I am invincible, that's why I lie down. You're using your entire clan to rebel?

The charcoal fire inside the tent popped again, as if a tiny insect had rolled over in the flames.

The three women sat in their respective seats, their eyes slightly lowered, as if waiting for a response they couldn't be sure how long it would take.

Qin Mu didn't rush to speak. After swallowing the walnut kernel, he picked up another one, twirled it between his fingertips, and didn't put it in his mouth immediately.

The woman on the far left shifted her body slightly, as if she wanted to adjust her posture but was afraid of making too big a movement. She only moved less than half an inch before stopping.

Her fingers rested on her knees, her fingertips slightly curled, and her fingertips were tinged with a thin layer of red.

The woman in the middle maintained a slightly forward-leaning posture, as if she was ready to stand up at any moment to pour him a drink or do something else.

The youngest woman on the right looked down at the walnut crumbs remaining on her fingertips, as if she wanted to wipe them off but dared not move.

Qin Mu put the second walnut in his mouth, chewed it, and then asked, "What did Huyan Lie say to you before you came?"

The woman in the middle looked up, her gaze meeting his for a fleeting moment before sliding away.

Her voice was not loud, but steady as a taut line: "The Khan said that His Majesty is the most important guest of Northern Mang, and that we should serve him well."

Qin Mu smiled faintly, like a layer of water flattened by the wind: "Just saying 'serve well'?"

The woman did not speak.

The woman on the far left pursed her lips, as if hesitating for a moment before speaking: "The Khan also said..." She paused for a second, "Only when His Majesty is satisfied can Northern Mang be at peace."

Qin Mu pushed the plate back to the center of the table and leaned back against the low couch.

He looked at them for a while, his gaze sweeping across their three faces in turn, not too intensely, but enough to make them simultaneously tighten their shoulder lines slightly.

He began, "You are afraid of me."

The woman in the middle seemed to want to say "I dare not," but she swallowed the words back.

The woman on the far left neither nodded nor shook her head; she simply tightened her grip on the fabric of her knee slightly.

The youngest woman finally brushed the crumbs off her fingertips quietly, then lowered her head and remained silent.

Qin Mu did not press the matter further. He reached for the wine pot on the table, poured himself a bowl, and the steam from the pot condensed into a fine white mist in the air.

"Many people fear me, so the three of you won't make a difference." He picked up his bowl and took a sip. "But those who fear me often fail to get things done. If you want to get things done well, then don't be afraid."

The three women simultaneously glanced at him, then looked down at the same time.

Like a string on a musical instrument that has been gently plucked by something, it is slowly returning to calm.

The woman in the middle made the first move. She reached for the wine pot on the table, but instead of pouring it into Qin Mu's bowl, she poured half a bowl into her own.

She picked up the glass, raised it towards Qin Mu, and then tilted her head back to drink it all.

A trickle of wine escaped from the corner of her mouth, sliding down her chin and dripping onto the dark red fabric of her collar, leaving a small, dark, damp stain. She put down the bowl, her voice a few degrees steadyer than before: "Your Majesty is right."

The woman on the far left also picked up her empty bowl, poured out most of it, and took a sip with both hands.

She didn't finish her drink. When she put it down, her fingers trembled slightly, as if she wasn't used to such strong liquor, but she didn't show any unusual expression on her face.

The youngest woman hesitated for a moment, picked up the bowl, lowered her head and took a small sip. She wrinkled her nose slightly from the spiciness, but quickly recovered.

Qin Mu watched as the three of them finished their rounds of drinking, then slowly drank the wine in his own bowl.

When he put down the bowl, his movements were slower than before, as if he wasn't in a hurry to end the night.

He looked at the woman playing the pipa and asked casually, "What pieces can you play?"

She took a soft breath: "The 'Treading the Moon Tune' of the Northern Wilderness."

Qin Mu thought for a moment: "Play it for me."

She got up and walked to the corner of the wall, taking out a pipa from an old wooden box. Most of the lacquer on the body of the instrument had been worn away, revealing the dark wood grain underneath. She sat back down with the pipa in her arms, tuned the strings a couple of times, and the first note produced when her fingertips touched the strings was like a drop of water falling into a dry ceramic bowl, deep and crisp.

The melody was neither too high nor too low, carrying the unique long and slow quality of the Northern Wilderness, like the wind circling around in an open space before finding its way out.

She played slowly, each note solidly placed, as if she were walking a path she had walked many times before.

Qin Mu leaned back on the low couch and listened without closing his eyes, his gaze fixed on her fingers plucking the strings.

She pressed each string repeatedly with her fingertips, her knuckles turning slightly white.

The woman in the middle got up, walked to the charcoal stove, and placed the wine pot on it to warm it. Her movements were light and careful, as if she was afraid of making any unnecessary noise that might interrupt the melody.

The youngest woman glanced at the plate of walnuts, picked up another one, and continued peeling it. The sound of the shell cracking was drowned out by the sound of the pipa, and only the occasional soft sound of crumbs falling on the edge of the plate could be heard.

After the piece ended, the sound of the pipa slowly faded away inside the tent, the last notes being caught by the faint crackling of the charcoal fire.

The woman held her pipa, her eyes lowered, as if waiting for an evaluation.

Qin Mu offered no comment, only saying, "Play another piece."

She paused for a moment, then nodded, her fingertips returning to the strings.

This time the music was softer than before, like water flowing slowly between stones.

Qin Mu closed his eyes for a while.

When he opened his eyes again, his gaze fell on the woman in the middle: "The wine you warmed is almost done."

She paused slightly, then quickly reached out to touch the side of the pot, only to pull her fingertip back as if burned. She picked up the pot, poured a bowl for Qin Mu, and then poured a bowl for the other two.

Qin Mu picked up the wine bowl but didn't rush to drink. Instead, he looked at the slightly rippling water on the surface of the bowl, as if counting how long it would take for it to completely still.

After a moment, he spoke: "The three of you, those who want to stay here tonight can stay. Those who don't want to stay can leave."

The three of them fell silent at the same time.

The pipa music stopped completely at that moment, as if it had been gently pressed down by a hand.

The woman in the middle was the first to put down her wine pot.

Her movements were slow, and the bottom of the pot landed on the felt without making a sound.

The woman on the far left gently placed her pipa on the ground beside her, as if worried that the loud noise would cause it to fall and break.

The youngest woman put down the walnuts in her hand; a small plate of them had already been peeled and were neatly arranged.

No one got up, no one went out.

Qin Mu finished the bowl of wine in his hand, put it down, and leaned back on the low couch, as if he had watched the last show of the night and was finally sure that there was no need to change to the next one.

He raised his hand and pressed down the wick of the oil lamp on the top of the tent, making the flame shorter and dimming the light inside the tent.

It was just dark enough to see the outlines of the three figures and the warm edges on their shoulders coated with charcoal fire.

He turned his head to the side and said in a low voice, "Then leave them all."

No one answered, no one moved.

The pipa was placed back in its original spot against the wooden box, and the wine pot was gently pushed to the center of the table.

The charcoal fire is still burning.

The night wind of the Northern Wilderness swept past outside the tent curtains, lifting a corner of the curtain slightly before letting it fall again, like a piece of paper being turned halfway by the wind and then closing again.

The next morning.

The sky was not yet fully bright; the color outside the tent was a grayish-blue, filtered through the snow.

Morning comes later in the Northern Wilderness than in the Northern Border; the clouds hang low, and the air is so cold it seems as if it hasn't recovered from last night's temperature.

When Qin Mu woke up, the charcoal fire inside the tent had shrunk considerably, leaving only a layer of dark red embers slowly shrinking in the furnace, occasionally bursting out with a tiny spark.

The three women were no longer on the bed.

They had gotten up at some point, their robes were neatly dressed, and their braids had been retied. They were facing away from him, tidying up the cups, saucers, and empty wine jugs on the table, their movements very light.

The youngest woman was covering the plate of walnuts she had peeled the night before with a dry cloth again when she heard the sound of fabric rubbing against the couch. She paused for a moment but did not turn around.

The woman in the middle turned to the side, bowed slightly in Qin Mu's direction, and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty has awakened."

Qin Mu sat up, put on his outer robe, and adjusted his collar: "What time is it?"

The woman on the far left put down her pipa and answered softly, "It's past mid-morning."

Qin Mu did not ask any further questions.

After straightening his robes, he walked to the tent entrance and lifted the curtain.

A cold wind carrying fine snowflakes rushed in, instantly dispelling the warmth on his shoulders.

He stood there for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the snow-covered ground in the camp, which was tinged with pale gray by the morning light, before walking toward the outpost.

The curtain of the side tent was already half-lifted.

Jiang Zhaoyue was standing inside, holding a cup of tea that was no longer steaming.

She didn't drink it; she just held the cup of tea in her hand for a while, waiting for the right moment to put it down.

Hearing footsteps, she looked up, her gaze lingering on Qin Mu's face for a moment before shifting to the folds of his collar.

The wrinkles weren't from sleeping; they were marks left from being tidied up and then neatly gathered back together.

She didn't ask, but simply placed the teacup on the table and turned to fetch another outer robe from the shelf: "Young master is awake, please change into this one, the one from last night was a bit too thin."

Qin Mu took the outer robe, but didn't put it on immediately. He glanced at her first.

Her movements were no different from usual: folding clothes, smoothing out wrinkles, and hanging them back on the wooden rack, doing each step very carefully.

Qin Mu put on his outer robe, fastened his belt, and was about to speak when the tent flap was lifted.

Chen Ruoyao walked in.

She was wearing a dark, thick cotton robe, and her hair was not tied up as usual, but loosely draped over her shoulders.

She walked to the table, glanced at the cup of tea that Jiang Zhaoyue had already put down, picked it up, took a sip, and then frowned: "It's cold."

She put down her teacup and looked at Qin Mu: "Did you sleep well last night, young master?"

Her tone was tinged with laughter, and the last syllable of her voice rose slightly.

Qin Mu looked at her and said, "Not bad."

Chen Ruoyao smiled and didn't ask any further questions.

She picked up the cup of iced tea and put it down again, then turned around and walked to the charcoal stove to add a new piece of firewood, her movements unhurried and deliberate.

Xu Fenghua was the last one to walk in.

Unlike Chen Ruoyao, who had her hair down, she had already combed her hair neatly, and the sashes on her robe were tied very properly.

She walked in without pausing, her gaze sweeping over him before settling on the curtain behind him, which was being lifted by the wind.

She didn't say anything, but walked to the other side of the table and sat down.

She sat very upright, with her back straight and her hands resting on her knees.

But her hand curled slightly inside her sleeve, then relaxed again.

Han Xin'er stood closest to the tent entrance. She neither sat down nor touched anything on the table.

She just stood there, head down, without looking up.

She heard Qin Mu and Jiang Zhaoyue talking, heard Chen Ruoyao laughing, and heard the sound of Xu Fenghua's clothes rubbing together as she walked in.

After a long while, she finally spoke, her voice soft: "Young master, what would you like to eat for breakfast?"

Qin Mu turned his head to look at her.

Her gaze remained fixed on the ground.

"Just make something hot."

She nodded, turned around, lifted the curtain, and walked out, her steps quicker than usual.

Yunluan stood beside a pillar outside the side tent, her hand on the hilt of her sword, her gaze fixed on the snow line in the distance, illuminated by the morning light.

She heard footsteps and voices inside the tent, but neither turned her head nor moved.

Her duty was to guard, not to listen to people.

Qin Mu sat down at the table and picked up the cup of tea that Jiang Zhaoyue had just put down.

The tea had indeed gone cold, but he didn't mind. He picked it up, took a sip, and put it down: "What are the plans for today?"

Jiang Zhaoyue sat down opposite him, her voice calm and deep: "Huyan Lie sent someone to say half an hour ago that if Your Majesty is free, he would like to meet with you alone."

Qin Mu nodded: "Then I'll see you."

Xu Fenghua sat on the other side of the table, her gaze fixed on the cup of cold tea.

After a moment, she spoke, her voice low: "Young master, what was the origin of those three women from last night?"

Qin Mu put down his teacup: "The people from the Baihe Army."

Xu Fenghua did not ask any further questions.

Chen Ruoyao straightened up from the charcoal stove, patted the ash off her hands, and said in a more relaxed tone than before: "The Baihe Army's men have been sent to your bed. Huyan Lie's tactic is quite effective."

Qin Mu didn't reply, but simply took her cup of iced tea and replaced it with a pot of freshly brewed hot tea, placing it on the table: "Drink this."

The wind outside the tent picked up a bit more, blowing the half-lifted curtain back down.

Yunluan stood by the pillar, her gaze fixed on the curtain fluttering in the wind, without turning around.

She heard the sounds of silence returning inside the tent, and her hand loosened from the hilt of her sword, then returned to it.

The tea inside the tent hadn't cooled down yet when someone lifted the curtain a crack from the outside.

A cold breeze slipped in through the crack, ruffling the teacup on the table for a moment before returning to calm.

Han Xin'er came in. She had just gone out to get hot tea, and when she came back, her steps were faster than when she left, as if something had happened on the way.

There was a moment of silence inside the tent.

Chen Ruoyao was gathering her sleeves when her fingers paused, the movement stopping in mid-air.

Jiang Zhaoyue didn't move her hand holding the teacup, but raised her gaze from the tea and landed on Qin Mu's face.

Xu Fenghua remained seated on the other side of the table, her back still, only her eyelids drooping slightly.

Qin Mu didn't reply immediately. He took a sip of the half-cold tea in his hand, put it down, and asked in a tone not much different from before, "Who did they send?"

Han Xin'er lowered her voice slightly, as if repeating a message she herself had only heard half of: "They said they were people from the Northern Border. They looked like soldiers, not very old, and they came on horseback without any attendants."