Chapter 940: Chapter 687: Capture the Ringleader First, Loot a Burning House, Kill with a Borrowed Knife

The grand army advanced in mighty formation, but they had only marched for about the time of a single meal; just as they reached the Cangtou River, the vanguard halted.

All along the way, one scout after another came galloping back from ahead, all of them the hidden sentries the Western Turks had stationed within a radius of more than ten li around the Yatai, returning to report.

The last one rushed up before Ashina Shali, not even dismounting, and blurted out anxiously, "Khan, the enemy is less than two li ahead, they are charging toward us at full speed!"

"...!"

Hearing this, everyone was taken aback.

Even Shang Ruyi couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath—about half an hour earlier, when the first sentry returned to report, Yu Wenye’s troops were still more than ten li from the Yatai, and now, they were actually about to reach the Cangtou River Valley!

Their marching speed was so fast!

Thinking of this, she couldn’t help stretching her neck to gaze ahead. Although there were no mountains or hills on the grassland to block the view, one could see to the horizon, yet human sight was limited; in the far distance there remained only that dull gray line where earth met sky.

And at this moment, in time with her uneasy heartbeat, that ancient, unmoving long line seemed to twist.

Shang Ruyi raised a hand and pressed it hard against her chest.

At this moment, Ashina Zhuxie’s low voice sounded by her ear: "They have come very quickly!"

Shang Ruyi turned her head at once, just in time to see Ashina Shali, upon hearing this, his already fierce face showing an even more ferocious grimness as he said, "In the past, the cavalry from the Central Plains was never this fast. It seems Yu Wenye has put in some effort."

On the other side, Prince Yiasu asked, "Father Khan, what should we do now?"

Ashina Shali only narrowed his eyes slightly, then immediately said, "The whole army is to halt here. We wait for them right on this spot."

Ashina Zhuxie said, "We’re not going to ride out to meet them?"

Ashina Shali gave a cold laugh and said, "From Taiyuan to here is close to eight hundred li at the least. To cover such a distance in such a short time, they must already be exhausted."

"..."

"And we will sit here and wait for them to come to us."

As he spoke, he shot a cold, sidelong glance at Shang Ruyi and said, "Isn’t this what you Central Plains people call—’using rest to deal with the weary’?"

Shang Ruyi’s heart sank slightly.

What had just made her uneasy was precisely this. She had not expected Ashina Shali to let slip even the slightest chance to strike a blow at the enemy. His hatred for Yu Wenye had long sunk into his bones. Compared to Shang Ruohong, whom he both hated and respected, toward Yu Wenye he felt only the pure, vengeful desire to kill.

Yet on the surface she still kept her emotions hidden; Shang Ruyi said coolly, "The Khan does know quite a lot."

Ashina Shali sneered. "Your father’s riding skills were learned from us Turks. But he is not the only one who knows how to learn from others."

"..."

"I learned quite a bit from him as well."

By now the troops behind them had already received the Khan’s order. They halted their advance and began gradually forming up their battle lines. Shang Ruyi only flicked a glance back with the corner of her eye, then looked again to Ashina Shali and said, "Then what else has the Khan learned?"

"For example, ’seize the ringleader to capture his followers,’ ’loot a house while it’s on fire,’ ’kill with a borrowed blade.’"

As he spoke, he gave a cold laugh. "Your father knows no shortage of intrigues and schemes."

Just then, the sudden shrill neigh of a horse sounded nearby. Everyone turned and saw the fine horse beneath Ashina Zhuxie toss its head restlessly—it had just had its reins pulled too tight, making it uneasy. Ashina Zhuxie hurriedly loosened the reins, then bent forward and stroked its neck a few times, quickly soothing his mount.

Shang Ruyi withdrew her gaze and looked back at Ashina Shali. Calmly she said, "The Khan truly does know quite a lot, but there is one thing you have not said quite right."

"Oh?"

"These are not intrigues and schemes—they are the art of war."

"..."

"However, the Khan is not entirely wrong either. War is the way of deception. If these stratagems are employed properly, they can not only win battles, but at certain critical moments, they can also allow one single plan to decide the fate of the realm."

"..."

Hearing this, Ashina Shali did not speak at once, but looked at her deeply.

From the very beginning, his attitude toward this enemy’s daughter—and even more, this enemy’s wife—had been one of utter loathing. Yet after these few days of rare face‑to‑face confrontation, he too could feel that this woman was indeed worthy of being his enemy’s daughter, his enemy’s wife. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Trapped in a desperate situation, she showed not the slightest discouragement or collapse; instead she remained calm and resolute, composed and unruffled. And the knowledge and ability she possessed as a woman, aside from her identity as his enemy’s daughter, his enemy’s wife, truly did make him look at her in a new light.

But however much he might see her differently, they were still enemies.

Ashina Shali drew a deep breath, then gave a cold laugh. "Very well. I shall see whose hand decides the fate of the realm today!"

As they spoke, the army behind them had already arrayed itself in battle formation. Upon the boundless grassland, the ranks were lined up in perfect order. Tens of thousands of fierce eyes stared straight ahead, waiting for the enemy army to appear, and even more, waiting for that moment of life and death to arrive!

Time passed, bit by bit.

The sun climbed to noon.

The heavy clouds overhead had still not dispersed, yet a slicing, bitter wind tore open a rent in them. A shaft of Golden Light pierced down through the clouds, like a gaze thrown from the vault of heaven, looking from afar toward the direction where the eyes of the Turkic army and people were all fixed.

At last, upon that long, desolate line of the horizon, there appeared a faint, anomalous quiver.

Shang Ruyi thought it was just another illusion born of her own stubbornly erratic heartbeat that refused to calm, but just as she lowered her head and was about to press a hand to her chest, the people around her suddenly sucked in a sharp breath, and someone had already said, "They’re here!"

"...!"

Startled, Shang Ruyi immediately raised her head, eyes wide as she looked toward the front.

In just an instant, the trembling along the horizon grew more and more violent, and only when one looked closely could one realize, it was not the horizon itself that was shaking, but something was racing toward them from that line. Gradually, one, a line, a swath separated from that line, condensing into a vast, black-pressing gloom.

It was an army!

Shang Ruyi’s eyes widened, staring ahead without blinking, only to see that shadow, like a bank of dark clouds, moving at terrifying speed. In a blink, it had left the horizon and begun to close in on their side.

At the very front of that mass of gloom, there was a black dot.

They called it a black dot, but anyone who could see that swathe of darkness knew it was a person. Though his outline was still completely indistinct, Shang Ruyi’s heart leapt and pounded wildly with his gallop!

That was—

Boom!

A deafening crash intensified the pounding of her heart at that very moment. Shang Ruyi jerked around, only to see that within the cavalry formation behind them, an earsplitting drumbeat had already exploded.

It was the war drum of the Turkic army preparing to attack!

Shang Ruyi drew in a sharp breath and turned her head back again. That mass of gloom, like a drop of thick ink falling from the sky onto the horizon, spread in great swathes across the grassland, dyeing the distant reach of their vision pitch-black.

In no time at all, it was drawing closer and closer to them.

Shang Ruyi could already make out the figure galloping at the very front of the column. That familiar silhouette was seared into her eyes like a brand, and even more searingly burned its brand into her heart.

It was Yu Wenye!

He had really come!

Just as her heart gave another violent throb, another thunderous "boom" crashed forth, borne on the cutting wind that swept over them, even shaking the withered grass and dust on the ground. The figure running at the very head of the column seemed to shudder for a moment at that sound.

That man seemed to lift his head and look toward them.

At the same time, a ferocious, icy smile spread across Ashina Shali’s face.

The other side was still charging straight toward them, and a bit farther on, they would be almost within the range of the grassland cavalry’s bows.

He slowly raised his hand.

At that signal, a rustle immediately rose from behind. Shang Ruyi looked back again to see all those archers taking the powerful bows from their backs, drawing arrows from their quivers, and setting them to the string.

Countless gleaming, razor-bright arrowheads, flashing with cold light, were aimed straight ahead.

Battle flags snapped in the wind; war drums urged them to march!

Shang Ruyi’s once-frenzied heartbeat suddenly stopped in that instant. Panic-stricken, she looked forward again. Was Yu Wenye really going to just charge in like this?

If he truly rushed in like this, that very first wave of arrows here would be enough to inflict devastating casualties!

What’s more, the one riding at the very front was Yu Wenye!

Although, when they parted, her resentment toward him had nearly driven her out of her senses and made her say such excessive, hurtful words, at this moment Shang Ruyi’s heart could not help but tremble. The moment she thought of what he might be about to face, she felt as if all the blood in her veins were turning to ice.

No—

No!

Just then, the man galloping at the very front of the column—his robust, powerfully built figure now almost fully revealed in everyone’s sight—seemed to raise a hand. With the slightest motion, the column thundering behind him actually began to slow.

Shang Ruyi’s heart sank again.

They weren’t coming on?

What was he going to do?

While she was inwardly tangled and even more dumbfounded, the air all around them had already stretched taut to the breaking point. Behind them, in the ranks of archers with bows drawn and ready, every bowstring had been pulled to its limit. The archers held their breath, as if even their heartbeat and breathing had stopped, eyes burning as they stared ahead. Their fingers were being cut nearly bloodless by the rigid bowstrings, close to losing all feeling.

This moment was a hair’s breadth from disaster.

Even the slightest movement would ignite this prairie-wide war in an instant!

But who would strike the spark?

What was really happening with Yu Wenye up ahead?

Shang Ruyi’s mind was in chaos. Yet at that very instant, a flash of insight streaked through her. She suddenly understood something; her heart gave a jolt, and she turned to look back almost on reflex.

And just as she turned her head, a shrill, piercing whistle split the air!

A whistling arrow!

The arrow flew like a shooting star, a bolt of lightning, streaking out and slamming straight into the warhorse beneath Ashina Shali!