Return of the Swallow c1-644

by Edited by Deyna up to chapter ~100.

  The soldiers traded glances with each other. Seeing how happy he looked, the guy probably also wanted his cousin to marry the prince, right?

  He was about to become the prince’s brother-in-law!

  When the guards thought of that, they immediately lowered their swords so the atmosphere was no longer so threatening.

  “We’ll all be one tribe in the future,” responded a soldier with a smile.

  Lu Heng bobbed his head happily. “That’s right! Could I trouble one of you to see what’s going on? If my cousin’s really marrying the prince, I have to start preparing her dowry!”

  Dowry?

  The soldiers couldn’t help but crane their necks and peer at the faraway wagons. There were so many supplies there that they lacked, who didn’t want a share of them? Maybe if they helped Lu Heng, they could get some as a reward!

  The general immediately ordered a soldier to scout the plaza.

  It wasn’t long before the soldier returned in merry spirits. “Whew, it really is something very good! The prince plans to marry Miss Pang today at noon, and the public plaza is already bustling with people.”

  Lu Heng’s hands were clenched tight inside his sleeves. Though his nails dug so deep that his palms had started to bleed, he still couldn’t feel the pain.

  So it was true. Qin Yining really had sacrificed herself for the Minuo. In confirming that, Lu Heng was also able to guess much of what she planned afterwards. That silly girl might not live past tonight.

  A thousand arrows pierced his heart in this moment. How he truly hated himself for not being proficient with martial arts. Otherwise, he would’ve just charged in to rescue Qin Yining and escaped with her!

  They were surrounded by the desert on all sides. After entering the endless land of sand dunes, there would be no telling where Great Zhou lay. Furthermore, the heavens hadn’t been merciful enough to bless him with a strong body skilled in martial arts.

  They were foreordained to die here, in a distant land away from home. Qin Yining had chosen the most desperate and decisive strategy, sacrificing herself to protect the entire tribe.

  All Lu Heng could feel was the violet pain stabbing his heart. A sweet and salty taste rose in his throat as a bout of coughing came to the fore. He couldn’t control it and coughed violently, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

  “Oh no! What’s happened?!” The Minuo rushed up to support Lu Heng.

  Harbhara anxiously asked Lu Heng in Tatar, “What’s wrong? Let’s go find that Imperial Physician Wang!”

  Lu Heng just waved him away. Pale as a sheet of paper, he drew a handkerchief from his sleeves and calmly wiped the blood off his lips. He gave the Xiyue general a smile. “I’m fine, it’s just an old illness.”

  The general looked at Lu Heng doubtfully, but couldn’t make anything out of the Lu scion’s expression. Although he didn’t dare to offend their prince’s future brother-in-law, he also didn’t care to lower his guard and no longer chatted with Lu Heng.

  Lu Heng looked towards the plaza, a deathly-still look on his face.

  Maids escorted Qin Yining to the wide castle gates. When she stepped into the plaza, the crowd of Xiyue citizens burst into raucous cheers.

  “Goddess! Princess Consort! Goddess! Princess Consort!”

  Prince of Xiyue, Zhou Meng, stood on the platform. Clad in red robes with a golden headpiece, his excited voice boomed out. “We Xiyue are protected by the heavens and favored by the goddess. I am the lord selected by the heavens! After a hundred years of devoted prayers from our pure and kindhearted people, the goddess has finally descended, bringing grain to Xiyue. Today, she will become my consort!”

  “Hurrah! Hurrah!” the commoners cheered spiritedly.

  People at the front of the crowd whispered quietly as they watched a woman under a red veil walk out with the help of her maids.

  “Do you guys see the goddess? I just saw her!”

  “She’s so beautiful! She’s just as I imagined, and even more beautiful than described in the sacred texts!”

  ……

  Zhou Meng could no longer suppress his delight as he turned to face Qin Yining. The Xiyue officials were also present and they cheerfully stood to both sides of the path, watching Qin Yining make her way to the platform.

  The crowd’s cheers grew even louder and the din assaulted Qin Yining’s eardrums, but her heart was as cold as ice.

  When she married Pang Xiao, she’d been dressed with the stately magnificence befitting the occasion. All propriety, rites, and courtesies had been duly observed. Was she truly to marry somebody else on this day?

  No, she wouldn’t allow herself to serve two men!

  Lips painted bright red, Qin Yining pursed them tightly. A red veil covered her eyes, so all she could see was a sea of red. This made her hearing exceptionally sharp, allowing her to make out the faint sound of horse hooves drumming amongst all the cheers.

  The sound that had suddenly appeared seemed to be getting closer and closer. Was it just a figment of her imagination?

  It somehow reminded her of Pang Xiao, which further brought to mind him and his troops. Qin Yining smiled ruefully as she stepped onto the platform with the help of the maids.

  And then, the unexpected happened!

  Chapter 544.2: Dashing Grace (III)

  The crowd gasped and cried out. Before she could react, a slim arm tugged at her elbow and pulled her away, throwing her down from the platform.

  Tossed into the air like a bundle, Qin Yining’s red wedding robes fluttered in the air as her veil floated down to the ground. Her eyes couldn’t immediately adjust to the bright light and could only vaguely make out a familiar figure on the back of a black steed with his arms outstretched.

  Dazed, it seemed to take forever to fall through the air. In fact, it felt like she was sinking into the abyss. Instead, she fell into a warm and strong embrace. A familiar, refreshing fragrance enveloped her.

  “My darling, my darling, I’ve finally found you!” Warm lips touched her forehead as a pair of strong arms encircled her, hugging her tightly.

  “You…” Qin Yining sat sidestaddle in front of Pang Xiao, a hand clutching his arm as she raised her head to look at him.

  He’d lost a great deal of weight and his facial contours were much sharper than before. Framed under long, sword-like brows, his phoenix eyes were shot through with blood. Complete with rough stubble on his chin, he looked absolutely weary and beaten down.

  However, his eyes were incredibly bright, and her image reflected in his pitch-black pupils. When their eyes met, Qin Yining’s vision went blurry from tears.

  It was really him!

  He’d found her in the desert!

  Cao Yuqing had been lying low in the crowd until she spotted an opportunity to pass Qin Yining to Pang Xiao. Task accomplished, she wielded her soft sword and charged forward on her horse, leading Liao Zhibing and the Elite Tigers against Zhou Meng and his officials.

  Born and bred in Xiyue, Zhou Meng had never experienced any hardship or fighting in his life. He’d never seen such formidable cavalry before! Each of the enemy was like a tiger from the mountains, all of them brandishing swords and charging with ferocious roars. The monsters were here to eat the people!

  Zhou Meng’s grandeur evaporated as he stumbled back from terror, falling off the platform with a shriek. Fortunately, there were a number of guards below the stage who hastily reached out to catch him. They frantically dragged him back towards the palace gates.

  “Protect the prince, protect the prince!” Soldiers who’d never experienced true battle before knew only to pull Zhou Meng and the other officials back to the palace gates in a bolt for safety.

  The Xiyue broke and ran, scattering off into the distance like the receding tides. Quite a few slipped and fell to be trampled on by the others, with many more losing their shoes as they frantically pelted off.

  “Here you were, acting like some kind of hero while forcing my dear Yi to marry you. What wonderfully
amazing trash!” Cao Yuqing sat primly on her horse and watched them slam the place doors shut in a panic before turning to look at the backs of the fleeing Xiyue. A sneer curled her lips as she resheathed her soft sword.

  “Isn’t that right! He needs to take a look at his reflection in a load of his piss first!” The young man next to Cao Yiqing pulled down the black bandana covering his face and shook off the sand and dust on it. It was Huzi!

  Qin Yining was still dazed and gripped by shock. Pang Xiao had come to save her? He’d travelled through the desolated desert to come save her?

  Pang Xiao drew her in and reverently placed another kiss on her forehead, his stubble prickly as it rubbed against her skin. “My dear, I’m here.”

  Sound and feeling were slowly returning to Qin Yining. Stiffly moving her neck forward, she slowly placed her head on his shoulder, like a traveller finally returning to their loved one’s embrace after an arduous journey. She was like a little pet who’d finally found their owner after being bullied outside.

  Her hands reached toward Pang Xiao’s shoulders in an equally slow trajectory and her face turned toward his chest. One muffled sob sounded before her tears finally came flooding out.

  Pang Xiao hugged her tightly, his eyes reddening as he listened to her sobs build up into weeping. He buried his face in her shoulder and gently patted her back.

  “It’s alright now, don’t cry. It’s all my fault, I shouldn’t have lost you. Don’t cry… look at how much weight you’ve lost, you must’ve gone through so much. It’s all my fault…”

  When she had no one she could lean on, Qin Yining had had to be stronger than anyone else. She didn’t cower even in the face of certain death. This was because she was so clear of what she should do that even when things looked dire, she could pick the correct path with logic and reason, even if it meant descending into the abyss.

  Now that Pang Xiao was here, she finally had a loved one and someone to depend on again. She no longer had to bear everything on her shoulders alone. Strained heartstrings suddenly relaxed and the light of a long awaited dawn finally touched her. She clung to him for dear life as all strength left her limbs, the only recourse left to her was to bury herself in his chest and wail her accumulated grievances.

  All the feelings and stress she’d bottled up from recent times finally burst through the dam. Now that she had an embrace she could trust, it was finally safe to give full vent to her feelings.

  The fifty-man troop of Elite Tigers was covered in sand and their lips dry and cracked. But they sat ramrod straight on their horses, not even drooping after going a long time without food. Smiles crossed their faces and mirth filled their eyes as they watched their respected prince grip their sobbing princess consort in a tight hug.

  Tears welled up in Huzi’s eyes before he hastily wiped them away with a sleeve.

  Cao Yuqing was also very gratified and dimpled at Liao Zhibing beside her. “Brother Liao, we owe all of this to you this time. Without your tracing bug, I don’t know what we would’ve done.”

  Liao Zhibing waved a hand with a smile. “I’m glad I could help our alliance head. However, it’s not good to stay here for long, the people above the walls are all watching us. How about we find a place where we can set up camp?”

  Chapter 545.1: A Good Beating

  Pang Xiao nodded in response, looping an arm around Qin Yining’s shoulders as he raised his head to look at the palace made of mud.

  Zhou Meng and some of his officials happened to poke their heads over the walls at the same time to connect with Pang Xiao’s eagle-like stare. Startled, they uniformly whipped their heads back in.

  “Bunch of lily-livered rats!” Pang Xiao sneered.

  Zhou Meng also felt his instinctive reaction to be rather shameful and immediately plastered a solemn expression onto his face, straightening up to rest a hand on the castle wall. He bellowed, “Who are you to dare rashly intrude on my territory and steal my fiancée?!”

  The joy of reuniting with Qin Yining still lingered in Pang Xiao’s heart, but it transmuted completely to rage at Zhou Meng’s words. Who would tolerate having their wife stolen?!

  He couldn’t be bothered dignifying that tripe with a response. Instead, he grabbed his bow and shot an arrow at the Xiyue prince.

  Great Zhou’s prince was too fast. By the time anyone reacted, all they could hear was the ‘thwick’ of the arrow leaving the bow. Zhou Meng’s face paled as he scrambled to duck and dodge.

  The arrow pierced right through the small golden crown on his head, causing him to stumble back and fall to a sitting position on the ground. The sharp arrowhead drilled deep into the earthen wall behind Zhou Meng, nailing him tightly to the spot.

  “Your Grace, Your Grace, are you alright?!” His officials were terrified and hastily rushed over to pull out the arrow and help him up.

  Zhou Meng’s mind was still spinning. He gingerly felt the top of his head—the crown holding his hair up was completely pierced through, scattering his hair over his shoulders. In fact, much of it had been chopped off from the sharp keenness of the arrowhead; a large chunk of hair came away with his exploratory touch...

  If he hadn’t dodged that arrow in time, it probably would’ve gone right through his skull! At the thought of that and the enemy’s savage stare, a tremor ran through Zhou Meng’s body. His legs started to shake and suddenly, he felt a warmth in his trousers—he’d just pissed himself.

  Pang Xiao couldn’t be bothered with Zhou Meng anymore. That useless fool didn’t have to die right this second. They could preserve the status quo for a bit longer and prevent the people from rising up in fury.

  He lowered his head and couldn’t help himself from kissing Qin Yining again. It didn’t matter that they were in public! “My dear, is there anywhere we can stay for a bit?”

  Qin Yining had stopped sobbing, but now suffered a headache from her weeping. Her face flushed at the public display of affection and she coughed to conceal her embarrassment and bashfulness.

  “The Minuo tribe I came with have made camp in a remote spot to the southeast. However, the Xiyue prince has deployed soldiers to encircle the area to keep the tribe under control. From what I heard, he sent out roughly four hundred soldiers.”

  Pang Xiao tousled her long hair with a smile. “Don’t worry, there’s nothing to be afraid of when the enemy is of this level. It’ll take a hundred of them just to match one of my Elite Tigers. Even if this is a spot of paradise, that also means they’re so completely isolated that they’ve probably never seen outsiders or engaged in actual combat before. Just giving them a fright is enough to scare them off.”

  Qin Yining nodded and thought of her people lost somewhere in the crowd. They searched everywhere until they finally located Uncle Alham, Surnaa, and Ulan.

  “Your Highness, this is Uncle Alham. He speaks the language of Great Zhou the best out of all the Minuo, and it’s thanks to their care that I am alive today. When I fell delirious from sickness in the desert, they didn’t abandon me and brought me here for treatment.”

  Hearing that, the pain in Pang Xiao’s heart only grew greater.

  When he next looked at Uncle Alham and the rest, it was with a look brimming with gratitude and appreciation. He patted Qin Yining on the shoulder before jumping off his steed, quickly walking up to Uncle Alham and cupping his hands with a deep bow.

  “Uncle Alham, thank you so much for your kindness to my wife!”

  The elderly uncle had sighed inwardly when he saw Qin Yining sobbing in Pang Xiao’s embrace. Now that the chief’s husband has come in search of her, Sir Lu has no chance. However, he was also very moved.

  He knew a little bit about Pang Xiao’s identity. Before him stood a prince of Great Zhou who’d left behind his riches and glory to head into Tatar territory, who’d braved the dangers of the desert and traversed all of no man’s land to reach the Xiyue oasis—all in search of his wife.

  Such courageous deeds left Uncle Alham no choice but to admit this was t
ruly a man worthy of respect.

  “Prince of Great Zhou, you are too courteous. The princess consort and Sir Lu helped us kill that she-devil, Anari, and avenge our people. They are our chiefs, and not only did the princess consort show us great grace all this time, she also stood by us with steadfast loyalty. How can the little things we do for our chiefs count for anything in comparison?”

  Although the relationship between Tatar and Great Zhou had always been strained, the Minuo had been labelled traitors by Utkin Khan. The Tatars had prosecuted them again and again, leaving them destitute and homeless, yet those of Great Zhou had protected the tribe from harm and even endured hell and high water with them. At this point, Uncle Alham no longer cared about nationality.

  Qin Yining also dismounted and wrapped her arm around Cao Yuqing. She smiled at Liao Zhibing, having already grasped everything. “Auntie Cao is so very smart. How did you think of using the tracing bug?”

  Cao Yuqing jabbed Qin Yining’s forehead with resignation.

  “You mule-headed chit. You don’t listen to anyone when you get stubborn. You were determined to stay, so what could I do? Without any other options available, I talked with Mister Liao, who happened to have placed a tracing bug on Sir Lu before. You would definitely be travelling with him, so after you entered the desert, only Mister Liao could determine where you went.

  “At first, I wanted to go back to the capital to ask your father for help. Fortunately, when I neared the Great Zhou border, I ran into the prince and his troop of Elite Tigers on his way to find you. After making preparations, we raced into the desert.”

  Chapter 545.2: A Good Beating

  Qin Yining nodded. She felt especially thankful toward Liao Zhibing and even more guilty about how Madame Liao had been abandoned by Siqin in the desert.

  “Mister Liao, thank you.” She solemnly offered her appreciation to Liao Zhibing.

  Liao Zhibing hurriedly shifted to the side, avoiding her curtsey. “Alliance Head, there’s no need to be so polite.”