Chapter 29

The next morning, gunner Sta said in a muffled voice, this is the territory of the Amber clan, but cavalry Yi Wan loudly claimed it was Karstark's, because their ship had drifted south along the coast with the current for two days, then turned west and drifted for one day, after which it continued drifting north with the south wind to the coast of the North, so this is mostly Karstark territory.

No one objected to him anymore; nobody had ever paid attention to the wind like he did.

Shasha couldn't tell east from west, but she could see that actually nobody knew the exact locations of Karstark and the Amber clan. But they agreed on the subsequent route: go west until they reached a road that might be like the King's Road, then head south until Winterfell.

After landing, Shasha spent most of her time riding her little unicorn. Along the way, they passed through uninhabited dense forests and mountain gullies. Only after detouring past several small streams did the hilly area reveal farmland that seemed inhabited and large orchards.

Uncle Wildcat gathered a lot of wheat in the fields, and he told her that if the wheat were ground into powder and formed into balls, mixed with meat and salt and baked over fire, it would be delicious. To try something new and also to pass the boring travel time, she followed along and picked wheat that still looked intact in the already fallen wheat field.

Since it can be made into delicious food, why hasn't anyone stored them properly? She was a bit puzzled.

She gathered a big bundle of wheat stalks, until the prickles on the stalks made her whole body itch, then she stopped.

So she mounted her little unicorn, left the main group, took her small bow, and went hunting in the fields and wheat fields. The wheat fields had many mice, and there were some foxes and skunks, but they were not her targets, not only because they tasted terrible. She hoped to find more interesting game, preferably an animal she had never seen on Skagos Island.

Shasha rode her little unicorn lightly and happily, running freely in the wheat field, having promised not to leave the main group's sight.

She ran and ran, and ended up far from the main group—the so-called main group was nothing more than eleven people and two adult unicorns.

Is the North safe? According to his father, girls in the North can wear their finest clothes and walk safely from the marshes all the way to Black Castle without suffering any harm, because the lords along the way have all promised to protect travelers; this differs from Skagos Island, where the lords along the way all want to claim their right to eat people.

"Thunder god shakes the heavens, the pointed horn also chills…" she hummed a little tune from the island.

A big mouse escaped from under the hooves of the little unicorn, and she didn't care at all. She stood on the ridge between the wheat fields, singing softly, watching birds flutter past noisily from ahead.

"Snow god's wrath knows no bounds, summoning heavy snow and ice."

"Blood god's thirst knows no bounds, the blood-drinking clan trembles."

"Sea god's waves know no bounds, capsizing ships in the palm of a hand."

As she sang, a four-legged creature that was neither fox nor rat darted out from in front of the wheat field—gray long fur, tiny nose, short legs, and a plump belly, about the size of a piglet. She shot an arrow, instantly pinning it to the ground. It struggled and rolled, howling, but her shot was so accurate she felt she had succeeded. She patted the unicorn, and its horn jabbed forward, after which it stopped trembling and relaxed.

"Moo…" it lifted its head, impaling the prey on its own horn, then tilted its head back and handed the prey to her. She took the animal, whose name she didn't know, and hung it on the hook beside the unicorn's skin pad.

"Fire god knows feasts, juicy meat makes me greedy." She continued singing.

Seeing that she had left the main group far behind, she gently kicked her little unicorn, followed the ridge, and charged forward. All along the way, birds were startled into flight.

"Mountain god never speaks, night deepens my sleep."

She continued singing.

"Tree god knows the way ahead, long sacrifices bring safety."

He noticed the main group had stopped, so he urged his little unicorn to trot closer.

It turned out they were arguing. Cavalry Yi Wan said he had seen a sneaky person in the dense thicket on the other side of their road; after seeing their group, that person fled, and he thought they should catch up and ask what was happening. Axe Jiao insisted it must be an enemy, otherwise they wouldn't flee upon seeing them, so they should kill him. Red Carp thought they were in the North and should keep peace with the northerners; besides, if killing someone became known to the Starks of Winterfell, it would be troublesome.

She only found the arguing annoying. Following the small path between the fields, she once again separated from them. Her father's big unicorn gave her a disdainful glance.

"Keep going!" her father said, and everyone immediately fell silent.

Shasha felt everything before her was quite novel, and she didn't understand why they kept arguing.

She let the unicorn gallop, letting the cold northern wind brush her face, listening to the rustling wind.

All along the way, everywhere smelled of something she had never encountered before; here there was no longer the fishy salt of sea breezes, but instead the gentle freshness of mountain breezes and the unique scent of soil and decaying leaves underfoot.

"Huh…" she shouted. She really wanted to sing happily here with her father and them.

She watched the birds on the ground fly away, disappearing into the next patch of fallen wheat field and the adjacent orchard grove.

Farther off, the mountains were lush and vivid; under the gray clouds, the whole land looked vast and desolate, completely different from the snow‑white Skagos Island of today.

"Huh…"

She urged her little unicorn forward, and it broke into a swift run, letting out a happy cry.

She sat on it and laughed heartily.

She rushed to the front, throwing the main group far behind.

The field between the woods was broad, and she believed that even if she ran farther, it would still be within sight.

Not long after, she felt her shoes were wet, and her little unicorn kept exhaling white mist, its fur becoming damp. So she slowed down, waiting ahead for her father's main group.

After turning past a wheat field, she faintly spotted a manor hidden behind the trees. Thin gray smoke rose from it, yet it had a mysterious quietude, and she suddenly felt nervous.

How should she greet the northerners?

She hastily rode her little unicorn back to the main group.

"Dad, I found a manor!" she pointed toward the manor. "It has stone walls!"

"Yi Wan, Buzha, Kalon, Gray Hand, you four go scout first. No killing." Her father ordered.

Yi Wan said nothing, mounted his unicorn, and galloped off. The remaining three, holding spears, followed behind and ran over.

Shasha prepared to ride her little unicorn after them, but her father called out, "You're not allowed to go."

"Oh." She obeyed meekly. Then she ran to the front of the group again, ready to closely observe the four's movements and hope to report any new developments to her father right away.

"Dad, they're already approaching the manor." She noticed several of them turn a direction and disappear behind the stone wall.

After a while, Shasha felt there was nothing new to shout to them.

They've been gone for a long time! Can't we just go in for a quick look and come right out?

She charged forward a long distance, until she confirmed that no other vantage point could see them. Then she anxiously turned her little unicorn, which let out an "ang-ang-ang" sound of impatience.

She had no choice but to stop.

"All right, all right. Be patient!" she patted the unicorn's gray head.

When she thought those few might be in danger, Yi Wan was the first to ride his unicorn out from the stone wall, followed by the other three. All were safe and sound.

She hurried back to the main group, just wanting to hear what news he brought back.

"Bo Qi, everyone inside is dead." He told her father.

Her father furrowed his brow.

"They were killed, but their heads weren't cut off, their bellies weren't slit open—they were just left intact." Yi Wan continued.

She saw her father's brow furrow even deeper.

"What's going on?" she asked aloud.

Yi Wan looked at her for a long time before speaking. "Maybe they're bandits." He said.

"It seems Facing Winter City's control over the Northern Border has weakened." Shan Mao Shushu commented.

"Not bad." Her father was always terse and unwilling to speak much.

"How many people died inside?" she asked.

Yi Wan glanced at her again. "Four people. The courtyard has been completely burned. The bodies are stiff but not rotted. There might also be dead bodies in the well, but I didn't check."

"How did they die? Were they hacked to death with an axe, or shot with arrows?" she asked.

"Some seem to have been shot through, one was hacked to death, and another was hanged." Yi Wan answered. "There's also one with an unknown cause of death—a naked woman."

"Boqi, we need to be careful." Hong Li Yu said.

"What's there to fear? We could kill all the bandits and send them to that cripple of the Shi Ta Ke family; maybe he'll give us some reward money to buy wine. If he doesn't, we'll send them to the heart tree of Facing Winter City—I bet his family's tree hasn't received a big gift in years." Fu Tou Jie Ao said rudely.

"A little boy wouldn't like bandits." She interjected, "Dad, when your Unicorn has offspring, shall we give them to that boy? I heard she's not older than me; he'll surely like it."

Her father stretched the corners of his mouth. She took that as agreement.

She then cheerfully rushed to the front of the line again.

Thinking there might be bandits nearby, she felt it was best not to rush too far alone, so she stayed just ahead. The line always smelled foul.

"If only the manor were still here." Hong Li Yu laughed, "I need to trade with them for a horse; I've long wanted to walk on four legs. I still have gold!" He showed off by tossing a soft, crescent-shaped piece of gold from his hand. Sha Sha thought that piece of gold was also beautiful.

"You can ride with me!" Sha Sha stopped the Unicorn, turned, and said to him.

"Oh, I wouldn't dare!" Hong Li Yu pretended to be glum, knowing she was teasing her, "Besides, your Unicorn is too small."

"We can squeeze together!" Sha Sha said, blushing, "Moreover, the Unicorn is strong enough to bear both of us."

Shan Mao Shushu grinned, laughing loudly, revealing his messy sharp teeth.

Her father glanced at her, then rode the Unicorn forward, continuing on without paying attention to them.

Sha Sha found it boring, so she rode the little Unicorn over everyone, rushing back to the front to clear the way for everyone.

She sped up, and the Unicorn liked it too.

Soon they reached the edge of the wheat field. Here she saw a rocky wasteland ahead, then a dense forest, and she didn't know how large the forest beyond that was.

"Moo..." the Unicorn cheered the smooth progress of the journey.

"Whooo..." came the conversation of the Forest Wolves from afar.

She stopped here, waiting for her father's instructions.