Chapter 638: A Scheme Within A Scheme

Thanks to Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, Yan Liqiang’s powerful biological clock woke him from his dream before the sun had even risen the next day.

He was still in the pavilion of the manor, although he was only in the loft.

A screen, a bed veil, and a thick fluffy red blanket made this a comfortable place. Sushali was sound asleep beside him, with her fair arms wrapped around his body. There was a faint, sweet smile on her face.

Yan Liqiang squinted at the veil hanging above them as he replayed the information he gathered from Sushali last night in his mind.

The Shatu Seven Tribes had indeed poured in a lot of effort this time. They not only sent Princess Sushali of the Dark Razor Tribe here, but she also brought with her the terrifying Soul Guider that was bestowed upon them by the Shatu Alliance.

The Soul Guider wasn’t just any ordinary rune object. It was a forbidden object created by talisman masters to control another person’s spirit and thoughts. Once a target fell prey to the Soul Guider, they became nothing more than a puppet without any free will. As a slave, they would pledge utmost loyalty to their master. An object like this was simply terrifying.

Fortunately, not every talisman master could create a Soul Guider. Not only that, but there were also many limitations. The Soul Guider could only work on one target at a time and not multiple. This meant that if a person used the Soul Guider on someone, he wouldn’t be able to use it on another person until the original target died. The Soul Guider was also ineffective on powerful martial practitioners who had attained the realm of Martial Ancestor and above.

Since a Soul Guider could be created by a talisman master, other talisman masters naturally came up with ways to guard against it and dispel its effects too. They made a rune object known as the Soul Locker which could guard against a Soul Guider. As long as one carried a Soul Locker on them, it would prevent a Soul Guider from being activated thus rendering it ineffective.

The Shatu Alliance was aware of the crisis that the Shatu Seven Tribes were facing, yet they couldn’t send a large army to provide aid. The Gulang Plains and Shatu Alliance were separated by a desert which spanned over a thousand li and there were other forces in between them. Due to this situation, the Shatu Alliance’s envoy brought the Soul Guider here and offered suggestions and ideas to make Yan Liqiang the Shatu Seven Tribe’s puppet.

This was really a ruthless strategy. However, the Shatu would never have guessed that their plans in using the combination of the honey trap and Soul Guider to finish off Yan Liqiang was nothing more than trying to beat a dog by throwing meat buns at it…

Gaining control over Yan Liqiang through the Soul Guider would be the best possible outcome. However, there were always some chances of failure to every mission. Not to mention, Yan Liqiang wasn’t exactly a weak target either.

Hence, a second order was issued to Sushali before she came. If she failed to gain control over Yan Liqiang with the Soul Guider, then the Shatu Seven Tribes would want her to stay in Pingxi City to try and forge a good relationship with Yan Liqiang to soften the hostility he had toward the Shatu Alliance. Then she would help ensure that the Shatu Alliance’s caravans would be allowed through White Stone Pass and maintain their trade relations as well as obtain the resources they needed from this side. At the very least, they had to ensure Yan Liqiang wouldn’t ally himself with the Dark Ram Tribe to assault the Shatu Seven Tribes from both sides.

This was Sushali’s mission!

However, Sushali had become one of Yan Liqiang’s pawns to infiltrate the Shatu Seven Tribes. Yan Liqiang would definitely know their plans immediately.

According to Sushali, the Shatu Alliance would never be able to quench their thirst as long as the Shatu Seven Tribes were under attack by the Dark Ram Tribe. Aside from the rebellious Dark Wood Tribe, the position of the Dark Razor Tribe’s chief was also swayed in this critical moment and his words were undermined. The other tribes each had their own ulterior motives. Although the six tribes had formed allied forces, they had not been completely unified under the command of the Dark Razor Tribe. None of them were willing to be the first to throw themselves at the Dark Ram Tribe and become the first targets.

Sushali started learning the art of seduction at a very young age. Her father’s initial plan was to send her out of the Gulang Plains when she was older and have her wedded to some aristocrat from the Shatu Alliance. Her political marriage would make her the link between the Shatu Seven Tribes and Shatu Alliance. If it wasn’t for the Dark Ram Tribe’s invasion, she would have left the Gulang Plains and gone to the Shatu Alliance’s territories. It was the Dark Ram Tribe who disrupted his plans. Then, there was Yan Liqiang, the Qiyun Protectorate General who showed the world his extraordinary strength. All these led to Sushali becoming the first choice for the diplomatic mission inside the pass. Her task was to get closer to Yan Liqiang and wait for an opportunity to put him under her control so that they could turn him into their puppet.

Recalling the incidents that transpired last night, Yan Liqiang turned his head around to glance at Sushali. As soon as he did that, he realized that Sushali was looking at him with her big eyes.

“You’re awake, my lord…”

To prevent the truth from being discovered, Yan Liqiang ordered Sushali to address him as ‘lord’ instead of ‘master’ from now on.

“Yes, I’m awake,” he smiled at her, then got up. “The sun is rising soon. It’s about time for me to leave…”

Upon hearing that, Sushali quickly got up too. “Let me help you to the bath and get you dressed, my lord…”

Half an hour later, a few Shatu maids carried lanterns to illuminate the path as they showed Yan Liqiang the way to where his carriage was parked last night. Sushali personally saw him off too.

Hu Haihe was already waiting there. When he saw Yan Liqiang, he said nothing and just opened the carriage’s door for Yan Liqiang to get in. The four-wheeled carriage then exited the manor before daybreak.

The roads in Pingxi City were still quite deserted at this hour, so Yan Liqiang’s four-wheeled carriage was extremely conspicuous. The sound of iron hooves and wooden wheels grinding against the road were exceptionally clear…

The carriage only drove two hundred meters away from the manor before it was stopped by some soldiers on night patrol in the city for inspection. Hu Haihe flashed the paiza hanging from his waist without saying anything. As soon as the soldiers saw the paiza, they quickly left.

Meanwhile, half an hour after Yan Liqiang left, a post falcon departed from the rear courtyard in the manor and flew toward the Gulang Plains…

The post falcon carried a letter that Sushali had ‘urgently’ written — Yan Liqiang came to the manor as promised last night, however he carried with him a Soul Locker. This foiled Sushali’s best plan of controlling him with her Soul Guider. However, there was something else that was worth celebrating: Yan Liqiang was extremely enamored with Sushali. This would certainly lead to great things in the future. After spending the night together, Yan Liqiang promised to have the Monopoly Bureau raise the buying price of wool…

The next day, the Qiyun Protectorate’s Office issued an order to White Stone Pass. The Monopoly Bureau was to raise the buying price of Grade One wool by one copper coin, which was a ten percent increase for every jin of wool.

Several days later, the ‘love affair’ between the Protectorate General and the Shatu envoy spread like wildfire across Pingxi City and Qiyun Prefecture…