Second watch of the Zi hour. Stars hung low over the vast plain.
Xiao Chiye stood on the sand dune, drinking what remained of his horseback liquor. The strong alcohol burned its way down his throat, and he swallowed slowly, letting the sharp heat linger in his mouth. After nightfall, the wind only grew stronger. Yellow sand buried the hooves of Langtao Xuejin, and when the second watch passed, Xiao Chiye saw Hailigu returning from afar.
Hailigu dismounted, removed the veil covering his mouth and nose, turned his head, and spat out a mouthful of sand. “Darantai agreed.”
Xiao Chiye did not speak. Behind him, Chen Yang asked, “What conditions did you offer?”
“We gave him the eastern grazing lands of Skylock Pass. That is the ancestral land of the Bear Tribe. Darantai wants it back.”
“You gave them wide grazing lands,” Xiao Chiye repeated.
Hailigu slightly raised his hands toward Xiao Chiye. “The governor intended to give the Viper Tribe’s territory to the Bear Tribe. That land is more fertile. I believe my negotiation is more advantageous.”
“The Viper Tribe’s land is closer to Li Bei. Moving the Bear Tribe there would make them easier to control. That is what Lanzhou wanted,” Xiao Chiye said as he tightened the wine pouch and tossed it to Chen Yang beside him. “But you pushed them back to the east side of Snow Peak. There is no one watching them there.”
Hailigu hurried after him, following behind Xiao Chiye. “The Bear Tribe is nostalgic. Even the more fertile land of the Viper Tribe cannot shake their resolve. Second Young Master, only the east side of Snow Peak can move Darantai. Besides, that land is already nearly buried by sand. In the end, they will have to migrate north.”
“You’re playing tricks,” Chen Yang said as he stepped sideways, blocking Hailigu with his chest. He raised an arm to keep distance, not allowing him to continue chasing after Xiao Chiye. “You didn’t even discuss the Green Rat Tribe’s territory with Darantai.”
As bait, the Green Rat Tribe’s land was also part of Zhongbo’s bargaining chips. According to Shen Zechuan’s plan, Hailigu should have first negotiated for the Green Rat Tribe’s territory, then finally brought out the Viper Tribe’s land. But Hailigu did not do so. He knew how to profit within the negotiation. He wanted to use the eastern Snow Peak grazing lands to replace the Viper Tribe’s territory, keeping that fertile land for the Black Scorpions he led.
Xiao Chiye had already mounted his horse. Chen Yang was still blocking Hailigu.
Hailigu could not push past Chen Yang. He paced in place irritably, then helplessly spread his arms toward Chen Yang. “You should go talk to Darantai yourself and see whether he follows your assumptions.”
Chen Yang adjusted Hailigu’s skewed saber and said, “He has already followed your assumptions. You want the Viper Tribe’s land, and the governor will naturally give it to you—but not in this way. You have stayed by the governor’s side for so long, yet you still do not understand your master.”
Hailigu seemed unwilling to argue further. He turned away, his back facing Chen Yang.
Chen Yang stepped back and went to pursue Xiao Chiye’s horse.
Hailigu faced the flat plain. At that moment, he spoke in the Border Sand language: “You look very devout when you act like a dog.”
After speaking, he turned his head and smiled at Chen Yang as if nothing had happened.
Chen Yang mounted his horse, also smiling at him. As he turned his horse around, he answered in the same Border Sand language: “A mongrel’s envious gaze is also very devout.”
Damn it.
Hailigu was startled by Chen Yang’s near-native Viper Tribe accent in the Border Sand language. Before coming here, no one in Zhongbo could understand his speech.
“I don’t have many outstanding traits, but I learn languages quickly. The accent you learned in Gedale is from the Eagle Tribe—it’s not very pleasant,” Chen Yang said politely. “Say another word, and I’ll smash your head in.”
Hailigu, taken off guard, nodded obediently. He watched as Chen Yang rode away, kicking up a cloud of dust that hit him in the face.
Xiao Chiye returned to the border garrison but did not find Qi Zhuyin in her main tent. After circling once, he went to another tent and saw the Great Commander. Qi Zhuyin had just woken up. Hearing the movement, she leaned out and gave Xiao Chiye a whistle.
Xiao Chiye rested a hand on the Wolf Fang Saber, unsure whether to enter or retreat.
Qi Zhuyin had lipstick only halfway applied. Both of her little fingers were stained red, but she was not applying it herself. Instead, she was leaning forward, letting Hua Xiangyi help her. Hua Xiangyi held herself upright, carefully smoothing the color over the commander’s lips.
“This color is really nice,” Hua Xiangyi said softly. “It suits the Great Commander well. It won’t stand out at night.” She finished the last bit, then turned and smiled at Xiao Chiye. “Does it look good?”
Xiao Chiye folded his arms and looked for a long moment. Rarely uncertain, he said, “…It’s alright.”
Qi Zhuyin had worn makeup before—light touches for daily wear or court attire—but even with Xiao Chiye’s sharp eyes, he could not see how this lipstick differed from what she usually used.
“You don’t understand,” Hua Xiangyi said. She unfolded a cloth on her lap, revealing a small hollow inlaid mirror studded with pearls. She lifted it and held it up for Qi Zhuyin.
Qi Zhuyin wiped her hands on the cloth and could only see her lips and chin in the mirror. She smiled. “It looks good.”
After a moment, Qi Zhuyin stepped out from behind the curtain.
“The Madam is here to settle accounts with me,” Qi Zhuyin said.
Xiao Chiye coughed into the empty night. “Oh…”
He looked sideways at Qi Zhuyin. She was young, but also not young—at least not for a woman. Xiao Jicheng and Lu Guangbai were close to her but never asked about her marriage, because everyone knew Qi Zhuyin could not marry.
“Third Miss is skilled in calculations. I’ve heard of it in Jindu. Your estate’s accounts are complex, and with her help, it will be like adding wings to a tiger.”
“Now that the Empress Dowager has fallen, she is not as safe in Qitong as before. After Xue Yan finishes cleansing Duancheng, it will be Yicheng next. The Hua family is on shaky ground. If I don’t keep her by my side, I’m afraid the concubines at home will cause trouble,” Qi Zhuyin said. She still carried a faint scent of powder, but she did not continue explaining. Instead, she teased, “Besides, I like girls.”
Xiao Chiye stood still. The two had already ascended the city wall.
“Your scorpion has returned,” Qi Zhuyin said.
Xiao Chiye pointed toward the southeast. “The Bear Tribe is willing to open a path for you. They want to retreat to the eastern grazing lands of Skylock Pass and return to where they came from.”
Qi Zhuyin’s face, lit by firelight, reflected the same color Hua Xiangyi had described. The lipstick blended into the night, as if it were her natural color. Her expression carried amusement. “Darantai is foolish.”
Abandoning the Green Rat Tribe’s territory to return to land already buried by yellow sand—only a fool would do that.
“He is not foolish,” Xiao Chiye said. “He is opening a path for you, intending for you to circle toward Gedale. Once you arrive, he will block your retreat. At that time, he can demand anything.”
“Then Darantai is still a fool,” Qi Zhuyin said, tapping her fingers against her arm as she gazed into the darkness. “You’ve been spending too much time with Lu Guangbai. You’ve learned his ‘earthbound thinking’—always digging into the ground, memorizing terrain across thousands of miles, but forgetting the nature of the tribes themselves.”
Qi Zhuyin moved around Xiao Chiye, lightly leaping onto the battlements and checking the crossbow mechanisms along the wall.
“If Darantai opens a path for me, I don’t think he will turn back. The Bear Tribe does not have enough warriors. He can only concentrate his forces; otherwise, he cannot withstand attacks from any side.”
Xiao Chiye considered for a moment. “You mean Darantai will concentrate his forces and attack elsewhere?”
“If I leave the border garrison, half of the forty thousand defense troops here will move out. Without Lu Guangbai, there will be no general capable of matching them. Now is the best time to attack,” Qi Zhuyin said.
“That still doesn’t make sense, Sister,” Xiao Chiye said. “If Darantai’s forces are insufficient, even if he takes the border garrison, you will quickly return. He will also face attacks from the rear defense forces of Cang Province. He cannot hold it. He didn’t go through all this trouble just for grain like Hassen.”
Qi Zhuyin straightened. The wind scattered her hair. She did not continue analyzing like Lu Guangbai would. Instead, she said, “Then let’s try it.”
After Xiao Chiye left the battlefield, Li Bei showed signs of fatigue. Yet Hassen’s fierce assault did not slow. Lu Guangbai could only suppress orders and maintain defenses, instructing Luoshan to strengthen vigilance. The eagle eyes of Duanzhou could not see the banks of the Chashi River. It was at this moment that Huo Lingyun quietly left Duanzhou.
Huo Lingyun’s group was small—only members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. They were silent, carrying light packs, riding short horses captured from Achi. They rested at sunrise and moved after sunset, traveling north along the Chashi River.
Tonight the wind was dry. Huo Lingyun drank the last drop of water from his pouch. He wiped his mouth and looked ahead from horseback.
It would have been better if Fei Sheng, that annoying fellow, were here.
Huo Lingyun hung the water pouch back onto the saddle. He lacked Fei Sheng’s insight and appeared dull in the darkness, yet he had no choice but to move only at night.
“Where exactly are we going?” one Embroidered Uniform Guard asked, removing his wind collar and gulping water. “We’ve been heading north for five days.”
“We stay here,” Huo Lingyun said. “Until we can walk out even with our eyes closed.”
They would ride north until they reached near the Shasan Camp, then turn back—but not return to Duanzhou. Instead, they would continue north along the same route in repetition. The guards remained silent. Before departure, they had been strictly warned by Qiao Tianya, so none of them objected.
The short horses had strong endurance and did not tire even after days across the wasteland. Their thick necks looked clumsy, but the guards had already grown used to their unexpected speed.
Near dawn, Huo Lingyun stopped by the riverbank. He let his horse drink and crouched to wash his face.
The morning water was icy, shocking him awake.
Huo Lingyun opened his water pouch and pressed it into the river. In the gurgling sound, he suddenly saw a surge of dark red. His fingers, pressing downward, touched something cold yet soft. Along with the dark red floated strands of black hair.
“A corpse!” one Embroidered Uniform Guard who was also washing his face hissed, grabbing the hair and dragging the body out of the water.
Huo Lingyun turned the body over. The face was swollen from soaking. He wiped away the mud and examined it.
“The armor has been stripped,” the guard said quickly. “He died upstream.”
Huo Lingyun pulled open the clothing and suddenly stood up. “…This is cavalry.”
On the horse road connecting Luoshan and Shasan Camp, a cavalry soldier raced forward, swaying violently in the saddle. A long trail of blood marked the ground behind him. His helmet covered his face; he was just an unnamed soldier. His lips moved, but only breath escaped.
“Horse…”
His mount rushed into an inn fifty li south of Shasan Camp, and he collapsed to the ground.
“Horse camp re—”
He had not finished speaking before he died. Reaching here meant victory—the cavalry at the post station would immediately relay the message to Shasan Camp, and reinforcements would be sent south. But the station was silent. Corpses lay everywhere, including the hawks in the eagle house. There was no living soul left.
Heat waves rippled through the air. Not even a bird call remained.