Chapter 248 - The Truth

Yang Xian could only sigh as he stayed inside. For the entire day tomorrow, he would have to listen in to their conversation before finally leaving this place in two days from now and headed back to Wei Liuying.

At least, that was his original plan.

The night passed quietly. It was a torturous night for Yang Xian, who was still not used with the life in this place. In Prince Ji Sheng's city there were still enough wood for them to use if they wanted to build something or used it as coals.

But over here, trees were simply too rare. Yang Xian had to endure the smell and uncomfortable living place if he wished to stay here.

"Time to work!"

The word startled Yang Xian. He narrowed his eyes when he saw a young man walked to the gate where they kept their goats and opened it. The goat would be let out freely with their dog or probably wolf hybrid watching from a distance away. The dog was kept out of the place, but Yang Xian had to be careful to not attract its attention.

Lying down in the stack of dry grass, Yang Xian didn't dare to move as he lowered his presence even more. He didn't want to risk getting found by anyone. Even though it was tiring, this was the best place that people wouldn't suspect because no one would even want to be in his position.

In any case, Yang Xian only wished to listen in to some of their conversation.

"Help them to entertain the guests. Those from Chun Tribe have come."

"It's my duty to guard the goats, so you can take that work."

"I hate it when they come. They're clearly just a small tribe who's latching onto us to gain advantage, but they act all cocky and mighty as if it's our duty to help them," one of the young man said again.

Yang Xian couldn't see what they were doing from his position, but he could imagine it from the sound made from their action. They were walking not far from where he was hiding but beyond the wall.

"Heh, even if Chun Tribe did nothing, we won't lose anything."

"It's Prince Lian's order to make use of the neighboring tribes. Besides, having Han Shi Kingdom deal with them first will help us to become the only ruler in the north. When all the tribes have been dealt with, it's time for us to strike them."

"You're too loud."

"Everyone talked about this."

"But if Crown Princess Ji Xiaoli or Crown Prince Kou heard it, they'll be angry because we're breaching the agreement."

The first man laughed. "We're not breaching the agreement. The two princes have been debating about this for a long time."

"But…."

"Forget it, you already know that there are dividing…."

The two people were too far for Yang Xian to hear. He furrowed his brows as he thought about what they were talking about. Prince Lian was the second prince in Xiong Tribe. He was a year younger than Prince Kou and known to be a battle maniac who often roamed around in the dry lands.

He had heard that the princes have different opinion when it came to their negotiation with Han Shi Kingdom. While the crown prince and the emperor agreed to have the treaty, the second prince preferred for war.

'Considering how much of a war maniac he was, it's not that weird.'

But lately, Prince Lian no longer focused his attack at Han Shi Kingdom. They were all busy eliminating other tribes who didn't want to submit to Xiong Tribe. It was his dream to unite the entire north area. But so far, they couldn't reach an agreement with some other big tribes.

In total, there were three big tribes at the north. Each of them have their own territory and tried their best to maintain it. Even though the dividing line between each of them was still unclear, they were keeping their distance from each other. There were only some skirmish a bit here and there, but they tried not to bother with each other.

'Time to wait again.'

There were several other people who passed by the place where Yang Xian was hiding, but neither one of them managed to find him. They were talking about this and that along with the fact that there was some preparation for war.

"His Highness the Crown Prince had left?"

"Yes, he left with Crown Princess Ji Xiaoli to Village K."

The first man scoffed. "Leaving during this kind of situation, is she not worried that she'll die in the middle of the road?"

"The dispute between the two princes are not that apparent in the surface. Besides, it's also true that Village K is warmer than this area."

"True enough."

"So, are the preparation enough?"

"Chun Tribe have already sent all their available soldiers to make camp not far from Village K. They're waiting for order to move tomorrow."

"That's great…"

Yang Xian could feel his heart tightened when he heard their conversation. Yesterday, he talked with Wei Liuying about the movements she saw. Even though he was not sure whether they have truly made their move or just moving further south to escape winter, he still sent warning to Prince Ji Sheng. 

It would be impossible for him to leave when it was daytime like this. And leaving when the night has just fall would be suicide. The cold temperature would kill him before anything.

He had to wait until tomorrow's dawn before he could move.

'Ah, so stupid! Who think that sneaking in is the best idea?' Yang Xian cursed himself internally while keeping his body low in the ground and erased his presence. He couldn't let anyone find him here.

Time ticked ever so slowly.

When it was lunch time, Yang Xian simply stuffed the hard bread to his mouth without moving from his position. It felt weird to eat while lying down like that, but he couldn't afford getting found out by others.

When the sky was turning dark, there were several people coming from the gate. The sound horseshoe hitting the ground entered Yang Xian's ear.

"Your Highness!"