Chapter 161

“You’re a slow one, friend.”

The Human Butcher’s words sent a chill through Temur. He could feel the killing intent lurking like a dagger beneath the man’s calm voice.

They call him the Human Butcher, but what the hell is with that killing intent…?

But he could not back down here.

The tribespeople he had brought for this gathering, along with the Han Chinese mounted bandits, were watching his every move.

Damn it.

His honor as a chieftain clashed with his last shred of reason.

Should he draw his saber or not? As Temur wavered, a burst of laughter came to his rescue.

“Ha-ha-ha! As expected of the heroes of the world. A timid little man like me is too frightened to get involved.”

Temur looked toward the source of the laughter.

“Who are you?”

“Me?”

The middle-aged man, whose hair was half gray, smiled warmly.

If not for the eyepatch covering one eye, he would have looked as gentle as a kindhearted merchant.

“I have two names. I abandoned one when I left my homeland, while the other was given to me by friends I met on the steppe. Which one are you curious about?”

Temur did not need to answer. The Human Butcher revealed the man’s identity for him.

“Black Sand. Enough of your pointless drivel.”

“Oh, come now. What kind of person gives someone away like that? I was just getting to the fun part.”

“It wasn’t fun at all.”

“That’s why people call you a butcher. Tsk, tsk.”

As Temur and Chinggen realized who the middle-aged man was, their eyes widened.

“Black Sand? The Black Sand Band?”

“You’re that man?”

The eyepatched middle-aged man, Black Sand, nodded readily.

“That’s right. I’m Black Sand.”

“…”

“…”

The Black Sand Band. Composed entirely of Han Chinese, they ranked among the strongest powers on the harsh steppe.

There were only a hundred of them, but every single one was said to be a master of mounted combat and a martial artist of exceptional skill.

To think the leader of the Black Sand Band was such a frivolous man.

Chinggen was astounded.

So that’s why that vicious Human Butcher didn’t react when he was called a butcher.

Only Black Sand could get away with such a thing. Anyone else would already have had his tongue torn out and his head cut off by the Human Butcher.

But…

“Why are you here?”

As his surprise faded, Temur also gave Black Sand a suspicious look.

“I’d like to ask you the same thing.”

Black Sand smiled faintly at their open wariness.

“Didn’t you receive a letter?”

Temur and Chinggen both flinched.

“A letter?”

“How did you know about that?”

“Because I’m the one who sent it.”

“That’s impossible. The letter clearly bore the seal of the Heavenly Wind Band Leader.”

Unlike the bewildered Temur, Chinggen seemed to have grasped part of the situation. He regarded Black Sand with a grave gaze.

“What is your relationship with the Heavenly Wind Band Leader? Where is he now?”

“So you’re Chinggen. I’ve heard you’re calm and sharp for a young chieftain.”

“That isn’t the answer I want.”

“What a frightening look. How am I supposed to speak with you glaring at me like that? Still, now that you’re here, there’s no point keeping it secret. I’ll tell you.”

After that bit of banter, Black Sand continued.

“The Heavenly Wind Band Leader has been roaming around near Datong under my orders, drawing attention.”

Under his orders.

The implication was obvious.

We’ve been completely fooled all this time.

The Heavenly Wind Band Leader was clearly Black Sand’s subordinate. That meant the Heavenly Wind Band, which numbered a full five hundred, was merely an organization under the Black Sand Band.

Temur and Chinggen exchanged silent glances.

The Black Sand Band is already strong enough. And if you add the Heavenly Wind Band…?

It would be more than enough to change the balance of power on the steppe.

A deep smile spread across Black Sand’s lips as he watched them.

“You two seem to have a lot on your minds.”

“To be honest, this has caught us off guard.”

“What exactly are you plotting?”

“Plotting? I’m simply proposing a deal that benefits us all. You would know that if you read the letter.”

Temur and Chinggen recalled the letter they had received fifteen days earlier.

The letter, tied to an arrow and shot to them, contained one short line.

If you want to become a khan, come.

Khan! The ruler of the steppe, a great king commanding countless warriors.

The mere thought was enough to make their blood boil—especially for two young, powerful chieftains who dreamed of restoring their clans to glory.

“The steppe is fractured into pieces these days. It’s hard to believe when you think of the glorious great empire founded by your ancestors.”

Black Sand swirled his mare’s-milk wine as he continued.

“If you help me, I’ll help you in return. Weapons, horses, wealth. If necessary, I’ll even send you some of my subordinates. Unite the fragmented steppe. Bring your enemies to their knees and force them to swear absolute obedience. I guarantee that you can become the khan of the Great Steppe within ten years.”

“Easy for you to say.”

Unlike the sarcastic Temur, Chinggen remained calm.

“Why us?”

“Because you’re young, capable, and ambitious. Your legitimacy as descendants of the khans played a part as well. In any case, my proposal is simple.”

Black Sand pushed a hard lump of dried horse dung into the dying fire. Flames leaped up, flickering in his eyes.

“Would you care to seize a city with me?”

“A city? You mean Shanxi?”

“Where else?”

Only then did the two chieftains roughly grasp his intentions. He intended to force his way into the power vacuum left by the collapse of the Mount Heng Sword Sect.

The problem was that, for all his grand talk of khans and support, his proposal held little appeal for them.

“None of you look very pleased.”

Chinggen answered with a dissatisfied look.

“If you’re thinking of raiding the north now that it has no master, wouldn’t that be difficult?”

“Why?”

“Because the Jin Family of Taiyuan is moving quickly. I’ve heard they’re establishing branches throughout the north, and the government is getting involved as well.”

Even they had a line they could not cross.

Attacking merchant caravans made them mounted bandits. Invading a city and plundering civilians would make them rebels.

If an army of tens of thousands were dispatched to suppress the rebellion, they would have no way to oppose it.

“I don’t want to be driven out of my homeland. Nor do I want to die a dog’s death like Pung Yang.”

Temur nodded at Chinggen’s words. Hot-tempered though he was, he had to acknowledge reality.

“That bastard Pung Yang never even touched the government. The Jin Family of Taiyuan’s young brats killed him.”

“Pung Yang had nearly four hundred men. Fewer than one in ten returned alive.”

The Human Butcher, who had been listening in silence, suddenly spoke.

“Pung Yang was a man who fled from the steppe. The people under him were nothing more than a bunch of ragtag strays he hastily gathered.”

“You’ve met Pung Yang?”

“Once or twice. He was nothing special. I can say this with certainty: no one here is weaker than he was. Ah, that includes that idiot, of course.”

“You bastard!”

“Lower your voice before I carve out your Adam’s apple.”

“The Han Chinese bastard is all talk. You think you can do it?”

“Of course. Right now, if you want.”

Schriing.

Just as the blades at both men’s waists slid from their sheaths—

“Oh, honestly. That’s enough.”

No one there could ignore Black Sand, whether because of his age or the power he commanded.

After the two men exchanged a tense battle of wills and sheathed their weapons at the same time, Black Sand laughed as though he found it amusing and spoke to Chinggen.

“You don’t need to worry about the government. This will end as a matter between the Jin Family of Taiyuan and us.”

“What do you mean?”

“If we finish the job like a bolt of lightning, before anyone has time to react, what can they do?”

“Do you think that’s possible? Shanxi Province is practically in the Jin Family of Taiyuan’s hands already. Even if we break through Datong, the family’s main force and countless small and medium-sized sects will be waiting for us by then.”

“What if we strike before they gather? And target only their heads?”

“…”

“What?”

“In three days, on the coming New Year’s Day, the heads of every sect in Shanxi Province will gather at the Jin Family of Taiyuan. We’ll enter through Hequ instead of Datong, then charge straight toward Taiyuan.”

“…!”

“If we keep our weapons to a minimum and secure hardy steppe horses with excellent endurance, we can easily cover five hundred li in a day.¹ We can strike the enemy in as little as two days, or three at the most.”

Crossing half of Shanxi Province to strike directly at the enemy’s head.

The plan was so bold—and so reckless—that Chinggen’s voice trembled.

“W-Wait. What if they realize what we’re doing in advance and prepare?”

“Prepare? What exactly do you mean?”

“As I said, branches of the Jin Family of Taiyuan are being established throughout the north. If we advance while fighting our way through each one, we’ll lose our mobility. If we ignore them and pass by, they’ll hear about us before we even arrive.”

“Don’t worry about that. We only need to smash one—the Hequ branch.”

“Then what about the others?”

“By then, they’ll be locked in a bloody battle at Datong.”

“Datong… Ah. You can’t mean—”

“The Heavenly Wind Band Leader will do his part. I told him to run wild without restraint on that day.”

Everyone knew the Heavenly Wind Band as a major power of the northern plateau.

In both numbers and individual skill, they were at least the equal of the Red Wind Band, if not superior.

“In half a day, the Jin Family of Taiyuan’s branches throughout the north will be empty. With a fire burning in front of them, do you think they’ll have time to look behind them?”

Black Sand’s words were exactly right. The branches would scrape together every martial artist they had and send them to Datong to stop the Heavenly Wind Band. Taking advantage of that opening, the real main force would cross Hequ and advance south.

Trampling everything in their way beneath their horses’ hooves…

“Also, the Jin Family of Taiyuan is currently devoting all its strength to stabilizing the north. From what I’ve learned, there might not even be a hundred martial artists in the main family.”

Black Sand’s voice continued.

“This is a gathering attended by every sect in Shanxi Province. No matter how large the Jin Family of Taiyuan is, it can’t feed and house all of them. Even if you add every martial artist remaining at the main family, there may be only two hundred.”

Chinggen’s throat went dry. The forces under the people gathered here alone totaled three hundred without difficulty.

No, if they scraped together every last man, they could field twice that number.

We won’t be outmatched even in a battle between masters.

Black Sand. The Human Butcher. Temur and Chinggen.

All four gathered here were exceptional Peak masters.

According to the Human Butcher, who had personally met the late Pung Yang, not one of them was weaker than Pung Yang in martial arts.

But the Heaven Shaking Sword and the Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi from the Jin Family of Taiyuan only barely defeated Pung Yang after joining forces.

That had already been confirmed as fact.

Pung Yang had even defeated the Tiger of Mount Heng, a veteran of the martial world. As a result, rumors had spread that the mounted bandits of the northern plateau were stronger than most First Rate martial artists.

This might actually…

Black Sand watched Chinggen sink into thought, amusement glinting in his eyes.

“What do you say?”

Temur, who had been listening with hard swallows, shouted.

“Damn it! How can you tell me about such a fantastic plan and then ask what I think? I’m in, no matter what!”

“I’ll accept as well.”

Chinggen finally finished thinking and agreed. The Human Butcher cut in with a vicious smile.

“I don’t need anything else. Just leave Ghost Sword Wipeng to me.”

“Of course. You have my word.”

Black Sand looked around at the three men, a broad smile covering his face.

Now that they had accepted his proposal, he had effectively become the presiding chair.

“Everything we gain from this will be divided into four equal shares. If anyone breaks that agreement, I’ll chase him to the ends of the world and cut off his head. Any objections?”

“None.”

“Me neither.”

“Keep the promise written in the letter.”

“Of course.”

Black Sand answered readily, filled an empty bowl with mare’s-milk wine, and passed it around.

“Now that we’ve sealed our resolve, let’s get thoroughly drunk today!”

“Waaaaah!”

“Let’s drink! Bring more wine!”

Cheerful shouts erupted from every corner of the inn.

They were raising their bowls amid an atmosphere as heated as the mare’s-milk wine itself when—

Creeeeak.

Amid the uproar, the inn’s door opened, and someone stepped inside.