Chapter 1: 001

A pair of eyes, as cold and detached as a desert falcon’s.

The swaying of the soft sedan chair made waves of nausea churn in Li Youqing’s empty stomach. She hugged a pillow on her lap, her slender, jade-like fingers digging into its soft edge, her upper body slightly hunched.

She regretted not eating some of the barbarians’ food that morning. Though it was hard to swallow, at least her stomach wouldn’t be in so much pain.

The cheap, jingling pearl hairpins on her head weighed her down, making it even harder to breathe. The most valuable item on her was the mutton-fat jade bracelet on her wrist, which she had brought from the palace. If she could escape, she could sell it for some money.

The soft sedan chair was finally set down. The gauze curtain in front was lifted, revealing the sharp, deep-set features of a foreigner, accompanied by a strong body odor.

Li Youqing saw the familiar look of astonishment in the man’s eyes before lowering her gaze, hugging her pillow in silence.

Today, she was dressed in the attire of the Erhai tribe: a form-fitting, halter-neck long dress that revealed her slender wrists and ankles. Her thick, dark hair was let down, and she wore a ruby-studded forehead band, a popular local accessory. Her features were exquisite and her figure delicate; she was as beautiful as a piece of flawless white jade.

The man said something in a foreign tongue she didn’t understand. Then, a merchant beside him spoke to her in the Central Plains language, “Let’s go. We will now see your master.”

Though she had been mentally prepared, Li Youqing’s mind still went blank with a roar. At the same time, she couldn’t help but curse Li Jing.

If he hadn’t tried to sell her to the Prince of Zhenbei, why would she have fled to Luming Mountain? And why would she have been captured by these foreigners, to be sold back and forth like merchandise?

She was filled with regret. She had never learned any self-defense skills since she was a child. Even though she had brought a good deal of money and valuables out of the palace, she had been unable to protect herself.

Urged by the gazes from both sides, she stepped barefoot from the sedan chair. The ground was covered with a snow-white runner. Someone placed a pair of shoes before her—they exposed the entire top of her foot and her toes, with large sapphires dangling from the straps. Her expression unchanging, she put them on and followed them forward slowly.

To prevent her feet from being soiled by the yellow sand, the runner extended all the way into the only building in the desert, a large residence with three courtyards.

A shallow stream encircled the entrance, shaded by green trees.

In the desert, this was a rare and exquisite sight, but it also made escape more difficult.

Beyond this small patch of oasis, there was nothing but yellow sand as far as the eye could see. She couldn’t tell which way was which, let alone where to flee.

Suddenly, she was delighted to discover that the soldiers guarding the entrance were from the Central Plains. But when she got a clear look at the style of their armor, her heart sank into the depths of despair.

After all this, she had still fallen into the hands of the Prince of Zhenbei.

To be able to monopolize such a large oasis in the northern desert, besides the kings of the local clans, only her imperial uncle of a different surname, the Prince of Zhenbei who had been entrenched in the north for years, could accomplish such a feat.

Fear and despair surged through her, and her mind grew unsettled. As she entered the courtyard, she accidentally kicked a stone step on the path, stumbled, and pitched forward.

Not a single person beside her moved to help. A sharp pain shot through her stubbed toe. As she fell, someone walked toward her. Acting on instinct to brace herself, she tightly hugged the person’s thigh.

The impact was cushioned, so her knees didn’t hurt as much when they hit the ground. But her gaze fell upon a pair of black deerskin boots, and above them, the hem of hard, black armor.

She looked up and couldn’t help but gasp, terrified by the man’s ferocious aura.

Only then did she realize that everyone around her was already kneeling, prostrate on the ground. Just as Li Youqing was about to get up, a powerful force struck her chest. Before she could register what had happened, she was sent flying by a kick.

The sixteen-year-old princess, as light as a butterfly, floated through the air above the garden.

A constant ringing filled her head. She finally landed under a tree, feeling as if all her internal organs were shattered.

Li Youqing’s eyes flew open, staring at the man who had suddenly attacked her.

Through the black helmet, she could only see a pair of eyes as cold and detached as a desert falcon’s, devoid of any emotion. They didn’t even linger on her.

Li Youqing clutched her chest. Thankfully, her heart was still beating. She coughed up a mouthful of blood, her gaze momentarily dazed and blank.

Was she going to die like this in a foreign land?

The Erhai people, who had been full of anticipation just moments ago, now cast disappointed looks at her.

They had thought the Central Plains slave girl presented this time would please the Great General, but the result was the same as the last few times. How were they to explain this to the King when they returned?

As Li Youqing recovered from her initial fury, a thousand thoughts raced through her mind.

This man must be the master here, and judging by his build, he was definitely not that old codger, the Prince of Zhenbei.

Perhaps this was her only chance to return to the Central Plains.

Seeing that the man was about to walk right past her, Li Youqing mustered all her strength and crawled toward him, her voice weak. “I am Yang Zhi, daughter of the Grand Chancellor of the Great Liang. I was abducted by them. General, save me!”

During the chaos at Luming Mountain, she had fled with Yang Zhi. At the time, Yang Zhi had accidentally fallen off a cliff. For now, she could only borrow her name.

The merchant who had spoken earlier paled and was about to grab her. Li Youqing closed her eyes, thinking she might as well leave it to fate. She had schemed and struggled for years, but in the end, she had failed to change her destiny.

It hurt so much. This man was truly ruthless. If this were the past, she would have had him seized and dismembered by five horses.

The barbarian was ultimately blocked. A soldier picked her up and carried her to a wing in the rear courtyard.

They had probably believed her story and were going to settle her in first.

The moment she was set down, Li Youqing gripped the soldier’s hand tightly and asked anxiously, “Are you from the Great Liang?”

The man removed his mask, revealing the typical face of a man from the Central Plains. Without another word, he turned and left to report.

Li Youqing suddenly realized that there was only one man in the Zhenbei Army who was this formidable: the Prince of Zhenbei’s adopted son, the Mad Wolf General Xuan Rui, whose name struck fear into the hearts of all the northern tribes.

This was his residence.

The image of the eyes she had seen through the helmet flashed in her mind, and a deep shiver ran through her.

She had never in her life seen such a tall man, one who exuded such a cold, hard, and terrifying aura. It frightened her to her core.

Li Youqing’s small body curled into a ball. She lay motionless on the bed, the taste of iron filling her mouth. The pillowcase was soon soaked with the blood trickling from the corner of her lips.

She drifted into a dazed sleep for a while. Sensing someone beside her, Li Youqing warily opened her eyes to see a woman in a maid’s uniform sitting by the bed, preparing to give her water.

Her whole body ached too much to move. The maid produced a thin tube from somewhere, placed one end in the cup of water, and had her hold the other end in her mouth, patiently letting her drink slowly.

Water was the most precious resource in the northern desert. Li Youqing had spent the past few days in a state of hunger and thirst. Only after drinking half a cup did she nod to signal that she had had enough.

“This servant is named Huaping. I normally manage the inner affairs of the General’s residence. If you need anything, miss, you may also command me,” the maid said in the language of the Great Liang, her voice gentle and pleasant.

Li Youqing opened her mouth, but a sweet, metallic taste immediately welled up in her throat. She still couldn’t speak.

After Huaping got up and left, she quietly observed the furnishings in the room, trying to guess what kind of person Xuan Rui was.

This wasn’t his personal chamber, but its arrangement must have been done by subordinates trying to guess his preferences.

The room was simple and unadorned, with no superfluous decorations, but the furniture was all made of precious rosewood, emitting a faint scent of sandalwood.

It was this scent that, in the first moment of her waking, almost made her think she was back in Changxin Palace.

By evening, Li Youqing had developed a high fever. In her delirium, she seemed to see Li Jing approach her, still wearing that same gentle, sanctimonious expression.

She dug her nails into his arm, asking viciously, “Why? Imperial Brother, why would you do this to me?”

Fortunately, it was only a dream, and she was still unable to speak.

At the bedside, Yuchi Meng saw the general’s arm reddened by the woman’s long fingernails and said hesitantly, “Didn’t they say her chest and abdomen were injured? How does she still have so much strength?”

The moment the words left his mouth, Xuan Rui’s face darkened another shade. With a light twist of his wrist, he easily broke free from the woman’s grip.

Just then, the man sent to investigate Li Youqing’s identity returned and reported loudly, “General, it’s been confirmed. Three days ago, a dozen or so noble ladies were holding a banquet at Luming Mountain when they were ambushed by rogue Erhai tribesmen. The Imperial Guard arrived to rescue them soon after. The only one missing is Yang Zhi, a concubine-born daughter from the Grand Chancellor’s manor.”

Yuchi Meng said, “That doesn’t prove she’s telling the truth. Of the women those barbarians sent before, which one wasn’t a spy specifically meant to deal with you, General? Maybe this time they’re trying a switcheroo, hiding the real lady and sending a meticulously trained spy instead.”

“Captain Yuchi has a point,” the man who had returned said, scratching his head. “In that case, General, it’s better to kill a thousand by mistake than to let one slip by. Should I just throw her out?”

Xuan Rui’s gaze fell. The girl on the bed was sixteen or seventeen at most. Her face, including her lips, was completely white, and her breathing was rapid and shallow. She had clearly suffered a significant internal injury.

Only he knew that he had used less than half a tenth of his strength in that kick.

To be injured this badly meant she truly had no martial arts training.

What trick were the cunning Erhai people playing this time?

Suddenly, the girl let out a few very soft sobs, like a newborn kitten, and curled up even tighter.

Then, large teardrops rolled slowly from beneath her eyelids. The girl sobbed in her dream, her lips slightly parted, as if calling someone’s name.

As if possessed, Xuan Rui leaned down slightly. When he heard clearly what she was calling, his brow furrowed.

Li Youqing had a very dull dream. It was from when she was five years old, still living with Consort Shu before she had moved away.

That year, the pear blossoms were in bloom. Compared to the bleakness of the other palaces, the scenery in Tumi Palace was at its most magnificent.

She was playing, hidden in a grotto in the rock garden, when she heard a strange sound like the wind coming from a crevice, at times strong, at times gentle.

In those two intertwined sounds of wind, she recognized her mother’s voice.

Peeking through a crack in the rock, she saw the wind brush past the loose strands of hair on her mother’s forehead. Her body rose and fell with a soft, unsteady rhythm.

She had speculated a great deal about the man’s identity. The rumors in the palace were mostly baseless, and sometimes she thought it was this man, other times that one seemed more likely.

Later, she was taken in by the Empress and spent her time with the Crown Prince and the Eldest Princess. She hadn’t thought about these boring matters for many years.

But perhaps, when one is on the verge of death, one always remembers the obsessions one cannot let go of. That must be why she had such a dream.