Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
They had set off from the Tongtian Pass. On the 10th day of the journey, Gu Shenwei encountered Shangguan Ru.
It was purely accidental. Shangguan Ru wrote a letter saying that at the invitation of the second wife of the Khan, she would start from the Land of Fragrance, go via the northeast entrance of Xiaoyao Lake, and finally enter Norland through the Qianji Pass at the eastern border of Jade City.
There were stories behind the name Qianji Pass. At that time, Shangguan Nu and Bighead Kingpin’s coalition forces were stationed near the Jade City border. Later, it turned into a military camp of the Central Plains. When the Supreme King launched a coup attempt, Shangguan Yun led a thousand Xiaowan Kingdom cavalrymen to raid the military camps and successfully drove away the hidden danger at their doorstep. Then, they built a checkpoint at the mountain pass and called it “Qianji Pass”.
Shangguan Ru had set off earlier. When she arrived in Xiaoyao Lake, Gu Shenwei was in Shu-lik. Gu Shenwei waited for a few days on purpose so she would outrun him.
Therefore, if everything went right, the two teams taking different routes were not supposed to meet.
Something wrong happened during the night at the Qianji Pass. Shangguan Ru’s team spent the night at the border. It was during the third watch that five intruders lurked into a tent. Before they could act, a female soldier was awakened and let out a scream that the entire checkpoint could hear.
Thus, the intruders fled and no one was hurt. Shangguan Ru deployed more guards and all the tents soon returned to peace. However, one man became riled up and swore that he would catch those daring intruders.
Old Man Mu said, “There aren’t many men in the team, I must take the responsibility.” And then, he scurried off and went on the hunt for five days and six nights.
On that early morning, Shangguan Ru was already impatiently waiting. She intended to leave the next day. And that was when Old Man Mu returned.
In front of him were five men in ragged clothes. Every 10 steps they took, they knelt down and kowtowed. Their foreheads were bleeding from it. They looked like devoted believers praying to the gods. Arriving at the encampment, they shouted hoarsely that they were animals and begged the female soldiers for forgiveness.
Old Man Mu had captured them in one day, and during the rest of the time, he made the five of them kotow.
The five of them were all machetemen who occasionally robbed people. And upon hearing that all the female soldiers of the Land of Fragrance were beautiful, they could not keep their lecherous thoughts at bay.
They were young; otherwise, they would not have carried out the plan once they heard the name.
Old Man Mu circled the five people and kicked whoever was cutting corners on the movements. “If I hadn’t promised the good girl…”
Everytime Old Man Mu blurted out that sentence, a macheteman was about to get hit. Thus, they became fearful of the “good girl” and also hated her. They wondered what oath this wicked old man had taken.
That was how the “Queen” of the Land of Fragrance became known for being vicious. After being released, the five people bragged about their adventure. At first, they tried to convince people that they almost succeeded, but the bumps on their foreheads greatly discredited their stories. Thus, they started to talk about how vicious the female soldiers were, hinting that their mere survival had not been easy.
Unexpectedly, they became popular in taverns and bonfire encampments. Shangguan Ru and her 1,000 female archers had gained themselves a reputation of being “vicious”.
When the stories traveled to Jade City, the residents there were all quick to take the stories for granted. “It’s the Tenth Young Master. She tried to burn Jade City before. Who would be that desperate to mess with her?”
After the seaside slope battle, the Land of Fragrance female soldiers became known for being gallant, which was a stereotype that was hard to change.
But Shangguan Ru did not ever want that to change. First, she did not care about other people’s opinions; second, she was never a dainty girl. Furthermore, the reputation yielded some benefits. The 200 guarding Norland cavalrymen who were leading the way never for a second had a wild thought.
Shangguan Ru brought 1,000 female archers, not to protect herself—she was included in the truce agreement between the Dragon King, Norland, and Golden Roc Fort—but to demonstrate at the invitation of the second wife of the Khan.
Old Man Mu took the demonstration more seriously than Shangguan Ru. “The Queen of Norland is called Yanzhi. Norland is different from other countries; it has two queens, the first Yanzhi and the second Yanzhi. The Khan usually doesn’t get to choose his first wife; several large tribes take turns choosing the Queen for him. But for the second wife, he can choose whoever he likes.”
Old Man Mu lived in northern Tianshan for years. He was familiar with Norland and had formed his own opinions. “So, the second wife usually enjoys a favored position. It’s said the current second-Yanzhi exceeds all previous Yanzhis. She married the Khan as a teenager, and gained a title in less than a year. She also has her own troops. It’s no wonder that she’s interested in you, you two would surely get along.”
“They’re not my troops, I’m just…
“… breaking them in for the Dragon King. But don’t you think you have claimed more responsibility for them than His Majesty? The soldiers already enjoy a reputation in the world, we might as well make it big; otherwise, their ambition and greed will come after us.”
The incident at the Qianji Pass echoed Old Man Mu’s opinions. The more renowned the soldiers were, the safer they would be.
The two teams met in a tribe’s territory. There were some who were surprised and others who were shocked, and although the hosts were in a hurry, they still treated them with courtesy and prepared abundant food for them. The only problem was properly setting up the encampments.
The Dragon King had to be separated from Golden Roc Fort. Though a truce was in place, it was unnecessary to test its reliability. The female archers had to be separated from the rest of the people. The reputation of being vicious was, after all, a name. They needed practical protection.
After setting up the encampments, it was already late at night. For Norland people, everything could be skipped except for the welcoming banquet. Even if it was in the early morning, they would serve layers upon layers of food to satisfy the appetites of their guests.
The two teams had converged several hours prior. It was not until this point that Gu Shenwei and Shangguan Ru finally met and nodded to each other. Shangguan Ru smiled as a gesture of greeting. After that, they were crowded around by different people and never got the chance to talk.
According to Norland tradition, women were not allowed in banquets. So, they unavoidably acted a little awkward in front of Shangguan Ru and her subordinates. However, soon afterward, they discovered that the female soldiers were real straightforward guests.
Gu Shenwei seldom drank and often had Long Fanyun and Shangguan Fei drink on his behalf. The swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain got along with the Norland cavalrymen and matched them at drinking. Among the crowd, Long Fanyun took to it like a duck to water. Shangguan Fei echoed by the side and was doing fine. However, being the main guest, if the Dragon King did not drink, the rest of the guests would feel a little awkward.
On the other hand, Shangguan Ru drank a lot, and she would reciprocate anyone’s toast. She was forthright and did not act coyly in the least. Her girls were also extraordinary. They did not lose to any man in drinking.
At the height of the party, identity and status did not matter anymore. Norland high-ranking military officers with weather-beaten faces danced with joy, the Land of Fragrance female officials burst into laughter, and even the usually serious Zhang Ji was playing rowdy drinking games with a low-ranking soldier. He seemed to have left behind his oath of staying away from alcohol.
For Zhang Ji, some things were not worth the effort, and some people were not worth roping in. Slave Huan in those days did not get a chance to witness Zhang Ji’s good acting, but the past few days had made Gu Shenwei see a new side of the teacher.
He was exactly the military counselor that the Dragon King needed. However—”however”, that was all Gu Shenwei could say about his regrets.
The people around him were becoming fewer and fewer. Long Fanyun was introduced to Shangguan Ru by several Norland hosts; naturally, Shangguan Fei followed them and greeted his younger sister while he was at it.
If he had known that drinking was so important, would he take to alcohol abuse following his Master Shifu Tie Hanfeng? Gu Shenwei did not think so, there was often a trade-off. Tie Hanfeng became a prudent businessman, but was no longer a first-class killer. That was not a price Gu Shenwei was willing to pay.
He quietly stared at the crowd nearby, occasionally glancing at the center of the party. He was going to leave soon.
Maid Lotus never attended banquets like this unless she was invited. Not that she was born cold; she could adopt a brand new attitude to enjoy great popularity if she wanted to.
Gu Shenwei wanted to see his real self. If he had not suffered his family tragedy, he would have been different. However, he was unable to picture that. Looking back, his memories before 14 seemed to be from another life; that youth in his memories had become a vague figure with just the name remaining.
Shangguan Yun came over to his side uninvited. He held a flagon in one hand and a goblet in the other, his face reddish. He looked at the excited crowd, remained silent for quite a while like an old friend, and said, “Look at her. If she were a boy, I’d give up everything to help her take the throne. She, of all people, would be the greatest king because she carries all the good traits of the Shangguan family, and the thing our family most lacks—kindness.”
For the Supreme King’s son to say something like this was a little ironic, but Shangguan Yun was serious. In the end, he just shook his head. “However…”
In less than 15 minutes, another one had uttered “however”. Gu Shenwei rose. “However, Shangguan Fa didn’t punish you.”
Shangguan Yun forced a smile. “Why should he punish me? It’s Shangguan Jianyi’s fault. I disagreed with him in the first place. If I had my way, we wouldn’t be having a war at all. You and I would be sitting side by side partitioning the Western Region.”
“You like to fantasize.”
Shangguan Yun stopped smiling. “When the entire world is false, only fantasy remains. What do you think is real? Hatred? Then tell me, how badly have you deviated from hatred in order to gain the power to seek revenge? Exactly how far will you go? In this very tent, there are three people named Shangguan, so why don’t you act?”
Shangguan Yun had this talent of making his arguments compelling, tricking others into adopting his mindset. Gu Shenwei immediately reminded himself to be careful. He walked out of the tent, ignoring Shangguan Yun’s questions.
It was pitch black outside and the early summer air was warm and cozy. He saw stars in the distance swaying unusually. Soon after, he realized that they were not stars, but countless torches.
A Norland sentinel hurriedly arrived on a horse. As he dismounted, he nearly bumped into Gu Shenwei. He dashed into the tent and shouted, “Enemy strike! Enemy strike!”
