Agusheja was busy saving lives. Bringing her at this critical moment would be a serious offense.

Xiao Rong waved weakly, “No need, I can manage. Your Majesty, continue scolding General Gongsun. I will listen before leaving.”

Qu Yunmie: “…”

He glanced at Xiao Rong, then irritably looked at Gongsun Yuan. “Forget it. I know it’s not your fault. Murong Yi is just a coward and ran too fast! I must chase him. He cannot escape the Northern Army!”

Unexpectedly, the King let him go so quickly. Gongsun Yuan jumped to his feet and saluted Qu Yunmie. “Your servant is willing to go with Your Majesty!”

Qu Yunmie said, “You? The one who gets lost every 25 kilometers alone?”

Qu Yunmie worried that halfway through, he would have to go back to find the lost Gongsun Yuan.

He politely declined, ignoring Gongsun Yuan, and waved to Yuan Baifu. “Yuan Baifu, you come with me.”

Yuan Baifu agreed. The two were about to leave when Jian Qiao suddenly ran back. “Your Majesty! Murong Yi has appeared!”

Qu Yunmie paused for a full second, then exclaimed in surprise, “He actually came back to court death?!”

Jian Qiao: “…”

He quickly clarified, “He didn’t come willingly. He was brought back by Murong Qi, the Xianbei general. Murong Qi bound him and threatened that he must meet Your Majesty, or he would kill Murong Yi.”

Xiao Rong peeked out from behind and scoffed. “Interesting. The forest is big, and all kinds of birds exist. A defeated general kidnaps their own Emperor to threaten the victorious King. Has he gone mad after losing? The Xianbei Emperor is a problem anyway. If he helps us kill Murong Yi, that’s convenient. You told him this. Your Majesty, don’t see him, let him kill if he wants!”

Jian Qiao looked at Qu Yunmie for instructions, and Qu Yunmie growled, “No!”

Xiao Rong: “…”

He looked at Qu Yunmie in surprise. This was the first time Qu Yunmie openly contradicted him.

Qu Yunmie didn’t look at him. He walked forward. “Where is Murong Qi? Take me to him!”

Jian Qiao hurried to follow. Xiao Rong stood by the door, unsure how to react. Gongsun Yuan scratched his head but went with Qu Yunmie. Thanks to having grown up with many women at home, he knew one rule well: if you don’t know what to say, say nothing. It worked for women so probably for scholars too.

…

Once they left, Xiao Rong pressed his lips together. Then he suddenly heard a voice. 

Yuan Baifu looked at him and asked with concern, “Mr. Xiao, are you all right?”

Xiao Rong: “…”

…

Outside, Murong Qi held a knife in one hand and tightly gripped Murong Yi with the other. He faced fully armed Northern soldiers. As long as Qu Yunmie didn’t care about Murong Yi’s life, he could handle the situation there.

This unreasonable hostage actually held the King of the North in check. When Qu Yunmie arrived, he looked closely at Murong Qi and said through gritted teeth, “Bring them inside!”

…

Murong Qi didn’t resist. He entered with Murong Yi. Except for Jian Qiao, Gongsun Yuan, and Qu Yunmie’s personal guards, no one else followed.

Inside, Qu Yunmie didn’t demand that Murong Qi release Murong Yi. He glared at Murong Qi. “What do you want?”

Murong Qi replied, “I want to live.”

Qu Yunmie said, “How do you know that bringing your Emperor here would let you live?”

Murong Qi answered, “I didn’t. The Emperor was a pretext to meet you. Since you really came for this coward, I guessed right.”

Qu Yunmie said nothing, just narrowed his eyes at Murong Qi.

Murong Qi suddenly pushed Murong Yi, who fell to the ground, hurt and shocked.

Murong Qi then knelt before Qu Yunmie.

He took a deep breath. “The Xianbei no longer exist. I have nowhere to go. King of the North, I pledge my allegiance to you. Murong Yi is the first token of my submission!”

Murong Yi looked at him in disbelief. He had known Murong Qi was no good when the knife was at his neck but never expected him to betray the Xianbei—not just him, but the entire Xianbei!

Qu Yunmie ignored Murong Yi. He asked Murong Qi, “The first token of submission—what is the second?”

Murong Qi raised his head and grinned. “It’s the thing you want.”

Jian Qiao and Gongsun Yuan exchanged puzzled looks.

Xiao Rong was annoyed and about to leave to find a place to sleep. He wouldn’t handle the next events. Qu Yunmie had told him “no” in front of everyone—outrageous! Why could they not discuss things privately?

He kicked a stone and took a step forward. Suddenly, a familiar dizziness hit him.

He straightened, closed his eyes, endured the sensation, and slowly turned around.

Seeing the large palace ahead, Xiao Rong rolled up his sleeves and ran back with fierce momentum.

 

Edited by: Antiope

 

Support translation: