Chapter 131: The King of Light Cavalry, Po Jun Meets Yao Guang

Qibili was brought to Li Guanyi's courtyard.

As the Tian Kehan of the Tiele tribe, the Xue family granted him high honors: eight cold dishes, eight fruits, eight varieties of vegetables, eight types of pastries—forty-eight items total, each in a small dish, yet combinable into one large round platter adorned with a delicate painting of a red carp entering water.

The child eyed the food hungrily, stealing a cautious glance at Qibili.

Then he stealthily reached out to take some, but Qibili gently slapped his hand away.

The young khan smiled and shook his head, speaking in Tiele tongue:

"Mind your manners, Hun Jian."

"Though we are poor, we are not greedy children, are we?"

The boy called Hun Jian scratched his head, sat down straight-backed, and said: "Yes!"

Qibili laughed and pulled a sugar pill from his robe, offering it; Hun Jian shook his head, saying he wasn't hungry, wasn't craving it. Qibili smiled and said: "You're a good child, so this is my gift to you—you may eat it."

The young khan watched as the Tiele child happily accepted the sugar pill.

He cupped it in his palm, delicately licked it, and beamed: "It's sweet, Tian Kehan—so sweet!"

Qibili nodded with a smile, but his eyes held sorrow.

Yet still he sat upright, like a red willow of the Western Regions, like a rock of the Western Regions—until he saw the young man approaching, then rose, stepped forward two paces, and bowed deeply:

"You have come. I, grandson of Ge Lun Yi Wu Shi Mo He Tian Kehan of the Tiele, son of Mo He Dui Te Le Qibili Ge, thank you for your grace."

He named both his grandfather and father, signifying solemnity.

Li Guanyi helped him up; Qibili grinned, reached out, and patted the boy beside him: "Yesterday this child was being sent away, but the Western Regions are too far. The officials, knowing I was here, came to consult me—they said they'd purged some villains and rescued the child."

"They said that beneath the Son of Heaven's feet, all evil is punished by law."

"I thanked them. Only later did the child tell me it wasn't them who saved him—they merely took credit for your deed, boasting to me."

Hun Jian grinned: "Thank you, big brother, for saving me."

"Those bastards planned to steal your credit and beg the Tian Kehan for a few kind words so they could get promoted—they didn't know I overheard them clearly."

He raised his eyebrows, as if claiming credit.

Qibili said: "Today I came to thank you—please come to my place for a meal."

Li Guanyi accepted without hesitation; Qibili was overjoyed.

He and Li Guanyi did not go to the official relay station.

Though poor, he was still a Tiele khan; the court generously provided a whole courtyard, with ample food, clothing, and supplies—but Qibili said, if he hosted Li Guanyi in the Emperor's relay compound, it would harm him.

You saved our Tiele children—I cannot repay kindness with betrayal.

As he spoke, the young khan smiled, his eyes holding the cunning and wisdom of a Western Regions fox, yet also the openness of a lion. He led Li Guanyi to a somewhat dilapidated courtyard.

Inside were other children; a large pot had been set up, bubbling with meat, its aroma rising. The children were all thin, their clothes clinging to their frames in the wind, revealing the outlines of two rows of ribs.

Li Guanyi did not see his donkey.

Qibili smiled, pointed to the meat in the pot, and said bluntly:

"Nothing worth eating here, no silver left. The officials said they'd give me gifts, but I believe thanking a benefactor shouldn't mean taking from others. This donkey carried me such a long distance—now I must kill him to offer you a meal."

Li Guanyi remembered Qibili's words: "Wasn't this donkey raised by your tribe's elders? Are you really going to eat it?"

Qibili said: "Precisely because it was raised by our elders, it must be used to thank you—it's as if all our parents and villagers are inviting you to share a piece of meat. Come, meet your benefactor."

He gently patted the children around him; their appearances varied, and Li Guanyi recognized they weren't from one tribe. Qibili said: "The Nine Tiele Clans: Uyghur, Pugu, Tongluo, Hun, Sijie, Bayegu, Qi, Abusi, Gulunwusisi."

"I am Tian Kehan of the Qi. Hun Jian Ri Jin is of the Hun tribe."

"Though not from our own clan, we are all tribes living in the Western Regions, all under the Tiele name, all struggling. Though we often fight among ourselves, no matter the grievance, we never abandon children to die."

"They are their children—and they are our children."

Qibili smiled, pointed to the pot, then had the children bring a bowl containing sauce: vinegar, soy, chopped scallions, cilantro. He used a large chopstick to lift a piece of meat with skin—boiled in Bai Shui with ginger—and said:

"This is how we eat it in our land: good meat boiled, then dipped in sauce."

"Not as refined as Jiangnan's, but please try."

Li Guanyi took it, dipped the meat in sauce, and ate it before all eyes, tasting its earthy gaminess. He swallowed, then smiled: "Any more?"

The children laughed. Qibili nodded, smiling; they began dividing the food, sipping broth cautiously before eating meat. The flavor was unpalatable to Central Plains tastes—the donkey hadn't been properly bled, the preparation crude.

The gaminess clung to every bite, yet they ate as if it were the finest feast, their eyes gleaming. Li Guanyi looked at the young khan beside him; Qibili smiled: "To save these children before leaving Chen, I can return and answer to my elders."

Li Guanyi said: "You're leaving?"

Qibili nodded: "The Emperor invited me to stay, promised me a title and a Princess—but he didn't say how to bring my people to the borderlands. The Tangut prince and the Western Regions living Buddha both plan to stay."

Li Guanyi lowered his eyes. He understood the Emperor's calculations—he'd known from the start Qibili would never get what he hoped for. Yet still, he wished the young man might find his wish fulfilled.

Qibili said: "Chen officials asked if I wished to stay, saying the Western Regions are cold and barren, the frontier poor—better to remain here, with beauties and gold, free of worry."

"Jiangnan, the Central Plains—how fine they are."

"Even I think the boiled meat I loved as a child now tastes of gaminess. The wind here is good, the grass and water good—when it blows, even the air carries the scent of water. Willows sway, girls are beautiful—but…"

The young khan sat among the children, patting his curved saber, his smile calm:

"Spring comes—the grass in the Western Regions will sprout, covering the earth with purple flowers. When the wind blows, the grass bends, and my homeland's river flows like gold."

"The cattle and sheep cry for milk—it's time to herd again."

"That is my true home."

Li Guanyi said: "Why not come to me?"

Qibili thought, then answered: "... It's not a simple thing. If I came to you, would I trouble you too much? Would it make the Son of Heaven distrust or dislike you?"

Li Guanyi closed his eyes. "Do you have paper and brush?"

Qibili said: "No need for this—I…"

Li Guanyi tore off a piece of his robe.

Qibili fell silent. He was no fool. He looked at the boy before him, lips trembling. Li Guanyi reached out, took a wooden stick from the pot, ground it into a sturdy brush, and wrote on his torn robe. Then he called Hun Jian:

"Go to where you first found me. Give this to a man who loves salt-roasted peanuts—he's Zhao Da Bing. Ask him for a large handful of salt-roasted peanuts, then tell Brother Zhao to deliver this to the Seven Wang Fu of the Turks—to a man as beautiful as a woman."

The Turkic Seventh Prince held his position atop the Western Regions, occupying vast stretches of grassland.

He wished to break free from beneath his father's tent—that father being the Divine General beneath Heaven.

Therefore he hoped to obtain the Xue family's trade routes.

After the Seventh Prince had previously 'rescued' Li Guanyi from beneath General Yue Qianfeng's hand, this matter had already begun to be settled, and the route from the Xue family to the Turkic lands required passing precisely through the Western Regions; such a grand undertaking, even if only a portion were revealed, would be enough to sustain several thousand households of the Tiele tribe.

That child ran off happily into the distance.

Li Guanyi watched his retreating back, then turned to look at the Tiele Tian Kehan, looked at the curved blade at his waist, and said: "Is that the blade Tian Kehan Qibili practices?"

Li Guanyi said: "Shall we have a friendly bout?"

Tian Kehan Qibili fell quiet, then said: "I am stronger than you."

Li Guanyi said with a smile: "Just comparing techniques, how about it?"

Tian Kehan Qibili took a deep breath, and a similarly frank and bold smile appeared on his face: "Good!" He removed his curved blade, but kept it sheathed, while Li Guanyi lifted the sword in his hand, pointing it at the Tian Kehan before him; the children scattered in unison.

Wearing somewhat dirty clothes, sitting there with a bowl in his lap, reaching in to grab meat and stuff it into his mouth, still sucking on his fingers.

Tian Kehan Qibili's curved blade pointed at the youth before him; he reached out to touch the ancient, millennium-old wolf-fang pendant hanging at his neck, did not reveal his true strength, and merely said softly: "Be careful."

The youth over there smiled.

Li Guanyi hopped lightly down, his footsteps brisk, and Tian Kehan Qibili froze.

This is—!!!

In the instant Li Guanyi's footwork shifted, the youth went from stillness to explosive motion, closing the distance in a single breath; the sword in his hand, still sheathed, swept out like a curved blade, and Tian Kehan Qibili's body swayed as his curved blade rose to meet the strike.

Only at the instant blade met sword.

The youth's sword seemed to become a curved blade, like a butterfly, flowing along the edge of Tian Kehan Qibili's blade as its force shifted; then Li Guanyi's original military footwork suddenly became incomparably agile and light, and in the moment of turning, Li Guanyi withdrew his sword and lightly trailed a finger across Tian Kehan Qibili's back.

Tian Kehan Qibili's footwork faltered; he seemed to know what this was.

This was the complete core of the Golden Curved Blade's force from five hundred years ago.

He spun and swept out.

Li Guanyi's 'curved blade' likewise bounced off Tian Kehan Qibili's edge, leapt, his movement changed, and once again trailed a finger across Tian Kehan Qibili's body; Tian Kehan Qibili gradually loosened his restraint, his blade technique unfolding with a stern and disciplined form.

But Li Guanyi had crossed blades with the Third Prince of Tiele more than once.

He knew the core of this curved blade.

Like a butterfly.

Like the wind.

The fiercer Tian Kehan Qibili's blade technique became, the butterfly could always shift with it, like wind above the waves—when Tian Kehan Qibili sped up, Li Guanyi sped up; when Tian Kehan Qibili slowed, Li Guanyi slowed, yet shadowed him like his own reflection, the blade technique exquisite beyond compare.

Tian Kehan Qibili suddenly retreated, his eyes bright, gasping heavily: "This is!!!"

Li Guanyi stood where he was, gripping his sword:

"The Tiele Golden Curved Blade technique."

"Recently I've grasped a principle even more deeply: only with a blade in hand do you have the right to speak of protecting or not protecting."

His eyes were calm as he looked at the Tian Kehan before him; he raised his sword, thinking of Xue Lao's teachings, and the youth said softly: "Righteous spirit without martial force and an edge to the blade is not enough."

"Tian Kehan Qibili, come."

"The true transmission of the Tiele clan's blade technique, and also the Tiele clan's cavalry tactics—I know them all. If you wish to leave, I won't see you off, but these things, I will teach you; time is short, how much you can remember depends on yourself."

The youth gave his aid generously and without hesitation.

Gripping his sword, he thought of the legend in the Juan Sect of one who moved like the wind; in Tian Kehan Qibili's eyes, he seemed cloaked in light, and Li Guanyi merely held his sword and said softly:

"Buried in history—the king of light cavalry beneath Heaven. In legend, the charge was so swift the enemy could scarcely form a complete defense; wearing no armor, or only light armor, body pressed flat against the horse's back, in the moment of clash a single stroke could slit the opponent's throat."

"Tian Kehan Qibili, I believe you—the Golden Curved Blade cavalry will return in your hands, in these chaotic times."

"May you shelter your people."

Tian Kehan Qibili gripped his blade, looked at the youth before him, and said: "You, no—Li Guanyi, aren't you afraid that after I learn these things, the Tiele light cavalry will become your enemy in the future? In such chaotic times, the Tiele tribe cannot even guarantee its survival from one day to the next."

Li Guanyi said calmly: "I will teach the methods to counter them to the generals of the Central Plains."

"Besides, I am still here."

"Most importantly—is Tian Kehan Qibili that kind of person?"

Tian Kehan Qibili was quiet for a long while, then laughed; he laughed uproariously, laughed until tears nearly came, then exhaled a long, hearty breath and said:

"You really are a 'fool'!!!"

"But I will never become your enemy—never!"

Tian Kehan Qibili laughingly raised his curved blade and said softly:

"I came to the Central Plains, met the sage Son of Heaven, yet received no help; I thought my coming here was a waste of time, but only now do I realize I have still fulfilled my mission."

Tian Kehan Qibili raised his blade; he looked at the youth before him, and so the young Tian Kehan's face once more wore that frank and bold smile from their first meeting:

"Come, please instruct me."

He strode forward in great steps, sweeping out his curved blade, its edge parting the wind.

In his mind, however, he thought:

How absurd this age of chaos is—the nine surnames of Tiele are nearly extinct, yet here he has at last encountered the chance the elders of his homeland spoke of. The Golden Curved Blade cavalry, the king of light cavalry beneath Heaven, a name the world has forgotten—must be spoken again.

The legend destroyed by the Tuyuhun King, the mightiest in the annals of history—may you appear once more upon the battlefield.

May you once more protect your people.

May you once more gallop across the sands of war!

The youth before him calmly drew his sword, magnificent and upright.

The ringing clash and howl of metal, blade and sword took to dancing.

The carriage wheels spun at high speed; Hun Jian's little face was pale, and beside him the man more beautiful than even the prettiest maiden of the tribe gripped the reins with both hands—when his eyes gleamed with excitement, a touch of eerie violet even surfaced within their deep black; violet pupils, black hair, pale skin—truly handsome.

The Pojun carriage, with its top-tier Jingcheng driving skill—skill enough to shake off the Tangut and Turkic pursuers on the grasslands—left the garrison three streets behind, then charged in at a great pace, and following the Xue family's directions, arrived at Li Guanyi's courtyard.

Po Jun felt deeply satisfied.

The Lord had sought him out.

Hahaha, still the Robe Edict—this thing he would pass down; when he became an old man, he would tell the next generation of Po Jun how great he was, how foolish and stupid those old men before him had been.

Hahaha, satisfying, satisfying.

Yao Guang, Yao Guang, this time I've been the fastest…

He gasped for breath as he pushed open the courtyard gate, proudly scanning the grounds, feeling every corner exuded royal bearing—even the stone used for sword practice, the pond to one side, and even that white-haired thing over there all seemed perfectly suited…

Hm? Wait.

Whitehair?!!!

Po Jun slowly lifted his head and saw a silver-haired girl sitting quietly beside the wall.

Yao Guang.