Chinese Generals Summoning System

Chapter 24: Running Into an Acquaintance

When Liu Ji heard Liu Pi say they planned to spend the night in this market town, he immediately turned to the twin sisters, Lin Xiya and Lin Xiwen, sitting inside the carriage and said, “Xiya, Xiwen, it looks like we’ll have to spend the night in this town after all!” Lin Xiya replied in a sweet voice, “Whatever you decide, Young Master—we sisters will follow your lead.” Lin Xiwen chimed in with a smile, “Anyway, as long as we’re by your side, Young Master, with so many highly skilled bodyguards protecting us, we don’t need to worry about our safety anywhere.” Three days had passed since they left the bandit stronghold. During those three days, Liu Ji’s relationship with the twin sisters had grown much closer. Through subtle probing, he had finally confirmed that what Lin Xiya and Lin Xiwen meant by “staying with him” was exactly what he had suspected: these two stunning beauties were truly willing to become his women. Despite his excitement, Liu Ji refrained from making any inappropriate advances toward Lin Xiya and Lin Xiwen; he hadn’t even touched the twins’ small hands. It wasn’t that the twin sisters wouldn’t let Liu Ji take advantage of the situation; rather, his behavior in his previous life had been downright baffling. He had never had a girlfriend and, aside from relieving his physical needs on his own, had never had any real-life experience with women—though he had accumulated a wealth of theoretical knowledge from Japanese adult films. Although the twin sisters were willing to be his women, Liu Ji was a bit shy in that regard. Deep down, he was dying to carry Lin Xiya and Lin Xiwen straight to bed, but on the surface, he remained polite and well-mannered. Over the past few days, Lin Xiya and Lin Xiwen had discovered many admirable qualities in Liu Ji—such as his talent and his way with words—his wit, his calm temperament, and his considerate manner—all of which led the sisters to believe that meeting Liu Ji was a blessing from heaven. They were eager to pledge themselves to him immediately; even the memory of that young Master Zhao, whom Lin Xiya had secretly admired back in Qinhuai City, was gradually fading from her mind. Unfortunately, Liu Ji remained nothing but polite toward them, so even if they harbored any thoughts of throwing themselves at him, they had no choice but to keep them hidden—after all, young women simply cannot take the initiative in such matters! After the two sisters finished speaking, Liu Ji called out to the outside of the carriage: “Liu Pi, have Hua Xiong and the others find a place to stay. We’ll rest in this town for the night.” Liu Ji’s party now had five warhorses. Aside from the two still pulling the carriage, Hua Xiong, Yue Yi, and Gong Du were each riding one of the other three, while Liu Pi and You Tong sat in the front of the carriage, and Chen Hao drove the ox cart behind them. After three days of interaction, Liu Ji realized that although Chen Hao wasn’t exactly a fool, he was certainly a bit simple-minded. However, there were advantages to his simplicity: ever since Liu Ji had tricked him into joining his ranks, Chen Hao had followed Liu Ji’s orders almost to the letter, carrying out every task without the slightest hesitation. Moreover, despite Chen Hao’s intimidating appearance, he was actually good-natured and got along very well with the five generals Liu Ji had summoned. Hua Xiong, Yue Yi, and the others all took a liking to this simple-minded giant; even Liu Niuniu was happy to spend time with Chen Hao, asking him to play with her. Soon, Hua Xiong, Yue Yi, and Gong Du found an empty courtyard by the side of the street. But shortly after Liu Ji and the others had settled into this courtyard, the main street of the town suddenly erupted into commotion. “You Tong, go out to the street and see what’s going on. Who are those people?” Hearing the sudden appearance of a large crowd on the street, Liu Ji immediately ordered You Tong to investigate. After all, this town wasn’t safe—otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so deserted. “Yes, my lord!” You Tong set down the firewood he’d been preparing to light the fire with, grabbed his weapon, and walked out of the courtyard. The other generals inside, who had been preparing dinner, also grabbed their weapons one after another. A moment later, You Tong returned to the courtyard. “My Lord, a group of disaster refugees has arrived. They’re also coming from the direction of Wan Prefecture—at least several hundred of them. They seem to be planning to spend the night in this town. However, there aren’t many elderly, women, or children among them. Additionally, there are about twenty able-bodied men wearing leather armor, but these armored men don’t look like refugees.” Upon hearing that they were refugees, Liu Ji didn’t give it much thought—even the presence of twenty armored men didn’t concern him. Still, he instructed several of his generals: “As long as those people don’t enter our courtyard, we needn’t pay them any mind. But be careful tonight—in times like these, refugees can turn into bandits.” Liu Ji did have some grain on hand, but he had quite a few people of his own to feed, so he had no intention of actively providing relief to the refugees. Moreover, with hundreds of refugees outside, the meager supplies he possessed would be enough to feed this group for only a few meals at most. After this group of disaster refugees entered the town, with the exception of a band of fully armed young men, the rest immediately began scrambling about the town, searching for anything that might be useful to them—especially food. As for the courtyard where Liu Ji was staying, because several military commanders had stood outside the gate for a while, the refugees tactfully gave Liu Ji’s courtyard a wide berth. At dusk, Liu Ji, Liu Niuniu, and the twin sisters were having dinner in a room when Hua Xiong walked in and said to Liu Ji, “My Lord, several people from that group of disaster victims outside wish to see you.” Liu Ji furrowed his brow. If the disaster victims wanted to see him, they must be here to beg for alms. “Have them choose one person to come in and wait for me in the courtyard for now.” “Yes, my lord!” Just then, the younger twin sister, Lin Xiwen, asked, “Young Master, do those disaster victims want to ask us for some grain?” Liu Ji sighed and said, “They’re probably here to beg for alms.” His twin sister, Lin Xiya, said in a sweet voice, “Young Master, if we can help, let’s do so! There have been far too many people starving to death along the way!” Liu Ji nodded and said, “We should have no trouble setting aside a few hundred jin from our grain supply. I’ll go see them first and decide then.” Hua Xiong stepped out of the house and approached the courtyard gate. There, You Tong and Liu Pi were standing outside the gate, while across from them stood five men. Their appearance certainly didn’t suggest they were disaster victims; four of them wore leather armor and carried weapons, iron shields, and bows and arrows, while the other, a middle-aged man, wore a blue cotton robe and carried no weapons at all. Hua Xiong addressed the five men in a deep voice: “My lord has instructed you to choose one person to come inside!” The middle-aged man in the cotton robe smiled and said, “Thank you for your trouble, brave warrior. Then let Chen go in!” He then turned to the four warriors beside him and said, “You all wait here!” As Liu Ji stepped out of the house, he saw the middle-aged man in the courtyard and immediately felt that he looked familiar. Upon seeing Liu Ji, the man exclaimed with delight, “Cousin, what are you doing here? Where is Master Liu?” The moment he heard “Cousin,” Liu Ji instantly recognized who the middle-aged man before him was from his memories. This man was the steward of his late mother’s family. Last year, when his maternal uncle Chen Yan had sent a cartload of grain to his father, it was this very steward who had led the delivery party. “Uncle Chen, what are you doing here?”