The morning was cold yet bright, and the sun shone down from the hard blue sky, but An Ruo disliked the sounds of morning doves. The wind made a nervous whistling sound as it shivered through the branches of the tall trees.
When he stepped out of his tent, the first thing he saw was the weary eyes of the men around him. This didn't settle well for him.
"What's going on?" An Ruo said while striding over to a Tuhan soldier.
The soldier looked at him and scratched the back of his head.
"There seems to be a cart missing."
"Which cart?" An Ruo's brows furrowed.
"The one we had to carry the meat on to the bases. It disappeared."
A cart didn't suddenly just disappear. It was likely it was taken. However, An Ruo could not understand the reason why.
"Prepare the men for another hunt this morning and regather the meat we've lost." An Ruo sighed.
It was already difficult enough that they didn't have enough food for their own camp, but to supply more to the other camps along with more supplies, it was wearing their energy thin.
When he stepped away from the Tuhan soldier who left to carry out the hunt, An Ruo's thoughts wandered.
Why would someone steal it? There were weapons, silks, and fine clothing, but all that was missing was a cart of meat?
He had considered it being villagers from a poor village close by, who happened to see their food and managed to steal it. But An Ruo found that unlikely. Such measly common people couldn't possibly manage to break through their barricade unnoticed, especially by the guards out front.
An Ruo suddenly froze. His mouth tightened and unknowingly, his eyes wandered around, eyeing each soldier's face.
"You there," He walked to a soldier sharpening weapons. "Check the guards posted out front and ask if they saw anyone suspicious leave last night."
"Yes, sir."
While the soldier left, An Ruo found the heels of his feet shifting him in the direction of a certain tent. His footsteps only seemed to quicken as the eeriness in his heart grew. Approaching the soldier posted out front, a chilly look crossed his face.
"Good morning, Commander—"
An Ruo cut him off. "Is he still there?"
"Yes," The solider answered stiffly.
"When was the last time you checked on him?" An Ruo asked, in a tone of deep dissatisfaction.
"L-Last night."
The unease in An Ruo's heart only grew, his eyes growing darker by the second. Shoving past him, he lifted the tent flap and stepped inside…An eerie silence quickly followed.
Apart from a wooden pole in the ground with cut rope on the floor, the tent was empty. Manchu was gone.
"Commander An!" A soldier quickly rushed over. "The guards that were posted out front they…they're dead!"
When the soldier arrived, he happened to glimpse inside the tent to see that Manchu was gone. It was only then he understood the situation.
"C-Commander, forgive me!" The soldier, who was posted in front of Manchu's tent, fell on his knees. "I have failed to keep guard. I will accept my punish—" Just before he could even finish, An Ruo had pulled out the dagger from his side and sliced his throat open to let the blood come bubbling out.
He choked and fell to the floor, clutching his neck. An Ruo stared down at him with dead eyes. Raising a foot, he stepped on his head.
"If I can't kill him today, then I might as well kill you." His voice was more cutting than a blade.
The soldier continued to choke as the pressure on his head increased, An Ruo pushing his boot deeper and deeper into his head. It didn't take long for his previously struggling body to go limp.
The Tuhan on the side watched mildly. When one of their own men had died by their commander, they said nothing. An Ruo turned his head to the men with a chilly expression.
"Inform my father of Manchu and my brother's betrayal. Also, send a request for more men and supplies."
"Yes, commander." The soldier glanced at the empty tent. ��Shall we send a search for Manchu?"
"There's no need. By now he's probably returned to their side. We don't have the energy to get him back." An Ruo glanced at the corpse beneath his feet, his eyes darkened. "Clean up this mess."
The soldier nodded and signaled for two soldiers to help drag the body out. An Ruo stepped away and returned to his tent. Inside, he strode toward the desk and grabbed a paper and pen. Before long, he was writing. When he was done, he sent a guard outside to deliver it.
The wind was blowing heavy, the tents and banners flapping furiously against it. An Ruo stood by his tent and watched the Tuhan soldiers with an unreadable gaze. His eyes lowered to the blood on his boots. It was still wet. He wiped it against the dirt floor with a hidden sneer.
"Filthy."
…
All day, the wind blew, steady from the west at first, and then in wild gusts. The sun set in a blaze of red. Rin spent all afternoon writing a letter and told everyone not to disturb her. When the letter was done, she called for Ju and watched as he flew out the window to deliver it. Now she was sitting and looking at maps.
After an hour or two, she stood up from her desk and went out for fresh air. Rin took a breath of the crisp afternoon air and allowed herself to ease for a bit. The western sky was rosy near the horizon and pale gray higher up.
Hands behind her back, she looked up at the sky and listened to the soothing sounds of doves. There was a smell of rain in the evening air, but no drops were falling yet. A smile played on her lips.
It truly was a beautiful day.
"Advisor Lan," A voice sounded behind her.
When she turned around, Rin saw it was a soldier from the imperial palace.
"They've arrived." He said.
Heeding his words, the smile on Rin's lips grew.
"Then let's welcome them, shall we?" She walked past the soldier with steps as light as her heart.
They arrived in front of a large wooden door. A bedroom to be more exact. When she knocked on the door announcing her presence, a familiar figure opened the door. His deep gray eyes stared down at her with a new light. He smiled.
"Come in," An Sun opened the door wider for her.
Nodding her head in thanks, Rin stepped inside and instantly turned her gaze to the man on the bed. A large sense of relief floated off her chest.
"It's been a while, Sir Manchu." Rin smiled.
With linen bandages wrapped all around his back, arms, and legs, those blue eyes never failed to offer a clever grin.
"Indeed it has, little strategist." Manchu chuckled, his brows knitting a little in pain. But as always, he endured.
Rin walked toward the bed and examined his figure. A bit of grief washed across her eyes, but it quickly vanished with ease.
"I'm glad to see you're alive." She would have said alive and well, however, looking at his condition, it was hard to consider it anything but that.
"Yeah, well, I may be alive, but it still hurts like hell." Manchu leaned against the headboard and sighed.
Rin just smiled. Unconsciously, she flinched in shock when she felt a presence behind her, only to feel a hand press on her back as if to reassure her. Lifting her eyes, she saw An Sun staring down at her with a faint smile, before slipping his hand away from her back to hand Manchu a cup of water.
While sipping his water, Manchu glanced between the two. The eyebrow on his face raised, but he said nothing. His expression was impassive as always.
"So, I take it you didn't just come here to check in on me," Manchu said to Rin while setting the cup on the side of the table.
Rin's brows furrowed in displeasure. With a soft sigh, she settled down on a chair.
"You're not wrong, there is another reason for why I came. However, I did want to see how you were doing Sir Manchu." Rin said firmly, indicating her concern for him.
Manchu waved his hand. "I get it. Just skip to what you wanted to ask me."
Resting her hands on her lap, Rin's lips tightened. After a few moments, she finally spoke up again.
"It's regarding the battle between the An Clan. The truth is…I don't have confidence that we'll defeat An Ruo."
It was at that moment, the mood in the room shifted. Both men looked at her with puzzled stares, especially An Sun.
"What do you mean? We won a battle against them before. Shouldn't that show we're qualified to fight against them?" An Sun said, his arms crossed over his chest while he leaned his hip against the wall.
"Yes, but that was only due to misjudgment on their part as well as for the fact that they retreated first. The next time they attack, they won't fail to make the same mistake twice." Rin explained solemnly. "And if my intuition is correct, An Ruo will request for more troops. Either way, we will suffer more losses than victories."
"So, what do you need me for?" Manchu asked, bringing Rin's attention back to him.
"The tunnels back in Jilin. You were the leader of the operation. I need to know, how far did you dig them?" Rin's voice couldn't hide her anxiousness.
"The tunnels?" Manchu scratched his chin. "Those have already been completed. But why do you…"
At that moment, Manchu's eyes widened, the light blue in his eyes shimmering brightly. A wide foolish grin spread across his face. An Sun also picked up on Rin's plans. The corners of his mouth couldn't help but lift in a smile as well.
"You want to attack them from below?" An Sun asked, his face painted into a handsome grin.
The joy shining in Rin's sparkling eyes couldn't be hidden at all, shimmering like two bright stars. Her expression was enough of an answer for the two of them.
"But how will we get access to the northern side? Although there's no feud between the western and northern empires, their emperor still wouldn't allow us to battle in their territory." Manchu pointed out.
Rin's eyes were still upturned crescents as she chuckled and said, "Don't worry, I have that settled."
Both men glanced at one another. Just from her words, they could guess what...or rather whom she was referring to help settle their plans.
Meanwhile, in the northern empire, the usual quiet estate at the end of the city was suddenly whirring alive with commotion.