Chapter 18: The Submission of the Southern Alliance

As soon as the southern army collapsed, the carriage halted as well, for it too was bound by the laws of the world. Only those who harbored murderous intent toward the carriage could be devoured by it; otherwise, the lingering resentment from the act would fall upon the commander to dissipate.

Watching the two sisters break out in a cold sweat, Lin Shu couldn’t help but laugh aloud. “Ha! I told you not to look around carelessly, but you wouldn’t listen!”

It wasn’t the bloodshed that was most terrifying, but rather the desperate impact on the spirit—that was what truly taxed the mind.

“Enough, husband, you’re still laughing! If it weren’t for your carriage being so frightening!” Now, even Jingni no longer saw it as some divine chariot.

Hearing Lin Shu’s sinister chuckle, the two sisters from Jingxiu nearly coughed up blood from indignation.

Alas, perhaps I have been too full of myself! In this moment, Dongjun’s thoughts of escape vanished completely; she had no intention of becoming feed for that cursed carriage at the hands of this detestable fat man.

With a sigh, the Moon Goddess’s mind was thrown into turmoil. She even considered: once Shaosiming was swapped in, should she leave? In the Yin-Yang clan, only Donghuang Taiyi and Lord Chu Nan were worth her concern. Even if Dongjun surpassed her slightly, she hadn’t cared much. Once, she believed the Yin-Yang clan was the mightiest, with Donghuang utterly invincible. Now, compared to this carriage, the entire clan seemed to lose all its allure in an instant.

The allied forces routed, and Lin Shu gave no order to pursue, for it was unnecessary.

Sure enough, the next day, before the snowfield army could descend upon them, the tribes sent envoys one after another to surrender, not daring to ask for any terms.

[Congratulations, Commander. A total of 360,000 humans have been subdued. There is now ample psionic energy for an upgrade at any time.]

“Good. Upgrade tonight!”

The carriage needed only an hour to upgrade, but during that time, it could not move.

“Great King, tomorrow Yanfei and I will tour and make arrangements for the various tribes. We won’t be able to stay with you,” Jingni said. She wished she could take the Moon Goddess along as well; leaving a man and a woman alone in the carriage made her uneasy.

Lin Shu nodded, “Thank you for your hard work.”

Jingni gently shook her head and spoke tenderly, “Husband, you mustn’t say that. I’m only taking the cavalry for a look around. You have to forge tools and leather tomorrow; you’re working hard as well.”

Jingni’s inspection was meant to divide the population and strength of the larger tribes, to inform all the people that they now belonged to King Linbei, and to root out any remaining diehards.

With the prospect of getting out tomorrow, Dongjun felt much lighter. For some reason, she kept recalling that night—their kiss and his touch. After all, it had been her first kiss, one she’d practically delivered to his lips herself.

King Lin Shu’s figure was not imposing but calm and steadfast. He wasn’t especially handsome, yet pleasing to the eye; the more time spent with him, the less intimidating he became, and a sense of familiarity emerged.

That night, the Moon Goddess could not sleep at all. Once her sister left, it would just be the two of them in the carriage. Would this lecherous man make a move on her? Or would he ignore her just as he had Dongjun?

Was she not beautiful enough? Was she not the equal of Jingni? Though she was blessed with both beauty and talent, lately her confidence had been waning.

Truthfully, Lin Shu did entertain certain thoughts, but only slightly. Jingni’s long, slender legs were enough to amuse him for a decade. Having her by his side was solace for his decades of loneliness.

With his beloved wife away for a few days, it was a chance to recuperate—he’d nearly been drained dry these past couple of days.

His experiences on Earth in his previous life had left him unimpressed by beauties—not that they weren’t attractive, but he had grown weary of being looked down on by them. No matter how beautiful, no one had ever cared for him.

His affection for Jingni had largely been born from sharing a bed first; two lonely souls, surviving together in the cold wilderness, had naturally and swiftly come together.

A peaceful night passed quickly.

As Lin Shu and his daughter snored away, Dongjun was the first to awaken.

“It’s nothing, we’ll be back soon!” Seeing the Moon Goddess’s tired eyes, Dongjun thought her little sister simply couldn’t bear to see her leave.

The Moon Goddess sneered, “Hmph, you’re overthinking it. I won’t miss you.”

Yanfei simply nodded, ignoring her. Her little sister always had to compare herself to her in everything, and over the years, their relationship had grown distant.

Last time, when Jingni and the Moon Goddess had taken the cavalry ahead, Yanfei had expected their lascivious husband to take the chance to add another sister to the family. Yet, surprisingly, he’d behaved himself, which reassured Jingni considerably—though she hadn’t held back the previous night.

“Moon Goddess, help me look after Xiaoyan, and tell my husband not to kiss her so much; his beard scratches her skin.” The little one in her husband’s arms stared with wide eyes, full of reluctance.

Still bleary-eyed, Lin Shu could only smile wryly and nod. Exhausted, he hadn’t slept enough. Xiaoyan was also half-asleep, her little eyes opening and shutting.

This scene was the meaning behind Jingni’s diligence: she took the initiative to manage the tribes so their little family could thrive. After all, her husband was so lazy, and he had no capable subordinates.

Watching this family of three, even the Moon Goddess was filled with envy.

“Sister, don’t worry. Tonight, I’ll have Xiaoyan sleep with me. I won’t let brother-in-law spoil her.”

Lin Shu shook his head with a wry smile: the Moon Goddess was jealous again.

Yanfei mounted her horse, glancing deeply at the Moon Goddess: When did this proud woman start speaking so gently? And even call him brother-in-law?

She kissed Xiaoyan, dodged the chubby uncle’s lips, and quickly leaped onto her horse to depart.

Ten thousand cavalry had already ridden off, and Lin Shu stood atop the carriage, watching. He considered joining them in a few days, but Jingni wanted him to remain at the headquarters to guard against the Donghu or the Northern Alliance crossing the border to capture villagers as slaves.

“This Lin Jun really can’t bear to be apart from Sister Jingni! No wonder he’s not interested in the great beauty Dongjun Yanfei from the Yin-Yang clan!”

Beneath the carriage, the Moon Goddess was sunning herself with Xiaoyan in her arms, yet her gaze and the child’s alike drifted often to that man.

...

Hundreds of kilometers beyond the Outer Xing’an Range lay a great mountain range near the coast, known as the East Sea Mountains.

These mountains were the birthplace of the East Sea tribe and now served as the winter refuge of the Northern Alliance.

The north was even colder and more desolate, so the largest tribe in the alliance numbered only a few thousand.

“Chief, now that spring has come, shouldn’t we be out hunting? Why have you called us back?” one tribal leader complained; his group had already set out, but now had to halt in the frozen earth.

Chief Ayim was unperturbed and instead greeted the other chiefs with a smile.

“Gentlemen, I don’t know why, but the snowfield tribes in the west have launched a massive campaign against the Southern Alliance—supposedly with thirty thousand men.”

At these words, the chiefs’ dissatisfaction immediately vanished.

“Hmph! These snowfield folk are getting bold!” a middle-aged chief cursed.

Some cursed, while others looked secretly relieved, as if this were a good thing.

“Chief, what’s that got to do with us? The Southern Alliance is strong enough to handle it,” grumbled a fat old chief impatiently.

Ayim smiled and shook his head. Before he could reply, a young chief called out, “How is this not our concern? If both sides are exhausted, that’s our chance to head south and show that damned King Jia Si who the real warriors of the East Sea are!”

“Yes, we can’t let the tribes scatter now—let’s gather our warriors and prepare to head south and unite all the tribes of the East Sea,” another chief quickly agreed.

At the thought of moving south, most of the chiefs were tempted.

Chief Ayim added, “Gentlemen, whether or not we teach that bastard Jia Si a lesson, our alliance can’t scatter. At least, until things are clear, we should stay put before going out to hunt. More than uniting the south, I’m worried the Donghu might take advantage while we’re distracted.”

The northern and southern alliances were at odds, but if the Donghu launched a major attack on the south, the northern warriors would also join the fight, which had made it hard for the Donghu to completely encircle the East Sea tribes. This mutual attrition between the Donghu and the East Sea tribes eventually allowed the Xiongnu to rise as lords of the steppe.