FENG XIAO STRUCK out like lightning and grabbed the stranger's wrist.
There was a gasp of surprise, and a soft body fell limply into his arms. A fragile hand, a pliant and delicate figure, a voice that dripped with seductive charm—it was enough to melt the hearts of the vast majority of men.
Feng Xiao was not the vast majority.
What was Apa Khagan's newest favorite doing out here in dark trying to seduce an envoy of the Sui dynasty? If word spread, they could look forward to navigating another series of stormy waves before they forged any alliance.
Feng Xiao released her wrist and took two steps back. Caught off guard, the beauty fell to the ground with a soft cry of pain.
"Who sent you?" Feng Xiao crouched and grabbed her chin. His hand was gentle, yet she was unable to break free.
"This concubine…admires the gentleman's grace." It seemed the Kuchean beauty could speak some Chinese, her slightly accented syllables lending her words a touch of the exotic.
"Are you not afraid of losing your head if the khagan discovers you?" asked Feng Xiao with obvious amusement.
The beauty had opened her mouth to speak when she found her acupoint had been struck, rendering her mute. Pain shot through her chin, so sharp her eyes brimmed charmingly with tears. How unfortunate that they were out of reach of the lamplight, and no one could witness her loveliness.
"Let me guess: someone told you to cling to me, then cry out and draw attention?"
Still mute, the beauty could only shake her head desperately as tears streamed down her soft cheeks. She wanted to protest that she really did fancy him, but Feng Xiao gave her no chance to do so. He grabbed a handful of her luxurious hair and dragged her straight to the royal yurt, showing not a shred of tenderness toward the fairer sex.
As they stepped into the light, Feng Xiao caught sight of a sudden uproar opposite the royal yurt. Firelight quickly gathered there, accompanied by shouts and screams. It took him seconds to realize the commotion was coming from the second prince's yurt. He watched as attendants fled from Ade's residence to the royal yurt, pale and stumbling in their panic. This was no small disturbance.
Feng Xiao gave the beauty a tap, and she crumpled limply to the ground.
***
Moments ago, the khagan's yurt had been a scene of singing and dancing. Jinlian had lost her glum aura of the past few days; her expression now was one of rare ease. She'd traveled thousands of miles to the Central Plains and braved every sort of hardship to bring the Sui envoys to her homeland. What she'd sought was not simply an elevation in her status but an increase in prestige and the accompanying right to speak. The greater khatun yet lived, and the first prince was her son—her position was stable and immovable. Jinlian's position was more precarious; all she could do was attempt to boost her importance by gathering power into her hands, with the hope of more in the future. It was for this she'd hitched her wagon to the star that was the Sui dynasty and Cui Buqu. She wasn't easily swayed from her course.
Fo'er was dead, but it would take time for the news to reach Ishbara. Even if Ishbara retaliated, the alliance would be a settled thing; his aggression wouldn't change the fundamentals. As for the second prince, after the latest incident, he wouldn't dare cause any trouble while Cui Buqu was still here…
A Göktürk guard burst into the yurt, interrupting her thoughts. He'd completely forgotten to announce his arrival. Everyone started, but no one scolded him—they stared at his sweat-smeared face as he shouted, "Khagan! The second prince is dead!"
Jinlian blanched.
Apa Khagan leapt up, ignoring the grape wine that spattered over his clothes. He shoved the maid attending him aside and strode vigorously out of the yurt.
Bewildered, the guests followed in his wake, all the way to Ade's yurt.
A physician from the royal yurt was already there, a Göktürk man with some knowledge of Central Plains medicine. He examined the motionless second prince, then shook his head—there was nothing he could do.
Apa Khagan raged. "He couldn't just die like that! Save him, quickly!"
He refused to believe his own son was dead. Even Yixun was stunned: his brother had been bouncing up and down mere hours ago, causing every kind of mischief.
The Göktürk physician knelt on the ground, trembling. "The second prince has no external injuries, yet there's no smell of alcohol either. Perhaps he consumed some poison…"
Though the Göktürk court lacked the sophisticated measures of the Central Plains' imperial palaces, it was still no easy feat to poison an aristocrat. If someone had poisoned the second prince, then Apa Khagan, too, was in danger.
Heartbroken over his son's death and fearing for his own life, the khagan furiously ordered the banquet suspended and all guests detained. While everyone stood shocked, the khagan's guards surrounded the prince's residence, preventing any entry or exit.
With Apa Khagan's baleful glare boring holes into him, the doctor steeled himself and called his apprentice over to continue examining Ade's body. As he worked, the prince's personal maid explained his whereabouts before his death.
Prince Ade had been humiliated today, and Fo'er was dead; he was in no mood to attend the evening banquet. Even so, he was unwilling to let his brother steal the spotlight. He'd dawdled in his yurt, snapping at the maids for poor service. After whipping them, he'd sent them all away. The maids had waited and waited, but when the banquet began, they couldn't tarry any longer. They risked another beating and headed back inside to fetch him.
The lights had all been extinguished. Half of them had been knocked over in the prince's rage; they'd heard him cursing and throwing objects as they waited outside. When they finally relit the lamps, they saw the second prince lying motionless on the ground.
It might have been reasonable to assume he'd fallen asleep from exhaustion after throwing his tantrum—but he'd never been in the habit of sleeping with his eyes open. The maids had rushed forward, only to find the prince was no longer breathing.
The crowd listened as the maid stammered through her report. Many, in their hearts, wondered if he mightn't have been so angry he died of it. But at that moment, the physician's apprentice shouted, "Here! There's something on the second prince's head!"
Apa Khagan strode forward and watched as the two men heaved the prince's corpse into a sitting position. He brushed aside his son's hair to expose the tip of an iron needle.
The needle had been inserted deep into the Baihui acupoint on the crown of the prince's skull—no amount of strength could yank it out. Clearly this was the cause of the second prince's death, but it wasn't something any ordinary person could pull off. Ade, while not a master, knew some martial arts, and there were additional guards outside the yurt. Yet someone had slipped inside with no one the wiser, killed the second prince without a sound, and vanished. They had to be an expert among experts.
Jinlian thought herself decently skilled, but killing Ade without alerting anyone was beyond her abilities. Across the entire Western Khaganate, there might be no one capable of such a feat. There was one person here today, however, who certainly was.
She shivered. A chill crept over her heart, spreading up her chest and throat, permeating her very breath. This smelled of a conspiracy.
Jinlian wasn't the only one with this thought. A Göktürk aristocrat exclaimed, "The Sui envoy! The envoy with incredible martial arts! He's disappeared!"
Jinlian glanced in Cui Buqu's direction. Sensing her gaze, he raised his eyes to meet it. Cui Buqu's face was half-cloaked in shadow, his expression impossible to make out.
Apa Khagan didn't look at Cui Buqu at all before shouting, "Find him! Now!"
"Looking for me?"
Feng Xiao pushed aside the crowd and stepped into view. He remained cool as ever, as if unaware of the many eyes upon him.
Apa Khagan's face darkened. "Where have you been?"
Even now he remembered Feng Xiao's martial arts skills and didn't rashly order for him to be arrested.
Feng Xiao listened as Cui Buqu translated the khagan's words into Chinese. "I excused myself early and went back to rest. I heard the commotion over here and came out to take a look."
He made no mention of the incident with the Kuchean beauty, which would only enrage Apa Khagan further. The young woman would deny it to the end; he'd only be digging his own grave.
"What do you have to say about Ade's death?" Apa Khagan asked coldly.
Feng Xiao shrugged. "I bear the second prince no grudge. His death is a tragedy. Besides that, what can I say?"
Apa Khagan turned to his servants: "Call Liu Sigu here."
Feng Xiao had no idea who this was. He stood calm and unmoving as the banquet guests around him were ushered away and replaced with a group of Göktürk warriors.
"Khagan," Jinlian pleaded, "the Sui dynasty is ready to form an alliance with us. What reason does he have to kill Ade? Someone has framed him—"
The khagan raised a hand to silence her.
The servants returned in short order with Liu Sigu. Apa Khagan again addressed Feng Xiao. "Do you know who he is?"
Feng Xiao shook his head.
"The Black Moon Shaman's apprentice. On the night of the shaman's death, he saw you sneak into his house with his own two eyes!" Apa Khagan sneered. "Know this, envoys of Sui. The shaman's death was suspicious. I've known of this since yesterday but was willing to overlook it for the sake of peace between our nations. No one said anything, and we were willing to believe you. But after Ade's death today, my eyes are opened! You came here to destroy my Western Khaganate! You killed Fo'er, spoiling our alliance with Ishbara. You left us without any other option, then killed the shaman and Ade. Whom will you murder next? Me?!"
The crowd gaped in shock. Even Jinlian looked back and forth between Cui Buqu and Feng Xiao, her expression one of alarm.
Cui Buqu's brow wrinkled slightly, but Feng Xiao remained calm. "I had nothing to do with the deaths of the second prince or your shaman. If I wished to destroy the Western Khaganate, I could kill you where you stand. Why practice such subterfuge and kill so many unrelated persons?"
"Who knows! I've long said the Hans can't be trusted!" yelled a voice from the crowd. Once the first stone was cast, an uproar quickly followed.
"That's right, the Hans are a malicious breed! They want nothing more than to see us Göktürks fight among ourselves!"
"They murdered the shaman and the second prince. Who's to say they haven't already made an attempt on the khagan's life, and he was fortunate enough to escape!"
"Kill them!"
"Kill the Hans!"
Jinlian's sweat had almost soaked through her clothes, the fabric sticking to her back. Apa Khagan's face was like a thundercloud as he glared at Feng Xiao. The first prince's mouth was agape; he'd yet to fully understand what was going on.
Not everyone present had been an ally of the second prince. But in the heat of the moment, the conservative factions reared their heads as one, urging the furious khagan to execute the two envoys.
Feng Xiao was a powerful martial artist; everyone here feared him. But he was a single man—there was only so much he could do against this many. Experts were thick on the ground in the khagan's court. Perhaps he could escape alone, but there was also Cui Buqu and Qiao Xian, and Qiao Xian was injured. The chances of all three of them leaving unharmed were vanishingly small.
But what choice did Feng Xiao have?
The Göktürk warriors approached step by step, surrounding them in a solid wall. The khagan had only to give the command, and countless sabers would slash down. In that moment, Cui Buqu, who didn't know a lick of martial arts, would become a burden to Feng Xiao regardless of his peerless intelligence.
The two gazed at each other from afar.
Feng Xiao couldn't see Cui Buqu's expression clearly, and Cui Buqu had no idea what Feng Xiao was thinking. He didn't know what Feng Xiao would choose—but he'd decided what he himself would do. He didn't speak loudly, but it was enough to cut through the din of voices.
"Wait," said Cui Buqu.