Chapter 43: Blossoming Feelings

“Did that really work?”

Liu Bei was genuinely astonished.

‘What kind of mysterious principle is this?’ he wondered in disbelief.

At the same time, he gave Mengde a small nod and let out a breath of relief.

“Thank you, miss. I feel much calmer now.”

“It actually worked?” Mengde tilted her head, murmuring in confusion.

Then she looked down at Liu Bei and suggested, “Since that’s the case, you should try going to sleep now. See if you can fall asleep like this.”

“Sleep? Right here?”

Liu Bei glanced around the grassy field with the corner of his eye, clearly surprised.

“Where else? Where were you planning to sleep?” Mengde shot back, unimpressed.

“In your tent? Or in mine?”

“Alright, alright! Here is fine!” Liu Bei responded quickly, startled by her bold words.

“But…”

“But what?”

Liu Bei hesitated before asking, “If I fall asleep, what will you do? You’re not seriously planning to sit here all night being my pillow, are you?”

“As if!”

Mengde rolled her eyes in exasperation.

“I’ll let you rest on my lap for a bit. Once you fall asleep, I’ll wake you up and send you back to your own tent. By then, you’ll be groggy and half-asleep, so you’ll probably knock out as soon as you lie down. No time left for thinking about all that nonsense.”

“…Alright then.”

Liu Bei nodded, a little disappointed.

Truth be told, he had been looking forward to sleeping on the girl’s lap for the entire night.

But once he imagined the cost—Mengde sitting still all night in the breeze just to be his pillow—he quickly gave up that tempting thought.

He closed his eyes and rested his head on Mengde’s cool, smooth, jade-like thighs.

Mengde idly ran her slender fingers through Liu Bei’s hair, like she was stroking a cat.

The gentle sensation sent a pleasant tingle through Liu Bei’s brain.

In that quiet, soothing atmosphere, it didn’t take long for Liu Bei to drift off.

Mengde glanced down at Liu Bei, who had curled up slightly in his sleep like a child resting on her lap.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of her lips.

“Didn’t expect it to work this well…” she whispered in awe.

***

After a while, once Liu Bei’s breathing had grown steady and he had fallen into a deep sleep, Mengde lightly patted his head.

“Are you asleep?”

Just like that, Liu Bei was cruelly awakened from his deep sleep.

He frowned and grumbled, “I was… until now, anyway…”

“Quit whining!”

Mengde gave his head another firm pat.

“Hurry up and go back to your own tent!”

“Oh…”

With a trace of reluctance on his face, Liu Bei lifted his head from the girl’s soft thighs.

After saying goodbye to her, he returned to his own tent.

Once Liu Bei left, Mengde also stood up with a pained expression, rubbing her sore thighs that had grown numb from sitting so long.

Fortunately, her current body was flexible enough to sit in the “duck position.”

If she had been even slightly stiffer, her legs might have broken from Liu Bei resting on them for so long.

Mengde sighed helplessly and headed back to her own quarters.

***

Since that night, Liu Bei was no longer afraid of killing.

He no longer had nightmares.

Whenever he felt fear at the thought of taking another life, the memory of resting his head on that girl’s lap would surface in his mind.

Beautiful memories could wash away all fear.

Compared to that peaceful, comforting night, the chilling sight of corpses strewn across the battlefield seemed almost insignificant.

Like now, for example.

After finishing off more than twenty bandits and burying the bodies, Liu Bei’s expression remained unchanged.

Their caravan had fifty guards in total.

For a band of thieves to dare attack such a group, they must have numbered at least sixty or seventy.

Over the past few days, Liu Bei had been cutting down enemies nonstop.

Through this battlefield experience, his swordsmanship had become sharper and more efficient.

All the flashy, useless techniques were discarded, leaving behind only killing moves designed to take down opponents in a single strike.

After all, there was no time for theatrics on the battlefield.

Once the field was cleared, Liu Bei mounted his horse again and returned to the area near Mengde’s carriage.

He kept his eyes sharp, scanning the surroundings carefully to fulfill his duty of protecting the girl.

After this violent interruption, the caravan continued on its journey.

Mengde poked her head out from the carriage to ask Liu Bei about what had just happened.

“How many casualties on both sides?”

“The enemy had over sixty men. About seven or eight managed to escape. The rest were all killed. On our side, three were injured—two wounded, one dead.”

“How many guards do we still have that can fight?”

“Forty-two, milady.”

“Alright.”

Mengde gave a small nod of resignation.

Since it was battle, there was no way her side would come out completely unscathed.

Their leather armor offered barely any protection.

Even with their numbers, any of her men could get wounded or killed if caught off guard.

Over the past few days, they had lost five guards, had three critically wounded, and eleven with light injuries—despite Liu Bei’s overwhelming strength.

If not for Liu Bei consistently breaking through enemy formations with speed and precision, their casualties would have been far worse.

Even those with light injuries would still have to fight in the coming battles.

As for the critically wounded, in the current medical conditions, they were essentially sentenced to death.

But Mengde refused to abandon them.

She insisted on keeping them in the caravan and giving them proper care.

Thanks to her efforts, two of the three severely injured men were already recovering.

One of them remained unconscious, but at least his condition was stable and no longer worsening.

The two who were awake swore undying loyalty to Mengde from then on.

And the rest of the guards were greatly encouraged by this, knowing that Mengde wouldn’t abandon them if they ever got hurt.

To Mengde, this outcome was an unexpected reward.

She turned back to Liu Bei.

“How much farther until we reach Fuping County?”

“About two more days of travel, milady.”

“Alright.”

Mengde gave a knowing nod and returned inside the carriage.

***

Once their conversation ended, Liu Bei could no longer suppress his emotions.

His cheeks turned slightly red.

Although he hadn’t felt particularly flustered that night when his head was resting on the girl’s thighs, ever since then, he found himself recalling the sensation every time he looked at Mengde—the soft warmth of her legs, and the blush on her face when their eyes met.

His heart would begin to beat uncontrollably fast.

In the heart of this sixteen-year-old boy, a tender and uncertain feeling had begun to take root—one that was quietly growing, destined to become a towering tree over time.