"The Tuge? Are you one of the Tuge?" Zhou Fugui asked, surprised to learn that Lin Yue was Tuge, though he had some inkling.
"What? Surprised?" Lin Yue glanced at Zhou Fugui and said, "Aren't you also Tuge?"
"Me? Miss Lin Yue jokes. I am Han. How could I be Tuge?" Zhou Fugui said with a shake of his head and a smile.
Zhou Fugui's mother, Madam Liu, had a Han surname, Liu. Her original surname was Huyuan, and she was Tuge. However, tribal affiliation followed the father. Zhou Fugui's father was a pure Han, a descendant of Grand Han Marquis Zhou Bo. Therefore, Zhou Fugui could not be considered Tuge, at most having some Tuge bloodline.
"Oh..." Lin Yue looked at Zhou Fugui and said, "At this point, General Zhou, what else are you hiding?"
"Hiding? I'm hiding nothing. My father is a descendant of Grand Han Marquis, a true Han." Zhou Fugui said.
"But the totem, or mark, on you... what does it mean?" Lin Yue, seeing Zhou Fugui wasn't joking, mused.
"What totem? What mark? I have many marks on me. Which one are you asking about?" Zhou Fugui feigned ignorance, knowing what she meant.
"Speak properly. I'm talking seriously with you, and you're being flippant..." Lin Yue's face flushed slightly. She gave Zhou Fugui a look and said, "The black wolf totem on you, and the item around your neck, are both of my tribe."
"Ah, Miss Lin Yue, to be frank." Zhou Fugui dropped his smile and said earnestly, "My father is Han, and my mother is indeed Tuge. As for the so-called totem on me, I'm baffled. Is it a birthmark?"
"What birthmark?" Lin Yue gave Zhou Fugui a look. "People of my tribe are marked with this totem from birth. Men have the black wolf totem."
"I see..." Zhou Fugui nodded and asked, "Men have the black wolf totem. What about women?"
Zhou Fugui thought to himself that he was being serious now, but why wasn't his unreliable mother? He sighed internally. He knew his mother must have been the one to tattoo the black wolf totem on his back. Was she not afraid of the Yan court finding out? Did she want everyone to know they were descendants of the former dynasty?
Despite complaining about his mother, Zhou Fugui missed them dearly, having not seen them for so long.
"Women do not have it. However, women of esteemed status do, but it's not tattooed, nor is it the black wolf totem," Lin Yue replied.
"Oh, why is that? Why not the black wolf?" Zhou Fugui sat by the hot spring and looked up at Lin Yue.
"Black wolves are all servants of the Fire Phoenix," Lin Yue replied somewhat haughtily.
"So, does that mean my mother and I are your servants?" Zhou Fugui asked, sounding somewhat annoyed.
"So that's how it is! No wonder, no wonder," Zhou Fugui thought to himself. He recalled the wolf attack outside Snow Wolf City. The wolves hadn't submitted to him then as they did now. It must have been Lin Yue who subdued them in the cave, not him. Or perhaps it was the Wolf God Bone around his neck?
"Mother, oh mother, if you have to be unconventional, why did you have to get the mark of a black wolf servant tattooed? Couldn't you have gotten a majestic and powerful mark? Like a coiled dragon or a fierce tiger..." Zhou Fugui grumbled internally, missing his mother, Madam Liu.
"Your mother... perhaps not. If she does, it's not a black wolf. But you... of course, you are Lin Yue's servant, hehe." Lin Yue started to laugh as she spoke.
"Damn it!" Zhou Fugui fiddled with the Wolf God Bone around his neck and asked smugly, "You must recognize this, right? This is the Wolf God Bone. And what is the Wolf God?"
"This Wolf God..." Lin Yue mused. "Is still a servant... The Wolf God is the leader of all wolves, and the chief of all servants."
"Plop!" Zhou Fugui fell into the dust...
Lin Yue chuckled.
"After all this talk, I'm still your servant?" Zhou Fugui asked, rolling his eyes after a moment.
"Of course, it's whether you are willing," Lin Yue smiled.
"I'm not willing, let alone genuinely so," Zhou Fugui shouted. "My parents gave birth to me to be a slave? If so, it would shame my ancestors. Zhou Fugui would rather die than comply!"
"One day, Lin Yue will make you willing," Lin Yue said calmly.
"Then you wait," Zhou Fugui replied dismissively.
Their conversation ended there, and neither spoke for a long time. After a while, Lin Yue said softly, "Lin Yue's original surname is Huyuan..."
"Huyuan?" Zhou Fugui's face turned pale with shock.
Zhou Fugui was similarly shocked. He had guessed the general situation but was still greatly surprised, or perhaps he had held onto a sliver of hope before.
Not everyone in the Tuge tribe was surnamed Huyuan, but the royal family of the Tuge state bore the surname Huyuan. This meant Lin Yue, like Zhou Fugui's mother, was from the former royal family. Did Lin Yue have any connection to Zhou Fugui's mother, Madam Liu? Perhaps they were sisters or aunt and niece?
If they were sisters or aunt and niece, Zhou Fugui lamented, things would be troublesome. He had already... This would be a violation of societal ethics! It was over, truly over!
"What's wrong?" Lin Yue asked, seeing Zhou Fugui's dejected look. "Is your mother also surnamed Huyuan?"
Zhou Fugui nodded gloomily.
"Are you the son of Princess Ruixi?" Lin Yue also guessed the situation but asked in surprise.
"Princess Ruixi? Who is she? Is she my mother?" Zhou Fugui asked, shaking his head in confusion.
"Lin Yue doesn't know if she's your mother," Lin Yue replied. "Many died when the state fell. Princess Ruixi's whereabouts are unknown."
"Oh, then she might be my mother..." Zhou Fugui nodded and asked, "And who are you?"
"Lin Yue is the daughter of the King of Xiliang," Lin Yue explained, seeing Zhou Fugui's bewildered expression. "The late emperor had six sons. The third son was the King of Xiliang. Your mother was the late emperor's youngest daughter, and I am the youngest daughter of the King of Xiliang. Therefore, I am your cousin."
"Oh, that's good, that's good," Zhou Fugui breathed a sigh of relief.
Regardless of whether the King of Xiliang and his mother were full siblings or half-siblings, Zhou Fugui and Lin Yue were indeed, as Lin Yue had said, cousins of the maternal aunt's side. In this world, it was common for such cousins to marry, even among the Han people. They called it "strengthening kinship." Since Zhou Fugui and Lin Yue were maternal cousins, meaning Lin Yue was his elder cousin, the incidents between them were not shocking or against ethics. Therefore, Zhou Fugui felt greatly relieved.
"Hmph, what's so good about it?" Lin Yue, guessing Zhou Fugui's thoughts, blushed and spat.
"Being in a foreign land and meeting my dear cousin, isn't that a happy occasion?" Zhou Fugui said with a playful grin, clearly teasing her.
Lin Yue pinched Zhou Fugui hard.
"Ouch..." Zhou Fugui winced from the pinch, gasping for air, and asked, "Cousin, what are your plans for the future?"
"Plans?" Lin Yue sighed and sat beside Zhou Fugui, slowly recounting her story and current predicament.
Lin Yue's current situation was that even if she escaped from this Fire Valley, she would be in grave danger. The reason was that the Xiongnu Great Chieftain, Duo Yongjian, wanted her dead at all times.
"Cousin... it's really not easy for you..." Zhou Fugui sighed after listening.
Zhou Fugui was born into a poor family and lived a hard life, but he had his family. His father was alive when he was young, and now he had his mother, elder sister-in-law, and nephew. Lin Yue only had one relative, her own brother, Hu Yanheng. Hu Yanheng had taken the young Lin Yue and fled, living a nomadic life. When Lin Yue grew up, Hu Yanheng, in order to restore the state, had given Lin Yue to the brutal Duo Yongjian. Her life in the wolf's den could be imagined.
Lin Yue shook her head slightly, gazing at the calm hot spring in silence.
Zhou Fugui knew Lin Yue was worried and said to her, "Cousin Lin Yue, do not worry. I have a plan that will solve this once and for all."
"Hmm? What brilliant plan do you have?" Lin Yue asked, turning to look at Zhou Fugui.
"Cousin Lin Yue..." Zhou Fugui took out a dagger, toying with it, and said calmly, "As long as that person exists, you will never succeed. Why not kill that person? Then you'll be safe."
"Kill him? That's easier said than done! He's extremely vigilant, with countless guards. It's hard to even get close to him," Lin Yue knew who Zhou Fugui was referring to and asked hesitantly.
"Nothing is impossible in this world for those who try..." Zhou Fugui chuckled. "With proper planning, anything is possible. Cousin Lin Yue, I have an advisor who can plan this, but only if he's still alive."
Zhou Fugui stared intently at Lin Yue.
"Don't worry, your people are all fine," Lin Yue replied, giving Zhou Fugui a look.
"Haha, then I'm relieved," Zhou Fugui said with great joy.
"Chirp... chirp..."
Just then, the Firebird, standing on Lin Yue's shoulder, chirped twice, swayed, and then fell to the ground.
"This dead bird...? What happened?" Zhou Fugui asked in surprise.
"What dead bird? Don't talk nonsense..." Lin Yue gave Zhou Fugui a look, then cradled the Firebird. "It's hungry. Fugui, divine beasts have astonishing appetites."
"Cousin is right," Zhou Fugui nodded.
The young Firebird, now the size of a rooster, could swallow a sizable grilled badger in one gulp...