Wanyan Su’s eyes kindled with the resolution he showed when leaving the capital of North Di. Seeing Wanyan Su’s unexplainable confidence, Leng Changxi said merely, “Say it only after you reach Kexili alive.”
On the other side, the “King” had returned to the stone castle again. The servant girl beside him helped him change clothes, which was much more convenient for him to act. The “King” kept staring firmly at the direction of the sunset, which was the West, and the direction of Kexili. He knew only too well about how much treasure there was in the huge arsenal.
In the arsenal, there were cannons that never showed up in the world. Their barrels could hold ammunition as large as bowls. Once they were shot, their power was infinite. Therefore, they were the best choice to take cities and seize territories. There were also iron chariots in the arsenal, which were never recorded in history. Different from the chariots pulled by four horses, the iron one was pulled by a special chain, which enabled it to run on any steep land. Thoughts of those treasures filled the heart of the “King” like maidens’ memory, making him unable to forget.
If he could return to the arsenal one day, he would be the ruler of the world.
“Mengman?” the “King” turned his head to the other side and called Mengman, who had been waiting by his side.
“Father,” Mengman looked quite respectful.
“Now that the man hasn’t mastered the Qigong of Tongming Gate yet, you will teach him.”
“But father,” Mengman hesitated a little, “If he learns it and become more powerful, I’m afraid that we can’t control him. On the way here, I’ve sounded out his martial arts. He may not be the greatest one in the world, but he is certainly a rare master-hand.”
“Don’t you remember that there is a woman beside him?” The “King” harbored dark designs, “To beat your enemy, don’t attack his strength. You should focus on his weakness as if grabbing his neck. Then he will do as you ask for. Nanny Yu’s poison will soon be ready. Just choose the best kind of it as our present to him for our first-time meeting.”
On the morning three days later, although the sun hadn’t gone up yet, the whole tribe woke up early as if they were expecting a serious ceremony. During the three days, Leng Changxi and Qin Yunuan had been living in a wing-room under the stone castle. Although the room was a little cold, there were fundamental things for daily life. The “King” even sent people to give them a clay tea set along with some black tea, which was better than nothing despite its bitterness.
Every day there was a woman who came specially to send meals to Leng Changxi and Qin Yunuan. Every time she would check how much tea was consumed carefully and add in time. It was too caring for Qin Yunuan to bear. Their identities were embarrassing. They seemed like prisoners, but they were treated better than honored guests.
However, one thing kept informing them that they were trapped now. Every day Mengman would come to see how much Leng Changxi’s inner Qi had grown and how far he had gone to use Tongming Gate’s Qigong. It could be seen that Mengman disliked Leng Changxi very much. He had said more than once, “Why should such a great Qigong be given to such a cold-blooded person like you?”
Of course, during the three days, Qin Yunuan did more than eating and drinking. By listening carefully to the conversation between these people, she had basically felt out the language rule of the tribe. She could learn most of their feelings and contents when the people beside them talked.
The tribe people were divided into three classes. The “King”, Mengman and the previous Yaqi all belonged to the ruling class, who had a good education. Second to them were those servant girls and nurses serving the ruling class. They were able to read and write. The ones at the bottom were those slaves who only had simple desires. They knew nothing except eating to ease hunger and drinking to fill thirst.
Those people were the simplest and the most horrible because they had the strength that seemed never to be used up. It could be seen from the mere human strength those slaves used to pull the vehicle of the “King”.
The “King” was a cripple, so he designed a moving throne himself. It was 9-meter wide, nailed with the thick logs in the forest. The huge wheels at the bottom left deep traces wherever they pressed. Sitting on the high throne, the “King” watched those slaves indifferently pulling the vehicle in the front. Qin Yunuan and Leng Changxi were at his right side, while Wanyan Su and Yasu were on the left.
Staring at the West firmly, the “King” said suddenly, “If your inner Qi is not strong enough to break the Duanlong Stone when we arrive Kexili, there’s no other way but death.”
“You mean all of us?” Leng Changxi looked at the direction the “King” kept staring at.
“No,” The “King” sneered, “I mean you.”
Leng Changxi lifted his lips, but his hand dragging Qin Yunuan tightened.
In this way, they kept walking until the forest in front of them became thicker in the evening. Even the “King” had to leave his throne and sat on the wheelchair alone to get a clear picture of the situation.
“Here it is. This is the warrior-horse array.”
Leng Changxi took Qin Yunuan to go forward and parted the thick leaves blocking the view. In the thin orange sunlight, a group of warrior-horse array in the size of real humans and horses appeared to them. Each horse was made according to the best Ferghana horse in North Di. Nevertheless, the man on the horse was also tall and strong in good spirits. Together, they were a bronze army.
It was the first time for Leng Changxi and Qin Yunuan to see such a scene. The slaves soon cleared the trees on the way under the hint of the “King”, broadening their view. It was at that time when Qin Yunuan found out the reason why it was called warrior-horse array. It was not because there were soldiers and horses, but because they were arranged carefully on a large scale. From the south of the mountain to the north of it, there were the tall bronze warriors and horses everywhere Qin Yunuan could see, surrounding the small hill in the center well.
The bronze warriors and horses got a little rusty. Maybe it was the result of being exposed to the weather for a long time. Weeds were growing beside the horse’s hooves, between which there were bloodstains and bones of animals from time to time. Obviously, no living things could go out of the array.
Stunned by the scene, Wanyan Su stretched the neck and went forward with eyes fixed on the warrior-horse array, seeming to look for a way out of it.
“Don’t look at it,” having been here countless times, the “King” got used to the scene, “There are warrior-horse arrays like this all around the mountain. There is no short cut, and there won’t be any. I’ve stayed at Yeren Valley for so many years. I know it better than you do.”
“Why is the warrior-horse array amazing?” Wanyan Su couldn’t help asking, “They’re just several bronze statues.”
“Several bronze statues?” The “King” felt worried about Wanyan Su’s intelligence. He waved his hands, giving Mengman the hint to draw the bow and shoot an arrow.
Mengman was born with extraordinary arm strength. Taking the longbow hanging on his back, he drew the bow and shot an arrow. The arrow flew to the warrior-horse array as fast as a meteor. Ordinary people could not make any reaction in such a short time.
Suddenly, the arrow fell to the ground with a snap. It was cut into two pieces by nobody else but the bronze man sitting on the bronze horse. He raised his hand and cut with his sword, which didn’t become blunt because of time, but cut clean through iron as though it were mud.
Seeing this, people on this side all froze. The “King” raised his head slightly and said to Wanyan Su, “Have you seen that? These are the ‘just several bronze statues’ in your words. Do you really believe that the one who designed them intended to make them a door-god?”
“How will we pass them, then?” Wanyan Su glanced at the bronze statues and many animal bodies on the ground. They must be the remains of those animals intruding the array out of curiosity or confusion. “We can bypass these animal bodies. Maybe then we can avoid the attack. Anyway, there must be a way.” If there was no way, how would the craftsmen sent into the factory at regular intervals enter?
“Impossible,” The “King” denied again, “The design here is strict. You never know which bronze man will attack and which will not. Maybe this year the route is here, and it will be on the other side next year. Even today’s route is different from the one tomorrow. It will change every two hours. This shows the designer’s greatness. The designer is a woman. Great as she is, she is also the most sinister woman in the world.”
“It’s Chen Wan,” Qin Yunuan leaned her head and said to the “King”, “I’ve heard about her before. She is almost a goddess. Also, all the blueprints of weapons in it were her work.”
“That’s right,” when the “King” mentioned the woman, he wore an unnatural expression, “But it doesn’t matter. She has schemes while I have humans.” The “King” glanced at the slaves at his feet with disdain, “Otherwise, what do you think of my bringing so many people here?”
How cruel he was! He wanted to take living people as his shields to explore.
Witnessing the complacence of the “King”, Qin Yunuan couldn’t help but look down upon him. Although Leng Changxi and Qin Yunuan have been forced to kill so many people, they respected life all the time. They were not like the “King”, who took living people as slaves.
The “King” waved at Mengman, who understood immediately, kicked a slave beside him, and ordered him to step forward with rude words.
Having witnessed himself how the arrow was cut in two, the slave wouldn’t listen to the order. At that moment, Mengman upped with his whip and thrashed the slave on his back without hesitation, forcing him to move slowly.
Mengman forced the slave to move to the array step by step in the way of lashing livestock. Three steps away from the slave was a tall bronze statue. Mengman waved his whip more fervently. However, the slave suddenly had courage. He gritted his teeth, turned over, and rushed at Mengman.
It never occurred to Mengman that the well-behaved slave would rebel. For a moment, the two people scuffled with each other with the bronze soldier holding the sword just in front of them. The two people rolled towards the bronze statue.
There was a soft crack as if a trap was triggered. The bronze soldier closest to them moved suddenly. The shining sword in his hand cut down towards the two people.
