The yellow sand swirled as the sound of camel bells drifted closer from the distance.
The woman in purple signaled the man in black leading her camel to stop. “Husband, go help him.”
The black-clad man showed no expression, silent and taciturn, yet his gaze was sharper than a falcon's. He let go of the reins.
With a flash of his figure, he swept down the sand dune.
The three assassins had just reached the crest of the slope.
All they felt was a dark shadow flashing past. By the time they realized what was happening, their hands had already been bound and twisted behind their backs.
Their scimitars clattered to the ground with a loud clang. Immediately after, a sharp pain shot through the backs of their knees, forcing them to kneel in the scorching sand.
Realizing they were completely outmatched, the three exchanged a look. Black blood seeped from the corners of their mouths simultaneously, and their heads slumped as they drew their last breaths.
A'han bent down, squeezing open their jaws to inspect them, then shook his head slightly toward Lan Yi. “Miss, they are death-sworn soldiers. There's no saving them,” he said in a raspy voice.
Only then did Lan Yi leap gracefully down from the white camel, landing three paces away from Yue Sheng.
She untied the waterskin from her waist and offered it to him.
“Can you still walk?”
Yue Sheng took the waterskin and threw his head back to gulp down several mouthfuls. He coughed as he caught his breath, finally taking a proper look at the young couple leading this massive caravan.
The purple-clad woman's outer robe looked somewhat worn from the wind and sand, but the material was of the finest brocade.
In contrast, the black-clad man she called her husband wore a simple set of black martial arts attire. Rather than a caravan leader, he seemed more like a hound guarding a queen.
Clearly.
The woman in purple was the one in charge of this caravan.
He wiped the sweat from his face and thanked her. “Thank you for saving my life, madam. May I ask how I should address my benefactors?”
“My name is Lan Yi, and this is my husband, A'han.” She glanced sideways at the black-clad man, then looked back at Yue Sheng. “We only did what any decent person would do. There is no need for thanks.”
She paused, then added, “By the way, how did you end up targeted by such desperate outlaws?”
Yue Sheng smiled bitterly. “I am the First Prince of Loulan. My father is gravely ill and has urgently summoned me back to the royal court.” His fingertips absentmindedly rubbed the leather strap of the waterskin. “But my brother probably doesn't want me to see our father alive.”
Lan Yi immediately understood that Yue Sheng was embroiled in a royal power struggle. Wisely, she did not pry.
“What do you plan to do next, then? Ahead lies the deep desert. You won't be able to make it out alone.”
Yue Sheng raised his head, his gaze falling upon the caravan that stretched for miles behind her. “Where are you headed?”
“The Western Regions,” Lan Yi said, her almond-shaped eyes above the veil curving into a smile. “My husband and I brought a shipment of spices and silk from Zhenbei Prefecture, intending to trade them at the markets in the Western Regions for fine grape wine and jade.”
Yue Sheng's eyes suddenly lit up.
“Then your caravan will definitely pass through Loulan!”
He took a step forward and bowed with cupped hands. “If you two are willing to escort me back to the royal court, I will personally guarantee that all of your caravan's goods can pass through Loulan tax-free. In addition, I will prepare a hundred taels of gold and ten fine steeds as a reward.”
Lan Yi lowered her eyes in thought for a moment. “Since it's on our way, there's no harm in escorting the prince. However, it's getting late. There is an oasis ahead, and the caravan must rest there for the night before continuing.”
Hearing this, Yue Sheng's expression changed dramatically.
His voice grew urgent. “You must not!”
“That... that oasis... you cannot go there!”
“Oh?” Lan Yi raised an eyebrow slightly. “Can a place with water and trees really be more dangerous than this endless sand?”
Yue Sheng took a deep breath. He raised his hand and pointed toward the faintly visible oasis in the distance, his tone solemn and reverent. “That oasis is the dwelling of a deity.”
“Just now, I accidentally intruded while fleeing for my life. Then, along with those three assassins, I was cast out of the oasis by the Divine Lady's magic.”
A flicker of surprise crossed Lan Yi's eyes. She subtly exchanged a glance with A'han.
Could the Divine Lady this man spoke of be Her?
“If you don't believe me...”
As he spoke, Yue Sheng carefully removed the peacock feather tucked into his waistband and held it up before Lan Yi and A'han.
The feather shimmered with a deep blue luster under the blazing sun. “This is a miraculous object that landed on my shoulder when the Divine Lady descended!”
Seeing the peacock feather, Lan Yi became even more certain that the Divine Lady Yue Sheng spoke of was the very one they worshiped.
“Prince Yue Sheng, we naturally believe you, for we are both devout believers of the Divine Lady.”
“What?” Yue Sheng asked in astonishment. “You're saying the Divine Lady in that oasis is the Divine Lady of your Central Plains?”
“That's impossible. She appeared in the great desert, so She should be the goddess of the desert. How could She belong to the Central Plains?”
Hearing this, Lan Yi felt a flash of displeasure. “If She were the goddess of your desert, why would She cast you out of the oasis? Prince Yue Sheng, forgive my bluntness, but the reason you were expelled from the oasis is likely because you are not a believer of the Divine Lady!”
Yue Sheng felt somewhat indignant at Lan Yi's words, but remembering that he still needed their escort, he kept his annoyance to himself. He merely said, “Madam Lan, since you refuse to heed my warning and insist on going to the oasis, I won't say any more to trouble you.”
Lan Yi called the caravan forward toward the oasis.
She had observed earlier that for hundreds of miles around, there was nothing but endless desert, save for that single oasis.
Even if she hadn't learned of the Divine Lady from Yue Sheng, she would have still taken the caravan to the oasis to rest for the night.
...
Watching the camel caravan approaching on the system monitor, the little fox instantly perked up. It hurriedly reminded Yun Shu, who was already addicted to pulling from the prize pool, “Host, stop pulling for new outfits for a second! Just as you predicted, Lan Yi and her husband rescued Yue Sheng and are bringing him back to the oasis!”
Yun Shu looked up.
“Aren't they still on the way? What's the rush? Let me finish pulling this new outfit from the limited-time prize pool first.”
The two missing pieces of the Sword Sovereign of the Nine Heavens Set, as well as the three missing pieces of the Thousand Machines and Myriad Crafts Set, had all been forcibly obtained from the permanent prize pool by smashing Shock Values.
The limited-time prize pool had refreshed with a new set called Moon-Guided Red Thread. Its set skill was to grant red threads of fate, allowing lovers to finally unite, successfully bear the fruits of their love, and live happily ever after.
Furthermore, the deeper the love between the two, the better their luck and physical constitution would become, making everything go smoothly for them.
Conversely, if their relationship fell apart and the red thread snapped, all the luck and physical enhancements they had gained would vanish.
She wasn't pulling for this outfit because she wanted to play matchmaker, but because she had her eyes on the latter half of the skill description: "successfully bear the fruits of their love, and live happily ever after."
In this world, childbirth was highly perilous for women. Yet, if a nation wanted to prosper, increasing its population was absolutely essential.
Giving out the pomegranate seeds was too uncontrollable, so she could only use them on livestock. However, the skill of this outfit allowed her to hold the reins of control. Moreover, it had a strict prerequisite that the couple must be in love, which was beneficial to both men and women.
What reason was there not to pull for it like crazy?
Rate on N.U.
