Chapter 35

They set out early. Besides Laila, those following Qiongen were Count Togenhen's second son Atos and the four Felin warriors he led.

"Since I promised you five hundred knights, not one will be missing—go ahead with peace of mind," the count told him before his departure.

Qiongen had nothing to worry about. Given the current progress, he would soon gather enough forces he believed could defeat Mance Rayder's army, and if cavalry weren't limited, he could even recruit more.

"Have you decided where to go?" Laila asked.

Qiongen understood her meaning. Going to Hakkai would mean circling all the big and small clan territories to gather troops—perhaps not a problem, but it would surely waste time, and time is everything; Mance Rayder could launch a total assault on the Wall at any moment.

"We're going to Hakkai." He had promised the count that he could persuade them to accept defeat, but he could not not try.

"Good." She nodded lightly.

Here in Felin she added a double-breasted vest, making her look much straighter; now mounted on her horse, she looked even more like a lord.

"Hakkai is very near us, Qiongen; we won't waste much time—once we cross this mountain we'll be there." The count's second son was a vigorous man, older and stronger than Qiongen, somewhat like Count Togenhen; Qiongen had no doubt that when he reached the count's age he would be just as domineering as his father.

As they turned a patch of forest, Atos pointed at one mountain and shouted loudly, "Hey, this is the mountain Hakkai wants. But this mountain belongs to Felin, and has for a thousand years; we call it Sheepneck Mountain—look, doesn't its shape resemble a sheep's neck?"

"It looks like any neck." Laila sneered, "Since there's a dispute, why not rename it Felin Mountain?"

"Oh dear, cousin, you're so clever!" He jumped as if startled, slapping his thigh with his whip, "Calling it Felin Mountain would end the dispute, right? Hehe, how could something called Felin Mountain still belong to Hakkai?"

"It's auntie, old cousin." She corrected him, making Atos burst out laughing.

Qiongen also laughed. "I should remind you, according to the agreement between Winterfell and the forest clans, any land over which the forest clans constantly dispute shall be considered Winterfell's, belonging to no clan."

"Oh dear, you're really bandits. When I was little I wondered why Winterfell is so far away yet possesses this mountain and that forest in these ranges—because of these forests we have to pay extra pelts each year; just thinking about it breaks my heart." He put on a pained expression, touching his chest.

"You? Haha, I'm not a Stark!" Qiongen felt he could now say this without reservation.

"It's not because the clans are useless!" Laila said, "Winterfell's original intent was to have the clans compromise and yield so they could share the forests, but some stubborn leaders insist on lording it over others, creating disputes—who do they blame? I think being taken by the Starks would be best, at least fewer of our own would die."

"Hey cousin, if we're talking about stubbornness, your Norse take the prize. I remember your territory is the smallest? Which clans have you disputed land with?"

"It's auntie. Let me tell you, we currently have no dispute, and we're not the smallest either."

"Yeah, no dispute—are you just too scared? How many pelts does Norse pay each year for the forest hunting rights?" He laughed loudly.

"You're meddling too much!" Laila said, "It would be hilarious if Felin Mountain ever belonged to the Starks!"

Atos laughed embarrassedly. "Hehe, I announce that the renaming is postponed, or let my older brother come—after all, he's the heir."

Listening to the quarrel, Qiongen felt genuine happiness. He had never had cousins, whether on his mother's or father's side, and even his brothers and sisters had all been separated.

All the way they galloped through the hills, laughing and joking easily; Qiongen hadn't felt this kind of joy in a long time.

They reached Hakkai Fortress after the sky had fully brightened.

Hakkai Fortress was also a wooden fort, like Norse's castle, set on a mountainside, but this mountainside was exceptionally flat and unusually broad; Hakkai left a huge open space in the fort's forecourt, larger than Winterfell's drill ground, now occupied by free-range chickens.

A conspicuous spot in the forecourt was a dirty pond with several withered water lilies. As Qiongen passed, he saw a layer of ugly colored oil film clearly floating on the surface, around which lay a ring of frozen dirty ice, specks of coal ash, and chicken droppings.

Under the guidance of a servant, Qiongen passed the pond and entered the wooden fort. The fort's design was not as exaggerated as Norse's; likewise, a few massive logs supported the high beams and pillars, the style rugged and wild yet showing great strength—Qiongen felt that no amount of snow could topple the wooden fort.

Atop the wooden fort flew the half-old clan crest of Hakkai: a blue field with a white diagonal bar, embroidered with two crescent moons and one full moon. Qiongen could not fathom the meaning of this emblem.

Hey, the last time I came here was several years ago! Qiongen, they have more sons and plenty of grandsons, so they're eager for Felin Mountain. I'm telling you, they definitely need lots of land to put down their roots—you ought to discuss this well with Hakkai, just as you did with my father; he'll surely be interested. Atos said, laughing.

"I've been scheming this for a long time." Qiongen laughed.

Inside the wooden fort it was unusually not dim. Qiongen looked up and saw that a huge skylight had been opened above the fort, through which he could directly see the gray clouds outside; the trade-off was that the interior was as cold as the exterior.

Qiongen was pleased that Count Hakkai had not gone out. He sat high on his large fur seat, the enormous chair usable as a bed. The count's own stout body sat peacefully on his tiger-skin cushion, dozing.

Upon seeing Count Hakkai, Qiongen immediately judged him to be the man with the longest beard he had ever seen. The count's beard was thick and dense, lush and full, a mix of brown, gray, and white, hanging straight down to his chest; overall it could look either elegant or savage, depending entirely on his voice, tone, and gaze, Qiongen thought.

He had his eyes closed, dozing off, and beside him was a four- or five-year-old child hiding secretly behind the great chair, constantly tugging at the tiger fur without a sound, making faces at Qiongen and the others.

Qiongen smiled, then glanced at the servant nearby. The servant shrugged, looking unsure what to do. Atos complained in a moderate voice and simply took the nearby chair and sat down.

As Qiongen pondered, a bearded middle-aged man not much different from the count emerged from the side door beside the chair. He stepped down from the dais and spoke loudly to Qiongen, his voice low yet resonant, which Qiongen found penetrating, like facing a tiger's roar.

"Are you a Night's Watch man? Have you seen Ronan?" he said.

I am Qiongenxuenuo, steward to Lord Commander Jeor Mormont of the Night's Watch. Qiongen answered, since the person seated at the head neither spoke nor opened his eyes, the speaker might be the true authority. "My lord, do you mean Ronan Hakkai? I heard from my uncle Benjen Stark that he is an excellent ranger."

To be precise, his exact words were that all his rangers were extremely excellent.

Qiongen had only seen Ronan a few times and had little impression; he thought a suitable lie would do no harm, especially since it was well-intentioned—Ronan might not return from beyond the Wall, and as an epitaph this sentence would be perfectly usable.

Excellent? He's practically the worst among the brothers. If you let him stay in the mountains to hunt, he'd surely starve to death. Oh, this isn't me saying it—it's the old man himself. He pointed at the dozing count, then continued to Qiongen, "You'd better sit down soon, otherwise the old man will say I'm being rude to the Night's Watch."

He simply sat down on the ground, pulled the fur from the chair down with his hand, used it as a cushion under his buttocks, and then leaned back against the chair to speak to them. After gesturing, the servant brought them beer brewed from black malt.

Besides, I should say, I'm not an adult. As long as the old man is still here, I'm not, and I hope he lives to be a hundred!

The count, sir?

"'Count,' that title is really novel—I recall Ned Stark addressing our clan chieftain that way. Anyway, the old man is just like that: likes to nap, often forgets things, and his hearing isn't good. When you speak to him later, you'll have to speak loudly."

The last time I came, he wasn't still okay, was he! Atos complained while lying on the chair.

The last time you came, you were still just a little brat!

The child beside the chair kept stretching a thin cord made of tiger fur toward the count's large nose, and Qiongen saw the count's nose twitching continuously.

The middle-aged man sitting on the ground pointed his thumb at the child and said to Atos, "Hey, that's exactly it!"

"Hahaha" Atos laughed loudly.

The old count suddenly rubbed his nose, opened his eyes, woke up, and stared at Qiongen and the others. Qiongen felt the old count's beard was best defined as savage.

Who are you, and what are you doing here? the old count shouted.

Old man, that handsome young fellow is a Night's Watch man named Qiongenxuenuo, son of Eddard Stark. The ugly one is called Atos Felin, son of Count Togenhen's second wife. That girl is Laila Norse, Norse's own daughter and heir.

Qiongen suddenly felt that the relationship between Felin and Hakkai was not as solemn and hostile as he had imagined.

The count widened his eyes, using that rough large hand to hold the chair, and began to pay attention to the few people.

Oh, girl, do you need a husband? I still have several sons without wives! If not, I have grandsons—you ought to check them out! The old count lifted the large cup placed nearby.

Hey, Hakkai! Don't even think about my sister Laila! Atos quickly stood up.

Qiongenxuenuo shook his head with a wry smile.

Laila remained silent, giving Atos a cold sneer.

The Earl didn't pay much attention, then asked Qiongen: "Oh, have you seen Luona? I heard he became a ranger—hey, someone like him can become a ranger; how have the Night's Watch become like this? If you let him hunt, he couldn't even feed himself! I thought he could only tend horses at the Wall!" The Earl's voice was not lower than his son's.

Hey, Qiongenxuenuo said, Banyang Shitake once said he was an excellent ranger!" the Earl's son said.

So, Banyang himself never returned." the Earl announced, "How could the northern forests have these summer chives thought of so simply!"

Age is the capital of pride, Qiongen thought. He thought of the uncle who had said the same thing to himself.

Commander Moermeng has already......

Commander Moermeng is already dead. We received ravens from the Wall; they sent ravens over, requesting our assistance. How could we have spare men and horses to support the Wall? Oh, and there are ravens from Winterfell—I remember, I remember what it said up there, what did it say again? Rika?" He used his right hand to touch the middle-aged man sitting on the ground. Qiongen noticed he had no right hand.

Winterfell commands us to do our utmost to help the Wall." the Earl's son Rika said loudly to him.

Yeah, doing our utmost—we've already been doing our utmost, right?" the Earl said, "Right, that's how we've responded to Winterfell, correct, Rikade!"

His son ignored him. His beard was too thick; Qiongen couldn't see his expression.

What do you mean, 'doing our utmost'? If you were really doing your utmost, you'd have sent people to hunt on Mount Feilint—gee, the barking dogs all over the mountain—I can hear them from my own courtyard!" Atuos stood up and directly refuted.

What's Mount Feilint?" Rikade wondered.

It's Mount Yangbo!" Atuos replied testily.

Oh, so you mean Mount Hakkrai!" Rikade laughed loudly.

Qiongen didn't want to hear their argument here and spoil the atmosphere; he hurriedly explained his purpose for coming, the dangerous situation at the Wall, and the large army of Mansrede.

Qiongen loudly said everything he knew, feeling his throat start to hurt.

To be a military commander, you need a good voice. Who said that? He suddenly wondered what his sister looked like shouting orders on the battlefield—would she be like a blood‑wolf with its mouth open?

Well, Atuos, how many troops did your father promise Winterfell?" the Earl loudly asked.

Eight hundred cavalry!" Atuos said.

What?" the Earl seemed not to have heard clearly.

One thousand cavalry!" Atuos shouted.

Earl, Earl Togengheng promised us five hundred cavalry." Qiongen said.

How generous!" Rikade said. "If you weren't Ned's son, I wouldn't believe you! That miserly Earl Togengheng wouldn't give you that many! Qiongen, did you use some bait to hook him?"

I……" Qiongen was interrupted.

You better spit out the bait too, brat!" the Earl grabbed the child who was still teasing him, held him in his arms, and shouted at Qiongen.