The Mongols’ Great Khan had been kidnapped.
Two days later, that was the news that shook the world like a giant earthquake. The entire world was astonished, even more so compared to the breaching of Heaven’s Gate.
The moment the people of this world learnt of this news, everyone reacted differently to it, some celebrated while others were disappointed.
By now, the war between the Mongols and Grand Xia had reached a critical junction, the fact that this happened now would undoubtedly have huge ramifications on the war.
Initially, Grand Xia was in dire straits and anyone with the least bit of discernment could see that Grand Xia was in its death throes.
Up till now, the greatest military power in Grand Xia, the ten military marquis, had failed spectacularly. The Northern Marquis had betrayed the empire; Marquis Xueyi, Marquis Taiping were severely injured while Marquis Liyu, Ziyang and Buyi were trapped outside of Heaven’s Gate.
On the other hand, the tide of war seemed overwhelmingly in favor of the Eternal Night Cult. The Martial Monarch and his three ninth-grade peak generals were simply too powerful for Grand Xia to handle and only Marquis Kaixuan was able to resist them.
In the northwest, there was still the Western Doya Temple which hadn’t taken a stance yet. Until it did so, Marquis Wangchuan still had to watch over that region.
As for the Northeast, the kingdom of Manyang, with its overflowing ambition, was a threat that could invade at any time. The dynasties had fought intermittently for decades and had never truly been at peace. With regards to this kingdom which was more shameless than Zhenji, Grand Xia had always maintained a wary attitude towards it. No matter what, Marquis Zhongyong had to remain there.
Thanks to those varying reasons, what was supposed to be the vast, invincible army of Grand Xia ended up in a temporary state of impotence.
The fact that the invincible thousand year empire of Grand Xia had suffered defeat after defeat at the hands of a woman had to be the greatest irony ever.
Now however, that awkward situation might just end up changing because of the Great Khan’s abduction. More than anything else, Grand Xia needed a change, something that could alter the course of current events.
At the forefront of the Mongolian army, Fan Lingyue had just received word of the Great Khan’s abduction. Instantly, her face sank after which she immediately ordered the army set up camp.
It was him, he actually survived!
That Ink Sword was a gift from her so how could she ever mistake it for something else. To think he didn’t die in the end and even sent her such a huge surprise.
“Lady Strategist” Greeted Qing Wuyou, kneeling as he did so, his desire to plead for mercy clearly written on his face.
“The Qing family has erred so naturally there is a price to be paid. I’ll take the appropriate measures so don’t concern yourself with this matter. Also, inform Qing Wuyou to handle that matter well, no matter what, she mustn’t leave any traces behind.” Fan Lingyue coldly declared.
“Understood!” Qing Wuyou acknowledged amidst a silent sigh in his heart.
Within the Man Dynasty, the Man King was in a rather irate mood at the moment. Not only did that kid not die, he even caused such a huge uproar in the world.
Beneath him, Ah Man stood in stark contrast to her royal father as she fervently gripped the letter in her hands and smiled a smile full of happiness.
As always, her thinking was completely off-kilter and even the things she noticed were different than most people. All she saw was that he was now a seventh-grade and his legs were even healed.
“He’s a seventh-grade!” As she said that, her head turned upwards to look at her royal father.
At that, the Man King was stunned for a moment and couldn’t fully grasp what she just said. A moment later, he finally recalled the deal they had between each other. Suddenly, his mood soured even more.
Given the kid’s cultivation speed, peak of ninth-grade shouldn’t be that far off either. Didn’t that mean that his precious daughter was going to leave him soon?
How infuriating!
Within Weiyang Palace, Zhang Sun and Qing Ning first reacted with shock and then more shock as they turned to face each other.
Without a question, this incident was caused by the boy.
In this world, there were only so many people with both of their legs crippled, but there were even less people who could fight that well while on a wheelchair.
Not to mention the fact that he even stood up from said wheelchair and kidnapped the little Great Khan. Such audacity and cunning, it could only come from Ning Chen.
“How did he even end up all the north?” Zhang Sun couldn’t help but ask in bewilderment. Last they met, she had handed him over to Prince Yan and he merely carried him away for treatment without sending any news back. Who would have ever thought that they next time they learnt of Ning Chen would be in such a fashion.
“…” Qing Ning was just as clueless as to how to answer that question. From the very beginning, that boy’s thinking wasn’t something anyone could understand. She wouldn’t even be surprised if she found out that he blew up the Mongolian palace.
Within the halls of Revelation, the Xia Emperor sat atop his dragon throne as usual. Looking at the report delivered to him by his spies, his brooding expression slowly began to change. First, he smiled and a second later, he laughed maniacally.
The heavens favored Grand Xia, the heavens favored Grand Xia!
……
As for the two main characters in question, neither Ning Chen nor Ming Yue knew of the momentous changes they had caused in the outside world. Just like before, they strolled through the steppes hand in hand. The steppes were noticeably vaster than the deserts and by now, the both of them were so sick of the sights they could puke.
Ming Yue was noticeably sullen about this fact as she asked, “How long till we get out of this place?”
“Are you tired?”
“Mhm.” She nodded irritably.
“Should I carry you then?”
“Okay!” She promptly nodded her head without any hesitation.
Thus, Ning Chen gave the little Great Khan a piggyback ride once more.
Since she was still a little girl, her body didn’t weigh much, in fact, the Ink Sword was probably heavier than her.
“Bad Man.” Ming Yue raised her voice.
“Hmm?” He answered though he couldn’t say that he approved of this nickname she gave him either. How was he a bad man?
“Once we get to Grand Xia, you must definitely protect me!” Ming Yue said with a hint of uncertainty in her voice.
“Alright.”
“I’m being serious here.”
“I’m being serious as well.”
At that, she tightly hugged his neck and in a soft voice, said, “Bad Man, you’d better to keep to your word, if someone else captures me, I’m dead.”
She knew more than anyone else what would happen to her should she ever end up in someone else’s hands. Should that ever happen, even dying would be a luxury.
“As long as I’m alive.” He left his words hanging at that. He was the one who abducted little Ming Yue so it fell upon him to protect her. As long as he was still alive, no one was going to take her away from him.
Hearing the determination behind his words, she finally closed her eyes in relief as she slowly snuzzled against his back.
She was a little tired and needed a short nap.
Seeing that, Ning Chen temporarily slowed down his speed. Once she woke up, he would pick up the pace once more.
It was at that moment that he heard the faint sounds of horses galloping and a carriage clacking. Judging by the direction it originated from, it came from the south and it was progressively getting closer.
Immediately, he picked up his pace and sped off in the direction of the carriage. If he didn’t guess wrong, that should be a northward bound merchant convoy.
As the facts would have it, it really was a northward bound merchant convoy that was heading to the royal capital.
The head of the merchant convoy was astonished when he laid eyes on the rapidly approaching figure of Ning Chen. Such a sight was rare within these boundless plains; travelling alone like that would often lead to starvation and one losing his way.
“Ming Yue, wake up.” Ning Chen quietly awakened the little girl
Having just fallen asleep not too long ago, the little girl wasn’t at all happy about being awoken like that. She pushed his face aside with an irate smack and promptly went back to sleep. Clearly, she had a rather problematic temper after waking up.
Given that, Ning Chen could only give up in resignation while the head of the merchant convoy merely chuckled at the sight. With no other choice, Ning Chen made the request for food and clothes himself.
Looking at the giant garment draped over the little girl, the convoy steward immediately understood what was happening. Turning around, he reached for one of the chests at his side and dug out a dress he had just bought for his daughter and magnanimously gave it to Ning Chen.
Dress in hand, Ning Chen couldn’t help but feel touched by his generosity. Yet, in the midst of that moving emotion, he couldn’t help but sigh as well. No matter which dynasty he went to, there were always such kind hearted people so why was there always so many wars?
As soon as the shadow of the merchant convoy disappeared into the distance, Ning Chen lightly sighed once more and resumed his journey. Suddenly, he heard the thunderous galloping of what sounded like 20 over horses. The galloping came from the southwest and sounded extremely hurried.
A moment later, amidst a veritable dust storm, the horses sped past the pair and rushed towards the north.
At that, Ning Chen merely continued on his way and didn’t pay much attention to them. However, after taking a couple steps forward, he suddenly felt that something up. Those riders seemed to be targeting that merchant convoy!
Realizing that, Ning Chen immediately turned around and with a forceful kick of his feet, transformed into a flowing shadow speeding off after the riders.
Hopefully, his guess was merely a mistake on his part.
“Round up the women and goods, as for the men, leave none of them alive!” Roughly 100 paces away from the convoy, he heard the cold, ruthless voice of a man echoing across the empty plains.
Up ahead, the merchant convoy was thrown into disarray by the sudden appearance of these bandits. None of them had ever expected to encounter the dreaded foe of a merchant here. To them, these bandits were inhumane murderers who only knew how to pillage and kill.
Yet just as the bandits were about to attack, a sudden flash of black sliced across the air. An instant later, the grass turned red from the spewing blood and the air reeked of iron.
While these bandits were inhumane, it was extremely unfortunate that they met an even more inhumane foe in Ning Chen. In terms of murdering people, he was the more adept of the two parties.
Like a roaring gust of wind, he mercilessly reaped the lives from each and every one of the bandits. All they ever saw was a glint of steel before their eyes darkened forever amidst a bloody eruption.
“You can have the horses as a gift.” Having said that, Ning Chen turned around to leave.
It was then that the merchant convoy finally came to their senses, eyes wide in astonishment as they processed what had just happened. None of them had ever expected that the young man they met not too long ago was actually such a terrifying expert.
Kindness begets kindness, that was the thought that crossed the minds of everyone present. Had the convoy steward not been generous to that young man a while ago, they probably would’ve died in this robbery.
“Bad man, you’re so cool.” Quipped little Ming Yue who had awakened without anyone’s knowledge.
“I’m always so cool.”
“You were the coolest then.” Brows curved upwards as she continued praising him.
“Hah, aren’t you a glib one.”
“How about you get down for a moment and walk?”
“Okay.” Little Ming Yue nodded her head and directly jumped off his back.
“Clothes.” He handed over the dress given to him by the convoy steward.
Looking at the dress in her hands however, Ming Yue couldn’t help but hesitate for a moment. Up till now, she had always worn boy’s clothing and never a girl’s.
“Go on.” Ning Chen softly said.
“Turn around for a second.” Having made up her mind, she accepted the dress.
Hearing that, Ning Chen was left speechless as he obediently turned around. This little girl actually knew how to be shy.
Wrinkling her nose, she made a face at him before she, with slightly reddened cheeks, took off her little dragon robes and put on that dress.
“Do not turn around!” She yelled in a worried voice.
“I won’t.” At that, Ning Chen couldn’t help but feel a sense of exasperation. It wasn’t like she was some beautiful lady so what did she have to fear in the first place?
A while later, little Ming Yue finally finished putting on the dress and in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzzing, said “Alright, you can turn around now.”
Ning Chen turned around as instructed and what greeted him as he did so, stunned him. His eyes couldn’t help but brighten up as he muttered to himself, what a pretty little girl.
While she was still good looking dressed in her dragon robes, that look was a little androgynous because of her get up. Now that she wasn’t wearing her crown and she had on a proper dress, she began to exude the gentle beauty you would expect from a girl.
All in all, little Ming Yue was a solid 90/100.
“How is it?” She asked in a slightly embarrassed tone.
“Really pretty.”
“Aren’t you a glib one.” As she said that, her lips curled upwards into a broad smile that resembled a crescent moon.
