Chapter 158: Jade - The Imperial Seal of the Realm

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

"Fine."

Cheng Lingsu had anticipated that he wouldn't let things go so easily, but this suited her just as well. Dealing with Ouyang Ke alone would allow her more room to maneuver and find a chance to escape. With Tolui still here, she would inevitably have reservations in her heart. Therefore, 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 eyesores and obstacles out of the way, the two of us can have a proper chat."

Ignoring him, Cheng Lingsu turned her back, took out a handkerchief wrapped with blue flowers from her bosom, gave it a slight shake in the air, and tied it around Tolui’s bleeding knuckle. She then tucked the two blue flowers back into her pocket, briefly explained the situation to Tolui, and urged him to return first.

Tolui’s face turned ashen. He took two steps back, suddenly pulled out the single saber planted in the ground by his foot, glared in Ouyang Ke’s direction, and brought the blade down, hacking fiercely through the empty air before him. "Your martial arts are superior, and I am no match for you. But today, in the name of Genghis Khan’s son, I swear to the Prairie God: once I have exterminated the villains who plotted against my father, I will surely fight you to the death! I will avenge my sister and show you what true heroes of the prairie look like!"

As the son of a Mongol tribal leader, Tolui was affable and placed great value on loyalty, unlike Dushi, who was blindly arrogant. Yet, his inner pride was no less than Dushi’s. Being Genghis Khan’s favorite son, he deeply understood his father’s ambitions and breadth of vision. He wanted to help his father turn every land covered by the blue sky into pasturelands for the Mongols!

For this goal, he had trained in military camps since childhood without missing a single day. Who could have imagined that after years of bitter training, not only would he fall into enemy hands, but today he couldn't even safely bring back the sister who had come to rescue him? Knowing that Cheng Lingsu was right—that he should prioritize Genghis Khan's safety and return immediately to mobilize troops to support his ambushed father—the humiliation gripping his heart made it hard for him to even breathe.

Mongols valued their promises above all else, let alone an oath sworn to the god worshiped by everyone on the prairie. Knowing he was no match in martial arts, Tolui had still sworn this oath with absolute firmness. His expression was devout and awe-inspiring, and his impassioned words soared to the heavens. Although not a master of martial arts, the broad shoulders shaped by long years in military camps possessed a royal aura identical to that of Genghis Khan himself. Overbearing and majestic, even Ouyang Ke, who did not fully understand the specifics of the words, couldn't help but feel a secret jolt of shock.

A warm sensation washed over Cheng Lingsu. The blood in her veins, belonging uniquely to a daughter of Genghis Khan, seemed to feel Tolui’s unwillingness and determination. It surged like a torrent, making the corners of her eyes heat up faintly. Composing her expression, she stepped sideways to block the path where Ouyang Ke might attack, and said softly, "Go quickly, return at once. I have my own way to escape."

Tolui nodded, took two more steps forward, opened his arms to give her a brief embrace, and without casting another glance at Ouyang Ke, turned and ran toward the camp gate.

Along the way, a few remaining soldiers who saw him burst out from the camp tried to step forward and stop him, but he cut them down one by one, leaving them sprawled on the ground.

It wasn't until she saw with her own eyes that Tolui had seized a horse near the edge of the camp and galloped far away into the distance that Cheng Lingsu finally set her mind at ease and let out a soft sigh.

In her previous life, her master, the Medicinal King of Poisonous Hands, used poisons to make medicines and saved lives, yet he firmly believed in karmic retribution and the cycle of reincarnation. In his later years, he converted to Buddhism, cultivated his mind and temperament, and eventually attained a state of neither hatred nor joy. Cheng Lingsu was the youngest disciple he took in during his twilight years and was deeply influenced by him. Having experienced this transmigration of the mortal world, and clearly having died once before, she was nonetheless sent to this place. She had to believe that perhaps, in the unseen destiny, there was some other purpose.

Originally, she had no intention of entangling herself too deeply with the people and affairs of this world. She had even thought of finding a chance to flee far away, return to the shores of Lake Dongting, and see what the White Horse Temple hundreds of years later looked like now. She would open a small medical clinic, save lives, and spend the rest of her life guarding the longing and deep affection she held for that person from her previous life.

What's more, once Genghis Khan was in danger, the Mongol tribe where she had lived for ten years would also suffer disaster. The mother and elder brothers who had genuinely cared for and raised her, along with the clansmen she saw and lived among day after day, would all be caught up in the catastrophe. After ten years of living together, how could she simply stand by and watch with folded arms?

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

Seeing Cheng Lingsu staring blankly in the direction where Tolui had left, sighing continuously, Ouyang Ke lifted his chin slightly and sneered, "What? Are you really that reluctant to part with him?"

Catching the underlying implication in his words, Cheng Lingsu frowned. Pulling her thoughts back, she blurted out, "I am worried about my brother. Is that not as it should be?"

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

"What nonsense are you..." Cheng Lingsu abruptly paused as it dawned on her. "You mean Guo Jing? You were already there before... You knew the moment we arrived?"

"Not 'you', it was 'you'! The moment you arrived, I knew." Ouyang Ke looked quite pleased, clearly enjoying her reaction.

Although Cheng Lingsu had dismounted 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 in 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, leaving the Western Poison lineage with 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 hid 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, he assumed that besides the millions of troops in the camp, Wanyan Honglie also had several martial arts experts by his side, which would be more than enough to entangle Ma Yu. Perhaps he could even take the opportunity to eliminate him, depriving the Quanzhen Sect of one of its presiding masters. To his surprise, not only did the Taoist refuse to storm the camp, but he even took Guo Jing away with him, leaving Cheng Lingsu behind here alone.

Cheng Lingsu gradually sorted out the threads in her mind. "Wanyan Honglie came here in secret, probably to take the opportunity to provoke strife between Sangkun and my father, causing the Mongol tribes to fight endlessly among themselves so that his Great Jin Dynasty can be free of threats from the north."

Ouyang Ke had no interest whatsoever in such struggles, but seeing Cheng Lingsu speak so earnestly, he nodded along and offered a compliment, "Drawing inferences about other cases from one instance—you are truly clever indeed."

Reaching out to smooth a strand of hair blown loose by the wind, Cheng Lingsu’s gaze was as clear as the limpid Onon River on the prairie. "You are one of Wanyan Honglie's men, yet you let Guo Jing return to report the news and give a warning, and now you've 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 plans have to do with me? If I can win a beauty's smile, what does all this matter?"

Instead of smiling, Cheng Lingsu’s brows furrowed slightly. She took half a step back to avoid the frivolous folding fan angling toward her chin, reached out, and with a crisp *snap*, caught the ebony-black fan tip right in the palm of her hand. A wave of bone-chilling cold pierced straight through her skin and into her bones, making her want to drop it instantly. Only then did she realize that the ribs of his fan were forged from dark iron and were as cold as ice.

"What? Do you like this fan?" Ouyang Ke flicked his wrist casually as if nothing were amiss, brushed past Cheng Lingsu's hand, and withdrew the folding fan. With a swift *swish*, he snapped it open and lightly waved it in front of his chest. "If you take a fancy to something else, I wouldn't mind giving it to you, but this fan..." He paused slightly, then chuckled softly again, "If you like it, as long as you follow me step by step from now on, you'll naturally be able to look at it all the time..."