Ekulu was immensely tall, his muscles full and solid. Combined with the bearskin draped over him and the blood splashed across his body, he looked like a giant bear walking upright in the dim light. As he strode over, he carried a heavy, oppressive presence.
Su Zhu's two disciples unconsciously tightened their grips on their short blades, about to move forward to meet him.
Zhang Yu raised a hand and held his sword across, stopping the two from advancing. Then, with a clang, he sheathed it and said in the language of the Steel Claw Tribe, "All I can say is that, for now, we aren't enemies."
Hearing this, Ekulu gave him an intrigued look, then continued forward until he stopped beyond the Xia Sword's reach. Relying on a stature not much shorter than that of a Blood Feather Warrior, he looked down at them and continued in Celestial Xia Language, "Celestial Xia Scions, didn't you want to see me? I am standing before you now. What do you have to say?"
He could speak a few simple words of Celestial Xia Language. Zanuicha had taught him.
Zhan Zhitong had always believed he possessed exceptional talent for languages and that everyone else was mediocre. Yet people like that were never scarce. Though Zanuicha was a barbarian, he possessed the same gift.
During the time he had followed the Zhan father and son, he had taught himself everyday Celestial Xia Language conversation without a teacher. He had merely pretended not to understand it. Along the way here, he had listened to quite a few of the delegation's more secretive discussions.
In truth, he was not a real spy, and he had exposed many flaws. With even a little care, they would not have been hard to discover. But how could someone