132 Hopeless Little Strategis (1/2)
Over the next two days, An Sun's army continued moving forward along the mountainous path. All the soldiers were on high alert, none thinking to let their guard down.
During the nights, the group of soldiers would rest and set up camp near the wall of the mountain to avoid the bottomless cliff. Each time, they'd take turns to stay on guard, the fire's burning embers reflecting on their stone-cold faces.
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Once morning came, they'd quickly burn out the fire and resumed their journey up north.
At this point in time, as the final trace of sunlight disappeared over the horizon, light snow started falling from the skies, covering the tents. Snowflakes danced in the moonlight, followed by the gentle, whispering wind brushing against the camps set up tents.
Even with spending countless days in the ice-cold snow and low temperatures, Rin still found herself trembling from head to toe.
A few flakes of snow drifting down like flower petals on a light breeze, settled on her cheeks. Rin stared at the snowflakes, wondering absently if an early winter snowstorm would delay their journey.
Rin covered her mouth with her white palm and coughed.
A man's dark, smooth voice suddenly called, ”Bai Lan,”
Rin shifted her gaze from the sky to the sound of the commanding voice. A tall man dressed in black, heavy armor, stood by the entrance of a tent, his arm holding the flap up.
The man's long, jet-black hair draped behind him with two locks resting on his shoulders, loose strands fluttering through the crisp air.
His nose was tall and straight, and his thin lips were currently curved downward with a deep frown. The icy aura around him gave the handsome man a more dangerous, alluring charm.
”Come inside, it's too cold outside.”
Rin's eyes were smiling as she stared at the tall man and gently nodded her head before walking toward him.
An Sun's brows furrowed deeper. His head lowered slightly as his gaze landed her white complexion and noticed the lips that were usually rosy were now a faded pink.
An Sun frowned slightly, ”You need to wear thicker clothing. Your body is too vulnerable to the cold weather.”
They still had a long way to go until they reached the An Clan's main camp. The boy's frail, girlish body wouldn't last another day in the harsh temperatures.
The more An Sun thought of this, the more the scowl on his face deepened.
Rin's brows twitched slightly. Again, he called her body weak.
She looked up at him and smiled helplessly. ”I assure you, Lord An, my body is not as weak as you see it. Even so, I thank you for your concerns.”
The man arched a brow as if he didn't fully believe her but eventually said nothing and sighed.
”Get inside.”
Rin smiled with a nod and entered the tent. At almost the exact moment the tent's flaps fell behind them, the subtle scent of steamed rice filled her nostrils.
During their trip, the group had a small variety of meals; all they could eat was dehydrated meat and bland, watery bean porridge.
At that moment, the fragrance of rice was heavenly. Rin's gaze fell upon the fragrant pot of steamed hard-grain rice on the table in the center of the tent.
Rin raised her eyebrows slightly and shot a glance in An Sun's direction. The man met her eyes and curled his lips up into a smirk, followed by a light chuckle.
”I thought it'd be nice to treat ourselves this time.”
Rin sounded a pleased hum and walked toward the table where Manchu began pouring drinks into their cups. Upon sitting at the table, Rin noticed that the contents in her cup were tea.
”Oh? No wine tonight?” Rin asks, eyebrows slightly raised as she brought the cup of tea to her mouth, calmly sipping.
Manchu did not suppress the mirth on his face and laughed out heartily, ”During our travels, the pleasures of wine will be on hold.”
An Sun slumped down on a mat and brought the tea to his cold, chiseled face. He calmly rotated the contents in his cup and said nothing.
Though the man seemed calm and serious on the outside, Rin could detect the slightest brooding within his deep, gray eyes.
It was clear he wasn't pleased with the drinking arrangements.
Rin found An Sun's sulking amusing and simply cradled the warm tea in her palms, her fingers slowly defrosting from the cold. When she set her cup down, she looked over at the welcoming bowl of steaming rice in front of her. Taking her chopsticks, she began eating.
Upon eating, Rin's lips unconsciously curled up. Though it has been just plain white rice, the flavor was pure and delicious!
Rin didn't realize her eyes had turned bright and sparkly, catching the attention of the man sitting beside her.
An Sun looked at her porcelain-like face brimming with happiness. The burning embers from the braziers inside the tent lit up her pale face and brightly colored eyes.
His lips curled up as he watched her more and more before reverting his gaze.
Manchu suddenly spoke up, ”The extra cargo we've brought has been stalling our pace lately. But we should arrive at the main camp in two days. Until then, Sun, how do you intend to explain the incident at the Jilin province? Your father ordered you to behead their governor. If you show up empty, won't he think you're rebelling?”
An Sun made a sound of acknowledgment. He ate as he replied casually without sparing Manchu a glance. ”It's fine, I know how to handle it.”
Manchu was silent. As if thinking of something, his brows furrowed.
Manchu hesitated a moment, and said: ”What will you do about An Ruo?”
An Sun didn't respond and continued to eat with an unreadable expression. After a while, he set his bowl down on the table with a sharp sound, his expression vague.
”An Ruo won't risk making any moves under the old man's eyes. He's too smart for that. However, I don't doubt he won't try anything. If he does…”
An Sun was silent for a moment. He smirked coldly, and his beautiful face held a trace of mockery, ”Then I'll have no choice but to fight against him, against my father's word.”