Chapter 949: Chapter 4: Heaven’s Mandated Heroes, Heavenly Strategy!
At that moment, Li Guanyi’s eyes lit up.
Nangong Wumeng sighed, “Indeed.”
Still a greedy fellow.
What exactly is the Heavenly Strategy Mansion?
She wondered, sometimes unable to understand. After Batuer returned, he didn’t say anything to Li Guanyi, just sighed and told them not to argue lightly with those old Lord Buddhas, it wouldn’t be beneficial.
His mood was actually good, because the Golden Pearl had returned.
His horse was laden with many things, large and small bags containing food, salt, clothes; as children are born, they grow quickly and need new clothes.
He also bought some sword oil to maintain blades and a bit of cloudy wine for himself.
Needles and threads, cloth, medicine — none of it precious, yet Batuer carried a smile. The wrinkles on his weather-beaten face eased, his dark eyes sparkled with hope for the future.
They returned to the tribe’s location, but before they could arrive, Li Guanyi paused, holding a mirror bought for the young girl. Fan Qing suddenly looked up and said, “Lord.”
Blowing in the wind.
Was the smell of blood.
Li Guanyi commanded, “Go!”
Everyone accelerated to get back, only to find a devastated tribe. Batuer looked as if he had been struck by a heavy hammer, his face turning pale, his freshly relieved visage under the world’s oppression abruptly tightened.
As if someone had swung a hammer hard at him.
A tribe of over a thousand people, with about a hundred dead.
Li Guanyi and others immediately helped care for the wounded, but these people did not even cry out loud, only sobbing quietly, gazing blankly at the sky, soon understanding the situation—
An aristocratic hunting party happened upon the tribe hidden here.
And treated them as prey to try their hands.
Speaking these words, the elderly face of the tribe showed no emotion. Batuer crazily ran back and forth within the tribe, shouting each name loudly, but received little response.
“Saatanati!”
“Saatanati!!!”
The girl who, even in such tumultuous times, strove to live till she was fifty-six, gave no reply. She was abducted, for in these tumultuous times, young, brave, healthy women are valuable in the Western Regions.
Batuer staggered before halting, kneeling before the corpses ahead, those who had just been saved and did not need to idle by lakes to die, could have wandered once more on this earth.
Yet now were dead.
Struck in the back by scimitars, bodies plunged forward—horses leapt up, the blades sliced deftly, following the speed of galloping horses, cleaving human bodies open, entrails gushing and spreading across the ground.
Batuer staggered, kneeling, fists clenched, desperately holding his emotions intact. Yet when his horse, sensing him, approached with lowered head, nudging him, the goods meant for elders and children heavy in his eyes.
Batuer finally lost control, punching the ground, raised his head and wailed.
“Longevity Heaven, why!”
It’s as though this era knew their lives were about to improve.
Rushed straight at them.
Clearly, clearly about to improve, clearly having survived yesterday.
Li Guanyi leaned down to feel the hoofprints, said, “Why not pursue?”
Batuer’s eyes reddened, “They are, they are hunting aristocrats…”
“You’ve offended Lord Buddha, you cannot go.”
Li Guanyi looked upon this brave Western warrior with two knives, saw the chains on him, a voice calling to him, saying, “Golden Pearl, Golden Pearl…”
Li Guanyi turned to gaze at an elderly man there, severely injured, the old ghosts tending to him. Li Guanyi lowered his eyes, slowly crouched to look at that elder, who said, “Golden Pearl, she, Saatanati was taken, please save her.”
“She is a good child.”
“Such a good child, only fourteen…”
Li Guanyi lowered his eyes, asked, “Is my Golden Pearl still here?”
The old woman tending to this tribe’s gold and silver trembled, producing the well-protected Golden Pearl from her wounded body.
Because it could save many lives, that golden pearl bore dirty and grimy blood. The wrinkled, veined hands tried wiping this golden pearl, somewhat unable to clean it.
She cried, “It’s dirty…”
Li Guanyi took the Golden Pearl, clutching it with five fingers.
“I am a traveling merchant, after all, a traveling merchant.”
“Saatanati’s life, your vengeance.”
“I shall take it on.”
The old man was stunned, tears streaming as he clasped his hands together, murmuring what Golden Pearl, what Golden Pearl Mami names, Li Guanyi pocketed this pearl, smiled at Batuer and those around.
“After all, I am that so-called…”
“Tian Ge’er, correct?”
The youth lowered his eyes, speaking in Central Plains dialect:
“Heavenly Strategy Mansion.”
Fan Qing, Gongsun Huaizhi, Changsun Wuchou, Pan Wanxiu, Xu Tiange, and Nangong Wumeng all stepped forward half a step.
They were as if still in Jiangnan, as if still in battle robes with Qilin Cloud Pattern.
Bowed and replied:
“Nuo!”