Outside Linbei City, the wilderness was filled with swirling dust today. The neighing of horses mingled with the voices of people, creating a deafening din.
This enormous temporary horse market had been set up on an open stretch of land less than half a li outside the western camp of Linbei City.
Using the military’s need to replenish horses lost in battle as an excuse, Xiao Yuan had used the channels of Listening Snow Pavilion to summon horse merchants from throughout the northern frontier, creating a massive temporary horse market.
This was both to select excellent reserve warhorses for the Linbei Army and to find suitable mounts for the guest advisers in the administrative office.
As the organizer, “Madam Listening Snow”—Chi Banyue in disguise—had arrived early to coordinate everything on site.
The abacus in her heart was already clacking away. By introducing these horse merchants to buyers and taking a hefty commission, she could barely hide the smile on her face.
At that moment, a horse merchant came over to complain.
“Isn’t this place a little too remote?”
Liu Tingxue immediately put on a full smile and replied, “This place is spacious, which makes it convenient for the military to select horses. The customers come first.”
The horse merchant found this reasonable and said no more.
Pei Yi, meanwhile, was leading several deputy generals and officers at the other end, seriously inspecting the new horses that were about to be incorporated into the army.
However, in stark contrast to the bustle here was the Western Camp, separated by nothing more than a ditch.
In the cold wind, the soldiers of the Western Camp wore thin military uniforms, their faces covered in dirt, as they carried heavy stones for the city’s defensive moat.
“Bang!”
A hundred-jin bluestone was slammed heavily onto the muddy ground.
The young Western Camp officer Zhao Xiao roughly wiped the mud and sweat from his face, his eyes bloodshot as he stared fixedly at the bustling horse market in the distance.
He had come from the military examinations in the capital, full of youthful ambition. He had originally thought he would come to the northern frontier to fight the enemy, render meritorious service, and make a name for himself.
Instead, after several months here, the things he did every day were either digging trenches or moving bricks—all the hardest manual labor.
“What are you looking at?”
Several Western Camp soldiers beside him also stopped working and looked toward the lively scene, their eyes filled with envy and bitterness.
“The generals of the Northern Frontier Army are choosing horses. His Highness’s personal guards are choosing horses. Even the guest advisers in the administrative office are choosing horses…”
One soldier gritted his teeth.
“They just didn’t call us.”
Another gave a self-mocking laugh.
“Call us? They don’t even consider us their own people.”
Zhao Xiao gripped the wooden handles of the cart tightly, his knuckles turning white. Through clenched teeth, he said, “It’s not that they don’t consider us their own. They don’t even consider us soldiers! I came here to fight the Northern Di, not to do manual labor for Prince Su!”
The resentment in the ditch seemed even colder than the northern wind.
◆◇◆◇◆
Amid the noisy marketplace, Xiao Yuan walked side by side with Su Muchen, whose face was concealed beneath a white gauze veil.
The horse market was bustling with voices. As the two walked past a row of temporarily erected wooden fences, a black horse beside them, which had been lowering its head to eat fodder, suddenly twitched its ears.
Just then, a gust of northern wind swept past, lifting the white gauze hanging from Su Muchen’s veiled hat and brushing it across the black horse’s nose.
The horse seemed irritated by the teasing gauze. It suddenly raised its head and accurately bit down on the fluttering white veil.
The horse’s strength was tremendous. It violently pulled backward, nearly yanking the unprepared Su Muchen, hat and all, off balance.
“Careful!”
Xiao Yuan reacted instantly. He stretched out his long arm and firmly wrapped it around Su Muchen’s waist, protecting him at his side.
With his other hand, he unceremoniously slapped the horse across the mouth and shouted sternly, “Let go!”
Unexpectedly, the horse had quite a stubborn temper. Not only did it refuse to let go after taking the slap, it bit down even harder.
It even made a provocative snorting sound at Xiao Yuan, pawing the ground restlessly with its front hooves as though it might kick someone at any moment.
“It’s fine. Don’t hit it.”
Su Muchen hurriedly grabbed Xiao Yuan’s hand before he could strike again.
He stepped forward and deliberately softened the aura around him, like a harmless spring breeze.
He raised his hand and gently stroked the tense side of the horse’s neck, murmuring a few soothing words.
Strangely enough, the fierce horse that had still been stubbornly resisting just moments ago actually lost the fierce wariness in its eyes beneath Su Muchen’s gentle touch and gradually calmed down.
Its enormous head voluntarily moved closer and rubbed against Su Muchen’s palm as though seeking his favor, obediently releasing the section of white veil in its mouth that had been soaked with saliva.
This scene was witnessed not only by the Northern Frontier Army but also, without the slightest difference, by the Western Camp soldiers working in the distance carrying stones.
“Who is that young gentleman wearing the white gauze veil?” a Western Camp soldier asked curiously.
“I heard he’s that Doctor Su from the rumors, the one who cured the epidemic in the northern frontier.”
One of them spoke quietly.
He had also heard about him from other people.
In recent days, people had spotted a mysterious young gentleman wearing a white gauze veil beside Prince Su several times, even accompanying him on inspections of Linbei City.
Someone had also seen that person personally cleaning the wounds of wounded soldiers.
“Good grief, I thought he was a delicate scholar. That black horse looks fiercer than a wolf and isn’t even afraid of His Highness. He actually tamed it after touching it just a couple of times?”
The Western Camp soldiers whispered among themselves.
They had already heard numerous legends about Doctor Su. Previously, they had only heard his name without ever seeing the man himself.
Some had even believed that he was a fictional person fabricated by Prince Su for some purpose.
But today, unexpectedly, they had actually seen the man with their own eyes.
Although they could not see his face clearly because it was concealed by the white gauze, this only made Doctor Su seem even more mysterious.
It made them even more curious. Such a remarkable and extraordinary person was actually under Prince Su’s command.
Xiao Yuan and Su Muchen stepped back and carefully examined the horse that had nearly caused trouble.
It was undoubtedly a rare fine steed.
Its entire body was pitch-black, its coat gleaming like the finest black satin beneath the sunlight, without a single stray hair. Only its four hooves were as white as snow, as though it had just walked across a field of winter snow. They were extremely striking and beautiful.
As a general who had commanded troops for many years, Xiao Yuan’s eyes immediately brightened. His instinctive knowledge of horses was awakened in an instant.
He immediately stepped forward. First, he skillfully lifted the horse’s lip to inspect its teeth and determine its age, then examined the spirit in its eyes.
Next, his callused hands traveled along the horse’s shoulders and back all the way to its leg bones. Finally, he carefully pressed its tendons and the joints of all four legs, confirming whether it had hidden illnesses or old injuries.
Afterward, Xiao Yuan turned to exchange a few words with the nervous horse merchant beside him, questioning him closely about the horse’s origins and temperament.
“It’s a good horse. Just over four years old. Solid bones and strong tendons.”
Xiao Yuan withdrew his hand, his voice filled with undisguised appreciation.
Not only was this horse unafraid of the murderous aura accumulated on him through years of battle, it even knew how to approach people. It was truly rare.
Su Muchen straightened the wrinkled white gauze and asked gently, “Don’t you already have Xuanshuang? Why did you think of personally choosing a horse today?”
Xiao Yuan looked at the black horse, his tone calm yet carrying the sternness and clarity unique to a commander.
“Xuanshuang has been with me for many years. It is indeed a divine steed of one in ten thousand. But it is growing older, and charging into battle consumes too much of its strength. What’s more… on the battlefield, the commander’s warhorse will always be the enemy’s archers’ and crossbowmen’s primary target. If the warhorse falls, its rider won’t survive long amid a chaotic army.”
He paused and pressed his large palm against the black horse’s sturdy neck.
“Training a new warhorse that understands military commands and can communicate with its rider through a meeting of minds takes a very long time. I have to prepare in advance.”
These words were extremely realistic, yet unbearably heavy.
Su Muchen nodded.
“You’ve thought it through very thoroughly.”
Although the Northern Di attacked from time to time, as the stabilizing pillar of the northern frontier, Xiao Yuan did not need to personally charge into battle unless the enemy launched a massive attack and the situation became desperate.
Even so, he still had to remain fully prepared at all times. Because on this battlefield, every slight mistake could cost him his life.
Xiao Yuan turned his head and looked deeply at Su Muchen.
“I want this horse. Since you managed to make it willingly let go just now, give it a name.”
Su Muchen was slightly stunned. He had originally wanted to refuse, saying that he was not good at naming things.
But suddenly, he remembered Xiao Yuan’s usual style when naming things around him… It was simply so straightforward that it had absolutely no poetic quality.
For example, there was the city itself, which had simply been named “Linbei.”
Looking at those four snow-white hooves, he instinctively thought of “Treading Snow.”
But that name was too ordinary. Most animals with four white hooves in the world were probably called that. It even sounded somewhat pretentious.
Su Muchen pondered for a moment and said gently,
“Then let’s call it ‘Treading Moon.’ Black as satin in the night, its hooves white as the moon.”
He coughed lightly and slowly brought out what little literary cultivation he possessed.
“‘One must tread together, deep into the night beneath the moon.’ Thus, the name.”
Xiao Yuan looked at his deliberately refined appearance, his eyes overflowing with indulgent amusement.
He savored the two characters, the corners of his lips curving upward. Clearly, he was quite pleased.
“It’s much better than the name I originally had in mind.”
The name sounded elegant at first, but interpreted another way, it also carried the imposing feeling of being able to tread even upon the moon.
Su Muchen casually asked, “What did you originally want to call it?”
“Black Wind,” Xiao Yuan answered with complete confidence.
Su Muchen: “…”
He felt that Xiao Yuan’s naming style was practically on par with the Su family members who casually gave people names.
At least it leaned toward practicality. It was not exactly unpleasant.
Xiao Yuan reached out and patted the horse’s large head.
“Did you hear that? From now on, you’re called Treading Moon.”
Treading Moon tilted its head and gave a loud snort, seemingly still unable to understand that this was going to be its name from now on.
Xiao Yuan suddenly bent slightly, narrowing the distance between the two of them.
He gazed deeply at Su Muchen’s eyes hidden behind the white veil and spoke in a low voice that only the two of them could hear.
“With the dew thick and the night deep, moonlight flowing like water. On this silent night… if you cannot sleep, would you be willing to share this night with me and become a fellow traveler beneath the moon?”
The tips of Su Muchen’s ears immediately burned uncontrollably.
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
Was Xiao Yuan inviting him on a date?
Or was he hinting at something?
How could this man say something like that in the middle of a bustling horse market, in the same tone he would use to discuss military affairs?
He lowered his eyes. After a long moment, he gave an extremely soft, extremely quiet,
“Mm.”
It was like a promise being sealed.
Having received that answer, Xiao Yuan’s gaze instantly became as gentle as a pool of water.
He naturally took Su Muchen’s hand and pulled him closer to his side, saying softly,
“There are a lot of people here. Stay close to me.”
“Okay.”
Originally, he had not wanted Su Muchen to come out today because he was worried that the crowds would be dangerous.
But he also wanted to show Su Muchen the various affairs of the northern frontier, so he could only protect him closely at every step.
Not far away, Pei Yi was enthusiastically discussing the structure and musculature of horses with several generals. His gaze inadvertently swept over Xiao Yuan and Doctor Su in the distance.
He had already looked away when he suddenly realized that something was wrong and abruptly turned his gaze back.
Then he rubbed his eyes hard, thinking he had hallucinated.
That usually stern and cold Prince Su, who seemed like a god of slaughter reborn…
Was actually smiling?!
Not the chilling cold smile that made people feel their hair stand on end before he killed someone.
But a smile as gentle as water, as though it could melt even the frozen ice of the northern frontier.
Although it had lasted only an instant, he would swear on both his eyeballs that he had not seen it wrong.
Then, when he turned his head in shock toward the other side, he saw an even more outrageous sight.
The red-and-white pair of figures were walking side by side.
The normally smiling-yet-not-smiling Xia Changshi, whose gaze was cold enough to freeze an entire army to death, now had a gaze as gentle as the warm sun of early spring as he smiled completely without reserve at the “Mr. Liuchu” beside him.
Pei Yi sucked in a cold breath.
Normally, whenever Xiao Yuan and Xia Lanshi, this master-and-servant pair, stood in the same place, the atmosphere around them was definitely three degrees colder than the harshest winter in the northern frontier.
He looked up at the sky.
Good heavens. Had the sun risen from the west today?
◆◇◆◇◆
At the same time, Xia Lanshi was leisurely accompanying Xiao as they walked toward the other end of the horse market.
He had previously promised to appoint Xiao as a guest adviser of the administrative office, and naturally, he ought to have a dedicated mount.
But all the horses in the military stables had been trained according to strict standards, and there was truly nothing suitable for someone with Xiao’s temperament. Thus, Xia Lanshi planned to take advantage of this temporary horse market to select one for him.
However, Xiao had no interest whatsoever in the docile fine steeds that the merchants were enthusiastically promoting. Without even slowing his steps, he walked straight toward a corner at the very end of the horse market, where almost no one paid any attention.
There was an extremely eye-catching white horse tied there.
Its entire body was snow-white without a trace of another color. Only at the exact center of its forehead was there a pitch-black cross-shaped star marking, making it look both mysterious and filled with dangerous wildness.
However, this horse was firmly tied to a thick wooden post with an extremely thick hemp rope. There was not a single person within several yards of it.
When the horse merchant saw them approaching, he hurried over in alarm and waved his hands to stop them.
“Honored guests, this horse can only be kept for viewing. It cannot be ridden! You should go look at those fine steeds in front.”
Xia Lanshi studied the white horse.
The horse was indeed beautiful. Its long, fine snow-colored mane fluttered with its movements. Its limbs were long and slender, its chest broad, and the lines of its muscles extraordinarily powerful and athletic. It certainly did not look like some useless horse that could only be admired.
He asked calmly,
“Why can’t it be ridden?”
The horse merchant wiped away his cold sweat and smiled bitterly.
“Honored guest, you may not know this, but this is a wild horse from the northern frontier wilderness. Because its coat color is so rare, dozens of old hunters spent a full two months catching it in the wilderness. But this horse’s temperament is fierce as fire. No matter how much we’ve trained it, we simply can’t tame it. Forget putting a saddle on it—even if a stranger approaches it by one step, it’ll kick and bite. Just a few days ago, it broke the ribs of several horse trainers one after another!”
Upon hearing this, Xia Lanshi turned to Xiao.
“Since it is an untamed, fierce horse and can easily be startled and cause trouble, perhaps we should choose another.”
However, Xiao stared straight at the white horse, the curve of interest appearing at the corner of his lips.
“It’s fine. I’ll take this one.”
With that, he slightly turned his head and leaned close to Xia Lanshi’s ear, lowering his voice so only the two of them could hear.
“Besides, I just happen to like riding ones that are white, good-looking… and fierce.”
The words were intimate and carried an unmistakably improper undertone. Xia Lanshi immediately understood the hidden meaning.
He glanced at Xiao, his tone carrying a hint of provocation.
“That also depends on whether those bones of yours are hard enough, and whether you can actually tame it.”
Xiao chuckled.
With one hand, he pushed himself up. His figure flipped over the wooden fence separating them from the dangerous horse like a swallow, and he walked toward the white horse with ease.
“Hey! Honored guest, you can’t!” The horse merchant was scared out of his wits and shouted at the top of his lungs. “Don’t go any closer! If someone dies, even several lives wouldn’t be enough for me to compensate!”
The white horse sensed a stranger approaching and immediately began neighing furiously. Hot breath blasted from its nostrils, its front hooves rose high into the air like those of a snow-white god of slaughter about to unleash its rage, ready to crush this reckless human being beneath its hooves at any moment.
However, as Xiao approached step by step, what happened next left the horse merchant so shocked that his eyes went wide and he even forgot to close his mouth.
The fierce horse that had been raging just moments earlier actually began slowly backing away when Xiao came within three steps of it.
The thick hemp rope instantly went taut, emitting an ear-piercing creak.
It continued desperately trying to retreat, but the wooden post held it firmly in place. The entire horse was pressed tightly against the post, with nowhere left to retreat.
It did not attack.
Instead, every muscle in its body was tense, its four hooves uneasily shifting back and forth. Its horse eyes revealed an extreme state of vigilance.
That was not the expression of an animal afraid of humans.
It was more like a wild beast in the mountains suddenly encountering, completely defenseless, an apex predator whose bloodline stood above its own.
It was an instinctive submission carved into its very bones and blood, something it could not resist.
Xiao stopped and slowly extended one hand.
The violent wild horse that even the horse trainers could not approach by the slightest suddenly became miraculously quiet.
Its entire body trembled faintly. In the end, with a hint of ingratiation and obedience, it slowly lowered its proud head and allowed Xiao’s palm to gently rest upon its forehead, where the black cross-shaped star was marked.
Xiao turned his head. His face instantly took on the same harmless smile he always wore. He lifted his chin proudly toward Xia Lanshi outside the fence.
“See? Isn’t it quite docile?”
Xia Lanshi looked at the white horse that was so frightened it did not even dare breathe loudly. He helplessly tugged at the corner of his mouth and said dryly,
“Absolutely. So docile that it’s practically about to cry.”
In his heart, he silently added: That’s not docility at all. That’s an animal’s instinct for survival.
And this scene once again shocked the Western Camp soldiers working by the ditch in the distance.
“Who was that just now? He subdued that wild horse without even using a whip?”
“That’s Mr. Liuchu, a guest adviser of the administrative office. I heard he’s also from overseas.”
One soldier explained.
That striking crimson-red robe and his carefree loose hair, along with his completely different bearing from the people of Dasheng, made him extremely easy to recognize.
The Western Camp soldiers looked at one another.
They had always prided themselves on being the elite troops of the capital.
Yet now they had seen that both a physician and a guest adviser possessed such unfathomable abilities.
Just how many monsters were hiding in this northern frontier?
Xia Lanshi saw that Xiao seemed to be extremely fond of this horse, and that the horse had already submitted to Xiao.
“We’ll take this horse.”
He turned and said this to the horse merchant, who was still frozen in place.
Only then did the merchant come back to his senses. He stammered out repeated agreements, and when he looked at Xiao again, his eyes were already those of someone looking at an immortal capable of sorcery.
Xia Lanshi slowly walked forward and, through the wooden fence, looked at Xiao, who was absentmindedly stroking the horse’s mane.
“Have you thought of a name?”
Xiao answered without even thinking.
“You name it.”
Xia Lanshi’s gaze fell upon the snow-white fierce horse, its forehead bearing the striking star marking. After pondering briefly, he said,
“Then let’s call it ‘Huiye.’ A star shines upon its forehead, its body white as snow, just as though light were shining in the dark night.”
Xiao raised his brows upon hearing it, seemingly becoming somewhat interested in the name.
“Huiye? In a neighboring country of my homeland, there happens to be a legend about ‘Princess Kaguya.’ It is said to be the story of a princess from the Moon Palace.”
Xia Lanshi raised his eyes, a trace of curiosity flashing through his pale-red eyes.
“Hm?”
Xiao blinked, warmth appearing in his eyes as he smiled.
“When we have time, I’ll tell you about it slowly.”
Seeing the smile at the corners of his eyes and brows, Xia Lanshi unconsciously relaxed as well, a very faint smile curling at his lips.
In the past, he could only touch and imagine Xiao’s distant and unfamiliar world through thin sheets of writing paper.
But now, this living, breathing person was truly standing within arm’s reach of him.
“Okay. I’d like to hear more about your homeland,” he answered softly.
Just as the atmosphere had become warm and tender, Xiao swept his gaze over Huiye several times and subtly broke the mood.
“However… this horse is male.”
Although the horse was named Huiye, it was not a “princess.”
Xia Lanshi explained calmly,
“Male horses have better stamina and stronger explosive power. They are naturally brave and aggressive, making them more suitable as warhorses than mares.”
He looked at the snow-white horse that still carried a hint of rebelliousness and added seriously,
“Warhorses in the military are often gelded to prevent them from causing trouble. If necessary, we can make it a true ‘Princess Kaguya.’ Although it is past the ideal age, it should still make it somewhat more docile.”
Huiye, which had still been snorting moments ago, seemed to understand something. It uneasily shifted its hooves, its ears standing straight up.
Xiao laughed and reached out to pat the horse’s neck reassuringly.
“Forget it. That would be too pitiful. Besides, unless absolutely necessary, I won’t personally go onto the battlefield. There’s no need for it to charge into battle.”
Xia Lanshi nodded.
“Very well. This horse is native to the northern frontier, with excellent bloodlines. Keeping it for breeding would be good as well.”
Xiao looked at Xia Lanshi’s expression as he arranged everything clearly and neatly, then his gaze passed over the wooden fence and landed on the Western Camp soldiers nearby, who were still repeatedly looking this way with expressions of shock.
He leaned forward slightly and moved closer to Xia Lanshi. His warm breath lightly brushed Xia Lanshi’s ear as he lowered his voice, amusement in his tone as though he had seen through everything.
“Speaking of taming… You deliberately chose this open area closest to the Western Camp to select horses today. Wasn’t it specifically so ‘they’ could watch this show?”
He naturally saw through it completely.
This extremely eye-catching snow-white fierce horse was absolutely not something the horse merchant had happened to bring here by coincidence.
It was prey Xia Lanshi had deliberately selected for him.
He had deliberately chosen a section of fencing that offered no concealment whatsoever and precisely calculated that the Western Camp troops would be doing manual labor at this place and time today.
Xia Lanshi never made a useless move.
Having his thoughts exposed, a hint of fox-like cunning flickered through Xia Lanshi’s eyes. He neither admitted nor denied it.
“Sure enough, nothing can be hidden from you.”
Xiao tilted his head slightly. The distance between them was almost nonexistent, and his smile deepened.
“Then, is Lord Changshi satisfied with this ‘horse-taming’ performance?”
“Very satisfied. Naturally, very satisfied.”
Xia Lanshi smiled lightly, his clear and pleasant voice carrying an unobtrusive chill and condescension.
“Some people have lived in comfort for too long and think highly of themselves, yet do not know that there is always a heaven beyond the heavens. Only by first opening their eyes and letting them see the world can they learn awe. Then, in the future… it will be easier to truly tame them.”
Xiao smiled without speaking, his affectionate yet profound gaze resting upon the exquisite profile of the person beside him.
Whatever scheme this person wanted to set, whoever he wanted to tame, Xiao was willing to be the sharpest blade in his hand.
◇◆◇◆◇
Meanwhile, by the ditch, Zhao Xiao and the others were already cold and hungry and were preparing to finish work and return to camp.
When they looked up, they saw several Northern Frontier soldiers pushing several carts of fodder past in the distance.
The moment Zhao Xiao saw the Northern Frontier soldiers’ high-spirited appearance, the fire in his heart immediately surged.
He was about to look away when the men’s conversation drifted over on the evening wind.
“The horse market was really lively today. Those horses were all excellent.”
“Wasn’t it? It’s a shame our brothers from the Western Camp didn’t come to choose any.”
“His Highness said they’ll have horses sooner or later. There’s no need to rush today.”
The men chatted and laughed as they pushed their carts farther and farther away.
Zhao Xiao and the other Western Camp soldiers standing in the mud froze in place.
They had originally thought they would definitely hear the Northern Frontier Army mocking them for “deserving to do manual labor” and “not even being allowed to choose horses.”
But those few sentences clearly conveyed a different message.
The Northern Frontier Army not only remembered them—even Prince Su had them in mind?
What shocked them even more was that before long, General Pei Yi personally led people to push several carts of high-quality fodder to the gate of the Western Camp.
There was no condescending charity in his manner. Pei Yi simply left a matter-of-fact sentence.
“This is the fresh fodder left over from today’s horse market. His Highness ordered us to bring it over so the Western Camp’s horses can put on some weight.”
Zhao Xiao gripped the fragrant fresh fodder tightly in both hands. The resentment filling his chest suddenly felt like a punch thrown into cotton, leaving it nowhere to go.
This was the first time, during the several months they had spent in the northern frontier doing hard labor, that someone had truly treated them as though they mattered.
“Could it be… His Highness really is simply too busy with military affairs to pay attention to us?”
Zhao Xiao could not help murmuring.
But the thought had barely arisen before he forcefully suppressed it.
The cold treatment they had suffered these past several months was still vivid in his mind. How could a single load of fodder erase all of that?
◇◆◇◆◇
As dusk settled over the land, the setting sun dyed the wilderness outside Linbei City a magnificent dark gold.
Two fine steeds, one black and one white, cast long shadows beneath the evening light as they were slowly led out of the horse market.
Xiao Yuan, Su Muchen, Xiao, and Xia Lanshi walked together toward the inner city beneath the fading sunlight.
Xiao Yuan looked toward the distant outline of the Western Camp and spoke calmly.
“After today’s show, I’m afraid the resentment in their hearts will only grow stronger.”
“If a person has never been thrown off balance and has never developed resentment, they will never begin to think.”
Xia Lanshi’s tone was calm without the slightest ripple.
“Only once they begin doubting their original judgment can we place the things we truly want them to see directly before their eyes.”
He slightly raised his eyes. At this moment, his pale-red eyes held a chilling clarity and calculation.
“When the truth tears open a crack, that resentment, suppressed to its absolute limit, will instantly turn back upon them. Then, next time, they will lie awake through the night thinking—of the things they have firmly believed all along… the emperor’s will in the capital, and themselves. Which of them, in the end, is truly right?”
Ever since these eight thousand capital troops arrived in Linbei, they had been completely isolated and stationed on the western side outside the city, collectively known as the Western Camp Army.
They were not allowed to approach the core of Linbei City and were only responsible for the hard labor of constructing the city’s defenses.
Their military pay was issued as usual. Their provisions were supplied as usual. Not a single military uniform had ever been withheld. Everything complied with military regulations, yet they were always kept below the standards of the Northern Frontier Army.
No one could accuse Xiao Yuan of mistreating the capital troops.
Yet they could still clearly sense their own position.
Over these past several months, rumors had already spread throughout the Western Camp.
Some said that the capital had already regarded them as abandoned pawns.
Others said that Prince Su had no intention of employing the capital troops.
Whether the rumors were true or false, no one bothered to distinguish anymore.
But their resentment and suspicion had now reached the brink of eruption.
Xiao slowly spoke.
“The soldiers at the bottom are easy enough to manipulate. The most troublesome is still that Northern Frontier Field Camp Commander, Yan Ye. This man not only places enormous importance on military discipline, he is also loyal to the emperor and cannot be tempted by any benefit.”
Others might be easy to control or bribe, but someone like this was the hardest bone to chew.
Xia Lanshi merely shook his head.
“The more someone values military discipline and has principles, the less likely he is to be a dead end.”
He raised the corners of his eyes slightly, his gaze deep.
“Because he has eyes and ears, and he will think. As long as he remains here in the northern frontier, he will see with his own eyes—who has been fighting in blood and saving the northern frontier these past few months, and who has been cutting off the supply routes and delaying military pay from behind the scenes.”
Those pale-red eyes narrowed slightly, reflecting the final crimson glow of the setting sun and revealing a breathtaking sharpness.
“I want to see who he is willing to die for: the emperor on the Dragon Throne, or the Great Sheng of this realm.”
Could a person’s loyalty withstand the test?
Xia Lanshi had never believed in testing people.
He believed that true loyalty was never something extracted through tests. It was forged little by little by the merciless realities of life.
When great waves wash away the sand, what remains is the truest faith.
Su Muchen felt somewhat moved upon hearing this.
Did everyone who eventually sat upon the Dragon Throne slowly begin to lose trust in the people around them?
Xiao Yuan had not intended to rebel from the very beginning, either.
And that man named Yan Ye had been sent here by the emperor, only to have his loyalty tested in this northern frontier.
Perhaps that was another layer of the emperor’s own test.
He did not know.
Su Muchen slightly turned his head toward Xiao Yuan and looked at the deeply furrowed brows of the man beside him.
He gently reached out and took Xiao Yuan’s hand.
Xiao Yuan immediately returned to himself. When he turned to look at Su Muchen, his tightly furrowed brows instantly relaxed.
Seeing the worry in Su Muchen’s eyes, he gently tightened his grip on his hand.
It was as though the two of them did not need words to feel the concern coming from the other, as well as that trust between them.
The last rays of the setting sun finally disappeared completely, and the darkness of night quietly descended upon Linbei City.
Two new warhorses, one black and one white, stood quietly in the stables, one named Treading Moon and the other Huiye.
And in the camp outside the city, the originally unshakable morale of the eight thousand capital troops in the Western Camp had, without anyone realizing it, quietly had its first foundation pried loose.