At Jinfeng Pass, the routine from Lingwu Pass was repeated once more.
Meetings, speeches, banquets, and then wave after wave of cheers wishing the prince ten thousand years of long life.
Yet Yang Tianzhao did not discuss the art of war with Wang Yu. Instead, he asked him, "Would you care to ride horses across the grasslands?"
This was an offer Feng Jing never would have made, but Yang Tianzhao gave it no thought. "There's no real danger. The main body of the Black Qiang is hundreds of li from Jinfeng Pass. At most, there are scattered scouts and small encampments nearby.
"If we do encounter stray scouts, ordinary folk or a patrol squad might be at risk, but against your manor's personal retinue, it's far from certain who would end up killing whom!"
Wang Yu's escort on this trip included not only a ten-man squad of manor guards, but also several secret experts—among them Zhao Shan, who excelled at hidden projectiles, and Zhao He, a master of grappling and seizing techniques.
Both were first-rate pugilists who had once ranged unchecked across the Northwest. But after crossing the Mount Qi bandits, they had been hunted across the land until Zhao Zheng saved their lives. In gratitude, they submitted to the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor, taking the aliases Shan and He to serve as secret shadow guards.
With their level of martial prowess, there was truly no need to fear a wandering scout patrol of five or six men.
And so Wang Yu and his party set out on horseback across the steppe.
The sky was vast, the clouds wispy, and the landscape stretched boundlessly to the horizon.
Anyone who had never seen the steppe could hardly imagine its breathtaking beauty. It was nothing like the sea. The grasslands felt far more vibrant than the ocean, especially in spring, when the boundless surge of life and vitality stirred the heart to its core.
"It's so beautiful!"
Qianqian had clearly never visited the grasslands before. She had imagined it to be nothing more than endless green turf dotted with herds of cattle and sheep.
In truth, the steppe had rolling hills, colorful wildflowers, and winding rivers. Flocks of gazelles and wild deer grazed along the water's edge, while eagles circled overhead in the sky.
"It truly is beautiful."
Wang Yu nodded. He had never been to a real steppe either, having only seen them on television screens that never captured such vivid colors.
*Whoosh—*
A feathered arrow shot out from the party, plunging into the turf not far ahead. A wild hare, sitting a full zhang to the left of where the arrow struck, looked thoroughly bewildered. It raised its head, glancing left and right, and though it saw no clear danger, it spun around and darted straight into a nearby burrow.
Everyone turned to look at Zhao Yingjie, who held a bow with an embarrassed grimace.
Zhao Yingjie smoothly lowered his bow, his expression regaining an air of calm. "The wind is rather strong."
Wang Yu raised a hand to feel the gentle breeze brushing against his palm. He could hardly feel any wind at all.
Beside him, Zhao Shan chuckled. With a flick of his right wrist, a piercing whistle ripped through the air, and two wild hares five or six zhang away dropped instantly.
He had thrown two locust stones, yet only a single sonic crack had sounded.
A cavalryman galloped forward, dismounted, and returned with the two hares, calling out in admiration, "Senior, what magnificent skill! The heads of both hares were smashed to pieces!"
Wang Yu let out a sigh of mild disappointment. "Now we won't get to eat spicy braised rabbit heads."
Qianqian was riding close by. Hearing this, she shuddered. "Rabbits are so adorable! How could you bear to eat spicy rabbit heads?"
Wang Yu gave a soft snort. "That's only because you've never tasted them."
Qianqian blinked. "Are they really that good?"
Wang Yu said nothing, only swallowing his saliva.
His reaction shook Qianqian's confidence, though try as she might, she could not fathom what could possibly be tasty about a rabbit's head.
After turning it over in her mind, she still could not bring herself to accept the idea. Shaking her head, she pointed toward a herd of wild deer in the distance. "Let's eat venison instead."
Wang Yu shook his head, lamenting, "The deer are so cute. You really are cruel."
Qianqian stared at him, utterly lost for words.
Seeing the prince and his future consort playfully bickering, the others naturally pretended not to hear, fanning out with the two of them at the center. Zhao Shan killed four or five more rabbits with locust stones, but he deliberately controlled his strength this time so none of the heads were crushed.
The group walked their horses along the trail, heading toward a small stream where they could dress the hares and roast them over an open fire for lunch.
Zhao Yingjie drew his bow and nocked an arrow once more, aiming at a gazelle drinking by the riverbank.
*Whoosh—*
*Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—*
A relentless barrage of bowstrings snapped. Zhao Yingjie jerked his head up and saw a small squad of cavalry rounding the crest of a nearby knoll. Four or five feathered arrows, their dark tips gleaming, were hurtling straight at him.
Zhao Yingjie let out a sharp cry and leapt into the air, dodging the incoming shafts. His mount took two arrows, let out a shrill whinny, and bolted.
"Enemy attack!"
"Black Qiang scouts!"
The squad of six riders charged on horseback, bows drawn and arrows nocked.
These mounted scouts belonged to a Black Qiang raiding detachment harassing the frontier. Such units normally operated in groups of five, dispersing to raid and scout, but this particular squad carried an extra man.
They had spotted Wang Yu's party from afar. Seeing two border cavalrymen serving as escorts, they guessed some high-ranking noble from the Central Plains was out for an excursion beyond the pass. Anticipating the party's path, they had set an ambush right by the stream.
Sure enough, the targets had arrived, scattering loosely along the way while keeping Wang Yu and Qianqian flanked in the middle—clearly the focal figures of the group.
Seeing that Zhao Yingjie would have discovered them with another step forward, they had struck immediately, intending to cut him down first before rushing the center to seize the man and woman alive.
"Kill!" The Black Qiang scouts yelled with frenzied eyes, fixing their gazes on Wang Yu and Qianqian riding side by side.
Beyond Qianqian, Zhao Yingjie, Zhao Shan, and Zhao He, Wang Yu's outing was guided by two border cavalrymen. All told, there were seven of them, outnumbering the Black Qiang scouts.
Yet the raiders saw things differently. Though fewer in number, in their eyes only the two border soldiers posed any combat threat. The rest were a fat youth, a woman, and two old men—none of them dangerous.
What was more, the escort was widely spaced. If they punched through from one point ahead, they could reach the center and capture the young noble and his woman before the others could even react.
The Black Qiang riders surged forward at breakneck speed, about to gallop past Zhao Yingjie.
*Clang—*
A crisp metallic rasp rang out as Zhao Yingjie drew his saber. A bright arc of light flashed beneath the ribs of the nearest rider, who shrieked in agony and tumbled from his saddle.
Yet the other five riders did not slacken their pace, bearing down upon Wang Yu and Qianqian in the center. Only one black-clad rider glanced back at Zhao Yingjie, baring his teeth in a murderous sneer.
Seeing the five riders closing in, Zhao Shan and Zhao He on the left and the two cavalrymen on the right spurred their mounts, but they were too far behind to match the momentum of the charging scouts.
"Brother!" Zhao He barked.
"Take this!" Zhao Shan flicked his wrist and unleashed three locust stones. With piercing shrieks through the air, two riders tumbled from their horses, but the black-clad rider ducked low, letting the stone graze harmlessly over him.
"An expert!" Zhao Shan's eyes sharpened as he rolled off his saddle.
Zhao He dismounted just as swiftly. The two leapt forward, their footwork surpassing the speed of galloping steeds as they tore straight toward the remaining three riders.
"Take this!"
Another piercing whistling sound cracked the air, and two more scouts crashed from their saddles.
Yet the last black-clad rider remained unharmed, having already closed within striking distance of Wang Yu.
"Brother, give me a lift!" Zhao He shouted, vaulting upward.
Zhao Shan thrust a hand beneath Zhao He's sole, channeled his inner force, planted his feet, and launched him forward. Zhao He flew through the air, hurtling straight at the black-clad rider.
Had the rider pressed blindly forward, Zhao He would indeed have intercepted him before he reached Wang Yu.
Yet he was no novice.
Seeing five elite scouts felled so swiftly, he knew this nobleman was guarded by remarkable experts. Unless he wheeled his horse and fled right now, falling into an encirclement would mean certain death.
Yet the target had been utterly reckless, allowing his bodyguards to stray far off while letting him draw so close. Was that not courting his own doom?
He could already picture himself taking the youth hostage, holding the others at bay with fear for their master's life, and riding off toward the Black Qiang lands with both the boy and his stunning woman.
The black-clad rider kicked out of his stirrups and vaulted into the air. With a flip of his hands, a pair of eagle-beak mattocks appeared in his grip, hooking straight for Wang Yu's shoulders.
As he closed in, he caught sight of Qianqian's exquisite face, and a sinister grin spread across his lips.
Then he saw Wang Yu draw the longsword from his waist.
*A dying struggle!*
The next instant, flashes of sword light erupted before his eyes. The glints merged into an unbroken expanse, crashing toward him like a brilliant blanket of golden haze.
Amidst the golden haze lay only a single lone shadow, yet in the rider's eyes, it suddenly split into two needlepoints of sword light, piercing directly toward his pupils.
"An expert!"
The rider's pupils contracted sharply. He shifted his stance midair, sweeping and parrying with his eagle-beak mattocks like a swooping hawk. Yet suspended without footing, he could not easily adjust his momentum. His weapons clashed three times against the sword in midair. Though he fended off the blade, he lost the drive to press forward. Borrowing the counterforce, he twisted sideways and landed on the turf, narrowly evading the claw Zhao He thrust from behind.
Seeing Wang Yu unharmed, Zhao Shan and Zhao He breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Zhao Yingjie hurried up from a distance, bellowing in praise, "What a move—Lone Shadow in the Golden Haze! Splendid swordplay, Brother Yu!"
Wang Yu shook his head. "Still too slow, and the sword shadows were too obvious."
With the aid of the tortoise shell, he had thoroughly mastered the Seven Forms of the Setting Sun and begun refining them anew.
The original Lone Shadow in the Golden Haze cast a blinding golden haze of sword glare to disrupt the foe's vision, while the blade's tip took form as one to three solitary shadows aimed at the eyes or chest to secure victory.
The revised version, however, concealed the true killing strike not in the solitary shadows at the tip, but deep within the golden haze itself. Even if an opponent managed to parry the shadows, they would only strike empty air, leaving them impaled on the true blade hidden behind the light.
Wang Yu's mastery of the sword was not yet fully seasoned, and his internal force remained shallow. He was not yet capable of executing the revised form, which was why the black-clad rider had seen through the shadows and blocked them, keeping Wang Yu from landing a clean strike.
In the next breath, Zhao Yingjie, Zhao Shan, and Zhao He closed in, forming a triangle around the black-clad rider.
Zhao Shan glanced at the eagle-beak mattocks in the man's hands and asked in a low voice, "What is Shi Mo to you?"
The rider struck his mattocks together with a metallic chime. "He is my master."
Before the words had finished echoing, he lunged forward, charging toward Wang Yu once more.
Zhao Yingjie and the other two moved in unison to intercept him, but the strike was merely a feint. The rider spun around and dashed for his horse, moving with the fluid grace of an eagle or falcon. His lightness skill was astonishingly proficient.
Then he looked up and found the young nobleman already standing between him and his horse. Wang Yu raised his sword, and blade light flared once more. This time, it was neither a sweeping flood nor a golden haze, but a soft, dense lattice resembling drifting clouds and mist.
A defensive stance!
The black-clad rider recognized it immediately. The youth wanted to stall him so the other experts could surround and overwhelm him.
That was standard tactical sense, and the rider had no reason to doubt it.
Naturally, he would not give Wang Yu that chance. His eagle-beak mattocks swept left and right in rapid coordination, darting like a pair of hunting eagles in swift, unpredictable succession, seeking to overwhelm the slow defense with lightning-fast aggression and force Wang Yu back.
If he could force Wang Yu back even a single pace, he could vault into the saddle and gallop away. He had zero doubt that his swift black steed and unmatched horsemanship would leave these Central Plains men far behind.
Yet the moment his mattocks plunged into the sword light, he found the rhythm of the youth's blade abruptly shifting. What seemed slow was impossibly fast. His right mattock was still a foot away from Wang Yu, while the tip of Wang Yu's sword had already crept within three inches of his chest.
The sword's tempo had altered, bypassing his left mattock entirely!
Realizing he had been baited and outwitted again, the black-clad rider let out a strangled cry and threw himself backward in retreat. Yet he failed to anticipate Wang Yu drawing the blade downward with the flow of the movement, opening a slash across his ribs.
Blood sprayed across the grass!
Enduring the searing pain, the rider rolled across the dirt. But when he tried to spring to his feet, a radiant sheet of sword light had already filled his vision. The last thing he saw was the young man's gaze—calm, yet laced with a faint glimmer of excitement.
Chapter 28