She was only joking, trying to lighten the mood, but she didn’t realize that her words struck a nerve in Zhan. Suddenly, he stood up, grabbing her roughly and pulling her into his arms. His large hand gripped her shoulder tightly as he spoke coldly, “Perhaps I should act first—after all, you are my queen!” He pulled her even closer, nearly squeezing the breath out of her chest. This was the first time Zhan had held her like this, his frantic heartbeat pressing against her, and his hot breath blew harshly against her face. Yet his expression was one of deep loneliness.
“Your Majesty, you’re acting inappropriately.” For a moment, Huang Bei Shuang didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t match his strength, and besides, they were married—such intimacy should have been normal.
Zhan looked at her, his hand moving to her soft, cherry-red lips as he lowered his head, his eyes filled with a loneliness he could no longer bear. He wanted to taste her—this woman who belonged to someone else.
Huang Bei Shuang, trapped in his embrace, was sweating with anxiety. But just as Zhan’s lips were about to meet hers, he stopped, mere inches away. In an instant, he regained his former composure, his demeanor entirely different from the desperate man of moments ago.
“I was just joking. I know you won’t betray me; your people are in Yunpei,” he said, releasing her.
Huang Bei Shuang remained silent for a long time. “Your Majesty, what makes you so lonely?”
“It’s rare for you to care about me!” Zhan chuckled bitterly, returning to his seat at the table and resuming his chess game.
Huang Bei Shuang looked at him and spoke softly: “I have always admired you. No other country has been as prosperous and peaceful as Yunpei under your rule.”
Upon hearing this, Zhan lifted his head. “My queen, do you realize that once the war begins, all of this will be reduced to ashes? All the effort, the hard work over the years, the beautiful oases—everything will be gone. Even if Huo Qing Yun manages to break into Guanghan Palace, what he’ll find will be a devastated Yunpei. And at that point, he’ll have to walk the same path I’ve walked, spending the same amount of time I’ve spent, just to rebuild everything that already existed.”
Huang Bei Shuang was stunned by his words. The saying “The tree desires calm, but the wind does not stop” perfectly described Zhan’s current situation. Since she had taken in Saman, she had come to truly understand the extent of the turmoil Tian Du had brought upon most of the desert world.
“Yunpei was founded three hundred and thirty years ago, with forty-two large oases. The recorded territory covered 1.69 billion pings. Since I, King Zhan, ascended the throne, the recorded territory has grown to 2.34 billion pings. Do you know how many people depend on this land for survival? Nearly thirty million. Huang Bei Shuang, my guiding principle is to ensure this country continues to grow, so that one day it will restore the prosperity once seen in the Celestial Empire of the desert!” Zhan spoke as if to himself.
“I don’t want to send you to Mizan, and I worry that Wu Jihai won’t be able to fend off Ruo Wen, and you’ll be captured. Even though you’re not truly my woman, I don’t want to lose you. Don’t ask me why! But you must go to Mizan, to divert Ruo Wen. I’ll wait for you under your Jiemashu tree!”
Huang Bei Shuang looked at Zhan. “Your Majesty…”
The boundless desert stretched endlessly, and the scattered oases were like stars—sometimes full of life, sometimes vanishing beneath the dark sky.
Yunpei’s great general, Wu Jihai, led ten thousand elite cavalrymen to accompany Huang Bei Shuang on her mission to Mizan. The convoy moved like a line of ants across the land. This time, Huang Bei Shuang had left Saman behind. Alongside Wu Jihai, there were also Lian Huan, Ye Pei, eight other generals, and three maidservants to protect her.
Walking in the center of the formation, Wu Jihai occasionally turned his head to look at the queen sitting in her carriage, his face full of curiosity. The king’s trust in her seemed completely unfounded, and the fact that he personally appointed Wu Jihai to escort her only highlighted her importance. On this journey, their greatest enemy would undoubtedly be the Mad Blood King, Ruo Wen. Wu Jihai had heard many stories about him—said to be incredibly fierce and perhaps the strongest warrior in the desert. Thinking of this, Wu Jihai tightened his grip on his large blade. After years of fighting for Yunpei, he had never met a true match in battle. He had faced countless opponents, but one thing was certain—he had never been defeated.
“General Wu!” Huang Bei Shuang called, halting the carriage.
Wu Jihai rode forward to inquire, “Your Highness! What are your orders?”
Huang Bei Shuang smiled slightly. “Tell the soldiers to slow down. Every half hour, change the formation. Every three hours, blow the horn, and keep waving the flags.”
Wu Jihai was taken aback. “Your Highness?”
Huang Bei Shuang leaned back, her expression calm. “Just do it.”
Wu Jihai turned back to the soldiers, shouting, “Slow the march! Wave the flags, blow the horn every three hours!”
A chorus of disciplined responses echoed. The soldiers raised their heads and called out, their steps in unison. It was clear how strict General Wu was in his command.
Mizan was far from Yunpei. Geographically, the five great nations were arranged with Tian Du in the northernmost region, Yunpei in the south, Hu He to the west, equidistant from both Yunpei and Tian Du, and Fen Tian closer by. Mizan, the great religious nation, lay far to the east, distant from the other four. The journey from Yunpei to Mizan required nine days on foot, or five days with a fast-moving army.
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