The next day, when Bi Suo learned that Yaoying would be departing for Gaochang in two days accompanied by Su Dan Gu, he vehemently objected: "I do not agree!"
The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became. Struggling to rise from his bed, he insisted, "I must see the King!"
The maidservants exchanged uneasy glances but dared not stop him.
As the gauze curtains fluttered softly, Princess Chima entered carrying a tray of fresh fruits. Seeing Bi Suo's state, she tossed the lacquered tray aside and rushed to his bedside, supporting him with a furious exclamation: "Have you gone mad? You're injured—how can you go see Luojia in this condition?"
Gritting his teeth, Bi Suo argued, "I must see the King now. The weather is too hot for travel—wait another month when it cools down. By then, my wounds will have healed, and the Princess can delay her departure!"
Princess Chima forced him back onto the bed with a cold laugh. "Are you so concerned about that Han princess?"
Bi Suo frowned slightly. "Chima, the mission to Gaochang is a matter of state importance. Do not misinterpret my intentions."
Princess Chima narrowed her light brown eyes, a flicker of disdain passing through them. "Do you truly believe a mere Han woman could persuade Gaochang to form an alliance?"
Bi Suo glanced at her and shook his head with a bitter smile.
The alliance was secondary...
Pushing Princess Chima aside, he called for his guards and had them assist him into a carriage bound for the monastery.
Unable to deter him, Princess Chima stood fuming at the courtyard gate, watching his stumbling figure climb into the carriage until she nearly ground her teeth to dust.
Upon arriving at the monastery, Bi Suo sent an attendant to announce his presence. The servant soon returned with news: "General, the King entered closed-door meditation last night to focus on spiritual practice. He will see no one for several months, as declared by the abbot."
Clenching his fists, Bi Suo closed his eyes briefly.
"To the Beast Garden," he commanded.
The attendant acknowledged the order and drove the carriage out of the monastery, skirting the northern wall until they reached an expansive compound shaded by pine and cypress trees.
Within the grounds, pavilions and buildings rose along undulating earthen cliffs, arranged with elegant spacing beneath dense canopies. A lively stream meandered through the courtyard, flanked by lush, thriving woods.
With the attendant's support, Bi Suo alighted from the carriage. Burning with urgency, he shoved the servant aside and, ignoring his injuries, hurried up the stone steps in rushed strides.
At the sound of approaching footsteps, the guarding sentries drew their blades and advanced.
Bi Suo produced a bronze mask token. "I must see the Regent!"
The guards examined the token carefully, verified its authenticity, and sheathed their weapons, stepping aside to grant passage.
Faint, deliberately softened footsteps echoed from the corridor as all hidden guards silently withdrew to their positions.
After storing the token, Bi Suo passed through a courtyard flanked by two rows of poplars entangled with thick ivy, rounded a long, shadowy corridor, and arrived at a concealed dark door.
Pushing it open, he descended a narrow staircase in darkness, entering a stifling, profound dungeon.
The cell was silent and unlit, pitch-black as a gaping beast's maw lurking in shadows, ready to devour its prey.
Bi Suo had feared this dungeon since childhood. The deeper he ventured, the more terrified he grew, shuddering involuntarily.
A dark arc flashed in a corner as a leopard emerged from the shadows, its eyes glowing like phosphorescence.
Bi Suo yelped in fright, stumbling backward and aggravating his wound until he grimaced in pain.
The leopard cast him a contemptuous glance before turning and padding away into the darkness.Bi Suo ignored the pain and followed the leopard through a long, narrow, winding passage, bypassing a tight crevice. Ahead suddenly opened up, with faint daylight filtering into the secret tunnel, illuminating the rough outline of the cave. Shadows flickered beside the stone platform, veiled in mist.
Amid the curling mist, a tall, straight figure stood with his back to Bi Suo, clad in black robes, his stature lofty and slender, well-proportioned and sturdy.
Bi Suo sighed and knelt on one knee.
"Your Majesty, do you truly intend to personally escort Princess Wenzhao to Gaochang?"
The man turned around, his face covered in ugly scars, his emerald eyes piercing through the mist like cold, transcendent waters across the Pond of Three Lives.
"My decision is made," he said softly.
Each word was gentle, yet carried the weight of an entire mountain range, with the force of thunder.
Bi Suo's words of persuasion stuck in his throat. After a long silence, he bowed his head and said, "This subject understands."
...
As early autumn approached, the days remained hot, but the nights turned abruptly cold. A night of fierce winds left the grapevines in the courtyard strewn with fallen leaves, littering the steps in disarray.
The next morning, Yaoying discovered a thin layer of frost on the ground.
The guards who rose early to practice martial arts gathered around the frost, each one marveling in surprise.
A Royal Court attendant, seeing this, smiled and explained to everyone, "Don’t be fooled by the daytime heat—once it turns cold, frost can form at night. After a few more days of wind, we might even need to wear fur coats! Every year, before the trees have shed all their leaves, snow begins to fall. Everyone says the Royal Court has no autumn; after summer comes winter."
Rubbing his hands excitedly, he added, "The Regent has already issued a decree. In a few days, the Begging for Cold Festival will be held. Since we’ve won battles this year, the festival is sure to be grander and more lively than last year’s!"
Yaoying was taken aback. "The Begging for Cold Festival is coming?"
The Royal Court belonged to an oasis state, with dry, rainless summers where going a full month without precipitation was common. The water for irrigating fields and nourishing the land mainly came from seasonal rivers formed by melting snow and ice from the Tianshan Mountains. Thus, before winter arrived, they held grand celebrations to pray for a colder season and more snowfall, ensuring ample water sources for the coming year.
Yaoying had heard Bi Suo mention that the Begging for Cold Festival was one of the Royal Court’s most important holidays. Since Su Dan Gu was also from the Royal Court, why wouldn’t he wait until after the festival to depart?
The attendant nodded cheerfully. "This summer has been longer than usual—everyone has been looking forward to it for ages!"
Yaoying chuckled softly.
No wonder the attendant was so excited. The Begging for Cold Festival typically lasted seven days, featuring not only grand music and dance performances but also rituals to pray for blessings and ward off disasters. During this time, the entire city’s populace would turn out, singing and dancing, creating a particularly festive atmosphere. On the final day, men and women, young and old, dressed in splendid attire and wearing masks, would splash water on each other for blessings—both fun and auspicious.
She asked the attendant, "Did the Regent attend last year’s Begging for Cold Festival?"
The attendant thought for a moment and shook his head.
Yaoying pressed further, "What about the Buddha Prince?"
The attendant smiled. "Princess, you may not know this, but the Buddha Prince is a monastic. Monastics must observe the precept of abstaining from song and dance, so he has never attended the Begging for Cold Festival."
Yaoying pondered this.
The Buddha’s Birthday Festival was a Buddhist holiday where Tanmoroqie conducted Dharma assemblies, while the Begging for Cold Festival was a secular celebration he never attended... Why didn’t Su Dan Gu participate in the Begging for Cold Festival either?
Could it be that, like Yuanjue and Bore, he was also a lay disciple?That afternoon, when Xie Peng returned from outside the city, he informed Yaoying that preparations for the Qihan Festival had indeed begun in the city. Government offices were cleaning their courtyards and setting up stages for music and dance performances. The Hu merchants had also brought in musicians and singers hired from the Kucha region. Recently, the inns outside the city were fully occupied by people who had come to participate in the Qihan Festival.
Yaoying felt uneasy. On the day before her departure, she went to visit Ashina Bisha and tentatively suggested, "I’ve heard that the Qihan Festival is approaching. Since the Regent is from the Royal Court, he must wish to reunite with family and friends for the festivities. Why not postpone our departure for a few days and set off after the festival?"
Bisha was momentarily stunned, then shook his head with a bitter smile. "If it were up to me... I should be the one accompanying you to Gaochang, and it would be best to delay for another month."
Unfortunately, Tanmoroqie did not agree.
He looked melancholy, lost in thought for a while, a faint haze clouding his green eyes. After a long pause, he snapped back to reality and smiled. "The Regent has no family or friends. He never participates in the Qihan Festival. The departure date has already been set, so there’s no need for you to worry about this."
Yaoying recalled how the attendants trembled with fear when Su Dan Gu was mentioned.
For the attendants, the absence of the fearsome Regent during the Qihan Festival meant the city’s residents could celebrate the holiday freely.
Perhaps Su Dan Gu never appeared during festivals precisely to avoid frightening people?
Yaoying pondered this for a while before setting the matter aside. Her gaze fell on Bisha’s leg, and she asked, "Was it Haidu Aling who did this?"
Bisha had returned injured and was immediately taken in by Princess Chima, who personally cared for him at her residence. Knowing Princess Chima’s reservations, Yaoying had not found an opportunity to ask Bisha about it until today, when he moved back to his own residence.
"It wasn’t him directly," Bisha said, his expression turning cold. "It was his personal guards."
Leaning back on the couch, he continued slowly, "After I arrived in Northern Rong, I saw Haidu Aling putting on a show every day, lying in the main tent and urging the princes to inspect his wound. The youngest prince vomited as soon as he saw it. The Second Prince even scraped the rotting flesh from his wound with a dagger, cutting so deep it nearly reached the bone, yet Haidu Aling didn’t even blink."
Yaoying frowned. "Could it be that his injury is real?"
Bisha shook his head. "No, his injury is only minor."
Yaoying gasped.
Haidu Aling’s wound was merely superficial. He had deliberately neglected treatment, allowing it to fester and breed maggots, making others believe his entire leg was crippled. When the Second Prince scraped his flesh with a knife, he showed no reaction—all these were tactics to deceive the princes!
This man was indeed cunning and ruthless, capable of such cruelty even to himself. No wonder Wahan Khan and his sons were all fooled.
Bisha sighed in admiration. "Haidu Aling truly lives up to his reputation as Northern Rong’s finest warrior. He endures what ordinary people cannot. If you hadn’t warned me, I would have believed his leg was truly crippled too! I remembered your advice and kept a close watch on his tent day and night. Finally, I discovered some clues and was about to make his ‘fake injury turn real,’ as you suggested. But he was already prepared. My strike missed, and in my haste to escape, I was slashed by his guards."
At this point, he curled his lips and raised an eyebrow at Yaoying."But I didn't let Haidu Aling gloat for long. Working in coordination with the Second Prince, we employed a diversionary tactic, deliberately attacking his tent. The Second Prince truly went all out, intending to kill him. Haidu Aling initially didn't want to reveal himself, but when he saw the assassins striking with lethal intent at every move, he panicked. At the critical moment of life and death, he jumped down to dodge, which happened to be witnessed by the Second Prince."
Yaoying understood immediately and exchanged a knowing smile with Bi Suo.
Now that the Second Prince had grown suspicious of Haidu Aling, Haidu Aling's plan had effectively failed.
Bi Suo patted his leg, boasting triumphantly, "Haidu Aling suffered for nothing, but my stab wound wasn't in vain!"
Yaoying's eyes curved into crescents as she cupped her hands in salute, smiling. "The General has accomplished a great feat. Yaoying deeply admires you!"
She had changed into lightweight travel attire for the journey: a small-sleeved brocade robe with a roundel pattern of paired deer motifs and a turned-down collar, her hair braided and draped over her shoulders, a brocade belt cinching her waist. Her figure was delicate, her skin as soft and fair as snow, and her smiling eyes, slightly upturned at the corners, shone with a radiant charm as she glanced at him.
Bi Suo suddenly felt his face grow warm and averted his gaze, staring at the bright patches of light on the windowsill. "Princess... the Regent has a peculiar temper and dislikes women getting too close. When you travel with him, please be patient with him."
Yaoying nodded. "I won't disturb the Regent."
Bi Suo grunted in acknowledgment.
On the third day, the convoy set off.
The night before, Yaoying had hesitated about whether to bid farewell to Tanmoroqie, but a monk informed her that Luojia was in seclusion and seeing no one, so she had no choice but to let it go.
As clouds surged along the horizon and the first light of dawn broke, Yaoying and her guards, accompanied by Yuanjue, left the Buddhist temple and exited the city along the same route they had taken upon their first entry.
Halting their horses atop a cliff, the clamor of crowds reached them. The Begging for Cold Festival was approaching, and herders from hundreds of miles around were flocking to the Holy City, filling the markets with bustling crowds.
Yaoying asked Yuanjue, "Aren't we waiting for the Regent?"
Yuanjue replied, "The Regent isn't in the city. We'll head directly to Sand City to meet him."
The weather gradually cooled, the days no longer as scorching as in midsummer. They set off early in the morning, halted to set up camp and rest during the hottest part of the day, and continued their journey in the afternoon. After several days of travel, they finally reached Sand City.
As the group stopped in front of a post station to replenish their water, several sharp cries of a falcon echoed overhead.
Yaoying looked up, her veil fluttering in the wind.
A robust falcon swept over their heads, spreading its massive wings as it flew toward a distant sand dune.
Yuanjue peered into the distance and murmured, "The Regent has arrived."
Yaoying followed his pointing finger. Under the setting sun, a solitary figure on horseback stood atop a hillside, silhouetted against the twilight, his figure tall and imposing. Though his features were obscured by the backlight, his formidable presence, taut as a drawn bowstring, could only belong to Su Dan Gu.
She thought about riding forward to greet him but remembered Bi Suo's warning and stayed put.
After filling their water skins, the group mounted their horses and rode toward Su Dan Gu.
As they drew near, Yaoying's gaze fell upon Su Dan Gu's face and noticed that his fearsome visage was now concealed behind a ghost face mask.
While traveling, his face indeed needed to be covered—it was too striking otherwise.
But why had he chosen a ghost face mask?
Compared to his actual face, the mask was even more terrifying...
Yaoying's mind wandered, her grip loosening. Suddenly, her mount accelerated into a gallop, kicking up clouds of dust.
Exhausted from days of travel, the others had no time to react before Yaoying shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring.The wind whistled past her ears, and tense calls followed from behind. Yaoying’s heart tightened with nervousness. Steadying herself, she leaned forward, hugging the horse’s back, tightened the reins, and gently patted the horse’s neck to soothe her mount.
The black horse snorted several times and gradually slowed its pace.
Yaoying breathed a sigh of relief, slowly sat upright, and lightly tugged the reins.
A cool gaze fell upon her.
She looked up and guiltily glanced at Su Dan Gu. His black robe was covered in dust and sand, splashed when her startled horse had charged toward him.
The days were so hot that everyone had switched to white robes, yet he always wore black—was he not afraid of the heat?
Yaoying couldn’t help but smile faintly and asked, "Regent, have you been well?"
Su Dan Gu remained silent.
Yaoying gazed into his jade-green eyes, visible above the mask, and said, "Last time, I was rescued thanks to you, Regent, but I never had the chance to thank you in person. Have your injuries healed?"
The girl’s tone was sincere, without a trace of fear, her voice soft and sweet.
Su Dan Gu said nothing, urging his horse half a length forward and reaching out toward Yaoying.
Yaoying froze.
Without a word, Su Dan Gu bent down, his slender fingers hooking the stirrup strap of her saddle and untangling a twisted string of golden leaves.
In the evening glow, a shallow scratch was visible on the horse’s back.
Yaoying realized: her mount had been startled because the golden leaves had pricked it.
Watching Su Dan Gu’s profile, she felt the Ghost Face Mask on his face no longer seemed so hideous. Softly, she murmured, "Thank you, Regent."
Su Dan Gu lowered his gaze and set down the straightened strap.
The clip-clop of hooves sounded as Yuanjue and the others caught up.
Su Dan Gu turned his horse and galloped down the slope, his silhouette seeming to gather the fading twilight.
The group silently followed.
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