The Northern wind bellowed, the Spring wind grew with restlessness.
In these recent three months, the frontier pass remained quiet.
For a moment, a glint of blue was still visible in the sky. Yet, in the
blink of an eye, chill winds arose as dark clouds gathered, forming a
blanket of darkness above one's head, like a dark shadow that
couldn't be dispersed, weighing on the hearts of the people.
Yuchi Jinwu was feeling the obvious diminishing speed of his
travelling company, couldn't help sweeping the curtains aside,
reaching his head out to take a look.
Winds swept in, bringing with it grains of sand. His beloved
concubine let out a gasp and hugged his shoulders immediately.
"My Lord, would we be able to reach the city before nightfall?"
The melodious voice soothed the worry in Yuchi Jinwu's heart. He
patted his concubine on her thigh in a symbolic way, feeling the
richness of her tender skin through the thin robes. One could
imagine tearing away that annoying fabric and touching the
smoothness underneath it. However, currently, he had no desire to
flirt with his beloved concubine.
"I suppose so." Yuchi Jinwu furrowed his eyebrows, answering in
uncertainty.He was a member of the royal family of the Kingdom of Khotan.
Acting upon the orders of the Khotan King, he came forth to the
Central Plain to offer tribute to the Emperor there.
At this moment in the Central Plains, the Great Sui had just been
established, becoming the new monarch of the Northern Imperial
Dynasty.
Emperor Yang Jian's ambitious and intriguing efforts made the
vitality of this new dynasty just like the infinite brilliance of the rising
sun, and even the southern Chen Dynasty also sent forth an
ambassador to congratulate them.
Although Khotan was situated in a place outside the Plains, posing
only as a small kingdom, they were often harassed by the Göktürks.
Once the King of Khotan heard tidings of the Sui Empire moving into
the new capital this year and proclaiming a general amnesty, he did
not hesitate to grab this chance to send forth Yuchi Jinwu as an
ambassador with a hefty gift to Daxing City to meet the Sui Emperor.
His first goal was to cultivate a good relationship, and his second
goal, — to implore the Sui Empire to send out troops to protect
Khotan.
Who could've known that this trip was ill-fated?
When they left Khotan, the men of his group fell ill all of a sudden
when they were passing through Qiemo, vomiting incessantly. It took
them a good few days to recover before embarking on the journey
again. Then, they got caught up in terrible weather such as this;
Yuchi Jinwu felt irritated and worried. He wished from the bottom of
his heart to put on a pair of wings and just fly to Daxing City
immediately.
He couldn't help but glare at the corner of the carriage.Two chests sat there, used to store Yuchi Jinwu's belongings and
clothes. Since the carriage was quite spacious and the chests
weren't large, Yuchi Jinwu purposely ordered the servants to bring
them into his carriage so that they needn't be placed at the rear of
the group.
His concubine noticed his trail of sight, and giggled, "My Lord, could
it be, that you've hidden a beautiful woman in that chest?"
Her words lifted the anxiety in Yuchi Jinwu's heart. "If it is a great
beauty, what would you do?"
She teased, "Then I would have no choice but to share you!"
Yuchi Jinwu laughed and took her into his arms. They were stuck
skin to skin, flirting about. Yuchi Jinwu could feel his worries
dissipating.
"If I told you, you must not disclose it to anyone. At the very least,
before we arrive in Daxing City, do not breathe it to another soul."
The more secretive and serious he was, the more his concubine
grew curious, pulling at his sleeves as she coaxed him while
grumbling now and then.
Only then did Yuchi Jinwu say softly, "In that chest, there is a tribute."
She asked, "Aren't tributes usually placed inside the last carriage?"
Yuchi Jinwu replied, "Those are only for ordinary tributes. With
merely gold and silver treasuries, how would they be considered
anything in the eyes of the Sui Emperor — the monarch of a large
nation?"
The concubine asked curiously, "We are only a small kingdom. What
treasuries would we have that would appeal to the Sui Emperor somuch so that he must have it? Unless it's some sort of a rare jade?"
Yuchi Jinwu pinched her cheek, "Smart. It is related to jade, but it's
not just any jade, it is the Jade of Heaven's Lake."
His concubine squealed, "That legendary jade that can make one
immortal?!"
Before she could finish, Yuchi had already covered her mouth. She
acted quickly upon seeing the serious glare in his eyes and
apologized, "I forget my manners. This is one of the Kingdom of
Khotan's treasures. How could his Majesty bear to give it away?"
Yuchi Jinwu shrugged, "So what if he could not bear to give it away?
If his Majesty wants an alliance with the Sui Emperor, he needs to
present something of worth; only then would it be regarded as
showing the utmost sincerity."
Although the Jade of Heaven's Lake contained the words 'Lake of
Heaven', it had nothing to do with heaven. It was unintentionally
discovered by a woodcutter of Khotan who mistakenly entered a
cave and discovered that unusual piece of jade stone. According to
the legends, it was as clear as morning dew with a pool of azure blue
in its centre, similar to Heaven's Lake that was surrounded by snow,
hence its given name.
The woodcutter presented it before the Khotan King, whose mother
at that time, was diagnosed with a strange illness and failed to
recover. However, after she was treated with medicine made from a
shard of the jade, she was not only fully recovered, but it was as if
her body was wrought anew. This king's mother then lived until she
was over ninety years old and passed away only just recently.
Because of this incident, the fame of the Jade of Heaven's Lake
spread across the lands to many, it returned not only one's youth but
could also cure any strange disease in existence and was extremely powerful for people who were trained in the martial arts. A treasure
such as this was coveted by many, but the Khotan King treated it like
a national treasure. No one knew where he had hidden the Jade.
The Göktürks also kept a close watch on Khotan, perhaps hoping to
take the Jade of Heaven's Lake for themselves one day.
The Khotan King was no fool. He understood the value of the jade
but, compared to the destruction of his kingdom and family, the jade
meant nothing. He was willing to give it away if it meant protection
for his people. At the very least, it was better than allowing it to fall
into the hands of the Göktürks.
The concubine listened as she thought and said, "But My Lord, is it
really alright for just a few people to protect such a valuable treasure
on the road?"
Yuchi Jinwu smiled, "Don't underestimate the people outside. They
are his Majesty's most skilled bodyguards. Practically all of them
were assigned to this expedition. The fact that they don't look skilled
is an advantage."
As he thought, he reminded her again, "Only you and I know of this
matter. Do not repeat this to a third person."
The concubine nodded her head. "I understand the consequences of
this. If the information is leaked, we would be endangered. So fewer
the people who know, the better."
Yuchi Jinwu playing with a strand of her hair, pleasingly said, "You
have followed me for four to five years, and I have always known you
were the most understanding one. But you needn't worry too much.
When we enter the city, the Sui Emperor will send forth men to
protect us. When that time comes, we no longer need to worry."
As they both spoke, the wind grew harsher and stronger. The horse
carriages rattled, creating an unsettling sound. Yuchi Jinwu lost all his interest in conversing but instead bit on his lip
and stopped talking.
His concubine held his robes tightly, too afraid to even move.
Amidst the sound of violent winds, Yuchi Jinwu heard a wave of
noises that sounded like the hooves of horses.
In this wretched weather, whoever the traveller was, they would not
be merchants. This could only mean that it was the soldiers sent by
the Sui Emperor.
Yuchi Jinwu shook his head and turned towards his concubine. "Let
me go out and take a look... "
The curtains were suddenly withdrawn; a bodyguard peeked in from
the outside and said quickly, "My Lord, the windstorm is too hectic.
Let us move forward to take shelter—"
Then everything happened all at once.
The way Yuchi Jinwu felt irritated at being interrupted by the
bodyguard to the shock wide in his eyes.
He could only stare at the blood spluttering as the bodyguard's head
flew into the air, hitting the roof of the carriage before falling heavily
to the ground, rolling in circles on the white mat before finally rolling
to the side of his foot.
From the side of his ear, his concubine screamed, but her voice
sounded far away. He felt a cloth slip over his ears. He couldn't hear
anything but muffled sounds.
A cold feeling washed over him, and he tensed. His heart had long
told him to shy away, but his body could not react in time. From his chest, a sharp pain spread as something pierced his chest and
ribcage.
Different shades of red soon coloured Yuchi Jinwu's vision.
In the end, for one to be alive in one second and be dead in the next
only took such a brief amount of time.
Such was his thought as he collapsed to the ground.
…..
Snow particles flew in the air, enough to cover up all the stains of the
world.
Yet covering up was only temporarily. Once the cloud disperses and
the snow melts, those stains would resurface once more.
Dried blood blackened, mixing among the blocks of snow. From a
distance, they looked as if they were stones merely enveloped by the
gathering snow.
Among all the dead horses that lay on the ground, there were also
overturned carriages and a few severed heads buried in the snow.
Gazing upon the sight, one could tell some time had passed since
the incident took place.
From afar, the sound of horse hooves got louder as a company of
men drew near.
A few dozen men approached from the wintry background, their
horses kicking up piles of white as they trotted forwards, their
breaths forming puffs of smoke in the air.
Among them, their leader wore a black coat, effectively covering up
his neck. The only sound he exuded was when the wind picked up, his coat billowing beneath the wind.
Behind him, dozens of men followed tightly, their coats buttoned up
to the neck in a similar fashion. No one was willing to expose their
skin to such horrendous weather.
They looked as if they'd expected such a gruesome scene. Their
faces showed no signs of shock or disgust. Instead, they acted
quickly, dismounting their horses to move forward to take a look.
One corpse lay sprawled on the ground, practically covered by the
snow, exposing only a shoulder and neck as white as snow. A wound
stretches across his throat to the back of his neck. From this point of
view, one could see how deep the wound was. His neck was pretty
much snapped in two — a demonstration of the strength of his
murderer.
A hand reached out from under a black coat.
That hand was fair, slender and so pale that it looked almost as if the
skin was a sheet of glass over white bones like fine white jade. It
was not necessary to flaunt any stylish moves; people would have
already stopped and stared. A pair of hands like these were not
hands that commoners would have.
But the owner of these hands did not feel disgusted by the
bloodstains. He took a handful of snow tainted with blood into his
fingers, before releasing them and watching the snow particles fall
through his fingers.
The man lowered his head, an eyebrow gradually rising.
The guard on duty who stood by his side was sighing over the fact
that he'd missed the chance to bribe this important guest who came
from the capital. Watching the scene, he quickly took out a clean
cloth and mustered a smile on his face. "Sire, I have a clean cloth here, you—"
Before he finished talking, his speaking adversary shed his coat and
tossed it behind him!
The guard watched with his mouth agape when the man's coat was
caught by a young man.
Pei Jingzhe smiled bitterly. "My Lord..."
"Hold on to it," said the man flatly.
Without the coat, he was practically exposed to the harsh winds and
storm. Clad in Jade guan and white robes, the wide sleeves billowed
in the air as the tails of his robes fluttered in the wind.
The men who came with him watched the scene as they trembled,
while he alone remained unfazed and unmoved. Bending his waist
and head he continued to examine the corpse.
======
Göktürks: This is the same population of people 'Tujue' (突厥) used
in Thousand Autumns/Qianqiu written by the same author as
Peerless/Wushuang. Both works share the same universe. Göktürks.
Daxing City: This is the capital city of the Sui Dynasty in Wushuang.
For Thousand Autumns/Qianqiu fans, the previous capital is
Chang'an. Wushuang is set 3 years after Yang Jian took the throne
and became the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty.