No one knew how a city as young and shallow-rooted as Yujing had managed to make every passing merchant caravan so obedient. The line had been stalled for nearly the time it took an incense stick to burn, yet not a single reckless fool had stepped forward to make trouble.
At last, the soldier closed his mouth and turned away. Fu Xi Yan thought they had passed inspection and was about to climb back into the carriage when the soldier suddenly pointed to the side. “Wait over there.”
Fu Xi Yan: “…”
No, seriously, which answer had he gotten wrong? His expressions and words had portrayed a merchant so vividly that even he believed himself! The more Fu Xi Yan thought about it, the less convinced he became. He hurried after the soldier and stubbornly… offered him a purse filled with gold leaves. “Sir, please make an exception.”
The soldier’s gaze changed. One hand settled on the saber at his waist as he said coldly, “Over there.”
Movement came from inside the carriage. Pei Yuan Jin seemed about to step out, so Fu Xi Yan hurriedly backed up two steps and held the door shut. Under the soldier’s wary stare, he guided the carriage to one side of the city gate.
Pei Yuan Jin knew Fu Xi Yan was outside and did not dare push the door with force. Instead, he opened the window and leaned his head out.
Fu Xi Yan blinked at him with complete confidence, signaling that he could handle this.
The soldier left them cooling their heels and returned to dealing with everyone else. Fu Xi Yan stood there staring blankly at his arrogant back. Truthfully, it had been a long time since anyone had treated him with this degree of neglect. Even back when he was a useless good-for-nothing who could not cultivate true qi, what he received more often was ridicule.
Tap, tap.
Pei Yuan Jin knocked twice on the carriage window.
Fu Xi Yan looked at the sky, then the ground. Only after he ran out of things to look at did he turn around awkwardly.
Pei Yuan Jin raised a brow at him. If an anger meter could have appeared over his head, it would probably have been full enough to unleash his ultimate move.
Fu Xi Yan leaned closer and coughed twice. “This is the Northern Lands’ main base. Zheng Jiao Jiao, Mei Xia Ying, Monk Wang Ku, and the others could all be holed up inside. If a fight breaks out, we’re at a disadvantage.”
Pei Yuan Jin said proudly, “It doesn’t matter.”
Back in Southern Yu, so many Martial Gods had shamelessly ganged up on them, and had they not endured that too? Besides, the harsher the environment, the better it was for tempering one’s state of mind.
Fu Xi Yan knew that perfectly well. No one wanted a breakthrough more desperately than he did now. It was just that…
“Aunt Yu and Apothecary Jiang are here.”
He had the Heaven-and-Earth Mirror, Pei Yuan Jin possessed overwhelming strength, and the Flower-Guarding Unit knew how to “disappear.” Even if they could not win, they could still flee. Yu Su Huan and Jiang Xiu, however, could barely endure walking too long, let alone running for their lives.
Pei Yuan Jin pressed his lips together, clearly displeased, but he could not ignore the problem.
Fu Xi Yan stroked his hand soothingly. “It’s fine. I have an idea.”
He went to the rear carriage and gave a few instructions to the Flower-Guarding Unit member temporarily serving as driver. A moment later, right under the soldier’s eyes, one member of the unit slipped silently into the city.
The sky brightened, then darkened again. Clouds drifted from east to west before gradually vanishing into the boundless blue.
The winding line outside the city gate finally dwindled away. Once several merchants dressed in Western Frontier clothing entered, the soldiers guarding the gate at last had time to spare. The soldier who had questioned Fu Xi Yan earlier sauntered over, glanced at them, then kept walking and went straight up onto the city wall.
Detained outside the gate along with them were two jianghu men and a middle-aged scholar who claimed he had come to visit relatives.
Fu Xi Yan noticed that nearly everyone being held looked like they came from Northern Zhou. Yet plenty of Northern Zhou people had also been allowed through, so he could not tell what standard the soldiers were using.
Compared with Fu Xi Yan, who still had enough leisure to observe calmly, the others were visibly more anxious. The middle-aged scholar looked especially nervous. Accompanied by an elderly servant, he cautiously came over and struck up a conversation. “Young Master, have you also come to visit relatives?”
The scholar had arrived late and had not seen Fu Xi Yan take out the sugar while being questioned.
Fu Xi Yan politely explained the situation.
The middle-aged scholar looked disappointed and twisted the hem of his robe with both hands. “Young Master appears widely traveled and knowledgeable. When such a situation has occurred in the past, how would people like us usually be dealt with?”
“‘Dealt with’ sounds a little too serious.” Fu Xi Yan paused. Under the other man’s burning, expectant gaze, he forced himself to say, “This is my first time here too.”
The middle-aged scholar’s face fell. If he had not been older, with tear glands less vigorous than before and northern air so dry, he might have started crying on the spot.
Fu Xi Yan hurriedly returned the courtesy by asking about his circumstances.
The middle-aged scholar immediately poured out his troubles.
His father had been from Northern Zhou. Because his father spoke Mengwu fluently, he often came to Mengwu to make a living. Later, after Mengwu leased the Northern Lands to the Northern Alliance and the border between the two sides tightened, his father could no longer return home, so he stayed, married, and had children.
The middle-aged scholar said, “I have a younger sister who married a guard from the Northern Lands. A few years ago, her husband was transferred to Yujing, and we haven’t seen each other since. Mother passed away before the New Year. She was worried about my sister and left her some things, so I thought I would bring them over. Who would’ve expected this? If I’d known, I should have stayed home.”
Fu Xi Yan sympathized deeply with him.
The world seen by those in power and the world experienced by ordinary people often differed greatly. A tiny ripple in the eyes of those above could ruin the most precious years of an ordinary person’s life.
Fu Xi Yan comforted him. “Your brother-in-law is a guard. He must know people in the army. Ask someone to send word and smooth things over. You should be fine.”
Although he knew the young man before him might not actually have any influence, the middle-aged scholar visibly relaxed.
After a while, the soldier came down from the wall with a man dressed as a military officer. The officer’s face was dark, and his two brows seemed naturally knitted together. The gaze he swept across the group carried a sinister killing intent.
The soldier strode in front of everyone and barked, “Everyone out of the carriages.”
When you were under someone else’s roof, whatever they said went.
Fu Xi Yan’s group obediently climbed down. The middle-aged scholar remained beside him, while the two jianghu men also appeared cooperative.
The scowling officer stood before them and said in a gloomy voice, “You all know why you were kept behind. Confess now, and in consideration of the time you save me, I may leave your corpses intact. If you cling to hope and resist to the end, don’t blame me for being ruthless when I skin you alive and scrape the flesh from your bones.”
The middle-aged scholar trembled from head to toe and was about to speak when one of the two jianghu men shouted unhappily, “Who are you trying to scare? A little watchdog at the gate dares bark like a wolf? I already told you Lord Wang of the Military Affairs Office invited us here. If you delay Lord Wang’s business, can a dog like you shoulder the responsibility?”
Insulted to his face, the officer did not grow angry. He merely looked at the man coldly. “This Lord Wang you’re talking about wouldn’t happen to be Wang Yun Lai, would it? What unfortunate timing. Lord Wang delayed military affairs two days ago and has already gone on ahead…”
Before he could finish, while the two men were still stunned, the officer suddenly drew his saber and slashed at one man’s neck.
His strike was fast, precise, and vicious. Although the man instinctively dodged, a deep cut still opened across his neck. Blood sprayed out instantly like fireworks, eerie and brilliant.
His companion immediately drew his blade and fought back.
The other soldiers surged forward together and joined the attack.
Fu Xi Yan watched coldly. The jianghu man should have been at the peak of the Vajra Stage. That might not sound like especially high cultivation, but Fu Xuan himself had once been at the Vajra Stage when he served as commander of Northern Zhou’s imperial guards. For an unaffiliated jianghu wanderer, peak Vajra Stage was already more than enough to roam the martial world as long as he did not court death.
The officer was no weakling either, at least in the middle-to-late Vajra Stage. Fighting a peak Vajra expert was somewhat difficult for him, but the supporting soldiers coordinated with remarkable discipline. Some attacked while others defended, all centered around the officer, and together they forced the jianghu man into a position where he could do nothing but swing his blade to protect himself.
His companion had already fallen and lay motionless, his life or death unknown. The sight cast a heavy shadow over the surviving man. Under the enemy’s relentless pressure, he missed several chances to escape, and in the end he was ground down and killed where he stood.
Watching him collapse drenched in blood, the middle-aged scholar finally broke down completely and began sobbing.
The officer returned with his bloodstained saber in hand. His cold gaze swept over the scholar and old servant before settling on Fu Xi Yan’s group. “And what do you plan to do?”
Fu Xi Yan said, “We have long admired Alliance Leader Wen’s great talent and bold strategy, his wisdom and martial prowess. That is precisely why we traveled thousands of li to do business here. General, please judge us fairly.”
The officer said, “Northern Zhou and the Northern Lands are on the verge of war, and you chose now to come do business?”
Fu Xi Yan gritted his teeth. “To tell the truth, I owe gambling debts back home and had nowhere left to turn. I had no choice but to come out and seek an opportunity to rise again. As the old saying goes, fortune is found amid danger. If war weren’t about to break out and other merchants weren’t afraid to come here, how would I make any money?”
The officer sneered. “You’ve certainly made it sound reasonable.” He turned to the soldier who had questioned Fu Xi Yan earlier. “Why did you keep him here?”
The soldier said, “His travel permit bears the seal of a Northern Zhou border city. Ever since our army stationed itself along the northern frontier, Northern Zhou has withdrawn behind its defenses and sealed the border. Only two smuggling routes remain, Ghost-Cry Pass and Thunderclap Mountain. Both routes cross treacherous terrain. Even getting a carriage through is difficult. How could anyone transport fragile glass that way? His story is clearly nothing but lies!”
Fu Xi Yan had never imagined that preparations he thought flawless would look riddled with holes to the other side. Shi Wei Liang had prepared the travel permit and the seal was genuine. The story about selling sugar and buying glass had also been carefully designed around trade between the two regions. But Shi Wei Liang was sitting in Haojing and had failed to account for changes in the wartime situation.
At this point, any further argument would only make Fu Xi Yan look more embarrassing.
Fu Xi Yan sighed and glanced at Pei Yuan Jin, signaling that they should prepare to fight. Yet the officer stared at them, hesitating to swing the saber already in his hand. Years in the army and countless battles had sharpened his instinct for danger.
Earlier, he had known that one stroke of his saber could finish the man before him. Facing this group, however, his instincts told him that with a single stroke, he would be the one finished.
Just as both sides sank into a strange silence, the rapid pounding of hooves shattered the stillness. A magnificent white horse leapt through the city gate. The silver armor of the young officer riding it still flashed in the dusk, and he charged toward them like a bolt of lightning.
Just as the horse’s hooves were about to come down on a soldier’s back, the silver-armored youth yanked the reins, and the horse reared instantly.
“The Great General wants these people! Release them immediately!”