The morning was cold yet bright, and the sun shone down from the hard blue sky, but An Ruo disliked the sounds of morning doves. The wind made a nervous whistling sound as it shivered through the branches of the tall trees.
When he stepped out of his tent, the first thing he saw was the weary eyes of the men around him. This didn't settle well for him.
"What's going on?" An Ruo said while striding over to a Tuhan soldier.
The soldier looked at him and scratched the back of his head.
"There seems to be a cart missing."
"Which cart?" An Ruo's brows furrowed.
"The one we had to carry the meat on to the bases. It disappeared."
A cart didn't suddenly just disappear. It was likely it was taken. However, An Ruo could not understand the reason why.
"Prepare the men for another hunt this morning and regather the meat we've lost." An Ruo sighed.
It was already difficult enough that they didn't have enough food for their own camp, but to supply more to the other camps along with more supplies, it was wearing their energy thin.
When he stepped away from the Tuhan soldier who left to carry out the hunt, An Ruo's thoughts wandered.
Why would someone steal it? There were weapons, silks, and fine clothing, but all that was missing was a cart of meat?
He had considered it being villagers from a poor village close by, who happened to see their food and managed to steal it. But An Ruo found that unlikely. Such measly common people couldn't possibly manage to break through their barricade unnoticed, especially by the guards out front.
An Ruo suddenly froze. His mouth tightened and unknowingly, his eyes wandered around, eyeing each soldier's face.
"You there," He walked to a soldier sharpening weapons. "Check the guards posted out front and ask if they saw anyone suspicious leave last night."
"Yes, sir."
While the soldier left, An Ruo found the heels of his feet shifting him in the direction of a certain tent. His footsteps only seemed to quicken as the eeriness in his heart grew. Approaching the soldier posted out front, a chilly look crossed his face.
"Good morning, Commander—"
An Ruo cut him off. "Is he still there?"
"Yes," The solider answered stiffly.
"When was the last time you checked on him?" An Ruo asked, in a tone of deep dissatisfaction.
"L-Last night."
The unease in An Ruo's heart only grew, his eyes growing darker by the second. Shoving past him, he lifted the tent flap and stepped inside...An eerie silence quickly followed.
Apart from a wooden pole in the ground with cut rope on the floor, the tent was empty. Manchu was gone.
"Commander An!" A soldier quickly rushed over. "The guards that were posted out front they...they're dead!"
When the soldier arrived, he happened to glimpse inside the tent to see that Manchu was gone. It was only then he understood the situation.
"C-Commander, forgive me!" The soldier, who was posted in front of Manchu's tent, fell on his knees. "I have failed to keep guard. I will accept my punish—" Just before he could even finish, An Ruo had pulled out the dagger from his side and sliced his throat open to let the blood come bubbling out.
