Chapter 10 The Begonia by the Lake

That year in Hangzhou in the south of the Yangtze River, Ye Liuyun a sword tilted the building, soon begonias will receive the Empress Dowager of Northern Qi’s decree, drifting back to the north, since then, Fan Xian and her two have never met, only occasional letters to and from.

However, the Qingli seven years in the fall of that a shocking change, but let the two between the correspondence is also cut off, Beiqi saint girl, bitter lotus master’s real closed disciple, such as today’s leader of the road, so inexplicably disappeared, disappeared in the sight of the people.

Even the people of Beiqi didn’t seem to know where she had gone, and Fan Xian had asked the Supervisory Yuan to go around as well as the Moon Tower, poking around the world to find out about her, but still came up empty-handed. She had disappeared so decisively, so completely, that she had given people the impression that there had never been a Haitang Duo Duo character in the world.

But Fan Xian knew clearly that this woman had once existed, and would surely exist somewhere in the world, watching herself and doing something, because he had held her hand and touched her heart.

Only he had not thought that the missing Haitang Duo Duo would appear in the grassland to the west of the Kingdom of Qing, and that she would stay in this grassland for as long as two years, changing the name of the Songzhi Immortal Order.

“Is there nothing you need to explain to me?” Fan Xian looked into her eyes, the tip of his heart throbbing slightly, and slowly spoke, “Such as why you’re here, such as the matter of the sword, such as everything about Sulpita.”

Speed Bida, the great name of Xihu Shan Yu, came from Fan Xian’s lips, but he couldn’t help but carry an inexplicable flavor of sarcasm, which wasn’t too strong, but was extraordinarily piercing. Haitang was slightly stunned, then raised his head, gently pursed the flying hair at the corner of his forehead, and said, “Since you’ve already come, you must have found out everything, so why bother to ask me again?”

Today’s Haitang, dressed as a Hu servant girl with a leather hat on her head, looked a bit playful and cute, especially with those hair strands peeking out from the brim of the hat, which was even more childish and beautiful.

However, Fan Xian’s tone was still as cold as ever: “There are some things, it’s one thing for me to find out, it’s another thing for you to tell me in person……. My anger lies in being hidden from people and being utilized by people, and you know my temperament.”

Haitang was slightly stunned, pulling her hands out of her clothes and resting them in front of her body, she extremely seriously made a half-blessed bow to Fan Xian and said, “I apologize.”

Although it was only two words, it was full of apologies. Fan Xian looked at her without the slightest movement, and didn’t open his mouth, only waiting for the other party to give himself an explanation.

“Let’s take a walk.” Haitang didn’t explain why she had come to the grasslands, and why those knives had appeared in the hands of the Hu experts, but only naturally proposed that the two of them take a walk on this vast grassland.

After a moment of silence, Fan Xian said, “Good.”

Separating the knee-high grass, the two of them left this road hidden in the grass and traveled deeper into the deserted grassland. At this time the autumn sun hangs high in the sky, small insects spirit in the grass, the four fields are quiet, just a glance of the color of green and yellow, blankly toward the end of the sky to explore.

And this man and woman two people, are hands inserted within the clothes, like two small dots between heaven and earth, maintain a gentle speed, toward the end of the sky.

If, if there were not all the other things between the sky and the earth, perhaps this duo would like to go on forever, not to talk about issues that would tear one’s heart and liver raw and painful, not to talk about stories that would make each other drift away gradually.

However, there are blue sky and white clouds in the sky, there are bleak autumn grass on the plain, the two of them walk in the open sky and earth, always a member of the mortal world, that is, the posture of walking nowadays, it is difficult to be as harmonious as it was back then, which is not a palpitating loss.

“Taoist infiltration in the Western Hu has been many years, only has not been playing a role, the Hu people are always difficult to trust the original strategist of the Middle Kingdom.”

The autumn wind gently blew on Haitang’s flushed face, and she sighed softly, opening her hands and feeling the open air of the grasslands as she said softly, “West Hu has been beaten to pieces by the Qing army, so if you want to make the Hu people into a force that can stand up to the Qing Kingdom and even slightly slow you down, it would be an extremely difficult thing to do.”

Fan Xian was silent, listening intently.

Haitang walked slowly, looking at the distant sun hanging above the grasslands, squinting her eyes and saying, “Two years ago, before Master Zun passed away, he gave this task to me.”

“What task?”

“To help Shan Yu unify the grasslands and build a nation.” Haitang looked at him expressionlessly and said, “You know, although the Hu people are good at fighting, the countless tribes are only nominally under the control of the royal court, but overall they are scattered sands, so if they are unable to unify the steppe and establish a country in the true sense of the word, how can they slow down your Qing Kingdom’s progress to unify the world?”

Fan Xian said with a cold smile, “In order to stop my Kingdom of Qing, you actually went out of your way to let a new prairie kingdom rise on the prairie, have you ever thought about what the Hu people will bring to the world if they really flourish?”

Not waiting for Haitang to open his mouth, he stared at Haitang’s eyes and said, “When I was in Hangzhou, you once reminded me that the Hu people are wolves, ferocious and cruel, and that they have all taken pleasure in killing since a thousand years ago……. I didn’t think that nowadays you want to put armor on this group of wolves. Could it be that the threat that I, Daqing, pose to you is so great that you, Heavenly Dao, want to abandon the tenets of the Dao sect?”

Haitang met his gaze, without a trace of timidity, slowly said, “Grassland statehood, is not a dynasty can be completed overnight, the plans of the late master’s plan, set the calculation when twenty years later …… must admit, when the master was seriously injured back to Castle Peak, I was indeed shocked, never thought that your emperor’s majesty , actually powerful to such an extent.”

She smiled to herself and said, “Since the Qing army’s iron cavalry treading all over the world has become a certainty, how can Daqi be willing to become the fish and meat under the sword, of course, we have to think of some ways to slow down your footsteps.”

Fan Xian frowned, waved his hand, stopping her explanation, and directly asked, “This plan is indeed poisonous, and far-sighted, if the prairie royal court can really establish a real sense of the country, I am afraid that it will be difficult for me to rest in peace for the rest of my life, and even if I have defeated the Northern Qi, I will have to worry about the situation in the west at all times……. also Then it will leave some opportunities for you to take advantage of.”

“But ……” he said quietly, “Although I only looked at speed Bida from afar, but also know that this single Yu sex like a falcon, is definitely not an ordinary character, bitter lotus dying since picked him, how can you let him to believe in your arrangement and follow your plan?”

“You also said earlier that Tian Dao’s intention to infiltrate the Western Hu royal court is not a matter of a day or two, what makes you able to do all this?” Fan Xian looked down at the small leather boots on Haitang’s feet and said, “The Northern Qi people have already begun to enter the Western Hu royal court, and to run the political affairs for Speed Bida and set up strategies and plans, I think that in addition to the civil officials, there are also a number of military advisors who understand the military situation of my Great Qing Dynasty……. How do you persuade the hu people to accept these Northern Qi people? ”

“You are talking about Wei Wucheng and these people.” Haitang faintly responded, “They are not all Northern Qi people, there are also people from Dongyi City and your Southern Qing.”

Fan Xian was slightly surprised and looked at her.

Haitang continued blandly, “These people are just capable people that Shan Yu has hired with heavy money, they don’t know me, nor do they know my position in the royal court. All I need to do is to convince Shan Yu that a king with a heart as big as the sea and sky should excel in accepting all foreign wisdom, and that if you want to serve the four seas, you need to use the people of the four seas.”

Fan Xian’s brow wrinkled extremely tightly, looked at her, and opened his mouth to say, “But you still haven’t explained why Speed Bida, an ambitious man, would be so obedient to your words …… You must know that in the tribes of the Hu people, women have always had little status.”

Haitang smiled faintly, a few hints of amusement suddenly appearing on that plain face as she looked at Fan Xian and asked, “Did you think I was using a beauty trick?”

Fan Xian choked, not knowing how to answer. He had long since realized that that Shan Yu had entered Haitang’s hidden tent at night more than once, and that Shan Yu obviously had some sort of feelings for Haitang.

Haitang laughed, looked at Fan Xian’s eyes, sighed, and said, “I’m not as beautiful as you, so if I want to use the beauty trick, I don’t have the capital to do so.”

At this moment an extremely marvelous thing happened between the two, when Haitang sighed at Fan Xian’s face, her arm seemed to be uncontrollable and lifted up, her fingertips trembled slightly and touched Fan Xian’s cheeks, sliding an inch on his face, the fingertips gently touched with the skin of the face, which was actually so bone-deep that it touched the deepest sentiment in the hearts of the two of them.

When the two realized that such an ambiguous scene was taking place, they both froze at once. Fan Xian’s body was a bit stiff, and with great difficulty, he raised his left hand and held the hand next to his face, holding it, and then refusing to let go.

Being held by Fan Xian’s warm hand, Haitang’s body also stiffened a little.

“I find it difficult for the two of us to walk in a posture as harmonious as before.” Fan Xian held her hand and said softly, “Perhaps the amplitude is not quite the same when swinging, would it be better if we held hands?”

“But the footsteps are still not the same.” Begonia’s face was a peaceful, quiet smile, but her words were tinged with endless regret and loss.

“Gotta try.” Fan Xian ignored what she was thinking about at this moment, holding her hand and continuing to walk deeper into the grassland, there were only the two of him in heaven and earth, at least for a moment, so why talk about something bad.

“Are you jealous?” Haitang half leaned on Fan Xian’s shoulder, the two of them holding their hands tightly on their bodies, as if both were afraid of the other suddenly letting go.

At this time they sat on a side of the meadow, below the meadow is a small berth of lake water, the opposite side of the lake is the sun that is gradually setting in the west, the golden twilight light shines on the water surface, delineating a golden line, occasionally there are a few wild water ducks, skimming over the surface of the water with strange shrieks.

This scene, how familiar, like still in Jiangnan, the same lake, or those two people.

“What am I jealous of.” Fan Xian said in a somewhat unfavorable manner, “Speed Bida this person, can in just a few years time, the right and left sage king on the body, the strength of the royal court majestic champion grassland, although there is your help component within, but this person is really powerful.”

“You are still jealous after all.” Haitang said with a smile, but her face did not have the small complacency of a normal woman, nor was there a hint of discomfort, as if she was just stating a fact.

Without waiting for Fan Xian to say anything, Haitang leaned her head on his shoulder. This woman’s shoulders had borne too many things since she was young, and although no one had ever known how old she was or where she was born, her status as the Holy Maiden of Beiqi and the heir to the Heavenly Dao had forced her to bear it all. She would also have a day when she was tired, and she also wished to remove the heavy burden from her shoulders and then lean on a shoulder that she could lean on.

And so it was.

“I come to the grasslands from the north, and my name is Matsuki Senrin. I am the lost king’s daughter of the Kharna tribe.” Haitang stared blankly at the twilight across the small lake and slowly said, “In the grasslands of the north, I helped many people, led the last batch of tribes that moved south, and came to the grasslands of Xihu, and those tribal children who came to the south in advance recognized me as the identity of the king’s daughter of the Kharna tribe, so Shan Yu …… must value me, at least at first, value the strength behind me.”

“Kharna?” Fan Xian turned back, looked at her shiny forehead, and said quietly, “It’s amazing that it’s come around in such a big circle. In order to keep the speedster from getting suspicious, Bitter Lotus really put in all the effort.”

Although Haitang spoke simply, Fan Xian knew clearly that the northern barbarians could not withstand the freezing cold of the Heavenly Might and were forced to migrate southward, with numerous deaths and injuries on the way, but still left more than 10,000 iron cavalry on the grasslands, and for Haitang to be recognized as the leader of these northern clans, she must have paid the price of extreme hardship.

As for the royal court of Shan Yu Speed Bida, the reason why he could clear the resistance force on the grassland in a short period of time, a large part of it was because he had the power to accept the brothers from the northern grassland, and thus gained the support of those more than 10,000 northern barbarians’ iron cavalry.

Nowadays, it seemed that these supports only had Haitang’s factor in them as well.

“You are the Holy Maiden of Northern Qi, and you suddenly became the Holy Maiden of the northern tribes, aren’t you worried about having your identity revealed?” Fan Xian said softly, “I believe in your wisdom and ability, and Shan Yu definitely can’t do without your help, especially after seeing certain results, but your identity is always a huge problem.”

“Reveal what identity?” Haitang straightened up and said with a slight smile, “Revealing my identity as an heir of the Heavenly Dao?”

Fan Xian was stunned, and thought to himself that rightly so, even if Shan Yu Sibi Da knew Duo Duo’s true identity, it wouldn’t have any effect on his choice. But what about the over ten thousand iron cavalry of the northern tribes? But what about the over 10,000 iron horsemen of the northern tribes? That was the biggest force behind Haitang’s infiltration into Western Hu, if they knew that the king’s daughter of the Kharna tribe was a fake, how would it end?

Logically speaking, if Haitang’s identity was revealed, and the Northern Qi people’s plot broke down, it should be the thing Fan Xian and the Qing people would be most happy to see, but for some reason, Fan Xian believed that Haitang wouldn’t make such a mistake, or rather, that the already dead Master Bitter Lotus wouldn’t have failed to think of this most problematic part of the story, and so he quietly listened to Haitang’s explanation.

“What do you know about Kharna?”

“Formerly the royal court clan among the northern grassland tribes, just a few decades ago, it had been swept clean by Marshal War Qingfeng, and since then, the northern tribes were leaderless, coupled with the fact that the Uesugi Tiger was guarding the northern gate of the Heavenly Pass, so it couldn’t make a big deal anymore.”

Haitang quietly looked into his eyes and said, “What was your favorite thing to ask me before?”

Fan Xian’s brow furrowed extremely tightly, not knowing what the connection was between these two questions, but the matter was important, he thought seriously, and after a long time hesitantly said, “My favorite …… question was how old you really were.” He smiled and explained, “Although I don’t mind sibling love, but I’m also afraid that if you are forty or fifty years old, you will rely on the art of residing in the face to deceive me, the poor man, the old ox eats young grass, how innocent is the young grass?”

Haitang’s face flushed slightly, flickered, then smiled and said, “I haven’t answered you because I myself don’t know exactly how old I am.”

Fan Xian was silent, he knew that Haitang was an orphaned girl who had been carefully cared for by Master Bitter Lotus since she was young and raised to adulthood.

“I’m nineteen this year.” Haitang suddenly stared very seriously into his eyes and said, “My mother, was a king’s daughter who escaped from the Kharna royal court back then.”

Fan Xian somewhat missed this sentence, secretly thinking nineteen? Then when he gave her an aphrodisiac on the northern seashore, she was only fourteen? Is he considered molesting a loli or poisoning a teenager? This girl is really younger than myself …… Slow down, the king’s daughter? Mother? The royal court of Kharna?

He stood up suddenly, looking at Haitang with disbelief. Haitang was sitting with her knees at this time, looking serenely at the water ducks fluttering on the lake, seemingly not realizing what a shocking secret Fan Xian had just been told.

“You …… are …… really the king’s daughter of the Kharna tribe.”

Fan Xian said in a trembling voice. Regarding all of this on the grasslands, he had been able to calculate clearly and had laid out all of his responses to the conspiracy left behind by Bitter Lotus, and even revealing Haitang’s identity within the right time had been a part of his plan. But how he did not think, Haitang can influence Shan Yu, can secretly help the grassland royal court to build a country, relied on is not at all a false identity, she was originally …… a king’s daughter!

Haitang hugged her knees, resting her head gently on her knees, looking at the water moat of golden light in front of her, the color of confusion appeared slightly in her eyes, and she said softly, “You are really calmer than me, two years ago, when I heard about my own life from my master’s mouth, my reaction was much more than yours.”