“Did you manage to meet He … He Mo yet?” Duan Ling asks Yao Jing.
“Didn’t you leave the city on an errand?”
On second thought, things seem to have gone pretty much exactly the way he thought they would. “Did my uncle tell you that?”
Yao Jing looks him up and down strangely, nodding. Duan Ling asks, “Where did he say I’ve gone?”
Yao Jing frowns. Duan Ling suddenly notices from the mirror’s reflection how unkempt his clothes and hair are, and knows that Yao Jing’s supicions have already been roused, but Yao Jing is going to marry either Helian Bo or Shang Leguan, so the only one who wouldn’t take Bian Lingbai’s side would be her.
Duan Ling thinks, may as well, and simply says, “Please pass a message onto He Mo for me — I will wait for him beneath Sunset Slope outside Tongguan at dusk.”
“That young Tangut noble left early this morning. He brought quite a number of people with him. General Bian was worried he was going to break the engagement, thus went out of his way to ask what he was doing. That’s what Uncle Deng told me.”
Now Duan Ling is finding this quite curious. Why would he do that? “And then what happened?”
“And then he told Uncle Bian he was just feeling restless staying in a city for too long, and he wanted to go hunting. He didn’t say when he’ll be back.”
Damn it! Did Helian Bo choose to leave the city on his own? Since Bian Lingbai tried to convince him otherwise, it’s probably not a trap being sprung ahead of schedule.
“Then … Can you get Master Fei Hongde for me?” Duan Ling asks.
It’s feasible, and Yao Jing nods, so Duan Ling asks her to pass a message on for him. Soon, a carriage arrives in the alleyway behind the shop and Fei Hongde opens the curtain, glancing outside. Duan Ling hurriedly boards the carriage.
“I just knew there had to be something more to the story when that knave came back alone.” By the time Duan Ling finishes telling Fei Hongde what had transpired, Fei Hongde is already covered in cold sweat. He mutters. “By the divine justice of the heavens, you didn’t fall to your death off a cliff.”
Only now does Duan Ling find out that as soon as Fei Hongde realised that “Zhao Rong” was gone when Bian Lingbai came back, he knew there was something fishy about the whole thing. Bian Lingbai explained without being prompted that he’d sent his adopted nephew off to Jiangzhou with a message to reassure the imperial court, but Fei Hongde knew there was no way Duan Ling would leave without any warning and hide all of it from him.
By Fei Hongde’s first guess, Duan Ling had been killed outside of town, but he doesn’t know if it’s because Duan Ling’s identity had been exposed, or if it’s because of something else. He immediately went to see Helian Bo and told him that Duan Ling was in danger.
Helian Bo must have looked extremely worried, so much so that Fei Hongde could tell from the aura emanating from him that his relationship with Duan Ling was far from simple.
But Fei Hongde quite tactfully did not press him for details. Helian Bo took the few underlings he had and left the city to search for Duan Ling.
“I made sure to point him to the right place. And I told him he must be wary of the guards Bian Lingbai stationed there.”
“We can’t wait for Wu Du any longer.” Duan Ling says, “We’ll have to set things in motion as soon as possible.”
Fei Hongde falls into silence and thinks for a long time. “It’ll be difficult for us to get anything done with only ourselves. Young master, please listen to my advice …”
“No,” Duan Ling replies without considering at all.
Fei Hongde’s brows knit together with what seems to be disapproval, and yet the next thing Duan Ling says astounds him so much that it dispels any thought he may have to convince him to wait.
“I don’t want to wait for someone to come help me anymore.” Duan Ling says solemnly, “Even if I’m guarding an isolated, hopeless city, I can’t just sit behind its walls doing nothing but wait. One who wants to be saved must first attempt to oneself, I don’t want … not again …”
Duan Ling has thought about those last seven days from a year ago countless times. If it’s right now, he’d never again wait in the city for his father to come. Instead he’d have picked up his bow and his sword from the start and followed the soldiers out of the city to kill as many of the enemy as he could; after that, he’d go look for his dad.
He has grown in the passage of time, but some people, and some things, will no longer wait for him.
“I trust Wu Du.” As Duan Ling’s thoughts reach this point, he says to Fei Hongde, “I both trust his abilities, and trust his loyalty. I want to start things before he gets here not because I don’t trust him. It’s because I also have to work hard for myself.”
Fei Hongde gives him a faint smile. “If that’s the case, do you have a reliable idea? If you can trust me, there’s no harm in speaking it aloud, and we can discuss it and see if it’ll work.”
“I want to poison him, and create the illusion that he was bitten by a venomous insect.”
“You can do that?”
Duan Ling nods confidently. Fei Hongde falls silent for moments, then he says, “Then maybe it’s feasible.”
After the two talk amongst themselves for a short while, they decide to split up. Duan Ling will look for Helian Bo, while Fei Hongde will return to the estate to lull Bian Lingbai into a false sense of security. If they don’t start now, other things will likely go wrong.
“It’s a very good plan.” Fei Hongde says, “I’ll return to the estate now and make arrangements.”
Duan Ling, on the other hand, borrows a horse from Fei Hongde to leave the city before nightfall.
Meanwhile, Wu Du has ridden four hundred miles in one day, leaving the Xichuan road behind to enter the highway that leads to Tongguan.
Wanlibenxiao has been galloping at top speed for ages, but it’s surprisingly not showing any sign of fatigue; on the contrary, it seems the more spirited the more running it does. It’s probably because it’s been locked in the palace for too long, and as soon as it’s away from the stables, it’s like an eagle returning to the sky, galloping in joyous freedom.
If all goes well, they can reach Tongguan in another day and a half of riding. Surmising that they’ll have enough time, Wu Du lets Benxiao drink for a while next to a stream, and strokes its mane.
“You’re very intelligent.”
The horse lowers its head and drinks; the water reflects the image of a man and a horse.
“But how come you dislike the crown prince so much?”
The horse has no way of answering, and it turns away to graze.
“You know I’m off to save someone, don’t you?”
Somehow, Wanlibenxiao manages to understand that; perhaps it’s because in those last days that it charged into Shangjing with Li Jianhong, it was for no other reason than to save its young master. But from what Wu Du knows, perhaps Wanlibenxiao didn’t see its young master at all; perhaps after the fall of Shangjing, or even after it travelled halfway around the way back to Xichuan, this intelligent horse that can read people so well is still clinging to the last mission Li Jianhong had given it.
“You’ve already brought back the crown prince.” Wu Du says next to Benxiao’s ear, “This time we’re off to see someone who has nothing to do with you, but no matter what, thank you anyway.”
There is a certain amount of guilt in Wu Du’s heart; he has suddenly understood why Benxiao won’t accept the crown prince. It’s probably because there are remnants of memories that have to do with Li Jianhong in the horse’s heart, and it simply believes that the one they were trying to rescue hadn’t been rescued. Thus it obeyed Lang Junxia for some time, but remained irritated and restless while living in the palace, thinking that it did not bring back its young master.
That it’s willing to become his mount now and come out with him must be because of that as well. When all’s said and done, he’s taking advantage of this loyal, noble steed.
“Let’s go!” Wu Du remounts. “Shan’er will also be grateful to you for the rest of his life.”
And so Benxiao sets off for their journey once more, rushing towards Tongguan as fast as it could through day and night.
Duan Ling spurs his horse through the mountain trails. It’s stifling hot in Qinling today, the air oppressive with an impatient, fidgety atmosphere. He hitches the horse up next to a tree, and heads down the path quietly towards the valley stream where Fei Hongde was attacked. There’s a dense forest across the way, and the treasure cave is right inside the forest.
Outside the forest, nearly twenty soldiers are standing guard; someone has started a fire across from the stream, building a stove to heat water.
Where could Helian Bo be? Duan Ling looks around, putting himself in Helian Bo’s shoes, trying to imagine what he’d do. Helian Bo already knows that he’s had some mishap at the treasure cave, then knowing him, he must be lying low nearby to scout out the area in secret, waiting for his chance to enter the cave so he can search inside. Night time is the best time to mount a surprise attack; as soon as the guardsmen on night duty let down their guard, that’s when Helian Bo will strike.
Rather than wait for him to kill off all the guardsmen and charge into the cave, Duan Ling thinks it may be better if he gives Helian Bo a signal before he does.
That’s why Duan Ling sets the dried leaves next to the stream on fire.
In the autumn, the area next to the stream is lousy with fallen leaves. Flames grow higher and higher next to the dried up tree, consuming the tree trunk entirely, and the fire starts spreading along the treetop until the surrounding trees are ablaze. Before he knows it, flames leaping high and bright have lit up the area.
“Fire!” The guard at the cave shouts immediately, and picking up his leather pouch he fills it up with water in the stream to splash at the fire. On the other hand, Duan Ling is quietly retreating to the hill upwind. Wind blows into the dense forest, black smoke rolls in. Soon enough, many people have been smoked out of the forest.
An arrow suddenly flies in from higher ground, hitting the soldier trying to put out the fire.
“We’re under attack!”
Duan Ling figures out where the arrow is coming from at once. He takes the longbow off his back, and aiming towards the direction the arrow came from, he shoots once.
His arrow flies from level ground into the forest, landing in a tree trunk with a satisfying thunk.
When Helian Bo hears that sound which tells him to look this way, he spies a mounted silhouette charging down towards the small stream in the dark, firing off two arrows in a row into the thigh of a fire-fighting soldier. Then the figure turns the horse around and charges up the hill.
Duan Ling’s heart is racing, but he can only gamble this once, and reality has proven that he’s bet on the right horse — the only one lying in wait here to ambush the soldiers is Helian Bo, because he’s the only one who knows the exact location.
Wind fans the fire and it only gets bigger. Someone gives a shout and charges down the hill, but Duan Ling roars as loud as he can in Tangut and says, “It’s me —!”
Both sides seem taken aback; the soldiers hadn’t realised that there are people lying in ambush from both sides, and a dense volley of arrows rains down towards Duan Ling’s horse.
One of the arrows hit the horse as it’s climbing up the hill, and losing strength, its front legs buckle and kneel down in the grass. As it seems Duan Ling is about to roll down the hill, horse and all, Helian Bo grips his reins tight with one hand and jumps off his horse; his body swings in an arc, his feet slip along the ground, and he grabs Duan Ling’s wrist, dragging him away.
“Let’s go!” Duan Ling says, “Don’t stay for the fight!”
Helian Bo whistles, puts his foot in a stirrup, and pulls Duan Ling onto the horse with him. The Tangut abruptly disperses into the forest, disappearing without a trace, leaving a mess of confused soldiers behind.
The Tangut only have good warhorses; they effortlessly crisscross the forest. Once they blend into the woods there’s no way to find them again. More scared than hurt, Duan Ling is covered in a sheen of cold sweat, and Helian Bo turns around to say to him, “You! Nearly! Scared me to death!”
Duan Ling bursts out in laughter; Helian Bo gives him an angry look and raises a fist at him, just you wait. Duan Ling pats him on the shoulder and says, “Figure out some way to regroup.”
Helian Bo takes Duan Ling away from the mountaintop where the treasure is buried.
“Oi oi, Helian — you’re not really angry, are you?”
There’s a shallow strand along the mountain stream, and next to the strand there are signs of a campfire. As soon as Helian Bo gets off the horse, he grabs Duan Ling and pulls him off, and it’s thanks to all of Duan Ling’s martial arts training that he doesn’t fall on his face. As soon as he lands, Helian Bo rushes forward again, and Duan Ling dodges to one side. With a sidestep, Duan Ling retreats, then focusing all his strength he meets Helian head-on.
They’d just had a narrow escape, and in the blink of an eye they’re already wrestling; when the Tangut come back to their rallying point one by one they stop to stare, flabbergasted, at this spectacle, then with a mind to see chaos done they start cheering, getting off their horses to make a circle around those two two to watch their prince and this Han youth resolve their personal differences by way of wrestling.
With his head against Helian Bo’s chest, Duan Ling pushes him back a half step; Helian Bo reels back and kicks Duan Ling’s feet apart, but Duan Ling has reacted even faster than he has; soon enough he’s hanging off of Helian Bo, then with a whirling manoeuvre around Helian Bo’s waist he ends up riding on Helian Bo’s back. With a turn of his hips, he twists Helian Bo off balance.
When it comes to wrestling, Helian Bo is Duan Ling’s mentor, but alas Duan Ling also learned the trick of redirecting momentum from Li Jianhong so by the end of their stay in Shangjing Duan Ling was already able to nearly tie with Helian Bo in a match.
Yet with a year between them and Duan Ling neglecting the practice of the martial arts while living in the south, Helian Bo is a cut above in the end, and he throw Duan Ling onto the ground, holding him down.
Duan Ling lets out a loud shout and crashes onto the pebbles on the strand. Startled, Helian Bo quickly pulls him back up to check if he’s hurt his forehead — he finds a swollen patch.
Duan Ling waves it off to let Helian Bo know that he’s fine; the spectating Tangut never imagined that this Han youth could last any time in a fight with Helian Bo at all, and they clamour around him, coming over to pat his shoulder to tell him it’s no shame at all to lose to their prince.
All Helian Bo wanted to do was let out some steam, but it’s ended up giving Duan Ling a swollen forehead instead. He seems rather apologetic.
Duan Ling says to Helian Bo, sounding both resigned and depressed, “Got any food? I haven’t had dinner yet. I’m just about starving.”
I do not monetise my hobby translations, but if you’d like to support my work generally or support my light novel habit, you can either buy me a coffee or commission me. This is also to note that if you see this message anywhere else than on tumblr, do come to my tumblr. It’s ad-free. ↩︎
“Did you manage to meet He … He Mo yet?” Duan Ling asks Yao Jing.
“Didn’t you leave the city on an errand?”
On second thought, things seem to have gone pretty much exactly the way he thought they would. “Did my uncle tell you that?”
Yao Jing looks him up and down strangely, nodding. Duan Ling asks, “Where did he say I’ve gone?”
Yao Jing frowns. Duan Ling suddenly notices from the mirror’s reflection how unkempt his clothes and hair are, and knows that Yao Jing’s supicions have already been roused, but Yao Jing is going to marry either Helian Bo or Shang Leguan, so the only one who wouldn’t take Bian Lingbai’s side would be her.
Duan Ling thinks, may as well, and simply says, “Please pass a message onto He Mo for me — I will wait for him beneath Sunset Slope outside Tongguan at dusk.”
“That young Tangut noble left early this morning. He brought quite a number of people with him. General Bian was worried he was going to break the engagement, thus went out of his way to ask what he was doing. That’s what Uncle Deng told me.”
Now Duan Ling is finding this quite curious. Why would he do that? “And then what happened?”
“And then he told Uncle Bian he was just feeling restless staying in a city for too long, and he wanted to go hunting. He didn’t say when he’ll be back.”
Damn it! Did Helian Bo choose to leave the city on his own? Since Bian Lingbai tried to convince him otherwise, it’s probably not a trap being sprung ahead of schedule.
“Then … Can you get Master Fei Hongde for me?” Duan Ling asks.
It’s feasible, and Yao Jing nods, so Duan Ling asks her to pass a message on for him. Soon, a carriage arrives in the alleyway behind the shop and Fei Hongde opens the curtain, glancing outside. Duan Ling hurriedly boards the carriage.
“I just knew there had to be something more to the story when that knave came back alone.” By the time Duan Ling finishes telling Fei Hongde what had transpired, Fei Hongde is already covered in cold sweat. He mutters. “By the divine justice of the heavens, you didn’t fall to your death off a cliff.”
Only now does Duan Ling find out that as soon as Fei Hongde realised that “Zhao Rong” was gone when Bian Lingbai came back, he knew there was something fishy about the whole thing. Bian Lingbai explained without being prompted that he’d sent his adopted nephew off to Jiangzhou with a message to reassure the imperial court, but Fei Hongde knew there was no way Duan Ling would leave without any warning and hide all of it from him.
By Fei Hongde’s first guess, Duan Ling had been killed outside of town, but he doesn’t know if it’s because Duan Ling’s identity had been exposed, or if it’s because of something else. He immediately went to see Helian Bo and told him that Duan Ling was in danger.
Helian Bo must have looked extremely worried, so much so that Fei Hongde could tell from the aura emanating from him that his relationship with Duan Ling was far from simple.
But Fei Hongde quite tactfully did not press him for details. Helian Bo took the few underlings he had and left the city to search for Duan Ling.
“I made sure to point him to the right place. And I told him he must be wary of the guards Bian Lingbai stationed there.”
“We can’t wait for Wu Du any longer.” Duan Ling says, “We’ll have to set things in motion as soon as possible.”
Fei Hongde falls into silence and thinks for a long time. “It’ll be difficult for us to get anything done with only ourselves. Young master, please listen to my advice …”
“No,” Duan Ling replies without considering at all.
Fei Hongde’s brows knit together with what seems to be disapproval, and yet the next thing Duan Ling says astounds him so much that it dispels any thought he may have to convince him to wait.
“I don’t want to wait for someone to come help me anymore.” Duan Ling says solemnly, “Even if I’m guarding an isolated, hopeless city, I can’t just sit behind its walls doing nothing but wait. One who wants to be saved must first attempt to oneself, I don’t want … not again …”
Duan Ling has thought about those last seven days from a year ago countless times. If it’s right now, he’d never again wait in the city for his father to come. Instead he’d have picked up his bow and his sword from the start and followed the soldiers out of the city to kill as many of the enemy as he could; after that, he’d go look for his dad.
He has grown in the passage of time, but some people, and some things, will no longer wait for him.
“I trust Wu Du.” As Duan Ling’s thoughts reach this point, he says to Fei Hongde, “I both trust his abilities, and trust his loyalty. I want to start things before he gets here not because I don’t trust him. It’s because I also have to work hard for myself.”
Fei Hongde gives him a faint smile. “If that’s the case, do you have a reliable idea? If you can trust me, there’s no harm in speaking it aloud, and we can discuss it and see if it’ll work.”
“I want to poison him, and create the illusion that he was bitten by a venomous insect.”
“You can do that?”
Duan Ling nods confidently. Fei Hongde falls silent for moments, then he says, “Then maybe it’s feasible.”
After the two talk amongst themselves for a short while, they decide to split up. Duan Ling will look for Helian Bo, while Fei Hongde will return to the estate to lull Bian Lingbai into a false sense of security. If they don’t start now, other things will likely go wrong.
“It’s a very good plan.” Fei Hongde says, “I’ll return to the estate now and make arrangements.”
Duan Ling, on the other hand, borrows a horse from Fei Hongde to leave the city before nightfall.
Meanwhile, Wu Du has ridden four hundred miles in one day, leaving the Xichuan road behind to enter the highway that leads to Tongguan.
Wanlibenxiao has been galloping at top speed for ages, but it’s surprisingly not showing any sign of fatigue; on the contrary, it seems the more spirited the more running it does. It’s probably because it’s been locked in the palace for too long, and as soon as it’s away from the stables, it’s like an eagle returning to the sky, galloping in joyous freedom.
If all goes well, they can reach Tongguan in another day and a half of riding. Surmising that they’ll have enough time, Wu Du lets Benxiao drink for a while next to a stream, and strokes its mane.
“You’re very intelligent.”
The horse lowers its head and drinks; the water reflects the image of a man and a horse.
“But how come you dislike the crown prince so much?”
The horse has no way of answering, and it turns away to graze.
“You know I’m off to save someone, don’t you?”
Somehow, Wanlibenxiao manages to understand that; perhaps it’s because in those last days that it charged into Shangjing with Li Jianhong, it was for no other reason than to save its young master. But from what Wu Du knows, perhaps Wanlibenxiao didn’t see its young master at all; perhaps after the fall of Shangjing, or even after it travelled halfway around the way back to Xichuan, this intelligent horse that can read people so well is still clinging to the last mission Li Jianhong had given it.
“You’ve already brought back the crown prince.” Wu Du says next to Benxiao’s ear, “This time we’re off to see someone who has nothing to do with you, but no matter what, thank you anyway.”
There is a certain amount of guilt in Wu Du’s heart; he has suddenly understood why Benxiao won’t accept the crown prince. It’s probably because there are remnants of memories that have to do with Li Jianhong in the horse’s heart, and it simply believes that the one they were trying to rescue hadn’t been rescued. Thus it obeyed Lang Junxia for some time, but remained irritated and restless while living in the palace, thinking that it did not bring back its young master.
That it’s willing to become his mount now and come out with him must be because of that as well. When all’s said and done, he’s taking advantage of this loyal, noble steed.
“Let’s go!” Wu Du remounts. “Shan’er will also be grateful to you for the rest of his life.”
And so Benxiao sets off for their journey once more, rushing towards Tongguan as fast as it could through day and night.
Duan Ling spurs his horse through the mountain trails. It’s stifling hot in Qinling today, the air oppressive with an impatient, fidgety atmosphere. He hitches the horse up next to a tree, and heads down the path quietly towards the valley stream where Fei Hongde was attacked. There’s a dense forest across the way, and the treasure cave is right inside the forest.
Outside the forest, nearly twenty soldiers are standing guard; someone has started a fire across from the stream, building a stove to heat water.
Where could Helian Bo be? Duan Ling looks around, putting himself in Helian Bo’s shoes, trying to imagine what he’d do. Helian Bo already knows that he’s had some mishap at the treasure cave, then knowing him, he must be lying low nearby to scout out the area in secret, waiting for his chance to enter the cave so he can search inside. Night time is the best time to mount a surprise attack; as soon as the guardsmen on night duty let down their guard, that’s when Helian Bo will strike.
Rather than wait for him to kill off all the guardsmen and charge into the cave, Duan Ling thinks it may be better if he gives Helian Bo a signal before he does.
That’s why Duan Ling sets the dried leaves next to the stream on fire.
In the autumn, the area next to the stream is lousy with fallen leaves. Flames grow higher and higher next to the dried up tree, consuming the tree trunk entirely, and the fire starts spreading along the treetop until the surrounding trees are ablaze. Before he knows it, flames leaping high and bright have lit up the area.
“Fire!” The guard at the cave shouts immediately, and picking up his leather pouch he fills it up with water in the stream to splash at the fire. On the other hand, Duan Ling is quietly retreating to the hill upwind. Wind blows into the dense forest, black smoke rolls in. Soon enough, many people have been smoked out of the forest.
An arrow suddenly flies in from higher ground, hitting the soldier trying to put out the fire.
“We’re under attack!”
Duan Ling figures out where the arrow is coming from at once. He takes the longbow off his back, and aiming towards the direction the arrow came from, he shoots once.
His arrow flies from level ground into the forest, landing in a tree trunk with a satisfying thunk.
When Helian Bo hears that sound which tells him to look this way, he spies a mounted silhouette charging down towards the small stream in the dark, firing off two arrows in a row into the thigh of a fire-fighting soldier. Then the figure turns the horse around and charges up the hill.
Duan Ling’s heart is racing, but he can only gamble this once, and reality has proven that he’s bet on the right horse — the only one lying in wait here to ambush the soldiers is Helian Bo, because he’s the only one who knows the exact location.
Wind fans the fire and it only gets bigger. Someone gives a shout and charges down the hill, but Duan Ling roars as loud as he can in Tangut and says, “It’s me —!”
Both sides seem taken aback; the soldiers hadn’t realised that there are people lying in ambush from both sides, and a dense volley of arrows rains down towards Duan Ling’s horse.
One of the arrows hit the horse as it’s climbing up the hill, and losing strength, its front legs buckle and kneel down in the grass. As it seems Duan Ling is about to roll down the hill, horse and all, Helian Bo grips his reins tight with one hand and jumps off his horse; his body swings in an arc, his feet slip along the ground, and he grabs Duan Ling’s wrist, dragging him away.
“Let’s go!” Duan Ling says, “Don’t stay for the fight!”
Helian Bo whistles, puts his foot in a stirrup, and pulls Duan Ling onto the horse with him. The Tangut abruptly disperses into the forest, disappearing without a trace, leaving a mess of confused soldiers behind.
The Tangut only have good warhorses; they effortlessly crisscross the forest. Once they blend into the woods there’s no way to find them again. More scared than hurt, Duan Ling is covered in a sheen of cold sweat, and Helian Bo turns around to say to him, “You! Nearly! Scared me to death!”
Duan Ling bursts out in laughter; Helian Bo gives him an angry look and raises a fist at him, just you wait. Duan Ling pats him on the shoulder and says, “Figure out some way to regroup.”
Helian Bo takes Duan Ling away from the mountaintop where the treasure is buried.
“Oi oi, Helian — you’re not really angry, are you?”
There’s a shallow strand along the mountain stream, and next to the strand there are signs of a campfire. As soon as Helian Bo gets off the horse, he grabs Duan Ling and pulls him off, and it’s thanks to all of Duan Ling’s martial arts training that he doesn’t fall on his face. As soon as he lands, Helian Bo rushes forward again, and Duan Ling dodges to one side. With a sidestep, Duan Ling retreats, then focusing all his strength he meets Helian head-on.
They’d just had a narrow escape, and in the blink of an eye they’re already wrestling; when the Tangut come back to their rallying point one by one they stop to stare, flabbergasted, at this spectacle, then with a mind to see chaos done they start cheering, getting off their horses to make a circle around those two two to watch their prince and this Han youth resolve their personal differences by way of wrestling.
With his head against Helian Bo’s chest, Duan Ling pushes him back a half step; Helian Bo reels back and kicks Duan Ling’s feet apart, but Duan Ling has reacted even faster than he has; soon enough he’s hanging off of Helian Bo, then with a whirling manoeuvre around Helian Bo’s waist he ends up riding on Helian Bo’s back. With a turn of his hips, he twists Helian Bo off balance.
When it comes to wrestling, Helian Bo is Duan Ling’s mentor, but alas Duan Ling also learned the trick of redirecting momentum from Li Jianhong so by the end of their stay in Shangjing Duan Ling was already able to nearly tie with Helian Bo in a match.
Yet with a year between them and Duan Ling neglecting the practice of the martial arts while living in the south, Helian Bo is a cut above in the end, and he throw Duan Ling onto the ground, holding him down.
Duan Ling lets out a loud shout and crashes onto the pebbles on the strand. Startled, Helian Bo quickly pulls him back up to check if he’s hurt his forehead — he finds a swollen patch.
Duan Ling waves it off to let Helian Bo know that he’s fine; the spectating Tangut never imagined that this Han youth could last any time in a fight with Helian Bo at all, and they clamour around him, coming over to pat his shoulder to tell him it’s no shame at all to lose to their prince.
All Helian Bo wanted to do was let out some steam, but it’s ended up giving Duan Ling a swollen forehead instead. He seems rather apologetic.
Duan Ling says to Helian Bo, sounding both resigned and depressed, “Got any food? I haven’t had dinner yet. I’m just about starving.”
I do not monetise my hobby translations, but if you’d like to support my work generally or support my light novel habit, you can either buy me a coffee or commission me. This is also to note that if you see this message anywhere else than on tumblr, do come to my tumblr. It’s ad-free. ↩︎
