When Shi Yinyu returned to the west wing, Han Dingyuan stepped forward to meet her. "Did the talks go well?"
"All settled," Shi Yinyu replied. "The Shuntian Army will deal with the three hundred cavalrymen Zhao Yu brought. Our only job is to pin down Ma Bojun."
A twitch pulled at the corner of Han Dingyuan's eye. "Ma Bojun is no easy man to stop."
"Didn't you just stop him a moment ago?" Shi Yinyu laughed.
"I didn't stop him. Ma Bojun simply had no intention of truly fighting." Han Dingyuan knew his own limits.
A smirk curled the corner of Shi Yinyu's lips. "He didn't dare push through my White Flower Smoke."
"Indeed, he didn't dare." Han Dingyuan nodded, then shook his head. "Yet your White Flower Smoke couldn't do anything to him either."
Shi Yinyu let out a huff. "He is only one man, and there are four of us. When the time comes, we will have Li Wuchang and Old Monster Feng block him, while you launch a sneak attack with your bow and arrows and I ambush him with poison. He is nothing more than a mere Xiantian expert—can he turn the heavens upside down?
"Once the Shuntian Army and the Iron Eagle Cavalry tear each other apart, and we kill Ma Bojun, neither the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor nor the Shuntian Army will have any top experts left. Won't the Loulan treasure belong entirely to us?"
Han Dingyuan remained silent. Shi Yinyu leaned gently against him, slipping her hands beneath his robes. An alluring gleam flashed in her coquettish eyes. "The hour grows late. It is time we rested."
***
Meanwhile, the candle in the north wing had not yet been extinguished.
"Strategist, how are we supposed to deal with Zhao Yu's three hundred Iron Eagle Cavalry?" Duan Rui asked. "The three hundred men we brought are all infantry. Even though we have a hundred powerful bows, that still won't be enough to match the Iron Eagle Cavalry, will it?"
Niu Zilian replied indifferently, "Who said we were going to fight the Iron Eagle Cavalry?"
"What?" Song Yuanjing blinked in surprise.
The Shuntian Army and the Mount Qi bandits had previously clashed once at an oasis outside the city. The Four Great Bandits of Mount Qi possessed formidable martial arts, but the Shuntian Army wielded formidable military discipline. With each side having their own advantages, they had called a truce.
Just moments ago, Shi Yinyu had come to negotiate cooperation. It was obvious they would handle Ma Bojun and the experts of the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor, while the Shuntian Army took care of the three hundred cavalrymen Wang Yu had brought. Now Niu Zilian was saying they wouldn't fight them after all—what was going on?
"The Four Great Bandits are quite skilled in martial arts, and they have the aid of horse bandits who know the terrain," Niu Zilian said with a chuckle. "If we fight the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor to mutual ruin, putting aside whether those bandits would seize the opportunity to finish us off, even if there were mountains of gold and silver, we wouldn't be able to bring them back!
"When the time comes, we need only lure the Iron Eagle Cavalry into the ancient city, wear them down using the terrain, and then steer them toward the Mount Qi bandits and Sha Lijin. That will count as doing our part."
Duan Rui and Song Yuanjing both grinned ruefully. Considering their strategist's nature, however, it made complete sense.
Zhao Lü suddenly spoke up. "Strategist, why did you tell Shi Yinyu that we have already met the Song siblings? What if they actually believe it? Won't they see through your plan?"
"She won't believe it," Niu Zilian said, shaking his head with certainty. "As the saying goes, make the false seem true, and the true seem false. Only by leading her to believe that we haven't met the Song siblings will she take the bait."
Zhao Lü nodded and reached out to pick up the bamboo cylinder beside him, which was taller than a grown man. "I would really like to test myself against Ma Bojun and see this Fubo Spear that shook the Northwest."
***
Seeing the light go out in the north wing, Wang Yu finally drifted back to the south wing alongside Qianqian.
Qianqian went back to rest on her own, while Wang Yu returned to the main chamber.
"Han Dingyuan was definitely inside the room," Ma Bojun was saying to the others. "Although Shi Yinyu's poison lingered outside the west wing, she didn't speak. She might not have been there, or she might have been lying in ambush nearby, waiting for me to take the bait.
"I couldn't probe any information from Han Dingyuan's mouth, but Li Wuchang and Feng Li shouldn't be far away. He spoke with no small arrogance, so he likely brought quite a few subordinates.
"They definitely have scouts in Feisha Town and Huanglong Market, so they know we brought three hundred cavalrymen."
As they were talking, Wang Yu floated back into the room without making a sound. Only Ma Bojun caught a faint trace of his movement, feeling both astonished and gratified. "Yulang, where did you learn such lightness skills?"
"Stole it from a Jiangnan martial artist," Wang Yu admitted without hesitation.
Ma Bojun didn't mind in the slightest, merely commenting, "The martial world of Jiangnan truly possesses remarkable attainments in the art of lightness skills."
Wang Yu then recounted the details he had overheard outside the north wing.
"Shi Yinyu said they wouldn't know each other without a fight, which means the Mount Qi bandits and the Shuntian Army have clashed before, though it was only a probing skirmish," Li Yunxiu analyzed. "Shi Yinyu referred to a Strategist Niu. It turns out that merchant is Niu Zilian, one of the two chief strategists of the Shuntian Army. He hails from the same hometown as Song Jingzhou, so it makes sense that he would travel west to contact the Song siblings.
"The Mount Qi bandits want to besiege Uncle while the Shuntian Army deals with the Iron Eagle Cavalry. This shows the Mount Qi bandits are either an undisciplined rabble or short on numbers—they certainly wouldn't be able to withstand a single charge from the Iron Eagle Cavalry."
"However, the most crucial piece of information lies in their final words."
A bright glint flashed in Li Yunxiu's eyes, her tone carrying hidden meaning. "Niu Zilian and his people met the Song siblings long ago and are carrying out a plan. Furthermore, the treasure should indeed be inside the Ancient City of Loulan."
"They want to lure us into the Ancient City of Loulan for a melee," Wang Yu said.
"Precisely." Li Yunxiu nodded. "The Ancient City of Loulan is already a ruin, filled with crumbling walls and intricate, winding paths. It is ill-suited for deploying an army, but ideal for a chaotic brawl among multiple factions."
Wang Yu stroked his chin. "If the treasure is in the Ancient City of Loulan, why do they want to lure us in?"
Li Yunxiu replied in a low voice, "Because aside from the ancient city, they have no other place to counter our Iron Eagle Cavalry."
"Could the treasure inside the Ancient City of Loulan be fake?" Wang Yu asked. "Could their plan be to stage a fake treasure in the ancient city to bait us and the Mount Qi bandits into tearing each other apart?"
Li Yunxiu countered, "Aside from the ancient city, where else could the former King of Loulan have hidden the treasure?"
Wang Yu pondered for a moment. "Some oasis?"
Li Yunxiu shook her head. "If it were merely hidden in an oasis, they might have already loaded the wagons and departed by now. Only in the ancient city—where everyone outside keeps watch, yet no one knows where within the city it lies—could this situation be possible."
Never mind the Mount Qi bandits and the horse bandits; even the oasis where the Iron Eagle Cavalry was stationed was not far from the Ancient City of Loulan. It was an abandoned city, and if a caravan emerged from within, it would be far too conspicuous.
Wang Yu understood. "They want to draw everyone into the ancient city, and while everyone is caught in a chaotic brawl, haul the treasure out and blend into the passing merchant caravans, vanishing without a trace."
"Indeed." Li Yunxiu narrowed her eyes. "There must be far more people from the Shuntian Army than what we and the Mount Qi bandits have seen—likely more than I imagined. They might not even have left the pass under the guise of an escort agency, but as an ordinary merchant caravan."
"Then what should we do?" Ma Bojun asked.
"Naturally, we must never enter the Ancient City of Loulan," Li Yunxiu said at once. "The Iron Eagle Cavalry excels at open-field battles. Entering the city would be tying our own hands. I would like to see just how they intend to lure us in."
***
The next day, Loulan City regained its bustling prosperity.
Traveling merchants either arrived in Loulan or set out from it, heading west toward Wusun or east toward the Great Jin.
Niu Zilian's party did not leave their quarters, but Han Dingyuan and Shi Yinyu had vanished early in the morning.
Zhao Shan and Zhao He went to the oasis to warn the Iron Eagle Cavalry to remain on high alert, leaving outriders to keep watch on any unusual movements around the Ancient City of Loulan. Wang Yu, accompanied by Ma Bojun, took Li Yunxiu and Qianqian out of the inn to tour Loulan.
Having come all the way abroad, they had to take the chance to look around. A business trip was essentially traveling on public funds, after all—otherwise, wouldn't coming all this way be a waste?
Qianqian clung to Wang Yu's arm, peeking here and there and looking around with wide-eyed curiosity like a young maiden. Li Yunxiu walked alongside them, her gaze profound as she continued to ponder Niu Zilian's scheme.
The four arrived at the marketplace of the Kingdom of Loulan. Barbarians and Han people mingled in lively, bustling crowds. Western Regions flatbreads and mutton soups were sold alongside Central Plains dishes and pastries.
"Do you want some mutton pilaf?" Wang Yu pointed toward a stall by the street selling the dish.
Qianqian wrinkled her nose and shook her head, pulling Wang Yu toward an adjacent beef noodle shop run by Han people. "The Western Regions have lush pastures and herds of cattle and sheep. If we're going to eat beef or mutton, there's no need to stick to Western Regions cooking."
As Wang Yu stepped inside, a shop assistant came forward to greet them. Seeing Wang Yu and his companions, the assistant immediately bowed and scraped, seemingly not daring to look directly at the striking beauty of Qianqian and Li Yunxiu.
Wang Yu raised a brow, pulled the two women over to sit down, and ordered four bowls of beef noodles.
A moment later, the assistant brought over the steaming bowls. Wang Yu asked seemingly at random, "We are newcomers to Loulan. Might I ask if there are any interesting places to visit nearby?"
The assistant gave a slight shudder and kept his head lowered. "The guest must be joking. The Western Regions are nothing but desert winds and sand, and the scenery is utterly monotonous. What interesting places could there possibly be?"
Wang Yu nodded. "I heard there is an Ancient City of Loulan thirty li to the northwest. Is that a fun place to visit?"
The assistant shook his head at once. "That ancient city has been abandoned for two hundred years. It is nothing but broken walls and crumbling ruins, and not a blade of grass grows around it. There is nothing fun about it at all."
Wang Yu nodded again. "We are looking to purchase a few Dayuan sweat-blood horses. Do you know if there are any for sale in Loulan City?"
The assistant replied, "There are indeed Dayuan merchants and sweat-blood horses in the market, but they cannot fetch a high price in Loulan City, so most merchants bring the prized steeds into the Central Plains. Of course, if you offer enough money, sir, not many people here would compete with you for them."
Wang Yu pressed on, "Are they right in the market next door?"
"Yes," the assistant said, nodding promptly. "A group of Dayuan merchants arrived in the city yesterday and hasn't left yet."
"That is wonderful." Wang Yu offered a faint smile, then asked, "Why haven't you gone to find your uncle?"
"I wouldn't dare..."
The moment the words left his mouth, the assistant snapped his head up. True qi surged through his body, and he prepared to strike immediately.
Then he saw the young man across from him pick up his chopsticks, take a hearty mouthful of noodles, and pop a piece of beef into his mouth, naturally demonstrating a total lack of hostility.
"The beef really is quite good!" Wang Yu remarked, then looked at the assistant. "Your uncle sent me to find you and tell you to go back to him. The Emperor does not dare demand anyone from him. You are safe in the Northwest."
"Who are you, and how do you recognize me?" the assistant demanded.
Wang Yu smiled. "Because I saw you in Longshan Prefecture. At the time, you and your sister were in a hurry to leave. You remember me too, don't you?"
This shop assistant was none other than the young man who had accidentally bumped into Zhao Yingjie on the day Wang Yu bought the guqin.
Chapter 58