Die Kampfsportwelt ist ein Sumpf

Kapitel 86

But the Tibetan envoys had already arrived, and ignoring them was no longer an option. So he dismissed the ministers and went to the tent where Gongsong Gongzan was being held. Just then, a guard came out and immediately bowed to Wei Zijun, saying, "Khan, Gongsong Gongzan just fainted from hunger. If this continues for another two days, he will starve to death!"

"Uh? He can't die!" If he dies, the Western Turks will be in endless trouble. It's better to have one more friend than one more enemy. She doesn't want to have a blood feud with Tibet.

Wei Zijun walked into the tent with his hands behind his back. The light shining down from the tent ceiling was dim. Gongsong Gongzan lay on the couch, so thin that he was almost unrecognizable. His eyes were sunken, and his fair skin was stained with a bluish-black color. He was completely different from the man he had first met.

Upon waking up, Gongsong Gongzan saw Wei Zijun and shuddered. A look of hatred shot into her eyes, and he uttered a few words: "I'm going to kill you."

Wei Zijun gave her a cold glance. "Kill me? What reason do you have to kill me? If you knew you would be humiliated today, you shouldn't have been daydreaming. Is the land of the Western Turks your private courtyard? You can't just come and go as you please."

His ashen face flushed crimson with rage, and Gongsong Gongzan gritted his teeth, saying, "I'm going to kill you."

Wei Zijun chuckled, "Really! Everyone just says that, yet I'm still doing quite well. Stop daydreaming and take good care of yourself, I hope I can sell you for a good price."

*Whoosh!* Gongsong Gongzan threw a dagger with all his might. Wei Zijun swiftly caught the blade with her fingers, turned around and shouted sharply, "How come he still has a weapon? What are you doing?"

The two guards were terrified. "Khan, spare our lives! We have searched the place, and we really don't know how he hid it."

Wei Zijun's cold eyes swept across Gongsong Gongzan's face. "Don't try anything funny. If you keep hiding weapons, I won't hesitate to strip you naked."

"I'm going to kill you," Gongsong Gongzan blurted out again.

Wei Zijun couldn't help but laugh. "Kill me? Then eat your food properly. With your stamina, you probably couldn't even crush an ant."

He then turned to the guard and said, "Keep an eye on him. Make sure he eats every meal. If he doesn't eat, force him to eat."

"Yes," the guard replied. "But Khan, his weakness is due to his injuries."

"Hmm? Didn't you treat him?" Wei Zijun glanced at his left shoulder. The wound was only simply bandaged, and blood was already seeping out. It was likely that the wound had already rotted.

No wonder he wanted to kill her. "Quickly find a royal physician to treat him. I hope he can gain weight within five days."

If he goes back like this, the Tibetan king will probably not be very happy.

Wei Zijun finally reached an agreement with Tibet on the terms for the release of the prince: 100,000 fine Tibetan warhorses and one million taels of gold. Wei Zijun was quite satisfied with this price.

Two days before the intention to release Gongsong Gongzan was made, several of his followers brought Gongsong Gongzan into Wei Zijun's tent.

Upon entering the tent, Gongsong Gongzan saw that the ministers on both sides sat respectfully upright, their eyes filled with admiration as they gazed at the figure reclining on the Khan's throne. It seemed that this seemingly woman-like Khan still possessed some authority.

“Prince Gongsong Gongzan, I have been neglecting you during your stay in the Western Turkic Khaganate. Our Turkic Khaganate is poor in resources, so please do not take offense at the lack of hospitality. I will send an envoy to take you back to Tibet in two days. You are welcome to visit the Western Turkic Khaganate again, but please do not bring troops. Otherwise, once you come, you will never be able to return.”

Wei Zijun spoke in a gentle tone and at a slow pace, making her slightly sharp words sound neither too soft nor too hard, like a casual greeting, yet full of threat and warning.

Gongsong Gongzan, filled with resentment, suddenly burst into laughter, “The Western Turkic Khan is indeed worthy of his reputation, but he has also disappointed me greatly. I thought the Khan would be a strong and valiant man, but I never imagined that the Khan would be such a petite person. Such a Khan is really not suitable for fighting on the battlefield. He should be hiding in a man’s arms and acting coquettishly.”

Upon hearing this, the surrounding ministers all widened their eyes. Their Khan was not at all like what he described.

Wei Zijun remained composed. Having heard such slanderous words countless times, she paid them no heed. Though she felt displeased, she wasn't angered enough to make her furious. "According to the prince's words, is the prince more suited to fighting on the battlefield than to being a prisoner in the Western Turkic Khaganate?" She then smiled slightly, letting out a soft laugh. "I think the prince is more suited to be a prisoner. Even as a prisoner, he still thinks about saving food for the Western Turkic Khaganate; he is truly a rare prisoner."

Immediately, the entire tent erupted in laughter. Some ministers even deliberately laughed particularly loudly.

Gongsong Gongzan's handsome face, with its sharp features, turned purple, and his two small mustaches looked as if they were about to fly away from his face in anger.

"Ha! So what if I'm a prisoner? I, Gongsong Gongzan, would rather be a prisoner like a man than a Khan like a woman! But I think if you had two bulges in your front, some people would mistake you for a woman. But you don't have those two bulges. Looking at you now, you're neither man nor woman, it's really laughable."

All the laughter abruptly ceased, and the ministers looked anxiously at the person on the Khan's throne.

Wei Zijun's face was icy; she was indeed angry.

He rose and slowly walked down from his sweat-soaked position, approaching Gongsong Gongzan. "May I ask if the prince is jealous of me? Because only jealousy breeds slander. If the prince is not satisfied with his appearance, why not..." He lightly lifted Gongsong Gongzan's chin with his long, slender white fingers, tracing his fingers upwards across the corner of his lips, stroking the small mustache on his lip. "How about I help you?"

Gongsong Gongzan felt a sudden panic and forgot to dodge. Her long fingers seemed to carry a magical power, sparking sparks all around him, and her clear eyes seemed to be able to mesmerize anyone with just one glance.

Just as he was stunned, Wei Zijun lightly tugged at a beard with his finger and suddenly exerted force.

With a cry of "Ouch—", Wei Zijun plucked the mustache out, and fine blood slowly seeped out.

With a roar, Gongsong Gongzan fixed his fiery eyes on Wei Zijun, but before he could make a move, he was tightly restrained by his left and right hands.

Wei Zijun revealed a triumphant smile, pinched his chin with her left hand, and pinched another tuft of his mustache with her right hand, pulling hard...

Seeing this dramatic scene, the courtiers couldn't help but burst into laughter again.

“Bahar—” Wei Zijun called out as she turned around, “Take out all your rouge and powder and apply it to the Tibetan prince to fulfill his wish. He won’t talk nonsense anymore. He must have been looking forward to wearing women’s clothes for a long time, especially looking neither male nor female.”

Poor Gongsong Gongzan was forced to have his eyebrows painted and his hair swept in front of all the ministers of the Western Turks, and to apply a light touch of rouge. With almost all his pressure points sealed, he could only stare intently at Wei Zijun with his fiery eyes, as if he wanted to send her to hell with that look.

After Gongsong Gongzan was dressed in a silk skirt, Wei Zijun still felt that something was wrong. Finally, she remembered something, grabbed two huge oranges, waved them in front of Gongsong Gongzan, and stuffed them into his chest.

The Western Turkic ministers were laughing so hard they were doubled over, completely abandoning any semblance of decorum. When they saw their usually refined, polite, composed, wise, and dignified Khan running towards them with two enormous oranges in such an uncouth manner, they laughed until tears streamed down their faces.

At this point, Wei Zijun gently patted Gongsong Gongzan's shoulder, "Are you satisfied with the two bags I filled out for you?"

Gongsong Gongzan stared intently at her, unblinking, his gaze fixed on her.

Then, as if finally exhausted, she closed her eyes tightly.

Volume Two, Chapter Seventy-Six: The Hunt

In July, Chang'an was scorching hot, and the heat made people's tempers rise as well.

Inside the Dayu Daxing Palace, at the Wude Hall.

A man in blue robes knelt on the ground, trembling. "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I dared not intentionally conceal anything. I simply could not be certain..."

With a "crack," the teacup shattered in my hand.

"Tell me—did he really have such an illicit affair with Ashina Helu?" His handsome face was filled with a cold light, and his eyes were blazing with anger.

He really is like that, he really is like that! He believed it time and time again, and deceived himself time and time again.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me, I cannot be certain..." The man in blue still insisted on his position. He could tell the Khan everything, but he could not tarnish the Khan's reputation.

"Not sure? The whole of Tibet is in an uproar, and you're still not sure?" His handsome face darkened, and he gritted his teeth.

"I have not seen it with my own eyes, so I cannot be sure. The Khan said that everything must be based on evidence, otherwise one will be punished according to the law!"

"Evidence? The whole world already knows, and he still wants evidence!"

He really was. He reached out and touched the jade pendant at his waist, the same pendant that person always wore. He gripped it tightly.

That day, he fainted on the road. Fortunately, an honest man happened to pass by and kindly helped him. Otherwise, he might have died and never saw that person again.

When he woke up the next day, disregarding his frail body, he tried to go find him, but the couple who had saved him wouldn't let him. He still remembered what he had said: "No, if I don't go, my fourth brother will leave, and if he leaves, I won't be able to find him..." The thought of not being able to find him sent a sharp pain through his chest.

He wanted to find him. He missed him, missed him so much… From the moment he turned and stepped out of that door, from before he was even out of his sight, from the moment he could still hear his voice calling out, he began to miss him. How had he endured all this? Cold, hunger, illness—none of it was as agonizing as the longing. How could he bear the years to come after such a separation?

Ziju—I'm back.

But when he rushed to the guest room, when he saw the empty room, his heart felt as if it had been ripped out. He was too late, too late.

"Sir, that gentleman seemed to be waiting for someone yesterday, so he kept those people there until this morning, almost noon, before finally leaving."

Can't see him anymore? Can't see him anymore? Is he really never going to see him again? Overwhelmed with anxiety, he swayed twice and collapsed to the ground.

I had thought that once I arrived in the capital, I would take some guards and go to the Western Turks to find him, but my father suddenly fell ill in those few days and I didn't have the time.

The scouts he had sent out to guard the border reported that he had been carried by that handsome man on horseback to Gaochang. Hearing this, his heart ached. It was truly hateful that he had turned around and thrown himself into someone else's arms so easily.

When he heard the people of the Nushibi tribe of the Western Turkic Right Wing say that he had shared a bed with the Turkic Khan every day for the past two years in the Western Turkic Khaganate, he was stunned for a long time. He wanted to laugh with a broken heart. The man had not lied. He was the only one who had been deceived. He was the only one who had been deceived.

He still lied to him in the end.

So he crumpled the lotus-colored robe into a ball, intending to throw it on the ground. But after holding his hand up for so long, he finally resignedly lowered it. He still couldn't bring himself to hate him; every genuine smile of his appeared before his eyes, and he always felt that was the real him.

Now, after repeatedly forcing himself to forgive, he has actually done such a shameful thing. That man named Ashina Helu was the one who kidnapped him, and he actually gave himself to the man who kidnapped him! He is truly promiscuous!

But why? Why is he so tolerant of others, yet so harsh on him alone? If Gongzhi or Shangzhen truly had those unconventional tastes, he would be tolerant of them, but why not him? Why does the thought of him sleeping on someone else's bed make him lose control?

Wei Zijun! Why do you torment me like this?

His eyes burned with flames, his knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists, a burning envy consuming his once wise soul.

After a long silence, he said, word by word, "I will send troops to the Western Turks and capture Yipi Shekui Khan alive!"

The vast grassland stretches endlessly, the sky is high and wide, eagles spread their wings, and large clouds drift gently. Summer on the grassland is breathtakingly beautiful.

A grand procession swept across the grasslands, all surrounding the peerless figure in the center. The young Khan of the Western Turks, clad in a green robe, with ink-black hair and a jade crown, a long silk ribbon wrapped around his forehead and flowing down his back, its long tail billowing in the wind. Hundreds of high-ranking officials and nobles, in brocade robes and braided hair, surrounded him on either side. A large contingent of soldiers followed behind, their banners and spears fluttering, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Such a grand scene was not for sending troops to fight, but rather—a hunt!

Hunting! This is similar to deploying troops, like marching and arranging battle formations. Scouts are first sent to investigate whether the wild animals are plentiful. Then, the surrounding tribes are ordered to set up an enclosure to drive the animals towards the designated location. The army is divided into left wing, right wing, and center, each with its own general of similar age. No killing is allowed during the first three days of the hunt; this period is called "merging."

The Western Turks have untamed blood flowing through their veins, and the annual hunt is a day they look forward to like a festival. Almost all the wives and female relatives who can ride horses come along, and even Ashina Dilan came.

Eagles soared high in the sky, and Wei Zijun, filled with heroic spirit, drew his horse, raised his bow, and pointed an arrow into the air. With a whistling sound, the arrow pierced the air, and both eagles fell to the ground.

The soldiers immediately cheered.

Dressed in a snow-white riding outfit, Helu suddenly fired an arrow into the sky, and two more falcons fell to the ground. Instantly, countless arrows shot into the sky. In the blink of an eye, not a single falcon remained in the air, not even a bird could be seen.

The clatter of hooves echoed into the woods, with groups of ten following closely behind.

As we ventured deeper into the forest, a herd of antelopes suddenly leaped out, their movements hurried and agitated. Their golden fur gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight filtering through the trees, clearly driven away from the other side. Yet, their graceful leaps still drew admiration.

Wei Zijun drew his bow and fired several arrows in one go. Several antelopes fell to their knees the instant the arrows were released. Following behind, his subordinates, including Helu, Geshufa, Wulichuo, Geshuquesijin, and Asijienishusijin, unleashed a volley of arrows after Wei Zijun's shot. In an instant, dozens of antelopes lay dead. The retinue behind him rushed forward; this large quantity of prey would keep them busy for quite some time.

Further in, they heard a sudden, thunderous thud of hooves, and a herd of wild yaks charged past from the side. Wei Zijun spurred his horse forward in pursuit, with the others following behind. Driven by them, the wild yaks scattered, and the group unknowingly became separated during the chase.

Wei Zijun drew her bow and shot an arrow at a yak. Because the yak was running fast, the arrow landed on its hindquarters. The yak, in pain, began to rampage. She drew her bow again and fired a second arrow, this time piercing the yak's eyes. The yak swayed twice and then fell to the ground, motionless.

A large herd of yaks galloped forward, disappearing in an instant, leaving only a small yak. It didn't move, constantly looking back and searching. When it found the fallen yak, it stopped. It kept nudging the dead yak with its head. Even after realizing the yak might never move again, it didn't leave, but simply stood there, motionless.

Wei Zijun felt a lump in her throat, sighed deeply, tilted her head back, blinked, and slowly drew her bow, aiming at the small yak. Perhaps, if she didn't kill it, it would stand there until it died. With a whistling sound, the small yak fell onto the old yak's back.

"Bury them together," Wei Zijun said softly. Turning around, she saw that her attendants had all disappeared, and she could see He Lu riding towards her in the distance.

"How did you get separated from the team!" He Lu said with a reproachful tone. "Have you forgotten the assassination attempt a few days ago? Even if you are highly skilled in martial arts, you shouldn't be so careless."

"Shabolo Yehu, are you blaming me?" Wei Zijun raised his handsome eyes to Helu and jumped off his horse.

“I wouldn’t dare, I’m only thinking of your safety,” Helu also jumped off his horse. “Are you tired? There are still a lot of prey ahead.”

"I don't want to hunt anymore. Animals have feelings too. You go ahead, I'll look at the scenery." The scenery here is indeed breathtaking. The snow from the sky has melted into clear mountain springs that flow through the area. Unknown yellow and purple wildflowers bloom on both sides of the springs. The sunlight shines down, warming you and making you feel intoxicated. I walked to a tree and sat down on the grass, leaning against the trunk.

He Lu smiled and sat down as well. "Feng is truly a refined gentleman, always indulging in romantic notions."

Wei Zijun gave him a cold look. "How dare you, a dignified Protector-General, be so ignorant of etiquette? Do you know the punishment for addressing the King by his given name?"

He Lu gave another sly smile, "Now that I have become your favorite concubine, we are husband and wife, so why bother with titles?"