Chapter 77 (Revision).

Chapter 77 (Revision).

Beneath the vast expanse of the starry sky, the battle on the Northern Tianshan Road continued. Following the governor's order to permanently trap this raiding squad here, Tabo Aguduo and the Tiele tribe were determined to annihilate this hundred-man cavalry team at all costs.

One team provided cover while another flanked, forming a pincer attack that tightened the encirclement, trapping the desperately fighting Tujue warriors.

These Tujue warriors were well-equipped, not only with bows/crossbows but also with crescent moon sabers and their horsemanship was impeccable. It took a chase of over a hundred li to finally corner them. Tabo Aguduo, wiping blood off his face, showed no mercy towards the Tujue people he once shared the grassland skies with. His killing intent intensified as these formidable opponents had killed several of his Tabo clansmen, with the Tiele suffering even greater casualties.

However, this Tujue cavalry squad was not faring much better either; from around a hundred men, now only about half remained.

The Tabo tribe had the best horses, the fastest blades, and the sharpest arrows! What was there to fear in facing these Tujue warriors?

Tabo Aguduo coldly observed the Tujue, his gaze briefly pausing on their various gold ornaments. Soon, more Tabo tribesmen arrived, each carrying a Tujue head, hanging from their saddles. The horses snorted loudly, agitated by the blood, their hooves stamping for a while as everyone watched the surrounded Tujue cavalry.

No one spoke; neither side showed any inclination to surrender. A cold, deadly silence spread, with each person knowing it was either their death or the enemy's.

On the flat plains of the grasslands, cavalry battles were straightforward yet brutal. With no obstacles, no forests or ravines, no rivers, being surrounded left no chance for escape, as the enemy was also cavalry.

Tabo Agum tightened his grip on his long spear in the night breeze and commanded, "Kill!"

The two sides continued their fierce battle. Many Tujue were knocked off their horses by spears, then drew their curved sabers for close combat.

In the distance, the elderly chief of the Tiele, Chachawu, and his subordinate Batu tightly encircled the Tujue, leaving no possibility for escape.

Seeing a Tujue cavalryman trying to break through the chaos, Batu quickly drew his bow and shot an arrow, forcing him back, while also narrowly avoiding an arrow from a hidden assailant.

Tabo Agum lay low in the grass, like a leopard ready to pounce. He swiftly shot an arrow at a Tujue horseman, his machete quickly and precisely severing the horse's forelimbs. His face splattered with warm blood, his pale blue eyes as cold as frost. Seizing the moment as the horse neighed, he twisted his waist and kicked heavily at the Tujue rider's head, then fluidly grabbed his head and sliced it off with a curved blade.

The autumn wind swept through, leaving only the scent of blood on the last of the grasslands.

"Count the heads, make sure we don't miss any," Tabo Aguduo, sitting on the ground and gasping for air, ordered Chachawu.

"Okay." Chachawu personally checked, arranging the Tujue cavalry corpses in front of them. After counting everyone, he returned to Tabo Aguduo: "Sixty-four in total."

Tabo Aguduo touched his waist flask but ultimately didn't drink a sip. Tabo Agum checked the casualties on his side and the heads chopped off by their people. After organizing everything, he reported to his brother, "Our people have thirty-five heads, fifteen Tabo dead, five wounded, and one critically injured."

He glanced at the elderly leader of the Tiele tribe; their losses were significant, especially in the ferocious counterattacks of the Tujue towards the end. Their death toll was about thirty, not counting the wounded. By this count, it was a minor victory, as they too had paid a significant price in lives.

Tabo Aguduo, touching the curved blade at his waist, mused, "Ninety-nine in total?"

Generally, a cavalry squad consists of a hundred men.

Ninety-nine seemed too coincidental. Could one have escaped? This thought made Tabo Aguduo suddenly stand up, about to order a further search, when Zhou Xuan arrived on horseback.

"Marshal Zhou." Tabo Aguduo and Tabo Agum bowed in greeting, and the Tiele people also lowered their heads.

"The governor has captured a Tujue," Zhou Xuan, always stern in battle, said. As a field marshal, he never addressed his brother by name in the military context, but rather with formal ranks. Looking into the distant darkness, where the scent of blood attracted a wolf lurking nearby, he knew a pack was hidden in the darkness, "Let’s feed the remaining corpses to the wolves."

Zhou Xuan's lips curled into a cold smile. Feeding these animalistic corpses to the wolves was being too kind to them. The Tujue revered wolves, even their tribal totem was a wolf, and many Tujue warriors bore wolf head tattoos on their chests. Now, being devoured by their own symbol of faith was perhaps their greatest fortune.

"Understood."

The severely wounded tribesmen were placed on stretchers, and after a quick reorganization, they threw the Tujue corpses far away, only taking their heads. As soon as they left, a hungry pack of wolves swarmed the bodies, sniffing briefly before starting to feast.

Tabo Agum rode back to camp with the others, his gaze casually pausing on a nearby hillside for a moment.

Tabo Aguduo glanced back at his younger brother, who for some reason had ridden to the edge of the troop, and reined his horse to approach him.

"Why have you slowed down?"

Tabo Agum remained silent.

Tabo Aguduo always knew his brother was a man of few words. He frowned, pondering how his brother, with such a personality, aspired to court the daughter of the governor, the beloved pearl of the master. With his dull nature, lack of eloquence, and foreign blood, which was seen as inferior by other Central Plains folks, not to mention his average looks and terse replies, how could he possibly win over Miss Xiao?

Tabo Aguduo was truly worried for his brother.

Although he had previously told Agum to give up his futile infatuation, as an elder brother, he still hoped for his sibling's success. After all, she was the beloved daughter of the Youzhou mistress. If by some chance, it could solidify the Tabo tribe's power, although the hope seemed faint.

"If you won't speak, I'm leaving," Tabo Aguduo said.

Tabo Agum grunted in response.

Hearing this, Tabo Aguduo's irritation flared. He had intended to praise his brother's bravery in battle, but now he struggled not to scold him.

With a cold snort, Tabo Aguduo left.

Tabo Agum looked up at his brother's retreating figure, wiping the sweat from his palms. He knew his brother was angry, but he was too embarrassed to speak.

When they reached a small hill, Tabo Agum dismounted while the others weren't looking and walked up to the hilltop.

Zhou Xuan glanced at Tabo Agum. As a sort of adopted brother to his elder, he ultimately said nothing, leading his men onward. The area had already been thoroughly scouted by his team and was close to the camp, making it quite safe.

At the back of the hill, Tabo Agum found a small stream. He first washed his hands, then squatted by the river to clean the sweat and blood from his face. Even the dried blood on his armor was washed away. A crescent moon reflected in the stream, casting a dim light.

After cleaning up, he returned to the top of the hill and spotted a golden sunflower growing in a crevice between rocks.

He had been searching for sunflowers before entering the grasslands. These flowers bloom in the height of summer, and it was already autumn when they entered the grasslands. Already rare, these flowers were even harder to find out of season. He never expected to discover one in such a remote spot.

Tabo Agum was pleasantly surprised. He remembered that Miss Xiao was very fond of flowers, and every time the mistress sent her flowers with a snow eagle, her reply was always filled with joy.

Miss Xiao always replied to the mistress, and the letters to him were few, only two or three. Though they were just simple greetings and concerns, Tabo Agum cherished them deeply.

Tabo Agum removed his armor and laid down his sword, then took out a neatly folded, somewhat overly so, letter from his pocket. On the pale yellow paper, Miss Xiao's handwriting was elegant, simply advising him to be careful in battle and to inform her if his mother had any issues.

The edges of the paper were frayed, and Tabo Agum, satisfied, gazed at it in the dim moonlight before carefully storing it away.

He looked at the sunflower in the rocks, a small golden bloom symbolizing bravery, purity, and happiness.

It swayed in the cold autumn night, still brilliantly golden.

Tabo Agum knelt on one knee, gazing at what might be the last sunflower on the grassland. He bent down slowly, lowered his head, and gently, reverently, kissed the petals of the sunflower.

Eventually, he carefully placed the sunflower into a copper tube he carried with him.

After returning to camp, Tabo Agum learned of the mistress's carriage being attacked by a fire stick and immediately went to see his brother, then together they went to visit the mistress.

Especially his brother, who needed to be there, being the mistress's adopted son in name.

The mother had been attacked, and even though she was unharmed, they still needed to show their concern with proper etiquette. Among them, Tabo Agum was more anxious since the mistress was Miss Xiao's mother.

Outside the leather tent.

Tabo Aguduo, having washed off the bloodstains, was waiting outside the tent with his brother to seek an audience with their mother.

Xiao Luolan had yet to meet Lord Zhou. Although she knew from Dongxue that the raiding squad had been wiped out, she still felt uneasy. Hearing from Dongxue that the Tabo brothers were requesting an audience, she was momentarily startled. Since entering the camp, apart from a few words with Tabo Agum, she had hardly seen Tabo Aguduo's face.

"Let them come in," Xiao Luolan gathered her spirits, wondering what they might want.

"As you wish," Dongxue responded, then glanced at her mistress who, despite her concealed worries, still looked exceptionally beautiful and voluptuous in the candlelight, and moved the only two screens in the tent to either side of the desk.

Xiao Luolan was puzzled.

Dongxue somehow found a thin-colored gauze curtain and pulled it, instantly making the view in front vague. Xiao Luolan sat behind the desk, musing about the many rules of ancient nobility.

"Two gentlemen, please come in. The mistress is waiting for you," Dongxue lifted the curtain, bowing respectfully.

"Thank you," Tabo Aguduo said, entering the tent with his brother to see their mother seated behind a desk.

The thin gauze obscured their view of each other.

"Son Tabo Aguduo pays respects to mother," Tabo Aguduo knelt and kowtowed.

"Tabo Agum pays respects to the mistress," Tabo Agum also knelt and kowtowed.

Although the governor had once said he was like a foster son to him, it was never formalized, so Tabo Agum chose a more conservative address.

Seeing them kneel and kowtow with such respect, Xiao Luolan remembered that they were now her sons, surprised she had forgotten this given their rare interactions.

"Aguduo, Agum, rise," Xiao Luolan awkwardly addressed her nominal sons. Seeing them obediently bowing, she asked, "Do you come at this late hour for a matter?"

Tabo Aguduo kept his eyes down, not daring to look directly at the mistress. Their grassland customs were often scorned by Central Plains people, so he was especially careful, especially as an adopted son without blood ties.

"We heard of mother's attack and rushed here with my brother to inquire about your safety. Were you hurt?" Tabo Aguduo respectfully asked.

So that was the reason.

"I am unharmed, do not worry," Xiao Luolan reassured them, and then, recalling their roles as her sons, asked with concern, "Were either of you injured?"

Tabo Aguduo replied, "To answer mother, I am unharmed."

Tabo Agum also responded, "To answer the mistress, I am likewise unharmed."

"Good to hear you're not injured," Xiao Luolan said, relieved. She turned to Tabo Agum, asking softly, "Has the snow eagle returned recently?"

"To answer the mistress, no," Tabo Agum paused, then added, "It should be back soon. Please don't worry."

After the Tabo brothers left, Dongxue moved the gauze and screens, revealing the beautiful face of the mistress, renowned throughout Youzhou.

Eyebrows furrowed in worry, eyes as radiant as spring water, mirroring the brilliance of peonies.

Her figure, slender as willows in moonlit snow, captivates even in her silence.

"Dongxue, later bring some wound-healing medicines to Aguduo and the others," Xiao Luolan instructed.

Dongxue, puzzled, asked, "Mistress, both Tabo gentlemen claimed they were uninjured. Why send them medicines?"

Xiao Luolan stood up, draping a brown crane-feather cloak over herself, preparing to visit the army doctor. She had grown fond of wearing such dirt-resistant colors lately, finding them practical for work.

She fastened the cloak's collar.

"They said they're not injured, but I can't be sure if it's true or not. Just in case they are hurt and won't tell me, it's better to be prepared," she explained.

Moreover, Xiao Luolan had observed that the Tabo and Tiele tribes often stayed together. The Youzhou Iron Cavalry, led by Li Xun, didn't usually interact much with them. Given that these two tribes led the recent attack, casualties were inevitable. If the Tabo brothers were not injured, they could distribute the medicines among their men.

After all, they were, in a way, her children.