Chapter Thirteen: Early Spring (II)

“You’re wrong. They do this just to live better!”
Ni Xin was highly dissatisfied with Li Kuo’s assumption. Glaring at the young man, she said, “Only by living can one do what they love better! Any beautiful idea means nothing in front of a dead body.”
In Ni Xin’s view, these sand bandits were merely striving for their most basic right to survive and shouldn’t be criticized excessively.
Li Kuo’s chest tightened. These words—these exact words had been spoken to him by Crown Prince Li Heng. Why did Ni Xin say the same thing? Did she also agree with this view?
“But they’re sand bandits! They’re bandits who kill and loot!”
Li Kuo simply couldn’t accept such a logic of bandits and retorted.
“They’re also human beings. They need to survive too. It’s just a cold rule—camels must live, and wolves can’t starve!”
Sighing slightly, Ni Xin said, “Besides, most sand bandits don’t kill merchants. At most, they take their goods. If they gain a bad reputation, which caravan will dare to pass through their territory?”
That made sense, but sand bandits were still sand bandits. You could never expect to reason with them using morality. Weren’t those twenty-some corpses the best proof?
“But these merchants clearly…”
Li Kuo pointed at the corpses not far away, frowning. Their actions were so vile they were intolerable. Why did Ni Xin still feel pity for them? Why should such people be forgiven?
“There are insane people among sand bandits, just as there are kind-hearted people among your official troops!”
Ni Xin said something that left Li Kuo at a loss, then moved closer to the mound of earth.
“Among the official troops, the kind-hearted ones are in the majority!”
Though he wasn’t entirely confident saying this, the young man still couldn’t admit that the official troops were inferior to bandits. He had grown up in Chang’an, nurtured by that land. No matter how flawed it might be, it couldn’t be compared carelessly to others.
Moreover, those being compared to the official troops were utterly evil sand bandits. In his eyes, a bandit was a bandit—no matter how many good deeds they performed, it didn’t change their parasitic nature. There was a world of difference between bandits and officials—how could they be compared?
“Be kind? Have you seen how many died during the drought in Hedong? Where were the official troops when relief grain was distributed? Were they maintaining order? All I know is that these so-called righteous people took the grain meant to save the common people for their own use!”
Ni Xin also grew angry, raising her eyebrows in argument.
“Ah, let’s not talk about this anymore.”

Knowing he was bringing trouble on himself, Li Kuo simply avoided this sensitive topic.
“If everything goes well, when can we get to Yumen Pass at the earliest?”
Li Kuo tossed a dead branch into the campfire, causing it to crackle. The reason they chose Yumen Pass on the north side instead of the southern route was more out of concern for the safety of the army. But that couldn’t be an excuse for delaying their journey. After all, their rations were limited, and their fresh water had run out. If they didn’t leave the desert soon, they would starve or die of thirst long before any sand bandits appeared.
“Three or four days, I guess.”
Ni Xin sighed. “But if we encounter a sandstorm, it’s hard to say.”
Although they had traveled along the Silk Road a few times before, no one could predict the weather. If the heavens were in a bad mood, no one could survive in the desert.
“Hey, Big Pancake Face, what are you talking about with Brother Kuo? Come on, tell me.”
Zhang Yanji had somehow approached unnoticed, breaking the silence of the night.
“Boring!”
“Are you and Brother Kuo, um, you know…”
Zhang Yanji thought Li Kuo was flirting with Ni Xin and covered his mouth, laughing foolishly.
“Shameless!”
“Hey, can you speak properly? Stop throwing out words one by one!”
Zhang Yanji wasn’t easy to provoke either. Seeing Ni Xin treat him so dismissively, he became angry too.
“Ignorant!”
Ni Xin glanced at Zhang Yanji disdainfully before getting up and walking toward the north side of the earthen enclosure. “You’re not allowed to come near me while I sleep. If I catch you plotting something, I’ll gouge out your eyes!”
Whoa, what a fierce woman! Zhang Yanji felt a chill down his neck and instinctively stepped back. Could he really not avoid someone like her?
“I’ve seen it before…”
Muttering under his breath, Zhang Yanji found a comfortable spot and lay down.
“You should sleep too, Brother Kuo. We still have a long journey tomorrow!”
“Snap!”
The young man deftly knocked over the support in the campfire, and the blazing flames went out instantly. Under the dark sky, the land returned to its natural color. …
A gentle breeze blew, causing ripples on the lake’s surface.
Where was this? Was it Crescent Lake?
Yes! This was Crescent Lake, on the grasslands of Dafei River! How had he ended up here? Weren’t he in Suzhou?
That woman was Aina. Who was the man beside her?
The young man felt as if the two by Crescent Lake were like illusions, impossible to grasp.
“Do you want to… marry me?”
Turning around, she stared intently into his eyes as she asked, trembling.

“Heaven above! I swear by this Fragrant Lake that even if the mountains lose their edges and the rivers stop flowing, I, Du Songmangbao, will still marry you!”
Gently pushing him away, Aina parted her lips and said, “Go away! Who wants to marry you? My husband must be a warrior who can shoot eagles with a bow and drive wolves away with a sword. And he must also catch a thousand fireflies for me.”
Seeing that she had made such a gentle request, Du Songmangbao was initially stunned, then tightly embraced her and declared loudly, “Alright, I’ll shoot eagles with a bow and slay wolves with a sword for you. When spring comes, I’ll also catch a thousand fireflies for you. Because you, Aina, belong only to me, Du Songmangbao, for life.”
“But, but I already…”
Aina couldn’t forget the intimate moments she had shared with Li Kuo that night. Shaking her head, she said, “No, I can’t.”
“Why not? Why not!”
Shaking Aina’s arms violently, Du Songmangbao was driven mad. He was a prince of Tubo, ruler of the four seas. He loved this woman so deeply—why would she refuse to marry him? He could give her wealth for life and overlook the Bai Wolf tribe’s decision to ally with Tang. Why still wouldn’t she marry him!
“Because… because I’ve already fallen in love with someone else…”
“Who is it? Who is it!”
A fierce glare flashed in Du Songmangbao’s eyes. No matter who it was, he would kill him immediately!
“It’s him!”
Aina suddenly turned her head and gazed deeply at Li Kuo.
“Qilang, please take me away. Take me away!”
Aina’s gaze was almost pleading. She couldn’t marry Du Songmangbao; her fate was to marry that young man!
Ah! She saw herself! It was Du Songmangbao, the prince of Tubo. Was Tubo planning to form an alliance with the Bai Wolf tribe? Why her? Why her as the chosen one? Why couldn’t she wait for him to return!
“This…”
The young man hesitated for a moment before saying with a bitter smile, “I still need to go to Anxi to take up my post…”
“No, don’t go, Qilang. Don’t leave…”
Misty mist rose over the New Moon Lake, and a flash of white light appeared—Aina, Du Songmangbao, and the New Moon Lake all vanished.
“You little jerk, come eat your fried eggs!”
Du Jingtian rushed toward the young man, swaying her waist, holding a plate of golden, fragrant fried eggs.
This was their new house in Qinren Fang. Yes, he had just bought this house in Qinren Fang! This was Chang’an—the city that haunted his dreams!
“Oh, it’s A Tian!”
Li Kuo tried to respond, but found his throat blocked, unable to utter a sound.

“Dead Xiao Qi, damn you, Xiao Qi Baozi! Come and eat the fried eggs! Hurry up, or there won’t be any left!”
“Ah!”
“Ah!”
“Huh? Why is there another woman beside you?”
Du Jingtian stepped forward and saw Shen Liniang by Li Kuo’s side, frowning in disdain.
“I, I…”
The young man opened his mouth but couldn’t utter a sound.
“I’m ignoring you. You won’t get any more fried eggs!”
With that, Du Jingtian threw the plate aside and ran off quickly.
“Ah Tian, wait! Listen to me!”
Li Kuo tried to reach out to stop her, but found his body frozen, unable to move at all.
“Young master, it’s cold. Put on a coat!”
Shen Liniang forcefully draped a thin coat over Li Kuo. Just as he wanted to thank her, he found the coat had turned into a fishing net, tightening around him and leaving strips of “scaled flesh” exposed.
“No, no!”
“Ah!”
Li Kuo screamed and suddenly woke up from his dream. Gasping for breath, he looked up and saw the sky turning gray at dawn.
It was just a dream! The young man sighed in relief and collapsed on the earthen wall.
“It’s me, Ni Xin! Stop thrashing around and screaming!”
“You’re already so grown up, yet you still talk in your sleep!”
Glaring at Li Kuo, Ni Xin snapped, “I just covered you with a coat. Look how scared you are—your neck is covered in sweat.”
“Wake up too. We’ll be leaving soon.”
Li Kuo shrugged and said, “I’ve been out for a while. I miss my wife and family. Sorry about that.”
Wife!
“You… you got married?”
Ni Xin was shocked as the leather water bag in her hand slipped to the ground.