Exchanging Back the Promissory Note

Ouyang Ke’s eyes lit up, his mind shaken. Ignoring Tolui, he smiled and said, "What kind of man is Young Master Ouyang? Since I have given my word, how could I go back on it? However, he may leave, but you, Princess Huazheng, must stay..."

"Fine."

Cheng Lingsu had long anticipated that he wouldn't let the matter rest so easily. Yet, this was acceptable as well; dealing with Ouyang Ke alone would make it easier for her to maneuver and find an opportunity to escape. With Tolui present, she would inevitably have reservations. Thus, before Ouyang Ke could spout any more nonsense, she cut him off and agreed directly.

Ouyang Ke hadn't expected her to agree so readily. He laughed heartily, "That’s more like it. With the eyesore out of the way, the two of us can have a proper chat."

Without a word, Cheng Lingsu turned her back on him, drew a handkerchief containing blue flowers from her bosom, shook it slightly in the air, and tied it around Tolui’s split, bleeding knuckles. She then tucked the two blue flowers back into her robe. Briefly explaining the situation to Tolui, she urged him to leave first.

Tolui’s face turned ashen. He took two steps back, suddenly ripped the saber planted in the ground by his feet, fixed his gaze on Ouyang Ke, and brought the blade down in a fierce, sweeping arc through the empty air before him. "Your martial arts are formidable, and I am no match for you. But today, in the name of the son of Genghis Khan, I swear to the gods of the grassland that once I eradicate the villains who plotted against my father, I shall return to fight you to the death! To avenge my sister, and to show you what true heroes of the grassland are made of!"

As the son of a Mongol tribal leader, Tolui was affable and possessed a deep sense of loyalty, unlike Dushi, who was blindly arrogant. Yet, his inner pride was no less than Dushi's. He was Genghis Khan's favorite son, deeply attuned to his father's vast ambitions and vision. He was determined to help his father turn every land touched by the blue sky into pastures for the Mongols!

For this goal, he had trained in military camps since childhood without taking a single day off. Yet today, not only had years of bitter training failed him when facing an enemy, but he was also unable to safely bring his sister back home! Tolui knew deep down that Cheng Lingsu was right; his primary concern should be Genghis Khan's safety, and he needed to return swiftly to rally the troops and rescue his ambushed father. But the thought of his sister being forcibly detained here choked him with a humiliation so profound it nearly stopped his breath.

Mongols valued their promises above all else, especially oaths sworn to the gods revered across the grassland. Knowing full well that his martial arts were inferior, Tolui had still sworn this oath with absolute determination. His expression was devout and awe-inspiring, his words brimming with heroic spirit. Though not a grandmaster of martial arts, the shoulders hardened by years in military camps carried the exact same regal aura as Genghis Khan—dominant and commanding—so much so that even Ouyang Ke, who did not catch the specifics of the words, could not help but feel a secret tremor of shock.

A warmth welled up in Cheng Lingsu’s heart. The hot blood unique to a daughter of Genghis Khan seemed to respond to Tolui’s unyielding determination, rushing through her veins like a torrent and making her eyes prickle with hidden heat. Maintaining her composure, she stepped sideways to block Ouyang Ke’s potential path of attack and whispered softly, "Go quickly, return at once. I have my own way to escape."

Tolui nodded, stepped forward, and opened his arms to give her a brief embrace. Without sparing Ouyang Ke another glance, he turned and sprinted toward the camp gates.

Along the way, several guards left behind tried to step forward and stop him when they saw him running from the camp, but with a single slash for each, he cut them down to the ground.

***

Not until she saw with her own eyes that Tolui had seized a horse at the edge of the camp and galloped far into the distance did Cheng Lingsu finally let out a sigh of relief and relax her tense shoulders.

In her past life, her master, the Medicinal King of Poisonous Hands, used poisons to make medicines and heal the sick, yet he firmly believed in karmic reincarnation. In his later years, he converted to Buddhism, cultivating his mind until he achieved a state of absolute detachment from anger or joy. Cheng Lingsu was his youngest disciple, taken in during his twilight years and deeply influenced by his teachings. After the wheel of reincarnation had turned and she had clearly died, she was nonetheless sent to this place. She had to believe that perhaps, in the unseen currents of fate, there was another purpose at work.

Originally, she had no intention of entangling herself deeply in the people and affairs of this world. She had constantly thought of finding a chance to flee far away, return to the shores of Dongting Lake, and see what the White Horse Temple of centuries later looked like now. She would open a small medical clinic, cure the sick and save the wounded, and spend the rest of her life holding onto the longing and deep affection she felt for that person in her previous life.

Yet, once Genghis Khan fell into peril, the Mongol tribe where she had lived for ten years would also be plunged into disaster. The mother and brother who had genuinely cared for and raised her, as well as the clansmen she saw and lived among day after day, would all suffer. Having lived and shared a decade with them, how could she simply stand by and watch?

Thinking of this, Cheng Lingsu let out another quiet sigh.

Seeing that Cheng Lingsu had been lost in thought, staring in the direction where Tolui had left, and sighing continuously, Ouyang Ke lifted his chin and sneered, "What? Is it really that hard to part with him?"

Catching the underlying implication in his words, Cheng Lingsu frowned. Dragging her thoughts back to the present, she blurted out, "I'm worried about my brother. Is there something wrong with that?"

"Oh? He is your brother?" Ouyang Ke raised an eyebrow, a flash of delight vanishing from the corners of his eyes. "Then... was that other fellow earlier your lover?"

"What are you talking ab—" Cheng Lingsu suddenly paused as realization dawned. "You mean Guo Jing? You were already there before... You knew the moment we arrived?"

"Not 'you all', just you! The moment you arrived, I knew." Ouyang Ke looked quite pleased with himself, clearly enjoying her reaction.

Though Cheng Lingsu had dismounted from her horse far away, his inner cultivation was profound, and how could his hearing compare to that of ordinary Mongol soldiers? He had discovered her almost the exact moment she sneaked into the main camp. Just as he was about to reveal himself, he saw Ma Yu step forward and take both her and Guo Jing away.

Years ago, his uncle Ouyang Feng had suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Quanzhen Sect. Consequently, the lineage of the Western Poison always harbored a lingering resentment and wariness toward Quanzhen Taoists. Recognizing Ma Yu’s Taoist robes and recalling his uncle’s past warnings, Ouyang Ke had dismissed the idea of showing himself. Instead, he had remained hidden in the shadows, watching their back-and-forth exchanges.

***

He had originally expected Cheng Lingsu to persuade Ma Yu to charge into the camp together to rescue people. Unaware that Ma Yu was the leader of the Quanzhen Sect, Ouyang Ke simply figured that aside from millions of soldiers, the camp also held Wanyan Honglie and several martial arts experts who were more than enough to entangle Ma Yu. Perhaps he could even take the opportunity to eliminate him, depriving the Quanzhen Sect of a powerful pillar. He never expected that the Taoist not only refused to storm the camp, but actually took Guo Jing away and left Cheng Lingsu behind entirely alone.

By now, Cheng Lingsu was gradually piecing the clues together. "Wanyan Honglie came here in secret, likely to take the opportunity to instigate a rift between Sangkun and my father, keeping the Mongol tribes at war with one another so that his Great Jin Empire would have no threat from the north."

Ouyang Ke had no interest whatsoever in such power struggles, but seeing how earnest Cheng Lingsu looked, he nodded along and offered a compliment, "Drawing inferences from one instance—you truly are remarkably clever."

Reaching out to smooth a strand of hair blown loose by the wind, Cheng Lingsu fixed her gaze on him, clear and piercing like the waters of the Onon River on the grassland: "You are one of Wanyan Honglie's men, yet you let Guo Jing return to report and give warning, and now you let Tolui return to mobilize troops. Aren't you afraid of ruining his grand plan?"

Ouyang Ke laughed heartily, reached out, and gently tapped her chin with his fan. "Afraid? What do his schemes have to do with me? If I can win a beauty's smile, what does all that matter?"

Far from smiling, Cheng Lingsu furrowed her brow and took half a step back to avoid the frivolous folding fan reaching for her chin. Reaching out swiftly, she caught the ebony fan tip squarely in the palm of her hand. A wave of bone-chilling cold pierced straight through her skin, making her want to let go instantly. Only then did she realize that the ribs of his fan were forged from dark iron, cold as ice.

"What? Do you like this fan?" Ouyang Ke flicked his wrist with seeming casualness, slipped past Cheng Lingsu’s grip, and withdrew the fan. With a snap, he flicked it open and gently waved it in front of his chest. "If you fancy something else, I wouldn't mind giving it to you, but this fan..." He paused slightly, then chuckled softly, "If you like it so much, as long as you follow me without leaving my side from now on, you'll naturally be able to look at it anytime..."

*Author's Note:*
I must say, Little Ke, Sister Lingsu just has her eyes on your fan—you're too stingy to give it away~ How petty!
*Ouyang Ke:* That was given to me by my father... ahem... my uncle...