Bears

As dusk fell, 02 and two men returned on horseback from the forest entrance. Fresh in their memories after watching those ships burn earlier was the reminder they were about to enter the same place where 01 and their men were ambushed. They had to pass through the forest to return to Yandi.

Yinyue saw 02 shaking his head when he rode into sight, a sign that it wasn't safe.

Or rather, he wasn't sure if it was.

His horse galloped to hers and he muttered to her, "movement inside."

Yinyue nodded and gestured for the men to turn back to the nearest inn. 02 never kept details from her. If he knew, he would mention an animal or a human.

She glanced at the darkening skies with the sun withdrawing its rays. The risk of another ambush was too high. She can't suffer a repeat.

The Qisha syndicate sent news along about the Simurg still lurking around in the area. Their scouts spotted them, despite the Simurg's attempt to hide their faces with their hooded cloaks.

Yinyue didn't care if they lurked around, but the location or base of the Simurg group remained unknown. That concerned her more. Too many hiding places existed in the mountain range and they can't find them all.

Without Huqi's men, the Simurg posed the greatest threat. She didn't know why they appeared so many times in the Black Mountains. Nothing good resulted from their presence.

Their Empire rivalled the Dayan Empire. Both still quarrelled and fought over shared borders, like the Sita waterways in Huqi's territory.

The Xirong language was a big barrier. Culture too different. Heck, even their physical appearance and facial features stood out in the Central Plains. Like those of Halun and 01.

Even their writing differed. The Dayan Empire used the Central Plains logographic writing system and adapted their language to talk to the neighbouring states.

Unlike the Dayan, the Xirong used an alphabetical script system and spoke an unintelligible language which no one understood unless they were an interpreter.

Without an interpreter, she doubted her ability to negotiate with them to come out of danger. A misunderstanding could cause a deadly clash. She recalled what 01 said about the Simurg leader — they were not a match for him.

She gazed at the forest, where 01 disappeared.

"What the hell is that?" 02 exclaimed out of the blue, drawing her attention to where his finger pointed to.

His sudden outburst and reaction made the other men murmur and whisper among themselves. Like 02, they saw something.

She squinted. Her eyes caught sight of something shadowy flitting about in the forest. Too big to be human. Almost the size of a bear. But bears of the Black Mountains slept during winter. And even if they awoke, they didn't wander far from their dens, often in the higher regions of the mountains. Not at the base.

The horses began to grunt and neigh more. They also felt uneasy. Or spooked. Even her war steed, which accompanied her into battlefields in the face of death, huffed aloud. It sensed something uncanny. Animals often feel more than humans.

Screw ghosts. She half believed in them, but she didn't want to stay around and confirm their existence. Anything was possible after she returned from her first life.

Her ears pricked up. Not a sound coming from the usual bats or wildlife she knew. Aside from the wind brushing through the pine, the forest was too silent. Not even a growl from a predator.

Goosebumps rose on her skin. Her instincts screamed at her to leave.

"Make haste to the inn." She threw her words at 02 and nudged the war steed's flanks with a squeeze of her legs.

They needed shelter at a safe base during the night. The safest base around the area was the nearest inn belonging to the Qisha syndicate.

She steered it around the waiting men and their horses. Once in front, she tightened her hold on the reins, spurring the dark steed to break into a full gallop. The men followed while her steed shot out ahead at full speed, faster than what she expected.

She could feel its powerful muscles beneath the steed's dark, sleek coat flexing with each wide stride, propelling her forward against the freezing wind. The wind tossed her long ponytail while her eyes looked straight.

Hooves thundered behind her as the ground vibrating with force. They didn't stop for ages, racing through the path down onto the wider main horse route. No one would enter this path to go to Yandi near dusk.

The main horse route remained busy, with other horsemen making their way elsewhere.

"Are you in a hurry to reincarnate?" One hollered in frustration at their group for kicking up a cloud of dust and snow in his face. All of them ignored the curses and swears thrown. Something in the forest didn't feel right.

They only slowed down after Yinyue when they reached the open gates of a large wooden inn along the main route. She got off her horse as 02 arrived.

The young inn attendant eyed the number of arrivals and dashed along the small garden towards the inn to inform the innkeeper. While waiting, 02 approached her and whispered loud enough for her to hear. "Ghosts?"

Yinyue stared at him with her eyebrows knitting together. "What made you think of ghosts?"

She looked behind at her men, dismounting from their horses. They pretended not to hear 02's question, but she had a feeling they could. The way their eyes zipped away once they met her gaze hinted at a guilty conscience.

Her answer can affect their morale. They killed people by burning those ships today. No doubt, a few softies hidden underneath their masculine bodies must be feeling bad.

She didn't care. Once she decided, she won't turn back. Every action has its consequences. Right or wrong didn't matter. No matter how much the scholars debated on morality. It's right if she said so. Wrong if she said so.

Even if a vengeful ghost she killed came after her, she would kick it aside. Not even a ghost can match her unquenchable thirst for vengeance.

"Demon?" He pushed on with a serious look of concern, unaware of the ire his questions caused.

She stared at 02 for a bit and wished she could open up his head to see what kind of superstitious rubbish floated in his mind. Was he hanging out with the local shamans too much during his free days?

Still, she needed to convince her men.

Her head ran through logical explanations her men may accept. Big, dark, in the forest — a tiger? No. Tigers didn't grow that big. Perhaps a bear then. Large bears lived around the Black Mountains. Bears, it is. With winter ending soon, bears will be awakening.

"Bears. An enormous bear with maybe cubs," she replied with a straight face.

A big mother bear with cubs was a nightmare, even for a large group like theirs to manage. Mother bears attack on instinct without hesitation to protect their cubs.

They heard her response and exchanged glances. Half believed it while the others thought it odd that any bear appeared during winter. She didn't care as long as it sounded logical.

Some men made animated movements to frighten the rest into thinking of a strong and large fur-ball swinging sharp claws with those razor-sharp teeth snapping at them with full force.

"Bears?" 02 scratched his head. He didn't see any signs of a wandering bear when he rode ahead to scout the entrance out.

"Weather is warming up to spring soon. Maybe they woke up hungry?" Yinyue shrugged and walked towards the innkeeper, who waited at the side.