Zhu Deming returned to the Red Demon camp just as the sun was brushing the mountain's edge, painting the sky in streaks of gold and ash. His cloak was heavy with forest scent—pine, loam, wildflowers—and something else he couldn't name.
Something that was distinctly her.
He moved through the camp without fanfare, nodding once to the guards before ducking into Sun Longzi's tent.
The general looked up from his seat beside the war map, his brow furrowing. "You were gone too long," Sun Longzi announced, before returning his gaze to the map in front of him. If he couldn't get the weapon, he needed to bring the court something else.
Like information on Yelan.
"I found something," Zhu Deming replied quietly. "Someone."
Sun Longzi didn't move, but the tension in the air thickened. "The woman with the child?"
"Yes and no," shrugged the Second Prince. "The woman was taking her daughter to the village's healer."
