The sun began dipping behind the surrounding mountain range. An orange glow across the horizon with birds flying past will soon fade to dusk.
The coming night weaved the deceptive illusion of serenity with the nocturnal noises of the wildlife inhabitants.
But Yinyue knew better from her assassin training. Nefarious activities, like ambushes and assassinations, in the Black Mountains often peaked at night.
A few bats flew past, squeaking away in the dimming skies. The galloping horses started neighing and grunting in unease.
Large predators, like the tiger, favoured hunting during this time. Like their fellow human counterparts.
Yinyue felt her back wounds aching more than they should. Every part of her body felt cramping soreness.
A moist warm tingling feeling where she wore a bandage gave her a feeling that her wounds ripped apart again. She wanted to loosen her hold on the reins. Her fingers were stiff and unwilling.
A growl from her stomach followed with a heavy pressure looming over her head and drawing her eyelids down. She wanted sleep, but her instincts forced her to stay awake. Trapped between the mind and the body, her irritability grew.
They rode non-stop for a long time since mid afternoon until they entered the Black Mountain area nearest to Yandi, to escape the Simurg's pursuit. Her body was in no position to fight.
All she wished for now was a safe base tonight to avoid the Simurg or any assassins, and to sleep. Her body reacted with a long yawn of approval.
Gushing sounds of a running stream alongside the nearby fields soothed her nerves from the hurried departure. Clear water from the stream flowed into the smaller manmade-channels, irrigating each field. It reminded her of her men.
All of her men separated into smaller groups and headed in different directions to throw the Simurg off their trail. Half of the detachment headed towards Yandi. The other half stayed around the inns near their area.
Yinyue and her ten remaining men slowed their horses down as they approached a large, fortified farming village at the base of the mountain. The thunderous galloping echoes of their horses slowed into trots of repeated rhythmic percussion.
She glanced at the unconscious Halun slumped across the front of 02. His hands and legs dangled from the 02's saddle. For a moment, Yinyue felt a sliver of pity for him.
The moment of pity vanished when she recounted how he jinxed her.
A proud prince with a neat appearance now resembled a beggar in torn clothes with disheveled hair and a dirt smeared face slung across for transport.
Yinyue felt a smug sense of satisfaction. Heavens didn't even pity Halun.
"Did you have to knock him out all the time?" She asked 02 out of curiosity.
02 nodded and gestured to the village. "Can't let him see where we're headed, or let him hijack my horse."
Yinyue snorted at 02's reply. 02 made a good point. She could picture Halun hijacking 02's horse. If she was right about Halun's vengeful character, 02 may suffer his wrath later.
"Well, as long as he doesn't die…" her voice trailed off.
She gazed at the fortified village, waiting for the village lookout to unbolt the gates. Nothing ever changed around the village except for the seasons.
Her eyes surveyed the adjacent snow-covered fields surrounding the village until the mountain base. No one could hide in those empty fields for a sneak attack in the frigid winter.
In the early summer, these fields would be a dream ambush spot because of the potential hiding spots among the crops and medicinal plants. That only happened if her enemies can escape the watchful eyes and heightened hearing of the villagers guarding the area.
Her men started dismounting from their horses, leading them by the reins while they waited behind her and 02. Familiar with the place, they didn't need any instructions on how to proceed.
Inside the farming village was a safe house waiting for her men in the Black Mountains.
A tall wooden stake-wall with its aligned aged logs surrounded the village. The stake-wall stood between the villagers and the outside world. The villagers modelled the wall after the style of temporary wooden military fortresses.
Instead of the Dayan war banner, a small black banner with the embroidered red spider lily fluttered on top of the closed gate with the wind.
The gate opened. An elderly man, the village lookout, came out in his simple hemp clothing and padded coat, carrying a lit bronze lantern in the creeping dusk. He stroked his white beard like a wise sage, while his dark eyes twinkled.
Like his fellow villagers, he looked no different from the other old peasant farmers in the region. Their village grew medicinal herbs to sell and some subsistence crops to feed themselves and their families.
The people who lived in the Black Mountains often spoke well of this village. Some of the best known physicians lived in this village. Rumour went around about these physicians wandering around the region, treating rare ailments and uncommon poisons in their youth.
Not wrong. But not right too.
Sleeper cells of assassins lived and farmed in the village until activated for service. All the villagers living here are Qisha syndicate members. And all were dangerous, even the children.
The physicians in the village are expert poisoners, like Yinyue's maternal grandfather. They abided by none of the healer's principles. Like Ayi and her maternal grandfather, they are the Ghost Physicians - only treating who they wish to treat and killing who they targeted.
Other residents included generational assassins who served her maternal grandfather's clan for as long as three generations. Among their ranks were the retired assassins training the younger ones in the martial arts while enjoying their remaining years in the Black Mountains.
The lookout approaching her with a soundless stride across the snow. His old wrinkled face wore a faint smile, almost malevolent-like, and his posture relaxed as though going for an evening stroll.
He could be mistaken as a ghost of someone's poor great grandfather with his soundless walk and patched clothing.
Many assassins didn't live to their 30s, let alone 40s. If they survived past 40, the Qisha syndicate gave them a choice of retirement spots in the relative safety of their Black Mountains. Anything else meant death without Qisha's protection because the longer they lived, the more enemies they made and the more blood feuds they collected.
The old village lookout is one of those rare retired assassins.
Yinyue whiffed the faint aroma of medicinal herbs as he came nearer. 02 and the other men lowered their heads to avoid looking at him. They recognized this old rogue masquerading as a feeble, aged man.
"E-sha, been a while," Yinyue greeted him with the due respect to an elder who can beat her down in one or two hits with ease.
He gave her a stiff bow, and said, "We told Mingyi you came, but you know…he's old and likes his nap."
Yinyue rolled her eyes but said nothing. Mingyi was her maternal grandfather's trusted aide, and one of the famed physicians around the Black Mountains.
If there was any unknown poison used, Mingyi was the most likely person to identity it. The biggest problem with Mingyi was his odd, unpredictable temperament.
E-sha glanced at 02 and an unconscious Halun.
E-sha raised an eyebrow and pointed to Halun. "Are you picking up beggars for recruitment now?"
"That's a Taotang Prince."
"A Dayan Grand Prince kidnapping princes now? What will your grandfather say?" E-sha chuckled.
No one else dared to react.
Yinyue smacked her forehead and shook her head. "He's poisoned. We met with assassins and then the Simurg near the valley's lake."
"Ah, the Simurg keeps venturing closer into the Black Mountains every month," E-sha muttered, walking towards Halun's limp body and took his pulse.
E-sha frowned and pushed Halun's head to lift his eyelids under the light from the lantern. "Are you sure you picked up a Taotang Prince or a Xirong one?"
"His mother is Xirong," she replied.
"That figures …but I'd heard legends about the Xirong with wolf eyes," E-sha said, while he examined Halun's eyes with a certain glint of fascination.
His words piqued Yinyue's curiosity. "What legends?"
"That poison cannot kill them," E-sha replied. "Looks like it might be true. This specimen will bring joy to Mingyi."