At his shout, Ariq Böke and Haemish both turned around. Song Qingshu felt a headache coming on. Perhaps he had been careless just now and let his heartbeat give away his position. Just as he was wondering how to explain himself, he suddenly heard a burst of hearty laughter.
"Ha ha ha, this old beggar heard there was a banquet here. I couldn't resist my craving, so I came in looking for a lamb leg to eat. Didn't expect to be discovered so quickly." An elderly man with rough hands and feet stood there, holding a vermilion wine gourd in one hand and a juicy lamb leg in the other, his mouth glistening with grease. "I have to say, the grasslands do roast lamb legs more authentically than Jiangnan. What kind of seasoning did they sprinkle on this? It smells so good—I've never tasted it before."
Now that the Mongol Empire had conquered the nations of the Western Regions, it could enjoy treasures from countries across both East and West. Naturally, its spices were far more plentiful than those in Jiangnan.
When Song Qingshu saw the man's face, his expression turned strange. It was actually him!
"What rat dares sneak into the prince's residence to steal!" The man in black beside Ariq Böke roared. He leaped forward, swooping at the other man like an eagle striking from the heavens, his five fingers clawing toward his opponent's face like iron talons.
Song Qingshu silently applauded. The Mongol Empire truly was teeming with experts; even a random man from a prince's residence possessed such skill. Moreover, he could sense that the Mongol Empire had grown increasingly powerful over the years. A few years ago, Ariq Böke's foremost experts had been people like Sang Jie and the Blood Saber Ancestor, yet this man's