The lone army marches through the great desert. Intelligence is not the most important thing—experience is, and courage is.
Among the soldiers who followed Li Fuxiang out, most were young men. The only experienced ones were Ji Wei, and Zhan Ji could barely count as one as well.
They themselves knew that they lacked courage and capability. Otherwise, after enduring over twenty years, they wouldn’t still be mere generals.
Some of the young men were indeed fearless in their ignorance, charging forward silently and recklessly. But that wasn’t courage; that was foolishness.
At this point, having embarked on this path, they all, without prior agreement, pinned their hopes on Li Fuxiang. After all, it was he who pointed out the path through Hucha Sea.
Zhan Ji glanced back. After three days of traveling, the road they came from was no longer visible. “When we passed through the Ghost Wind Corridor, the Fox Hu stopped chasing us. They must have been certain we wouldn’t survive.”
The Ghost Wind Corridor was the throat of Hucha Sea.
Beyond the Ghost Wind Corridor lay the heartland of Hucha Sea.
Ji Wei said, “We’ve traveled for three days and haven’t even seen a ghost’s shadow. Let’s see if we’re lucky enough to stumble upon an oasis.”
They traveled lightly, with extremely limited food and water. Five days was their absolute limit, and that required careful rationing. It had already been three days, and they should be thankful for the heavy snowstorm a few days ago, which eased their thirst for water sources.
Ji Wei said, “Snow in March—it’s already unusual weather, not to mention in the Western Frontier. I’ve been stationed in the Western Frontier for over twenty years, and this is the first time I’ve seen snow in the desert. You know what? It’s quite beautiful.”
Zhan Ji asked, “Beautiful?”
Snow covering the yellow sands—Ji Wei gestured around. “It is beautiful.”
Finding joy in hardship was still joy. Ji Wei and Zhan Ji joked around for a while. Turning back, they noticed Li Fuxiang hadn’t spoken much, so they urged their horses forward, one on each side, flanking him in the middle. “Little Prince, what are you thinking about?”
Li Fuxiang answered slowly, “I’m wondering about the horses.”
Zhan Ji asked, “What about the horses?”
Ji Wei’s expression changed.
Li Fuxiang said, “If we don’t see any people soon, we’ll probably have to abandon the horses.”
In the desolation of the desert, even humans might not survive, let alone their horses.
Li Fuxiang lowered his head, staring at his little red horse. This was a pony gifted to him by Zheng Qianye. When it was still a foal, he had brought it back to the royal stables to raise. When it galloped, its entire body would turn blood red, and more impressively, it was exceptionally docile.
Ji Wei asked, “Little Prince, what did you mean by ‘see people’ just now?”
Instead of answering, Li Fuxiang asked back, “Do you think the hardest thing to tame is the desert?”
Ji Wei replied, “Isn’t it?”
Li Fuxiang said, “Of course not.”
Ji Wei asked, “Then what is it?”
Li Fuxiang answered, “It’s people.” He recalled an incident. “A few years ago, when I was fooling around in the capital, there were a few young masters involved in business who constantly came up with ways to swindle money out of me. One time, in a gambling house, someone brought out a gemstone, red as dripping blood, trying to sell it to me at this price.”
He held up five fingers.
Ji Wei couldn’t grasp the concept of those five fingers. He was poor and couldn’t comprehend the extravagant spending of those dandies. At this moment, he had only one thought in his mind—this little prince of theirs really played hard in the capital.
Li Fuxiang, unaware of the complexity in Ji Wei’s heart, continued to speak: “The gemstone was a rare tribute. Even if it were a merchant’s cargo, its price wouldn’t be just fifty thousand; it would need to be doubled twice over. I asked that person where the item came from since I wouldn’t take stolen goods. He told me that in business, there are countless avenues. As long as there’s money to be made, there are always people willing to risk their lives to blaze a trail. In our Great Xu Dynasty, there are people who make their living this way—risking their lives to make a round trip and bring back goods that sell for an exorbitant profit. I didn’t buy that gemstone back then. Instead, I offered ten times the price and bought their trade route map.”
What use could a prince born in the capital and raised in the palace possibly have for a trade route map? It was a complete waste of money. So, the person in the gambling house had no fear of competition and readily agreed to the deal.
Ji Wei asked, “A trade route map? Could it be through Hucha Sea?”
Li Fuxiang replied, “Only through Hucha Sea would merchants avoid being squeezed by layer upon layer of levies and border taxes. Every coin earned there is entirely their own.”
Ji Wei slapped his thigh. “Ah—why didn’t you say so earlier! In that case, we aren’t completely without a way back. If we calculate the time, Commander Zheng should have already returned and dealt with those Fox Hu rabble. We could…”
Zhan Ji raised his hand to stop the exuberant Ji Wei and asked, “Your Highness, since you have the map, why didn’t you mention it earlier?”
Ji Wei’s burning enthusiasm was instantly doused like a bucket of cold water. “Yes, if he has the trade map, he must know how to return. Why did he wait three days, until everyone was exhausted, to reveal this secret?”
Li Fuxiang turned to Ji Wei and said, “It’ll take at least three more days to return to the Ghost Wind Corridor. Going forward, it’ll take at most one day for me to find a supply point. If, by then, you want to go back, I’ll give you directions. But I’m not going back.”
Ji Wei met his gaze, which carried a hint of cunning. He opened his mouth but couldn’t find the words for a moment. “What exactly are you trying to do?”
Often, the gentlest and most harmless facade is the easiest to lull people into a false sense of security.
The letter sent back by the Jinyiwei at least proved that the group forced into Hucha Sea was still unharmed.
Zheng Qianye reorganized his troops and prepared to venture deep into Hucha Sea. Someone from Medicine Valley requested an audience, saying that they already had personnel ready to accompany the army. Before departing, Zheng Qianye personally went to take a look and discovered among them a girl of only thirteen or fourteen years old. He immediately frowned, found Langdu, and asked for an explanation.
Langdu was silent for a moment before confessing everything, saying, “Commander Zheng, let her go.”
Zheng Qianye asked, “A daughter of the Gao family?”
Langdu nodded. “Yes.”
Zheng Yan, who was present, asked, “It’s her?”
When Gao Yuexing saw Zheng Qianye, she realized trouble might be brewing. Although Zheng Qianye didn’t recognize her at the time, given his temperament, he was unlikely to allow a young girl to accompany the army into the desert.
But unexpectedly, she encountered no obstacles.
Langdu met with Zheng Qianye once, and when he returned, he nodded to her, signaling reassurance.
The group set off early the next morning. Gao Yuexing changed her attire, still covering her face with a white veil. Their aim was to find traces left by those who had gone before them in the desert, but it was extremely difficult.
In all of the Great Xu Dynasty, Zheng Qianye was the general most familiar with the Western Frontier’s deserts. With him present, it was as if they had a safety net.
What seemed like searching for a needle in a haystack turned out to be more promising than expected. They had been traveling for less than two days when they encountered a group of returning soldiers. Judging by their attire, they were Ji Wei’s subordinates. However, Ji Wei and Zhan Ji were nowhere to be seen, and neither was Li Fuxiang. The returning group numbered only a few hundred, yet those who had ventured deep into the desert had been a force of four thousand cavalry.
Zheng Qianye couldn’t wait and spurred his horse forward. At the front of the group, he saw a man riding a horse, with another horse in tow.
The horse being led had a beautiful red tassel hanging from its neck—unmistakably familiar. It was the little red horse he had gifted to Li Fuxiang.
Zheng Qianye’s mind buzzed, and he nearly fell off his horse.
The small group of retreating soldiers, upon seeing Zheng Qianye, rushed forward in surprise and delight. “Grand Marshal!”
Zheng Qianye asked, “What happened? Where are the others?”
The man, realizing Zheng Qianye had misunderstood, quickly explained, “Reporting to the Grand Marshal, the Little Prince refused to return.”
Li Fuxiang had kept his word. After the army’s arduous four-day trek, they had finally found a place where they could rest and recover. He gave everyone the option to stay or leave, drawing up a route for those who wished to return and sending this small group back the way they came.
In truth, most people chose not to return.
Zheng Qianye frowned, echoing Ji Wei’s earlier question, “What exactly is he trying to do?”