The alarm bell that hung over the compound of the military barracks was sounded which jolted Ye An awake. At first, she panicked, thinking that it was due to another invasion but quickly came to and realized that this sounded different than the war horn that was used to indicate intruders.

Ye An quickly dressed herself and exited Xi Chen's quarters. When she entered the courtyard that was shared with the other larger dormitories, she could see soldiers who were half awake pouring in as well.

A figure cut through the crowd with Ah Lin following at her feet. Yue Fei bowed at Ye An in greeting. "Good morning, Your Imperial Majesty. My apologies, but I need to speak to Lieutenant Yun."

Ye An's guard immediately went up. Her eyes swept across the crowd sternly. The men got the message and either left the courtyard or returned to their rooms. When the vicinity was clear, Ye An finally said, "I've sent Lieutenant Yun back to the capital last night for an important business."

Even with her head bowed, Ye An could see the way Yue Fei frowned. The delicate frown was even clearer when she stood up to face Ye An. "He never mentioned anything about it to me."

"I don't blame you for not knowing. It was a sudden assignment."

"May I know what was so important that you would order him away from his post here during this time? Especially when the other troops would be arriving later?" Yue Fei's tone was quiet but serious.

Ye An looked into Yue Fei's eyes directly as she spoke her next words. "I've come to that decision after much thought. Do you doubt my judgment?"

Yue Fei quickly bowed in apology. "Of course not, Your Imperial Majesty."

Ye An waved her hand dismissively. "Anyways, why did you need to see him?"

Yue Fei pursed her lips in hesitation. "The Northerners have escaped. My disciples went to send them their meals this morning and found them gone."

Ye An and Ah Lin finally exchanged glances. But it was only for a split second before Ye An continued her conversation with Yue Fei. "Any idea as to when they escaped?"

*******

It took Ye An slightly more than half an hour to redirect Yue Fei's thoughts regarding the Northerners' disappearance until Yue Fei finally left the military barracks.

Ye An took a drag of a deep breath before puffing it all out and spoke to Ah Lin who remained. "She's persistent. I'll give her that."

Ah Lin nodded. "Yes, she's been that way since she was young. Don't be fooled by her gentle appearance. She was spunkier than the rest of us as a child."

Ye An finally took a closer look at Ah Lin. Something about him was dulled. Small bristles of hair lined his jaw and chin, while the soft skin under his eyes was dark and sunken. "You look rough. How are you holding up?"

Ah Lin spoke. "No better than you, I guess."

Ye An forced out a dry laugh. "Do I look terrible as well?"

Ah Lin remained silent but Ye An knew the truth through his eyes. "Well, it couldn't be helped, could it?"

"Indeed it couldn't." Ah Lin agreed.

"Are you going to the commander's post now?" Ye An asked, already back to the crisis at hand.

"Yes, hopefully there's nothing worth observing. At least until the rest of the troops are here." Ah Lin replied grimly.

Ye An nodded. "Would you be ready to lead the men in Xi Chen's stead if worse comes to worst?"

"I have to be, Your Imperial Majesty." Ah Lin answered in an uncharacteristically calm voice.

"Then, I'll count on you, Captain Zhang."

That evening when the sun was shining its final few rays of the day, the last of the troops from the rest of the regions finally arrived. Their arrival meant that the military power was now at least tripled the men who fought the day before. After the men set up tents and settled in, they immediately went to the wall.

Ye An who was up at the commander's post saw the throng of men who were approaching and asked, "Do all of them need to be here? Wouldn't it be a little too crowded?"

The question was directed at Ah Lin who had just returned to the commander's post after giving the newly-arrived troops a briefing about their current situation. "Not all of them would be manning the walls. Some of them would be helping us repair the border gate."

Sure enough, when Ye An craned her neck over the wall, she could see soldiers repairing the damage that was caused by the Northerners during their previous battle.

As she was returning her gaze towards Ah Lin, her eyes rested on the Northerners' camp in a distance.

"We should've heard from him now. It's almost a full day since he left." Ye An mused quietly. She was successful in faking a calm exterior since her meeting with Yue Fei this morning but she was actually an anxious mess on the inside.

"Maybe we should be grateful that we haven't heard from him. At least it means that he's not in trouble." Ah Lin commented grimly.

"True." As she said that, both of them caught sight of a white pigeon flying swiftly towards them.

Ye An and Ah Lin exchanged worried glances with each other before Ah Lin held a hand up for the pigeon to perch on. Ah Lin untied the piece of parchment attached to the pigeon's feet before releasing it.

Ah Lin took a deep breath before he unrolled the parchment. The words were scribbled urgently and it took some time to decipher Xi Chen's unusually messy words.

"Block the entrance immediately! The Northerners are coming in full force. We were fooled. Yesterday was only an exercise. There are more of them than we thought."

Both Ye An and Ah Lin managed to exchange looks of horror before it was instantly followed by the unmistakable war cry of the Northerners.

********

A few hours earlier, North.

Xi Chen was pacing in the guest room. It was a beautiful room with high walls and decorated with all sorts of treasure that was collected by Leader Wakhia himself throughout the years. Even the windows and door were transported here from faraway lands. However, Xi Chen took notice of none of the lavish beauty that was surrounding him. He had been on high alert since he arrived in the morning.

He barely managed to strike a deal with Khenbish and Baagvai to keep his lieutenant general title a secret. Xi Chen had proposed that it would do no one good if anyone knew of his position, one that as far as they knew, he had given up on. That him being the lieutenant general would undermine whatever value he had as the priestess's son. Thus, Xi Chen would end up being near to worthless as a bargaining chip for their return. This made the Northerners halt in their thoughts but Xi Chen knew that Khenbish had the final say. To Xi Chen's relief, Khenbish agreed. And so, all of them decided that Xi Chen was to be presented merely as the son of the lost priestess when they finally arrived at the Northerners' camp.

"Halt." The young guard at the entrance of the camp stopped them in Northern. "State your identity."

Khenbish flipped his eyepatch to show the guard. "Khenbish. And this is Baagvai. We have returned."

The guard's eyes widened. "Khenbish? I thought you were dead from the battle yesterday!"

"Nah. We just hid somewhere until it's safe to return."

The guard narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "But Northerners don't hide."

Khenbish cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Well, maybe changing things up sometimes isn't all that bad."

The guard still had his own suspicions. "And who is that at the back?"

"Oh. Him?" Khenbish was relieved that the change of subject and beckoned Xi Chen to ride to the front. "I found Lady Khulan's son."

"Lady Khulan?" The young guard asked questioningly.

"Oh, I don't blame you for not knowing. She was a powerful Northern priestess before you were born. I'm bringing him to meet Leader Wakhia. He would probably be over the moon when he hears about this." Khenbish said confidently.

The young guard visibly shriveled when he heard Leader Wakhia's name and allowed them passage without any further questions. "Oh. Um. Then go ahead. Leader Wakhia's tent is already up at the far corner. I believe he's currently still at his residence and would only be arriving later today but his men are probably already there."

"Thank you, kiddo." Khenbish patted the guard's shoulder as he passed him by.

The three of them rode towards what must be the most opulent tent in the area. Xi Chen took this chance to observe the enemy line closely. Unlike the tents that were normally used across the border, the Northern tents were made to withstand the perpetual harsh winter here with their thick wool-lined walls and waterproof exterior.

When they reached the entrance of Leader Wakhia's tent, a young man coincidentally stepped out. "Khenbish?"

His eyes naturally brushed past Khenbish to the men behind him. A flare of recognition appeared in his eyes when he locked eyes with Xi Chen who was also equally surprised to see him here.

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