The tall young man was the one who had spoken. He still held his sword, his guard up.
He Xi shot Lidona a look, signaling her to take out the letter.
"That's..." Miles froze when he saw the envelope. "That's the letter I wrote to Ilko..."
"He should already have..."
Before he could finish, he suddenly drew his sword.
With a flick of his wrist, its point aimed at the three of them. The motion was clean and swift.
"Who are you? Why do you have that letter?"
He Xi signaled the two beside him not to make any sudden moves.
"It's complicated, but if we meant you harm, we wouldn't have shown you the letter."
"Why don't we put down our weapons and talk? That is, if you want your sister to get help."
Miles stared at He Xi for a few seconds, then turned to the short, stocky man. "Mr. Klette..."
Klette, the tavern keeper, clearly knew what Miles had been going through lately.
He sighed and nodded to the young man. "Go ahead. We don't have any customers anyway."
Miles pointed to an empty table in the corner of the tavern. "Let's go over there."
Instead of heading straight over, he went to the bar, took a jug of red wine and several wooden cups from a shelf, and set them on a tray.
Lifting the tray, he told Klette, "Put it all on my tab."
At the table, He Xi took a small sip from his wooden cup.
The wine tasted sour and astringent.
Since he couldn't explain why the three of them had come here, He Xi kept it vague, saying they had wandered into Svarich Woodland while traveling.
Far from doubting him, Miles muttered, "No wonder... He's already noticed you."
Seeing their puzzled expressions,