Qiu Su scoffed lightly, then curled up in her corner again. "Then you can play by yourself."
Una laughed and walked over to pinch Qiu Su's chin, saying, "Cat and mouse aren't really that fun. I have something much more fun."
Una reached out and grabbed her neck, but without using force. Instead, he slid his hand towards her chest. Qiu Su gritted her teeth and struck back, but the sudden pressure of Una's body on her chest caused a sharp pain, and she saw golden light before her eyes.
Qiu Su stuck out her tongue to bite, but a large hand grabbed her chin and with a forceful "crack," her jaw dislocated. Qiu Su stared at him expressionlessly, her eyes calm and still, while her arms were tightly wrapped around her chest as if she wanted to strangle herself.
Una's gaze flickered as he looked into her calm, unwavering eyes. Qiu Su, her words slurred, still managed a twitching smile as she said, "Dead people, is it fun?"
Una scoffed and released his grip. "Dead man, I wouldn't stoop to your level."
Qiu Su retreated to a corner, but her arms, which were crossed over her chest, remained in place.
A sudden commotion arose outside, and Wu Na frowned but didn't go out. Yes, a diversionary tactic—he'd used it once before, and no one else would fall for it again. However, getting out amidst the chaos would still be a good idea. Unfortunately, the two stared at each other for less than a quarter of an hour before it quieted down outside. No, it wasn't exactly quiet; the sounds just became much more orderly.
Una leaned to the side and laughed, "Is that the imposter who impersonated the Third Prince your man?"
Qiu Su turned her head away and did not answer.
"Provoking me has many benefits."
Qiu Su opened her eyes, looked at him, and then closed them again.
Una walked over and lifted her chin, pulling and pushing her back in. Qiu Su trembled slightly in pain, her teeth chattering for a long time. When the pain subsided, she steadied her voice and said, "No."
"Is that child yours?"
"Yes." Qiu Su opened her eyes. "A real man wouldn't harm a child."
“I’m a man,” Una chuckled wickedly. “Unfortunately, I can’t try it right now, but if you invite me, it’s not impossible.”
Qiu Su turned her eyes away and said calmly, "How did you get into the Yibei Camp?"
“Simple, the Divine Generals' Army, everyone's a wolf.” Una tapped his leg in a good mood. “Tell me, what’s your name?”
"Ji Heng".
Una chuckled, "A dead man."
Qiu Su closed her eyes briefly. "I'm letting you know, I'm starting my escape tomorrow."
Una threw his head back and laughed, seemingly at her overestimation of her abilities and her lack of common sense. After laughing his fill, he slapped his thigh and sighed as if in exasperation, saying, "What an adorable yet incredibly stupid woman."
Qiu Su kept her word and indeed left the tent the next day. Wu Na didn't restrict her, only sending two people to follow her. Qiu Su circled Wu Na's tent, feeling extremely agitated.
This was clearly a makeshift shelter. Qiu Su couldn't understand why he hadn't returned to Wusun, but instead set up several tattered tents in such a desolate place. "Desolate" was no exaggeration; vast stretches of wild grass, short, overgrown weeds, or simply bare earth. If one wanted to hide, the only possibility was to become a rat buried in the loose soil.
Hundreds of horses were kept together in a huge enclosure. Qiu Su glanced at the distance between the tents and the temporary stables, and was about to move forward when she was stopped by two people. Qiu Su silently found a place to sit down, staring blankly at the cavalrymen who were riding around from time to time.
Qiu Su couldn't understand Wu Na's purpose in giving him half a month. Logically speaking, if he held a grudge, he should have just killed her with a single blow after she injured his mount and then stabbed his other horse. What was even more unbelievable was that he had offered her that half month, giving her a glimmer of hope.
Qiu Su didn't know that sometimes watching a mouse scurry around in its paws, trying to escape, was a thousand times more interesting than killing it outright. Watching its prey slowly exhaust its energy, going from hopeful to hopeless, and finally lying obediently under the cat's paws, was the cat's worst trait.
There must have been some movement at Yibei Camp. Every quarter of an hour, someone would ride over, and then another group would disperse in different directions. Qiu Su tilted her head, resting her forehead on one hand, seemingly deep in thought, but her eyes followed the constantly changing riders and horses.
Another small group entered, this time accompanied by several women with special local service, their hands bound and dragged behind the horse. Qiu Su narrowed her eyes, pondering the possibility of stealing a horse from the stables; it seemed highly unlikely. Suddenly, she saw a man with a full beard turn his head, make a loose fist at his side, and then shake his index finger. Qiu Su's eyes widened, but her head-resting posture remained unchanged.
Looking from Qiu Su's direction, she caught a glimpse of the bearded man's movement. Two soldiers, arms crossed, glanced to the other side, oblivious to the subtle action. A slightly younger man rode over and whispered something to the bearded man. Sweat began to bead on Qiu Su's forehead as she stared intently at the two men's movements.
The younger ones asked some more questions, but the bearded man didn't answer. He just waved his hand, spurred his horse, and followed the group of people who had just passed by.
Pei Yuan? Or He Zhuo? No, they don't look alike, but their eyes, those long, narrow phoenix eyes...
Qiu Su stood up, her legs trembling slightly. Would he come to save her? He had already abandoned her and her child once; if he went to the Una cavalry camp in person, whether he would leave alive was uncertain. He wasn't afraid of losing his head, or his chances of taking over being wiped out. Qiu Su quickly dismissed her guess. Perhaps it was someone from Ivan's tribe. It was just a pair of phoenix eyes; many people had eyes like that.
Qiu Su was somewhat absent-minded, her mind a jumble of thoughts, when she bumped straight into Wu Na, who was standing with his arms crossed. Qiu Su saw Wu Na's pair of leather boots below and jumped back two steps, but it was too late. Wu Na reached out and pulled Qiu Su into his arms.
Qiu Su glared, raised her foot to kick, but Wu Na laughed and let go, jumping away.
"Have you decided on the route?"
Qiu Su nodded, absentmindedly walking around him and continuing back.
"You think you can't escape?" Wu Na seemed quite pleased with himself. Qiu Su frowned in confusion at the smile on his face. This beast seemed to have something good going on. Oh, right, didn't he just capture a few women?
"The Northern Wing Battalion launched a surprise attack. Would you like to see the results?"
Qiu Su's shoulders trembled slightly as she looked up. Wu Na laughed twice and said, "Let's go and see if the warriors you Central Plains people talk about are warriors or fools."
Una clicked her tongue. "Men are really useless."
“They can do hard labor.” Qiu Su lowered her eyes. “Don’t you have livestock? Wouldn’t it save labor by having them help with herding?”
"Are you really stupid or just pretending? You think I'd hand over the tribe's livestock to the hunters to be slaughtered?" Una smirked. "And then they'd all perish together."
Qiu Su shut her mouth and followed behind Wu Na, pondering the possibility of killing him with a chop to the neck.
Qiu Su quickly spotted the captured Yibei Camp members, their hands bound, a long line trailing behind their horses, their clothes tattered, some faces covered in blood. They walked past Qiu Su and Wu Na without even lifting an eyelid, as if they hadn't seen them at all. Following them was a cavalry unit, almost every horse carrying only one person. Qiu Su only realized they were corpses when the riders threw them from their horses and piled them a short distance away; a quarter of an hour or more, they had been living people.
“The number of deaths in the Yibei Camp was no less than these. So many brothers were buried alive with us, it was worth it.” Wu Na stroked his chin, a cold smirk playing on one corner of his mouth.
“They shouldn’t have died.” Qiu Su looked at the string of people tied to the stakes and felt a sudden pang of sorrow.
“If you hadn’t crossed the Black Gorge with the intention of disrupting other people’s lives, they wouldn’t have died. They died because of you.”
Una slapped Qiu Su across the face, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground. Before she could get up, Una stepped on her neck.
"I suddenly realized that there is another way to win without fighting."
Qiu Su's face flushed crimson. She turned and saw the bearded man standing not far away, his eyes blazing with undisguised fury. Wu Na seemed to sense the hatred as well, looking up in confusion. At the same moment, the bearded man lowered his head, subtly continuing to walk forward with his riding whip in hand. Qiu Su's eyes welled up as she looked at his tightly clenched hand. Yes, it was him. Those eyes—so full of emotion, yet always doing things that hurt.
Una bent down and looked at Qiu Suxiao, "Who did you see?"
Qiu Su pursed her lips and looked over without saying a word.
"Third Prince, Pei Yuan?"
Qiu Su trembled slightly, trying her best to hide it, but she still couldn't escape Wu Na's eyes.
Una grinned. "Tell me, if I hung you on the back of a horse and dragged you all the way to Black Gorge, wouldn't the Winged Northern Camp surrender without a fight?"
Una clicked her tongue, "That's something to consider. One for a whole litter, ha, worth it."
Wu Na kicked Qiu Su's waist, "If you pray that Pei Yuan doesn't try anything funny, your life will be saved."
Una left with a gloomy face. Qiu Su got up and turned to look for the bearded man, but he could not be found anywhere. The pile of corpses had been surrounded by firewood, and the prisoners, who numbered at least twenty, had been driven over like livestock.