"Commander, what's our goal from coming here exactly?" a soldier asked in annoyed tone.
"We're going to the north to deliver General Wang's order," the man called commander replied lazily. From his tone, it was clear that he was lazy to do the order because his pace was a bit slow.
"Commander Bei, is it fine to stop in this city?"
"It's fine. There's no hurry. Even if General Wang wished to take the soldiers, he couldn't possibly kill thousands with no clear reason. We're only to deliver the news to them so that they would make the move by themselves," General Bei said with a smile.
The soldier scrunched his face. "I don't understand at all."
"Hahaha, just follow after my order."
In the restaurant, Ye Ning noticed that Xiao Ren had stopped eating. She looked at his bowl and noticed that it was not finished yet, but Xiao Ren was looking outside the window with his eyes narrowed. For some reason, she felt that his body was also tense.
"Xiao Ren?"
Xiao Ren quickly raised his finger to his lips, telling Ye Ning to be quiet. Ye Ning arched her eyebrows, trying to figure out the reason as to why Xiao Ren asked her to be quiet so suddenly.
"Do you not want me to call you with your name?" Ye Ning asked with lowered voice.
Xiao Ren nodded.
"Alright."
Xiao Ren smiled then his expression turned stern again. He was glad that Ye Ning was quick to catch his meaning even without him speaking. However, at this time, he noticed Commander Bei and his soldier was walking into the restaurant.
He lowered his head and focused on his noodle, yet there was murderous glint in his eyes. Commander Bei was one of the few commanders who had lower rank compared to Xiao Ren but also quite accomplished. Back when Xiao Ren was going out, Commander Bei was not included among those who came along.
But from their conversation just now, he could guess that Commander Bei was in General Wang's side.
Why?
He couldn't understand why his old comrades were siding with that prince who took the throne from his brother through murderous scheme. King Zhending had obviously stated that the first prince would be the next king, yet his siblings were restless.
"Let's eat first."
Xiao Ren finished the meal quickly and stood up when Commander Bei and the soldier was heading to their seat.
"Ah, we're leaving?"
Xiao Ren nodded.
The two of them walked to the door while keeping their pace as normal as possible. If they run, it would only attract suspiciousness because they would look as if they were running from something.
"Oh, there's a pretty girl," Commander Bei's eyes lit up when he saw Ye Ning. It was rare to see beautiful village girl walking around on her own.
"Hey, commander, don't go and hit on girls when we're in mission," one of the soldiers reminded.
"Just a moment."
Xiao Ren noticed Commander Bei stood up and his eyes narrowed. He had completely forgotten that one of his old friend's hobby was to chase after beautiful girl. Ye Ning was clearly a beauty even among many others, so he might be attracted to her.
'Damn it.'
As soon as they got out, Xiao Ren grabbed Ye Ning's wrist and guided her to the intersection to the alley.
"Xi…Brother?" Ye Ning quickly changed her way of address.
Xiao Ren's gazed to the back once, telling Ye Ning that there was someone who followed them. She quickly shut her mouth, yet the trace of fear was apparent in her eyes. This was not the first time someone followed her, but she never felt comfortable with that.
"Oh, trying to run?"
Commander Bei clicked his tongue. He was about to give chase when he saw some officials standing not far from the restaurant. Since the two of them had disappeared into the alleys, it might not be easy for him to chase after them.
"What a shame. I'll try to look at them later then," Commander Bei laughed then walked back into the restaurant.
Inside the alley, Xiao Ren was standing not far from the entrance and watched Commander Bei's movement carefully. If that commander dared to come here, he would not hesitate to use his sword.
After all, Xiao Ren knew that Commander Bei would surely recognize him with a glance.
"Xi…Brother, are they gone?" Ye Ning asked.
Xiao Ren nodded. He lowered his gaze and noticed that he was still holding onto Ye Ning's arm tightly. He quickly retracted his hand back and bowed to apologize. It was inappropriate of him to touch her when they were nothing more than strangers.
"Ah, it's fine. Brother always do that when we're chased by some bad guys," Ye Ning explained with a bitter smile.
Xiao Ren looked at Ye Ning's smile and raised his hand instinctively. He patted her head tenderly.
Ye Ning blushed and her change of expression effectively stopped Xiao Ren from taking advantage of the situation any longer. He smiled awkwardly, not knowing what to do anymore.
"A..are they looking for you?"
Xiao Ren shook his head. They shouldn't have known that he was still alive because a fisherman fished him out of the river. He pointed at Ye Ning.
Ye Ning's eyes widened. She pursed her lips. "Sorry."
'It's not your fault.'
Xiao Ren was regretting the fact that he still couldn't speak. Ah, he really wanted to reassure Ye Ning that everything was fine, yet there was no word he could speak right now!