90 Nothing But The Truth (1/2)

When Rin finally returned to her pen after the long night, her body weakly collapsed onto her mat. Her chest rose and fell with uneven breaths, her mind heavy and fuzzy.

”Another fever…” Rin mumbled in a hoarse voice.

For the entire day, she fought back the heavy pounding in her head and chills running through her body. No matter what, she had to prove her worth to An Sun.

Finally resting, she felt the previous weakness weigh in on her entire body. The braziers red, hot embers radiated, warming her cold body. She had been feeling chilled all day.

Across the pen, in a large woven sack, were the previous animals Rin had hunted during the winters hunt.

As promised, all the animals she caught were hers to keep. Afterward, An Sun ordered his men to skin them and hand over her winnings.

The result of the winters hunt was intense and highly interesting to the majority of the Tuhan men. It'd been the first they saw someone able to hunt at equal par with their commander.

In the end, however, An Sun won. Even with this loss, winning wasn't Rin's primary goal. Gathering food for herself and catching the eye of An Sun mattered most to her.

She knew it'd irritate the prideful and ruthless man, but she was willing. She was willing to risk it.

Rin regained her consciousness, feebly standing up from the mat and walked toward the bag of meat.

The amount she hunted would be enough to last her a month, although had it not been for her weak condition she could have hunted more.

Gathering a few cut pieces and bones she previously asked to keep, Rin coughs into her sleeve and walks in the brazier's direction.

Taking a large staff from beside her, she stabbed a few pieces of meat onto the stick and placed it over the brazier.

With a blanket over her small shoulders, Rin stared at the meat slowly cooking over the flickering flames.

After a brief moment, the red meat started to brown. Satisfied with the color, Rin pulled the stick away and rested the pieces of meat on a cloth to the side.

Taking a pot, she began boiling the clean bones into a pot of water. Once done, Rin placed the meat in the bowl as well until it all started to boil together.

Nearly ten minutes passed until she was pleased with the result and took a small bowl and poured the contents into it.

Gently leaning the bowl towards her lips, Rin drank its' contents and chews on a few pieces of meat to replenish her hunger.

After she had finished eating, Rin stored the meat away into a large bowl filled with snow at the bottom to prevent the meat from spoiling.

Using another bowl beside the brazier filled with water, Rin took a cloth and placed it over her head to ease down her fever.

Tired, she sighed and lay down on her mat, blankly staring at her surroundings. Her calm mask cooled down, revealing her frail and worn out complexion.

She hadn't been able to rest for a very long time. Every day was spent planning her strategy for An Sun.

Her plan, it had to work. No matter what she'd ensure her worth was proven to An Sun.

Rin's eyelids slowly slid shut, her consciousness giving in to the darkness.

…

”What do you think? Do you trust him?”

Within An Sun's tent, the two men sat at a wooden table covered with bottles of wine and plates of meat.

”His points are valid and his idea isn't bad itself. But…”

But what was his goal? What did he get out of it besides living?

No man on this side of the world did things for free. And knowing Bai Lan's personality, he wasn't one to beg for his life. No, he was the kind to fight until the very end – when he had nothing left to fight for.

An Sun's eyes flickered upon recalling the recent events that took place.