The tranquil lakeside was broken by a flurry of light footsteps. Yelü Abaoji’s elder sister came jogging over, whispering something to Huyan Guanyin. Xu Fengnian, who had recently brushed up on Meng language, learned that a ewe was about to give birth, and Huyan Guanyin was likely an expert midwife for lambs. They all went together to the sheep pen, silently watching her skillfully assist in the birth of the lamb. Once the task was completed, she gently tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear, smiling radiantly.
Due to their escape and migration, most of the tribe’s sheep were weak and thin. Surviving the harsh winter had already been difficult, so lambing became the top priority after setting up camp. The spirited Yelü Abaoji couldn’t contain himself, chasing around the pen. Finally, with a pounce like a hungry tiger, he caught a smaller lamb, lifting it by the hind legs and swinging it around wildly, exuding a fierce aura. Xu Fengnian was momentarily stunned. The boy’s sister scolded him crossly, but when reasoning failed, she pinched his ear. After letting go, the mischievous boy seized another lamb when she wasn’t looking, getting kicked countless times by hooves, covered in mud and dung, until the gentle persuasion of Huyan Guanyin finally spared the poor lamb.
Abaoji refused to bathe, and even Huyan Guanyin couldn’t convince him. Xu Fengnian grabbed the stubborn child by the collar and flung him into the lake with a splash. The boy wasn’t angry at all, instead swimming joyfully in the water, laughing foolishly.
Over the next two days, Xu Fengnian coldly observed the tribe’s laborious routines. Regardless of age or gender, everyone had clear roles, and no one dared slack off—grazing, milking, cheese-making, well-digging, shearing wool, tanning hides, making felt, gathering dung, and spinning hemp. As long as one had strength, there was never a shortage of work. Xu Fengnian didn’t interfere, merely calculating in silence the land costs required for a herdsman, or rather, a bow-wielding warrior. Talking with Huyan Guanyin, he learned that the previous generation of the tribe had produced several members of the Khitan imperial court’s Qie Xie military, which exempted them from many tribal taxes. Otherwise, with the tribe’s limited manpower and resources, they would have had to hunt large game or raid other tribes to survive. However, both options carried great risks—any mistake could bring disaster to the tribe. Every day on the grasslands, small tribes like theirs either declined or were swallowed by others. Having fled here and fortuitously claimed a lake, they could only hope for the local Siti’s mercy and the weakness of neighboring tribes.
During this time, Xu Fengnian had a secret conversation with the elderly chieftain. Afterwards, Huyan Guanyin finally donned a hastily made, rough mask, greatly impressing the tribe’s herders, who increasingly viewed Xu Fengnian as a miraculous figure, a Bodhisattva reborn. At noon on the third day, while sitting quietly by the lake practicing breathing exercises, Xu Fengnian looked northward. They had finally arrived—but the force was far greater than he had anticipated.
The Siti who owned this grazing land, Qin Cha’er, sat high atop a powerful steed. This burly middle-aged Siti had a robust build, dressed in wolf pelts, with his temple hair shaved and two braids tied behind his ears. A large falcon perched on his shoulder. With a wave of his mighty hand, over a hundred riders behind him shouted and charged, galloping wildly around the camp. This was nothing particularly terrifying, but what sent chills down spines were the two cages beside Qin Cha’er, each holding a leopard and a tiger captured from the Liaodong region. The two beasts, previously curled up dozing, suddenly stood up as if sensing blood, roaring lowly, their claws thrashing against the iron bars, eager to devour human flesh.
The elderly chieftain Huyan Yanbao, already on edge from their thousand-mile migration, led his people to gather together in fear, unarmed and making no move to resist. After all, crossing into another’s territory was already a grave offense. If the tribe had possessed any valuable treasures, Huyan Yanbao would have long ago personally paid tribute to this new Siti, who now held their lives and deaths in his hands. Xu Fengnian and Huyan Guanyin did not leave the tent, hiding behind them a fuming Yelü Abaoji. Peering through the gaps, they watched the arrogant Siti guards, but their eyes eventually settled on a pair of figures beside the Siti—master and servant. A young man in fox fur and wolf hat, wearing a sword and saber at his waist, sat cross-legged on horseback, resting his chin on his hand, expression cold. The elderly man in brocade robes exuded quiet intensity. Though Xu Fengnian immediately withdrew his gaze, perhaps Huyan Guanyin inadvertently revealed something, for the old man suddenly turned his eyes toward them, cold and sharp.
The cavalry tightened the encirclement, completely preventing Huyan Yanbao from approaching the Siti to plead.
Each year, the Khitan Empress led a grand autumn hunt in the imperial court, much grander than this. Merely driving the prey required tens of thousands of armored soldiers over two months, marching in neat formations under the supervision of the imperial Qie Xie forces. Deviating from the planned route meant immediate punishment by beating. If any prey escaped the encirclement, the squad leader was executed on the spot, the company commander dismissed, and the battalion commander demoted. When the final hunting circle shrank to just a few paces between soldiers, ropes were tied together, covered with felt. Inside, countless beasts crowded together—lions and donkeys, horses and cattle colliding, wolves and foxes jostling with rabbits. Then came the slaughter, with nobles entering in order of rank for a feast of blood.
Qin Cha’er lightly shook his shoulder, and the falcon soared into the sky. With a cruel smile, he clapped his hands. When the cavalry opened a gap in the encirclement, several half-naked, branded beast-handlers immediately opened the cages, leading out the snarling tiger and leopard, releasing their reins. The untamed beasts charged shoulder to shoulder into the camp, expertly lunging toward the herders. The leopard and tiger, their muscular bodies sleek and powerful as they ran, promised blood and death upon contact. A hundred paces away—mere moments to cover.
Two strong adult herders, veterans of many hunts, though unarmed, stepped forward bravely, charging at the beasts. Qin Cha’er sneered contemptuously. Fools! His tiger and leopard were no ordinary prey. Raised with care, their wildness had intensified over time. Only during hunts were they caged; otherwise, they were kept among the livestock, killing them at will. When they finished off all the animals, they were moved to another pen, or used to punish law-breaking herders. Even the strongest wrestlers, men of immense strength, could not withstand a few rounds of their savage attacks. Over the years, only one had survived, losing an arm in the process.
Almost simultaneously, the two herders were pounced upon and had their necks bitten through. The beasts’ claws casually sliced open their bellies, feasting on the viscera. As the herders’ limbs ceased twitching, the beasts raised their heads, gazing hungrily at the terrified crowd.
Inside the tent, Yelü Abaoji, tears streaming down his face, tried to rush out to fight, but Xu Fengnian pressed his head and flung him backward into the tent. Xu Fengnian then swept aside the cotton curtain and leapt forth like an arrow.
Xu Fengnian hadn’t expected the Siti to act so ruthlessly. Normally, though crossing into another’s territory was a capital offense, in the grasslands and deserts, human lives were cheap—but the Khitan Siti valued able-bodied young men capable of archery and cavalry combat. The lax remarriage customs among women, defying the Confucian ideals of propriety, and the Khitan’s relentless capture of border civilians from the Liang dynasty to settle in the north, all stemmed from the fact that the true measure of a Siti’s power lay in the number of horses and people under his command. Generally, when a tribe rebelled and fled, the receiving Siti, if strong enough to defy the original overlord, would gladly accept them. Huyan Guanyin’s tribe had wandered a thousand miles, beyond the reach of their former Siti, and for any grassland Siti with ample water and pasture, they were a valuable asset. A few silver coins to bribe the officials managing nomadic registrations would grant an additional thirty households of taxable subjects. Xu Fengnian had not anticipated that upon arrival, the Siti would immediately resort to bloodshed—his intent seemed to be outright extermination.
The young man with the sword and saber at his waist raised an eyebrow slightly.
The old man in brocade was about to speak, but the youth shook his chin, signaling no need.
Xu Fengnian lightly stepped, soaring over the heads of the cavalry, landing precisely in front of the elderly chieftain. As the tiger lunged with its gaping maw, Xu Fengnian ignored the claws blocked by his Huangting’s mirage-like defenses, gripping the beast’s upper and lower jaws with both hands and tearing them apart, splitting the king of the forest down the middle, tossing the halves before him.
Rending tiger and leopard apart was nothing more than this.
The remaining leopard hesitated, sensing danger, unwilling to charge forward. Qin Cha’er roared in fury, snarling coldly. The beast-handlers began shouting commands, urging the leopard to attack. The sleek-furred predator finally gave in to its frenzy, charging straight ahead, then veering five paces sideways at ten steps away, pouncing fiercely toward the right side of its target. Xu Fengnian, employing the “Canyon Insight” technique of cutting the river, did not even appear to move his hands or draw his blade, yet the beast was severed at the waist mid-air. This time, it was Qin Cha’er and the hundred riders who stood agape.
The young man in fox fur and wolf hat’s eyes lit up, his mouth twitching. This unexpected delight was exactly what he had orchestrated. The Siti’s arrival to crush this hundred-strong tribe was on the orders of this powerful young man, a prince of the Tuoba clan. On the grasslands, even the most powerful Siti would not dare defy the commands of this young Tuoba. In the desert, his father’s words were nearly as authoritative as the Empress’s decrees. In the Khitan military, even more so. Crucially, the Empress had never feared his growing influence—her trust in this Tangut-born military genius was absolute.
In the northern imperial court, even the royal family and princes would bow their heads before the two sons of this military deity.
This young Tuoba, who had personally slaughtered six hundred men on his journey, had never heard a whisper of complaint from any Siti to the Empress. Quite the opposite—some Siti had even led his horse and escorted him out of their territories with reverence.
Still resting his chin in his hand, the young Tuoba tilted his head and smiled sweetly, “You, from which province of the Southern Court are you, a remnant of the Spring and Autumn Period? Why not become my adopted son? You would enjoy endless riches and glory.”
In Khitan aristocracy, adopting “foster sons” was a common practice, similar to the concept of “godsons” in the Liang dynasty, though their status was often only slightly above slaves. Of course, the foster sons of noble families could still strut arrogantly, bullying others. Especially among the top-tier clans of the Khitan court, these foster sons wielded immense power and privileges.
The young man, blending threat with charm, smiled and said casually, “I know you Spring and Autumn wretches have your pointless pride. If you refuse, after killing all these herders, I’ll start with you—bury you in the sand, peel your scalp, and pour mercury into your skull.”
Xu Fengnian did not bother with pleasantries, simply stating calmly, “Speak properly.”
The young man in fox fur and wolf hat, sitting cross-legged on horseback, paused, then burst into laughter, wiping imaginary tears from his eyes. Fixing his gaze on the sword-bearing man in the hunting circle, he turned to the old man beside him, “When will Huihui arrive?”
The old man’s eyes gleamed, chuckling, “In an hour. A rare delicacy delivered to our doorstep. Master, won’t you personally take part this time?”
The young man pouted, “I’m in a good mood today. I’m still deciding whether to make him my foster son or flay him alive and leave him to rot.”
The old man nudged his horse forward, asking, “Shall I play with him first, then?”
The young Tuoba, who saw few in the Khitan worth fearing, nodded slightly.
Xu Fengnian’s Huangting surged like a flood. In a flash of a Rainbow, he placed a single hand on the young man’s forehead in wolf hat, sending him tumbling from his horse, sliding across the ground for five or six zhang.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage