Heaven is the shore of mortal dust

Chapter 72

"Stop competing! What's the harm in losing by one point? Forget it, stop practicing!"

But once she made up her mind, no one could stop her. A few days later, calluses appeared on the sides of her slender, delicate fingers. She looked at the calluses on her fingers and smiled faintly. Although she was someone who cared a lot about her appearance and couldn't allow herself to have any flaws, she could tolerate this little imperfection because she had to win.

Ten days passed quickly, and on the last day, Wei Zijun, extremely exhausted, slept soundly for a long time.

The appointed day finally arrived.

Early that morning, He Lu arrived, dressed in a snow-white riding outfit that made him look exceptionally handsome. His flowing black hair danced lightly, and the quiver at his waist patted his long, slender thighs with the gait of his horse.

The two sides took their positions on the training ground, which was surrounded by soldiers from both the east and west wings who had come to watch, as well as some herdsmen who were there to see what was going on. The training ground was packed with people in layers.

He Lu was still riding that white, golden-glowing Akhal-Teke horse, his expression smug and his eyes piercing.

Wei Zijun also rode a majestic chestnut-colored Wusun horse. She merely curled her lips into a slight smile, calm and composed.

After Ashina Yugu ordered the competition to begin, the bustling training ground instantly fell silent, and all eyes were fixed on the two equally outstanding figures.

"Left He King, please go first!" He Lu stretched out his long arm gracefully, gesturing for him to proceed.

"Thank you for the compliment!" Wei Zijun spurred his horse forward, lightly tugging at its flanks as it galloped away. Dressed in a white, narrow-sleeved, tight-fitting riding outfit, he looked dashing and even more dazzling in the icy snow.

The rider drew his bow and nocked an arrow, a smile playing on his lips. With a sharp whistling sound, he fired three arrows in quick succession.

The room fell silent, and Ashina Yugu opened his eyes wide with tension.

"The Left Wise King rode a hundred paces and fired three arrows—all three arrows hit the bullseye—" the soldier who had inspected the straw target shouted.

"Left Wise King—" Cheers erupted all around as the soldiers of the left wing shouted the name of their leader.

Ashina Yugu let out a soft sigh and straightened his back in his seat.

He Lu smiled slightly, his lips curled into a slight sneer, his eyes filled with disdain, and he spurred his horse forward, galloping away.

He fired three arrows in quick succession, each one cleaving through the fletchings left by Wei Zijun on the target and striking the bullseye.

“Shabolo Yehu fired three arrows from a hundred paces away, each arrow cleaving through the Left Wise King’s arrows—all three arrows…hit the bullseye—” The soldier checking the target was somewhat excited.

The scene immediately erupted in cheers. The soldiers on the right flank were strutting around, waving their leather hats and shouting He Lu's name.

Ashina Yugu glanced at Wei Zijun with considerable worry. She was such a strong-willed person; what if she lost...?

Wei Zijun was surprised by He Lu's archery skills and secretly admired him. She turned to the soldiers serving her and said, "Remove the old target and replace it with a new one."

Ashina Yugu stared at her nervously, wondering what she was up to. Although he accompanied her to practice riding and archery every day, his gaze lingered solely on her. While he did pay attention to her progress, worry was inevitable. He worried, what if she made a mistake and really lost? How could he bear to see her humiliated by Helu for ten days?

Meanwhile, Goshufa and his entourage, who were standing to the side, also comforted him, saying, "Your Majesty, that's enough. Few people can surpass this achievement."

Wei Zijun did not respond. He focused his mind and calmed himself. He held the quiver, took a deep breath, and took out two arrows. He calmly cut the arrows against the bow in his hand. The two arrows were slightly offset. Then he spurred his horse and galloped away. He suddenly released the arrows with his right hand. The two arrows, one in front of the other, cut through the cold air and headed straight for the target.

The onlookers watched in astonishment as two arrows were released from a single bow, their eyes wide and their breaths held, waiting for the moment the arrows would strike. They watched as the first arrow swiftly pierced the bullseye, followed closely by the second, which sliced through the fletching of the first arrow and pierced the bullseye itself.

Immediately afterwards, Wei Zijun fired another arrow, making it two arrows from one bow.

The third arrow, however, was fired simultaneously from a bow. The three arrows advanced in unison, carrying the internal energy infused by Wei Zijun, and whistled as they all pierced the bullseye. The three arrows continued to shoot forward even after piercing the bullseye, until their tails stopped them.

The soldiers stood frozen in shock, the only sound the thunder of hooves echoing across the field. The soldier checking the target trembled, unable to contain his excitement, "The Left Wise King rode one hundred paces, three arrows—no… three bows, seven arrows… every single one hit the bullseye—"

The entire training ground erupted in cheers, whether it was the left or right wing, the Dulu Division or the Nushibi Division.

The soldiers no longer shouted for their leader, but for the excitement and respect they felt. They temporarily forgot about the fighting and wholeheartedly cheered for this warrior—a warrior who had once been lacking in horsemanship and archery skills, yet had managed to reach the pinnacle of mastery within ten days.

What kind of hard training and determination must one have to achieve such results? This is undoubtedly something only the bravest knights could do, and the Turks respected the bravest knights the most.

"You won!" The disdain in He Lu's eyes faded, replaced by a hint of appreciation and respect.

This young man from Da Yu, despite his seemingly frail physique, possessed such striking good looks. In the two years of struggle, he displayed remarkable resilience despite his young age. Although he admired his abilities, he was truly unwilling to be subordinate to an underage boy.

Now, he admired his determination and ambition, and was awestruck by the powerful force within him. It seemed that admitting defeat to him was no longer so unbearable. He felt less resentful and more interested in him.

"Then, you shall begin to eat grass today!" Wei Zijun smiled wickedly at He Lu with a slight upturn of his lips.

That smile made He Lu's breath catch in his throat. No wonder the old man made him sleep with him every day. This kid has grown more and more handsome. Even a casual smile is so alluring. He is indeed much better than the old man's concubines.

"Hahaha... Helu, you'll be staying at the royal court for the next ten days, so I can supervise what you eat!" Ashina Yugu laughed heartily. Ever since Feng returned, he had always been this happy, and today he was especially overjoyed. His Feng always made him proud.

"Good!" He Lu's lips twitched slightly. "If the horse can eat it, why can't I?"

Wei Zijun chuckled inwardly. A grown man who lives off meat would become skin and bones if he lost his flesh. Heh—this would be revenge for being kidnapped.

After that day, Helu truly kept his word and began eating grass for every meal. Of course, Ashina Yugu's supervision played a decisive role.

Whenever Ashina Yugu saw him eating grass, he couldn't help but burst into laughter. Wei Zijun was even more wicked. Every time he ate grass at mealtime, she would bring him mare's milk wine and hold a lamb leg to gnaw on in front of him, which made Helu so angry that he threw grass all over the ground.

Wei Zijun exclaimed exaggeratedly, "Oh dear, look what you've done to this! This is all top-quality horse feed!" She then laughed so hard that she spilled mare's milk wine all over herself.

Seeing her gloating expression, He Lu wished he could tear her apart and eat her.

These days of great pleasure for Wei Zijun and Ashina Yugu lasted for three days, after which Helu began to suffer from constipation.

Early that morning, Wei Zijun, feeling refreshed, encountered He Lu, who looked exhausted, outside the tent.

He Lu was about to leave when he saw her, but Wei Zijun blocked his way.

"Oh dear, Ye Hu, you look so pale. Have you not rested properly? Alas, Ye Hu, as a high-ranking official of the Western Turks, you must take good care of your health. The Turks still rely on you. I heard that you spend half a day in the latrine every day, getting up in the middle of the night to relieve yourself, and your painful cries echo through the night, frightening all the servants. Does Ye Hu have some kind of hidden illness?" Wei Zijun blinked a few times, her face showing concern.

He Lu knew from her first few sentences that she was just being evasive and didn't want to pay her any attention. But the more he heard, the more embarrassed he became, and soon his face turned purple. He stammered a few times, wanting to retort, but in the end he covered his face and hurriedly ran away.

Behind him, Wei Zijun's unrestrained laughter rang out.

This joy lasted until evening.

Hearing from the maidservant who served He Lu that he was unable to defecate, Wei Zijun finally felt a pang of pity.

Fine, let him off this time.

The next day, when He Lu sat on the carpet and was about to eat grass again, she stepped forward to stop him: "Alright, you've been eating this for days and have lost a few pounds. Let's stop here and come eat!" After saying that, she tried to take the grass off the low table.

"None of your business!" He Luyang pushed her hand away, grabbed a handful of grass, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"You..." Wei Zijun felt quite helpless and bent down to snatch the grass from his hand.

During their struggle, He Lu pulled hard, and Wei Zijun leaned forward, pressing her chest against He Lu's face.

The sudden close contact sent a strange feeling through He Lu's heart. A faint fragrance wafted from his chest and wafted into his nostrils. A sudden, inexplicable panic and blush rose in his face, and He Lu loosened his grip on the grass.

He obediently sat down beside a low table piled high with delicious beef and mutton, led by Wei Zijun. He ate whatever Wei Zijun gave him, behaving like a completely different person from before.

Seeing this, Wei Zijun teased, "Which tastes better, meat or grass?"

Upon hearing this, He Lu glared angrily at Wei Zijun, who then burst into laughter.

He Lu threw the meat he was holding onto the table in a huff, turned his head away, and pursed his lips tightly. Wei Zijun quickly coaxed, "Alright, alright, stop laughing! Eat up!"

"Hmph! I don't owe you anything. Since you've lost so many days, you can have other bets!" He Lu's face remained displeased.

"Well... I don't need anything, and besides, you've already eaten grass, so let's just forget about it!" I didn't expect him to be so serious.

"No! I told you I don't owe you anything! You have to take it!"

"No, I don't want it!"

"you want!"

What do you want?

"I'll take anything! It just has to be the same thing!"

Wei Zijun was furious. Was this even possible? Forced to give gifts! She couldn't even refuse!

"Fine! I want you!" He paused, then added, "Be my slave!"

He Lu was stunned for a moment after hearing the first half, but when he heard the second half, he became furious.

"Don't even think about it!" He deliberately didn't finish his sentence to tease him!

“But you said you’d do anything you want!” Wei Zijun said, somewhat dissatisfied.

"I'm talking about things! You can have anything you want!" He Lu retorted coldly.

"Then aren't you a thing?"

"Of course I'm not Dong..." He Lu stopped, his fiery eyes glaring at Wei Zijun.

"Haha..." Wei Zijun laughed heartily again, her greasy hands, which had been holding a lamb leg, waving wildly.

"You...you're unreasonable!" He Lu gritted his teeth in anger, glaring at the person who was laughing heartily. This person had truly broken his years of cultivation, making this man, who rarely got angry, feel simmering with rage for days. However, for some reason, he wasn't really angry at all.

"Feng! What makes you laugh so happily?" Ashina Yugu stepped into the tent.

"Khan! Helu wants to give me something! I don't know what I want!" Wei Zijun stopped laughing and stood up.

“Hmm… since we’re giving something as a gift, of course we should give it to someone we cherish most!” Ashina Yugu turned to Helu. “Don’t you agree, Helu?”

"The Khan is right!" Helu replied respectfully.

"But you don't have a woman, so what do you have that you love most?" Ashina Yugu seemed to think that giving a woman was the most sincere gift.

He Lu thought for a moment and said, "He Lu has a most beloved possession, which is Tesalu. The Left Wise King has seen it and likes it very much!"

She's seen him before? Tersal? Could it be that white Akhal-Teke horse?

"Hmm! That's a good horse. Since Feng likes it, then so be it. Anyway, Feng doesn't seem to like women!" Ashina Yugu seemed to still think women were better.

It really was that horse. Although she liked it, she didn't want it if it belonged to someone else. "A gentleman doesn't take what others cherish. Wei Feng already has a horse; he doesn't need another!"

"I said I'd give it to you, so don't argue!" He Lu's jade-like face hardened, and he glared at Wei Zijun. She clearly liked it, but she kept making excuses; people from Da Yu just weren't so straightforward.

Volume Two, Turkic Chapter Sixty-Four: A Forced Kiss

In late November, the nights in Daxing City, the capital of Beijing, had already begun to freeze, but the daytime sun was still warm.

In the garden of the Left Guard General's mansion, a gray-haired man sat in a rocking chair basking in the sun. The man was in his forties or fifties, and although his haggard face still showed traces of handsomeness, his hair, which should still be black at this age, had turned half gray.

A long, slender hand, covered in veins, brushed across the lid of the cup, and he let out a barely audible sigh.

"Shulan, it's getting cold, don't sit outside for too long!" A gentle female voice sounded from behind, and a middle-aged woman walked in gracefully, dressed in a purple ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), exuding nobility, elegance, and grace.

The woman's eyes revealed a seasoned maturity, suggesting she was about the same age as the man, yet her moon-like face remained radiant, making her appear to be only in her thirties.

"Oh, Xiaoya! I'll stay a little longer before heading back!" the man replied.

"Is Shulan thinking about Jun'er again?" The woman gently stroked the man's head.

"It's alright, have a seat." The man took the hand off his head and placed it in his palm.