I Have a Date with a Thousand-year-old Female Corpse-Chapter 1814 - 1815: Sworn Brotherhood

"You are too kind. At that moment, it was simply the urgency to save someone; I didn’t think much about it."

Your impression of Yuan Xi before you is quite good. With Yuan Xi’s status, possessing such a composed and peaceful demeanor is indeed rare. Moreover, you can see that Yuan Xi is neither putting on a façade nor attempting to win you over; everything he does is genuine.

"Speaking of which, Li Zhuangshi and the Second Miss Zhen have now become a well-known story in Wuji County." Yuan Xi looked at you with a smile, using an envious tone, "I must admit, although I had not met the Second Miss Zhen before, my visit to Wuji County this time was indeed to form a matrimonial alliance with the Zhen Family."

"Hmm?" As soon as Yuan Xi finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room immediately changed. The air suddenly grew heavy, and Yuan Xi, sitting across from you, felt as if he was being watched by a fierce beast, unable to move at all, and even found it extremely difficult to breathe.

Yuan Xi did not expect you to change so quickly, not even considering his own status. He hurriedly spoke, "However, because of your arrival, there is now a new development. I have always admired great heroes who stand firm between heaven and earth, and in my opinion, you completely possess such strength and potential. Hence, I have decided to abandon the alliance with the Zhen Family and instead with you..."

"What!?" Your face changed drastically, and you quickly stepped back a few steps, looking at Yuan Xi with a fearful expression, "No, brother! I do not have a fondness for Longyang, and I have absolutely no interest in men."

Seeing this, Yuan Xi was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter, his laughter carrying a sense of the satisfaction of a successful jest: "Rare, rare indeed, to see such an expression on your face. Hahaha, Li Zhuangshi, you need not worry, my sexual orientation is normal. What I meant was, I wish to become sworn brothers with you!"

"Sworn brothers? With you?" You pointed at Yuan Xi.

Yuan Xi nodded.

"That could be arranged." You returned to your seat, tilting your head to look at Yuan Xi, "With your status, forming a brotherhood with me, are you not afraid of being laughed at by others?"

Yuan Xi chuckled softly and said, "Hmph, why bother with those short-sighted people? How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan!"

"Oh?" You immediately looked at Yuan Xi in a new light. One must say, all the actions Yuan Xi has taken so far, upon careful analysis, reveal that this person possesses very high-level strategies, not inferior to Cao Pi. But compared to Cao Pi, Yuan Xi is more open and direct.

"Old Shu, what do you say?" Yuan Xi looked at you with a smile.

"Since you’ve called me that, how could I refuse?"

You exchanged a glance with Yuan Xi and both let out a hearty laugh.

Half an incense stick’s time later, you and Yuan Xi knelt together under an ancient tree in your backyard, with a table in front of you holding some offerings and an incense burner.

At this moment, you and Yuan Xi exchanged a look and spoke, "I, Li Muyun!"

"Yuan Xi!"

In unison, you declared, "Though unrelated by blood, we become brothers! Entrusting life and death, sharing fortune and misfortune, never abandoning each other! Heaven and earth bear witness, mountains and rivers form our pact! Should we break this vow, let us be utterly destroyed!"

After finishing, the two of you bowed three times to the old tree.

With the ceremony complete, Yuan Xi was the first to call out to you: "Old Shu! I still prefer to call you that because the word ’elder brother’ makes me uncomfortable."

You nodded in understanding. The distinctions of lineage in great families have always been like this.

"Xian Yi, call me whatever you like, but our sworn brotherhood must not be disclosed to outsiders."

"Old Shu, why is that?" Yuan Xi was a bit puzzled; he thought you would announce it everywhere, which would benefit you in many ways.

You smiled mysteriously and said, "The time is not ripe, and I have other plans."

"Very well, I will follow Old Shu’s lead!" Yuan Xi thought for a moment and then said, "Old Shu, since you are now my elder brother, I want to help you. Your idea of the Longmen Escort Agency is excellent, but it’s too small in scale and obviously short-staffed. Why don’t I send some people over?"

You shook your head and said, "Xian Yi, it’s not that I don’t trust you, but I’m taking a different path. As I see it, we are going the high-quality route; manpower should be excellent but not excessive. Moreover, the Longmen Escort Agency is merely a front for me; I have other plans."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Xi immediately asked, "What plans, can you tell me?"

"Why not?" You chuckled, leading Yuan Xi back to the original room, where all other individuals had been ordered to leave, ensuring no one was around. You took a sip of tea, then moistened your finger with the tea, drawing a rough map of the Nine Provinces on the table. Pointing to the location offset to the northeast, where Yan Province was marked, you said, "This is Yan Province, where we are."

Yuan Xi was taken aback, not expecting you to be able to draw a sketch of the Nine Provinces, as this was something only a tiny fraction of high-ranking generals in Yuan Xi’s military knew, and those in the mid to lower ranks were unaware.

You ignored Yuan Xi’s astonishment and continued, "If I’m not mistaken, your father will soon target Han Fu of Jizhou, aiming for Jizhou. Cao Cao is aware of this and has dispatched troops to infiltrate various parts of Yan Province, plotting in secret. In my opinion, these are not matters we should be overly concerned with; what we need to focus on is ourselves. As I surmise, Xian Yi, you seem to be encountering a significant problem."

Yuan Xi nodded; this time, he was not surprised. If you couldn’t see this, he wouldn’t have come to you.

Having seemingly realized something, Yuan Xi took a deep breath and said to you, "I am ashamed to say, little brother had previous doubts about elder brother."

Saying this, Yuan Xi suddenly stood up and bowed deeply to you, respectfully saying, "Brother, I am now in grave danger, please save me!"

You didn’t expect Yuan Xi to say this. In your impression, although Yuan Xi was the second son, during Yuan Shao’s lifetime, he hadn’t suffered much, and Yuan Shao had even appointed him as the Governor of Youzhou. In that aspect, Yuan Shao was quite kind to this second son.

"Speak plainly, there’s no need for evasion between family!"

Your sharp rebuke not only did not make Yuan Xi despair but greatly delighted him. He nodded eagerly and quickly said, "Brother may not know my father’s character well; he has always been fickle and suspicious, trusting only himself and never fully trusting anyone around him, not even my mother, who has been with him for decades. This time, he is determined to take Jizhou, and you know, once he advances on Jizhou, Cao Cao will surely seize the opportunity to invade Yan Province, and the first to suffer will be my territory!"

Your first reaction was to ask, "Where is your territory?"

"Mount Tai County!"

To be honest, you are not well-versed in the geography of the Three Kingdoms period, and this world’s Three Kingdoms are evidently different from the Eastern Han’s Three Kingdoms. As is known, the Eastern Han’s Three Kingdoms had thirteen provinces, while this world has only nine, likely divided following the standards set during Dayu’s flood control.

You thought quickly and said, "Could Mount Tai County be connected to Xuzhou?"

"Precisely! Mount Tai County is a crucial point between Xuzhou and Qing Zhou. Yan Province must pass through Mount Tai County to enter Xuzhou!"

"How far is Mount Tai County from Wuji County?"

"Three days on horseback!" Yuan Xi’s face was tense, clearly grappling with a significant issue.

Upon hearing this, you pondered for a while before solemnly asking, "Besides your Mount Tai County, whose other territory borders Qing Zhou?"

"My elder brother’s territory."

"What is your relationship with your brother Yuan Tan?" you asked directly, your voice also turning serious.