Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The arrow stuck in the ground flickered, as if it were resonating with the sneering expression on the faces of the nearby Court Attendants Army soldiers.
They had once ruthlessly reaped the lives of several lords, along with hundreds of aristocratic officers, as sacrifices to the deceased Khan; that very killing spree was one of the major reason why this so-called “His Highness” had succeeded the throne, so the soldiers had every reason to despise him.
Shulitu could feel his legs trembling. That strange soldier was acting like his severe grandpa used to, which made him feel both useless and furious at the same time –
He never expressed his anger in front his grandpa, not even a little bit, but today, he was going to make an exception.
Shulitu stepped over the threatening arrow, and asked as calmly as he could, “Is the Norland cavalry allowed to betray their oath? You have already abandoned the name of the Court Attendants Army and pledged your allegiance to Shulitu. Aas that a lie? Or do you have your own unique interpretation of the word ‘allegiance’? I command you. Dismount, admit your guilt, and get out of my way.”
The soldier panicked slightly. Obviously he didn’t expect that prince Shulitu would dare be so commanding. He cast an inquiring look towards his fellows, but they had betrayed him, turning their horses aside and lowering their heads to the child respectfully.
The soldier seemed to also give in. He looked like he was about to get down from his horse, but at the last moment, he suddenly turned his horse all the way around and rode away, deep into the camp.
Regardless of the ending, this was still a little victory. Shulitu began to understand the old Khan’s words: people were born with power, but until they held it in their hands, that power is nothing but useless waste lying before their eyes.
Shulitu tried hard to calm down. Then he turned around and found that he was terribly wrong – it wasn’t his tough words that had scared the soldier away, but rather a large group of common soldiers.
There were nearly a hundred soldiers streaming in from nearby places. They had gathered behind him, each holding a saber or drawing a bow. They’d long been discontent with the egocentricity and superiority of those Court Attendants soldiers, and would love to express their feelings with this opportunity.
Mo Lin was still watching from away. How Shulitu would deal with these soldiers who had come out for him was the true test.
Shulitu straightened himself. His eyes swept through these soldiers, with a brief pause on each face; from this moment on, he would try to remember the face of everyone that might be helpful to him, and afterwards, their names as well.
The soldiers felt valued by his actions. So they bowed, put away their weapons, and backed off.
Mo Lin came over, and together they entered the semi-restricted camp of the Court Attendants Army.
“You did well, Your Highness.”
“But that soldier ran away anyway.”
“Your Highness, the Court Attendants Army has become undisciplined. You need to refamiliarize them with discipline again.”
“They’ve indeed slacked in their diligence.”
“Shulitu looked around and all he saw was unconcern and arrogance – the soldiers were sitting or standing with their weapons casually tossed to the side; they watched the two “outsiders” indifferently, with no respect in their eyes at all.
“It won’t be long before they forget how to fight as soldiers and regress into a group of bandits who can do nothing but charge and shoot wildly.”
Far away, a dozen soldier were carrying something and slowly heading towards a bonfire.
“What’s that?”Shulitu asked.
“Looks like an officer.”
“Azheba.”Shulitu recognized the man and started running towards him.
Azheba hadn’t given up hope and was yelling in a loud voice. “The Khan’s passed away and hasn’t even been interred yet. Don’t you have any concerns about it?”
“The Khan’s immortal, and he is now a god in heaven.” The soldiers carrying him always gave the same answer.
“If you don’t believe it, we can send you up there and let you see for yourself,” another soldier offered.
Shulitu opened his arms in the middle of the path and desperately gasped out, “Stop! Are you insane? You’re going to burn your own general alive in your camp?”
“The Khan needs him,” the soldiers answered calmly.
More and more soldiers gathered around. One of them said, “He’s the Khan’s great-grandson.” All the others nodded their heads.
Shulitu felt his heart skip a beat, realizing that he might be “needed” by the Khan as well.
Gu Shenwei was busy making arrangements for an archery contest that was to be held several days later when a soldier suddenly rushed in and reported that Shulitu along with Azheba had been kidnapped by a group of Court Attendants soldiers.
On his way to the rescue, Gu Shenwei ran into Fan Wensh. The look on his face clearly said ‘I knew it’ without needing to open his mouth. He had never trusted the Court Attendants Army, believing that their allegiance had always been temporary.
The Court Attendants soldiers guarding the passage swelled into the hundreds, and a similar number of common soldiers were confronting them. As news of this incident spread, the numbers of soldiers on both sides kept increasing.
The first order that Gu Shenwei gave was to dismiss the common soldiers.Then he handed over his sword and saber to Long Fanyun before walking into the Court Attendants camp alone.
It would actually be a little too dramatic to call this situation a kidnapping, as Shulitu and Azheba had merely been surrounded, and not actually tied up. Shulitu was having an intense debate with those Court Attendants soldiers, fiercely stating, “Azheba is the best archer on our side, and we need him in the contest against King Shengri. If you burn him to death, you’re basically cutting off our own hands. How is that any different from colluding with enemy? Or would you rather die on the battlefield?”
The soldiers’ answers were always brief. “We’re not afraid of death.” “The Khan needs him.”
However, the Dragon King’s presence instantly calmed the crowds down. Many of them unconsciously raised their heads, looking for that giant roc.
“Someone talk to me,” Gu Shenwei’s mien was just as cold as those of the Court Attendants soldiers’.
The crowds of soldiers wavered for quite a while before one man stepped forward at last. That soldier wouldn’t give his name, nor his rank, but he spoke out to say, “Azheba is a Court Attendant officer, and he has an obligation to serve our Khan in Heaven. You promised us this, Your Majesty.”
“I promised that I would make sure that your request would be heard by the young king.”
Shulitu’s cheeks flushed with anger, as he declared, “I do not consent. The sacrifice must stop. I command you all to back off.”
The soldiers didn’t leave, but neither did they move forward to seize Azheba.
“Nobody disobeys the Khan’s orders,” the soldier said. ” Please move aside, Your Highness. We fought for you, and this man is our just reward.”
Shulitu was just about to speak out again when Dragon King indicated for him not to.
“That’s right. Nobody disobeys the Khan’s orders. So let the Khan decide whether Azheba should be sacrificed or not.” Gu Shenwei watched the confused soldiers around him and continued speaking. “Although the Khan’s in Heaven now, some of his attire is still here. I’ll bring them here, and maybe Khan will be willing to manifest and give you his orders himself.
Shulitu’s heart was beating like a drum. He was worried that such a simple lie wouldn’t work.
“Agreed,” the soldiers answered after a quick consultation through glances and eye-contact. “But if the Khan doesn’t like those clothes, we need to follow the original order and sacrifice these officers.”
“Fair enough. Your Highness, please return to the tent..”
Before the soldiers could express their opposition, Shulitu loudly said, “No. I will not leave without Azheba.”
Azheba shook his head while Gu Shenwei stated in a cold voice, “His Highness will stay or leave of his own will. Nobody shall get in his way.”
“Of course. All the Khan wants is officers. There’s enough of his offspring in Heaven already.”
The abduction raised widespread wrath among the troops. The moment Dragon King stepped out of the camp, Fang Wenshi came over and said, “Be careful, Your Majesty. The troops are indignant about this. I fear that infighting might start.”
Mo Lin was not confined, so he followed the Dragon King out of the camp. He said, “I’ll go get the Khan’s attire.”
“I’ll go with you.”
The Khan’s head was attracting too many people’s attention now, so Gu Shenwei couldn’t let Mo Lin do it alone.
Fan Wenshi continued nagging, but Gu Shenwei told him, “Consider this a good opportunity. Maybe a lot of issues will be resolved once and for all by it.”
“Or maybe it will ruin all of our former efforts in vain.” Fang Wenshi knew that Dragon King wanted to take risks again, but he preferred more conventional conservative approaches.
Gu Shenwei made some arrangements: he would only take 500 soldiers, half of whom were from the Court Attendants Army. He would also have no bodyguards, except for Old Man Mu and Dog Butcher.
Watching their distant figures and the dust behind them fade away, Tie Linglong was a little annoyed by the arrangements. “Why didn’t His Majesty bring me with him? Am I his bodyguard or just an ornament?”
“His Majesty has his own plans.” Chu Nanping didn’t think too deeply into it.
Looking into the distance, Han Wuxian had an idea herself. “It’s time for me to make my move. Green-eyed little sister, you should come with me.”
“To where? Uh, why should I go with you?” Tie Linglong used learn kung fu from Han Wuxian, but was still very wary of her.
“To save my daughter, of course. You promised.”
“I did promise you that, but don’t you think it’s way too late? That Shaman confessed several days ago, and you only just recalled it now?”
“Haha, that’s because I know those traitors’ tricks very well, so I might as well take my time.”
Tie Linglong glanced at Chu Nanping as she was stuck in a bind, then the teenage swordsman said, “I’ll go with you.”
“Fine. Once your daughter is saved, my promise to you will be considered fulfilled.”
“Sure.” Han Wuxian turned around and looked at Nie Zeng, “This will be a good chance to practice your lightness skills. You’ll also come with us.”
Nie Zeng nodded, then he noticed that a pair of green eyes were glaring fiercely at him. He tried to glare back at her, but failed to hold for long before he gave in.
Shangguan Yun smiled and said, “You can count me in too. I can refuse when a beauty summons me.”
Shangguan Fei and Doctor Sun were standing to the side. When they noticed that everyone was focusing on them, the former shook his head. “His Majesty is the only one I answer to.” And the latter pinched his little hair bun before saying, “I’m not very good at kung fu, so I think that I’ll stay here and spare the master some trouble.”
Han Wuxian sat down once again on the rattan chair behind Nie Zeng. The group of people left the camp and followed the tracks of the Dragon King, then changed directions. By nightfall, there was only some tens of miles between the two groups.
In military terms, the whole Royal Court now belonged to young king Shulitu, including the palace in the north.
In an area of ruins, where very few people lived, the palace was the only place that remained intact, and the body of the Khan was still kept within it.
And so was his head.
Mo Lin had made a request to Dragon King that they leave the 500 soldiers outside the palace, and bring only a few attendants in with them..
Old Man Mu couldn’t hide his eagerness, because he could see it in the look of the Dragon King. There would be a killing spree tonight.
