Light and Shadow

Chapter 7 - A Meeting

As Xun Yu approached the palace and walked through the open double doors, the smell of sage and lavender wafted into his nose. He walked as quickly as he could in the direction of Cao Cao's room, and he heard the man yelling furiously. He felt himself fill with anxiety as he approached the room, and he did his best to prepare himself to face an angry Cao Cao. Helping the man cope with his anger was never easy, in fact, it sometimes made him nervous to be around him, but he was the one that their Lord always requested whenever he was enraged or stricken with grief.

As he approached the door of Cao Cao's room that now appeared to loom before him, he stopped in front of the two guards that stood watch. They asked him to state his name and business, like usual, and they immediately ushered him in. When he walked into the room, he saw Cao Pi sitting on the floor, bowed with his forehead touching the ground, and a familiar man sat in the same position next to him. His name was Sima Yi, and Xun Yu was the one who recommended him to Cao Cao due to his incredible cunning. They only recently managed to acquire his services. He had his long, black hair pulled up in a bun on the crown of his head, and he wore a white paofu with a soft green underlayer. The man appeared to be relatively calm, while Cao Pi exuded an air of nervousness and fear.

Xun Yu bowed as he stood a little over one and a half meters behind the two, and Cao Cao motioned for him to come closer. He obliged, and he noticed as Sima Yi looked up at him from his bowed position on the floor. He quickly averted his eyes back to the floor when he met Xun Yu's gaze.

"Cao Pi, Sima Yi, would you care to repeat what you told me only moments ago?" Cao Cao inquired calmly, although his irritation was still evident.

Cao Pi and Sima Yi exchanged nervous glances among each other before returning their attention to Cao Cao and Xun Yu.

"My Lord, while we were out two nights ago, we saw several suspicious people lurking in the shadows and surveilling the city. At least two out of the seven spies that we could see were carefully watching Minister Xun." Cao Pi stated.

Xun Yu frowned. Not only did Cheng Yu see someone following him, but now Cao Pi and Sima Yi had seen someone following him as well. He felt taken aback by the entire situation. Why would anyone hire people to follow him? He did not have any dark secrets that he was hiding, and he tried his best to never harm others. Was the battle between their Lord and Yuan Shao approaching? Or was this surveillance due to something else? The more he thought about it the more scenarios he came up with, and none of them were good.

"Why didn't you inform me of this sooner? Or at least try to neutralize the situation?" Cao Cao asked sternly, focusing his fury more on his son than on Sima Yi.

Xun Yu sat down in front of Sima Yi and Cao Pi, and the two looked up at him with confused expressions. Even Cao Cao was bewildered by the man's action, but chose to say nothing.

"Masters Cao Pi and Sima Yi, do you remember what these spies looked like?" Xun Yu asked.

"Well, I am afraid that I didn't get a good look at them, but they were wearing a black face covering and black cloaks over what appeared to be wide black pants. I hope that is helpful." Sima Yi replied, earning a nod from Xun Yu.

Could these spies somehow be related to the man that I saw lurking in the alley in Puyang? He was also wearing clothing of a similar style. Maybe I could follow one of the spies back to their headquarters in the city and find out.

"Thank you, Sima Yi. That could prove to be useful information." Xun Yu stated.

The two looked past Xun Yu and at Cao Cao, who now appeared to be a bit calmer than he was before Xun Yu's arrival. The two ceased their bowing position and moved to sit on their knees while still feeling nervous. Sima Yi looked Xun Yu over and as the two made eye contact, Xun Yu noticed the concern that lingered behind Sima Yi's gaze, but he did not voice his concerns and chose to sit there quietly as he shifted uncomfortably in place. He wanted to ask Xun Yu if he was in good health, and if he could help him in some way, but he decided against it because he did not want to potentially embarrass Xun Yu or intrude in business that he was uncomfortable with disclosing. If he gets worse, then I will draw the line and say something. He is a good person, and he is too important to our Lord to risk ignoring his body's rapid deterioration. Sima Yi thought to himself.