Chapter 391

On the steppes, there has never been a tradition of valuing blood children over adopted ones.

Moreover, they not only place little importance on blood ties, but are even more "open" than ordinary people imagine.

For example, the present-day Moluoduo Dynasty is what the Han people to the south call Bei Mo.

Its supreme ruler is the Ashina Khan, and the Khan's second queen was once someone else's wife.

She was initially the wife of a chieftain of a small tribe on the border; when the Ashina army marched to that place and waged war there, the chieftain, in order to preserve his tribe, decisively offered up his own wife...

It is said that the queen was already pregnant at the time, and she gave birth to a child not long after marrying into the Ashina household...

That child is now the third prince under Ashina's command.

A prince of obscure lineage.

However, because that queen was very skilled at winning the Khan's favor, gaining his affection, the child she bore also enjoyed considerable favor in the dynasty.

Compared to that prince, Ashina's other biological sons have always merely stood to the side.

Ashina's rules are simply the rules.

The rule on the steppes is simply "the weak are meat, the strong eat."

Under this set of rules, one's lineage is never scrutinized; only whether a person's ability is sufficient matters.

How much ability one has, how much meat and grain one can bring back, how many people one can feed, how many mouths one can fill—these are what truly matter.

Consequently...

Why would he still despise a woman who has borne children?

There's absolutely no reason to despise her!

He only knows that there is a saying on the steppes—

If one day your wife is abducted, the first thing you should do is not blame her, but reflect on your own inadequacy.

On the steppes, such matters are clearly met with great tolerance!

"I actually forgot that we steppe people view this matter quite openly, whereas you Han people sometimes are truly... pedantic?"

He Lian Bo Bo also thought for a while before coming up with the two words "pedantic".

When those two words came from the mouth of He Lian Bo Bo, who ought to be a hair‑eating, blood‑drinking barbarian, Xuan Feixing felt as if the heavens were about to collapse under a blow.

Yet He Lian Bo Bo seemed utterly unaware, showing no intention of stopping:

"Look at my memory—if I'm not mistaken, you Han people had a tradition of killing the firstborn during the Shang dynasty."

"Back then, it seems the men there couldn't verify a woman's chastity, yet they desperately wanted the child to be their own, so they married a wife and first offered a sacrifice in the name of ritual..."

Xuan Feixing's face turned awful, and he immediately forgot the danger to his own life, shouting a rebuttal:

"Don't say it!"

After all, he is a native Han, and even though he carries the shamanic blood of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, he is still Han and cannot tolerate talk that violates human ethics.

He Lian Bo Bo was rebuked; his hawk‑like eyes narrowed instinctively for a moment, then slowly relaxed, and he gave a silent laugh:

"I'm just saying a few words—why are you so tense?"

"Never mind, never mind—I'm only telling you today that, regardless of whether she has children, I have decided she is my Atuma, and I will surely go south to find her."

Xuan Feixing's heart jolted, his expression changed wildly; heedless of his still‑unhealed wound on his back, he sprang up, overturning the bowl of mutton that He Lian Bo Bo had previously sliced for him onto the ground:

"What?!"

"You, you actually still want to look for her?!"

He Lian Bo Bo, after listening for so long, is he not merely hearing a joke?

What a formidable opponent He Lian Bo Bo is—he now understands this all too clearly!

Having told He Lian Bo Bo such a long story, isn't he essentially giving the witch ancestor tree a powerful rival?!

Unlike Xuan Feixing's violent change of countenance, He Lian Bo Bo is completely composed.

He took a sip of wine, a bite of meat, and even had leisure to admire the snow drifting outside the tent:

"Of course! My greatest wish in this life is to marry a Atuma whom I love and who loves me, to ride by day with her child in my arms, and at night to hold her and sing love songs..."

"You say she has children and a husband; I've thought it over, and I can completely accept her husband! If her husband cannot tolerate me, then that is his problem!"

"Whether I or her husband is better or worse, ordinary people can tell at a glance!"

By then, when Atuma chooses who, is there even any need to think?

There are so many bad men out there...

But surely none of them are as bad as he is!

Atuma must be dazzled by him, her eyes seeing only him!

By then he will simply sweep Atuma, along with her child, away in a dazed, happy manner!

When that time comes, though the heavens are high and the earth vast and worldly affairs shift, he will always have beside him a one‑and‑only Atuma...

If his Atuma wishes to become emperor, he will charge forward for her.

If his Atuma wishes to retire to the fields, he will lay down his armor and return to farming for her.

Isn't that wonderful?

However, the premise of all this is that this Atuma must be exactly as he imagines—special.

She must make him willing to abandon everything, and she must fulfill all his expectations.

She must...

Only by being worthy as his opponent and utterly defeating him can she make him bow.

Defeat...

Defeat...

Just thinking about it, that I will be defeated...

All the blood in my body boils for that instant...

He Lian Bo Bo raised his hand again and grabbed the whole roasted lamb leg, glossy and yellow-brown from cooking; his knuckles tightened, gripping the firm meat, his posture relaxed yet unrestrained.

He was like a beast that galloped the wilderness and was used to eating raw meat; he lowered his head, opened his mouth, and cleanly bit into the crisp meat tendon, his teeth tearing apart the tender flesh, his jaw exerting force to rip it hard, and the whole piece of tender meat cleanly detached from the bone along its grain.

After a moment, he, full, lowered his hand, casually wiped the slight oil from the corner of his mouth, lifted his eyes to the snow falling outside the tent, and his sharp-edged handsome face slowly rose a faint smile.

That smile held no warmth; instead it concealed a long‑hidden wolfish ambition.

The wind and snow beyond the frontier never cease, bitterly cold and barren, while the southern lands are rich, warm, and fertile for thousands of miles—long been the object of his constant yearning.

He Lian Bo Bo gazed into the distance for a long time, then finally raised his hand toward the outside of the tent and spoke in a low voice.

A burly guard heard the voice and instantly lifted the curtain to enter; the comer was hulking and sturdy, broad‑shouldered and thick‑backed, his whole body solid with sinew and bone, a veteran elite soldier who had long followed the army in campaign, his expression respectful, he bowed and awaited orders.

Xuan Feixing felt a vague unease, instinctively sensing that something was amiss, but by the time he tried to stop it, it was already too late.

Inside the tent the fire blazed, the warm light flickered, revealing the sharp gleam in He Lian Bo Bo's eyes.

The youthful general before him, already famed for suppressing the north and south at a young age, spoke with a firm tone, bearing the unchallengeable authority of a commander, each word clear as he gave the order:

"Send word to the Khan; once the frontier's winter is completely over, the snow melted and ice thawed, I will personally lead my iron cavalry south, raise troops, and tread every inch of the southern lands."

?? Not selling misery, but I still want to tell everyone, the author's recent typing conditions are worse than anyone could imagine........

? Within fifty days, I experienced three typhoons, three!