By sundown, An Sun and his men arrived in front of Tongshu's gates. Greeted by a pair of guards, he expected to be stopped but was surprised when they willingly allowed him entrance. The guards offered to transport their horses to the stable while directing them where to go. Doing as told, An Sun and his men dismounted before walking inside the wall's stone hall.
Huge lanterns burned on the sides of the walls, filling the stone tunnel with light. Fan Mingli and the others nervously glanced around. Despite willingly following An Sun to defend the Western Empire, they couldn't help but grow apprehensive at their unexpected fate.
Oddly enough, An Sun's neutral expression gave the men a huge sense of relief, calm without a ripple of shock, appearing as if it would all be fine.
When they exited the tunnel, they stepped into a large open area, tall buildings surrounding them with lit lanterns lighting the domain.
An Sun raised his head slightly as his gaze swept the surroundings. Yet all he saw was a bunch of soldiers gazing at him and his group wearily.
"You must be the man Advisor Lan spoke of." A deep, raspy voice said behind them.
Shifting his gaze to the source, An Sun stared at the man walking toward them. The left side of his face was scarred, the skin drooping over his eye as if it were melting. An Sun didn't dwell too much in the tall man's appearance and took in his words.
He had called Rin by Advisor Lan. It looks like she was back to using the name Lan now. If that was the case, then...
"Sun," Although the soft voice was not loud, it drifted into the ears of An Sun.
Turning around, his gray eyes met with a pair of shimmering emerald gems. The figure in front of him still didn't have the masculine and dignified appearance of a man, still carrying a feminine softness. Their silk-like skin was white and tender, and big, emerald eyes staring back at him.
Once more, Rin was disguised as a man. A feminine looking man at that.
It had been six months since they last saw one another. Although not too long, it was enough for both to feel as if years had passed. The journey they both experienced seemed to extend time.
A sudden silence descended over the two before An Sun was the first to speak.
"What you wrote in that letter...is it true?"
An Sun saw Rin's expression change along with the contours of her face beneath the fragile light. Then she sighed gently.
"We'll discuss it after you all wash and eat something. You must have had a tiring journey after rushing here."
The eyes of Fan Mingli and the other men changed slightly. In fact, they had long been tired from their travels. As Rin said, they had rushed, leaving little to no time for sleep. The smell that engulfed them was so unusual and humid they almost gagged. It was brutally offensive.
However, before they could celebrate long, An Sun's words cut their joy short.
"I want to discuss it now."
Rin raised her eyebrows slightly before sighing.
Stubborn as always.
"Very well. But the least you can do is clean yourself." She looked at An Sun's appearance up a down, and a rare look of teasing showed on her face. "You smell."
An Sun couldn't suppress the corners of his mouth from twitching.
"All right." Hearing An Sun's words, the men behind him secretly let out a sigh of relief.
