Chapter Eleven: Exercise

  Zhuge said: "Tell Yunchang to go and ask General Xiaoye for some armor and weapons to borrow."

  I want to play the weak, overlapping two fingers crying and singing a section of Xipi Liu Shui: shouting Zhuge you heart too biased, my brothers come to exercise, the sun stands in this backyard, one careless and life returns to heaven ah life returns to heaven.

  Yun Chang reacted quickly and remained calm in the face of danger.

  He said: "This... is indeed available, but students think that whether it's marching to battle or daily practice, the emphasis is on the weapon being handy and the armor fitting well. Otherwise, it will become a burden."

  Yun Chang's face remained unchanged as he said.

  I gazed at him with adoring eyes: At the critical moment, it's still Yun Chang!

  Are you okay?

  Guan Yunchang, I think it's okay.

  I looked at Zhuge Xiaoliang with a pleased expression: How about this, can we finally take a break and get some rest now?

  "I..." Yide was still muttering something behind me, I lifted my foot and quietly stepped on his toe.

  "Alas!" Yide finally kept silent honestly.

  Zhuge Xiaoliang's eyes were fixed on me for a moment, then shifted to Yun Chang, just as we thought the plan was about to succeed and we could finally escape Zhuge's clutches.

  Zhuge Xiaoliang reluctantly opened his mouth: "That's also true."

  Victory does not come easily! I almost jumped up and shouted "freedom", but finally endured it.

  Zhuge Xiaoliang paced back and forth a couple of times, then looked up at the sky again before finally saying: "Since that's the case..."

  I exchanged a glance with Yun Chang.

  Zhuge Xiaoliang finally stood still and looked up towards the outside of the courtyard, shouting: "Lu Qing, have they arrived?"

  "Ah Qing? Isn't that my little servant?" Yun Chang asked in puzzlement.

  Only a clear voice of a young man outside the wall replied: "Mr. Hui, we have arrived."

  "Are all your things ready?" Zhuge asked again.

  "Yes, I have brought everything."

  "Well, then let's hurry up and come in, no need to waste any more time." Zhuge smiled slightly and waved his feather fan.

  "What's going on here again?" I exchanged a glance with Yunchang, and we both saw an expression of bad premonition on each other's faces.

  "Sorry, Yun Chang..." Zhuge Xiaoliang nodded towards Yun Chang, "While the three of you were studying hard, I asked your servant Ah Qing to do something."

  "What's going on?" Yunchang asked, his two eyebrows almost twisted together.

  Zhuge did not respond, but instead shifted his gaze towards the gate of the courtyard.

  Yi De emerged from behind me, and the three of us stood shoulder to shoulder, looking out -

  At the gate of the courtyard, three people walked out in a line. The first one was Lu Qing, Yunchang's personal attendant. Next was a slender young man, surprisingly my own attendant Xiao Yin. The last one was a burly man, Wei, who followed Yide.

  The three of them carried a big bamboo pole together and then put it on the ground, standing beside it with their hands stuck to it.

  I, Yunchang, and Yide all stared straight ahead.

  "Isn't that my armor box?" Yide pointed at the trunk in front of Old Wei and shouted.

  Under his reminder, I suddenly also realized that the trunk under Xiaoyin's feet looked very familiar. At the same time, Yun Chang murmured: "That is mine..."

  Under Zhuge's supervision, the three small servants took out each person's armor from the box and served their young masters to put it on. Moreover, they also brought convenient weapons with them, truly providing comprehensive service.

  My twin swords, Yunchang's Green Dragon Crescent Blade, and Yide's Eight-Sided Snake Spear.

  I'm so touched, and also too considerate. Damn Zhuge Liang, is this the legendary "calculating without leaving any strategy unexploited"?

  I almost got emotional and shed tears.

  Yi De blinked his eyes and muttered something under his breath.

  I saw Yun Chang's face also reveal a inexplicable and hidden bitter resentment expression.

  ——————————————————————————

  At noon, the sun was high in the sky, and it was a good time to take a nap. However, I, Yunchang, and Wingde were standing in the spacious backyard of Yunchang's house, dressed up and looking like we were about to go into battle. We began practicing our martial arts with great vigor.

  The belt is so tight it's almost cutting off my waist, and I feel like I'm being steamed in a bamboo steamer.

  Yi De and Yun Chang's relationship can't get any better than this.

  In a gasping moment, I stuck out my tongue and asked Xiaoyin: "Did Dad ask where I went? Did he tell me to hurry back?"

  Xiao Yin smiled and said: "Back to Young Master, the old master heard that Mr. Zhuge is going to teach the three young masters, he was so happy that he almost set off firecrackers to celebrate. The old master said, please ask the young master to focus on practicing his skills, reading books, and not to worry about home. At the same time, the old master also expressed his gratitude to Mr. Zhuge..."

  This slave stopped talking to me and turned around to bow to Zhuge Xiaoliang, saying: "My master said, please train the young master well, Mr. Zhuge, don't hold back, use all your strength to train him, no matter how long it takes, the intensity can be high, my master has already made good psychological preparations, and will definitely invite you to dinner at home to thank you."

  At the same time, Lu Qing and Lao Wei also came over, one standing behind Zhu Ge to massage his shoulders, and the other pouring a cup of tea into his hand. And in unison, they expressed their family's gratitude towards Zhu Ge.

  I stared in shock and dismay at the traitors, a group of traitors.

  Zhuge nodded repeatedly: "Alright, alright, please inform His Majesty that Zhuge will definitely not betray the trust."

  These people quickly became close friends.

  ——————————————————————

  I sat on the steps, Yun Chang leaned against the pillar with his knife, and the three of us stared at the harmonious scene in front of us, all a bit petrified.

  Can't believe my ears: our old man just sold his own children like that? They must not have seen the true face of Zhuge Lang, they were all blinded by the glorious titles in front of his name - I was like that too a day ago. But if it goes on like this for a few more days, will we still have a way out...

  Empiricism is killing people...

  Zhuge held a feather fan in his hand, covering half of his face, and with a slight raise of his eyelids, he gazed over calmly.

  This person's calm and carefree demeanor makes our three vagabond warriors look even more disreputable.

  No wonder those three slaves looked at him with adoring eyes, and occasionally glanced at their master with contemptuous gazes.

  Defection was so swift.

  And I understand their feelings.

  Even I myself, first look at the white-clothed, feather-fan-waving, black-haired, jade-faced Zhuge, then turn to look at the two brothers beside me, panting like oxen, sweating profusely, with angry faces, and my own self. The psychological feeling under this visual contrast is extremely strong, just like looking at white clouds after seeing three piles of mud. This is what is called "the difference between cloud and mud".

  Fanning gently with a feather fan to cover the corner of her mouth, Zhuge Xiaoliang looked at me and blinked lightly at me.

  ——————————————————————

  Facing the scorching September sun, Liu Xuan De, Guan Yun Chang and Zhang Yi De, three men, were sweating profusely, panting heavily, with flashes of swords and shadows on the scene, occasionally bursting out in angry cries. Heaven knows that wasn't the excited roar from practicing martial arts.

  But this also has a good effect, which is that drowsiness disappears completely.

  Meanwhile, Zhuge Liang sat in a cool pavilion, sipping the best sour plum soup prepared by Shu's generals and elders, fanning himself with an ornamental fan that was more decorative than practical, occasionally glancing at the beautiful scenery before him.

  I even heard him let out a slightly melancholic sigh: "What a comfortable and lonely summer time..."

  In an instant, all three of us wanted to rush up and beat him.