Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Shulitu rarely left the tent alone. Even during the period when he had been half under house arrest by the Dragon King, he had had the company of Nie Zeng and Han Wuxian. He was a part of the royal family of the Norland, but he had an innate fear of mud, wild grass, and horses.
This morning, however, he decided to face his fears head on.
The words of the Dragon King had kept him up all night. When he first heard the idea of him replacing the Khan, he felt that it was like a whimsical dream. After pondering it over and over again, he began feeling a bit tempted.
Under the guidance of his grandad and grandpa, Shulitu had become accustomed to the mindset of a puppet, which was that anything that seemed to belong to him, in fact belonged to someone else.
The Dragon King was different in that he seemed willing to give his puppet more autonomy. But Shulitu knew very well that this was not merely giving and that the Dragon King was actually encouraging him to fight for it himself.
After dismissing his attendants, he dressed himself in a light leather uniform which fit him well and was more comfortable than the steel armor left behind by his father, the former King Riying.
This was the young prince Shulitu’s camp, but even the lowliest servants knew who the real ruler was. As the twelve years old royal kid stood at the tent door, he felt that everything around him seemed unfamiliar.
The morning sunshine was unexpectedly bright. Shulitu saw an officer salute him so he nodded back in return. He vaguely remembered the man’s name and knew that he used to work for the former King Riying and that he should be more loyal than the officers from other armies, but Shulitu didn’t have a particularly strong feeling about it yet.
As he walked eastward, the noises of the early risers began to grow louder. If it were the Khan who had strolled into the camp, the whole camp would have fallen silent and people would kneel to salute him. Even the Dragon King, who was a foreigner here, would be greeted with a bow if he walked in the camp. Shulitu, by comparison, only received negligence.
Every once in awhile, a soldier might notice him but it took them a while to recognize his identity. Most people simply nodded at him as a greeting.
For the soldiers, there was something more exciting than Shulitu’s arrival this morning. The Dragon King had agreed to King Shengri’s request for a contest and the two sides were negotiating the rules, which meant that the battle which was supposed to start today was canceled.
It was said that the prairie men were warlike, but Shulitu did not feel that vibe at all. The soldiers around him were wiping their armor ebulliently precisely because they didn’t have to use it for the time being.
It was quieter around the main tent with only a few guards brought here by the Dragon King from the Western Regions remaining on alert. They paid more respect to the young prince than the ordinary soldiers by bowing and making way for him.
With so few people, the Dragon King was actually capable of winning a huge army in the Norland. What exactly was the Dragon King’s capabilities? Shulitu was confused, and his curiosity piqued.
The counselor happened to come out of the tent and looked to be in a bad mood, though he became slightly stunned at seeing Shulitu here. “Your Highness… What are you doing here? I don’t think that the Dragon King has called you.”
“I’m just going for a walk.” Judging from the counselor’s attitude, Shulitu clearly felt that he was still just a puppet.
Frowning, Fang Wenshi abruptly grabbed Shulitu’s thin arm and led him out a few steps before asking in a low voice, “What did the Dragon King say to you yesterday? Did you advise him to join the fight?”
“Counselor Fang should ask the Dragon King what he said.” Shulitu struggled to free his arm from the counselor’s grip and continued, saying, “I do support the Dragon King in joining the contest, but the Dragon King’s decision has nothing to do with me.”
Fang Wenshi chuckled. This twelve year old royal kid was indeed quite special. Besides that time he tried to assassinate the Dragon King, he had been behaving well and saved him lots of trouble, but that was it. “I suppose so. Alas, the Dragon King is, after all, a kung fu practitioner and can’t rid himself of his reliance on the saber and sword. He agreed to King Shengri’s request of having a contest today, and also agreed to the people of the Central Plains’ invitation to have a fight tomorrow. This… This isn’t like a king’s demeanor at all.”
“All kings are originally born from warriors, at least that’s so in the Norland. The prairie men worship the saber and sword like they worship god.”
Looking at the thin teenager, Fang Wenshi chuckled again, shook his head, and left. He didn’t have the mood to educate a little puppet.
Shulitu took two steps towards the main tent. When he saw that Long Fanyun, the captain of the guard, was coming to greet him, he turned to walk away again. He had heard of the matter of the Qingcheng Sect Leader writing characters on the horsemen’s foreheads with a sword, and secretly thought that the Dragon King should not accept the challenge. But he had changed his mind on second thought, thinking that his suggestion would be superfluous.
Shulitu continued to stroll around and saw the strange subordinates of the Dragon King. He had always wondered if the people of the Western Regions were all so different, but Old Man Mu was a man of the Norland. He could only assume that the Dragon King had a different way of valuing people of the world.
Han Wuxian was teaching Nie Zeng her lightness skills in a vacant lot. A crowd of people were commenting and offering suggestions nearby, especially that green-eyed little girl who laughed at Nie Zeng for being too clumsy.
Old Man Mu was nagging even more than anyone else but the one he was harassing was Han Wuxian. He kept saying that this move was being taught wrong and that that move was not subtle enough. In short, the lightness skills taught by Han Wuxian were useless.
Shulitu didn’t know any kung fu, so he couldn’t even tell whether it was good or bad, not to mention understanding the principles behind the moves. Looking at Nie Zeng’s swift bodily movements, he thought that it was no wonder that so many people were obsessed with martial arts. One’s body was like a restraint and practicing kung fu was one of the ways to break it. However, his body was more like a shackle. He hadn’t walked for too long but he already felt breathless and his legs had turned soft.
None of these people cared about Shulitu. When he passed by, he happened to hear Old Man Mu whisper to the pretty young swordsman beside him, “Be careful, do not let that silly boy take your little beauty away…”
Shulitu was surprised. The Norland was at a critical moment of life and death, and the excellent generals and soldiers were dwindling away due to meaningless deaths, and yet there was still a small group of people who were indifferent to it all. Although most of them were from the Western Region, he still found it hard to understand.
Only the Norland people could save the Norland. Shulitu felt that his thin, fragile body was really a great burden.
Standing at the tent door, he could still hear the noisy Old Man Mu, but he had already turned a deaf ear to it. “Is Lord Silver Condor here?”
Mo Lin walked out with his hand on the saber hilt and bowed his head a bit lower than those ordinary soldiers. “I beg your pardon, Your Highness, but I have gone back to my old name and I’m not a lord either.”
“Oh, Mo Lin. I keep forgetting that.” Shulitu smiled, really wishing that he had the Dragon King’s ability to quickly gain the trust of powerful subordinates.
“Is there anything I can do for you, Your Highness?”
“I’d like…” Shulitu didn’t know how to say it. The Dragon King had advised him to keep in touch with the wing guard of the Khan as much as possible, but Mo Lin himself obviously didn’t know this. “I’d like to learn kung fu from you.”
“That would be my pleasure, but…” Mo Lin was very surprised, but could not find a reason to refuse. “Now we’re at war, can Your Highness spare the time?”
“As long as you’re willing to teach me, I’ll always have the time.” As he looked at Nie Zeng who was practicing not far away, Shulitu continued, “The more chaotic the situation is, the greater my need for a strong body.”
“Oh, okay. Your Highness, please come in and have a seat.” Mo Lin didn’t think that the young prince would last long.
“No, thank you. Well, if it’s not too much trouble for you, I’d like to have a walk with you.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“That’s very kind of you. Actually — you’re not my subordinate and you don’t seem to have accepted any position.”
“I’m a wing guard of the Khan. If there’s no Khan, then there will be no wing guards.”
“When the new Khan is elected soon, you’ll be able to return to your old position.”
“That’ll be decided by the new Khan.,” Mo Lin replied respectfully and cautiously while thinking to himself about whether the young prince was trying to win him over.
“The new Khan will definitely be happy to ask for it.”
“I’ve failed to keep the previous Khan safe. It’s a stain that will never be washed away.”
“The previous Khan constructed the most powerful defenses but still left a loophole in the inconspicuous people around him. It wasn’t your fault. As a wing guard, you’ve done an impeccable job. Even the Khan himself would never have imagined that the ultimate danger would come from the five slave girls.”
Mo Lin didn’t speak for a moment. He was thinking about to what extent he should confess to the twelve years old royal child, “Actually, I had some doubts, but…”
“But no one wanted to break into the tent while the Khan was pursuing immortality. He trusted those masters too much and never thought they would act as a secret conduit around the network of defense.”
Mo Lin was really surprised now. He had expressed similar views to the Khan but had not been taken seriously. “The Khan had his own ideas but some things were out of his expectations. Actually, they were out of everyone’s expectations.”
“What kind of man is the Khan, anyway?”
“The Khan was valiant and wise, and one of the greatest Khans in the history of the Norland.”
“Hehe, everyone says that. But I would like to know what advantages and shortcomings he had from your point of view.”
Mo Lin felt that the young prince had touched his bottom line, so he seriously said, “I’m not qualified to judge the Khan if that’s what Your Highness wanted. His greatness laid not in his meaning to one person, but rather in his effects on the whole prairie.”
Shulitu was about to turn around to ask someone to wipe the sweat from his forehead when he realized that he hadn’t brought any of his entourage with him today, so he took a deep breath and said, “The war in the Royal Court is going to end soon but the larger war is about to begin. I have no intention of judging the Khan, but I wonder what he would have done in the present situation.”
Mo Lin really wanted to blurt out the truth that no matter what the Khan would do, a little puppet controlled by the Dragon King wouldn’t be able to imitate it.
“The Khan was younger than me when he inherited the throne. Since then, he had been constantly fighting to defeat his enemies and consolidate his own power.” The strangeness in his heart gradually disappeared as Shulitu continued saying, “I am his great-grandson and I have his blood flowing in my body, and one of my duties is to continue his fight.”
Mo Lin took the young prince seriously for the first time and began speculating about his real thoughts. “The Dragon King asked you to come to me?”
“Yes, but it’s also my own will.”
“When it comes to will, the Khan once said to me, “Some people are born with power but it’s not given to them. Instead, they have to seize it with their own initiative.” This is will. The Khan never cared about what others would do, he just went there and seized it and everyone admitted it.”
Shulitu’s heart pounded wildly, which had little to do with the scorching sunshine and long walk.
Before they knew it, the two had gotten near the camp of the Court Attendants Army. A group of cavalrymen were guarding the way, and no one was allowed to enter the camp, and the other soldiers were far away.
Shulitu strode forward while secretly encourage himself that it was his army. The Court Attendants Army had pledged their allegiance to the name of Shulitu, and he was going to take the power that was inherent in him.
Mo Lin followed to see if the young prince would overthink his words.
One of the horsemen drew his bowstring back and shouted, “Stop.”
“I am Shulitu, also known as King Riying, King Riyao, and King Kuari. I command you to stay out of the way.”
The soldier exchanged a glance with his companions and then shot an arrow that landed three paces in front of the young prince. “Even if you gather all the titles of the kings, you will not be qualified to give us orders.”
