Shunche’s task wasn’t too difficult overall. Without having to take the dan into consideration, he was able to travel faster and thus reached En two days before the others. He didn’t take any time to rest and just went to arrange the necessary places.
Telling General Zhayai who was in charge of this town that the zhireng found by their dan would arrive soon and wanted to speak to some people so he could banish the demon successfully, the man got things solved fast. There was a bit of a problem in where to let them wait though.
Back when it became apparent that the priests alone would not be enough to make the demon return to where it came from, Jusha Lale had ordered for the evacuation of En before he went to ask the zhireng for help. In the plan that he had made with the ministers and generals, the people of the capital city were to be spread over the surrounding cities. That way, no one city would need to deal with all the 'refugees' from the capital and they could instead share the difficulties of having to accommodate so many people.
Despite this, adding several thousand people to a city would make free rooms be sparse. To gather the people that needed to be asked and then separate them in a way that would ensure that they couldn’t talk beforehand … Shunche really didn’t know how to do that.
General Zhayai was stumped just the same. "Does it need to be in different houses?"
Shunche gave a wry smile. "That would be preferable, yes."
The general didn’t know what else to say. How was he supposed to organize that? "Well, both Madam Shaun and her children are in this city so this part isn’t a problem. Minister Agur is in one city over though. It’s not a problem to have him return in time but … I really don’t know where to put him."
Shunche nodded slowly. "Other than that, we also need a house where the zhireng can stay." And their dan which was much more important in his opinion but he couldn’t tell the general. Even though the dan hadn’t said so directly, he likely didn’t want anyone to know that he was back, not just the people they were supposed to interrogate.
General Zhayai pondered. "Then what if we had one house cleared out, would that be possible? Minister Agur could move in there as could the zhireng. Then afterward, he could go back to the city where he is currently relocated to. As for Madam Shaun, we could just ask her to go there for the duration of the conversation."
Shunche pondered for a moment and finally nodded. "Yes, let’s do it that way then." Anyway, if there weren’t more places available, then they weren’t. What else could they do?
General Zhayai nodded and then went to give the necessary orders.
Thus, by the time Susha Unhuor and the other two were about to arrive in the city, everything was prepared. Shunche had made sure that Minister Agur would arrive soon and had General Zhayai bring him to the room while he headed over to the city gate, and waited for the dan to arrive.
Jusha Lale had put on a cloak and pulled the hood down so that half his face was covered, making it much more difficult to recognize him for anyone that didn’t know him especially well. He had even switched from riding with Chomong to sitting on the horse behind Susha Unhuor and had actually left his guard behind in the last town. He lightly held onto the warrior’s robe, lowering his head further until it looked as if he was snuggling up against his back. Thinking about it was a little embarrassing but what could he do? It was best if nobody knew that he was back yet. That way, they could still ask some of the more uncomfortable questions.
Shunche froze slightly when he saw this scene but he still immediately came forward to receive him. He wanted to grab the reins of the horse but Susha Unhuor pulled them aside, clearly refusing.
"No need." He got off the horse and then glanced at the young man that was still sitting on top. Despite or maybe especially because half his face was obscured, he looked beautiful. Not being able to see his eyes added a hint of mystery to his youthful charm. Even for him, it was difficult to take off his eyes.
Susha Unhuor contemplated asking him to get off the horse as well but then felt that it wouldn’t be right. Never mind that this person was the dan of Alo who he had no business ordering around, his appearance also made him a little reluctant to do so. He definitely wouldn’t call himself a man swayed by beauty but there was just a special quality to Jusha Lale that made it hard to treat him like others. Yes, in a sense, it was otherworldly.
After a moment of hesitation, he turned around and tugged at the reins himself, leading the horse the last bit of the path to the gates. "I am zhireng Susha Unhuor. I was asked by the dan to come and vanquish the evil in the city of En. I ask for entry to make my last preparations here."
The guards were taken aback but at that moment Shunche already stepped forward. "He speaks the truth, let him pass."
Recognizing Shunche as one of the king’s personal followers, the guard nodded but then his gaze swept over Jusha Lale’s figure. "Then this …"
Susha Unhuor looked up, his gaze complicated. "My lover." Well, how else was he supposed to explain this?
The guard nodded as if that had been expected and then let the three of them pass. His gaze did follow them for a while though.
Jusha Lale did not say anything while Shunche was staring daggers at Susha Unhuor. But since his king was not speaking up, he had no business scolding the zhireng for his disrespectful actions and could only seethe by himself.
Susha Unhuor ignored him until he was sure that the guard from the gate wasn’t watching them anymore. Then, he turned to Shunche. "Where to?"
Shunche turned to his king instead. "Dan, do you want to take a rest first? You have been traveling without rest for so long."
"No need. Just bring us to speak to the first person."
Shunche nodded with some worry evident on his face. "Of course." He led the two of them to a house in one of the alleys not far from the gate. This was actually the house of a local merchant. In the front was the shop where they sold jewelry, cloth bags, and fans. In the bag of the building were the family’s private rooms and the rooms of their servants.
For the time being, four rooms had been emptied out: In one of them was Jusha Lale’s aunt waiting, one was prepared for Minister Agur to wait in later, one would be given to the zhireng to rest, and one had been prepared 'just in case' of unexpected circumstances. At the very least, that was what Shunche had told General Zhayai. Actually, this room was for Jusha Lale. After all, he didn’t want his dan to have to share a room with that zhireng. He didn’t trust that man.
Jusha Lale finally dismounted in front of the door and Susha Unhuor handed the reins to a servant of the family waiting at the side. Shunche thanked the boy and then led the other two inside.
"Madam Shaun is already there. As for Minister Agur, he should have arrived as well but I will ask first. Please excuse me for a moment." Shunche bowed his head and then left, going to ask one of the other servants.
Meanwhile, Jusha Lale and Susha Unhuor looked around.
"This doesn’t look bad. The building is big. They probably wouldn’t have run into each other yet."
Jusha Lale nodded. "In fact, I think there aren’t any more people judging from what Shunche just said. They will probably have gone in the other direction so he didn’t have time to ask them to come here. I am afraid we would have to travel there if what my aunt and Minister Agur say isn’t enough."
"Mn. Let’s hope it is. This Minister Agur …"
"His full name is Agur Suhi and he was a good friend of my uncle. In fact, the two of them grew up together and have stayed close since then. I don’t think they ever went for a longer period of time without seeing each other. Even for tasks outside of the capital city, my father would usually send them together because they were very familiar with each other, benefiting their work greatly. Minister Agur is probably the person who knows my uncle best."
"I see. Your uncle’s name …"
"Shaun Reng."
Susha Unhuor nodded and then fell quiet again.
At that moment, Shunche already returned and bowed once more. "Minister Agur already arrived. Should I bring you to him first or would you rather meet Madam Shaun first?"
Jusha Lale looked at Susha Unhuor to get his opinion. Anyway, if somebody was watching, he couldn’t answer this question anyway.
"I would prefer to speak to Minister Agur first. If he was really so close with the dan’s uncle, it is much more likely for him to know something."
Shunche glanced at the king who nodded slightly. Having his approval, he brought the two of them to the upper floor and then showed Jusha Lale to the room. "He is in here."
Jusha Lale nodded but turned back to Susha Unhuor, lowering his voice. "Then I will wait close by while you go and speak to him?"
Susha Unhuor gave a hum. "It would be great if you were close enough to listen in."
The two of them turned to Shunche with a questioning look.
Shunche motioned to the room next door. "This one is empty. Madam Shaun is in a room down the corridor. There is another empty room next to hers."
Jusha Lale smiled faintly. "I knew why I sent you. You have done very well, Shunche."
The guard hurriedly lowered his head, not daring to accept his king’s praise. Anyway, he had only done what he was supposed to do.
Jusha Lale’s smile only brightened and he turned to the empty room next to them. Opening the door and going inside, he found a table in the middle of the room. He went over, sat down, and nodded at Susha Unhuor to go. Anyway, there wasn’t much else that he could do.
"I will see what he tells me first. If I need help, I will come and ask but it shouldn’t be necessary." For this kind of thing, he would rather speak to the person alone first. They would be much more natural if they didn’t have to worry about what their king would think. Even in normal families or communities, this was the case. If it involved a king, it would only be made more prominent.
"Very well."
Susha Unhuor nodded and motioned for Shunche to stay with the dan instead. He closed the door behind him to make sure that Jusha Lale wouldn’t be spotted. Then, he went over to the other room, took a deep breath, and opened the door.
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