At the forefront, a lone rider galloped through the scorching desert wind that struck his face. His cloak’s knot gradually loosened and then fluttered into the yellow sands.
Revealing the shocking crimson imperial robe beneath.
Behind this eunuch, two thousand elite riders of Jian Ge trailed him by nearly a mile. There was an ironclad law in the Liyang Dynasty, clearly inscribed on the dragon stele: no eunuch shall leave the palace! Since the Liyang Dynasty pacified the Spring and Autumn Period, there had been only a few exceptions over the past decade. Once, the Grand Eunuch of the Imperial Stables, who accompanied Princess Sui Zhu into Northern Mang, died soon after his return, entangled in red silk. Another time, he retrieved the emperor’s illegitimate son, Zhao Kai. Even with the emperor’s tacit approval, he used up half of their bond. Mobilizing that hidden two thousand riders loyal only to the royal family was still a quiet move by the emperor on the grand chessboard of the world, costing the remaining half of their master-servant relationship. Han Shengxuan, the first powerful eunuch whose real name was unknown to most officials and commoners alike, did not regret it, nor did he ponder the emperor’s fickleness. Han Diaosi, the “Cat Man,” was greedy for power, otherwise he wouldn’t have held such authority for so long, but he knew for whom he craved power. In the past, when the emperor was merely the weakest prince, Han had pledged his life to him. When that prince ascended the throne and bore children, Han initially chose Zhao Kai, the son of that gentle lady who had once cooked for him several times, never regarding him as a despised eunuch. The world may have wronged Han Shengxuan for a time, but he would wrong them for a lifetime. But if she showed Han Shengxuan an inch of respect, he would repay her with a hundred feet. After she passed away early, Han Shengxuan transferred his gratitude to Zhao Kai. Han Shengxuan had never studied books and barely knew how to read. The “Cat Man” never cared about laws or human sentiments; the emperor and Prince Zhao Kai were the only rules he acknowledged, and Han Diaosi had lived his entire life by these two household regulations.
Riding furiously, when Han Diaosi saw the dark mass of cavalry ahead, the old eunuch, without carrying any weapon, raised both hands and pinched two strands of white hair hanging from his temples.
His hands were wrapped tightly in the thick, crimson threads.
After he slaughtered through this formation of rebels cultivated by Beiliang, he could hand things over to He Yan.
Han Diaosi could have easily killed the Grand Eunuch of the Zhi Dian Jian who had come to Jian Ge to stop his mobilization of troops. However, the “Cat Man” bore no ill will toward the Empress and did not want to make his young master feel awkward in the future, so he chose not to break completely with her prematurely. Thus, he allowed the eunuch to arrive at Jian Ge later, searching for that incompetent Ruan Da Cheng.
This single rider charged headlong toward the three thousand mighty cavalrymen, still finding time to smile and say, “Black Monk, don’t let our apprentices die here. Otherwise, this old servant, their senior master, will tear you apart, even if it costs me my life.”
On the opposing side, the cavalry general Wang Zhi, even facing Han Diaosi’s solitary figure, felt no ease or comfort. It wasn’t just because he had guessed the old eunuch’s identity, but also because he knew exactly what he was doing—rebellion!
Wang Zhi lowered his head to feel the treasured sword he had kept for years, finally ready to draw.
The three thousand loyal riders behind him recognized neither the Jian Ge commander Ruan Da Cheng nor the imperial authority. After years of bloodshed and rolling over the corpses of enemies and comrades, they had even forgotten the Zhao family’s emperor. His father had been placed in Jian Ge by General Xu and had gathered a thousand loyal men before his death. Wang Zhi had spent ten years adding two thousand riders to his force, among whom three hundred had gradually infiltrated Jian Ge from Beiliang, mostly boys aged fifteen or sixteen. Last year, eighty of them arrived at once. In the western desert sands eight hundred miles from the Jianguan Pass, Wang Zhi met for the first time the butcher of men who had overshadowed his master for far too long—the Beiliang saber.
Wang Zhi spat fiercely to the side and silently drew his Beiliang saber.
A thousand riders unexpectedly retreated, while two thousand began their charge.
This was a deadly ambush, sacrificing countless lives to intercept a supreme master of the Zhixuan realm.
Wang Zhi still dreamed of becoming a renowned general, a mighty commander feared across the desert. Dying here would certainly be regrettable, but since he was born to share the surname Wang with his father, a former Beiliang soldier, there was no room for regret!
※※※
With plum wine in hand,
The man who did not drink reached for his water pouch and took a sip.
Some say he is the most extraordinary general since the advent of large-scale cavalry warfare, a commander invincible in battles involving over one hundred thousand horsemen. Even the current emperor hailed him as the “White-robed War Immortal,” unmatched in both martial and literary prowess.
Who is the strongest martial figure in the Liyang Dynasty’s military? Previously, most believed it was General Gu Jiantang. But after he fought two battles against Hong Jingyan of Northern Mang and the Copper Man Patriarch, he became the undisputed new “Spear Immortal,” narrowly surpassing Gu Jiantang, who was already a master of the saber beyond mortal limits.
Chen Zhibao halted his horse and turned to look.
A small, scattered cavalry unit followed closely, their warhorses exhausted from the long pursuit. At their head was a sword-bearing woman, her clothes stained with dried blood. A faint bitter smile flickered across Chen Zhibao’s lips.
He turned his horse and deftly tossed the water pouch toward her, but she made no move to catch it.
Fifty paces separated the two.
Chen Zhibao smiled, “With this kind of reckless ambush, even two thousand riders might not be able to stop me.”
The woman, who hadn’t slept for two days and nights, replied coldly, “Dian Xiongchu’s six hundred iron-clad cavalry and Wei Fucheng’s eight hundred crossbowmen are all dead. How impressive, they even wore Northern Mang armor.”
Chen Zhibao said lightly, “Why kill them? They didn’t even rebel. It was just unfortunate they happened to be in the Western Regions.”
Xu Wei Xiong steadied her breath.
Chen Zhibao did not rush to act. He remained still on horseback, his spear pointing at the sand beneath his hooves, “I didn’t expect it to be you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have gone through the trouble.”
Xu Wei Xiong mocked, “Is there any battle you Chen Zhibao haven’t anticipated?”
Chen Zhibao replied calmly, “I did calculate it, but I just didn’t want to admit it. For some reason, whenever I imagine the worst possible outcome, it always happens, without exception.”
Xu Wei Xiong asked directly, “Are you really going to betray Beiliang?!”
Chen Zhibao tilted his head slightly, countering, “Who said that?”
Xu Wei Xiong had no intention of speaking further. She inhaled deeply, and the ancient sword behind her trembled violently.
Chen Zhibao still showed no sign of raising his spear even an inch, “When I was young, I didn’t want my father to die for my adopted father, but he took sixty-two members of the Chen family and stayed behind without hesitation. The second time, I didn’t want the Young Master to refuse to go to the capital and become a wealthy Prince Consort, yet he didn’t go. Last time, I didn’t want him to survive his return from Northern Mang to Beiliang, but he did. This time, I didn’t want to see you, yet you came.”
Chen Zhibao finally lifted the plum wine slightly, “These years, I did nothing, hoping my adopted father would slowly die of old age in his position as the Beiliang King. Now, I still don’t want to become a disloyal and unrighteous traitor, so even though I knew the Young Master went out three times, I remained idle. This last time, I didn’t want to do anything either, but it seems it’s happening again.”
Chen Zhibao bent down, took a spearhead from his pouch, and inserted it into the already incomplete plum wine spear.
As he lowered his head, the white-clothed man murmured, “That maid Qing Niao from the Wutong Courtyard is the daughter of the Spear Immortal Wang Xiu, and I know that. I know the Channa spear remains in the martial arts treasury. I know she was trained as an assassin, meant specifically to kill me. I know all of this. Xu Wei Xiong, since you are the hidden assassin Jia who has been hiding for over twenty years, I, Chen Zhibao, will make you die today. After all, the last man you ever saw in your life should still be me.”
“I will take your corpse to Xishu and make you my queen for ten years.”
※※※
This caravan, bearing the silver bottle destined to reshape the power dynamics of the Western Regions, had halted its westward journey.
Their resting place lay between Jian Ge and Liusha. Behind them was the Iron Gate Pass, recorded in the “Chronicles of the Spring and Autumn Period’s Geography”—a fortress established by the Qin Empire. The cliffs were as if cleaved by an axe, the stone color like iron. This pass controlled a steep gorge twenty miles upstream of the river, a crucial passage from the western frontier over the mountains into the eastern territories. Each time the Central Plains dynasty stabilized its rule, it would extend its influence into the regions north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, and its soldiers would inevitably pass through this place. Each time the hooves of horses sounded westward, it symbolized the might of the Central Plains dynasty. Each time they retreated eastward, it marked the fragmentation and collapse of the Central Plains’ Spring and Autumn era.
Prince Zhao Kai boarded the carriage, sitting beside the driver, while the golden-armored guardian remained by his side.
When he saw the black-robed old monk flying swiftly from the north, he smiled brightly.
It was his second master, the “Sick Tiger” Yang Taishui.
Seeing Zhao Kai unharmed, the emaciated monk felt relieved. Without uttering a word to his disciple, who might one day challenge the suppression of Buddhism, he merely exchanged respectful greetings with the Six-Pearl Bodhisattva and silently turned eastward.
Less than half a mile away,
Xu Fengnian, sword and saber at his side, rode straight toward Iron Gate Pass.
Any prince could head west to earn merit for future ascension, or even become the Shu King, severing the hidden ties between Beiliang and Nanzhao.
But no prince could both achieve great merit and become the Shu King, then use the elimination of Beiliang to ascend the dragon throne.
Especially when that prince was Zhao Kai, marked for assassination in Li Yishan’s secret plan!
Ahead, an old monk rushed toward him.
Using great Buddhist Divine Power, the monk urgently whispered to Xu Fengnian, the hereditary Beiliang King mounted on his horse, “Anyone can die, the old monk can die, the Red Sect Lama can die, all 216 of the attendants can die, but Zhao Kai must not die!”
“The old monk can escort Zhao Kai back to the capital and then go to the Beiliang Prince’s Mansion to atone.”
“If you insist on killing Zhao Kai, who carries the emperor’s mandate and the heavenly mandate, do you know what awaits you?!”
The old monk flew toward him.
“Go to hell with your consequences!”
Xu Fengnian, usually calm even in battle, suddenly turned red-eyed with fury, roaring, “Yang Taishui, today I’ll kill you first! Do you still remember the White RobeCase in the capital?! I’d rather die on the path of sword practice than become a useless Beiliang King, just so I could personally slaughter bastards like you!”
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