Two weeks had gone by already. Jianyu and his men made it safely to their destination about a week ago. Jianyu couldn't afford to get distracted by anything while on the battlefield, hence why he never checked up on Ying Yue. Silently sitting in his tent alone, Jianyu polishes his sword. While lost in thought; cleaning his sword. Jianyu hears the whisper of a woman. Pausing what he was doing now, Jianyu clenches down on his sword and looks around him. Unable to make out what the voice was talking about or where the voice was coming from, Jianyu exits his tent and asks nearby soldiers if they heard anything.
"Did you guys hear a woman's voice just now?"
The soldiers looked at each other. Unsure of how to reply, they only shook their heads. The taller of the three soldiers finally mutters something.
"Your majesty, you...you don't think this resting ground is haunted, do you?"
"Smack!"
Jianyu watched as his other soldiers smacked the back of their friends head. Finding the scene rather amusing, Jianyu couldn't help but chuckle. Clearing his throat, he answers the soldier honestly.
"I highly doubt that. Forget I asked, go back to your post and stay on guard. We still haven't located Bai Chen yet."
"Yes sir!"
Jianyu watched as the three men stomp away to their posts. Quickly turning around, to head back to his tent; Jianyu is stopped by a soldier running his way. Frantically trying to catch his breath he trips and falls face first, landing only mere inches away from where Jianyu was standing.
"What is the meaning of this soldier?"
"Hah...Your...your majesty! We've spotted Bai Chun!"
"What?! Where is he?!"
"We saw him in town, Hu Rong is chasing him so I ran here to notify you as fast as I could."
"Did he do anything?"
"No, we spotted him walking out of a tea house your majesty."
"Lead me there, those people in the shop should know something."
"As you wish, your majesty."
After notifying his soldiers to stay on guard, Jianyu rushes back into his tent to grab his weapons. Meanwhile the soldier hops onto a nearby horse. Jianyu quickly runs out of his tent and hops onto his horse that was tied nearby. With his sword tied to his waist and a pair of bow and arrows on his back. The soldier then notices that Jianyu had changed his hair color.
"Your majesty, why did you change your hair? It's golden like all of us now."
"I can't go walking into town with red hair, now can I? It will wear off in two hours. Now stop asking questions and lead the way."
"Are we going alone? What about the other soldiers."
"We cannot afford to alert the citizens. Let's get going."
Jianyu was ready to set off. Silently following his soldier, Jianyu arrives at the location of a large tea house that also acted as a hotel. There, Jianyu spots his other soldier that was chasing Bai Chun.
"What happened?"
"Oh goodness! Greetings your majesty. You didn't have to come all the way out here. I had everything under control."
Jianyu glares at the soldier, asking him to speak up. A larger build than Jianyu, but shorter, He was one of the few reliable other men among Jianyu's troop right now as Fu Jia and Tao Chen were still recovering.
"Hu Rong, rent a room in the tea house."
"Yes, your majesty."
Jianyu watched as the soldier, Hu Rong make his way inside the tea house. Quickly coming back out, He notifies Jianyu that a room has been prepared. Seeing as speaking in public wasn't a good idea. Jianyu had his soldier rent out a room. Glancing around inside the tea room, Jianyu notices that it was run by a father and daughter duo. The daughter notices Jianyu and his men and quickly walks up to greet them,
"Ah! Welcome customers, please enjoy your stay."
"As a citizen of the dragon kingdom, have you noticed anything out of the ordinary."
"Can't say that I have. I will let you know if something does."
"Alright, fair enough. Can you show us to our room?"
"Of course, right this way."
Making their way up the stairs, Jianyu couldn't help, but shake off the feeling that they were being watched. Finally entering their room, Jianyu could see it was indeed a small place. With two beds at each end and a window in the center. Making sure the doors and windows were closed, Jianyu makes his way to the table in the center and seats himself on a chair. He then motions for Hu Rong to speak.
"Hu Rong, you were the one chasing Bai Chun, correct?"
"Yes, your majesty."
"Don't ever chase him alone, he could've easily killed you."
"I understand, but your majesty our goal is to kill or capture him is it not? Why are we unable to chase him down when we locate him? Everyone knows what he looks like."
"I understand what you're coming from, but don't forget he is still of royal blood. He won't be easy to capture or kill. We have to proceed with caution."
"Forgive me for being rude your majesty, but ever since we made it to the borders and retrieved general Fu Jia and Tao Chen, we have yet to come across Bai Chun or any of his men."
"So, you guys find that odd as well? Bai Chun was definitely here in this town, but it's almost like he abandoned it the moment we arrived. Why is that?"
Unable to comprehend what was happening, Jianyu could feel his head hurting from overthinking. Rather than going to war to fight for their border, it was almost like Bai Chun abandoned the eastern border the moment he noticed Jianyu and his troop. Jianyu knew that Bai Chun was not the type to run without putting up a fight, so what really was his motive in abandoning the eastern boarder he had conquered already?
"Ah! Nothing is making sense! We can't continue to stay here; we will be heading back to our camp. I need to have a word with the generals once we get back."
"As you wish, your majesty."
Quickly bidding the tea house lady and her father farewell. The two men followed Jianyu as they rode back out to their campsite. After riding their horses for a good fifteen minutes, Jianyu and his men were back at their base. Dismissing his two soldiers, Jianyu makes his way to Fu Jia and Tao Chen's tent. The moment the generals noticed Jianyu, they quickly climbed out of their beds and greeted their emperor.
"Greetings your majesty."
"You may rise. Now, I have a question for the both of you. Fu Jia, I will ask you first. Do you remember what happened to you in your fight against Bai Chun?"
"Not really your highness, I blacked out almost instantly after suffering a blow to the chest. I'm afraid I'm not much help."
"That's alright, I'm just happy to see you alive. Tao Chen, tell me what happened during the time Bai Chun attacked."
"Yes, your highness. I remember everything, there's no way I could forget. Not only did he raid our base and burn it, he dragged Fu Jia and his bloodied body to me as an example. His red hair blew in the wind, and his jade colored eyes looked red, I don't understand why but I know I saw his eyes turn red. I lost my mind, and was filled with rage when I saw Fu Jia's lifeless body. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't land a move on him. It's like he's not even normal anymore. I don't think Bai Chun is inside the eastern border town anymore. I'm sorry if nothing I've said has helped."
"No, thank you Tao Chen. You've helped me more than enough. Only thing I'm still confused on is why Bai Chun abandoned the eastern border already after conquering it."
Still unable to understand Bai Chun's movement, Jianyu decided he will continue to watch and see what Bai Chun does next. Finally exiting the general's tent, he makes his way back to his camp. Feeling restless, Jianyu lays down on his bed and decides he needed to rest his eyes. Slowly dozing off, Jianyu dreamt of someone unexpected. For the first time in a while, Jianyu dreamt of his mother. Rather than smiling at him like she had in the past, she was mouthing words to Jianyu and crying. Without realizing it, Jianyu was muttering out words."
"Mo...mother?...mom..what...Yue..needs help..."
Snapping out of his nap, Jianyu wakes up to the sound of a horse running. Running out of his tent to check who it was, Jianyu spots someone familiar. Furrowing his brows, Jianyu knew it wasn't going to be good news.