Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Azheba had only decided to kill Ye Chuo at the very last moment. In his heart, there were several reasons to do so, but none of them were convincing enough until then.
No matter what, his foremost goal was to rescue Liman.
“Liman doesn’t deserve to die.” Azheba first ordered the 500 panic-stricken Norland cavalrymen to remain where they were, and then he rode to the Dragon King to great him. “He has many opinions, but he’s only loyal to His Highness, though he’s also been honest with you this whole time. Dragon King, if you die, nobody can save him.”
“What about that one?” Gu Shenwei pointed at the corpse in the distance.
“There’re crafty sycophants groveling at every king’s feet. I’ve never liked Ye Chuo. He was the one who sent the bandits to burn the provisions. He was also the one that plotted to assassinate you, Dragon King.”
“So Prince Duodun’s declaring war on me. Are you doing this because you still want our alliance to last?”
As weird as it sounded, that was exactly what Azheba was hoping for. “As far as I know, the Dragon King’s not an impulsive person. In the Royal Court, despite the fact that King Rizhu betrayed you several times, you still maintained your alliance with him throughout all that.”
“King Rizhu’s dead,” Gu Shenwei retorted. As an “ally,” he had watched King Rizhu be assassinated without making any efforts to save him.
“I know.” Azheba was not naive and he knew that his hopes of the Dragon King and Duodun remaining allies were merely a farfetched wish. “The Dragon King and His Highness are not objectively opposed enemies. The king of the grasslands and the king of the Western Regions can coexist in mutual non-interference even if they don’t fight enemies side by side.”
Gu Shenwei still felt that Azheba was being a bit naïve. “Okay, then. You have my word that as long as Prince Duodun stops plotting against me, I’ll keep my end of the alliance.”
“And there’s also Liman.”
Shangguan Yun had been watching on from the side the whole time. At this point, he smiled and interjected to say, “As long as the Dragon King is alive, Prince Duodun won’t be able to retrieve the 100,000 plus Norland troops anytime soon. Without a powerful army, why would he kill Liman and make an enemy out of the Naihang Tribe?”
Azheba let out a laugh, nodded his head in respect for the Dragon King, and then turned his horse to return to his contingent.
Gazing at the Norlander’s retreating figure, Shangguan Yun shook his head. “Azheba’s always been a sober man. Today, why did he… He’s digging a grave for himself.”
“This is not his first time doing something similar,” Gu Shenwei replied. Back then in the Royal Court, Azheba had once stubbornly insisted on convincing the Court Attendants Army to give up their obsessive belief in the Khan.
Shangguan Yun knew what the Dragon King was referring to. He laughed and replied, “I kind of like him, and I hope that Duodun isn’t stupid enough to impulsively kill him on a whim. This kind of subordinate is very rare. Duodun should cherish him since he has him.”
Long Fanyun and the reinforcements finally arrived. These were the Dragon King’s guard troops, and they started blowing bugles and cheering even when they were still far away.
Gu Shenwei turned around. He had been vigilant and concerned ever since he had entered the Norland, but now he could finally lower down his guard a little. This was the army that truly belonged to him, and to some extent, it could even make up for the loss of Lotus.
Han Fen liked uproarious occasions, so she also started cheering. After a while, a question occurred to her. “What’s a crafty sycophant?”
Shangguan Yun pretended to also be contemplating the same question as he answered, “Well, a crafty sycophant is someone that a king likes unconditionally… Just like you – the Dragon King captured you, but didn’t kill you, which means that he obviously likes you.”
“I’m the Dragon King’s crafty sycophant?”
“Mmm, you are.”
“I’m an idler as well as a crafty sycophant?”
“Mm, that’s who you are.”
…
Upon hearing the distant bugle sounds and cheers, Azheba became more and more uncertain of his decision and was actually now a little regretful about that arrow he had shot. It wouldn’t have been easy to mob the Dragon King, but it was also not a completely impossible task. And most importantly, he had no right to decide whether the Dragon King was an ally or an enemy. This meant that what he had done was almost equivalent to outright betrayal.
It was already midnight by the time he returned to Heaven’s Pass, and when he finally arrived, there was a team waiting for him at the city gate, torches in their hands.
Seeing the leather bag on the back of the horse, Shangguan Ru felt chills run through her heart. She had faith in the Dragon King, but fear nonetheless involuntarily surfaced in her throughts.
Azheba gave bland a nod in acknowledgement. “The Dragon King’s alive.” Then he rode forward into the city. He wasn’t supposed to tell anybody anything before first meeting with Prince Duodun.
The moment the city gate closed behind him, Azheba felt a sudden shock in the heart. He suddenly realized that what he had done was indeed a “betrayal” of a certain kind, and that the reason for this was neither the Dragon King nor Liman, but rather that woman beside the city gate.
Bathed in the light of the torches, that look in Shangguan Ru’s eyes was something he had never seen before – it was an intense look composed of anger, anxiety and desperation, and each emotion was so intense that the owner of this look had forgotten herself.
Upon hearing the words “The Dragon King’s alive,” Shangguan Ru was so relieved that hse didn’t even greet Azheba.
Azheba felt heart-broken, yet also proud of himself. The Dragon King mustn’t die , he thought. Because the Dragon King’s the man she loves, then as long as the Dragon King’s alive, she won’t be forced to marry anyone else.
He had once been ordered to persuade her into marrying Duodun, but in reality, he didn’t mean the words he had spoken. It was not until now that he discovered what he truly desired.
Due to these thoughts, Azheba entered the camp with a guilty conscience. He walked into the tent, knelt down on his knees, and raised the head in the leather bag.
There was still a look of horror etched into Ye Chuo’s face.
“You failed to catch up with the Dragon King?” Duodun couldn’t believe it.
“We did, but the Dragon King’s reinforcements had also arrived. After weighing the pros and cons, I believed that killing Ye Chuo might serve your will and interests better.”
There was complete silence in the tent. Azheba’s bold move had surprised everybody. Several companions stared at him and were ready to instantly transform from his friends into his enemies the moment the prince gave the order.
Duodun remained impassive, staring at the head without blinking. Holding the saber hilt, he slowly walked before Azheba and grabbed Ye Chuo’s head, “At least I got a head.” Then he turned around and said to his companions, “Ye Chuo deserved this. His plan failed and he provoked our enemy pointlessly. Azheba did the right thing.”
The tension in the air vanished. All seven companions started criticizing Ye Chuo for his mistakes.
Duodun ditched the head, helped Azheba stand up, and then whispered in his ear, “This is the last time. You owe me your life.”
A hundred miles away, Gu Shenwei regained the command of the army.
The next day at dusk, Shang Liao and the prince of Shule arrived at the Restoration Army Camp from Heaven’s Pass. Their attendants were still several miles away behind them, and even as they struggled to catch their breath, the two of them requested permission to meet with the Dragon King.
The two were both amazed and indignant because it was them who had formed the Restoration Army. They didn’t expecte that the Dragon King would take the fruits of their labor so easily because of their momentary carelessness.
In the tent, Gu Shenwei was checking the troops records and asking the officers about the current situation of the army.
Shule rushed in first. “Dragon King…”
Gu Shenwei raised his head and the anger in the prince’s eyes instantly disappeared. “My apologies for being late, Dragon King.”
Shang Liao followed him in shortly, but he was far more composed. He bowed deeply as he said, “The General of the Right Shang Liao pays his respects to the Dragon King.”
Gu Shenwei pushed the files on his desk aside. “You’ve arrived just in time. I’m going to lead the army north, and I need someone to stabilize and keep an eye on the rear.”
“Nor- North?” the prince of Shule couldn’t believe what he had heard. “Why do you want to go north? The Shule Kingdom’s in the west, not the north.”
“The Shule Kingdom’s in the west, but our enemy’s at the north. We have to directly face the enemy if you want to get your country back.”
“But… but…” the prince was too flustered to think of a reason to oppose the Dragon King.
Shang Liao knew that he had made a terrible mistake, and that it had to be fixed right away, so he spoke up to say “The Dragon King’s right. It’s totally pointless for the Restoration Army to stay here since war turned out to be inevitable. But if we’re going to wage war, we’ll have to deal with several tricky issues first. May I make some suggestions?”
Gu Shenwei gave an order to the officers before dismissing them. “All troops of the Restoration Army must gather here in five days.”
After several months of work, Shang Liao and the prince of Shule had expanded the troop-count to 20,000. There were only 5,000 men here, as the rest of the army was stationed in the south. Five days was a bit too short, but the rest of the army should still arrive on time.
The General of the Right and the prince felt a stabbing pain in their heart as they thought about handing over 20,000 men to the Dragon King.
But there was more fear than pain in the prince’s heart. The officers had barely left the tent when he walked up to the Dragon King. “Dragon King-”
Chu Nanping, who was beside Gu Shenwei, took a step forward and the prince’s heart skipped a beat – he had almost forgotten that he was not supposed to enter within five steps of the Dragon King. As he backed away awkwardly, he asked, “You will restore the Shule Kingdom, right, Dragon King?”
“Of course I will. Why do you ask?”
“I…” the prince panicked and didn’t know what to say.
Shang Liao bowed down again. “Please forgive me, Dragon King.”
“For what?”
“There was an order for the prince and I to guard the Norland hostages, but we set them free without the Dragon King’s permission and allied with the enemy. Although we did that in pressing circumstances, it’s still an unforgivable felony. Also, I didn’t ask for your consent in Xiaowan Kingdom, and that is yet another crime I’ve committed.”
Understanding dawned on the prince of Shule and he hurriedly added on, “I’m guilty as well, but the Norland was so chaotic at that time that I thought that maybe a peaceful retreat with Prince Duodun and his 70,000 cavalrymen was better than a drawn-outwar. Er, by the way, is my sister okay, Dragon King?”
Tie Linglong was the prince’s half-sister, and he liked her very much. But ever since he had gotten involved in restoring his country, he hadn’t had time to miss her very often.
“She’s fine, and she’s working for me in Jade City,” Gu Shenwei replied. “And speaking of those issues involving Prince Duodun, you did a good job. Actually, instead of committing crimes, you’ve rendered meritorious service. Besides, I’ve given you permission to make your own decisions in the Shule Kingdom, so you don’t have to ask me for my consent to everything.”
The prince exhaled deeply and, before Shang Liao could speak again, revealed his true thoughts. “You’re very magnanimous, Dragon King. But… why do we have to wage war? I mean, sooner or later, the Norlanders are going to return to the grasslands to compete for supremacy, and at that point, we’ll be able to rebuild the Shule Kingdom without a single casualty. In addition, there are 70,000 cavalrymen there, while our Restoration Army only has 20,000 men. If we attack recklessly, the result will be like an egg smashing itself against a rock.”
“If the Dragon King’s determined to do this, it would be wiser to mobilize the Dragon Army at Xiaoyao Lake and combine the two armies. If we make the maneuver at the right time and the right place, we might still stand a chance of defeating the Norlanders,” Shang Liao persuaded with his metaphors.
“Who told you that we’re going to wage war against the Norlanders?” Gu Shenwei asked.
That once sentence left the two agape and tongue-tied. Then the prince confusedly asked, “You’re not going north to fight Prince Duodun?”
“The alliance with Duodun is a major inroad that you two’ve made. Why would I give it up so easily?”
The last possibility finally occurred to Shang Liao as he muttered, “The Dragon King’s going to attack Golden Roc Castle? It’s said that the Unique King has mustered hundreds of thousand troops at Thousand Horsemen Pass. Furthermore, winter’s coming, so I’m afraid that this won’t be an easy fight either, right?”
“And this is the Restoration Army of the Shule Kingdom,” the prince reminded the Dragon King in a low tone. But then he immediately regretted his decision and added, “But the Dragon King can use it however you want.”
“This battle is rather special. The enemies are not Norlanders, and not all of them are from Golden Roc Castle. Rather, I will be escorting a caravan and whoever gets in my way will become my enemy.”
To transfer all the wealth of the Meng family out of Jade City was not a task that could be accomplished will just a few kung fu experts.
