RIN

The air surrounding An Sun was as cold as ice, however, Rin wasn"t too affected as she was aware it wasn"t aimed toward her, but rather by the dead body she had dropped at the entrance.

Not a ripple of emotion showed upon her stained face as she used a surprisingly calm tone of voice to say, "Someone was watching me while I was training the Jilin troops. To avoid any interference on our plans, I disposed of him."

Although, she had left out the part where she underestimated the man"s martial arts skills and got in a bit of a sticky situation. Luckily, she was able to resort to a few tricks to distract him enough to slash his kneecaps before finishing the deed.

Thank you, Uncle Guo and your unmerciful training...

Rin once again inwardly made a mental note to train her physique later, especially after An Sun"s comments on her body being too small and frail like a woman.

She still felt bitter about that since she was a woman…

"I take it Lord An knew him?" Rin asked, looking at An Sun with a slight tilt in her head.

An Sun"s gaze turned to the side - his eyes avoiding hers.

"His name was Fu Changpu. He"s one of An Ruo"s most trusted emissary." Manchu"s voice sounded diverting Rin"s attention toward him.

"An Ruo?"

An Sun"s eyes narrowed, his fists by his side clenched. "My brother."

Rin slightly frowned. Clamping her lips together, she stares at An Sun with a silent expression.

After a moment, An Sun finally said, "My father…I received a letter from him. He ordered me to return to their main camp. I plan to leave later today."

Rin couldn"t hide her astonishment to his sudden news, "What?"

Lowering her head, Rin thought for a bit.

Why would his father suddenly order him? It couldn"t be that he knew of their plans?

She immediately discarded that thought. As possible as it was, he wouldn"t have been able to obtain any information so easily. An Sun"s brother"s emissary was an example.

Fortunately, Rin killed him off before he could return with any information on them.

While Rin"s mind was still processing these thoughts, An Sun"s deep voice brought her gaze back to his.

"He might know our plans. If that is so then..."

Rin was quick to interrupt. "Hold on a moment, Lord An, that may not be the case."

An Sun"s thick brows knitted together. "Why do you say that?"

Rin coughed lightly, "I may have left out a minor detail when I killed Fu Changpu. Before I killed him, he had offered to make a deal with me."

Both men stared at Rin speechless.

An Sun"s eyes narrowed up and he snorted contemptuously, "A minor detail?"

Rin smiled awkwardly.

It wasn"t her fault! She didn"t know of his father"s orders until now, thus, she didn"t think it was important!

Clearing her throat, she continued, "For him to negotiate rather than kill me first, I"m guessing your brother looked into my background, including how I appeared by your side. My guess is he had the intention to use me against you. However, I don"t think he"s fully aware of our plans."

An Sun once again went silent as he quietly contemplated her words. Based on the information she claimed his brother had known, An Sun could guess what the bargain was.

His freedom.

An Sun"s line of sight landed on the boy whose small face displayed a calm expression, his gray eyes tinged with a strange look.

"So, you"re suggesting my father summoning me is to test me?"

"Mm." Rin nods her head.

An Sun sighed. "If that"s the case, I better prepare."

…

It didn"t take long for An Sun to finish equipping for his departure. The young man"s tall, strong body was wrapped in full silver armor, an iron mask concealing the top half of his cold, chiseled face.

Standing off to the side, both Rin and Manchu watched as An Sun readied himself and received his horse. Walking toward the two with his horse, An Sun"s gray eyes seen behind his mask landed on Manchu.

"Take care of the camp while I"m gone. If anything does happen, you know what to do."

Manchu smiled playfully and cupped his fists with a nod. "Rest a.s.sured, I will guard it with great care."

An Sun grunted before his gaze swept over to Rin.

Rin looked up at the tall man with his face hidden and smiled lightly, "Be safe, Lord An."

An Sun"s lips curled into a faint smile in return - a smile even he was unaware of.

Chuckling, he stretched out his hand and lightly pats Rin"s small shoulder, his figure walking past her, "I"ll try."

With that, he mounted his horse and departed his figure slowly disappearing in the distance.