“Your Highness, why has the Great Barbarian Witch come here? What could she possibly want? Doesn’t she know that witches are forbidden from interfering in matters of state and war?”
“Don’t you dare tell me she simply came to pray for divine protection over your campaign!”
“Your Highness, when I first devised this plan, urging His Majesty to send you out on this campaign, we agreed—this matter had to be entirely in your hands, with no one else allowed to interfere! How many times have I stressed this to you—whether it’s a big matter or a small one, too many hands only ruin things!”
…
Inside Minhan Mude’er’s tent, Jun Beiyao’s voice rang out, full of every kind of displeasure, while the ever-arrogant, ever-overbearing Minhan Mude’er sat there now like a student who’d made a mistake, head bowed, humbly accepting his scolding!
In front of others, Jun Beiyao was nothing more than a dog at his feet—at times, treated even worse than a slave!
But in private, Jun Beiyao was his teacher, and Minhan Mude’er, an exceptionally, exceptionally humble and obedient student!
All the hardships Jun Beiyao had endured among the Xiongnu had come before he met Minhan Mude’er. The moment he first met the prince, he had put on display the full extent of his learning, and immediately won the young prince’s favor—all through little more than a few clever tricks, casting himself as a great scholar from the imperial court of the Central Plains. Gradually, Minhan Mude’er’s regard for him grew from mere favor into utter, boundless admiration!
And so, in private, Minhan Mude’er had taken Jun Beiyao as his teacher, having him teach him the culture of the Central Plains, the art of war, and even Central Plains martial arts!
The Xiongnu were savage, yes, but their nature was straightforward and their character honest—where would they ever pick up such crooked schemes?
And how could Minhan Mude’er possibly be a match for Jun Beiyao!
After several months together, in private, Jun Beiyao had become not just Minhan Mude’er’s teacher and strategist, but a man Minhan Mude’er admired from the very bottom of his heart!
Minhan Mude’er, one could say, followed every word Jun Beiyao spoke without question!
And for this war, the future Jun Beiyao had laid out for Minhan Mude’er was this: annex Eastern Qin, stand against Da Zhou, and have the Xiongnu hold back from sending troops unless absolutely necessary—wear down both Da Zhou and Eastern Qin, and let the Xiongnu reap the rewards as the fisherman profits while the snipe and clam struggle against each other.
This was the first time Minhan Mude’er had ever heard of such a strategy as “the fisherman profiting from the snipe and clam’s struggle,” and he had immediately, wholeheartedly agreed to it!
Once Jun Beiyao had finished his scolding, Minhan Mude’er obediently lifted his head. If Jun Beiyue’s handsome features carried an air of commanding dominance, then this man’s handsome features carried nothing but untamed wildness through and through!
And when he settled down quietly like this, what showed faintly through his handsome features was a kind of purity, a cleanness, like the blue sky and white clouds of the Xiongnu grasslands.
His eyes were so clear and bright it seemed no impurity could ever taint them.
“I had no idea she’d come either, Master. Don’t worry, she’s sure to come find me herself in a little while!”
The Great Barbarian Witch was not only the high priestess of the Xiongnu’s Great Barbarian Witch-Spirit Faith, but also Minhan Mude’er’s own paternal aunt. As a woman, she was forbidden from interfering in court affairs and could not take part in war; and as a witch, she was even more forbidden from setting foot in either of these two domains.
They had just finished receiving the Great Barbarian Witch, and at this very moment the servants were arranging her lodgings.
Though Minhan Mude’er had no idea why the Great Barbarian Witch had come, there was one thing he could guarantee—the Great Barbarian Witch would absolutely not interfere in this war.
Worried that Jun Beiyao might not believe him, Minhan Mude’er added, “Master, don’t worry. Whatever the reason, the Great Barbarian Witch won’t affect our decision to withdraw the troops!”
But the moment these words left his mouth, Jun Beiyao’s voice suddenly turned sharp with anger. “How could it not affect it!”
Minhan Mude’er frowned slightly. In all their time together, he had never once seen his master so rattled. What he admired most about his master was precisely that composed, unshakeable bearing, that air of calculated command!
He felt that his own nature was too wild, that he could never in this life achieve such composure himself—but he needed someone like that at his side.
His master wasn’t composed right now!
Jun Beiyao had indeed lost his composure. How could a witch possibly have no influence over the war? All the Great Barbarian Witch needed to do was perform a ritual and declare, in the name of the gods, that the coming half-month was inauspicious for withdrawing troops—and not a single Xiongnu soldier would dare defy that and retreat!
His true aim in pushing for withdrawal was to lure Jun Beiyue deep into Xiongnu territory, to make certain Jun Beiyue could never return!
As long as Jun Beiyue dared cross beyond Eastern Qin’s heartland, he would guarantee that intercepting troops would be waiting behind him, cutting off his path back!
No matter what, Eastern Qin had to withdraw!
The moment the Empress of Eastern Qin showed even the slightest sign of wavering, he intended to seize on it and force her to withdraw!
But with the Great Barbarian Witch here, everything was different. Though she couldn’t interfere in the war directly, she could perform divinations for it—she could influence the war in the name of the gods!
The Xiongnu’s devotion to their gods was such that if the gods demanded your death, you had to go and die!
Jun Beiyao drew a deep breath and said coldly, “And if she chooses to perform a divination for this battle?”
The moment these words were spoken, even the dullest of people would have grasped exactly what Jun Beiyao was worried about—and yet Minhan Mude’er, who was no fool, simply failed to understand.
“Master, if a divination is needed, then that is the will of the gods—not the Great Barbarian Witch interfering in the war! We would have no choice but to obey!”
Minhan Mude’er said this in complete earnest. Devoted as he was to the Great Barbarian Witch-Spirit Faith, this was simply the only way he could think of it.
“How could you possibly… you…” Jun Beiyao nearly burst out cursing, but in the end managed to restrain himself. He understood full well that the Great Barbarian Witch-Spirit Faith was a taboo subject among the Xiongnu, one that could not be questioned by anyone—no matter how high his own standing had risen in Minhan Mude’er’s heart, it would never come close to that of their intangible gods!
Minhan Mude’er looked at Jun Beiyao, his handsome brows slowly drawing together, and asked earnestly, “Master, do you perhaps not believe in the priestess’s divinations…”
Jun Beiyao’s heart lurched. He waved his hands hastily. “No, no! That’s not what I meant, it’s just…”
Just as he was about to explain, a slave’s voice came from outside the tent, announcing, “Master, Nanny Gu has brought ginseng broth.”
Nanny Gu—he’d never heard mention of any such nanny before. And ginseng broth—the Xiongnu had no custom of drinking ginseng broth at all.
Under ordinary circumstances, Jun Beiyao would certainly have recognized this as some kind of code phrase, but at this moment he was somewhat on edge, and rather than bother explaining further, he seized the excuse at once. “Your Highness, it’s getting late—you ought to rest soon.”
Minhan Mude’er had no intention of keeping him either—this coded phrase meant precisely that the Great Barbarian Witch had arrived!
When she used this particular phrase, it meant she was coming to see him in her capacity as his aunt.
Minhan Mude’er thought to himself that his aunt’s visit this time must be for some personal matter.
Only, he couldn’t quite understand what personal matter could possibly bring his aunt chasing all the way to the Eastern Qin battlefield in person!
Jun Beiyao strode out without so much as noticing the elderly nanny standing bowed at the entrance, holding the ginseng broth. The moment he was gone, the old nanny didn’t step inside right away—instead she watched his retreating figure, her sharp eyes deep and piercing, as though she could see straight through his back into his very heart.
After a long moment, she finally entered. There sat Minhan Mude’er, lounging languidly on the heated couch, eyeing her with suspicion, all trace of the deference he’d shown the Great Barbarian Witch a moment ago completely gone!
For when the Great Barbarian Witch shed her high priestess’s regalia, she became simply the Xiongnu princess who doted on Minhan Mude’er more than anyone—Minhan Guxin.
“Boy, get over here already. Drink this ginseng broth while it’s hot—it’ll do your body good!” she said with a smile, her entire manner, much like her assumed name, exactly that of an elderly nanny from the Central Plains.