Wei Liuying shook her head when she saw Shi Yan sulking on the side. She picked up the warm cup of tea before her and blow the surface lightly. "We're not here to play around, Yan, but to investigate the tribes around Xiong Tribe."

"You have already exterminated most of them, right? The news of your victory resounded whenever I come to the north," Shi Yan asked in confusion.

Yang Xian shook his head. "Not all of them. There are still small tribes that only consist several people like this small village that still roaming out there. Even though they're not a big of a threat, but they can become spies under Xiong Tribe."

"Spies?"

"Yes."

"But why would they even employ spies?" Shi Yan asked with his head tilted to the side. He couldn't understand why Xiong Tribe even needed to prepare spies when the kingdom and the tribe has been in amicable relationship so far. With the treaty, there shouldn't be any war, right?

Wei Liuying: "…"

Yang Xian: "…" what did I expect from you?

"Do you know that we also have spies, Yan?"

"Eh, we did?"

Yang Xian resisted the urge to throw the rock not far from the carriage to Shi Yan's head. "It's important for us to keep on watching our enemies' movement. That way, we'll be able to guess their next movement and the likes. If they show any sign of war, we have to be prepared."

Shi Yan frowned. "If they truly want to wage a war, how do you plan to relay the message?"

There would not be any stupid merchant who would pass by this route anymore when it was winter. The harsh temperature would kill them if they were not careful enough, so everyone would choose to stay behind in their warm home rather than torturing themselves under the harsh night wind.

"There's naturally some methods," Yang Xian replied, refusing to tell.

"You're always full of secret!"

"It's better to have trump card rather than revealing it all in front of you. Didn't I always teach you that you have to do the same with trading."

"I already did!"

Wei Liuying sipped her tea calmly as she listened to the two of them changed their conversation to that of a lecture. With Shi Yan's mind that was only filled with money, she highly doubted that he would be able to memorize what Yang Xian told him today.

It took some time until they finished their conversation and they returned to their respective carriages.

"Miss, is it too cold?" Yang Xian asked when they returned to Wei Liuying's carriage. By this time, he had changed back to that of a servant.

"It's enough," Wei Liuying replied. With her martial arts, it was not that hard for her to withstand this much. Besides, she was not the type that got sick easily just because the temperature was cold.

"We'll depart tomorrow after Master Shi had left."

"Alright."

Wei Liuying lied down on top of her bed and bundled herself with the blanket. Her eyes glanced to the tea that she left on the table. The water had turned into ice because this place was so cold during winter.

She sighed internally when she thought that she had to live in this environment for the next few months.

The plan that they have was actually simple. There was a small hill beside Village K that was located between the village and the river. They would park the carriage there with Wei Liuying staying inside while Yang Xian would scout the surroundings and leave from time to time.

There would be soldiers coming under the guise of traveler once every two weeks and Yang Xian would relay the message through him.

That was their plan.

And that was what they would do.

…

Time passed uneventfully.

Wei Liuying and Yang Xian did their plan for the next few weeks. It took Yang Xian a lot of time to gather enough information from other tribes, but it was all important information that could possibly change the tide of the battle.

"The tribes' movement are strange," Wei Liuying reported when she saw Yang Xian returning back. They would not care about greeting first when they were only talking about business like this.

"What do you see?"

"There are a lot of people moving from a distance away. This is already nearing the end of Winter, so the temperature has grown warmer. It's strange that many of them are moving to the south," Wei Liuying replied. From this place, she could watch the surroundings' movement far clearer than anything.

Yang Xian furrowed his brows. "It didn't seem like Xiong Tribe have the intention to have peace from the very first."

"Why do you think so?"

"There are some tribes that have been moving under their order to disturb us," Yang Xian replied. He looked to a distance and laughed faintly. "The internal battle in Xiong Tribe might be a bit deeper than what we thought previously."

Wei Liuying maintained her calm and brought out the tea out. She poured a tea for Yang Xian. "Warm yourself up. You have been outside for too long."

"It's nothing much."

"I'll be troubled if you get sick, Xian."

Yang Xian smiled bitterly and drank the warm tea. "I'll be going to their main camp after this. Please relay the last message to the soldier."

He handed a bamboo strip to Wei Liuying that was not covered. There was only one poetic sentence written on top of the bamboo strip. It seemed that Yang Xian had grown used to poem by now, so he could write anything so easily.

"This is the last message?"

"After I returned back, we'll return back no matter what. It'll be suspicious if I'm not present when it's New Year," Yang Xian said helplessly.

Wei Liuying arched her eyebrows. "If there's war, no one will care about the New Year celebration."

"If there's war, it's even more important for me to return back."

"You should be careful."

"I'll be fine."