179 Black sheep

" Commander! Thank god, you are a woman." Yinri cried tears of relief as she personally tested Xia Lain by groping all over her chest bandages. Slapping Yinri's paws away, Xia Lian sighed helplessly.

" Yinri, don't address me like that here. Just call me by my name."

" Hmm..." Yinri hesitated for a while " Then I will call you sister Lian."

" Yinri, I am just about to turn 13 in a month. Even then, I am younger than you by 3 years. Just call me Lian."

" L-Lian!" Yinri exclaimed incredulously " No matter how tiny you are, you are a 24 years old woman in my eyes. You are like my elder sister, this sudden change is overwhelming."

" Whatever! Just call me Lian and get over with it." Xia Lian rolled her eyes as Yinri pursed her lips. She couldn't understand what this girl was feeling so bad about. Xia Lian sighed helplessly and stopped in her tracks to face Yinri.

" Yinri, just imagine this. I, a 24 old woman acting as a naive 12 year old." Xia Lian spoke seriously " This is no joke, dear general. I made many mistakes and by god's grace, those around me never questioned me about anything even though they are suspicious."

In Xia Lian's view, acting as a naive 12 year old when she was actually a 24 year old soul was challenging. No matter how hard she tried to convince to act, mistakes are bound to happen. And she committed a grave mistake in the beginning.

" I don't believe you." Yinri stated dryly.

Xia Lian raised her brows, a wry smile graced her lips as she threw a question at Yinri" Yinri, have you ever heard of gunpowder in this era?"

"Eh?! Gunpowder?" Yinri widened her eyes " How is it possible?"

" I personally accompanied the prince in gunpowder excavation. I even told him that it is called gunpowder."by this time Xia Lian's face was gloomy and her face darkened by several degrees as she noticed the ' are you a fool?' expression on Yinri's face.

" Is he handsome?" though it was an unrelated question Xia Lian nodded her head. Li Wei was handsome no matter how you look at him. There was nothing to deny.

" Fufu..." Yinri had a smug look on her face as she giggled " Commander, don't tell me that you lost all sense of reason before a handsome specimen!"

" Don't look at me like that!" Xia Lian grumbled " Though I appreciate beauty, I am not a person who loses reason over beauty ah! I was over excited at that time and accidentally blurted out that it is called gunpowder."

Of course, Yinri did not believe Xia Lian. She must know who this man was " Commander, who is he?"

" He is the fourth prince of Qilin empire, Xuan Li Wei."

Oh! So, there was a male lead and female lead.Now, she the supporting female lead has arrived. Xia Lian was oblivious to Yinri's thoughts as she casually continued.

" The strange thing is that, Li Wei did not appear shocked that I knew of that name. Did you get anything?" Xia Lian folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes at Yinri who had a foolish smile on her face. Yinri straightened herself sub-consciously under Xia Lian's sharp gaze. This was the aura of her commander when she discusses battle strategies with them. This only means that the discussion is important and Yinri pondered for a while, before a glint passed in her eyes.

" It can only mean one thing. The people of this era are familiar with gunpowder." Yinri paused for a heartbeat before continuing " There is no way that the people of this era could produce gunpowder. Commander, are you thinking the same thing as me?"

" I am not thinking, I am sure of this. There is someone out there like you and me. We don't know if he or she is a comrade or foe. That person is now in Azure country and we are going to pay a visit to him or her soon."

Xia Lian's face was determined as she spoke " This world is embroiled in a myriad of battles. We shouldn't add chaos by introducing such things in here. We should stop that person either by talks or force."

" Also, the people in Qilin country have no idea about the formula. They only know the usage."

" Commander, how are you sure of that?"

" If they had the formula, why will they remain calm without producing it. Gunpowder has too many benefits to resist in this era. The only reason why they are silent is that they don't have the formula in their hands?"

" En" Yinri nodded her head "We should catch the black sheep soon."

' Black sheep?' Xia Lian choked on her breath. If that person is a black sheep, they are also the same ah!

" Yinri, let's not jump into conclusions without knowing if that person is forced to do this or not. For now, we are all in the same boat." Xia Lian practically pleaded the girl now " If you don't want us to be burned like roasted chicken in the future, stop calling me commander. Call me Lian and let's speak about our matters when we are alone."

" En" Yinri also understood the implications if anyone heard their strange banter. She was sure that they will execute both of them mistaking them for witches ah!

Yinri felt chills all over her body at that thought and followed Xia Lian wordlessly.

" Is there any family for you here?"

" No, just a single woman on her own." Yinri sighed before smiling " Now I have you. So, no worries."

" Now you have not only me. There's our little brother ... Forget it, now we have a super large family." Yinri was surprised on seeing the smile on her commander's face.

In their past life, Xia Lian and she grew up in an orphanage. Xia Lian was actually older than her by four years. She was the elder sister she never had. The only reason why Yinri followed her into the military is that she would be able to stay by Xia Lian's side all the time. It was only after entering the military that they became a part of the huge family called ' brother's in life and death.'

So, the smile on Xia Lian's face could only mean good. Yinri trusted Xia Lian blindly, so she was looking forward to meet this family.