Warring States Survival Guide
Chapter 97 - 60 Sorry About That_2

Chapter 97: Chapter 60 Sorry About That_2

Ah Qing watched from the side for a while and figured out his intention, so she helped him saddle the horse and quietly asked, "Are you going out?"

"No, I just want to learn to ride." Harano replied honestly. Seeing that Ah Qing seemed pretty adept at saddling, he was struck by a thought, "Do you know how to ride?"

Ah Qing shook her head, but after thinking about it, she earnestly said, "I haven’t ridden before, but I’ve watched lots of people ride—maybe I can help you."

Previously, Harano had been teaching her to read, and she was willing to pay him back in some small way—at the very least, she could keep watch nearby and help calm the horse, so it wouldn’t toss him off and break his neck—she was pretty confident about that; animals with a bit of spirit always got along with her.

"Alright then, let’s learn together!" Harano figured learning together wasn’t a bad idea. Anyway, he’d eventually have to make sure everyone had a horse, so sooner or later they’d need the skill.

Yeah, with armor ready, and then being able to gallop wildly, they’d be even safer—everyone could survive this chaos!

......

Harano was learning to ride by himself—turns out, by sheer luck, the calico filly he’d bought was perfect for beginners. She had a very gentle temperament, never kicked, would run at a light tap, would stop as soon as you tugged the reins, didn’t have any sort of temper, never tried to buck anyone off—and so, after a few days, barely needing Ah Qing’s help at all, Harano could already ride smoothly, trot, and even occasionally crouch forward for a little burst of speed.

Of course, he still lagged way behind Ah Man and Ah Qing. They were lighter, nimble, quick to react, and picked up riding much faster. Ah Man could even already do tricks—sometimes jumping off to run alongside the horse, then swinging back up in a flash, riding facing forward, backward, sideways, and even daring to make the horse jump fences—completely wild.

As for Ah Qing, she didn’t really show off, but he figured she had to be even better than Ah Man—the calico filly obviously liked her best. Maybe she and the horse were one by now.

You had to admit, training in martial arts since childhood had its uses—at least it made you brave, unafraid of falling, and totally unfazed by death, which made her way stronger than Harano in that respect.

The whole group just hid at home, diligently preparing armor, sharpening blades, and practicing horsemanship, everyone fired up. After all, this was the right way to survive chaotic times—get a read on the trends early, make thorough preparations, design a dozen or so contingency plans, and make sure you could handle any surprise. The last thing you wanted was to wait until someone’s blade was already hacking at your head before you opened your bloodshot eyes, let out a roar, and started a desperate brawl.

Sure, that’s passionate and dramatic, but even if you survive, you’ll end up battered and blood-soaked—nay, that’s just plain dumb.

Harano didn’t want to be a dummy, so he bunkered down at home, practiced riding, got used to wearing armor, and had Ah Qing teach him some fighting moves. Each day, he just sent Ah Man out to scope the neighborhood, to see when things would finally kick off. But after waiting another four or five days, there was still no movement from Oda Shinsei over at Mosen Castle. Maybe inheriting all that land and holding Mosen Castle was enough for him—he didn’t seem at all interested in gathering men to storm Nagano Castle and finish off Oda Nobunaga.

"Not a single move?" Harano was confused, too. Was the battle for the big seat just... over? Were these brothers just going to live peacefully together? Was he not the least bit afraid that Oda Nobunaga would strike first?

"Not a thing! Old Lady Tsuchida even organized a flower viewing party yesterday!" Ah Man chimed in, unable to resist launching into some hindsight advice. "See, I told you, don’t spend all our money on armor and weapons! You wouldn’t listen. Regret it now, don’t you? I said we should’ve used the money to make more money instead. Now it’s like we threw it into the river—who knows how much we’ve lost!"

"Let’s wait a bit longer—maybe nobody’s ready yet." Harano wasn’t sure himself now. If the brothers weren’t going to fight after all, then after being on edge for over twenty days, he really was being a bit of an idiot.

"Well, if nothing’s happening, let’s use what little money we have left to buy some bean cakes at Nagano Castle’s castle town. Hurry up and brew a new batch of soy sauce to sell to the old monk—get some cash back!" Ah Man thought waiting around was just too stupid. She started coming up with plans, wanting desperately to replenish their savings—she missed the feeling of sleeping atop piles of coins.

Harano frowned in thought; one moment he figured it was too early to restart production, the next he thought maybe he was just being paranoid—just worrying for nothing. While he was stuck wavering, a heavy bell suddenly rang out, and moments later, the sound of the Dharma conch followed.

He had experience now and knew this was the Oda Family summoning the Lang Faction, so he wasn’t as startled as last time. But this time, something was clearly different—the bell was getting more and more urgent, the conch’s call forming a continuous wail. It sounded like an emergency muster, like something big had happened—maybe the enemy was almost on them already!

He listened for a moment, already running through scenarios A to K in his head, and snapped, "Didn’t you say nothing’s happening? What the hell is this, then?"

Running out every day to scout, and you bring back nothing—while right here, there’s an emergency call! There’s a good chance the fighting’s already started!

Ah Man looked both doubtful and uneasy, but her instincts kicked in, and she snapped back, "It can’t be Mosen Castle—there’s been no sign of movement from that side at all! Nobody’s mobilized anything!"

But she didn’t sound that confident. Afraid that maybe Mosen Castle had pulled a fast one and gone for a sneak attack—if so, her reputation as a pro scout was done for. So after a bit of token backtalk, she scrambled to her feet to rush out for a look, desperate to redeem herself. But as soon as she flung the door open, Yayoi tumbled inside, sprawling on the ground as she reported, "Sir Saburo, a member of the Lang Faction is here to see you."

Harano was anxious to figure out which contingency plan to initiate and hurried to receive the guest. The Lang Faction man seemed calm enough, though his tone was a bit rushed: "Lord Nozawa, sorry to trouble you—Lord Okurakiyebi asks for your presence at once."

Harano didn’t agree right away; instead, he quickly asked, "What’s this sudden muster about? Did something happen?" If thousands were coming to attack, well, sorry—he’d be out of here first.

The Lang Faction member didn’t hide anything. Harano’s house was right here—clearly one of their own. He spoke directly: "The Matsudaira family is attacking the Dongjin and East Wood forts. Lord Okurakiyebi has been ordered to gather at Nagano Castle and prepare for battle!"

Harano was stunned for a second. What happened to the promised brotherly feud? Why had the Matsudaira family suddenly shown up? What the hell were they doing here—trying to profit from the chaos?