Chapter 47 Buying the Farmhouse

Ouyang Ke’s eyes lit up, and his heart stirred. He no longer paid any heed to Tolui, merely smiling as he spoke. “What sort of man do you take Young Master Ouyang for? Once I have given my word, how could I possibly go back on it? He may leave, of course, but Lady Hua Zheng, you will have to remain here…”

“Very well.”

Cheng Lingsu had long expected that he would not let the matter go so easily. Still, this arrangement suited her. Alone, she might be able to keep Ouyang Ke occupied and find a chance to escape. With Tolui here as well, she would inevitably have too many worries. Thus, before he could say anything more outrageous, she cut him off and agreed.

Ouyang Ke had not expected her to consent so readily. He threw back his head and laughed. “That’s more like it. Now that we’ve gotten rid of that troublesome eyesore, we can have a proper conversation.”

Cheng Lingsu ignored him. Turning her back, she took from her robe the handkerchief wrapped around the blue flowers. She gave it a small shake in the air, then bound it around Tolui’s split and bleeding knuckles. Afterward, she returned the two flowers to her bosom. She briefly explained the situation to Tolui and told him to go back first.

Tolui’s face was livid. He took two steps back, then suddenly pulled the single-edged saber planted beside his foot. Staring in Ouyang Ke’s direction, he raised the blade and brought it down in a fierce slash through the empty air before him.

“Your martial arts are superior, and I am no match for you. But today, in the name of Temujin Khan’s son, I swear before the gods of the steppe that once I have exterminated those who plotted against my father, I will fight you to the death! I will avenge my sister—and show you what true sons and daughters of the grasslands are made of!”

Both were sons of Mongol tribal chieftains. Tolui was mild and courteous, and deeply loyal, unlike Du Shi, who was blindly arrogant and looked down upon everyone. Yet the pride in his heart was no less than Du Shi’s. He was Temujin’s most beloved son, and he understood his father’s breadth of vision and ambition. He would help his father turn every land beneath the Eternal Blue Sky into pasture for the Mongols.

For that purpose, he had trained in the army from childhood, never wasting a single day. Yet after years of painstaking practice, not only had he fallen into enemy hands, he was now unable to bring back in safety the sister who had come to rescue him. Tolui knew Cheng Lingsu was right: at this moment, he ought to place Temujin’s safety first and hurry back to mobilize troops to aid his ambushed father. But the thought of his own sister being forcibly held here by another man filled him with such humiliation that it nearly stopped his breath.

The Mongols valued promises above all else, and even more so an oath made before the god revered by everyone on the grasslands. Tolui knew perfectly well that he was no match for Ouyang Ke, yet he had sworn without the slightest hesitation. His expression was solemn and devout, and his words rang with soaring courage. Though he was no master of martial arts, years spent in military camps had forged his shoulders with an authority almost identical to Temujin’s—a kingly presence that surveyed the world with disdain. Even Ouyang Ke, who could not understand the details of his speech, could not help feeling secretly shaken.

Warmth spread through Cheng Lingsu’s heart. The hot blood belonging solely to Temujin’s daughter seemed to sense Tolui’s indignation and resolve, surging through her like a rushing current until her eyes grew faintly hot. Without revealing her thoughts, she shifted sideways and placed herself between Ouyang Ke and the direction from which he might strike.

“Go quickly. Return at once. I have a way to escape.”

Tolui nodded. He took two more steps forward, opened his arms, and embraced her briefly. Then, without sparing Ouyang Ke another glance, he turned and ran toward the camp entrance.

On the way, several soldiers left behind to guard the camp saw him emerge and tried to stop him. He cut each of them down with a single stroke.

Only after she had watched Tolui seize a horse at the edge of the camp and gallop away into the distance did Cheng Lingsu finally relax. She let out a soft sigh.

In her previous life, her master, the King of Poisonous Medicine, had used poison to make medicine, curing the sick and saving lives. Yet he firmly believed in karma and reincarnation. In his later years, he had taken refuge in Buddhism, cultivating his nature and calming his heart until he reached a state beyond anger and joy. Cheng Lingsu had been the young disciple he accepted in his old age and had been deeply influenced by him. Through this turning of the wheel of existence, she had clearly died in her former world, yet had still been sent here. She could not help believing that perhaps some unseen purpose lay behind it all.

She had originally intended to become entangled as little as possible with the people and affairs of this world. She had even planned to find an opportunity to flee far away, return to the shores of Lake Dongting, and see what White Horse Temple would look like several centuries later. Then she would open a small clinic, treat the sick, save lives, and spend the rest of her days guarding the longing and devotion she carried for that person from her former life.

Besides, if anything happened to Temujin, the Mongol tribe where she had lived for ten years would suffer as well. Her mother, who had truly cared for her and raised her, her elder brother, and all the tribespeople she saw and lived among each day would be drawn into the disaster. After ten years together, how could she stand by and do nothing?

At that thought, Cheng Lingsu sighed again, quietly and mournfully.

Seeing her staring absently in the direction Tolui had gone, sighing again and again, Ouyang Ke lifted his chin and sneered. “What is it? You cannot bear to part with him?”

Hearing the implication in his words, Cheng Lingsu frowned and pulled her thoughts back. “I am worried about my brother. Is that not only natural?”

“Oh? He is your brother?” Ouyang Ke raised a brow, a flicker of delight vanishing from the corner of his eyes. “Then the young man who came earlier was your lover?”

“What nonsense are you—” Cheng Lingsu broke off abruptly as she understood. “You mean Guo Jing? You knew all along? You knew the moment we arrived?”

“Not you two. You.” Ouyang Ke was quite pleased with himself, clearly delighted by her reaction. “The moment you arrived, I knew.”

Although Cheng Lingsu had dismounted some distance away, Ouyang Ke’s inner strength was profound. How could his hearing be compared with that of ordinary Mongol soldiers? He had discovered her almost as soon as she slipped into the camp. He was just about to reveal himself when Ma Yu made his move and carried both her and Guo Jing away.

Years ago, his uncle Ouyang Feng had suffered a major setback at the hands of the Quanzhen Sect. As a result, those of the Western Poison lineage had always harbored both resentment and apprehension toward the sect’s Taoist priests. Ouyang Ke recognized Ma Yu’s Taoist robes and, remembering his uncle’s warnings, abandoned the thought of showing himself. Instead, he hid in the shadows and watched as the two of them exchanged words back and forth.

He had assumed Cheng Lingsu would persuade Ma Yu to join her in breaking into the camp to rescue the captives. He did not know that Ma Yu was the head of the Quanzhen Sect, and merely thought that, besides the countless troops within the camp, several martial arts experts accompanying Wanyan Honglie would be enough to keep Ma Yu occupied. They might even seize the opportunity to kill him, removing one of the Quanzhen Sect’s strongest guardians.

He had never expected that the Taoist would not only refuse to storm the camp, but would actually leave with Guo Jing, abandoning Cheng Lingsu alone.

By now, Cheng Lingsu had gradually pieced everything together. “Wanyan Honglie came here in secret because he wanted to take advantage of the situation to set Sangkun against my father, forcing the Mongol tribes into endless conflict. That way, his Great Jin would no longer have to worry about trouble from the north.”

Ouyang Ke had no interest whatsoever in such struggles. But seeing how seriously she spoke, he nodded along and added a compliment. “To draw one conclusion from another—truly, you are exceptionally clever.”

He reached up and smoothed back a strand of hair scattered by the wind. Cheng Lingsu’s gaze was as clear as the cold waters of the Onon River flowing across the grasslands.

“You work for Wanyan Honglie, yet you let Guo Jing go back to warn them. Now you have let Tolui return to summon troops. Are you not afraid of ruining his grand design?”

Ouyang Ke laughed. Reaching out, he lightly tapped her chin. “Afraid? What does his scheme have to do with me? If I can win a smile from a beauty, what would it matter?”

Cheng Lingsu did not smile. Instead, she knitted her brows and retreated half a step, avoiding the folding fan that teasingly hooked toward her chin. She reached out, and with a sharp snap, caught its dark, lustrous tip in her palm.

A chill pierced through the skin of her hand and sank straight into her bones. She almost released it at once, only then realizing that the ribs of the fan were forged from dark iron, cold as ice.

“What is it? Do you like this fan?” Ouyang Ke casually flicked his wrist, knocking her hand aside and withdrawing the fan. With another crisp motion, he opened it and began waving it lightly before him. “If there is something else you fancy, I would not mind giving it to you. But this fan…” He paused briefly, then suddenly smiled again. “If you truly like it, all you need do is stay by my side from now on, never taking a single step away. Then you will be able to look at it whenever you wish…”

The author says:

I say, little Ke-ke, the young lady clearly only took a fancy to your fan. You cannot even bear to give that away? How stingy of you.

Ouyang Ke: But that was a gift from my father… Ahem… my uncle…