Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The Heaven’s Pass was a newly built structure located on the western border of Jade City; it’s towering wall looked like a crouching fierce dog, staring and warning outsiders from approaching.
Looking at the barrier from afar, Shangguan Ru finally understood why she had received little news from the Western Regions. Heavily guarded, the Heaven’s Pass allowed people to enter but not to leave. This meant that one of the gateways of the Western Regions had been permanently closed off. The Thousand Horsemen Pass on the east side was probably in a similar situation.
Nearly two months had passed since the death of the Khan, but the impact it had on the world continued to unravel. Swarms of refugees passed by Shangguan Ru and walked silently toward the border pass. The Western Regions, though relatively safer than the Norland, was also in a chaotic situation. Thus, no one was happy when they went from the ‘pit of fire’ to the ‘marshes.’
With the Flame Foal, Shangguan Ru had galloped day and night to arrive at the Heaven’s Pass alone, leaving the main group far behind. By drinking wine and rationing out dried meat while riding as she became thirsty or hungry, she hardly stopped except when resting the horse.
She finally understood the meaning behind the truth of legendary robbers always eating and drinking lavishly was exactly proof of the hard life that they led. After suffering so much, the most intense desire she had at the moment was to see a table full of fine dishes spread out in front of her.
As she licked her parched lips, she began to miss her now-empty wine bag which had performed a valuable service along the way. She gently stroked the neck of the Flame Foal and softly said, “Good boy. There will be something delicious soon.”
The Flame Foal gave a merry snort as if it had not run enough.
The soldiers standing guard at the pass were horsemen of the Norland. They didn’t strictly check the passengers, but they did stop Shangguan Ru for a special purpose. After walking around the Flame Foal several times, they praised with a thick accent reminiscent of the Norland language. “That’s really a nice horse. Where do you come from, bro? Is it for sale?”
Dressed in a prairie man’s attire, Shangguan Ru, whose face was marred by dust and sweat, revealed almost no femininity. She replied in the language of the Norland, saying, “The Naihang Tribe. I won’t sell him even if you offer me the Heaven’s Pass.”
The soldiers laughed but did not continue harassing her. “The Naihang Tribe has some good horses. Unfortunately, King Rizhu is dead. Otherwise, he would have kept your horse even if he had to kneel andbeg you.”
Shangguan Ru then led the horse and entered the pass for a while, but there were still many soldiers covetously looking at the Flame Foal from afar.
The Heaven’s Pass was a small city which had now been turned into a military camp where civilians were not allowed to stay. Those who entered the pass had to continue traveling straight ahead and leave through the south gate.
The area outside the southern city had become a place where refugees would always linger for a few days to quell their fears of a foreign land and ask about others’ destinations in hopes of finding fellow travelers. Some of them were even optimistic that the Norland would soon be able to elect a new Khan upon which they would be able to turn around and return to the grasslands. Thus, they stayed there and gradually became permanent residents of the temporary villages.
There was none of the wine and meat that Shangguan Ru desired in such a place. The refugees mostly kept to the tradition of the prairie of bringing their own tents and food. And in the very few humble shops that were raised, they only offered dried meat that nobody knew how long ago it had been preserved.
Very disappointed, Shangguan Ru bought half a bag of cheap wine and a pile of fresh fodder. She added a lot of beans and apples to the fodder, thinking that although she could bear the rough lifestyle, she would not let the Flame Foal suffer so.
Shangguan Ru drank the wine to quench her thirst while watching the Flame Foal munch on its feed, feeling more and more that the wine was stale.
“Gongzi, is the horse for sale?”
“No.” Shangguan Ru answered without turning her head.
“Not even ten taels of silver?”
The man specially stressed the word ‘ten.’ Shangguan Ru’s heart jolted a bit and looked back at the horse-buyer whose face lacked any judgment.
It was a man in his thirties who had been born with a sad face. He seemed to feel that he was still suffering a great loss even by buying a horse for ten taels of silver.
“You want to buy a horse?”
“No, my master wants to buy a horse and I’m just looking around for him. This horse of yours looks quite sturdy. Why don’t you come with me to see my master? He may pay more for it than what I offered. Ten taels of silver, Gongzi. That’s actually a lot.”
The man made several turns in the messy village before stopping in front of a tent on the outskirts. Shangguan Ru didn’t hand over the reins and let the Flame Foal leave her sights until the ‘master’ stuck his head out from the tent and waved at her.
“Xu Xiaoyi, you actually have a beard now.” Shangguan Ru quickly recognized the true face of the ‘master.’
Xu Xiaoyi stroked his beard and smilingly said, “I’m really glad that Tenth Gongzi can still recognize me. This is a real beard and in two years it will definitely be even thicker than it is now.
“Hehe, I’d rather eat than speak. Let me see this ‘master’s’ enthusiasm and ability.”
Xu Xiaoyi burst out laughing and soon prepared a tableful of food and wine as if by magic. It was not the beef, mutton, and cheese commonly eaten on the prairie but rather delicate stir-fried food quite delicious and similar to that of Jade City’s.
Shangguan Ru picked up a piece of greasy braised pork, put in her mouth, and slowly savored it with her eyes closed. “It’s made by Elder Li of Southern Jade City. You really are capable. It takes at least three or four days to deliver dishs here from Jade City; why does it still taste so good?”
“Elder Li is in the backyard right now and has been preparing food for Tenth Gongzi for some time now.”
“You knew I was coming?” Shangguan Ru asked as she enjoyed the dishes.
“Heh, Tenth Gongzi is so bold, daring to ride such a conspicuous treasured horse. Someone informed me as soon as you reached the city gates, and I guessed that it couldn’t be anybody besides the Tenth Gongzi.”
Shangguan Ru didn’t eat much, even though it was all homemade dishes. After having a few mouthfuls of each dish, she began drinking. As he watched her drink, Xu Xiaoyi, who was almost dumbfounded, sincerely praised, “Even a hundred Dragon Kings are no match for Tenth Gongzi in terms of drinking.”
“I’m good now.” Shangguan Ru found it difficult to behave like a lady after donning a man’s attire, but she still did the best she could to maintain a proper posture, saying, “The Dragon King sent me here. It couldn’t be better to see you here. Tell me, what has happened in the past few months?”
“It’s quite complicated. Many things have happened. What does the Tenth Gongzi want to know?”
“It’s up to you. Start with the important ones first.”
Xu Xiaoyi thought for a while with his head lowered before saying, “The most important thing is regarding a prince of the Norland named Duodun. He has seized command of the army, assembled 70,000 horsemen, and taken over the Heaven’s Pass. It was said that he is now preparing to go back to the prairie to quell the rebellion.”
“Rebellion?”
“The story here is that the kings of the Norland conspired to put the Khan to death, and now Duodun wants to avenge his father.”
“Hmm.”
“Then things got complicated. Duodun should have stayed with the Restoration Army of the Shule Kingdom as a hostage to keep the Dragon King safe. Shang Liao, the General of the Right, and the prince of Shule — I don’t know what they were thinking — released Duodun. It’s said they made a deal and that the two of them are also at the Heaven’s Pass right now. It sounds like they are going to follow Duodun in pacifying the prairie.”
“What about Golden Roc Castle?”
“Golden Roc Castle still occupies the Thousand Horsemen Pass on the eastside. I heard that they were also secretly in contact with Duodun and that the two might have already reached an agreement. In short, more than half of the forces in the Western Regions are courting this Duodun and betting on him. The situation will only grow worse if the Dragon King doesn’t return soon.”
“What about the five kingdoms of Xiaoyao Lake?”
“Fortunately, Prime Minister Zhong Heng and Dugu Xian, the General of the Left, still appear to be loyal to the Dragon King. But recently, they’ve also start dispatching troops and sending out letters, making lots of moves in general.”
Shangguan Ru smiled. “You seem to be dissatisfied with everyone.”
“Am I wrong? The Dragon King has only been away for several months, and everyone has already started playing little tricks with each other to grasp benefits for themselves, causing lots of rumors, as if the Dragon King would never return.”
“What do they say about the Dragon King?”
Xu Xiaoyi looked very angry. He pounded the table and indignantly said, “Some say that the Dragon King joined the rebellion and was killed on the spot. Others say that he ran away and no longer dares to return to the Western Regions. It’s also said that the Dragon King was fascinated by a princess of the Norland and became a running dog.”
Shangguan Ru laughed out loud. “You can rest assured now. The Dragon King didn’t die nor did he run away. Well, I’m not sure if he’s fascinated with a princess or not, but he’ll lead an army back to the Western Regions soon.”
“Hah.” Xu Xiaoyi excitedly swung his fist in the air. The precocious image he had carefully maintained immediately shattered. “I knew it. The Dragon King would never come back empty-handed.”
But his demeanor soon grew gloomy again. “But the Dragon King has to be careful of this Duodun. He was the source of a lot of rumors. He seems to want to make the Dragon King an enemy. He has seventy thousand horsemen now. And his army will be at least a hundred thousand strong in total if the armies of Golden Roc Castle and the Shule Kingdom also join in. How many people can the Dragon King bring back?”
Shangguan Ru shook her head. “I don’t know. I only have one task, to meet with two people. The first one is the prince of Shule Kingdom. Since he’s at Heaven’s Pass, it’ll save me a lot of trouble.”
Shangguan Ru didn’t reveal the second person’s name. Xu Xiaoyi understood tacitly and said, “I’ll arrange it for you.”
Shangguan Ru comfortably took a bath, washing away all the dust accumulated through travel. She was carrying a wine pot even in the wooden bath bucket. She suddenly felt funny. Why should the Dragon King believe her? Better yet, why was she willing to run errands for him?
There were some things that one just never knew. Shangguan Ru gulped down a mouthful of fragrant wine and immersed herself in the water. ‘Jianghu,’ she thought. She was wandering in Jianghu. The Dragon King had given her a chance to realize her childhood dream.
The prince of the Shule Kingdom frowned slightly. The woman in front of him was elegant and beautiful, but was not in line with the needs of the present. As the prince of a conquered nation, he only valued power. “Are you the Dragon King’s messenger?”
“Yes.”
The prince seemed to remain unconvinced and turned to Xu Xiaoyi. Xu Xiaoyi stepped forward and said, “It isn’t a lie, I can guarantee that.” Of course he could guarantee it, but he dared not say the real reason. “Instructor Shangguan is in charge of the Land of Fragrance and is the Dragon King’s right-hand woman.”
The prince stopped frowning at once. “So it turns out that your Excellency is the well-known instructor of the female soldiers. I am sorry that I didn’t recognize you. What does the Dragon King say?”
Xu Xiaoyi took the hint and withdrew. His duty was to gather information and he knew exactly when he should stay and when to go.
“It’s very simple. The Dragon King said that the Shule Kingdom is too big. Why not divide it into several pieces? He is merely wondering which piece His highness likes the most?”
The prince blushed. “What does that mean? What is the Dragon King trying to say? The Shule Kingdom is big but how can it compare to the Norland and the Central Plains? I…”
The prince suddenly understood. “The Dragon King is afraid that I will surrender to Prince Duodun and that that would eventually lead to a national subjugation? The Dragon King can rest assured. The Shule Kingdom has a bottom line. The army of Duodun will leave the Western Regions soon. His aim is the Norland and it will become very busy for him for quite a while.”
“The Western Regions is the home-base of Duodun, so he will not let it go easily. The Dragon King wants you to think this through twice. Whoever helps Duodun in the Western Regions will become the King of the Shule Kingdom in the future.”
The prince frowned again. He was not without a doubt, but he always felt that things would go well. The warning brought by Shangguan Ru had finally turned his doubt into certainty. “Shang Liao, General of the Right.”
Gu Shenwei did not think so much. He had speculated that Duodun would only choose one between the prince and Shang Liao. Instead, Shangguan Ru actually made her own judgment.
“Do me a favor. I want to see Prince Duodun as soon as possible,” Shangguan Ru said. Without the Dragon King around, she had thought out a bold plan herself.
To wander in Jianghu, one had to have bold plans.
