After a good five seconds, Tar was still staring at Lya passionately which started to make Lya uncomfortable. She slapped Tar’s arm where the bite marks were and sneered, “That’s what you get for dragging me around earlier.” Tar squinted and bit his lower lip, but steeled his facial expression. Lya thought that Tar’s way of hiding pain was funny, so she slapped Tar’s arm even harder. On her third slap, Tar grabbed her arm and glared at her furiously.

“What? Are you gonna slap me on my face like you did before? Go ahead!” Lya pointed at her right cheek. “This cheek is not as red as my left one. Make it balanced, will you?”

Tar took a deep breath and sighed. He let go of her hand.

“Pussy.” Lya slapped his arm one more time. Finally, this time Tar flinched. Tar could not hold back anymore and when he raised his hand, about to slap her on her right cheek, Lya chuckled. “You finally flinched! I win, I win! Hehehe!” Seeing her cheerful expression and her cute smile, Tar was drained of his rage.

“We’ll follow the soldiers now. No more playing, okay?”

“Who do you think you are to tell me what to do? How old are you?”

“Well, how old are you?”

“Me? I’m fourteen.”

Tar stayed silent.

“What about you?”

His lips remained pursed.

“Hey, I’m asking you!”

“I… Yeah.” A weak voice leaked out.

“If you don’t answer me, I’m gonna slap you again.”

“Twelve. Happy?” Tar reluctantly answered.

“Pff. I’ll let you call me big sis from now on.” Lya patted Tar on his head. Tar turned his face away from Lya to hide his blush from her. He couldn’t say anything to her, let alone look at her.

Lya, on the other hand, knew Tar was embarrassed and she put both her hands on Tar’s cheeks and turned his face toward her. There were many things she could have said to him, and, well, she wanted to as well, but when she saw Tar’s flustered face up close, she did not. She was surprised by herself too. Tar had been hiding behind a steel-face all this time and seeing him lay bare his emotion for the first time gave Lya an unfamiliar feeling.

Lya let go of her hands and looked away from Tar. “We’ll follow the soldiers, yes. No more playing,” Lya said absentmindedly.

Tar and Lya lifted the wooden box and treaded softly. They both knew that the slightest misstep could be the end of them. On their way out of the alleyway, they heard a conversation between two soldiers.

“The children are still missing.”

“Leave it. Chief is telling us to regroup. No need to waste time for them when we’ve already got most of the others, he said.”

“Are we heading back to the main house?”

“Yes. The night is too long for detours, he said.”

The two soldiers walk away, and Tar and Lya started tailing them.

Tar and Lya were cautious to not make even the slightest noise. One misstep and it would take more than a miracle to escape, let alone rescue Kyu. The two soldiers regrouped with others, and a giant wooden cart was being pulled by the soldiers. There was a cloth covered over the cart so Tar could not see what was inside, but judging by the sharp creaking noise from each pull, the cart was carrying something heavy. Possibly captives, Tar thought.

Roughly an hour later, the group of soldiers reached a gate. Tar and Lya hid behind a wall to avoid being detected. Beside them were homeless people, scattered throughout the streets. It was well past midnight now, so all of them were sleeping and did not notice Tar and Lya. Some snores could even be heard.

Looking back at the group of soldiers, they saw that a scout was sent inside the gate. Not long after, the scout returned, now accompanied by two other soldiers and a nobleman.

A fat figure emerged from the crowd of soldiers. He was Muckley, the soldier who captured Kyu. Lya clenched her fist and glared at him. She wished she could jump in there and tear his flesh apart piece by piece.

“Chief Revelle, we have apprehended most of the heinous criminals.” The usual frivolous Muckley was nowhere to be seen.

“Re-Revelle… No way…” Tar thought, not realising he was shaking. He peeked at the nobleman. Spiky grey hair, in his thirties, and an expressionless face. Almost as if nothing changed. Millions of words were stuck in his throat, all struggling to pour out at once. He forcefully swallowed them back. One moment he was cold from the shock; one moment he was hot from nostalgia; one moment he was in pain from knowing he had to oppose this person from now on; and one moment he was in anticipation of meeting her. “Has it really been five years? Is… she here too?”

Scenes from Tar’s childhood flooded his mind. He would give up anything to relive those moments. To a time where his father was never a traitor, where there was seafood every day, and although he never admitted it, where school was fun. Now? Tar lived in the house of some strangers he couldn’t even call home. All alone in this fleeting bird nest, waiting for it to be destroyed once the season changed.

“Look!” Lya’s whisper brought Tar back to his senses. “They’re unloading the captives!” One-by-one, people were dragged from inside the cart. They were all wobbly and stumbled whenever they took a step, some even fell after taking a few steps.

Tar recognised some of the captives from the Barn, but they did not leave a strong impression on Tar. After some more captives were dragged out, the three heads of the Three River Factions emerged from the cart, only this time without the slightest bit of the imposing atmosphere. Their eyes were half-closed and heads were dangling. No one would have guessed from their exhausted faces that they were some of the best martial artists in the world.

Tar was getting worried. “Can we save Kyu when even the three heads were captured?” He needed to think of ways to save them.