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Empress of Khitan - Empress Dowager of Khitan Chapter 8: Ravines

Updated: 2008-09-20 16:53:53 Word Count: 3795

Looking at Yelü Jing, Xiao Xuan smiled beautifully, so beautiful that it was almost dazzling.

Yelü Jing knew she was provoking him, and the hatred on his face intensified.

Xiao Xuan's smile gradually faded as she saw Xiao Siwen. Xiao Siwen was tied to a horse, and her clothes were stained with blood.

Old Man Xiao! Recalling the old man kneeling on the ground just moments ago, pleading for her, Xiao Xuan felt a pang of sorrow, and tears welled up in her eyes. Xiao Chuo, your father was killed by the great demon.

Rage surged within her, her blood boiling, and Xiao Xuan was blinded by anger. On horseback, she pointed at Yelü Jing and began to curse, "Yelü Jing, you..." She paused, realizing she was a girl and couldn't bring herself to utter the vulgarities. But the hatred in her heart was unbearable, and she couldn't swallow her anger. She quickly changed her words to, "You big bad wolf, all you know how to do is harm others! You madman, you heartless bastard! Besides killing, what else can you do..." Hearing the girl on the opposite cliff constantly cursing him, Yelü Jing's face darkened considerably. He roared, "Girl, you dare to curse me? Are you tired of living?"

"You want to hunt me? I just don't want to live anymore, what can you do to me! Come on, come here! I'm not afraid of you!" Xiao Xuan shouted.

Yelü Jing was furious upon hearing Xiao Xuan's words, and kept pacing back and forth on the edge of the cliff, holding his horse.

Seeing Yelü Jing lingering on the cliff edge, Yelü Xian felt a surge of impulse. He wanted to rush over, knock Yelü Jing off the cliff, and seize the throne. However, he was uncertain. He didn't know what the ministers who had accompanied Yelü Jing were thinking. Xiao Siwen, his closest confidant, was currently unconscious and useless. His generals, especially the taciturn Yelü Xiuge and the always dissolute Yelü Xianshi, were all unfathomable. Looking at the agitated Yelü Jing, Yelü Xian decided to exercise restraint first.

Yelü Xian was pondering to himself, while Yelü Jing took the bow and arrows hanging on the saddle.

Thinking that he was going to shoot her with a bow and arrow, Xiao Xuan quickly spurred her horse to a protruding rock, hid behind it, and kept shouting, "Yelü Jing, shoot! Come on! Your grandma is waiting for you! Come on!" These words made Yelü Jing so angry that his face turned ashen, and he wished he could ride his horse over there.

"Guards! Listen to me! Whoever can capture that girl will be richly rewarded!" Yelü Jing shouted.

The generals on this side of the cliff remained silent. None of them were fools. How could they capture them?

"Cut down trees to build a bridge," someone muttered from behind.

"Useless! By the time you've finished cutting down the trees and building the bridge, that girl will have already run away!" Yelü Jing cursed without even turning his head.

Silence returned to the surroundings.

"I'm so angry! I'm so angry!" Yelü Jing roared, "A bunch of useless trash, all of them useless!"

Hearing the roar coming from the opposite cliff, Xiao Xuan dismounted and found a few places to stand. She climbed onto a protruding part of the cliff, poked her little head out, and shouted at Yelü Jing, "Yelü Jing, I'm so angry! Come here! Didn't you want to hunt me? Why aren't you coming over? Come here quickly, and I'll give you a piece of candy!"

Hearing Xiao Xuan's laughter and scolding, Yelü Jing was so angry he almost vomited blood. He was a grown man who had seen all kinds of situations, yet now he was being driven crazy by a little girl, and he couldn't do anything about it. Wasn't this going to kill him? Yelü Jing stood on the edge of the cliff, gritting his teeth as he looked at the girl hiding on the opposite cliff, wishing he could fly over there immediately.

Yelü Xiuge, who had been standing quietly to the side watching, suddenly dismounted and knelt on the ground.

Not understanding what Yelü Xiuge meant, Yelü Jing asked angrily, "What is it?"

"Your Majesty, if Xiuge captures that girl, I beg Your Majesty to spare her life," Yelü Xiuge said, bowing his head.

Yelü Jing stared coldly at Yelü Xiuge, glanced at the opposite cliff, then at Yelü Xiuge, and laughed loudly, "Good, what's so difficult about that! This girl is quite interesting. She escaped from Xiao Gu's blade just now, which is already a stroke of luck. Now she has escaped right under my nose, so she is no longer my prey. If you can capture her, she will be your prey, and you can do whatever you want with her."

Upon hearing Yelü Jing's words, Yelü Xiuge slowly raised his head, looked at the furious Yelü Jing sitting on his horse, and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty." Then he got up, walked to his mount, and leaped onto its back. Glancing at the cliff opposite the wide ravine, Xiuge gestured for the soldiers behind him to stand on either side, making way for him.

Xiao Xuan, on this side of the cliff, watched as something was being arranged in an orderly manner, and her heart pounded with anxiety: What did they mean by this? Retreat? They probably were retreating. Could they possibly fly over like I did?

Yelü Xiuge rode his horse backward, and a faint, smirk crept across Yelü Xianshi's face. Very interesting. He hadn't expected Xiao Siwen's daughter to push His Majesty to this point. Intriguing. Looking at the slightly furrowed brows of Prince Yelü Xianshi and Yelü Xiuge, who was now diligently calculating the distance, Yelü Xianshi stroked his beard and continued gazing at the opposite cliff.

Ready. Yelü Xiuge took a deep breath and kicked the horse's belly hard with both legs. The horse, in pain, spurred itself forward.

Reaching the edge of the cliff, Hugh pulled hard on the reins, and the horse leaped forward with all four hooves off the ground.

I'm going all in!

No one knew what Yelü Xiuge was thinking, nor why he did it. But everyone knew he was risking his life for another! Yelü Jing knew this deeply. If Xiuge could truly cross this chasm, he would definitely keep his promise, because if he couldn't, Xiuge would face certain death. His general had sacrificed his life for that little girl's life because of his momentary anger; the price was too high, and he couldn't break his word under any circumstances.

The moment Yelü Xiuge's horse leaped high into the air, Yelü Jing wanted to close his eyes, because he didn't want to lose a great general, especially one who was loyal and brave.

Hugh, suspended in mid-air, remained expressionless. His mind was blank, and his eyes were fixed on the white-clad woman at the mountain pass opposite him.

She wasn't Xiao Gu; she was a fairy, a fairy sent by the gods to save my Great Liao. She couldn't bear to see people killed, couldn't bear to see them disemboweled and their gall bladders removed. With just a few words, she drove Xiao Gu, whom he hated most, to a dead end, ensuring he would never have to face that vicious face again. He had to save her!

The horse's hooves landed steadily on the edge of the cliff. Due to the force of the impact, many rocks fell to the bottom of the cliff.

Xiao Xuan forgot to continue her cursing. She stared wide-eyed at Yelü Xiuge descending from the sky, unable to believe her eyes. This person was like a legendary celestial soldier, practically flying. Especially his landing was so steady and decisive, without a trace of panic on his face. He walked towards her with an air of righteousness.

As Yelü Xiuge rode up to her, Xiao Xuan had long forgotten why he had come; all she could remember was his heroic figure leaping off the cliff.

"Great skill!" Xiao Xuan gave Yelü Xiu Ge a thumbs up.

Hugh frowned. Was that the first thing she said to him? Why didn't she run? What was she thinking at this moment?

Seeing Yelü Xiuge's furrowed brows, Xiao Xuan seemed to remember something.

She pressed her body tightly against the cliff face, looking at Yelü Xiuge. The two of them were locked in a standoff, glaring at each other.

Hello! My name is Zhong Xuan!

After holding it in for a long time, Xiao Xuan finally spoke, and due to her nervousness, she blurted out her real name. Yelü Xiuge frowned slightly, but quickly regained his composure and simply watched her silently.

"Hi! How are you, my friend from the Liao Kingdom!"

Seeing that the other party did not react, Xiaoxuan was suspicious. Could it be that she had not explained it clearly enough and he could not understand? So she squeezed out another sentence.

The other party still did not respond.

"You're so handsome!"

There's no common ground with someone as dense as a block of wood. There's no other way but to try and flatter him to see if there's a chance to escape.

“Your horse is just as handsome as you!” Xiaoxuan said. “Only a horse like this is worthy of someone like you. Look at your horse, how big are its eyes? Its skin, its mane, it doesn’t look like a horse from this world, it’s clearly a celestial horse!”

"Hmph!" A horse's neigh rang out. Xiao Xuan recognized the horse as her own "Achi," not the "heavenly horse" before her. She turned to look at Achi. There stood the little red horse, its big eyes fixed on her, which was perched on the cliff face, panting heavily. Was she kidding? Horses could get angry? Horses could be jealous?

Seemingly understanding that Achi's cries were a protest, Xiaoxuan gave Achi an apologetic smile. Come on, what time is it? You still have time to be jealous! As she smiled apologetically at Achi, the iron tree finally blossomed, and the man in front of her finally spoke.

"So, who's more handsome, me or Ma?"

"Of course it's you!" Xiao Xuan said with an extremely flattering smile.

Without answering, Brother Xiu jumped off his horse, took a few steps forward, and pulled Xiao Xuan down from the cliff.

"What are you doing?" Xiaoxuan was frightened and kept shouting, "A real man doesn't argue with a woman. Why are you pulling me?"

Hugh didn't answer, but hoisted Xiao Xuan onto his shoulder and walked towards the cliff. "Put me down! Put me down!" A pig-like scream rang out. Reaching the cliff, Hugh looked across, but the opposite side was deserted, with nothing left. Presumably, His Majesty had already led his troops back to their camp.

Hugh felt a sense of relief.

He was proving to himself that he meant what he said, that any woman he could capture was his prey, and he could do whatever he wanted with her. That's why he left with his troops.

Empress of Khitan - Chapter Nine: The Song Emperor

Updated: 2008-09-20 16:53:53 Word Count: 3696

A faint smile appeared on Hugh's face. Ignoring Xiao Xuan's cries, he carried her back to his horse and put her down.

“His Majesty must have returned to his residence. Let’s go back and find him,” Yelü Xiuge said.

"No, go back yourself if you want. I'm not going back to see that murderous monster," Xiaoxuan said firmly.

"Do you think I'll let you go?" Hugh asked.

"No," Xiaoxuan said truthfully.

"Then stop arguing and get on the horse! You don't want to end up like your father, tied to a horse and having to ride along, do you?"

"You! You call yourself a man? You're supposed to be a grown man, yet you choose to aid and abet evil, joining that murderous fiend in wreaking havoc on the world. Do you even know that those you hunted were living, breathing human beings, born of flesh and blood, just like you? They had parents too! Where is your conscience? You hunt unarmed people, only for your own pleasure, doing whatever you want to those around you without a care in the world. Besides yourselves, who else have you ever cared about?" Knowing she was no match for the man before her, Xiao Xuan simply stood in front of him and roared at him. This man was in cahoots with that murderous fiend; he was probably no good either! Thinking of this, Xiao Xuan's face grew even colder. She looked at Yelü Xiuge icyly and said, "If you want to kill me, just do it. I hate it, I hate it so much that I can't avenge my father, Xiao... whom he just killed. So, hurry up and help your emperor deal with me. If I even flinch, I'm not Zhong Xuan."

Seeing Xiao Xuan's excited expression, Xiu Ge was taken aback. He had initially thought she was annoyed by Yelü Jing's earlier mockery of Xiao Siwen, but upon hearing Xiao Xuan's words, "to avenge Xiao... old man who was just killed by him," he couldn't help but think that she might have misunderstood the matter. After a moment's thought, he said, "Your father isn't dead; he just fainted from fright."

"You're lying! That Xiao... old man, there's so much blood on him. If he wasn't killed by that murderous fiend, how could there be blood on him? You're still trying to fool me!" Xiao Xuan wasn't used to Xiao Siwen's identity yet, and she hesitated when she called him "old man." At this moment, she remembered the kind old man she had just met, who had been killed while pleading for her, and she felt a pang of sadness.

"The bloodstains on Lord Xiao's body are Xiao Gu's; he just fainted from fright." Seeing that she didn't believe him, Brother Xiu frowned and patiently explained. If it were someone else instead of her, he wouldn't have been so patient in explaining things clearly.

Xiao Xuan was taken aback by what she heard and was speechless for a moment.

"Zhong Xuan? Why do you call yourself Zhong Xuan?" Brother Xiu suddenly asked. Indeed, he was very curious. From the time he jumped off the cliff to find her until now, this was the second time he had heard her mention Zhong Xuan. Wasn't her childhood name Yan Yan? What was this Zhong Xuan all about?

Xiao Xuan's mind was in turmoil. She hadn't fully adapted to her current identity yet, and she kept making the mistake of revealing her "family name" in critical moments. So she gave a cold "humph" and replied, "What I call you is none of your business."

"Oh!" Hugh responded, gazing into the distance, completely concealing the disappointment in his eyes, and said, "Let's go back. There are too many dangers in this desolate wilderness. Besides, your father will worry if he can't see you when he wakes up."

Looking at Xiu Ge before her, at his strange hairstyle and muscular physique, Xiao Xuan felt helpless and lost. If seeing the Han Chinese Han Derang evoked a sense of familiarity and warmth, then this native Khitan man filled her with resistance. She saw only barbarity and cruelty in him; she loathed such heartless, compassionless people.

"My...father, my...mother, if something happens to my family, will that great demon make things difficult for them?" Xiao Xuan asked. She wanted to leave, to go far away. She didn't want to stay in Liao Kingdom; she wanted to return to the land of the Han people.

"Why would you ask that?" Xiu Ge asked, somewhat puzzled. "No way. Your mother is, after all, the daughter of Emperor Taizong and a princess of Yan. Besides, your father has always been loyal to His Majesty. Why would His Majesty make things difficult for your parents for no reason?"

"That sounds nice, but since my parents are so powerful and he treated my family so well, why did he kill me?" Xiaoxuan asked angrily.

Yelü Xiuge was speechless, choked by Xiao Xuan's words. He couldn't understand why Yelü Jing was behaving so strangely today. Little did he know, Yelü Jing was furious that he had been deceived by Xiao Gu, and that Xiao Xuan had ridiculed Xiao Gu in front of all the ministers, causing him to lose face. He harbored resentment towards Xiao Xuan, which was why he had acted this way. Hearing Xiao Xuan's question, Yelü Xiuge could only remain silent.

Looking at Yelü Xiuge's expressionless face, Xiao Xuan sighed. He didn't seem to mean any harm, and although she disliked him, she didn't want to take her anger out on him. So she walked over to Little Red Hare, took its hand, and slowly walked forward.

"where you go?"

A voice came from behind, and it was obvious that it was the iron tower calling out.

“Our Xiao family is a prestigious clan in the Liao Kingdom, a pillar of the nation. As a woman of the Xiao family, I cannot be idle. This time I came to Nanjing to go to the territory of Emperor Zhou Shizong Chai Jin to gather information. I’m going now. If I survive, I will naturally come back alive. If Heaven does not protect me, tell my parents to forget about me.”

Seeing that Xiaoxuan had already mounted the pony, Brother Xiu shouted in a deep voice, "Stop! What did you say?"

Looking back at Xiu Ge, Xiao Xuan slightly raised her chin and said, "I'm going to Zhou Shizong's territory to gather military intelligence. Just relay my words to my parents." After saying that, Xiao Xuan ignored Yelü Xiu Ge and gently patted the little red horse, saying, "Achi, let's go!"

The little red horse galloped forward, but before it had gone more than a few steps, Xiao Xuan heard the "clatter" of hooves, and then her body felt light as she was lifted up from the horse's back. When she came to her senses, she found herself sitting on Xiu Ge's horse, right next to him.