Trouble Beyond the Frontier

Clang! With a sharp ring, the Fish-Scale Purple Gold Saber crashed to the ground. Every gaze converged on the center of the battlefield, where they saw Zhong Yulei and Wang Yu—one collapsed limp on the floor, the other left standing tall. "Impossible!" the burly man cried out in disbelief. The others were shaken to their very souls. Caught off guard, the fortuneteller was struck in his Tianchi acupoint by Li Yunxiu's needle, causing his inner qi to abruptly leak away before a palm strike from Li Yunxiu landed square on his dantian, sending him slumping slowly to the ground. "Third Brother!" The burly man's eyes nearly split with fury. With a strike of Five Ghosts Battering the Gate, he swatted aside the surrounding guards and strode forward, only for a golden needle from Li Yunxiu to flash past, sending him crashing to the dirt. Unlike the burly man, the moment the young noble saw Zhong Yulei and the fortuneteller fall, he did not hesitate for a second. He turned on his heel and fled. As ill luck would have it, he bolted straight in the direction Zhao Yingjie and Yuan Feifei were approaching from, and the two teamed up to bring him down with ease. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the tanghulu vendor let out a long sigh, tossed aside his bamboo staff, and surrendered. *** "Zhong Yulei is dead." "His four sworn brothers are locked in the cells." Back at the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor, Wei Gutong and Yan Ziyu looked at Wang Yu with peculiar expressions. They had been somewhat far away and arrived only after the fight had ended, but piecing together what had occurred left them astounded by Wang Yu's performance. Even though Zhong Yulei had taken a Great Vajra Palm from Zongjian that injured his lung lobe, he was still a Xiantian expert after all—a figure whose name resounded across Shangshan Prefecture and commanded respect throughout the entire jianghu. Yet an expert like him, attacking in fury, had failed to lay a scratch on Wang Yu, and had instead been effortlessly slain in a counterattack. According to the surrounding manor guards, Zhong Yulei had swooped down from the second floor through the air, only for Wang Yu to dodge and slip behind him, then strike him square in the back of the heart. His inner force severed the man's heart vessels, killing him on the spot. Because Wang Yu had not displayed any Xiantian martial intent during the strike, everyone was amazed, but since Wang Yu said nothing, no one guessed in that direction. After all, Zhong Yulei had been severely wounded beforehand and had overcommitted to an all-out strike against Wang Yu. Combined with Wang Yu's exquisite martial arts and miraculous ice-and-fire inner force, an unexpected victory was indeed within the realm of possibility. Regardless, the fact that Wang Yu could secure victory in a single move meant his own martial cultivation was exceptionally high. Even if he had not yet entered Xiantian, he could not be far off—perhaps within a single year. Thinking of this, the shock lingering in everyone's eyes as they looked at Wang Yu remained palpable. "Reporting to Your Highness! They have all confessed!" a manor guard entered to report. "Speak." Wang Yu straightened up. The guard reported, "It was Zongjian. While trading blows with Zhong Yulei, he let slip that the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor had discovered traces by the Yellow River and deduced that Dulong Fortress had seized the treasure." "Just as I thought." Wang Yu leaned back into his chair, relaxed. "That old bald donkey!" Zhao Yingjie cursed. "I bet he let Zhong Yulei go on purpose and pointed him toward us!" While the ones who found the traces on the northern bank of the Yellow River were from the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor, it was the Daxing prefectural yamen constables and the monks of Great Vajra Monastery who investigated the southern bank. Not many people knew it was the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor that initially noticed the clues. Moreover, in the end, it was the imperial army and Great Vajra Monastery that struck against Dulong Fortress. Strictly speaking, the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor was the victim here! No matter how one looked at it, so long as Zhong Yulei did not know his exposure was due to the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor, he would never have come all the way to Longshan Prefecture for revenge. Thus, the moment Wang Yu recognized Zhong Yulei, he knew someone had leaked the information to draw hatred toward the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor—and that person was easy to guess. Wang Yu nodded. "Let us put this debt on the tab for now." Even Zhong Yulei's brothers believed Zongjian had merely let it slip by accident. The Prince of Zhenxi's Manor had even less proof that Zongjian had acted with malicious intent. While people of the martial world did not need evidence to settle scores, Wang Yu was in no position to turn against Great Vajra Monastery right now. For one simple reason: the other side had far too many top experts. Back when Wang Yu held the upper hand, Zongjian had not dared to drag both sides down in mutual destruction; now that Wang Yu had been undercut by Zongjian, he could not simply flip the table either. If brought out into the open, Zongjian had no obligation to keep secrets for Wang Yu, and he had even severely wounded Zhong Yulei with a palm strike, which gave him plenty of plausible deniability. So this debt could only be noted down, just like Honghai's invitation to host Wang Yu at Great Vajra Monastery—to be settled slowly in due time. Although there had been a minor disturbance during the Shangyuan Festival, fortunately there were no casualties, and all the perpetrators were either killed or captured, significantly bolstering the prestige of the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor. After the festival, Wei Gutong and his wife took their leave, setting out once more to roam the jianghu. Wang Yu resumed his routine: training under Yan Xiangxue in the mornings, idling away the afternoons, and quietly consolidating his Xiantian realm late at night. In the blink of an eye, over a month passed. One early morning in the beginning of the third lunar month, Wang Yu had just finished practicing a routine of the Seventy-Two Forms of Wind and Snow with Ardai and was about to go eat breakfast when he saw a manor servant hurrying toward them. "Reporting to Your Highness! There is a White Qiang woman outside requesting an audience. She calls herself Gulanrena and claims to be Old Madam Yan's disciple." "Senior Sister?" Ardai gasped. Yan Xiangxue's eyes narrowed. "Something has happened!" Gulanrena was Yan Xiangxue's disciple, a Xiantian cultivator, and the guardian of the next generation of the White Qiang tribe. By right, barring any unforeseen emergencies, she should never have left the White Qiang. Wang Yu immediately led the two of them to the reception hall. They found Gulanrena to be a woman in her forties. One could tell she had been quite attractive in her youth, but right now her breathing was shallow and her face was pale—clearly bearing injuries. Ardai cried out softly and rushed forward to support her. "Senior Sister, you're hurt!" Yan Xiangxue frowned and asked, "What happened?" She was not dead yet, and Ardai was safe. If Shi Mo did not want an outright civil war between the two Qiang branches, he should not have made a move against Gulanrena or the White Qiang King. Gulanrena coughed softly a couple of times, bowed to her master, and only then answered, "It's the Twin Stars of the Xingxiu Sea!" "The Twin Stars of the Xingxiu Sea?" Yan Xiangxue's gaze shifted. "Zhaixingzi and Zhuixingzi?" "The very same," Gulanrena nodded. "More than ten days ago, they suddenly appeared in the tribe to assassinate the King." "Ah!" Ardai gasped. "How is my father?" The "King" Gulanrena spoke of was the White Qiang King, Ardai's father. "The King is unharmed, though badly shaken," Gulanrena replied, shaking her head. "The White Wolf Guards are guarding outside the royal tent day and night; in the short term, they will never give those two another opening." Although they lacked a Xiantian expert, the White Wolf Guards were braves of the White Qiang, skilled in archery and horsemanship, with many formidable fighters among them. Swarming together, they could barely hold off a Xiantian expert, and with master archers lying in wait, even a Xiantian expert would struggle to gain an advantage. Ardai was puzzled. "Why would they want to assassinate Father?" Gulanrena instinctively glanced at Wang Yu, hesitating. Yan Xiangxue's eyes flashed, speaking on her behalf: "Because this old woman and Ardai are staying at the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor. Those two wretches do not dare come here to seek revenge, so they vented their anger on the tribe." Gulanrena nodded. "Yes." Ardai's mouth fell slightly open. "How shameless!" Yan Xiangxue pondered for a moment and shook her head. "The Twin Stars of the Xingxiu Sea are shameless indeed, but they are merely the ones pushed to the forefront. The mastermind behind the scenes is someone else." "Shi Mo!" Li Yunxiu stepped into the reception hall. "He was severely wounded by Senior Ling's sword in the Western Regions, and does not dare provoke the White Qiang into an outright war, so he sought out the Twin Stars of the Xingxiu Sea to act in his stead." Li Yunxiu saw right through Shi Mo's scheme in an instant. "This is Shi Mo probing!" "Without confirming Senior Yan's condition, Shi Mo does not dare make a move against the White Qiang for the time being." "And with the Twin Stars striking, the White Qiang King cannot pin the blame on the Black Qiang or mobilize the White Qiang's will to fight, allowing the Black Qiang to keep their hands clean." "Right now, the White Qiang tribe has no top experts, so they can only turn to Senior Yan for help." "If Senior Yan's injuries have healed, she will naturally return to the White Qiang, and I expect Shi Mo will test her once more." "If Senior Yan's injuries have not healed, the only ones who can truly reinforce the White Qiang are the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor." "After all, against martial arts masters, ordinary elite soldiers can hold out in the short term, but their stamina is limited. Over time, only an expert can deal with another expert." "If the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor does not move, they might truly find a chance to assassinate the White Qiang King, unite the two Qiang branches, and push south together." "If the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor marches north into the grasslands, it plays right into their trap." Li Yunxiu's eyes gleamed with keen intellect. "Even if Uncle Rong were to go in person, once we reach the grasslands, that is their domain. If I am not mistaken, the moment the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor steps beyond the frontier, the Black Qiang will make their move." "Then we definitely can't go!" Zhao Yingjie gasped in fright. "Shi Mo alone is a Xiantian Grandmaster, not to mention those two old bastards, Zhaixingzi and Zhuixingzi!" "But if we don't go, the White Qiang King won't be able to hold out against these masters for long." Zhao Rong also arrived at the reception hall. Yan Xiangxue tapped her walking stick against the floor. "I will go back!" "Shi Mo took a sword strike from Big Brother Ling; it will be very difficult for him to recover in a short time, and he will not dare lightly test me," Yan Xiangxue said. "Once I return, I will advise Asuli to move the tribe south." Asuli was the White Qiang King, who had always respected Yan Xiangxue and followed her counsel. As long as the White Qiang royal court moved south and formed a mutually supportive horn formation with Lingwu Pass, regardless of whether they survived, the White Qiang tribe would at least remain safe. Anxious for her father, Ardai chimed in immediately, "I'm going back too!" Neither Zhao Rong nor Zhao Yingjie spoke, and Li Yunxiu fell silent as well. Even Li Yunxiu had no good options at this point. The disparity in top experts was simply too great. Yan Xiangxue going back might buy some time, but if Wang Yu or Zhao Rong left the pass, the Black Qiang would likely strike immediately. Unless they could persuade the White Qiang King to join forces with the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor in attacking the Black Qiang to resolve the matter militarily, there was no other way out. Yet without the Black Qiang taking overt action first, neither the White Qiang King nor Yan Xiangxue had any desire to launch a preemptive strike and sacrifice the lives of White Qiang braves. And then Wang Yu finally spoke: "In that case, I will simply cure Senior Yan's injuries."