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墨書 Inktalez
Autumn Atmosphere thickens, the cool breeze rises, and a piece of dry grass trembles in the wind, then is swept away with the scattered yellow earth, stirring up a dry and hazy little yellow dragon.
A pair of similarly trembling leather boots stands on the withered yellow grass, and their owner has arms spread wide like a hawk, each hand holding a fist-sized bundle of grass filled with camel grass.
The person suddenly stiffens, seemingly greatly startled, his whole body tensing up, while the grass bundle in his left hand flies back ten steps, pinned to the ground by a goose feather arrow!
This Rouran People lets out a breath, just about to vent his dissatisfaction towards the leader Gao He Shu, when thirty steps away, the sound of a bowstring being drawn again rings out. His right hand suddenly lightens, and the grass bundle he was holding is shot away once more!
“Fury! Fury!”
The surrounding Rouran brothers strike their scabbards, cheering loudly for their leader. The Rouran brother acting as a moving target spits and curses before running over to a nearby mound of earth. Without even having time to pull down his pants, yellow liquid has already soaked his trousers, causing his brothers to burst into laughter.
Such teasing seems quite excessive; however, in the eyes of the bold and rugged Rouran brothers, it is not considered humiliation at all. Their leader Gao He Shu has also been their target before.
Gao He Shu strokes his beard and hands the Longbow to Xu Zhen, his eyes revealing undisguised disdain. In everyone's eyes, this traveling commander is utterly useless. In battle, it is Zhou Cang and Gao He Shu who charge forward; in terms of strategy and tactics, he cannot compare to Zhang Jiunian, and he lacks proficiency in riding skills compared to Ulyet. He has no expertise in swordsmanship or spear techniques either. Yet everyone willingly follows him.
He may not be the strongest, but at critical moments, he can always turn the tide. He never hesitates to support his brothers, which is enough for them to follow him wholeheartedly.
Xu Zhen lazily spits out a stem but does not take the Longbow. Instead, she kicks Gao He Shu in the rear end and crudely commands in Turkic Language: “Get over there!”
When it comes to language talent, Xu Zhen is no less than anyone else. She uses English for performances abroad and French to charm foreign men. She can speak various dialects fluently. During this time, she has secretly learned quite a bit of Turkic, but every time she speaks, it’s always insults to prevent anyone from cursing her behind her back while she laughs foolishly.
Gao He Shu naturally does not trust Xu Zhen's archery skills, but the brothers have already started to stir up trouble. Gritting his teeth, he thinks that even if he gets shot by Xu Zhen, he cannot lose face in front of his brothers!
Seeing that Gao He Shu is standing ten steps away, Xu Zhen leisurely looks around and spots Li Mingda practicing swordplay with Zhou Cang not far off. She shouts loudly: “Girl! Girl! Come here!”
Li Mingda, feeling sulky because of Zhou Cang's straightforward nature that doesn't tolerate her weakness during training, has red eyes from being scolded but stubbornly wipes away her tears and practices harder. Hearing Xu Zhen calling her over, she pouts and walks over.
“Take out some fruits.” Xu Zhen opens her palm with a mischievous grin. Li Mingda huffs angrily and reluctantly pulls out three or four wild fruits about the size of pigeon eggs from her pocket.
These are fruits that Xu Zhen picked from somewhere unknown earlier; she had previously tricked the little girl into eating them by wrapping them in sour green leaves with yellow candy inside, leaving this greedy little girl stunned.
Xu Zhen received the fruit and impatiently waved his hand, signaling Li Mingda to go back and continue practicing with his sword. Li Mingda glared at him in frustration, seizing the opportunity to stomp hard on his foot before running away, sticking out his tongue and making a face.
The brothers burst into laughter; it seemed that only Li Mingda and Caesar, who had nearly castrated Xu Zhen, could handle him.
Xu Zhen muttered a curse under his breath, then picked up the fruit and walked over to Gao He Shu. He took a bite out of all three fruits and placed one on each of Gao He Shu's shoulders and one on his head before stepping back with a sinister smile.
Seeing this, the brothers were instantly terrified. Everyone knew Xu Zhen's poor archery skills; if he aimed for an arm or thigh, Gao He Shu could probably endure it. But with those three fruits so close to his head, it was truly a deadly situation!
Just as Gao He Shu was about to protest, Xu Zhen had already retreated seven or eight steps away. Suddenly twisting his feet, he turned around, and before anyone knew it, a gleaming throwing knife appeared in his right hand. With a low shout of "Hey," he flicked his wrist, sending the knife flying. Gao He Shu felt a chill on his left cheek as the fruit was knocked off!
He dared not move again. Xu Zhen seized the moment, moving like flowing water. With a swipe of his left hand at his waist, he struck again, sending the fruit on Gao He Shu's right shoulder flying!
The brothers held their breath, fearing that any sound might endanger their leader. Meanwhile, Xu Zhen chuckled and pulled out a third throwing knife. After a graceful spin, he leaped forward with all his strength and threw the last knife!
"Thud!"
The fruit atop Gao He Shu's head burst open without leaving a single drop of juice!
The brothers were completely stunned!
Since everyone was injured, they had slowed down their pace while tracking the Tuguhun Army's traces and recovering their strength. With nothing much to do, they practiced their martial arts during most of their free time. Sparring had become routine, and Xu Zhen was often the target of their training. They never expected him to possess such astonishing throwing knife skills!
After a long while, the brothers erupted into thunderous cheers and applause. Meanwhile, Gao He Shu's cheek twitched as he walked back into the crowd with a pale face and stiff body. The brothers admired their leader's courage even more when they saw him moving normally. However, just as he reached the entrance of the tent, his legs finally gave way beneath him, causing him to collapse onto the ground while cursing in newly learned Tang dialect: "Damn you!"
Everyone burst into laughter; some rolled on the ground holding their stomachs. It was their first time witnessing their leader being bested!
Amidst the merriment, dust rose from the southeast as Yin Zong rode back into camp with an excited expression, announcing, "The master has returned!"
Xu Zhenxin's head perked up in joy; the master Yin Zong referred to was Zhang Jiunian! They had long awaited this moment.
Yin Zong took the water pouch handed to him by the brothers and gulped it down before wetting his palm for his horse to lick. Before long, they saw a small group galloping towards them from afar—Ulyet leading with ten or so brothers flanking him—among them was none other than the travel-worn Zhang Jiunian!
Caesar felt awkward upon meeting Xu Zhen, so he had been avoiding her. At that moment, hearing hoofbeats, he emerged from the tent and looked into the distance, where he saw a familiar figure. On the back of a chestnut horse behind Zhang Jiunian was none other than Master Moya!
Xu Zhen was also slightly surprised. Moya was already over fifty years old. Although he possessed martial skills and practiced the art of illusion diligently, remaining sharp and agile, long-distance travel would still take a toll on his old body. Why had he come such a long way?
Zhou Cang, seeing his brother return, quickly gathered with Li Mingda and others to welcome them, helping to untie the horses and ushering Zhang Jiunian and his party into the camp.
Before Zhou Cang could greet Zhang Jiunian, Li Mingda had already stepped forward quickly to grab the hand of one of Zhang Jiunian's attendants, exclaiming, "Peerless Sister!"
As the attendant removed her veil, Xu Zhen could finally see her face. Although she was dressed as a man, her eyebrows were finely arched, her lips delicate, and her oval face radiated charm. If she were to wear makeup, she would undoubtedly be a beauty. Given her close interaction with Li Mingda, it seemed she was a relative of the Li Clan.
The woman held Li Mingda's small hand and gently said, "Sister Si has suffered!"
The two whispered to each other with red-rimmed eyes, their affection evident.
Xu Zhen didn't bother to delve into the woman's identity and quickly led Zhang Jiunian and Moya into the Main Tent. They exchanged pleasantries and ordered food and drink to be served before gradually addressing serious matters.
After settling from their travels, Zhang Jiunian's brow remained furrowed as he sighed lightly and explained the situation. It turned out that Liangzhou had already issued orders for Xu Zhen's traveling party not to pursue further; instead, they were to turn southward and join forces with the Shanshan Dao Army!
Xu Zhen immediately inquired about their intentions. Zhang Jiunian leisurely stroked his long beard and replied, "Now that the intelligence has been delivered, Ganzhou will naturally be on guard. With Wei Gong in charge, I believe the Barbarians will gain nothing from this situation. The order for us to head south likely aims for us to unite with the Jishi Road troops to jointly attack the Attack on Tughun Heavy Ground and take advantage of any weaknesses to eliminate the Barbarians' foundation in one fell swoop!"
Everyone was astonished by this strategy; it was grand in scope and reminiscent of ancient generals. Given Li Daozong's cautious nature, it must have originated from someone else's hand!
Xu Zhen furrowed her brow; there was no need for much deliberation. The remaining generals in Tang Dynasty were few—besides War God Li Jing and Li Shiji overseeing matters in Chang'an, there weren't many capable of leading battles. If it wasn't Minister of War or Chief of the Jishi Road Expedition Hou Junji, who else could it be?
This person was cunning yet narrow-minded; he had previously contended with Li Jing for the position of General during the Tuguhun and had spoken ill of War God in front of Li Er. However, ultimate control still lay with Li Jing.
Now he had offloaded the troublesome task of dealing with the main force during the Tuguhun onto Li Jing while seizing an opportunity to attack Attack on Tughun Heavy Ground himself. Besides Hou Junji, Xu Zhen truly couldn't think of anyone else.
Thinking about her past conflicts with Hou Family Father and Son made Xu Zhenxin uneasy. After discussing with Zhang Jiunian, they could only proceed cautiously while growing curious about Moya's purpose for this trip.
Old Master chuckled softly and signaled Xu Zhen with his eyes. She understood immediately; they no longer needed to say much at the welcoming banquet. The brothers rejoiced at hearing news of their return and celebrated heartily.
Xu Zhen seized the opportunity to bring the old Master into her tent. Once they were seated, Moya smiled mysteriously and said slowly, "I heard that Xu Shaolang has become a Yarbo of the Salarian. I simply couldn't sit still and came to congratulate you."
Xu Zhen was taken aback. After observing his expression, she realized that the old Master was intriguing, so she could only awkwardly wave her hand and say, "I’ve been causing a ruckus; please don’t make fun of me, I assume you came for Caesar?"
However, Moya shook his head, reining in his smile, and said seriously to Xu Zhen: "I indeed came for Xu Lang!"
Confused, Xu Zhen watched as Moya took out an object from his robe and carefully placed it on the Table, pushing it toward her.
The item appeared rectangular, resembling a book, wrapped in black velvet. The fabric was engraved with fiery runes, exquisite and mysterious, emanating a strong and strange aura.
Slowly lifting the velvet cloth, Xu Zhen discovered a leather-bound book. The cover bore a line of Foreigners script that seemed to penetrate the paper, exuding an ancient and weathered atmosphere. A black seal was tied to the side of the book, about the size of a palm, adorned with fiery patterns. The inscriptions on either side were twisted and obscure, indecipherable.
Seeing the puzzled expression on Xu Zhen, Moya looked at her earnestly and said: "This is the Holy Fire Order of Zoroastrianism, along with the classic text of the faith, the Avesta. I am here to teach you how to be a proper Yarbo!"
(Note 1: Camel thorn is a honey source plant during June and July. In the Turpan Basin of Xinjiang, when strong winds occur, its thorns pierce through leaves, causing sugary juice to seep from the wounds. After being exposed to wind and sun, this juice condenses into small edible blocks known as "thorn sugar," which can be boiled to treat dysentery and diarrhea. This "thorn sugar" was offered as tribute during Emperor Xuanzong's reign in Tang Dynasty and is called thorn honey; it is amber-colored and sweet like sugar.)
(Note 2: The Avesta is a classic of Zoroastrianism, akin to the Bible in Christianity or the Quran in Islam.)
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