509 A War Game (1/2)

Shangguan Yun had a grand dream that the Land of Fragrance occupied an important position. He envied the Dragon King's good luck before he unexpectedly encountered that blessed country during his escape.

In his dream, Jade City was taken as the centre and the whole of the Western Region, from Shu-lik to the Loulan Kingdom, was merged together. Xiaoyao Lake was occupied as a transit, and the Land of Fragrance was used as the most stable area.

Shangguan Yun fled to the Land of Fragrance despite the danger. Persuading his sister to return was one reason to go. However, his most important reason for going was to see this land with his own two eyes.

What he saw on his way shocked him. The Land of Fragrance was, arguably, a place that was very habitable. It had large tracts of fertile and undeveloped land. Under the rule of the stupid nobles, its population was pitifully small.

The forests, high mountains and rivers were the Land of Fragrance's best defense. From its position on the ground, it did not belong to the Western Regions. Only two roads were connected to it. One was located in the Northwest and to get to that, one had to cross the vast swamps and forests. The second road was the trail in Wushan.

Shangguan Yun did not plan to seal this road again. Instead, he was thinking about opening a smoother road. Bringing more people into the Land of Fragrance would allow the country to be populous within two or three generations. It could then provide the Golden Roc Fort with an endless supply of soldiers. Only then would the Western Region be able to compete with the Norland and the Central Plains.

Shangguan Ru did not have a chance to mention his grand dream to his sister, however.

Shangguan Ru was a changed man. His transformation was different than that of his Third Brother. From a gentle person who would have never thought of killing others -- let alone using military weapons -- to someone who was willing to jump into the deep abyss of an assassin, he never looked back.

However, Shangguan Ru had not changed at all -- she was still fiercely ambitious. She had not realised it, but Shangguan Yun recognised it immediately.

The capital in the Land of Fragrance was governed well under her. The plants in the city were kept neat and trim and a great number of free spaces had become residential areas once again, having been given to former slaves. When Shangguan Yun arrived, she was organizing manpower to repair the city's crumbling walls.

Shangguan Yun could see that his sister had inherited the traits of the Shangguan Family after all -- she had the blood of a ruler, no matter time or place, rain or shine.

The disciples of the Ganju people were not worthy of the Shangguan name.

After the first meeting, Shangguan Yun knew that he would never be able to persuade his sister to leave.

Shangguan Ru was very happy to see her third brother, but was also quite shocked that he had decided to leave prison. She was direct about it, saying, ”Third brother, you are betraying yourself.”

”Aren't you, too?” he replied.

”I was young and ignorant. I did not think for myself. I didn't care about betrayal,” she answered.

”Young and ignorant?” Shangguan Yun smiled and remembered his own youth. Though he might have been young, he was not ignorant. He already had his own ideas when he was thirteen. No matter who it was -- the teacher Zhang Ji or the Supreme King -- no one could persuade him to change his mind back then.

Therefore, he truly had betrayed himself, so much so that he felt a little sad sometimes. It was as if the old him had been killed. ”You have already made up your mind?” he asked his sister.

Shangguan Ru nodded. She did not say what her idea was, and Shangguan Yun did not ask. He gave up trying to persuade her as a way of showing his respect for her. The two let go of their ambitions, and became just brother and sister again, talking about the past and their relatives and friends.

Shangguan Yun could walk freely in the capital. His arrival with the guards had aroused a commotion among the women. Shangguan Yun let his men do their own thing. He, himself, resisted all temptation, observing the local customs, and focused on making plans for the future.

Shangguan Yun made up his mind that he would conquer the Land of Fragrance at any cost. Initially, he wanted to launch a coup, but he gave up that idea. The situation had changed drastically since the Dragon King had come. The happenings in the capital quickly spread to Xiaoyao Lake. It would take only a small group of Dragon Army troops to surround him completely.

He did not want to lose right after he had gained the land.

Shangguan Ru was training the Dragon King's Army, and Shangguan Yun knew it. However, he pretended that he did not take it seriously.

Then, something of coincidence happened. Several savages ran out of the forest on the northwest side to harass the residents on the outskirts of the city. Shangguan Ru had completed the preliminary training of several thousand female soldiers that she had been planning to send out. They were to drive the savages back into the forest and build fortifications on the edge of the forest as a long-term defense.

Shangguan Fei only saw a group of chirping women slashing around with crude and primitive knives, much like children playing games in the Stone Castle.

He did not think that this was the prototype of an army. Training swordswomen might have seemed unusual to others, but as for Shangguan Yun, it was perfectly normal.

Shangguan Yun left very quickly. Shangguan Ru's training of the soldiers continued. She had become a little addicted. For she had not only cultivated a force that could defend the country, but had also achieved many of her goals, including getting the slaves and nobility to gel with each other. This greatly reduced the competition and jealousy amongst the women.

The strange thing was, both of these things were completely expected by Old Man Mu.

”This is the human heart,” Old Man Mu said, like a philosopher. After recuperating for a short time, his physical health became normal, but his skills did not recover beyond sixty or seventy percent. He was still a kung fu master, but he never regained the strength to cross the Western Regions again.

”Many people realise things in hindsight. The more capable they are, the more ideas they have. Like me, when my kung fu skills were weak, I sought out the masters. The higher my skills, the more temperamental I became. When I became invincible, I wanted to conquer the world. So, keep an eye on your female soldiers, and don't let them become too strong,” he warned.