Volume One: The Emperor's Sword Chapter 128: The Heavens Are Changing

It was Yun Que’s turn to be stunned. This request was truly bizarre.

With a sharp rip, Lando tore open her already tattered top, stubbornly thrusting out her chest. "Please, give me back my bow, and I will give you my body!"

Yun Que found the sight of her pale, smooth skin blinding.

"Give it back to you?" Yun Que openly admired the view before him and said, "If I returned it, I wouldn't be the Marquis of Hanshui. My estate is filled with beautiful maids; girl, the beauty trap doesn't work on me."

Yun Que was telling the truth. Any one of the servant girls in his household was more beautiful than the Lando standing before him.

"That is the precious bow my father left me!" Seeing that he was unmoved, Lando immediately bared her small fangs, snarling viciously, "My father is gone, and my brother is gone! That bow is all I have left. If you dare take it, I will fight you to the death!"

"What will you fight with? Your life is in my hands now." Yun Que pressed the Snowtrace sword down, and a faint red line instantly appeared on her neck.

"I hate you! I will kill you!" Lando gritted her teeth, glaring with wide eyes, yet she dared not move.

"I just saved your life, and yet you want to kill your benefactor. Barbarians are indeed ungrateful wretches," Yun Que said, shaking his head.

Lando froze, her fierce expression gradually softening. If it hadn't been for the beast the man had lured toward her, she might not be alive right now.

"I won't kill you, but I will definitely get the Spirit Jade Bow back!" Lando declared indignantly.

"Spirit Jade Bow—a nice name." Yun Que laughed. "You can have it back, but you must trade it for many treasures. Spirit stones, flying swords, the more the better."

"I have spirit stones! They’re in my storage bag!" Lando’s eyes widened with anticipation.

"Is that so? And where is your storage bag?" Yun Que asked, knowing the answer perfectly well.

"In your hands!" Lando replied.

"I'm afraid any storage bag in my hands belongs to me," Yun Que reminded her.

"You're a villain!" Lando realized she had been toyed with and said angrily.

"Don't be ungrateful. A villain just saved your life. Remember, you owe me your life." Yun Que patted her cheek with the Snowtrace sword and said, "Tell me about your identity and your background."

"Why should I tell you?" Lando was seething with hatred. The man had not only stolen everything she owned but was interrogating her like a prisoner. He was nothing but a thug.

"Because of this sword." Yun Que chuckled as he channeled his spiritual energy. The Snowtrace sword cut deeper into her neck, drawing a bead of blood that trickled down her skin.

Killing intent!

With her Beast Spirit Root, Lando possessed keen senses, and she felt the killing intent with terrifying clarity. She knew at that moment that if she didn't tell the truth, he would surely kill her.

"I can save you, and I can kill you. Don't harbor any secret thoughts. If you utter a single lie, I will take your life instantly." Yun Que’s lips curled into a smile, his tone light and casual, yet his words were as cold as frost.

Lando remained silent for a long while before closing her eyes in resignation. "I am a princess of the Chuyue tribe. I am eighteen years old and have reached the eighth level of Qi Refining. My father is the Barbarian King of the Chuyue."

Hearing her declare her identity, Yun Que was taken aback. This was quite a harvest—he had actually captured a barbarian princess! However, he quickly noticed something strange in her words. She had said her father and brother were gone; if her father was the Barbarian King, did that mean the barbarian tribes were currently leaderless? Such a major event should have reached the Yan Kingdom.

"The Barbarian King is dead? When did this happen?" Yun Que demanded.

"Three years ago. My father was mortally wounded while hunting a demonic beast and died a few days later," Lando said.

Hearing that it had been three years, Yun Que felt it was even more impossible. Without a king for three years, the barbarians would have fallen into chaos; even if the Yan Kingdom were incompetent, they should have received word. The fall of a barbarian king was a monumental event; there was no way it could be kept secret.

"Who is the new Barbarian King?" Yun Que asked.

"It should have been my brother, but he entered the Transformation Realm last year and never came out. I came here to find him," Lando explained.

Yun Que observed her expressions and tone; Lando answered fluently, not appearing to be lying.

"So you're saying the barbarian tribes currently have no king?" Yun Que asked.

"They do. The Barbarian King of the Zhuye tribe has always been there; it is only our Chuyue tribe that lost its king," Lando replied.

Although Yun Que didn't know much about the barbarians, he knew they were divided into many tribes. Only the largest tribe produced a king who could command all the others. The Zhuye tribe was the largest, but how could the Chuyue tribe have its own king?

"What is the difference between the Chuyue and the Zhuye?" Yun Que asked, weighing his words.

"The Zhuye are the most numerous, making up over ninety percent of the barbarians. Our Chuyue are few, totaling only about ten thousand people," Lando said truthfully.

"If your tribe is so small, how does the Zhuye allow you to have your own king? No other tribe has one," Yun Que noted.

"Our Chuyue tribe is different from the others!" Pride filled Lando’s voice. "Only the Chuyue tribe produces Blood Barbarians! We are the oldest branch of our people, similar to your imperial family, with noble bloodlines. That is why we have our own king!"

So that was it, Yun Que thought, nodding to himself. It was not strange for ancient bloodlines to exist within barbarian tribes, as they had persisted for centuries.

Recalling the two Blood Barbarians who had tried to intercept him at the market, Yun Que continued his questioning. "Tell me, what is the purpose of the Blood Barbarians you sent to the Yan capital?"

"The Chuyue have sent no one to the Yan Kingdom! We live in the forests deep within the grasslands, far from your borders! We raise cattle and sheep, hunt demonic beasts, and are self-sufficient! Besides, Blood Barbarians are rare and are our tribe's greatest combat force. How could we send them to the Yan Kingdom so casually?"

Hearing this, Yun Que's expression softened slightly. There were many barbarian tribes, and those like the Chuyue who lived in seclusion were not uncommon. However, most barbarians took pride in slaughter and in conquering the Yan Kingdom. Since the two Blood Barbarians at the market were not from the Chuyue, they must have belonged to the Zhuye.

"Does the Zhuye tribe have Blood Barbarians as well?" Yun Que asked.

"They are not true Blood Barbarians! They are a bunch of half-breed monsters! Disgusting trash!" Lando grew agitated, her small fangs baring once more.

"Explain what you mean. Why does the Zhuye tribe have them?" Yun Que nudged her with the sword, forcing her to lift her head.

"The Zhuye stole our bloodline! I don't know what method they used, but they created these unnatural Blood Barbarians. I hear these fake ones only use blood-evil energy to enhance parts of their bodies; they are nothing like the pure-blooded Blood Barbarians of our tribe!"

Yun Que fell into deep thought. The two who had attacked him at the market had indeed only been able to enhance their arms, causing them to swell with blood-evil energy. Their strength had increased, but not significantly—they hadn't even been able to withstand a single strike from his sword.

"As far as I know, the barbarians value bloodline inheritance above all else. If the Zhuye are creating these freaks, does your prophet, Hesa, not intervene?" Yun Que asked.

"Hesa does not care about us. My brother said Hesa has changed. He is no longer the Hesa of the past," Lando said dejectedly.

"Changed? Has he become more cunning or more cruel?" Yun Que asked.

"Hesa was very kind!" Lando tried to refute, but her tone lacked conviction. "The Hesa of the past was very kind. When I was little, he would pray for me, catch grasshoppers for me, and fish for shrimp. I haven't seen Hesa for a long time. I remember when I was eight, Hesa touched my head and said, 'The sky is about to change.'"

She spoke the words "the sky is about to change" with deep sorrow. Even now, she did not understand what the prophet meant.

Yun Que lapsed into contemplation. His mind didn't dwell on the metaphorical change of the sky, but rather on the timeline. When Lando was eight—ten years ago.

Ten years ago, the border conflicts between the barbarians and the Yan Kingdom were constant and fierce.
Ten years ago, the Marquis of Yanmen led his army to war, only to die at Hanshui City five years later.
Ten years ago, the Ethereal Pavilion was founded, and the Imperial Preceptor seized full control of the state.