Quickly, Summon the Twin Stars of the Xingxiu Sea!

Yan Xiangxue looked at Ling Feiyun in disbelief. "Brother Ling, how did you end up hiding among our ranks?" Wang Yu pointed toward Li Yunxiu. "Credit belongs to Yunxiu, of course—perceiving the minutest details and displaying miraculous foresight!" Rewinding to the day of Ye Tianlin's centenary banquet: when Yuan Nahe of the Black Qiang departed after offering his felicitations, the glance he cast toward Wang Yu had caught Li Yunxiu's attention and aroused her suspicion. Though that glance brimmed with fury and malice, the terror present during their initial meeting was completely gone. Without knowing whether Wang Yu would pursue and kill him down the mountain, and with his own safety far from guaranteed, he made no effort to disguise his venomous rancor—yet lacked the dread that should have been there. There was only one possible explanation: he had someone backing him, and that backer was right nearby—at the very least, not far from Mount Tianshan. With Yao Changgeng dead, only one person in the entire world could make Yuan Nahe so completely fearless. Shi Mo! Almost the instant she saw Yuan Nahe's gaze, Li Yunxiu deduced that Shi Mo had already arrived at the foot of Mount Tianshan. Naturally, he wouldn't dare ascend the mountain, but he was waiting for them below! Li Yunxiu shared her speculation with Wang Yu, who agreed it was thoroughly reasonable. Thus, just as they were preparing to descend the mountain, Wang Yu requested an audience with Ling Feiyun once more, informed him of the matter, and asked Ling Feiyun to escort them for a stretch. Ling Feiyun then disguised himself as a White Qiang warrior. Because this was only the first day, he even managed to keep Yan Xiangxue and Ardai in the dark. According to Li Yunxiu's assessment, there were several routes returning from Mount Tianshan to Yumen Pass. To avoid missing them, Shi Mo would inevitably strike at the town closest to the Tianshan Sect. Therefore, Wang Yu had only asked Ling Feiyun to escort them for a single day. However, Ling Feiyun figured that since he was escorting them anyway, he might as well see them all the way to Yumen Pass. He originally intended to tell Yan Xiangxue that evening while resting, never expecting they truly would run into Shi Mo at the very first opportunity. Thus, under the instinctive coordination of Wang Yu, Li Yunxiu, and Qianqian, Shi Mo was successfully duped into the trap. Approaching Wang Yu unarmed, he was ultimately struck down and grievously wounded by Ling Feiyun's sword. Having reached this point in his explanation, Ling Feiyun looked at the three of them. "You acted so convincingly. Did you discuss it beforehand?" Although Ling Feiyun had been standing behind the group, how sharp were the senses of a Xiantian Grandmaster? He had clearly observed Li Yunxiu's subtly suppressed trembling, Qianqian's shaking hands, and Wang Yu's white-knuckled grip. The three of them had practically etched "fierce of countenance but faint of heart" and "feigning composure" across their faces. Preconditioned by these impressions, Shi Mo walked right into the trap himself. It wasn't that Shi Mo had been completely unguarded. However, firstly, the performance of Wang Yu's trio was too authentic, while Yan Xiangxue and Ardai were entirely genuine; secondly, Ling Feiyun was simply too close, and Shi Mo had yet to draw a weapon. Consequently, Shi Mo was severely wounded in a single blow by Ling Feiyun and fled in panic. Ling Feiyun was confident: pierced through the shoulder by his sword, with the Freezing Frost energy boring deep into his meridians and invading his internal organs, Shi Mo could never fully recover without a full year of quiet meditation and breath regulation. Qianqian gave a charming smile. "With Senior Ling around, of course we had it planned out." Li Yunxiu glanced sideways at Qianqian. *Planned out, my foot.* Earlier, the three of them had spontaneously put on that act entirely out of sheer instinct. Ardai blinked her wide, innocent eyes, thought for a moment, and suddenly realized, "Qubi Amu was still behind us blocking the way out!" Yan Xiangxue shook her head with a smile. "Shi Mo's shout earlier was meant to alert Qubi Amu. He fled long ago." The only ones who hadn't fled, of course, were the group of Black Qiang warriors before them—warriors who had originally followed Shi Mo expecting to watch their tribe's foremost expert display peerless might, only for him to be grievously wounded before even landing a strike and flee for his life. After all, they were fellow Qiang. Yan Xiangxue waved her hand dismissively. "All of you, go back. Pass word to Yuan Dingle: only by laying down the blade and picking up the horse whip can you reap peace. Otherwise, once the Central Plains truly rises, it will be the end of the Black Qiang." Yuan Dingle was Yuan Nahe's father and the current Black Qiang King. Though the Qiang were divided into Black and White, Yan Xiangxue was advanced in years and possessed immense virtue, and the Snow Mountain Granny enjoyed a formidable reputation even among the Black Qiang. The Black Qiang warriors had all heard of her. Hearing Yan Xiangxue's words, the warriors felt as if granted a general pardon. They bowed respectfully to her in unison before departing. And so the group had lunch in the small town and set off again after midday. Ling Feiyun escorted them all the way, only waving farewell once they reached the outskirts of Yumen Pass. "Cough!" In the Black Qiang tribe's settlement, Shi Mo coughed and spat out a mouthful of clotted blood, the blood carrying a distinct chill. "Master!" Two figures rushed to Shi Mo's side, their faces filled with worry and outrage. Qubi Amu, who carried western frontier heritage, possessed brown hair, deep-set eyes, and handsome features. He asked anxiously, "...Even the Snow Spirit Pill can't heal Master's injury?" The other man was Shi Mo's third disciple, Li Fengyi. Though he had not attained Xiantian, he was nonetheless a first-rate expert. He said with indignity, "We have no grudge against the Tianshan Sect. Ling Feiyun ignored the rules of the jianghu—he is utterly detestable!" Shi Mo took a deep breath to steady his breathing and spoke slowly, "The Tianshan Sect's Jade Snow Freezing Frost Divine Art is no trivial matter. Ling Feiyun's sword pierced my left lung; I will not be fit for martial combat for at least half a year." Qubi Amu consoled him, "Then Master should rest and convalesce in peace. Fortunately, Yan Xiangxue will not live past a month. Once Yan Xiangxue is dead, no matter how strong the Tianshan Sect is, it will be hard for them to meddle in our Qiang domestic affairs." Shi Mo's gaze hardened slightly. "What I fear is precisely that the old woman won't die." Li Fengyi asked, "Yan Xiangxue took a palm strike from Master that shattered her dantian, and the White Bone palm force has penetrated to the marrow. How could she not die?" Shi Mo said in a heavy voice, "If she were on the brink of death, why would she be traveling with the Prince of Zhenxi?" Shi Mo's ambush on the road had not actually been aimed at Yan Xiangxue, but at Wang Yu. In his original calculations, no matter how powerful the Sword Fiend Ye Tianlin was, his internal energy was rooted in frigid ice; he could never save Yan Xiangxue's life. With less than a month left to live, all that remained for her was to await death on Mount Tianshan. Furthermore, Tianshan's rules forbade taking in non-Han disciples, so Ardai would never be accepted into the sect and would ultimately be sent back to the White Qiang. When that time came, the White Qiang would be meat on the chopping block, left to the Black Qiang's mercy. Thus, Shi Mo had been in no hurry. Therefore, in coming to Mount Tianshan this time, Shi Mo's true target had been Wang Yu. As long as they "invited" Wang Yu back to the Black Qiang as a guest, the Black Qiang could use him as a hostage to force open both Jinfeng and Lingwu Passes, allowing them to come and go as they pleased throughout the Northwest. Yet an unexpected development had occurred: Wang Yu had actually enlisted Ling Feiyun to hide among their ranks! Shi Mo felt like cursing aloud. *You are the prized disciple of the Sword Fiend and the sect leader of Tianshan, dwelling beyond the pass, solitary and aloof from worldly affairs!* *You don't need to curry favor with the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor, so what business do you have humbling yourself to masquerade as a White Qiang warrior, hiding in the ranks to launch a sneak attack? Have you thrown away all pride as a Xiantian Grandmaster?!* Shi Mo selectively overlooked the fact that he himself had ambushed Yan Xiangxue. Aside from this indignation, what infuriated him even more was that Yan Xiangxue was actually traveling with the Prince of Zhenxi. A corpse-in-waiting, rather than quietly waiting for death on Mount Tianshan to arrange her funeral or beg the Tianshan Sect for aid, was instead returning to the Central Plains with the Prince of Zhenxi. No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't make sense of it. The only explanation was that she could still be saved! Li Fengyi asked in bewilderment, "If even Ye Tianlin cannot save her, how could a third-generation prince—a dandy who hasn't even attained Xiantian—save her?" Qubi Amu's gaze sharpened. "Could it be *All Streams Returning to the Source*?" Li Fengyi was startled. "The martial manual Zhao Zheng seized from the Twin Stars of the Xingxiu Sea?" Few people knew that Zhao Zheng had snatched *All Streams Returning to the Source* from Zhaixingzi and Zhuixingzi. Up to now, only Zhuang Muyu had uncovered the truth and sent Qianqian into the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor to investigate and subsequently seize control of the manor. Shi Mo hadn't known either at first, but when Zhao Guizhou went north to the Black Qiang to borrow troops after his junior sister Meng Zixiao was killed, he had unwittingly revealed this information to Shi Mo and his disciples. "In those days, Old Man Xingxiu's learning spanned heaven and man. It is said that he created *All Streams Returning to the Source* by blending a hundred schools of martial arts and observing the myriad waters of the world," Shi Mo murmured thoughtfully. "Could it dispel the White Bone palm force from Yan Xiangxue's body?" Qubi Amu pondered. "All streams returning to the source... could it separate internal energy from palm force?" Shi Mo knitted his brows and said in a low voice, "Qubi Amu, I will write a letter. You make a trip to the Xingxiu Sea." Qubi Amu looked up. "To find the Twin Stars of the Xingxiu Sea?" Shi Mo nodded. "Those two old fogies, Zhaixingzi and Zhuixingzi, are dull-witted. In ten years, they only trained two useless wastes. They couldn't beat Zhao Zheng themselves, and the disciples they raised were no match for Zhao Zheng's son either. "Yet I refuse to believe they have no desire for vengeance. Tell them that I am offering them an opportunity. If they fail to seize it, they can remain hiding in their shells like cowards for the rest of their lives." Qubi Amu cupped his fists in agreement. "Understood!" Past Yumen Pass, snow still carpeted the earth in pristine white. When Wang Yu had left the pass, it was late in the eighth month. Having spent over three months in the Western Regions, as he returned past the pass, the twelfth lunar month was already drawing near. Passing through Yumen Prefecture and arriving in Ganliang Prefecture, Wang Yu spotted three riders standing beneath a clump of desert willows in the distance, with a troop of cavalry waiting not far behind. "It's General Wang Bin." Wang Yu raised an eyebrow. "And the Song siblings as well." Li Yunxiu also spotted them and couldn't help but smile. "Although each division of the Northwestern Army forms its own garrison, they maintain regular communication with one another." West of Longshan Prefecture, the Anxi Circuit contained five other prefectures. Ganliang Prefecture and Qishan Prefecture lay in the interior with few prefectural troops, while Ding'an Prefecture, Yumen Prefecture, and Ningxi Prefecture constituted the core of the Northwestern Army, each boasting nearly ten thousand troops and operating independently of one another. When Wang Yu's party crossed the pass, only the defending general of Yumen Pass—who belonged to the Yumen prefectural troops—had known. For Wang Bin, who belonged to the Ding'an prefectural army, to be waiting here, he had clearly received word. Spotting Wang Yu and his entourage, Wang Bin spurred his horse forward with his nephew and niece, cupping his fists from afar. "Wang Bin greets Your Highness!" Seeing Wang Bin's beaming face, Wang Yu teased, "Did General Wang make a decent haul?" "A windfall! Quite a substantial one!" Wang Bin nodded repeatedly. "Thus, I specifically waited here to express my gratitude to Your Highness." The Song siblings had heeded Wang Yu's advice; instead of following Niu Zilian to the Central Plains to join the Shuntian Army, they had remained in the Northwest, bringing along a share of the Loulan treasure. Although it was far less than what the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor and the Shuntian Army had acquired, it was an unexpected windfall after all—more than enough to win over mid-to-high-ranking commanders who had grown accustomed to poverty in the Northwest. As a result, Wang Bin's prestige soared, and the Song siblings successfully established a firm footing within the Northwestern Army. Wang Bin cupped his hands and chuckled. "Should Your Highness ever require Wang's services in the future, just send word by letter. Furthermore, the Northwestern Army will never cause trouble behind the three northwestern prefectures; Your Highness may deploy your forces as you see fit." There was meaning behind Wang Bin's words. Wang Yu burst into hearty laughter, while Li Yunxiu sighed silently. The Northwestern Army, which was originally stationed to monitor and intimidate Longshan Prefecture, had now become the rear guard for the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor. Fortunately, Wang Yu was an impostor; otherwise, wouldn't the Northwest be thrown into utter chaos as well?