Chapter 219: “I’ll Take You into the Royal Court for Protection…”
The next day, Xiao Li led the Wolf Cavalry toward Heng Lake. Along the way, they stopped at an oasis to let the horses drink and rest briefly.
As the soldiers fetched water by the spring, they noticed the sand and gravel along the shore trembling faintly.
Xiao Li’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked up toward the high slope.
A Scout on distant watch hurried back to report: “My lord, a Chen army is heading this way. They seem to be pursuing someone.”
Xiao Li gestured, and the elite members of the Wolf Cavalry followed him to take cover on the high slope above the oasis.
The elevated terrain offered a clear view of the distant desert.
Before long, several riders dressed in tribal attire came galloping urgently in their direction. Behind them, a troop of armored cavalry bearing the “Chen” banner chased after them, shooting arrows as they advanced.
Among the fleeing riders, the man who had been returning fire was soon struck by a stray arrow and fell from his horse.
The riders ahead—mostly women and children—turned back in grief and panic, shouting something in what was likely their local tribal tongue, which Xiao Li could not understand.
But the man who had fallen to the ground seemed enraged to the extreme. In stiff, accented Mandarin, he roared at the pursuing cavalry: “Your Chen Kingdom’s Guardian Princess is untrustworthy! Just half a month ago, she sent an envoy to form an alliance with my Basheye tribe!”
The cavalry captain on horseback wore a mocking, scornful expression and did not reply. Instead, he drew his bow with three fingers and released another arrow toward the man.
Knowing he was doomed, the fallen man, too furious to resign himself and close his eyes in acceptance of death, watched as the fatal arrow sped toward him.
Then, a sharp whistling sound cut through the air. Before his eyes, the arrow meant to take his life was snapped in two by another arrow shot from behind. The second arrow, its momentum unchecked, plunged deep into the sand.
This sudden turn of events made both the man and the cavalry bearing the “Chen” banner look toward the high slope behind them.
Under the blazing sun, they could only make out a group of figures standing like dark rocks and tall trees atop the slope. The leader held a black-iron great bow, larger than ordinary bows—clearly, he was the one who had fired that arrow.
The man below and his family, seeing hope, urgently cried out for help.
In their desperation, the man’s wife and child fell from their horses but paid no heed, kneeling repeatedly on the sand toward Xiao Li and his men, pleading tearfully in their tribal language.
Xiao Li put away his bow, his cold, deep voice carrying on the wind: “Go back and tell your princess that these people are under my protection.”
The cavalry captain narrowed his eyes, studying Xiao Li and his group on the high slope. Seeing they numbered only a dozen or so, he pointed his weapon at Xiao Li and said, “Who are you, petty scoundrels, to dare obstruct us in our military duties!”
Most of the Chen Kingdom’s population consisted of people who had migrated from the Central Plains years earlier, so the official language of Chen was no different from that of Liang. Yet the captain’s Mandarin was noticeably stiff and heavily accented, making Xiao Li frown.
Seeing Xiao Li remain silent, the captain assumed his own numerical superiority had intimidated him. He issued a low command, and his cavalry split into two groups: one continued pursuing the man, while the other charged toward Xiao Li and his men on the high slope.The cavalrymen below shouted strange cries as they spurred their horses. Zhao Youcai, mounted beside Xiao Li, remarked in bewilderment, "The Chen army from Liang territory looks no different from us Liang people. Why do these Chen troops roar so oddly while riding?"
The vanguard of cavalry had already begun shooting arrows from horseback. As they drew closer, Xiao Li observed clearly that these men drew their bows with three fingers on the string.
Rubbing the black iron thumb ring he used for archery, his expression darkened. "They're impostors in disguise. Capture them!" he commanded.
Both Zhao Youcai and Zheng Hu visibly paled.
When the Wolf Cavalry charged down the slope with Xiao Li, they truly resembled a pack of wolves on the hunt. The hastily fired arrows from the fake Chen army below were all deflected by Xiao Li and his Wolf Cavalry before they could find their marks. At close quarters, bows became useless.
The two forces collided like torrential floods. Xiao Li's Miao dao dripped with blood as it carved through the fake Chen soldiers attempting to charge uphill, leaving both men and horses overturned in his wake. Eventually, he even used the Miao dao to press against multiple hook spears, forcing the opposing cavalry back with their mounts.
Hearing the commotion, the Wolf Cavalry resting and watering their horses at the oasis swiftly rode over from the high slopes.
The young officer who had been trying to kill the tribesman, seeing the situation turn dire, abandoned his clumsy attempt at Chen dialect and loudly shouted retreat orders.
In moments, the sand path was filled with fleeing cavalry clad in Chen military armor. The Wolf Cavalry pursued like desert wolves hunting prey, riding along the sandy slopes while shooting arrows to encircle and trap them.
After fleeing some distance, the young officer spotted two more Wolf Cavalry charging down the slope to block his escape. He quickly drew his bow and shot one rider from his saddle, then spurred his horse desperately toward the gap.
But an arrow came whistling from behind.
The officer crouched low, glancing back to see an arrow barely graze his scalp. Before he could process the chilling sensation of having hair sheared off, his warhorse screamed and collapsed—an arrow had struck its leg.
Tumbling to the ground, the officer rolled several times before scrambling up to continue his desperate escape amid approaching hoofbeats from all directions.
Another arrow flew from behind, piercing his calf.
The officer cried out in pain and fell. Though he tried to crawl through the sand using his hands, the Wolf Cavalry had completely surrounded him.
His face was a mask of terror and resentment.
As he scanned his surroundings, the Wolf Cavalry parted to create a path wide enough for two riders. The man who had shot the arrow approached slowly on horseback.
Looking down from his mount, the man possessed strikingly handsome features with deep-set eyes, though his commanding presence overshadowed his appearance.
"Who are you? Why impersonate Chen troops?" he demanded coldly.
The officer only groaned in pain, muttering unintelligible words.
"Tiger," Xiao Li called.
Zheng Hu stepped forward, signaling two Wolf Cavalry to restrain the officer. He drew a dagger and stabbed it into the officer's thigh.
A piercing scream followed as the officer struggled until his eyes bloodshot, but he couldn't break free. Blood gushed from his thigh, staining the sand crimson beneath him as he gasped raggedly for air.
Overhead, vultures screeched as they circled across the sky.On horseback, Xiao Li rotated the black iron ring on his thumb with his index finger and said indifferently, "If he still refuses to talk, stab a few more holes in him, tie him to a tree, and let the vultures feed on him after he bleeds out."
Zheng Hu responded promptly, "Right away!"
He raised his dagger to continue stabbing the young general, who finally realized Xiao Li's threat wasn't empty. Struggling with accented Mandarin, he pleaded, "I'll talk... I'll talk..."
When Xiao Li returned beneath the tree by the oasis, his expression was particularly grim.
The young general's confession still echoed in his ears.
"We are... the Western Mausoleum Army. The massacre of the Basheye tribe... Our superiors received intelligence from a spy in King Chen's court. Han Yang plans to unite with surrounding tribes against the Western Mausoleum. We were ordered to disguise ourselves as Chen Jun and slaughter these tribes to break their alliance."
"Since you're not an ally of Chen, why not spare us?"
Xiao Li asked, "Chen has the powerful Liang as its shield. Even if you drive a wedge between Chen and these tribes, what chance does the Western Mausoleum have to conquer Chen?"
"Sir, you may not know... Although Princess Han Yang currently controls Chen's government, once she bears a royal heir, the court ministers will join forces to eliminate her and install the heir. When both Chen and Liang fall into chaos, it will be our perfect opportunity to invade. Controlling the royal heir would allow us to command both Liang and Chen. Right now, the court ministers are pressuring Princess Han Yang to conceive a royal heir as soon as possible!"
Xiao Li's voice turned icy: "Do you have people among the court ministers?"
The young general nodded fearfully.
"Who?" Xiao Li demanded.
The young general looked troubled: "This... We're low-ranking soldiers. We truly don't know."
Xiao Li said coldly, "It seems you don't actually need to massacre these tribes allied with Chen."
Fearing he'd be accused of lying, the general hastily explained: "Our superiors worry that if fighting continues, Princess Han Yang might retreat to Liang first. That's why we're trying to secure a direct route to Hundred Blades Pass. When Princess Han Yang returns to Liang, our Western Mausoleum army can march through these tribal territories and capture her."
"They say Princess Han Yang is Liang's greatest beauty. Without the royal heir to control both nations, after conquering Chen, having Princess Han Yang become our emperor's consort would reduce resistance when our Western Mausoleum forces invade Liang, wouldn't it?"
The young general ended up as a corpse hanging upside down from a tree.
Footsteps approached. Xiao Li collected his thoughts and glanced sideways, his still-ferocious eyes making the approaching tribal chief instinctively step back despite his injured leg.
Remembering his purpose, the chief overcame his fear of the wrathful beast-like presence and knelt before Xiao Li. Using broken Mandarin with gestures, he said: "Princess Han Yang... our tribe's benefactor. Wolves surround her. We must help princess."
Struggling with the words, he finished gesturing and kowtowed to Xiao Li: "Beg benefactor... send message to royal court... warn princess."
"I... go to other tribes... warn them about Western Mausoleum wolves... disguised as Chen Jun."
The sparse foliage cast shadows over Xiao Li's eyes in the sunlight. His voice betrayed no emotion: "You support her this much?"
The man answered: "Yes. Princess gave our tribe... new life and hope."In the past, their tribe had long suffered oppression from Western Mausoleum, with even the few habitable oases frequently seized by them. They were even forced by Western Mausoleum to periodically raid Chen Kingdom.
Chen Kingdom had always retaliated with military force, and this stalemate persisted for years. It wasn't until Wen Yu came to power that she let bygones be bygones and established trade relations with them. This allowed them to barter for goods, making survival less arduous than before and freeing them from being coerced by Western Mausoleum into plundering supplies from Chen Kingdom's borders. Gradually, they broke free from Western Mausoleum's control.
So when Chen Kingdom's envoy visited half a month ago proposing their submission to Chen, he agreed without hesitation.
The recent massacre of their tribe by Western Mausoleum Army occurred because the enemy had disguised themselves as Chen troops. Initially unprepared, they had even prepared fine wine and food to welcome them, never expecting it would lead to the slaughter of their entire clan.
While unaware of the truth, he had been furious. But now knowing Wen Yu was also trapped in dire circumstances, they would spare no effort to assist this Liang princess who had shown their tribe kindness.
Xiao Li lowered his slender eyes, the oppressive aura around him making it hard to breathe, yet he seemed to smile as he said: "Didn't she invite your tribe to her daughter's hundred-day celebration? How about I take you into the royal court to ensure her safety?"
Author's note: Thank you for all your suggestions, darlings. If there's no update after 10 PM from now on, just go to sleep and don't wait up~
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