*
The following day, hundreds of thousands of troops from both countries gathered at Changgechuan.
Pei Linmo, clad in black armor, rode his horse to the front of the formation, his gaze fixed on a hundred paces away.
There, a snow-white tiger stood proudly, and on its back, a woman in silver armor rested her chin on one hand, looking over with a half-smile.
The moment he saw the person, Pei Linmo's eyes flickered slightly, and his fingertips unconsciously rubbed the reins in his hand.
When Nanqing saw the people arrive, he chuckled, patted the white tiger's neck, and walked forward.
"Your Highness is indeed punctual."
Her voice was clear and melodious, standing out exceptionally well in the open sandy landscape.
Pei Linmo also spurred his horse forward alone, standing opposite the white tiger, one black and one white, no more than three zhang apart.
"Fifth Minister Nanqing".
Pei Linmo calmly uttered these four words, while his eyes were fixed on the person opposite him.
Nan Qing immediately recognized him upon seeing him. Hearing this, she smiled and said in return:
"Pei Linmo".
Both sides' soldiers focused their attention on the two men, waiting for their command to unleash a flurry of swords and blood-stained sand.
Seeing that Pei Linmo was only staring at her without saying a word, Nan Qing drew her long sword from her waist, flipped her wrist, pointed the sword tip at the sand, and slightly raised her chin.
"Do you dare to have a match with me?"
The white tiger beneath her also let out a low growl, its sharp claws digging deep into the sand, poised to strike.
Pei Linmo pursed his lips, glanced at the sharp sword in Nan Qing's hand, and slowly raised his hand.
As he moved, a jet-black spear flew out from Su Jing's hand behind him and landed steadily in his palm.
He didn't speak, but simply tapped the tip of his gun lightly on the sand, his eyes never leaving Nan Qing.
The war drums of both armies suddenly sounded.
In an instant, the white tiger and the black horse sprang up simultaneously.
Nan Qing leaned forward slightly, her long sword pointing diagonally, her crimson cloak trailing behind her in a straight line.
Pei Linmo held his spear horizontally, the spear shaft and his arm forming a straight line, making him resemble a sharp blade drawn from its sheath.
"Clang!"
Swords and spears clashed, and both men were jolted simultaneously.
Nan Qing flicked her wrist, and the sword blade slashed down along the shaft of the spear, trying to force Pei Linmo to let go.
Pei Linmo deftly flicked his spear upwards to avoid the sword's edge, while the black horse nimbly leaped up, barely dodging the tiger's claws that were attacking.
The two riders passed each other, stirring up a strong wind and raising clouds of yellow sand.
In the first round, the two were evenly matched.
The white tiger spun rapidly, its speed far surpassing that of a warhorse. In an instant, Nan Qing had closed to within three steps of Pei Linmo. Suddenly, she leaped from the tiger's back, her sword tip aimed straight for Pei Linmo's throat.
Pei Linmo's eyes flashed, and he neither dodged nor flinched. With a flick of his spear, the tip of the spear precisely struck the seven-inch mark of the sword.
In the instant the spear and sword clashed, he suddenly bent down and quickly reached for Nanqing's wrist holding the sword with his other hand.
But Nan Qing skillfully deflected his movement, causing him to miss his target, his fingertips barely brushing against the skin of her wrist.
Nan Qing also used the momentum to counter-attack with the hilt of her sword, flipping backward. The white tiger caught her in mid-air, and as it landed, its tail swept out, causing the black horse to neigh and rear up.
The two riders widened the distance again.
The two exchanged blows for nearly thirty moves. Nan Qing became more and more enthusiastic as the fight progressed, and eventually stopped holding back, using a backhand sword to pierce Pei Linmo's wristband.
Then, without stopping her sword strikes, she specifically targeted the seams of Pei Linmo's armor.
With each thrust—picking, slicing, hooking, and slashing—the precision was unparalleled, relentlessly pressing forward, causing fragments of the Xuanjia armor to fall one after another.
When the two separated again.
Nan Qing was slightly out of breath, with fine beads of sweat on her forehead and her cheeks flushed from the fierce battle, but she had no injuries on her body.
And on the other side.
Pei Linmo's black armor had already been knocked off by Nan Qing and scattered across the battlefield. He was only wearing a black undergarment, and his hair ornament had also fallen off, leaving his black hair loose over his shoulders.
Nan Qing smiled, her gaze sweeping over him unabashedly for a moment, admiring him, before slowly speaking:
"The Regent is so handsome, why not submit to me and become my consort?"
Her voice was not low, and the generals at the very top of both armies, who had been watching the two men's movements, all had different expressions when they heard her words.
Zhou Cheng's face was hidden under the armor, so his expression was not visible, but Lin Rui froze for a moment, then covered his forehead, closed his eyes, and twitched his lips, looking like he "couldn't bear to watch".
Their Highness, how did you manage to harass men on the battlefield...?
Meanwhile, Su Jing and Pei Qi were both stunned, then exchanged a glance.
Their prince was harassed?!
The two were quite in sync, their gazes simultaneously falling on Pei Linmo. Although they couldn't see his expression, they were both eager to see what harsh words their prince would say, or whether he would order them to charge straight in.
Both men silently gripped their sword hilts, convinced that their master, who was averse to women, would not tolerate such humiliation, and they were determined to help him get revenge!
But.....
The anticipated outburst of rage did not materialize.
Upon hearing this, Pei Linmo, who was standing in front, fell silent. He neither flew into a rage nor accepted the challenge; he simply stared silently at the smiling woman opposite him.
There was no sign of resentment or humiliation in his eyes or on his face, as Su Jing and Pei Qi had assumed. He simply gripped the reins tightly, stared at Nan Qing for a moment, and then tugged at the reins, turning his horse around.
"retreat."
The two words, low and cold, left Su Jing and Pei Qi completely astonished.
Despite their bewilderment, they never doubted their master's orders and immediately ordered a retreat.
Thousands of armored vehicles moved at the command, the sound of hooves rose, and yellow sand filled the sky.
Pei Linmo lagged behind, his expression obscured, and he never turned back to look at him.
Nan Qing stood still, watching the dark figure walk further and further away. She tugged at Xiao Ba's tiger fur and said with interest:
"Xiao Ba, when do you think he'll come knocking on your door?"
I bet a bag of spicy strips he'll definitely come within three days.
"Tsk, should we go back soon? My mother must miss me terribly, right?"
【…Host, you're running away again…..】
"Anyway, he can't beat me."
At this moment, Lin Rui and Zhou Cheng rode forward, one on each side. Lin Rui asked with a curious expression:
"Your Highness, have you really taken a liking to that regent of Liang?"
Nan Qing didn't answer him directly, but instead asked, "Have you ever seen anyone more handsome than him?"
Lin Rui thought for a moment, compared all the sons of high-ranking families in the capital with the regent of Liang, and shook his head, saying:
"If we're talking about looks, then there really isn't any."
"But Pei Linmo comes from a military family and now holds real power in Liang. If he wants to take that position, it could be done in an instant. This man is not easy to get..."
"How about Your Highness take a look at the others? The eldest grandson of Grand Tutor Lin is also extremely handsome, as is the eldest son of Grand Secretary Wang and the youngest son of Minister Wu. If Your Highness likes people who know martial arts, then the young master of the Duke of Zhenguo is also very good at martial arts and good-looking, but he is two years younger than Your Highness."
Lin Rui was still racking his brains, trying to figure out which other young masters were good-looking enough to be worthy of their heavenly prince.
Nanqing quickly patted Xiao Ba's head, urging it to hurry up.
Why didn't they see that Lin Rui was a chatterbox when they were selecting people...?
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