Xi Chen's heart faltered, but his exterior was as calm as a frozen lake in the coldest months of winter. However, similar to a frozen lake, the stillness only applied to the surface. Beneath the calm surface, unseen emotions bubbled actively in his chest. Xi Chen quickly collected himself. "Don't change the subject. Since you obviously understand and speak our language, answer the question. Why did you attack us?"

The scrawny man only looked at him patronizingly, raising an eyebrow as he spoke. "Why do you care? You're a Northerner with Northern blood running in your veins."

"I'm not a Northerner." Xi Chen mustered the composure that was cultivated from his years in the military into those words.

The scrawny man let out a raspy laugh. "The dimwits in this country might've believed that lie. Not me. You have the same eyes as me. I could see it as clear as day even with my one eye. Don't tell me you don't see it when you have an extra eye on you, my boy."

The way the scrawny man kept on calling him 'my boy' was slowly getting onto Xi Chen's nerves. He clenched his jaw. "Answer the question."

The scrawny man ignored his words. "Since we share the same eyes, you're probably a relative but I don't remember seeing you before. Anyways, I have no idea how you became this country's lapdog but let's cut a deal. Northerner to Northerner. You let go of us and I'll make sure you don't get beheaded, or worse, tortured upon your return to the North. I could even take you under my wings. We Northerners value family the most."

Xi Chen's patience finally frayed. "I am not your family. I was born and raised here, in this country that your side had just invaded."

The scrawny man raised the eyebrow over his visible eye in disdain. "I see. Then you must be a halfling mutt. One of your parents must have been a runaway Northerner. I could probably get some credit from the main branch of the family if I bring the whole lot of you back to the North." The man's eye shone with glee.

During the entire exchange between the scrawny man and Xi Chen, the bulky man beside him was only silently observing the conversation but he suddenly spoke again in a quiet voice. "Khenbish, would he.. Might he be Lady Khulan's son?"

Flames of anger suddenly licked Khenbish's only visible eye. "We do not mention that disgrace. Don't soil your mouth with her name, Baagvai. That priestess was disowned and erased from the family tree many years ago."

Baagvai trembled under Khenbish's gaze despite his obviously heftier size. "B-but I thought he might be her son. He looks a lot like her father, the late Leader Ganbaatar. And doesn't he have a similar build to Adlai?"

Khenbish eyed Xi Chen with reluctance and distaste as he spat his words out. "Huh. I heard of the news about her death but I didn't know that she even got herself knocked up by some scum in the Middle Kingdom before dying. What an outrage."

Xi Chen could only understand a small part of the conversation from picking up the language during Ye An and Prince Adlai's brief language exchange sessions. Along with the increased hostility from the scrawny man, Xi Chen had a feeling that they might have figured something out.

"Boy! Who's your father? I'll have to drag him back to the North for laying his filthy hands on a Northern priestess." Khenbish bit on each word scornfully.

Xi Chen furrowed his eyebrows at the man. "What do you mean, a priestess? Explain."

A quiet descended the room as the Northerners returned to holding their tongues once again.

Xi Chen then directed his words to the bulky man who was in deep contemplation. "Since your partner is not explaining his words, why don't you do it for him?"

Baagvai cast a furtive glance at his companion who only gave him a warning glare. With an uncharacteristic determination, he broke eye contact with Khenbish and cleared his throat timidly as he finally addressed Xi Chen in his thick Northern accent. "Our family is one of the largest and most powerful tribes in the North. We're directly descended from the greatest spiritual priestesses that helped shaped the North thousands of years ago and every generation since then has had one or two exceptional priestesses. And I believe that your mother was one of them."

"You!" Khenbish hissed in Northern, his eyes spitting fire at the man beside him. "Why are you giving him so much information?"

"Forgive me, Khenbish. But you and I both know that we're dead whether we return to the North or not, especially if we do return to the North. You know Leader Wakhia has no mercy on people who were caught by the enemies. Only death awaits us back home. If this young man is indeed Lady Khulan's son, then we might be able to use him as leverage to bargain with Leader Wakhia to spare our lives."

Khenbish ruminated on those words and couldn't deny their truth so he gave up resistance. However, it didn't mean that he was going to stop staring daggers at Xi Chen.

When Xi Chen woke up this morning, he wasn't expecting to speak to Northerners. And what a coincidence it was that the only captured Northerners alive were members of the same tribe as his mother. If anyone else was telling him this, he might not have believed them so easily but the evidence was staring at him with venom in his eyes.

"If she was a priestess, how did she end up here? Surely, she wasn't sent by your side?"

Baagvai gave Xi Chen a reluctant look before looking at Khenbish for guidance but Khenbish decided to ignore him. Baagvai then took a deep breath before answering. "Since our tribe is one of the strongest with powerful priestesses born into our family, we have provided brides to the Northern royalty for generations. And your mother was supposed to marry Chieftain Burat's son and bear the next heir."

"But that wench ran away on the night before her wedding. If your mother was still alive, I ought to drag such a disgrace back by the locks of her hair." Khenbish spat out venomously.

Xi Chen clenched his jaw at the Northerner's statement as he crossed the distance between them in two long strides and grabbed the man by the cuff of his collar. "What did you say?" He asked in a dangerously low voice as his eyes bored into the scrawny man's singular eye.

The man returned Xi Chen's gaze defiantly. "I said-"

"Khenbish!" Before the scrawny man could reiterate his words, his bulky companion called out his name. Khenbish broke his gaze with Xi Chen to shoot an irritated look at Baagvai who whispered urgently. "He needs to be complacent if we want to leave here in one piece and bring him back to Leader Wakhia."

Xi Chen also let go of the tight grip he had on Khenbish's collar at the interruption. "So, your name is Khenbish."

Xi Chen continued as Khenbish's gritted his teeth. "Forgive me for my boorish actions. As you said, Northerners value family the most. My body reacted on its own when you mentioned you intentions to mistreat my late mother. I'm sure that you, of all people, would understand my actions."

Xi Chen knew that the glint in Khenbish's eyes was confrontational, but he let his words cut into the core of the flesh without any hesitation. "Or maybe you don't. Since you Northerners assassinated Chieftain Burat yourselves. Don't Northerners consider your chieftains as the father of the North? I guess you don't value family as much as you said you do."

That added fuel to the scrawny man's fury "How dare you! Your men were ones who were responsible!"

Xi Chen furrowed his eyebrows. "And may I know where did you get that information from?"

"Nevermind that as long as it's the fact." The scrawny man spat.

"Did you see it happen right before your eye? How are you so sure it wasn't one of you?" Xi Chen asked calmly.

The question caused the scrawny man's anger to increase another notch. "How dare you! We Northerners value loyalty the most!" If it wasn't for his injuries and bound hands, he would have attacked Xi Chen with his bare hands.

"Please calm yourself down, I don't want to end up having to sedate you. It'll do no good for both sides."

Khenbish fumed and then decided to change the subject. "You haven't answered my question about your father."

"I don't think it's your place to ask questions when you haven't answered any of mine. Need I remind you that you are both currently in our territory?"

"That's not true. I already answered the bulk of what you're curious about. We attacked you because you attacked our own first." Khenbish replied as a matter of factly.

"Did Leader Wakhia told you that we were the ones who assassinated Chieftain Burat?"

The scrawny man smirked. "What if he did?"

"What if I tell you that he's been working with someone on our side for over twenty years?"

"How dare you smear dirt on my half-brother's name!"

Xi Chen raised an eyebrow. "He's your half-brother? So are you Adlai's step uncle?"

The scrawny man was astonished by the friendly and familiar way that Xi Chen was addressing Prince Adlai.

"Is he safe?" Xi Chen tried his best to keep his concern in check.

Both Northerners exchanged a knowing look with each other before Baagvai answered. "Why don't you come to the North and see him for yourself?"

*******

Ye An hung the brush back on its rack as she skimmed past the letter she had just written and let out a sigh. When the ink on the parchment had dried, she folded the letter in a neat rectangle before slotting it into her wide sleeves.

As she was about to leave, her gaze fell on the neat pile of mattresses on the corner of the room and thought about the time when the group of them spent a night here together months ago and the next morning when General Shao delivered the news about her grandmother's passing. She should have listened to her intuition that something was wrong when she sensed that niggle tugging at her heart.

Ye An shook her head. She knew that there was no use in thinking about the past that she couldn't change. Right now, the only thing that she could change was the future and she hoped that this letter was enough. She took a deep breath and exited the room.

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