Ye Pei and the others exchanged glances and asked, “Lady Na, you and Lord Qing, have you already…?”
Huang Beishuang nodded without further explanation, then said, “Did His Majesty have any message for Brother E Xiu to deliver?”
Lian Huan shook his head, “No, E Xiu doesn’t know about your situation. However…” As he spoke, he gave Ye Pei a meaningful look. Ye Pei took out a small brocade pouch and handed it over. She had kept it close to her heart throughout the journey, and it was still warm.
Huang Beishuang took it and gently kneaded it in her hands for a while, her gaze distant. She murmured, “Soil from my homeland…” Her expression became dreamy, making it impossible to discern her thoughts.
The thirteen people waited silently for her answer, none daring to offer advice.
After a long while, Huang Beishuang smiled wryly, “Why are you all so quiet? Aren’t you going to urge me to return?”
The thirteen knelt in unison and replied, “We’ll follow Lady Na’s decision!”
Huang Beishuang sighed, slowly stood up, and extended her hand. Suddenly, a seven-colored bird flew over and perched on her finger, spreading its magnificent tail feathers and chirping incessantly. This must be the King Bird-of-Paradise she had tamed.
“Hong… did you miss me? I’m sorry for leaving you in Guanghan Palace,” Huang Beishuang smiled at it. “Now that we’re back in the Northern Desert, are you feeling especially happy?”
Huang Beishuang continued talking to herself while the thirteen remained kneeling, watching her.
After a while, seemingly having made up her mind, Huang Beishuang turned to Lian Huan and the others, saying, “Let’s go! We’ll take a walk outside!”
In the Northern Desert.
The largest political state was Tiandu, which had been isolated for ten years with numerous barriers, making it difficult for outsiders to see or understand.
Over the past decade, the smaller nomadic tribes and slave tribes living around Tiandu had no choice but to seek alliances and protection from other political entities. Among Huhe, Masui, Mizan, and Yunpei, Yunpei was the first choice. The reason was simple: although it was far away, it was vast, rich, powerful, and politically stable. Once supported by Yunpei, it would be like a blessing from heaven. In the best case, they might even receive a piece of fertile land, just like the current E Naqi tribe.
Since the migration of the seven thousand E Naqi people, another nomadic tribe had settled on the ancient Gurhaqi Oasis in the Northern Desert. Now, the people living on this land continue to fight incessantly, still struggling for survival, water, and food.
Huang Beishuang stood on a small dune, gazing into the distance against the light, a faint smile on her face. Standing in front of the thirteen, she extended her hand and opened the small brocade pouch, gently tipping it. The fine sand inside flowed out, scattering in the wind.
“This is no longer the soil of my homeland. Let it return to where it came from.”
She looked at the blood-red sky at dusk, her silhouette tinged with crimson as if about to melt into the sea of sand. The ten officers and three maids watched her until she finally turned back. With a graceful smile, Huang Beishuang’s expression was cool as she walked a few steps, about twenty or thirty feet, before saying softly, “A chess piece that has been taken cannot be used again. I no longer owe His Majesty anything! So I won’t return to Yunpei!”
Upon hearing this, Lian Huan nodded and then asked loudly, “In that case, does Lady Na want us to return with an empty coffin to report?”
Huang Beishuang turned to face them, shaking her head, “You won’t return either.”
The thirteen were stunned and confused.
“Returning would be tantamount to telling him directly that I’m alive and in Tiandu. So, you shouldn’t go back either. This way, even if he knows I’m still alive, as long as there’s no news of me, I’ll remain a dead chess piece.” She paused for a moment, then continued, “The long-suppressed conflict is on the brink of eruption. How could a woman stop it? Moreover, His Majesty seems to have forgotten that the E Naqi tribe has already taken root in Yunpei. They are now Yunpei’s subjects, under his rule and thus under his protection! How can he use his subjects to threaten me? It’s no longer possible…”
Lian Huan and the others exchanged glances, finally understanding. They nodded and asked, “So we’re not leaving?”
Hearing this question, Huang Beishuang laughed bitterly, “Unless this war cuts off my connection, it won’t end. They’ll use me as much as they can, so… I can’t stay in Tiandu either.”
Ye Pei and the others’ expressions darkened slightly as they said softly, “What are Lady Na’s plans? Tiandu’s defenses are strict; to leave, we’d need Lord Qing’s permission. But judging from his attitude yesterday, it seems unlikely…”
Hearing this, Huang Beishuang looked up at the blood-red sky, her mind flashing to Qing Yun’s sharp eyes. After a long silence, she simply pulled her fur coat tighter, seeking warmth.
Qing Yun…
Too many people spend their lives searching for a peaceful place, living a simple life of rising with the sun and resting at sunset.
Yet, such a simple thing seems impossible to maintain for long.
Is it because the human heart can never truly be at peace, or because there’s no such place in this world—
A place that is always peaceful and always tranquil…
In the year 332 CE, on the Spring Equinox.
Tiandu held a grand military parade, with vast arrays of armor and clouds of dust from hooves. Generals from all directions gathered in Huairou, amassing an army of 200,000, full of vigor. The North Pacification Heavenly King called out from a high position, and the response was like a surging tide. He promised the three armies that victory would mean unifying the world, while defeat would mean burial in the desert sands. The shaman priest Hun Ransan performed divinations, and an auspicious date was set. The battle against Yunpei would not be delayed; those who disobeyed would be treated as deserters and punished by military law!
Huang Beishuang stood at the highest point of the parade ground with her thirteen companions, looking down at these passionate men, feeling both admiration and pity for them…
She had always been an easily contented woman. Just as she had married Na Zhan without caring about his favor, as long as it benefited her tribe and fulfilled her mission; just as she had fallen in love with Qing Yun, not caring about her status, as long as their love was genuine and they had good times together. Perhaps this only proved that she was but a drop in the ocean, drifting through life with the currents!
But now it was different. Fate had given her a chance, an opportunity to become an observer of the game.
And she should seize it. With this thought, her gaze sharpened, and she finally made a decision.
“What are you doing?”