Chapter 141 Part 2

Soon, Li Meng strode in and saluted Chengping. Chengping smiled and said, “You suffered a loss at my hands last time. Could it be that your master is holding a grudge and sent you here to collect the debt?”

Li Meng said respectfully, “Great Khan is too serious. His Majesty is not someone who holds grudges so easily. Everyone has their own difficulties that are hard to speak of—whatever happened in the past is already behind us. His Majesty sent me here to express his wish to cooperate with Great Khan again.”

“Oh, how do we cooperate?” Chengping’s eyes flickered slightly as he asked.

“The Xifan army forces will soon engage the Hexi army near the region of Guangming City. His Majesty hopes that, at that time, the Great Khan can launch a simultaneous attack on Hexi. Rest assured, so long as the battle goes well, there are those in court who will see it through. If His Majesty succeeds, then all past promises will be honored in full. In addition, I would like to borrow some food and grass from Great Khan to tide over the current difficulties. A new supply route is about to open—once it does, everything will be repaid double. As a gesture of goodwill, we first present five chests of gold and jewels, and ten beauties. May Great Khan kindly accept.”

After he finished speaking, a group of followers outside the door carried five heavy wooden boxes into the room and placed them on the ground. Ten beautiful women followed in. The beauties were dressed in silk and satin, all of them were stunning. When the lids of the boxes were opened, pearls shone brightly and treasure radiate all around. The faces of the people and the treasure splendor reflected each other. Who in the world would not be tempted?

Chengping walked to the box, casually scooped up a handful, and watched as gold, jade, and pearls slipped through his fingers like rain. He chuckled. “Li Yan actually put in some real capital this time—not just empty words anymore. But tell me this. If I agree, and truly help him succeed, isn’t he afraid of raising a tiger that’ll turn on him? That he’s inviting a wolf into his home, making his Li family’s reign uneasy?”

Li Meng said: “The world runs on profit and interest—nothing more. There’s always a way to find a proper solution. If peace and order can be achieved, the Great Khan will be satisfied, and so will His Majesty. And if we speak in the most extreme terms—if one day things really do spiral out of control—then it only proves the Great Khan is the true Son of Heaven. Should that time come, yielding the throne to the worthy would not be unthinkable.”

“What a fine ‘nothing is unthinkable’! Your master truly has a broad mind!” Chengping burst into loud laughter. After laughing, he fell silent for a moment, then slowly said, “I’ll think it over and give my answer in the morning.”

A flicker of delight appeared in Li Meng’s eyes. “Of course! Many thanks, Great Khan—”

Before he finished speaking Cui Daosi—who had not gone far and had turned back upon sensing something amiss—could no longer hold back. He strode in through the doorway and called out to Chengping, “Great Khan! You must not listen to this man! A traitor like Li Yan is just a clown, a petty villain scrambling for scraps! At most, he may be arrogant for a while, but how could such schemes truly succeed? No matter how sweet his words sound now, they’re nothing but illusions—moonlight in water, flowers in a mirror! Besides, he promised you such a good thing, but who knows what he’s promised that He Lituo! He’s probably just waiting for you two to fight each other so he can reap the spoils! Great Khan, you must not fall for it! On the other hand, Pei family’s Erlang was trapped in such a desperate situation, but he was able to escape safely. If this is not a blessing from heaven, what else could it be? You’ve stayed in Chang’an yourself. You know how wise and capable the emperor is, how virtuous and beloved the Princess is—they’ve truly won the people’s hearts. You know it’s not the same as before. Chang’an won’t be easy to take! Great Khan, you and Erlang are good friends. If you stop fighting now, I’m willing to be a middleman and go back to the court to help you turn things around. Don’t worry, the court has always been kind and benevolent. As long as you sincerely repent, the past will be wiped out, and the court will never punish you—”

Li Meng looked extremely gloomy. He suddenly drew his sword and aim at Cui Daosi’s chest, angrily saying, “How dare you sow discord and speak nonsense! I will kill you for Great Khan first!”

Cui Daosi watched the blade flashing towards him, frightened, and unable to dodge it. He was just about to close his eyes and wait for death. Fortunately, at this moment, a gust of wind passed by his face, and he heard the sound of weapons clashing. He opened his eyes and saw Shi Duo drawing his sword and blocking Li Meng’s sword for him.

“Presumptuous!” Shi Duo said, “He is now the person of our Great Khan’s. Even if he deserved to die, it will not be your turn!”

Li Meng was stunned for a moment, then he put away his sword and lowered his head to apologize.

Chengping turned to Cui Daosi and said coldly: “Didn’t you leave already? Why are you back? I’m not your good nephew who will listen to your nagging. If you say one more word, I will cut off your tongue!”

Cui Daosi felt a chill on his lips and shut up immediately. After a pause, he apologized repeatedly, saying that he had drunk too much and was talking nonsense and made no sense.

“If Great Khan doesn’t blame… me, I will really go to rest now…” He smiled and said carefully.

Chengping frowned. Cui Daosi knew it was permission, so he turned around and left. When he got outside, he wiped the sweat off his forehead, calmed his still pounding heart, took a quick look behind him, and hurried back to where he lived.

The young concubine Chengping gave him was also a woman from the Wolf Court, both to serve and keep watch. But the woman was gentle, admired his background and knowledge, and was grateful for his considerate treatment—not being as rough as other men in the bedroom matter—so she was devoted to him and followed him wholeheartedly, never reporting his unusual behavior to anyone.

People are not made of wood or stone—after spending so much time together, Cui Daosi couldn’t bear to be truly ruthless. Deep into the night, once the woman had been coaxed to sleep, he stuffed her mouth to muffle any sound, then tied her up with rope. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself not to look at her tearful, pleading face when she woke up in fright. Disguised as a man of the Wolf Court, he slipped out the door. Under the lead of a centurion, they avoided the patrolling guards and quietly made their way to a side gate of the garrison town.

When he first came north, he had brought several hundred men. After all the twists and turns, barely a dozen remained. Having received the signal, they were already waiting there.

He had long planned to escape, and had spent months looking for the right person to help. A few months ago, he finally came across a centurion who had once known Pei Xiaoyuan. With his eloquence, he persuaded the other person to help him escape and go to his nephew. He had originally planned to act within the next few days, but after all that had happened tonight, there were no more reason to wait. The person who sent the falcon message—Chengping might fool others, but not him. He was nearly certain it had come from Pei Xiaoyuan himself. Yet judging by Chengping’s reaction, it was clear he had no intention of reconciling with the Holy Dynasty. All the more so now, with Li Meng’s sudden arrival.

If he didn’t flee back tonight, and the two armies truly clashed in the coming days, not only would he become a burden to his nephew, but worse—if the Hexi forces were caught unprepared, they could once again be attacked from both front and rear.

Cui Daosi glanced at his entourage and was about to mount his horse to escape, but suddenly his eyes fixed and he looked at everyone around. He couldn’t help but feel a chill on the back of his head, and a sense of foreboding suddenly surged into his heart.

“Where’s the young master?”

He asked.

A month ago, the clan head met a stray “youth” in the Wolf Court and brought them back. But once the dirt was washed from the youth’s face and their features were clearly seen, everyone was stunned by the revelation of their identity. The clan head was all the more troubled—yet unable to send the person away, he had no choice but to hide them nearby under the guise of a servant, with strict instructions that they were not to wander about freely.

She had already been informed about tonight’s escape, but she did not react in any unusual way and remained silent. Because she usually behaved like this, so no one thought it was unusual.

They never expected that she didn’t come out!

—

In the banquet hall of the garrison town, Chengping dismissed the last few remaining dancers and attendants, and sat alone on the couch with his eyes closed for a long time. Then, he opened his eyes and turned around, staring at the crumpled letter on the ground.

He slowly stood up, stretched out his arm to pick it up, unfolded it and looked at it for a moment. Suddenly stood up as if he had finally made up his mind, he put on his clothes, and was about to take a step, but then stopped again. He looked back at the sword on the table, grabbed it, held it tightly, and then strode away.

At midnight, he rode his horse to the foot of a barren slope several miles away from Huangsha Garrison, dismounted, and walked up the slope for a while.

Slowly, he stopped.

The cold moon outside the Great Wall shone quietly on a shady slope in the dark night, and the snow surface was shining with a slippery and cold silver light.

At the end of the silver light, there was a figure standing quietly, as if it had been waiting there for a long time.

“Pei Er, you are still so courageous. You and I have become mortal enemies, but you told me your location truthfully. Aren’t you really afraid that I will send people to surround you?”

“Courageous or not, it makes no difference to me. I must come this time.” Pei Xiaoyuan responded.

“Why are you still looking for me?” Chengping curled his lips, “Cui Daosi is here with me, and I haven’t hurt him in the slightest. As long as he stops saying things I don’t like, I won’t touch him. Are you trying to persuade me to surrender to the court like him? If that’s the case, I advise you not to say more, so as to save your breath.”

“Has Li Yan sent someone to contact you again?” Pei Xiaoyuan suddenly took a step, walked slowly towards him, and asked. At this midnight when everything was silent, his boots landed on this snowy field where no one had ever been, making a low but clear sound of stepping on the snow.

Chengping remained silent and did not respond.

Pei Xiaoyuan stopped a few steps away from him.

“You don’t have to submit to the court. If you don’t want to, I won’t force you. But listen to me, don’t have any connection with Li Yan again.” While the moonlight fell on his cold face, Pei Xiaoyuan spoke as he stared at his old friend opposite.

“Why do you think I will listen to you?” Chengping twisted the corner of his lip slightly.

“I was the one who let you go that day.”

He paused.

“Everyone makes mistakes, and so do I. I have made no fewer mistakes than you. But the same mistake should not be repeated twice. If you collude with Li Yan again and do something that endangers the lives of my soldiers, even if it means sacrificing one more person, do you think I will still tolerate you?”

“If you don’t listen to my advice tonight, if you won’t turn back and stop, then either you die or I die.” Pei Xiaoyuan said coldly.

Chengping looked at him for a moment, then suddenly laughed, nodding lightly.

“You know what?” He said slowly, “when I learned how you escaped the siege, beyond admiration, I thought—if it were me, I would never have turned back and fled. To die together with someone like you, buried beneath the snows of the mountains, that would be something thrilling indeed. Even in death—it would be worth it.”

He drew his sword.

“But Pei Xiaoyuan, if you want to kill me, it won’t be that easy,” he said.

Pei Xiaoyuan watched him walking slowly towards him with a sword in hand. When Chengping got in front of him and swung the sword at him, he drew his own sword and blocked the sharp blade in front of his face.

The sword light flashed across their eyes like a pool of cold spring water. After they separated, they no longer talk and fought without mercy.

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