The sky darkened, then brightened again.

Yu Wuse struggled in the burlap sack for most of the night, hoping someone would pass by to rescue him. But he had originally demanded his guards choose a remote place to dump Yelu Qi, making it difficult for Jing Hengbo to find him. Now he was reaping what he sowed—not even a cat had passed through this godforsaken place during the night, though bird droppings kept falling onto the sack with soft plops.

Yu Wuse despaired. Was he truly going to starve or freeze to death in this sack?

Suddenly, the sound of galloping hooves approached—swift and powerful. You could tell it was a fine horse just by listening. The horse was extremely fast, reaching him in the blink of an eye.

Yu Wuse panicked. Ignoring the thorns, he struggled desperately in the bushes and made muffled sounds, hoping to be heard.

However, the rider seemed to be in a hurry. The hoofbeats were too loud, it wasn’t fully light yet, and the commotion in the dark bushes apparently wasn’t loud enough. Yu Wuse clearly heard the hoofbeats flow past his ears like water.

He slumped down dejectedly. His body ached everywhere and still wasn’t flexible—he seemed to have been drugged by Yelu Qi as well.

Cold and exhausted, he wearily closed his eyes, swearing that if he survived this time, he would never again contend with such fierce characters.

Suddenly, urgent hoofbeats rose again—it seemed to be the same horse, but the sound was faster. Before he could react, he was lifted into the air. Then the sack was ripped open with a sharp tear. Light flooded in, and he squeezed his eyes shut.

“Who are you?” The person holding him spoke with an unfriendly tone.

Yu Wuse opened his eyes and saw a handsome face—skin flawless as jade, thick eyebrows, deep double eyelids, clearly defined lips. Every line of his face was compact without a hint of excess.

This man wore light armor with his hair bound up. He had an indelible scent of gunpowder about him, and there was a scrape on his neck that looked like a gunshot wound. He hadn’t even bandaged it, which made one wonder how such fine skin could endure such abuse.

The man scrutinized him from head to toe with sharp eyes, then suddenly said, “Ying Bai’s son?”

Yu Wuse touched his face, annoyed that his features bore Ying Bai’s stamp. His instinct was to deny it, but before speaking, he first sized up this man. Determining that although his tone wasn’t pleasant, there was no hostility in his eyes—if not his father’s friend, then certainly not an enemy either—he quickly nodded. “I am, I am. You are…”

The man frowned at him for a long moment before saying, “Pei Shu.”

“Ahhhh! Yu Bai Jin Shu! Ahhhh! Young Marshal Pei!” Yu Wuse shrieked, spreading his arms to embrace Pei Shu tightly. “Ahhhh Young Marshal Pei! My god, how can it be you! Ahhhh, you’re the war god I’ve admired since childhood! I grew up listening to your legends! My god, I’m actually seeing you in person…”

Pei Shu distastefully held the slippery, naked boy at arm’s length to avoid his saliva and skin touching him. Though somewhat unaccustomed to such sudden enthusiasm and unused to such naked flattery to his face, the long-dormant vanity of the young Pei marshal was still fanned by this slick boy. With considerable self-satisfaction, he said, “Oh? Really? I didn’t expect someone your age to know of me. But how could Ying Bai have such a slippery son?” He suddenly leaned close to Yu Wuse and sniffed him, narrowing his eyes. “Why do you have that fox Yelu Qi’s scent on you?”

Young Marshal Pei had always had a keen nose. He not only detected Yelu Qi’s scent but also sensed that the pressure points locking this boy seemed to be Yelu Qi’s technique—he had seen Yelu Qi fight before.

“Young Marshal!” Yu Wuse immediately burst into tears, extending both hands. “I was harmed by Yelu Qi! He deceived the Black Water Queen, claiming he had invitations to the Zhaiying Grand Assembly in the Shang Kingdom and could help her obtain the medicine she needed to restore her beauty. But those invitations clearly belonged to me and my mother—he stole them! I followed to try to negotiate getting one back, but he beat me up, stole my carriage, stripped me naked, and dumped me in this godforsaken place to fend for myself.” Tears and snot streaming, he continued, “Fortunately I have good luck and actually encountered you! Ahhhh, this disaster was worth it just for this… Could you give me an autograph?”

“Sign where?” Pei Shu listened with satisfaction, lifting him up and looking him over. Yu Wuse blushed and pressed his legs together, smiling obsequiously. Pei Shu laughed heartily, then suddenly flicked the boy’s little bird. “How about signing here? No need for a brush—that washes off easily. I’ll carve ‘Pei Shu was here’ with a knife!”

“Ah, hero!” Yu Wuse shuddered, clamping his legs tighter and crying out, “A general commemorative signature would be fine!”

Pei Shu laughed heartily and put Yu Wuse down. Yu Wuse clung to his arm, watching his expression carefully before whispering, “Young Marshal, I’ll tell you a secret, but don’t tell anyone else. I heard that Yelu Qi was asking people about whether this Zhaiying Grand Assembly in the Shang Kingdom has ‘Lotus Desire.’ You know about ‘Lotus Desire,’ right? The legendary most powerful aphrodisiac. The lotus has always represented sacred purity, so this name means this drug can make even the most sacred Buddhist lotus-like masters burn with desire and lose all self-control. What’s more wonderful is that two people who come together under the influence of Lotus Desire will develop a mad obsession with each other’s skin, body, and scent for life—they’ll never be able to touch anyone else…” He looked at Pei Shu’s expression with saintly yet wicked glances. “What do you think this Yelu Qi wants with such a thing?”

Pei Shu looked down at the boy, who smiled with pure innocence.

Hehehe, Pei Shu, who was as renowned as his own father, the war god of Dahuang, the legendary violent and cruel Young Marshal Pei who acted on whim, was said to be quite interested in the Black Water Queen too, always fighting to conquer territory for her. Tsk tsk tsk, while he was working hard to conquer territory in Dai Mao, the woman he liked was being coveted by others. Wouldn’t our fiery-tempered Young Marshal Pei be burning with rage right now?

Hehehe, arrogant State Preceptor Yelu, you think with your high martial arts, high intelligence, and high cunning that our brilliant and divine Jade Little Prince has no way to deal with you!

Yu Wuse’s scheming mind spun at high speed while his face smiled more and more innocently, like a flower. He felt that compared to cunning big foxes like Gong Yin, Jin Yi Ren, and Yelu Qi, the tyrannosaurus-like Young Marshal Pei wore all his thoughts on his face—he was the easiest type to handle. Look, his face had already darkened!

This time he definitely wouldn’t fail again. He was confident!

Pei Shu studied the boy but was thinking of other matters. He should have continued coordinating with Yu Caili in Dai Mao to attack Shang Yuan, but recently Yu Caili had sent word that Shang Yuan City had other secrets she needed time to investigate. She asked Pei Shu to slow his attacks for now, not to rush. He happened to be tired of fighting anyway. With Yelu Qi, Ying Bai, and the Seven Kills all gone to have their happy reunion with Jing Hengbo, making trouble on someone else’s territory while leaving him alone to fight, fight, fight—how could he be willing? Missing Jing Hengbo burned his heart, keeping him awake nights. Unable to endure it any longer, he simply staged a false defeat to give Yu Caili more leverage, then ordered his troops to rest and regroup, retreating to a three-county territory to establish long-term battle lines, which also gave Shang Yuan some relief.

Once he withdrew his troops, he entrusted military affairs to his trusted generals and rushed to Yi Kingdom, preparing to exchange Ying Bai back. Enough time had been given for the man to chase his wife—now it was time for him to shoulder the burden again.

To avoid detection, he deliberately took a circuitous route. With Meng, Yi, and Shang Kingdoms bordering each other, he came through the Meng-Yi border, heading straight for Huan Du, not expecting to encounter Yu Wuse here.

“Young Marshal? Young Marshal?” Yu Wuse called repeatedly. Pei Shu snapped back to attention, seeing the boy tugging at his clothes and pleading, “Young Marshal, it’s quite cold. Could I borrow some clothes?”

Pei Shu looked down at the naked boy shivering and chuckled.

This laugh made Yu Wuse’s hair stand on end, vaguely feeling that perhaps, maybe, probably, possibly, things were about to develop in a direction completely opposite to his imagination again…

The next moment he saw Pei Shu raise his hand, then the world spun, wind whooshed past his eyes, his whole body felt bone-chillingly cold, then “crack”—his buttocks throbbed with pain. Heaven and earth flipped upside down, feet pointing skyward, face toward the ground, body swaying—he had been hung from a tree.

“Ahhhh…” His scream finally emerged. “Ahhhh why!”

Black boots entered his field of vision. Pei Shu’s face was now level with his, that handsome face showing slight anger, slight cold laughter, and slight mockery.

Pei Shu extended a finger and gave the little prince a sharp flick on the forehead.

“Boy, slippery as an eel, thinking your marshal is rich and stupid, wanting to play me, eh?” He sneered coldly. “Do you take your marshal for a vegetarian, or take Yelu Qi for a grass-eater? If he really wanted to steal your invitations, with your abilities, would you know? Could you catch up? Could you overhear his secret conversations?”

Yu Wuse gaped, a mouthful of cold wind rushing in, making him cough violently.

Pei Shu showed no mercy, delivering another sharp flick even harder.

“Full of lies, face full of guilt—even a pig could see your bad intentions. Ying Bai must have had eight lifetimes of bad luck to end up with such a stupid son! Today I’m hanging you in this tree to blow some sense into your brain, clear out your blocked brain matter, and make you understand that you’re not the only smart one in this world!”

Yu Wuse couldn’t dodge, his head burning with pain. But worse was his heart—for the first time in his life, he’d been called an idiot!

More importantly, at this moment he felt that perhaps he really was an idiot!

Another sharp flick landed, forceful enough that red and blue bumps sprouted all over Yu Wuse’s head.

The tyrannosaurus young marshal wasn’t like Gong Yin who disdained using his hands, or Yelu Qi who disliked violence. He believed lessons should be thorough to make a deep impression.

“You’re lucky you’ve only met people who don’t bother with you, which is why you could cause trouble repeatedly without dying. Do you think you’ll always have such good luck? Today Young Marshal is in a good mood and will seriously settle accounts with you, while also teaching you a lesson on your father’s behalf.” Pei Shu’s final flick landed squarely on Yu Wuse’s forehead, bringing tears to his eyes, before sternly declaring, “How dare a worthless brat look down on the world’s heroes!”

Yu Wuse’s head drooped listlessly. At this moment he only wished he’d been hung higher so he could bury his head in the mud.

Pei Shu sneered coldly and strode away, calling back as he walked, “When I reach the town ahead, I’ll post a reward along the streets for someone to rescue you.” He stroked his chin thoughtfully. “I hear that town ahead is famous for producing beauties. How about having all the young ladies come watch?”

Yu Wuse’s vision went black.

Now he truly wanted to die.

Ahhhh no!

Ahhhh he didn’t want to be gawked at by the whole town!

“No! I was wrong! I’ll never deceive or harm people again! Young Marshal, hero, big brother, uncle, grandfather, ancestor… please let me down! I’ll be your ox, horse, pig, or dog from now on, just please spare me this once, ahhhh…”

The young marshal sneered coldly, ignoring his pleas. He mounted his horse, raised his whip, and rode away.

The hoofbeats faded into the distance. Yu Wuse’s tears of despair finally splattered onto the cold earth.

In the bitter wind and desolate wilderness, the Jade Tribe’s pampered and willful little prince finally tasted for the first time the deep regret of “if you don’t court death, you won’t die”…

…

As Yu Wuse finally received Young Marshal Pei’s profound lesson and wept in the wilderness, his carriage had already entered Shang Kingdom’s borders.

After producing the invitation, the carriage naturally passed through Shang Kingdom’s border checkpoint. Yelu Qi lounged comfortably against the golden velvet cushions, playing with that Dream-Entering Lily in his hands.

He had immediately pocketed the item. Yu Wuse, overexcited by his imagined success, had completely forgotten about it.

The soft, moist petals spun between his fingertips as his expression grew slightly dreamy.

Dream-Entering Lily—legend said those affected would fall into continuous, unending beautiful dreams.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t been affected, or he would know what kind of beautiful dreams he would have.

Actually, even without being affected, he could guess what kind of dreams he would have.

It would surely be a splendid wedding hall with red candles burning high, a pair of newlyweds, with his sister sitting in the place of honor. He would smile as he lifted his new bride’s veil, revealing that lovely face that could be angry or joyful—Jing Hengbo’s wonderful countenance.

The carriage suddenly lurched, then “bang”—a loud crash. The carriage shook violently, jolting Yelu Qi from his reverie. He lifted the curtain to see that the road had somehow narrowed, apparently entering a market town in Shang Kingdom. The town was packed with carriages, creating such congestion that his carriage had collided with another upon entering.

But Yelu Qi’s attention wasn’t on the colliding carriage. He stared at a certain spot on the street—a blue banner with golden twin beasts flying from a carriage head. His expression changed slightly.

At that moment, someone leaped from the carriage with the blue flag, seemingly sensing something, and looked in this direction. Even from far away, one could feel that gaze like a sword.

Yelu Qi immediately moved to drop the curtain and shrink back inside, but just then Yu Wuse’s guard came over to explain the collision to the prince. Seeing the curtain lifted, he habitually took hold of it to keep it open. As Yelu Qi tried to hide inside the carriage, it was difficult to avoid that person’s line of sight.

At that moment, someone from the carriage they’d collided with lifted their curtain and poked their head out to inquire about the situation. Yelu Qi quickly grabbed that person’s neck and pulled them close.

His intention was simply to use that person’s face to block his own, but that person happened to be looking up to ask something when suddenly grabbed. Their face turned upward reflexively. With a soft “mmf,” their lips pressed together.

Soft skin with a bone-deep fragrance.

Even Yelu Qi, who had weathered great storms, was stunned.

With their faces pressed together, he felt the other’s skin was smooth, slightly cool, with a light, elegant fragrance. Long eyelashes swept delicately against his cheek, while trembling lips were like a rose blooming in the wind.

It was actually a woman… Yelu Qi groaned inwardly.

What was worse, judging from the body fragrance and the unconscious trembling of her lips, she was probably still a maiden…

This was terrible… Yelu Qi groaned inwardly again. His eyes lowered, vaguely sensing that the young woman seemed either shocked or intoxicated, completely frozen and not knowing to pull away. He quickly moved to release her, but just then the man under the blue banner, who had turned away, suddenly turned back and leaped up, actually rushing toward them.

Yelu Qi frowned slightly.

The blue banner with golden twin beasts was the Yelu family crest.

Encountering a Yelu family convoy immediately upon entering Shang Kingdom was truly unfortunate. What was worse, this eagle-eyed man was Yelu Shengwu, the younger brother of the family’s Grand Master whom he had killed in that nameless village cave in the Huangjin Tribe territory. By seniority, he was Yelu Qi’s uncle and also the chief elder of the family’s Law Enforcement Hall, with martial arts ranking first in the family.

He didn’t fear this man, but didn’t want to be discovered upon just entering Shang Kingdom, because Jing Hengbo would surely come looking for him later. If they were both targeted by the Yelu family together, it would create many complications.

Back then in the cave, he had been forced by the Grand Master, then rose up and killed him before rushing to Beixing City in Huangjin territory, where he killed all the Yelu family’s stationed people and nearly killed the Third Prince.

He and the family had already formed a deep blood feud, a fight to the death.

Yelu Shengwu swept toward them.

Yelu Qi sighed inwardly and released his hold. He needed someone to provide cover, but didn’t want to use this woman.

But the young woman suddenly embraced him!

Yelu Qi was startled. The young woman had pressed her face close to his again, whispering in his ear, “Help me… help me… someone is chasing me…”

Yelu Qi found this both funny and touching.

What a coincidence—he needed cover, and unexpectedly she also needed to hide.

The young woman’s face pressed tightly against his, trembling in his arms as if very frightened. Yelu Qi thought for a moment, then tightened his arms and pulled her out of her carriage window into his embrace.

At the same time, he changed his voice and laughed, “You little rascal, you hid from me the whole way, made me chase you the whole way. Now I’ve caught up—what other tricks do you want to play?” As he spoke, he casually lowered the curtain.

Overhead, Yelu Shengwu silently swept past.

Below, Yu Wuse’s guards still hadn’t clearly seen Yelu Qi. They vaguely felt something was off, but thought their prince was truly impressive—wasn’t he sleeping in the carriage the whole time? When did he hook up with such a beauty?

Yelu Qi stamped his foot, and the carriage continued forward. The guards from the collided carriage initially couldn’t react—how did a collision turn into a kiss, and a kiss turn into an abduction? Seeing this carriage actually leaving, they panicked and quickly drove their carriage in pursuit.

Inside the carriage, Yelu Qi mimicked Yu Wuse’s voice: “Quick! Quick! If they catch up, none of you will live!”

The guards immediately whipped the horses desperately, using every ounce of strength to gallop. Fortunately, Yu Wuse always paid attention to quality—the drivers were carefully selected. They managed to squeeze out a path on that narrow street crowded with carriages from all directions, causing other carriages to lose direction. The pursuing carriage couldn’t chase more than a few steps before colliding with other carriages. With banging and clanging sounds continuing, the entire street was soon blocked. Not only could the young woman’s carriage not pursue, even the Yelu family’s carriage was stuck at the end of the street.

Yelu Qi breathed a slight sigh of relief. Only now did he have time to look at the young woman. After pulling her over, he had pushed her aside without clearly seeing her face from beginning to end.

The carriage was very dark. He vaguely heard the young woman also seem to sigh with relief, then sneer coldly. She stood up, put on a face veil, opened the window curtain to check the surrounding situation, then said without turning back, “Thank you for saving me. I’ve decided not to pursue your earlier impropriety. If there’s a chance later, I’ll thank you properly.”

Yelu Qi smiled—quite an attitude. Which family’s young lady?

The young woman turned back and finally looked at him once. At first glance, she seemed slightly shocked, somewhat surprised. After a long moment, when she spoke again, her voice was much softer than before, though the content seemed more startling.

She said, “Ah, I’m changing my mind now. I want to thank you with pursuit.”

Yelu Qi was startled. Before he could respond, the young woman smiled and conjured a flower like magic, gently placing it on the seat beside him, then whistled sharply.

Urgent hoofbeats came from outside—dense and fierce, not like a horse, because the carriage horses seemed a bit startled and the carriage became unsteady.

The young woman lifted the curtain and flowed out the window like wind, light as willow catkins in the breeze—clearly possessing excellent lightness skills.

Yelu Qi lifted the curtain to see the young woman mounted on horseback, looking up at him with a mysterious smile before spurring her mount away.

As Yelu Qi watched her depart, he realized that the white, tall mount she rode wasn’t a horse but the legendary camel-sheep.

Camel-sheep, Ji Kingdom’s national animal. These gentle, docile creatures came from the highland Ji Kingdom, the woman-ruled nation’s most important mount. Legend said Ji Kingdom camel-sheep had variants, with the fiercest being taller than warhorses and capable of fighting lions and tigers.

Now he had truly seen one.

Yelu Qi frowned slightly—to use such a camel-sheep and have such bearing, this woman should be from Ji Kingdom with considerable status. Then why would she be pursued and need to borrow his cover?

Beside the seat, that snow-white flower trembled gently. Yelu Qi felt a strange sensation—usually men pursued women and gave flowers as one of many romantic gestures, but now it was reversed.

But in Ji Kingdom, this truly wasn’t strange. Ji Kingdom was ruled by women, and many customs usually performed by men were done by women there.

What did this flower represent?

He gently picked up the flower, only to discover it wasn’t real—it was a wool flower crocheted from camel-sheep hair with a crochet hook, with petal upon petal in an exquisite pattern.

The snow-white wool flower trembled in his pale palm. After long silence, he smiled slightly and flicked his finger.

The flower disappeared into a dark corner.

…

Early in the morning, Jing Hengbo burst into the Jade Queen’s bedchamber.

The Jade Queen was still in bed. Seeing her sudden appearance, she didn’t scold, panic, or protest, just lay there like a dead dog, moaning, “So uncomfortable, so uncomfortable…”

Jing Hengbo had originally wanted to curse, but seeing her unsatisfied state, immediately felt sympathy—they were both poor souls tormented by brat children.

That pit-digging Yu Wuse didn’t think about how his mother had maintained her chastity for so many years, and at this youthful, fiery age, those long lonely nights were so hard to endure. Finally having an opportunity with Ying Bai—what they say about years of suppression erupting at once, dry kindling meeting fierce fire—to interfere at such a moment would torment people to death!

“What kind of brat child did you raise!” She could only curse resentfully. “He kidnapped my friend!”

She now truly hoped someone could severely teach Yu Wuse a lesson, preferably strip him naked and hang him up for a beating!

The Jade Queen ground her teeth in bed, then suddenly reached under her pillow, pulled out that invitation, and threw it to her.

“That little bastard definitely went to Shang Kingdom! Go chase him! Go help me catch him and bring him back! When he returns, I’ll find him a two-hundred-pound, three-feet-tall girl with a pockmarked face, crooked mouth, squinting eyes, poor as a church mouse, and make him marry into her family!”

…

In the wilderness, Yu Wuse, hanging upside down and surrounded by onlookers, suddenly shivered with a chill.

People walked back and forth around him while children sang.

“A tiny little bird, no matter how it tries, can’t fly high…”

…

The honest common folk still rescued Yu Wuse. A day later, Yelu Qi’s technique on him was released, and another day passed before Young Marshal Pei’s sealed pressure points opened. The moment the stiff little prince regained his freedom, he disappeared from that shabby little town at light speed.

No choice—every day many people came to gawk at the “naked hanging boy,” and many young girls curiously peeked through his window, giggling and chattering. All the town’s children sang “A tiny little bird that can’t fly high.”

For those three days, Yu Wuse kept himself buried under the covers, wishing he never had to come out and face people.

Three days later, he appeared at the border between Shang and Yi Kingdoms, wielding a mace with green eyes, waiting for passing travelers—he was going to rob them. He would rob invitations, enter Shang Kingdom, obtain the most powerful medicines, learn the most formidable martial arts, and never be bullied by anyone again in this lifetime!

Three days later, Jing Hengbo arrived with Feifei, Er Gouzi, and a group of guards, passing through this small town. She inadvertently heard the legend of the “Naked Hanging Emperor.” The more she heard, the more it sounded like Yu Wuse. She couldn’t help laughing heartily, thinking perhaps this boy had really fallen into Yelu Qi’s trap?

That made sense. No matter how clever and shrewd Yu Wuse was, he was still just a child. Against a former state preceptor who had weathered the storms of Di Ge’s political arena, if Yelu Qi were so easily defeated by him, Di Ge wouldn’t be Dahuang’s capital anymore.

Even so, she still wasn’t entirely at ease about Yelu Qi and quickened her pace. As for Yi Kingdom, she had already reached consensus with the Jade Queen on the most crucial issues anyway—the details didn’t require her personal presence for negotiation.

Gong Yin had sent people to escort Yi Shan back to the palace, after which she would also arrange some people to remain, nominally to assist but actually to monitor Yi Shan’s succession and control of Yi Kingdom.

Her heart was ultimately suspended by the good medicines in Shang Kingdom. Afraid that arriving late would mean missing the best goods, she hurried along the way, coincidentally passing by Young Marshal Pei who was rushing to Huan Du.

When Pei Shu reached Huan Du, she had already left. Hearing that she had indeed gone to “rescue” Yelu Qi, his jealous rage immediately flared. He promptly stole an invitation—the same one Yu Wuse had used to seduce the Seven Kills. After three days and nights of battle, eldest brother Yi Qi had finally achieved a tragic victory, winning the invitation that proved him “most excellent and noble.” Unfortunately, before the invitation could warm in his hands, it was stolen by Pei Shu, mainly because Yi Qi’s vitality was greatly damaged from fighting for three days and couldn’t match Pei Shu temporarily.

Now Pei Shu had stirred up a hornet’s nest. The Seven Kills had always been the type to “fight among ourselves but not let outsiders mess with us.” The seven eccentrics howled and yelled, determined to avenge Yi Qi, chasing toward Shang Kingdom with wild shouts.

On the roads to Shang Kingdom, dust clouds rolled while colorful banners from various kingdoms and tribes spread like an ocean across the official roads.

So many people had come that when Jing Hengbo arrived, she saw endless queues formed before the checkpoint.

She was quite excited—such an opportunity to see the customs and high nobility of six kingdoms and eight tribes gathered in one place was rare.

She was preparing to properly appreciate and understand the six kingdoms and eight tribes while looking for old acquaintances when she saw several children carrying baskets and bundles, walking back and forth through the queue, apparently selling something.

With the noise of voices, Jing Hengbo couldn’t hear clearly what they were selling, but saw people paying to buy while others waved them off and took out thick masks from their own bundles to wear.

Before Jing Hengbo could react, the group of children had reached her.

Taking a glance, she praised: Ah, Shang Kingdom’s soil and water truly nourish people—the children are all fair and tender!

Then she thought: Why does it stink so much?

A indescribable putrid stench suddenly filled the air, like rotten eggs left too long in summer then smashed into a cesspit. Jing Hengbo’s breakfast immediately began churning in her stomach.

The children beamed innocent, sweet smiles at her, waving masks in their hands.

“BIU, good morning miss, BIU, do you need a mask? BIU, essential three-layer extra-thick breathable masks for traveling to and from Shang Kingdom, BIU, made with silk and raw iron, BIU, can resist all bad odors, BIUBIUBIU, honest prices fair to all, BIUBIUBIU, if you don’t buy now, prices will double once you enter the city… BIUBIUBIU…”

Jing Hengbo’s mind was already BIUBIUBIU-ing bullets.

Ahhhh how could she forget that Shang Kingdom was a fart country!

Ahhhh how could she forget that Shang Kingdom colored-clothes envoy Zheng Xiang!

Ahhhh how could she forget that fierce, vigorous, extremely penetrating and distinctive fart smell!

Looking around at everyone putting on their prepared masks—mostly thick and exquisite with layers of defense, far superior to the crude masks the children were peddling—what should she do? Unprepared, entering Shang Kingdom like this, wouldn’t she be stunk to death first?

Should she pay a high price to buy one from her neighbors?

Just as she was torn between punching those constantly BIU-ing children unconscious or buying a mask first, she suddenly saw commotion ahead. A squad of Shang Kingdom soldiers was approaching with clattering BIUBIUBIU sounds, and that terrible smell in the air immediately intensified several degrees.

Those soldiers were sent out from the checkpoint because the queue was too long, and Shang Kingdom feared neglecting their distinguished guests, so they specially sent additional personnel to help verify identities.

Jing Hengbo watched the soldiers checking invitations one by one, while beside them someone held a portrait, comparing it to each person. After looking at each person and shaking his head, they’d let them through and continue to the next.

Jing Hengbo’s curiosity was piqued, wondering what this was about. Hunting major criminals? With all these national dignitaries here, would there be criminals?

She patted Er Gouzi, who flew over and perched on someone’s shoulder, tilting his head for a look.

Then Lord Dog suddenly widened his eyes in shock.