The lush oasis was a striking sight amid the desolate Great Desert. He Heng slowly entered it, glanced at the tents scattered around, and gave a cold laugh.
"So this is where the King of Qiuci fled after the traitors defeated him? Shi Guanyin is here too, playing the part of Princess of Kuchi and plotting to usurp the throne. I hope she doesn't disappoint me..."
As he spoke, He Heng slowly made his way into the oasis. First, he spent some money on food. After all, he hadn't eaten for nearly ten days, and he was about to fight someone. He needed to replenish his strength.
Once he had eaten his fill, He Heng asked around about what was happening. Sure enough, though he had set out for the Great Desert before Chu Liuxiang, he had dawdled along the way and lost a great deal of time. Chu Liuxiang and the others had already been invited to a feast by the King of Qiuci, who was preparing to take Hu Tiehua as his son-in-law.
"Interesting." He Heng smiled, tightened his grip on the Longevity Sword, and fixed a cold gaze on the tent at the very center of the oasis.
The Great Desert was bitterly cold at night, but tonight the oasis was filled with laughter and celebration.
The reason was simple: the King of Qiuci was marrying his daughter off to a strong warrior from the Central Plains. A banquet was underway, with wine and meat being passed around and everyone enjoying themselves.
The night grew darker. The aroma of roasted meat and fine wine was enticing, and the people's laughter was lively, but it couldn't dispel the desolate chill that descended over the desert after dark.
Wrapped in a blanket, Ji Bingyan sat beneath the trees by the pool, watching the stars slowly grow denser overhead, then gradually thin out.
He sat perfectly still, as though he could remain there until the end of time. He was the sort of person who seemed never to grow lonely or tired of it.
Suddenly, a wine bottle came flying toward him. It was about to hit his head, but though he seemed not to move at all, the bottle was already in his hand.
Chu Liuxiang had come over. He gazed up at the sky and sighed. "It's unnaturally cold here..."
Then he noticed the ice crystals in Ji Bingyan's hair. Frowning, he added, "You're drinking, but you haven't even gotten up to move around. Aren't you afraid you'll freeze to death sitting there?" Ji Bingyan smiled faintly. "The cold won't kill me."
He finally pulled out the cork and took a sip. Then he continued slowly, "Only by sitting here without moving can I tell whether any outsiders are approaching. If I wander around, I can't keep an eye on everything."
Chu Liuxiang looked at him and sighed. "Who in the world would ever guess that you'd go hungry and cold for your friends?" Ji Bingyan's face darkened, and he said coldly, "I only do what I want to do. What other people think of me is none of my concern." Chu Liuxiang smiled and said nothing. He knew that when Ji Bingyan put on that stern expression, anything he said was likely to earn him a rebuff.
After a while, Ji Bingyan asked, "Where's Little Hu?"
"Gone to the bridal chamber."
"Did they carry him in?"
Chu Liuxiang laughed. "He looked just like a roasted camel, only without a sheep stuffed inside him." Ji Bingyan couldn't help laughing too. He murmured, "There's something to be said for being able to drink yourself unconscious at any moment."
After a long silence, Chu Liuxiang suddenly smiled. "You should go get some sleep."
Ji Bingyan said, "You..."
"You took the first half of the night. Naturally, it's my turn for the second half." The second half of the night was much colder than the first.
Chu Liuxiang sat for a long time without moving. It was no surprise that Ji Bingyan could sit like that, but it was hard to imagine Chu Liuxiang doing the same.
The place was dark. The lights inside the tents seemed very far away. No one could see him, but he could see everyone clearly.
By now, the voices inside the tents had gradually quieted. Groups of two or three stumbled out, supporting one another. Some were still singing.
At last, the singing faded too. The wind sweeping across the desert became the most desolate and stirring lament, leaving the spirit bleak and forlorn.
The stars had sunk below the boundless sky, and across the boundless Great Desert, it seemed that Chu Liuxiang was the only person left.
Many people and things gradually came to mind.
There were his friends—Hu Tiehua, Ji Bingyan, Su Rongrong, Song Tian'er, Li Hongxiu, and the others. And there were his enemies: the mysterious Shi Guanyin, and that man who always seemed shrouded in mystery, whose true purpose remained unknown... Bai Yu Jing!
He was the most terrifying opponent Chu Liuxiang had ever faced. No matter how he thought it over, he couldn't guess what the man was after. Why had he robbed him the last time? Why had he killed Wu Hua, and why had he spared Chu Liuxiang? It was all a mystery.
The man seemed capricious and eccentric, and there was always a smile on his face. Yet Chu Liuxiang understood that beneath it all lay a heart more ruthless and indifferent than any other, like a god high above, gazing down upon all living beings and regarding them as mere weeds. That... could hardly be called human.
Chu Liuxiang's instincts had always been reliable. No matter how well He Heng concealed himself, Chu Liuxiang could still see through to his true nature.
He had the appearance of a human, but a heart that did not belong to this world. A person like that would either become a god or a demon.
Whether god or demon, such a being would bring no good to the people of this world.
"Alas..." Chu Liuxiang suddenly sighed. He looked up at the bright moon and gave a bitter smile.
Then he whipped around. For a moment, he thought he saw a figure flash by. But when he focused his attention and looked again, there was nothing.
"What's going on? Could I have imagined it..." Just as Chu Liuxiang was about to investigate, he noticed someone approaching. The person was wrapped in a thick, oversized goose-down quilt and looked like a little tent moving along.
"Who's there?" Chu Liuxiang asked.
The person didn't answer, but giggled.
It was Princess Pipa. The "bride" had slipped out of the bridal chamber!
As it turned out, the princess Hu Tiehua had married was this princess's older sister, not her.
Chu Liuxiang looked at her and said slowly, "You're such a mischievous, sly little rascal." As he spoke, he stood up and held out his hand.
Princess Pipa giggled. "You... what are you going to do?"
Chu Liuxiang stared at her. "Take a guess."
Princess Pipa laughed. "I'm not afraid of you. I'm not afraid of you, I'm not..." She seemed to take a step back, but didn't. Suddenly, she let out a soft cry. Chu Liuxiang had caught her hand, and she tumbled into his arms.
The bright red quilt slid down, slipping off her shoulder and revealing skin smooth as satin.
It slid farther, exposing her soft, tender chest.
She was completely naked.
The quilt kept slipping...
Chu Liuxiang froze again, not daring to move his hands.
Princess Pipa trembled as she whispered, "You fool, are you trying to freeze me to death?"
She spread her arms and opened the quilt.
Chu Liuxiang saw a perfect body: a perfect chest, a perfect waist, perfect legs. Then he couldn't see anything at all.
He, too, had been wrapped inside the goose-down quilt.
They both fell onto the blanket where he had been sitting. The bright red quilt became a little tent once more—the smallest tent in the world.
The tent moved, then fell still.
Princess Pipa's sweet laughter came from inside. "I'm not afraid of you. Are you afraid of me instead?" Chu Liuxiang seemed to sigh. "You really are a little rascal." Princess Pipa asked, "Have you ever seen a little rascal as beautiful as me?" Chu Liuxiang sighed again. "No."
Princess Pipa giggled. "And I've never seen a fool as lovable as you... Fool... fool..." Her voice grew softer and softer, until at last it could no longer be heard.
After a while, an empty wine bottle was tossed out from under the quilt.
Then another bottle came flying out, with half the wine still inside.
A while later, a delicate, slender foot, pale as if carved from white jade, trembled as it emerged from beneath the quilt, then quickly withdrew.
Were they cold? Why were they shivering?
He Heng watched all of it silently from nearby. He felt not the slightest embarrassment, merely observing with an impassive expression.
After a long while, he sighed. "A soft embrace can be a hero's grave. I mustn't follow his example..."
Chu Liuxiang's Spiritual Sense was astonishing. He had actually detected a trace of He Heng's presence just now. If he had investigated more carefully, He Heng might have run into trouble. After all, this was where the King of Qiuci was staying. Though the king had fled, he still had thousands upon thousands of soldiers at his command. If they surrounded He Heng, escaping wouldn't be easy.
But now?
He Heng smiled coldly and looked toward a tent. That was where tonight's main event was taking place: Hu Tiehua's wedding night with the Princess of Kucha. What they didn't know was that the princess had already died. The woman inside was none other than Shi Guanyin.
He Heng found it a little disgusting that an old woman with a son as old as Chu Liuxiang would still get into bed with Hu Tiehua. So he planned to finish her off tonight.
Under the pitch-black night, He Heng slowly walked toward the tent. He blended into the darkness, cold and solitary.
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