dawn before Hyeryeon even showed up.

No matter how Lü Bu felt, if I continued sparring like this, I’d probably end up coughing up blood.

Lü Bu, looking somewhat dejected, put her halberd down and gave me a sidelong glance.

“…Do we really have to do that?”

“After sparring, qi tends to scatter everywhere, so it’s necessary to gather it back into your dantian. Only then can you make progress.”

“Damn it…”

Finally, Lü Bu slammed her halberd into the ground and sat down.

“Move away.”

“Hm?”

I was about to sit beside her when Lü Bu growled.

“Move away.”

“Why are you acting so cold? Lately…”

“Get lost!”

Finally, Lü Bu snapped, shouting furiously.

I pretended to cover my ears and moved away.

Geez, could she be upset about sweating last time?

Moments like these reminded me that Lü Bu was, after all, a woman.

It gave me the chills.

Just as I was setting up at a distance.

“Doctor!”

“…”

A middle-aged man ran toward me and knelt at my feet.

“Please, please, save my wife…”

“…Damn it.”

What the hell was going on now…