Mu Jiaoman stepped down through the air. Below, the tribal shamans and clansmen fell to their knees one after another, calling out respectfully, "Commander."
Paying no mind to the men around him, Mu Jiaoman tilted his head and stared for a long while—stared until Li Jingtian slightly lowered her gaze and bowed her head—before he finally noticed that his left eyelid was twitching.
He had walked the path of Qi Refinement for over a decade. His flesh and bones were steady and under perfect control, never subject to involuntary twitches, to say nothing of being utterly unable to tear his eyes away, his very breathing seized up.
"She..."
Mu Jiaoman squeezed out a single raspy syllable. Around him, the tribal shamans and clansmen nodded vigorously with obsequious grins, chiming in at once, "We understand! We understand, Commander!"
Having spent so many years among his people, how could Mu Jiaoman not know what they meant? Looking at Li Jingtian, who glared up in indignation, he urgently wanted to explain, but by some bizarre impulse, swallowed the words right back down.
The clansmen below hurriedly led Li Jingtian away. Putting on a cold, stern face, Mu Jiaoman turned and leaped into the air under everyone's watchful eyes.
Floating effortlessly through the air, Mu Jiaoman was suddenly so joyful he wanted to dance. Fortunately, he managed to rein himself in this time, striding without pause toward his tent.
Li Jingtian was hauled into the stockade. Her bonds were removed, the muddy water was washed from her face, and pigments made from leaves and berries favored by the Shanyue were painted in colorful patterns across her neck and cheeks.
She was then dressed in a set of Shanyue garments adorned with bird feathers, beast teeth, and scattered specks of jade. The attire exuded raw wildness, and paired with her striking, spirited beauty, lent her an unexpected air of dignity. The sight gave the elderly attendants pause, and their movements became noticeably gentler.
By the time the tedious preparations were complete, dusk had already fallen. Li Jingtian was brought toward a military tent flickering with dim yellow lamplight. Just as she neared the entrance curtain, she heard a gruff male voice:
"After giving his orders, the Great King headed west, saying he had to guard against movements in Shazhou. He instructed the Commander to reorganize the rear forces and take these lowlander slaves ahead to Dajueting, while ordering this subordinate to lead a thousand troops to pursue that lowlander force..."
"And the result?"
The voice was deep and husky; Li Jingtian recognized it as the long-braided Shanyue commander from earlier in the day.
"...This subordinate pursued them, only to see that man leading his troops deep into Mount Li without once looking back. Fearing we would disturb the great demons in the mountains, this subordinate pulled the troops back..."
Mu Jiaoman frowned, his grip tightening around his bone cup. "You led the pursuit in person and still let him slip away?" he asked in disbelief. "Was that man not said to have only Embryonic Breathing cultivation?"
The Shanyue clansman kneeling on the ground hastily raised his head to speak, but just then, Li Jingtian was pushed into the tent. The beast bones and jade on her attire clinked together in a melodious chime.
The man looked back warily, only to freeze in sheer wonder alongside Mu Jiaoman on the dais.
The Shanyue dwelt in the mountains year-round. The women of their tribes were fierce as wolves and tigers, caked in mud, body hair, and matted tangles. Where could they have ever seen a maiden with bright eyes, pearly white teeth, and eyes as limpid as autumn waters? Both men stared blankly, thinking in a daze:
*Damn it all, no wonder our ancestors always passed down tales of how beautiful lowlander women are!*
Li Jingtian quietly gazed at the two, staring until both averted their eyes. The dagger hidden on her person had been confiscated while she was washed. Outside the tent, she had caught faint word of her father and was burning with anxiety, only to be shoved inside just as the conversation cut off.
*Gulp.*
The kneeling clansman swallowed hard, jolting Mu Jiaoman awake. Mu Jiaoman glared furiously at him and cleared his throat with a loud, forceful cough. He was about to order Li Jingtian to withdraw, but the words that left his mouth turned into, "Step outside for a moment."
Seeing Li Jingtian turn and exit the tent, the clansman stammered, tongue-tied, "I... I, he... he..."
After steadying himself and collecting his thoughts, the clansman braced himself under Mu Jiaoman's glare and spoke: "That man seemed helped by the heavens themselves! He skirted every single trap we laid, and even lured a demon beast into our path. And that beast ignored those few hundred men entirely, focusing all its attacks on us..."
"Enough! Get out!"
Mu Jiaoman was in no mood to hear his excuses. He waved him off to scram. Seeing that the man still lingered reluctantly even as he stepped out of the tent, Mu Jiaoman let out a cold snort. The aura of his fourth-tier Qi Refinement cultivation surged forth, scaring the man into fleeing in terror.
Watching Li Jingtian being pushed back inside by the shaman outside, Mu Jiaoman hurriedly stood up, only to sit back down in a daze. His heart raced with the same anxious dread he had felt at seven years old when testing for a shamanic aperture. Gazing at Li Jingtian as she looked up, he hesitated before speaking: "You..."
Li Jingtian showed no fear at all. Staring calmly at the massive Mu Jiaoman on the dais, she ground her teeth and said, "If you touch me even once, I will smash my head against the ground and die right here in this tent."
Once the words left her mouth, she felt a weight lift from her heart. Li Jingtian thought to herself, *Once I am dead, Xuanling won't have to worry about me, making it far easier for him to escape alone...*
Mu Jiaoman waved his hands hurriedly, adopting as gentle a tone as he could muster: "What is your name?"
Li Jingtian grew instantly guarded upon hearing this. Her delicate brows knitted as she replied softly, "Ye Tian."
Naturally, she could not give her real name, so she simply invented one on the spot. Looking at Mu Jiaoman, who seemed to maintain a blank expression, she wondered curiously to herself, *Why is this Shanyue chieftain breathing so heavily...?*
Mu Jiaoman, however, gazed at Li Jingtian's knitted brow. In his mind—which had been fiercely loyal to Jianixi for thirty-six years—a complex and mad notion suddenly flashed, one that made his heart tremble and robbed him of all composure.
*No. Under no circumstances can Jianixi be allowed to lay eyes on this woman.*
***
"Young Clan Head! The Shanyue have all withdrawn!"
Li Xuanxuan was looking toward Mount Lijing with deep anxiety when a clan soldier below shouted out. Overjoyed by the news, he looked up at the people gathered around him, all watching him with eager, waiting eyes, and felt a sudden jolt.
*Second Uncle has already headed west to search for Third Uncle, so everyone in the clan has only me to look to now. This is a critical hour. Li Xuanxuan, you must not be careless!*
He clenched his fists, only to realize how dire their circumstances truly were. Li Qiuyang and Chen Donghe had both marched with the army alongside Li Xiangping into Shanyue territory. Aside from a few children who had only stepped onto the path of cultivation in recent years, the only cultivators remaining in the clan were his aunt, Liu Rouxuan, at the fourth tier of Embryonic Breathing, and Li Xuanfeng.
"First send people to Lichuankou and Lijing Town to soothe the populace and tally our casualties and losses."
Liu Rouxuan was now in her thirties, but because she practiced the immortal path, she still looked to be in her twenties. She was staring worriedly toward the west, and upon hearing his words, she nodded. "Leave Lichuankou to me."
"Tianchou."
Wan Tianchou hurried forward at the call and listened to Li Xuanxuan's instructions: "You have been stationed at Lichuankou for many years and know the situation well. Accompany my aunt on this trip."
Watching Wan Tianchou nod and withdraw, Li Xuanxuan let out a breath and said in a heavy voice, "As for Lijing Town, I will go in person."
Chapter 92