A moonlit night, a gentle breeze.
Although Loulan was considered a major power in the Western Regions, it was far inferior to the Central Plains. Aside from the royal palace, the entire royal capital was plunged into darkness, with no designated commercial district, nor any brothels or gambling dens.
"It is the hour of the rooster." Zhao Shan glanced at the sky and turned to Wang Yu. "Your Highness, should Zhao He and I go scout the layout?"
Aside from the four members of the Shuntian Army, Han Dingyuan and Shi Yinyu had also taken rooms at the inn. In fact, each party knew which rooms the others occupied.
Not to mention that the four from the Shuntian Army were still unsure whether Wang Yu had recognized them, Han Dingyuan and Shi Yinyu were prominent figures in the martial world. If they turned tail and ran, they would never be able to hold their heads high in Jianghu again.
Moreover, everyone had come for the Loulan treasure and was bound to clash eventually; both sides were already considering probing each other's strength in advance.
Li Yunxiu shook her head. "We still don't know what capabilities the Shuntian Army's men possess, but Han Dingyuan is nicknamed the Cloud-Piercing Arrow. He can discern hidden weapons by ear and possesses exceptional eyesight; ordinary people can hardly hide anything from him. Shi Yinyu is even more adept with poisons. If one gets too close, being poisoned would be troublesome."
Ma Bojun smiled knowingly. "I'll go take a look."
Just then, the rustle of robes sounded outside the window as someone flitted past across the nearby rooftop.
Zhao He, being closest, opened the window, vaulted outside, and leapt onto the roof, only to see a dark figure vanish beyond the inn's outer wall.
"Your Highness, someone left. I couldn't tell which faction they belong to," Zhao He said in a low voice.
Ma Bojun's ears twitched. "They came out of Room Three in the First-Class West Wing. They went this way deliberately just to draw our attention."
Room Three of the First-Class West Wing was precisely where the Mount Qi bandits were staying.
Li Yunxiu's eyes flashed, and she said suddenly, "Han Dingyuan and Shi Yinyu must have gone to look for the Shuntian Army."
Ma Bojun rose to his feet and said once more, "I'll go take a look."
Wang Yu waved a hand. "Uncle, you can make a sweep of Room Three in the West Wing, and you can even intentionally alarm them."
"Why?" Ma Bojun asked.
"Because I am going to inspect the north wing," Wang Yu said with a faint smile. Reaching out, he took the longsword from the table. His body floated lightly backward, drifting silently out of the room.
Ma Bojun's eyes lit up. "Splendid lightness skill!"
Wang Yu had displayed an exquisite lightness skill; in pure movement techniques alone, Ma Bojun admitted he was no match for him.
This was also why Wang Yu had not let Ma Bojun go scouting. Although Ma Bojun was a Xiantian expert with peerless spearmanship, his military background meant his lightness skill was not top-tier. When it came to pure reconnaissance, it was better for Wang Yu to act personally.
Furthermore, Li Yunxiu had deduced that the Mount Qi bandits were likely meeting with the Shuntian Army to confer. Since they did not wish to alert the enemy prematurely, Ma Bojun was naturally not the right person to send.
Zhao Shan and Zhao He exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with helpless resignation.
As the premier hidden guards of the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor, they suddenly realized that far from being able to protect Wang Yu, they had actually begun to hold him back.
Li Yunxiu said nothing, turning her gaze instead toward the adjacent room.
Qianqian had never revealed her true depth. Although everyone knew she practiced martial arts, none treated her as a major combatant—so long as she could protect herself in chaos, it was enough.
At this moment, Qianqian was not meeting with them either, resting alone next door.
Yet Li Yunxiu knew Qianqian must have been listening to their conversation all along. Now that Wang Yu had gone out scouting alone, Qianqian had likely followed him already.
On the other side, in order to show that they had fallen for the diversion and create an opportunity for Wang Yu, Ma Bojun vaulted out the window, trailing his spear behind him as he dashed toward the west wing.
Under the moonlight, the bright silver spear gleamed brilliantly, its radiance even illuminating the paper on the closed windows of the inn.
*Whoosh—*
A shrill whistle rent the air. A carved-feather arrow tore through the sky straight toward Ma Bojun's face, swift as thunder and fierce as lightning. Bathed in moonlight, the arrowhead reflected into Ma Bojun's eyes, momentarily creating the illusion of an unstoppable strike.
Ma Bojun's pupils constricted. He thrust out his spear—a strike seemingly plain and unremarkable, yet the spearhead met the tip of the arrow with pinpoint accuracy.
*Clang!*
A crisp ring echoed as force collided with force. The carved-feather arrow shattered in midair, revealing a pitch-black, short-fletched arrow concealed behind it!
An arrow behind an arrow—the Mother-and-Son Yin-Yang Arrows!
Han Dingyuan had unleashed his signature technique right from the start!
Yet Ma Bojun showed not the slightest panic. With a flourish of his spear—seemingly slow but deceptively fast—a vortex formed before him. The short-fletched "son" arrow was swept into it, instantly snapping into three pieces that dropped one by one at Ma Bojun's feet.
"Petty parlor tricks, showing off before a master!" Ma Bojun sneered.
As a martial faction stemming from a military lineage whose spearmanship had been passed down for a century, the Ma family's archery was in truth not weak either; he simply rarely used it.
Yet in the next breath, he stopped in his tracks.
From the window of the west wing, a plume of white smoke suddenly puffed out. Wispy and curling, it nonetheless refused to dissipate, lingering within a zhang outside the west wing and barring Ma Bojun's path.
"White Flower Fairy?" Ma Bojun asked in a hardened voice.
Shi Yinyu did not speak. Only Han Dingyuan's voice sounded: "Manor Lord Ma, although we've had a few run-ins with your White Horse Manor, we never took any lives. For Manor Lord Ma to chase us all the way to the Western Regions in such hot pursuit—isn't that crossing the line a bit?"
Ma Bojun sneered. "Chopping off my cousin's arm—you call that not harming a life?"
Han Dingyuan said, "The one who chopped off your cousin's arm was Old Monster Feng. You should take it up with him. Why come after me?"
Ma Bojun snorted coldly. "Take me to him, and I might spare your life."
Han Dingyuan replied faintly, "If you can make it in, I'll take you to Old Monster Feng."
Looking at the haze drifting outside the west wing, Ma Bojun truly did not dare step inside. "Living alongside this female viper, aren't you afraid she'll coil around you and swallow you whole?"
Han Dingyuan chuckled. "No need for Manor Lord Ma to trouble yourself over that."
Ma Bojun glanced out of the corner of his eye toward the north wing. "Last time, you joined forces with horse bandits to raid a town in the Jushi Kingdom. Pressed for time, you didn't turn on each other. But for this Loulan treasure, there are no pursuers at your heels. Aren't you afraid those horse bandits will double-cross you and take it all?"
...
While Ma Bojun and Han Dingyuan traded banter back and forth, Wang Yu had already drawn near the north wing.
His Swallow Carrying Spring had already attained the pinnacle realm. Light as a swallow and moving without stirring a breeze, with just a gentle leap he reached beneath the eaves of Room Two in the north wing.
Yet no sooner had he hidden beneath the eaves than he felt a breath of warm air against the back of his neck, followed by a tender, supple body leaning against him.
Wang Yu reached around and hooked his arm around Qianqian's slender waist, and the two tucked close together.
Wang Yu hadn't expected Qianqian would really let him indulge his touch like this. Qianqian breathed softly into Wang Yu's ear, "Brother Yu, be gentle."
Wang Yu couldn't help swallowing hard and shot Qianqian a glare.
He realized what was happening: Qianqian was deliberately teasing him, knowing full well that their priority right now was listening to what was taking place inside the room.
Then, they heard Shi Yinyu's seductive voice: "Among the Prince of Zhenxi's entourage, Ma Bojun is the only real expert, and he's already been lured over to the west wing."
"Is that so?" Duan Rui looked warily at Shi Yinyu, refusing to show weakness. "Zhao Yu came in person. He is Zhao Zheng's son, with a profound family martial heritage. I hear Poison Hand Veda died by his hand."
Shi Yinyu scoffed. "You're located much closer to the capital than I am. Could you really be ignorant of Zhao Yu's reputation in the capital? As if someone like him could defeat—"
"Then how did Wei Honggang die?" Duan Rui asked.
"After Wei Honggang died, Zhao Rong appeared alongside Zhao Yu. How do you think Wei Honggang died?" Shi Yinyu scoffed. "A reckless fool daring to strike near Longshan Prefecture. That Zhao Rong is loyal enough, going out of his way to put a feather in Zhao Yu's cap."
"Regardless, when Zhao Yu travels, he must have plenty of guards around him, not to mention the three hundred Iron Eagle Cavalry and Ma Bojun outside. Your enmity with them runs as deep as the sea—are you trying to use us as cannon fodder?" Duan Rui asked again.
"Precisely because there are three hundred Iron Eagle Cavalry and Ma Bojun, I've come to seek your cooperation."
Shi Yinyu stretched lazily, revealing alluring curves and a smile tinged with ambition. "You've traveled all this way—do you honestly think you can make off with the treasure right under the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor's nose?"
Shi Yinyu looked toward Niu Zilian. "Strategist Niu, stop having your subordinate test the waters. We might not have become acquainted without our previous clash, so let's speak frankly: I'm giving you only one chance. Do we cooperate, or do you refuse?"
Niu Zilian narrowed his eyes, thoughts racing.
They had traveled a long distance. After passing the border pass, they bought a map of the area surrounding Loulan at Feisha Town, followed the route to find an oasis, and prepared to conceal their troops there for the time being.
As fate would have it, they had run straight into the Mount Qi bandits' party.
Although Zhao Lü's spear was peerlessly formidable, the Mount Qi bandits had four top experts. A fierce clash had ensued, and the Mount Qi bandits actually held the upper hand; had Duan Rui and Song Yuanjing not fought desperately, Zhao Lü likely would have suffered a defeat.
Yet while their top experts couldn't win, once the Shuntian Army formed their battle array, it was the Mount Qi bandits who dared not face them.
When the Shuntian Army departed the pass, they had hidden one hundred powerful bows inside the freight wagons. A single volley brought down several dozen of the Mount Qi bandits, after which both sides, wary of each other, ceased fighting.
In the end, the Shuntian Army found another oasis to encamp, and both sides called a temporary truce to be revisited later.
Recalling this, Niu Zilian smiled and asked, "If I refuse, will you leak word of our whereabouts to Zhao Yu?"
"How could we? We still plan on following you to find the treasure," Shi Yinyu chuckled coquettishly. "There's so much treasure—you wouldn't be able to take it all anyway, would you?"
Niu Zilian and Shi Yinyu exchanged a look, each understanding what the other meant.
"How shall we cooperate?" Niu Zilian asked.
Shi Yinyu smiled. "We will pin down Ma Bojun. Zhao Yu is just a pampered dandy, and the Iron Eagle Cavalry are water without a source out here. For the renowned Strategist Niu, dealing with them shouldn't be an issue, right?"
Niu Zilian said flatly, "I need to know which direction those Iron Eagle Cavalry are in."
"Rest assured, Sha Lijin has already sent men to scout the nearby oases," Shi Yinyu said with a smile. "When it comes to the surrounding terrain, not even the King of Loulan knows it better than Sha Lijin."
Sha Lijin was the very leader of the horse bandits who had invited the Mount Qi bandits to cooperate—and the most formidable horse bandit chief roaming the vicinity of Loulan.
Niu Zilian nodded to see her off. "Please return, Fairy."
Shi Yinyu rose gracefully and looked back with a smile. "When will Strategist Niu rendezvous with the Song siblings? I've heard Minister Song is one of the most renowned handsome men in the world, and young master Song even surpasses his father. I would dearly love to meet him in person."
Niu Zilian smiled in return. "Thank you for your concern, Fairy. Actually, we have already met, and the Song siblings have already returned to the Central Plains."
"Is that so? What a pity, then." Shi Yinyu gave an alluring smile, turned, and departed.
Chapter 57