Translated by: etvolare
Qin Yining shot him a fierce glare as she rubbed her sore waist.
Pang Xiao smiled and kissed her hand. âYouâre awake? Do you still feel uncomfortable? We can rest once we enter the city and arrive at the relay station, alright? Be good, we have to get up now.â He pulled her up as he talked, almost like he was coaxing a small child.
Qin Yining flushed with annoyance. âIâm not a child, thereâs no need to be so sappy.â
âSappy? How was that sappy? Darling? Baby? Dearest baby? Baby sweetheart?â Pang Xiao deliberately lowered his voice and murmured into her ear with a deep, magnetic voice. The whispers made her heart pound wildly and her face turn even redder.
âWhoâs your baby sweetheart! Youâre the baby sweetheart!â
When Pang Xiao saw how flaming red her cheeks were, he couldnât help but pull her onto his lap and rock her like he would a young child.
âSay, why do I like my darling so much? Iâm speaking the truth. You are my darling, my sweetheart. I feel anxious and miss you so much without you by my side. I didnât feel so intensely like this before.
âOh, of course I would miss you, but it wasnât like how things are now, where I canât bear to part from you for a single moment. After this incident, if you arenât in my line of sight, my heart seizes up in fear that someone had taken you away from me again.â At this, he lowered his head and kissed her forehead. âTell me, when did you steal my heart?â
Qin Yining buried her face in Pang Xiaoâs chest, exposing only the tips of her red ears. Her voice was muffled, âUtter nonsense, who taught you to say such things?â
Noticing that Qin Yining was truly in a fit of shyness, Pang Xiao didnât continue his line of flustering proclamations. He helped her change, put on her socks and shoes, and even combed through her hair with his rough, clumsy hands. Although his handiwork wasnât that skilled and in fact hurt her scalp from all the tugging, the finished bun was quite pretty.
He finished off his attentions with the black mink overcoat and carefully sorted out her collar before smiling, âMy darling is truly beautiful,â and landed a loud kiss on her cheek.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Qin Yiningâs face flushed beet red, a shade even brighter than her rouge. She couldnât bring herself to look straight at Pang Xiao, just ducked her head and obediently followed him out the tent.
Huzi and the rest of the Elite Tigers were already ready. When they saw Pang Xiao and Qin Yining emerge, they led their horses into formation and stood at attention, arranging in orderly rows.
When everyone had tidied up their belongings, Pang Xiao shouted, âWe ride!â
âUnderstood!â With that order, the group mounted their horses and rushed to Skyzone Pass, the northernmost gate between Tatar and Great Zhou territory.
Great Zhouâs northern border was guarded by four citadels: Skyzone Pass, Skywolf Pass, Skyaxis Pass, and Skygates Pass. Amongst them, the closest to the front lines was Skyzone Pass. It was the same area that Ji Zeyu had once led the Dragon Riders to defend.
Although the Dragon Riders were still stationed here, their commander-in-chief had undergone quite a few changes. They were currently led by Kang Qiong, one of Li Qitianâs men, but he wasnât getting along with his new captains and lieutenants.
Ever since the Faithful Prince of the First Rank committed treason, things at court were as if hot oil had been ladled into hot water. Everything was in complete chaos, and since Li Qitian knew that Pang Xiao brought his estate guards to Tatar, he arranged for a trusted general to take a hundred men to Skyzone Pass so that Pang Xiao could be arrested on sight.
The official dispatched was called Yi Binghu, a twenty-nine year old fifth-rank General of Militant Loyalty. Although currently affiliated with the barracks of the Metropolitan Region, he had a connection to the Valiant Tigers.
As was common knowledge, Pang Xiaoâs Valiant Tigers was a hundred thousand man cavalry who had all undergone stringent selection and training. Even if they entered the troop, it wasnât a guarantee they would forever stay. Examinations were conducted every once in a while to determine who continued to make the cut.
Yi Binghu had once been a member of the Valiant Tigers but had only stayed for a month before failing to pass the examination. Heâd to bribe the overseeing officer, but had been caught by a passing Pang Xiao and was thoroughly reprimanded in front of the men.
Yi Binghuâs clan hailed from Northern Ji and had produced many government officials. Since young, heâd always thought of himself as a noble son of the heavens, so being publicly humiliated by Pang Xiao had resulted in a strong grudge.
After being expelled for a string of minor offenses resulting from his scheming and plotting, heâd employed his familyâs connections to snag a position in the capitalâs barracks. However, resentment seethed toward the prince afterwards.
Li Qitian knew about their history, which was why heâd arranged for Yi Binghu to guard Skyzone Pass in case Pang Xiao really returned. It wasnât just Yi Binghu eitherâthe hundred men he led were all soldiers whoâd been expelled from the Valiant Tigers.
The emperor was making use of their resentment and giving them a chance for revenge. This way, he didnât need to worry about his men helping Pang Xiao or making things easy for the prince.