Title JWQS CH5 ✅

泾渭情殇 Jīng wèi qíng shāng - Clear and Muddy Loss of Love Author: 请君莫笑 Please Don’t Laugh Support the author | JWQS carrd Do not repost this translation anywhere else, do not share this as an epub. For better readability, use browser extension for dark mode or docs app for mobile. Chapter 5: Outsiders attracted, calamity rises in the grass plains Furong’s belly grew by the day. The king’s tent was brimming with the joy and anticipation of welcoming new life. The witch doctor said that this child would be born in winter, on a day of great snowfall. That was the best season for newborns in the grass plains. Some small tribes would usually make a desperate struggle to snatch rations for the winter at the very end of autumn, but all battles would cease after the first snowfall. This would mean that the third child of the Qiyan family would have a relatively long period of time to make it pass the fragile infant period. Furong was well experienced as a mother of two children. She had started to make new clothes ever since she realized that she was pregnant. Including Agula’s old clothes, there should be enough clothes for her third child. Sukhbaru and Furong had the same feeling: this infant will be a boy, a boy who would free his eldest sister of her duty! The first snowfall had continued for days ever since winter began. The accumulated snow was at least fifteen centimeters thick. Sukhbaru said happily to Agula: “Come and look, Agula. The snow is a blessing from the Heavens, given to
us, the people of the grass plains. With it, the pastures will definitely be rich next year.” But just a few days later, Sukhbaru suddenly led a group of people out of the camp. A small tribe had come to report: the Aka tribe that depended on the Chengli tribe was annihilated... Just who had broken the winter truce of the grass plains? The group progressed for one day and one night. Sukhbaru saw the striking burnt black field from afar, mottled with crimson. Once they were near, even the Chengli warriors who were used to the sight of killing could not help but take a cold breath: frozen corpses lay everywhere. Even the elderly and children had not been spared. “Buqin.” “Khagan!” “Make your way to the back of the camp. Check the livestock pens.” “Understood.” Sukhbaru dismounted from his horse, then he approached a few corpses for closer observation. He found that their fatal injuries were not caused by scimitars. Instead, there were holes the size of a bottle-plug, and some of them were shot to death by stray arrows. A few arrows had pierced through the body completely, leaving just the feathers outside. Sukhbaru made a slight bow towards the dead, then he stepped on the corpse and pulled out the arrow. Sukhbaru was taken aback for a moment once he saw the small characters engraved on the arrowhead. Square and rigid characters. The letters of the Wei kingdom, where Furong came from.
“Reporting Khagan!” Buqin kneeled on one knee, then he reported: “All of the livestock in the pens are dead...” Buqin could not understand it: if it was not for the sake of rations, why would they attack the Aka tribe in winter? The sight of hundreds of livestock corpses breaks his heart. “I’ve got it.” Sukhbaru snapped the arrow in his grip. After some thinking, he kept the part with the engraved characters: why did Wei kingdom’s people come to the grass plains? In order to find out, he must go to a certain place first. “Get on your horses! Come with me.” The group progressed down south towards the Tuba tribe’s main camp, which was at the Luo riverbank. For the Wei kingdom’s army to reach the depths of the grass plains, they could not have gone around the Tuba tribe. Unless the Tuba tribe was already annihilated! A few days later, Sukhbaru and his people stopped three hundred meters away from the Tuba tribe... Behind him, Buqin gasped as he pointed at a towering structure. He said: “Khagan, look.” Sukhbaru narrowed his eyes: he had seen that before! That was a scout tower of the Wei kingdom’s army. A soldier was looking out from it. “Everyone, turn your horses around. We’re retreating.”
“Khagan? What is that thing?” Sukhbaru gritted his teeth: “The Tuba tribe has colluded with the Wei... with outsiders.” He had not brought a lot of warriors with him, and they were too fatigued from days of travel to stand up against the Tuba tribe. Sukhbaru made a prompt decision to retreat. Erihe led his people here once he received the scout’s notice, but Sukhbaru has already gone far with his group. Erihe observed the hoof prints in the snow, then he said to an armored man by his side: “Envoy of the south, they do not have a lot of people. Perhaps I should pursue and kill them with my people.” The armored man listened to the soldier’s translation, then he stroked his beard: “May the Khan remain calm, this General naturally has arrangements for it.” Erihe said urgently: “There’s a high chance that they are from the Chengli tribe! Sukhbaru is known as a ‘ferocious tiger’, and he has dozens of thousands excellent warriors under him. If he charged with his army, my Tuba tribe might not hold up!” “This General would prefer if he turned out in full strength; it would save plenty of trouble. The river surface has already solidified. This General will write a letter to the Commandant later, to move camp and advance the army. Our Wei kingdom’s army of four hundred thousand shall arrive in a day’s journey, cross the frozen river, and flatten that... what’s it called?” “The Chengli tribe.” “Oh, that Chengli tribe with ease.”