After everyone left the Tianzhi Mountain Range, Wolf and Bei did not lead the wolf pack in pursuit. Instead, they retreated into the Tianzhi Mountain Range once more.
Cui Xuan and the others breathed a sigh of relief, though Lu Xingshi found it somewhat regrettable.
He had truly wanted them to launch a charge at him. At that distance, he had enough time to fire three shots from the 'Golden Crow Gun.' Not a single wolf would have made it to him.
After heat weapons emerged, nomadic peoples skilled at charging became skilled singers and dancers. It showed that charging was still no match for firearms.
Beyond the Tianzhi Mountain Range stretched a vast expanse of grassland. This was territory the Great Song Dynasty Court had seized from the northern Barbarians, used as a natural pasture to raise cattle, sheep, and warhorses. Most horses came from Saibei.
When Great Song had first been founded, its martial spirit had been overflowing. If you refused to submit, they would beat you until you did; if they set their eyes on a place, they simply took it.
Saibei had been acquired in much the same way.
But three hundred years had passed since the founding of the nation. The Imperial Court had long gone through generations of changes, and as for its internal situation... Lu Xingshi did not know much. Still, both the martial world and the common folk said that treacherous ministers had blinded the emperor's ears. What the situation truly was could only be learned after entering the circle of the Imperial Court's upper ranks.
Once they left, the group hurried without stopping toward the Cuifeng Pass fortress, where the Iron Sword Sect's sect master was stationed.
After they identified themselves, they soon met Jin Xiong, the Iron Sword Sect's sect master. Once Cui Xuan explained the situation, Jin Xiong sighed. "You came at the wrong time."
"News arrived yesterday that the Barbarians had gone southbound to raid for grain."
"I don't need to fight the Barbarians, do I?" Lu Xingshi asked. He was neither an Iron Sword Sect disciple nor really a member of the martial world. The Imperial Court could not truly get a grip on him.
Jin Xiong looked at Lu Xingshi, then nodded. "You do not. But you should still be careful. Find somewhere inside the pass and settle down safely."
He did not try to morally coerce Lu Xingshi or suppress him with righteous cause. Aside from the corresponding obligations, such matters had always been voluntary.
It was perfectly normal for Lu Xingshi to be unwilling.
Lu Xingshi had not the slightest sense of belonging toward the Great Song Dynasty. As for the Barbarians, they were people too, not some Demons and Monsters. Why should an outsider like him go looking for trouble and involve himself?
Unless it concerned something related to himself, this was, at its core, simply killing.
If he had the ability to stop it, he would also stop the bloody conflict from breaking out. Unfortunately, he did not.
He had no confidence that he could reconcile the clash of interests between two civilizations by himself.
Lu Xingshi did not ask about the rebels or the Heretical Practitioners either. There was no need to waste a favor for nothing. Would it not be better to ask his master once he found him?
"Sect Master Jin, I would like to ask you about someone: Star Plucking Rogue Murong Xuan," Lu Xingshi said directly.
Cui Xuan was also somewhat surprised. "Star Plucking Rogue is your master?"
"Yes." Lu Xingshi did not deny it. It was not anything shameful.
"This... may be rather bad."
"Star Plucking Rogue is at Tiange Pass. The Barbarians press from the front, while the Prince of Liao holds him back from behind."
"According to reports from the scouts, they are short on provisions as well. They can hold out for three days at most," Jin Xiong said with a frown.
"The Prince of Liao was an imperial prince granted land and allowed to establish his own residence, wasn't he? Why would he hold back his own frontier stronghold?" Lu Xingshi asked in confusion.
Saibei was known as Liao Territory, so naturally the one enfeoffed there was the Prince of Liao. A princely title lasted only one generation. When a New Emperor's Ascension took place, princes would establish residences outside the capital and replace the previous generation.
As for the former prince, he would be summoned back to the Capital to retire. He would then receive a different noble title, which could only be inherited for three generations. After three generations, the family would become commoners. Even with imperial blood, the imperial clan would not support them; they would have to rely on their ancestors' wealth or build a fortune from scratch.
Still, as members of the imperial bloodline with their names recorded in the clan register, many things were much easier for them.
"You may not know this yet, but the one rebelling is this very Prince of Liao," Jin Xiong said calmly.
Those words gave Cui Xuan quite a fright. "How is that possible? What does the Prince of Liao want?"
"What else could he want? Naturally, the throne," Lu Xingshi remarked. The Prince of Liao was neither the Crown Prince nor the heir apparent. Since he had already been enfeoffed elsewhere, he naturally had no chance of ascending the throne.
"To be precise, he was forced into rebellion."
"Ever since Shizong governed the martial with the civil, the power of the civil officials has swelled. The Prince of Liao came from a military general's background, so naturally he was suppressed."
"But no one expected the Prince of Liao to directly rally the frontier army under the banner of Purge the Emperor's Entourage, intending to turn heaven and earth upside down and break the situation of civil rule over martial power."
"Who would have thought the secret would leak, only for the Barbarian invasion to arrive as well? Now he, too, has been placed over a fire to roast," Jin Xiong explained.
The Prince of Liao had never intended to let foreign tribes pass through the frontier. Instead, he intended to use Saibei as a defensive line, first drive back the Barbarians, and only then make further plans. That was why many people had not acted.
After hearing Jin Xiong's words, Lu Xingshi gave him a deep look.
He sensed certain issues in the other man's attitude. The Iron Sword Sect was very likely already a sect of the Prince of Liao Faction. Otherwise, how could Jin Xiong remain so secure within Cuifeng Pass?
Moreover, all of Saibei had already fallen into the hands of this Prince of Liao.
Those pinned down at Tiange Pass were most likely the last forces sent to suppress the rebellion. Either they would die fighting the Barbarians, or they would surrender to the Prince of Liao. At that point, the Prince of Liao could immediately send troops to rescue them.
It was precisely for this reason that the Imperial Court feared smashing the rat for the sake of the vessel and dared not move further against the Prince of Liao. If the Prince of Liao simply gave up or brought the Barbarians south, the Great Song Dynasty Court would also be left scorched and harried.
That was why they had arranged for martial world sects to deal with the 'Heretical Practitioners' recruited under the Prince of Liao.
These so-called 'Heretical Practitioners' were likely wagers placed by the great famous sects of the realm.
As for the Imperial Awakening Palace, they were watching from the sidelines. Whether the Prince of Liao became emperor or the Crown Prince became emperor made no difference to the Imperial Awakening Palace. Perhaps the Prince of Liao's greatest supporter was the Imperial Awakening Palace itself.
"Thank you for informing me. I ask Sect Master Jin to make things convenient for me—I wish to go to Tiange Pass to find my master." Lu Xingshi clasped his hands.
Though his master was trapped, it was enough that he was not dead.
"Easy enough. Once you leave Cuifeng Pass, head..." Jin Xiong gave Lu Xingshi directions.
"His Highness the Prince of Liao is benevolent and understands warfare, valuing both civil and martial pursuits. If you find Senior Murong and cannot withstand the Barbarians, you may surrender to the Prince of Liao and preserve your lives."
"Senior Murong is an elder of the martial world. He should not die on the battlefield."
By the time he said this, Jin Xiong was no longer even pretending.
Cui Xuan and the others remained silent. He had also learned some things—for example, the people who had ambushed them before had likely not been sent by the Prince of Liao, but by the Imperial Court.
It had been meant to warn those sect masters who were entangled with the Prince of Liao.
"I will tell my master." Lu Xingshi answered. He truly did not want to get involved in matters related to the Imperial Court.