"Brother Zhao! Do you think Shi Mo will fall for the trap?"
Across the boundless steppes, Wang Yu and Ardai rode side by side. Reaching a low hill, they dismounted and sat amid the wild mountain blossoms, admiring the northern mountains and the White Qiang Royal Court nestled beside the distant river.
Ever since the bonfire banquet, Ardai had grown even closer to Wang Yu. Every morning she came to wake him, brought him breakfast, and practiced swordsmanship with him.
With such a peerless young beauty hovering around him, Wang Yu was more than happy to indulge.
Ardai had introduced him to her pet sheep, Xiaobai. It truly was soft and adorable, with pitch-black, remarkably doe-eyed eyes, and its coat felt wonderfully tender to the touch—
Wang Yu had to exercise considerable restraint to suppress his urge for roasted suckling lamb.
Over the next few days, their routine remained the same: martial arts practice in the mornings, roaming the steppes in the afternoons, and standing vigil at night against any ambush by the Twin Stars of the Xingxiu Sea.
Yan Xiangxue rarely left her tent, putting on the appearance of being grievously wounded and barely clinging to life. Wang Yu stationed three thousand troops of the Chengyuan Army nearby, giving the impression that they were there merely to prevent night raids by top experts and guard against any sudden move from the Black Qiang.
Could a mere three thousand infantry actually accomplish anything?
Naturally not. It was all a show put on for the Black Qiang's benefit; had he brought fewer men, the ruse would have been far too obvious.
"He will fall for it," Wang Yu said with a smile.
Ardai took a blanket from her saddle, spread it across the grass, and laid out mare's milk wine, cheese, tea, dried meat, fried pastries, and other snacks.
Sitting on the blanket, Wang Yu casually grabbed a piece of cheese and took a bite, his mouth instantly filling with rich, milky flavor.
"It's been several days. The word should have reached them by now," Wang Yu said. "The only question is whether the maimed pair will arrive first, or march in alongside the Black Qiang army."
Wang Yu reclined, resting his head on his hands as he gazed up at the sky dotted with white clouds. "In any case, they definitely won't just sit by and watch me return."
They knew the White Qiang harbored an informant for the Black Qiang. To keep the plan secret, the only people on the White Qiang's side who knew about it were Yan Xiangxue, Ardai, and Gulanrena; even King Asuli of the White Qiang had been kept in the dark.
Whether he was informed or not, the White Qiang's response would remain identical. The deployment of troops was entirely handled by the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor. If the White Qiang's forces were ever called upon, it would only be in the final stage after the plan succeeded, when it came time to beat a drowning dog.
Under such circumstances, keeping it from him was the obvious choice.
Both Yan Xiangxue and Gulanrena were deeply shrewd and knew how to keep their mouths shut; the only real worry had been Ardai.
Yet Ardai had not only agreed with delight, but had also been thrilled at the thought of seeing her father's shocked expression. She cooperated eagerly. To avoid slipping up by accident, she even slept in Yan Xiangxue's tent each night.
Because of this, she could only discuss the plan with Wang Yu when no one else was around.
Hearing Wang Yu's confident words, Ardai set her worries aside. Sitting beside him, she gazed at him with open adoration, only to hurriedly avert her eyes and blush crimson the moment Wang Yu turned his gaze toward her.
Wang Yu chuckled softly and unreservedly drank in her beauty.
Under the radiant sunlight, Ardai's milky skin seemed almost translucent. Her brows quivered faintly, and her bright, luminous eyes glanced toward the nearby wild blossoms with a hint of fluster. Her delicate, crimson lips were pressed tight, moist and glistening, looking thoroughly delectable.
Wang Yu was sorely tempted to lean in and take a bite.
Sensing what he was thinking, Ardai's eyes wavered. She seemed caught between yielding to him or maintaining her modesty.
Yet he already had two beautiful consorts—one brilliant beyond measure, the other breathtakingly charming. Now that they were finally not at his side, if she held back, would he just give up?
Besides, she had heard from her master that Li Yunxiu and Qianqian were not truly of one heart with him. When she thought about it, he was quite pitiful too—
Ardai's mind was a chaotic jumble, unsure of what she was even thinking. Faced with Wang Yu's eager look, however, she felt not the slightest urge to refuse.
Just then, the sound of galloping hooves echoed from nearby as several fast horses approached.
Ardai drew a deep breath, torn between relief and annoyance. Turning to look, she saw her elder brother among the riders.
"Elder Brother?"
"Little Sister!"
Atuke galloped over and immediately saw Ardai and Wang Yu sitting side by side—Wang Yu lounging lazily, and Ardai flushed with a rosy glow.
Accompanying Atuke were three young men and two young women, all youths of the steppe. One young woman rode beside Atuke, while another young man and woman rode very close together, clearly a couple.
The remaining two young men were without female companions, and their gazes toward Ardai burned with unmistakable heat.
"Your Highness!" Atuke dismounted.
"Brother-in-l—ahem, Atuke!" Wang Yu sat up. "Come sit with us. There are plenty of snacks here."
"We brought mare's milk wine as well," Atuke said with a grin.
"We didn't bring snacks, though. Steppe braves never need to carry snacks when traveling—the gazelles and hares everywhere are our snacks," one of the men behind him interjected abruptly.
Atuke shot him a stern glare. "His Highness hails from the Central Plains!"
Atuke then introduced the newcomers to Wang Yu. His wife was Pariya; the other couple were Huona and Mayila; and the last two young men were Aishake and Tasa, both warriors of the White Qiang tribe.
The one who had spoken just now was Aishake, a practitioner of steppe martial arts whose internal strength and external techniques were quite well developed.
Wang Yu nodded, not bothering to stoop to his level. Instead, he pulled Ardai by the arm back onto the blanket, sitting close beside her. "I still prefer eating snacks, because Ardai brought these herself."
Aishake's eyes reddened with fury.
Huona, Aishake, and Tasa were regarded as the most gifted young martial artists among the White Qiang's younger generation. Though they had not trained under Yan Xiangxue, the White Qiang tribe had other masters besides her.
Steppe martial arts had originated in the Central Plains. After being forged in the bitter cold beyond the frontier and infused by masters with the vast, boundless spirit of Tengri, they had grown rugged and heavy, well-suited for men.
Although this path required bitter, grueling toil and was easy to learn but hard to master, it yielded immense power once carried to its peak.
Consequently, most experts among the Xiongnu, Xianbei, and both branches of the Qiang followed this path. Huyan Chi, foremost of the Three Steppe Heroes, had traveled the furthest along it, reigning as the undisputed number one martial artist among the steppe tribes.
Strictly speaking, Shi Mo of the Black Qiang, who blended three distinct traditions, and Yan Xiangxue of the White Qiang, who practiced the Ice and Snow Divine Art, did not follow the orthodox steppe lineage.
This was also because the true orthodox tradition resided with the Xiongnu, and the steppe heritage passed down through the two Qiang branches was far from profound. To become Grandmasters, they had no choice but to blaze their own trails.
Of course, modest as the Qiang's steppe martial arts heritage might be, reaching the peak of the Houtian realm or even stepping into Xiantian was not out of the question. The reason they produced no other top masters apart from Shi Mo and Yan Xiangxue's lineages came down purely to a lack of natural talent.
Among the three youths, Huona was the most skilled, but he already had his childhood sweetheart, Mayila. Aishake and Tasa were roughly matched; both were infatuated with Ardai and had long vied with each other, each striving to outdo the other to win her favor.
Never could they have imagined that after merely accompanying Yan Xiangxue to the Western Regions, Ardai would bring back a man.
Frankly, had this man been a true hero, they might have swallowed it. But the Prince of Zhenxi's reputation was known to all; under no circumstances could they accept that Ardai would fall for Wang Yu.
In their eyes, Ardai was simply yielding to the reality that the White Qiang needed the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor to fend off the Black Qiang, forcing herself to bow low and submit to serving the prince.
To them, this was nothing short of a disgrace to the White Qiang!
They were close to the Han lands and disliked the Black Qiang, but that did not mean they had to sacrifice their dignity to beg for peace. They could protect the White Qiang with their own strength.
Seeing Wang Yu's subtle provocation, Aishake's eyes turned red.
Ardai, however, was delighted. Beaming with joy, she sat down beside Wang Yu, pulled out a strip of dried meat, and offered it to him. "I cured this beef jerky myself before last winter."
Instead of reaching out with his hand, Wang Yu leaned forward and took a bite directly from Ardai's fingers.
Pariya and Mayila both wore faint smiles. As women, how could they not tell that Ardai was genuinely enamored with Wang Yu? Her eyes were filled with infatuation, barely masked at all.
Of course, Wang Yu was hardly a proper gentleman either—eating straight from a maiden's hand was blatant flirting.
Sure enough, Ardai looked shy yet thrilled, her face glowing with a smile.
Atuke and Huona clicked their tongues, inwardly acknowledging that this prince from the Central Plains certainly had some moves.
Only Aishake and Tasa were burning with jealousy.
Tasa still had some sense left. He knew Wang Yu was an honored guest of the White Qiang who had come to help them. Moreover, Ardai showed not the slightest hint of discomfort; no matter how furious he felt, he could only nurse his grievance in silence.
Aishake was different. He revered Ardai like a goddess; how could he endure seeing his goddess teased by a man he looked down upon?
"Please show some respect!" Aishake gritted his teeth.
"Aishake!" Atuke barked, glancing back. "You are the one who should show some respect!"
"He isn't respecting Ardai!" Aishake snapped angrily.
"Aishake! Brother Zhao has not disrespected me!" Ardai scolded. "Brother Zhao sav—came all the way here to protect my royal father!"
"The White Wolf Guards can protect the King. If the Black Qiang attack, we can beat them back ourselves."
Aishake cast a glare at Wang Yu. "Besides, the master who injured Aunt Gulanrena was drawn here by him in the first place!"
Ardai retorted angrily, "The mastermind behind it was Shi Mo!"
Aishake fell silent. In truth, deep down he didn't believe Shi Mo was in the wrong. The Qiang were split into Black and White, dividing their strength. Neither the Xiongnu nor the Xianbei thought much of them, and the Three Steppe Heroes included neither Shi Mo nor Yan Xiangxue.
In his view, if the two Qiang branches united, even if they couldn't surpass the Xiongnu, they would outstrip the Xianbei. The Qiang would no longer be the lagging faction among the three great steppe peoples, but rank firmly in second place.
In that scenario, whether facing the Xiongnu or the Central Plains, the Qiang's strategic value would rise dramatically.
Aishake knew nothing of grand geopolitical concepts, of course; he simply felt that if the two Qiang united, their standing would soar, and his martial prowess would find a proper stage.
When that time came, he would earn great military honors and become a hero of the White Qiang, and Ardai would surely fall in love with him.
Thinking of military exploits and his own martial prowess, Aishake glanced at Wang Yu's lean build.
A glint flashed in his eyes as he issued a direct challenge. "I've heard that Prince Zhao's father was formidable. I wonder how Prince Zhao's own martial arts measure up?"
Chapter 111