Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Many years ago, Shangguan Fei had been ambushed by his sister while en route to the Xiaowan Kingdom. He had been crushed by a boulder and nearly died. One of his legs was still a bit stiff even now.
When revisiting that old site even now, Shangguan Fei’s heart still palpitated anxiously. “Who chose this damn place? Is he deliberately plotting against me?” he muttered, knowing very well that he was not important enough to merit such special arrangements.
The Dragon King and Prince Duodun had chosen to meet here, both fully equipped in hunting gear as if they were planning on setting out afterwards.
“Is this the culture of the Western Regions? It’s almost the same as that of the Central Plains, but our garb is for not hunting but rather for drinking tea or visiting a mutual friend. Well, at least that’s what I’ve heard.” Dog Butcher watched on with morbid curiosity. “Will the Dragon King fight with the prince? Do we have to ready ourselves?”
Old Man Mu cleaned his ear with his pinky finger as he replied, “You’re about to talk my ear off. I didn’t expect you to nag so much. Otherwise, I would have cut your tongue off that time. Let me tell you. They will not fight. They are going to put on a phony show and the one who performs the best will hailed as the winner.”
Dog Butcher was a bit disappointed. He desperately wanted to experience another life-and-death fight to test out all the new ideas he had been mulling over.
But Shangguan Fei also agreed with Old Man Mu’s judgment. “I don’t mean anything by this, but the Dragon King doesn’t seem to be well versed in such matters.”
Old Man Mu curled his mouth and looked around. After confirming that Long Fanyun and others were far away enough, he said in a low voice, “I’d guess that the cold-faced kid will hold the upper hand. If his face softens even a bit, then the other side will believe he has made a big concession. But for those who are usually enthusiastic, what else can they do? Holding onto the Dragon King while crying and begging?”
Many people outside speculated about what would take place during the meeting between the Dragon King and Prince Duodun, but the people involved had no interest at all.
The two exchanged pleasantries about how they had expected to see each other for a long time. Then they repeated what others had said or what they claimed to be said by others, praising and feeling out each other for almost a quarter of an hour. Everything they said started with the same sentence patterns: “I heard that …” or “As soon as I saw you today…”
Old Man Mu had gotten it wrong. The Dragon King was indeed on the losing side.
Gu Shenwei’s habit was to cut directly to the point, but after so much mindless conversation, he had actually had no chance to directly speak his mind. So he had no choice but to wait patiently, and could occasionally mention the Second Consort, Azheba, and Liman as a secondary topic.
Once Duodun thought that he had the scene under control, he suddenly asked, “So what does the Dragon King think about the proposal?”
“I need Your Highness to repeat the suggestion again,” Gu Shenwei immediately replied.
When Duodun found his that his blabber had not had much of an effect and that the Dragon King was still calm, his face fell and his mien became quite serious and even a bit aggressive. “There are 70,000 Norland Cavalrymen at Heaven’s Pass. I can give all of them to the Dragon King. From then on, they will be a part of the Dragon Army and will have nothing to do with the Norland. With this army, it should be very easy to defeat Golden Roc Castle, right?”
Golden Roc Castle had suffered heavy losses at Xiaoyao Lake and would not be able to recover for a short time. With the 70,000 horsemen of the Norland, the Dragon Army would have an overwhelming advantage, though it might not be as easy as to conquer the castle as Duodun painted.
Gu Shenwei nodded.
“And also a piece of the Norland, the size of which can be discussed. If the Dragon King likes the Xiaowan Kingdom, it is yours.”
Duodun offered the vassal state as a gift and wasn’t stingy at all. Gu Shenwei nodded again.
“All I ask for in return is the army that the Dragon King left in the Royal Court. It seems like I’m using the few to trade for the many, but…”
“But I’m still getting the better of the deal by exchanging a Norland army for a Norland army,” interjected Gu Shenwei, finishing the sentence.
“Haha, the Dragon King is really frank and forthright. Well, that’s exactly what I mean. I hope the Dragon King won’t misunderstand and think that the two armies will have no connection from now on. Golden Roc Castle is a tiny place and can be easily conquered, but contending for hegemony in the prairie may take a long time. I still hope that the Dragon King can lend me a hand after conquering the castle.”
“It’d be my pleasure. The army in the Western Regions will all be under Your Highness’s command.”
“So the Dragon King agrees?” Duodun’s voice was slightly raised as he asked this pivotal question.
“I can see any reason why I should refuse.”
“Great! And then there’s my little side request.”
“Shulitu’s head.”
“Yes.”
“He’s just a kid and a puppet. Just strip away his titles. Is it really necessary to kill him?
“Everyone says that the Dragon King is ruthless and merciless. When did he become so soft-hearted?”
“I just don’t want my saber to be stained with the blood of one of the Khan’s descendants.”
“It is necessary, though,” said Duodun resolutely. “The Dragon King must know what happens when one ‘nourishes a viper in one’s bosom.’ For the men of the prairie, a twelve years old kid is no longer a child. He’s already old enough to understand the intoxication of power. And not only has the Dragon King supported him, but you’ve also given him an army. I’m afraid Shulitu will never be a child again.”
“Since Your Highness insists, then I’ll offer the head.”
“Our exchange agreement will also take effect at that moment.”
“Good.”
“When will the Dragon King do it?”
“I can’t do it in public; I need to arrange an accident for him.”
“An accident? I like accidents as long as they don’t happen to me, haha. But I still need a date. I don’t like to wait around aimlessly.”
“Luoluo’s army should have arrived in Royal Court by now. A great war is going to happen. There will be a lot of ‘accidents’ at that time. So I’d say within three months.”
“Three months? I’m afraid that not many of the hundred thousand horsemen that would belong to me will still be left by that time.” Duodun’s face grew dark.
Gu Shenwei shook his head. No matter how varied the other’s expression was, he only maintained his one expression. “No. Shulitu will focus on defense instead of offense and will not suffer much loss. Moreover, winter is coming, Luoluo will retreat for sure. The real decisive battle will start in the spring and summer of next year.”
Duodun frowned. The Dragon King was more sly than he had anticipated. His proposal was a test, but it turned into a plot to procrastinate. Three months? Only God knew who would suffer an ‘accident’ during that time period.
“That’s not quite what I had in mind.”
“I understand Your Highness’s urgency, but it’s better to be careful in such matters. The soldiers of the Royal Court’s army come from different sources and their morale is not stable. Thus, it wouldn’t be bad to let Shulitu grease the transition. I too have to be patient; I’ve been circling around Golden Roc Castle for years, and I’m still not planning to attack right away.”
As he looked at the Dragon King who was a few years younger than him, Duodun snorted lightly and appeared quite dissatisfied with the other side’s veteran tone. Then he said, “I might visit the army and familiarize myself with the situation.”
“Your Highness will certainly be welcomed by the whole army, including Shulitu. He knows his position well. Your Highness can even ask for control of most of the military leadership in advance, and he would not dare refuse.”
Duodun thought for a moment, weighing the pros and cons as well as wondering about the Dragon King’s real intentions. “Very well, but two months. I’ll only wait two months.”
Gu Shenwei also paused a moment before answering, “Two months will be a bit tight because I’ll planning on spending one month in closed-door cultivation.”
“Closed-door cultivation?” Duodun didn’t quite understand what he meant.
“It’s like how before battle, generals will always spend some time reviewing their experiences; the same goes for practicing kung fu. I have had some eye-opening experiences recently and I need a quiet place to think about it.”
“Doing nothing else?”
“Your Highness probably won’t see me for a month unless Luoluo comes to attack.”
Duodun laughed, feeling that this was a really bizarre move. Deep at heart, however, he didn’t believe the Dragon King’s words. “Two and a half months then. The Dragon King has to compromise a bit.”
“All right, two and a half months it is. By that time, Your Highness will gain an army of at least 130,000 soldiers and I’ll have the 70,000 Norland Cavalrymen stationed in the Western Regions.”
“We’re like those ugly businessmen,” commented Duodun.
“When businessmen make mountains of money, no one thinks that they’re ugly anymore.”
The negotiation went so smoothly that when the Dragon King and Prince Duodun walked out of the temporarily erected tent, the crowd cheered but were also surprised. Only Old Man Mu proudly looked at Dog Butcher and said, “Sharp eyes, that’s what I said. Old dog, watch and learn.”
The commander-in-chief of both sides set the tone, though there were still many details that needed to be negotiated. Gu Shenwei had appointed Long Fanyun as his representative and Duodun likewise sent one of his friends. They would meet regularly to coordinate a wide range of issues.
One of Long Fanyun’s most important tasks was to open Heaven’s Pass so that people could freely travel through it; this would allow people of the Western Regions to collect army provisions for the Dragon King.
Winter was coming, and every Norlander knew the importance of provisions and fodder.
Gu Shenwei sent out many people to help, including Old Man Mu and several others. Shangguan Fei was very anxious to leave the Dragon King’s protection, and pleaded, “The Dragon King always needs someone to stick around him, and I’m obedient and honest…”
“Chu Nanping will stay.”
Shangguan Fei was at a loss for words. Indeed, Little Chu was much more obedient and honest than he was.
Having arranged everything neatly, the Dragon King announced that he would now enter closed-door cultivation for a month.
This was his first closed-door cultivation session. He decided to focus on studying martial arts. Although both Old Man Mu and Han Fen had claimed that they had kept it secret, there were already rumors abound that the Dragon King had taken a secret manual from the Khan’s tomb and that he was about to practice the invincible divine kung fu to challenge the Unique King.
The Dragon King’s actions aroused a lot of suspicion, but Duodun remained unconvinced. It was not until many sources, including Azheba, claimed to have witnessed the Dragon King entering a sealed house that he was forced to reluctanty believe it and that his evaluation of the Dragon King was lowered a bit, though he did not lower his vigilance and asked his spies to continue spying on the other side.
After all this hustle and bustle, the Heaven’s Pass and the Xiaowan Kingdom finally returned to a calm state. Although war was around the corner, everyone felt that this autumn and winter would be safe, except news from the Royal Court continued to trickle in.
The horsewhip Luoluo had swept the eastern prairie with a large army and gained the allegiance of many tribes.
‘Luoluo’s army marched to the Royal Court and confronted Shulitu’s army. The two are only a few miles apart.’
‘The battle between the two sides started and the little king Shulitu was completed defeated.’ But this was soon proved to be a rumor.
‘The two sides had a fight, and Luoluo was defeated.’ Again this was another rumor.
The autumn frost fell. People of the Western Regions gradually got tired of rumors and became skeptical of any and all news from the Royal Court. When the people of the Xiaowan Kingdom began to accept the new king’s inaction, irrefutable news finally came. There had been no big war. The two sides had only had a couple skirmishes to sound each other out. And before winter set in, the two armies had decided to retreat at the same time.
Shulitu had nearly 150,000 horsemen, and a total of more than 200,000 people if all of the servants and the soldiers’ families were considered, all of who would retreat to the supply line of the Xiaowan Kingdom.
Duodun saw this as an opportunity to prove to the army that he was more worthy of loyalty than both the Dragon King and Shulitu.
The Dragon King was still in seclusion in a house that was located deep inside the palace of the Xiaowan Kingdom. It was quite large and had six connected rooms.
Chu Nanping and Long Fanyun were responsible for internal and external security, respectively.
However, the Dragon King’s closed-door cultivation was unusual as he had brought Shangguan Yun with him. But everyone interpreted that was being that Shangguan Yun was the Unique King’s most cared for son and should be kept under close watch.
Shangguan Yun already started feeling bored on the first day. “It’s really strange. I didn’t even feel this listless as when I was locked up in the stone dungeon alone. Han Fen, what do you do to kill time?”
A ‘man’ that looked exactly the same as the Dragon King replied in Han Fen’s voice, “Those men who slept with me all felt happy and never felt dull. They only felt unbearable when leaving me.”
Shangguan Yun who was about to eat a grape in his mouth paused. “Seriously? I’ve got to say, you’d have to remove your disguise of the Dragon King. I’m not interested in him.”
“Okay.” The ‘Dragon King’ showed a smile that he would never put on. “It’s a good thing to spend a month in isolation with you. You are a nice guy, so I’ll give you some preferential treatment. You can choose the way you want to die.”
Shangguan Yun nearly spat out the grape from his throat as he asked, “The way I want to die?”
“I kill all the men who sleep with me. That’s the price.”
Shangguan Yun immediately lost all interest.
