Three days passed.
With Selini's help and Haut's occasional pointers, Huang handled most work. Yin Huai managed finances. Preparations nearly complete.
"Brother Huang—time to control the river. Deploy soldiers at main junction." Haut stood by the lake, watching newly added fish—few types, small numbers. Transport not finished yet. These were caught directly from the river.
"Spoke with Yin Mei. She agreed. After profits start—increase military strength. Deploy archers along second perimeter wall. Protect from beasts and enemies."
Yin Mei nodded nearby. "Time to get back on our feet. In ancestor's time—proper stone houses, pavilions. Now—mostly wood and tents. Yin Village was at its peak then."
Sieyres returned with merchants. "One problem—not enough carts. Not enough animals, even after doubling. Beast attacks on roads—we'll lose some. Need more animals, or more soldiers with merchants."
He continued: "After harvest—crops, animals, meat, materials ready in two months. I'll travel with Brother Haut to sell in Southern Colonies personally."
Haut didn't reply. Just smiled at Sieyres.
At midnight
Haut moved along the wooden houses with quiet steps. He wore a wide blue robe—loaned by Sieyres after his own clothes burned beyond recognition. Night breeze caught his sleeves and hair, making them sway.
He slipped out near the lake, where a gap between the walls and a few broken stones offered a way through.
Beyond lay flat grassland. Forest to the left. Mountains to the right. Both merged ahead in darkness—the back side of the village, same direction they'd entered from. The road to the Southern Colonies lay opposite.
Three days since I've been able to leave that room, he thought. If anyone's been watching, they'd have shown themselves by now.
He walked toward the forest near the mountains.
I can't stay hoping Selini cooperates. Need to check the weapons. What if she moved them?
Bushes rustled behind him.
Haut smiled. "You don't need to hide. Come out."
Nothing.
"I know you've been following me since yesterday. No weapon—just spying. But you shouldn't be in the forest at this hour."
Silence.
"Your wife Liana. Two-year-old daughter. You love them. Don't you?"
A long pause.
"I came to check if the attack site holds clues. We should stay together."
A man stepped from the bushes. Black robe. Hard eyes. The senior gate guard—Haut remembered him from the first day. One of the few who hadn't fled when the village fell on hard times.
He sighed. "I was wrong to doubt you. But we had no bad intentions. We support you."
Haut smiled. Inside: Does "we" include Sieyres? Or someone else?
The guard continued, "You must have noticed me following. I found nothing suspicious. I apologize."
He stepped forward. "But leaving now isn't wise. Return to the village. Come back tomorrow. First, speak with the head."
He gestured for Haut to follow.
As the guard approached, Haut's smile widened—warmer, gentler.
Then he dropped low and drove his foot into the guard's neck.
The guard fell, neck fractured. But even as he fell, he kicked toward Haut's stomach—fast, experienced.
Haut dodged.
"I used full strength, yet your neck only fractured. Before the village fell, you must have been someone important."
He grabbed the guard's kicking leg, folded his own over the ankle, and twisted.
"Tell me who sent you. Your family lives. Refuse—they die with you. Decide."
Pressure. The guard screamed. "Sieyres! Sieyres asked me to spy!"
Haut twisted harder. The guard's knee broke. The leg bent wrong.
The guard howled. "I told you! Then why—"
"You're using Sieyres to hide the real culprit." Calm voice. Bluffing. Almost certain it's Sieyres. But push harder.
"I'll kill your family and keep you here. Suspicion—I'll worry later."
The guard's face crumpled. Not from pain—from fear. Real fear. For them.
"Okay! Lady Yin Mei. She asked me to watch you. I don't know why. That's all I know!"
Yin Mei. Haut's mind raced. The healer with the limited-use power. Watching strangers. Either she's protecting something—or someone told her to.
"Did you give her information?"
"No. Please—let me go. My daughter—she's only two. She didn't ask for any of this."
Haut looked at him. The guard's eyes held no anger—just desperate hope that his family might survive him.
"Let me help you."
Haut stepped forward and kicked the guard's neck cleanly. It broke.
Life faded. Regret lingered in the guard's eyes.
Haut watched for a moment, then dragged the body deeper into the forest—past the cave, past the game trails, toward the ridge where wolves had been heard the night before. He left it near a watering hole, blood smeared on nearby rocks.
Let them think beasts got him.
He returned to the cave. Inside, the weapons remained—undisturbed. Selini's gear. His own blades. And there, wrapped in oilcloth—Milo's knife. The special one. Still intact. Still useful.
He tucked it into his robe.
Still here. Either Selini's loyal, or she's waiting for the right moment. Either way, I have options.
He stood at the cave mouth, looking toward the village. Lights still burned in a few windows. One of them was Yin Mei's.
Why watch me? What does she want?
No answers yet. But he'd find them.
He slipped back toward the village, taking a different route—circling wide, entering through the same gap near the lake. No one saw him.
In his room, he sat on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
Yin Mei.
Tomorrow, he'd need to watch her as closely as she'd been watching him.