*
Nanqing rested his chin on the white tiger's head, gazing at the smoke rising from the Liang army camp in the distance, and suddenly asked out of the blue:
"Xiao Ba, do you think their food is good?"
The golden beast's eyes glanced disdainfully at the distant military camp, and it exhaled a puff of hot air from its nostrils.
[It definitely won't taste good!]
It and its host had spent so many years in the military camp; when had the cooks' food ever been any good...?
Nan Qing nodded in agreement, then carried a long dining table directly from the Nebula Palace, which was filled with various kinds of food.
"Since they're eating, let's eat first, and then go find them to play later~~"
[Host, host, I want to eat braised pork ribs~]
The military camp in the distance has started its meal, and so have the man and beast on the cliff.
Nan Qing calculated the time, and at the beginning of Xu Shi (7-9 PM), the man and the beast entered the camp openly and honestly.
Meanwhile, the camp was filled with soldiers who were fast asleep, snoring away.
While the cooks went to fetch water, she and Xiao Ba dropped a pill upstream. It was one she had made herself, using carefully selected ingredients. It could not only keep someone in a deep sleep for a month, but also regulate their meridians and strengthen their body.
A few who managed to escape were stunned by Xiao Ba's roar.
Little Hachi proudly wagged its tail, held its head high, and puffed out its chest, looking like it was saying, "When I, the master, take action, one is worth a hundred."
Nan Qing walked to the largest and tallest tent and lifted the curtain.
The tent was brightly lit with candles, and there were four people inside.
One person slumped not far from the doorway, another collapsed in front of the map, and two others slumped over a small table, still holding chopsticks in their hands.
Nan Qing pointed to the man who had fainted in front of the map: "Xiao Ba, go and wake him up."
Upon receiving the order, Xiao Ba flicked its tail and strode lightly to the person's side. It looked around for a moment, then stretched out its paw, roughly pried open the person's mouth, threw in a pill that Nan Qing had given it, and then leaned close to the person's ear and growled softly.
The man shuddered, his eyelids twitched, and he finally opened his eyes groggily. Before his vision could focus, he met a pair of round, tiger-like eyes.
He jolted awake, quickly rolled over to his feet, took several steps back to create distance, and placed his right hand on the sword at his waist, assuming a defensive stance.
Nan Qing leaned back in the main seat of the tent and lazily asked, "You are Pei Qi?"
Pei Qi then realized that besides the snow-white tiger, there were other people in the tent.
He shifted his gaze to Nan Qing and found that she was a girl he had never met before. The girl was dressed in plain clothes and looked to be no more than sixteen or seventeen years old. She was looking at him with her chin propped up on her hand.
Pei Qi's brows furrowed deeper as he quickly scanned the tent. A white tiger, a woman, and she could even silently drug him...
“You are the Crown Princess of Wei, the Fifth Minister of the Southern Court.”
He was ordered to launch a surprise attack on Crescent Moon Pass from the flank. He was well aware of the information about the Crown Princess of Wei. Although he had never met her, he was absolutely certain that the woman in front of him was the Fifth Minister of the Southern Court!
Nan Qing wasn't surprised that he recognized her: "You have a good eye."
Pei Qi glanced around furtively, silently plotting how to escape.
"In the midst of battle, I never imagined that the Crown Princess of Wei would be so fond of using such treacherous schemes."
Nan Qing saw through his plan at a glance, chuckled softly, and said slowly:
"A trick? Ha, I didn't know Pei Linmo had such a naive person among his men."
"Alright, you don't need to look anymore. Tens of thousands of people in the entire camp are all asleep. I didn't plan to do anything to you today, I just wanted you to deliver a message."
Nan Qing tossed him a challenge letter, which Pei Qi caught, but was forced back two steps by the hidden force within.
“Go back and tell Pei Linmo to stop playing those roundabout games. Tomorrow at 9:00 AM, at Changgechuan, I, the Fifth Minister, will await good news.”
After speaking, Nanqing beckoned to Xiao Ba, who was poking at the unconscious person on the ground with its paws:
"Xiao Ba, let's go."
"Oh, by the way," Nan Qing said, turning back as she was leaving the tent, "those people will be asleep for a month or two. Don't worry, they're all perfectly fine."
After Nan Qing left, Pei Qi immediately inspected the entire camp. In the huge military camp, only a few cooks and grooms were still awake, while the tens of thousands of soldiers were all fast asleep, with snoring rising and falling. Even the warhorses were basically asleep.
He crouched down and checked their breathing. Sure enough, as Fifth Nanqing had said, their breathing was steady and strong, and their complexions were rosy. But no matter what he did, he couldn't wake them up.
Pei Qi was secretly shocked. This Crown Princess of Wei was indeed powerful. He wondered where she got such a potent medicine that could make someone fall into a coma for a month.
Looking at the challenge letter in his hand, Pei Qi dared not delay. He leaped onto his warhorse, whipped it, and galloped towards Yong'an City.
Yong'an City.
Pei Linmo happened to be standing on the city wall, gazing thoughtfully in the direction of Crescent Moon Pass.
Suddenly, dust billowed in the distance, and a man on a fast horse was heading towards Yong'an City.
He narrowed his eyes, and even from a distance, he recognized the person on horseback as Pei Qi.
"Open the city gates," he ordered calmly, his voice not loud, but the surrounding guards immediately sprang into action.
As the figure drew closer, Pei Linmo frowned slightly, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes. He couldn't understand why Pei Qi would be traveling back to the city alone at this time.
Pei Qi rushed up the city wall and knelt down on one knee three steps away from Pei Linmo.
"Your Highness..."
The words caught in his throat, and his expression changed repeatedly. The fact that tens of thousands of troops had been silently defeated by Fifth Nanqing alone was simply... unbearable to speak of!
Pei Linmo slowly turned around, looked at Pei Qi's appearance, and made up his mind.
"Speak."
Pei Qi looked up, meeting his lord's calm and unwavering eyes, and took out the challenge letter from his robes, presenting it with both hands:
"This humble general is incompetent. The Fifth Princess of Wei, Nanqing, poisoned our army of tens of thousands, who have all fallen into a coma and are now unconscious."
She also said that tomorrow at 9:00 AM, at Changgechuan, there will be a battle with our army.
Su Jing, standing to the side, asked, "Even if she did use drugs, how could she, alone, knock out tens of thousands of of you at the same time?!"
Pei Qi was silent for a moment, then said softly:
"They must have tampered with the water. The drug was really potent. Except for a few people, the rest... were all unconscious. I myself had also fainted. Fifth Minister Nanqing gave me the antidote and told me to deliver this challenge to the Prince."
"Moreover... Fifth Nanqing said that the medicine can make people fall into a deep sleep for a month."
Upon hearing this, Su Jing gasped. What kind of drug could be so potent?
Pei Linmo reached out and took the challenge letter, unfolded it, and saw that it was written in a flamboyant and elegant style:
[Tomorrow at 9:00 AM, at Changgechuan, a single game will decide the fate of the world. —Fifth Nanqing]
There were no harsh words, no threats, it was as simple as inviting someone to play chess, but the sharpness in it was impossible to ignore.
"Your Highness."
Should we accept the challenge?
Pei Linmo turned around, looked through the deep night towards Crescent Moon Pass, his voice still calm.
"nature."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com