442 Taming the Eagle (1/2)

Chapter 442: Taming the Eagle

Translator: TransnEditor: Transn

A thousand years ago, the Desolate Men were the masters of the great northern grasslands. Hence today, this grassland was still called the Wilderness. There were eagles on the grassland. Therefore, the Desolate Men were good at raising eagles. Even if they were defeated by the Tang Empire and were forced to move to the Far North, to the Cold Region, the Desolate Men still never gave up raising eagles.

Xia Hou was a Desolate Man and so was Tang. They were not unfamiliar with raising eagles.

Looking at Tang dressed in rags on the distant meadow beside the mountain woods, Xia Hou suddenly remembered his eagle taming experience from his childhood. He remembered how the young eagle had nearly fallen from its iron perch, but it still refused to lower its stubborn head.

Embroiled in a constant battle with Tang all the way from the depths of the Wilderness to Tuyang City back here in the south, he was always confident in his plan to exhaust Tang's strength, just like taming an eagle. He had kept stoking Tang's anger and hatred in order to keep this strongman of the Devil's Doctrine in a constant state of rage and force him to consume all his energy in these daily battles.

Xia Hou originally thought he was going to succeed. He could see with his own eyes that the Qi in Tang's body was exhausted, his spirit had gradually withered, and his impenetrable body had softened as well. Tang could finally be injured, and he had begun to bleed. He thought that, with Tang slowly losing blood along this long journey, he would finally fall from exhaustion, just like the young eagle back then.

However, against all expectations, Tang did not fall down. Instead, he was the one instead who felt an unprecedented sense of fatigue, weakness, and even fear in the deepest parts of his body.

Was he the eagle that had been tamed?

Xia Hou kept coughing, blood overflowing like water over the edge of his hand which covered his mouth. Yet, his face remained cold and calm, his brooding eyes cold like ice.

He was not afraid of aging.

Whether on the grasslands or the rocky shores of the Hot Sea, the oldest eagles remained at the top of the food chain.

He put down his fist and took out his hand towel to wipe off the blood stains on his lips. He looked blankly at Tang and said, ”Your perseverance surprised me a bit, but in the end, it is nothing but a surprise. After all, you are not your teacher. You could never threaten me unless you pass that threshold.”

Tang glanced down at the long grass under his feet that had been painted red by his blood.

The incessant fighting had caused him to suffer several serious injuries. That seemingly insignificant cavalry of the Tang Empire had brought him a lot of trouble because of their powerful military discipline and tactical organization. As the Qi in his body gradually dried up, his once indestructible body had finally started to bleed under the onslaught of blades and arrows.

The Devil's Doctrine was already dead, and he, the World Wayfarer of the Devil's Doctrine, was alone in this world. Let alone the innumerable Taoist priests of the West-Hill Divine Palace, even when compared to the renegade Xia Hou, he seemed so lonely and weak.

In a sense, all that remained of the Devil's Doctrine in today's world was him alone.

He was the Devil's Doctrine.

He held the last of the spirit and the pride of the Devil's Doctrine, hence, he could not fall down. Not now. Not here. Especially not against him.

So despite being seriously injured and unable to see any hope, he silently kept up his fight against Xia Hou and the thousands of soldiers of the Tang Empire cavalry. Even with these odds, he had fought all the way to Tuyang City.

Tang lifted up his head and stared straight at Xia Hou and the countless mounted knights that surrounded him. He said, ”Look at your body, which, like rotten wood, may seem sturdy on the outside but is fragile on the inside. And ask this of your seemingly strong heart: If I was truly no threat to you, then why are you still stuck saying these things to me?”

Xia Hou stayed silent for a long time before he replied, ”Not even you can follow me all the way back to Chang'an. The Central Plains are a world that have been blessed by the Haotian Divine Light. The heavens there cannot tolerate you. What choice do you have?”

As the last and most powerful member of the Devil's Doctrine, Tang could easily choose to live freely in the Wilderness and just stare at Ye Su from across the mountain. However, he was very clear that if he really did enter the Central Plains, he would inevitably face the pursuit of the strongest warriors of the West-Hill Divine Palace. That was nothing but a dead end.

”Indeed, I cannot enter the Central Plains.”

Tang glanced at Tuyang City, which lay not far away, and said, ”I don't even dare to enter this city. Yet, I have injured you. I have made you weak and nervous. I know that you are doomed.”

Xia Hou asked, ”Why say these meaningless words?”

”I would never do anything meaningless. I would never say anything meaningless either. I am definitely not the only person who wishes to see you dead. Every time you leave the Military camp and enter Chang'an City, or when you retire, the ghost of the people you burnt to death, the people you killed by the roadside, will gather behind your back and haunt you for life. Those ghosts will be grateful to me for hunting you all this way, and I will be grateful to those ghosts who will hunt you till you die.”

Tang finally nodded to Xia Hou to show his respect and said, ”I wish you a happy retirement and a wonderful death.”

Upon saying this, he turned back and left the meadow, disappearing into the forest.

Xia Hou silently stared at the empty meadow and the woods that gently shook amidst the summer breeze. With nothing left to say, he turned around and rode to Tuyang City.

The wind blowing from the Wilderness shook the mountain forest and the tall grass and billowed through the flag atop the city wall. It also swayed his hair outside his helmet, those silver strands dancing with the breeze.

Since ancient times, reputable generals were like beautiful women: they were not allowed to be known for getting old and grey. Yet now, his hair was already greying.

The first batch of guests were visiting the new house at Yanming Lake.

The princess Li Yu and her stepson, as well as Situ Yilan.

Ning Que was happy to see the arrival of Situ Yilan, and he did not have any opinion about the poor little Wild prince, but he felt a bit troubled to receive Her Highness, the Princess Li Yu.

He had a good relationship with Li Yu, but he was very clear that she would definitely bring him trouble.

And unsurprisingly, when he and Li Yu were left alone in the quiet study, the trouble came.

Outside the carved window of the study, there were several ancient trees. The trees sheltered them from the hot summer sun. The breeze was pleasant and the cicadas were humming in the woods, but they were not annoying.

Li Yu was holding a bowl of herbal tea as she looked at the lake, which was faintly visible outside the window. She smiled and said, ”The noisier the cicadas are, the quieter the forest is. This really is a good house. It's no wonder that a miser like you was willing to spend so many tales of silver on it.”

Ning Que sighed and wondered if it was really necessary to start a conversation like this.

He walked to Li Yu's side and said, ”I would like to thank Your Highness for these great trees.”

The old trees around the house on the bank of the Yanming Lake were all from Li Yu's royal estate. These trees were of great value. On top of that, the cost of transporting these trees from the mountains to the city of Chang'an was extremely high. Most importantly, there were many rare and ancient trees among them that one couldn't buy even if one had money.