"Does this land really have an end?" Su Baiyi pulled the reins and looked at the endless grassland, saying helplessly. They had been riding horses on this grassland for several months, but everywhere they looked, there was only grassland and no trace of the sacred mountain.
"The grassland is like this." Tan Tai Jing Yue smiled, "It seems like there is no end, because everywhere looks exactly the same, but in fact we have come a long way. We should have reached Jing Bei's territory now."
"How did you know that, girl? It's obviously the same everywhere." Su Baiyi asked.
Tan Tai Jing Yue waved her whip and pointed to a barren mountain in the distance: "That's Beiluo Mountain."
"Is there anything special about this mountain?" Su Baiyi scratched his head. "If we put it over there, we can see it just by walking a few steps."
"Look at that mountain, is there anything hanging?" asked Tan Tai Jing Yue.
Su Baiyi rode forward and asked in confusion, "I feel like there are some strips of cloth hanging..."
"That's right, those strips of cloth are the clothes of the deceased. After the members of the Jingbei tribe die, their bodies will be hung on Beiluo Mountain and left to be eaten by vultures." Tan Tai Jingyue said calmly.
Su Baiyi was shocked: "Isn't this disrespectful to the dead?"
"No, the people of the Jingbei tribe believe that reincarnation is immortal and that the soul goes back and forth. After a person dies, feeding the vultures with their useless skin is a kind of alms and another transformation of the old body's energy in the world. This is not disrespectful, but rather the highest treatment. The sinners of the Jingbei tribe are not qualified to go to Beiluo Mountain after death, and can only be burned in a fire." Tan Tai Jingyue explained.
Su Baiyi nodded: "I see. Before I came here, Master Mu told me that the northern barbarians were tough and violent, but after coming here, I feel that the herdsmen are quite kind, which is completely different from what I imagined."
"They are kind because you are generous with money, young master." Tan Tai Jingyue smiled.
"Kind?" Su Jian waved his hand and split a feather arrow in half. "Didn't you hear them sharpening their knives at night?"
Tan Tai Jing Yue turned her horse around and said worriedly, "This is going to be troublesome."
Su Baiyi also turned his head and saw a dozen sturdy herdsmen on horseback standing ten feet away. The leader was wearing a wolfskin coat. The wolf head was leaning on his shoulder, staring with red eyes, as if still alive. Beside him, there were three strong white wolves, grinning at Su Baiyi and others, as if ready to pounce at any time.
"Is this a member of the Jingbei tribe?" Su Baiyi asked in a low voice.
Tan Tai Jing Yue nodded: "It seems so. And the visitor has three wolves accompanying him, so he should have a high status in the tribe."
"Who are you?" the leading man asked in barbarian language.
Tan Tai Jingyue jumped off the horse, bowed to the Jingbei people, and replied in barbarian language: "These are merchants from the southern border. It is an honor for us to meet the owner of Jingbei when we pass by here." After that, Tan Tai Jingyue took a piece of exquisite sheepskin and a bag of gold bars from the horse's back, walked forward a few steps, put them on the ground, and then stepped back.
"Bring it here." The man said in a deep voice.
"Yes." A naked herdsman jumped off his horse, walked up to collect the sheepskin and gold nuggets, then got on his horse and whispered a few words in the man's ear. The man nodded.
"My dear master, if we disturb the tranquility here, I can take the merchants from the southern border to choose another route." Tan Tai Jingyue looked at her master's face and asked cautiously.
The man looked at Tan Tai Jing Yue, and then his eyes suddenly showed a sharp light like an eagle. He waved his hand, and a sleeve arrow flew towards Su Bai Yi. Su Bai Yi was stunned, and immediately drew the long sword at his waist and cut the sleeve arrow into two pieces. The man sneered, and then said in a not very fluent southern border official language: "Are all merchants from the southern border so good at martial arts?"
Tan Tai Jingyue swallowed and broke out in a cold sweat.
Su Jian shrugged helplessly: "It seems that the owner here doesn't welcome us very much."
"We in the Jingbei tribe welcome all guests." The man curled his lips and sneered, "But we do not welcome those who have ill intentions."
"This barbarian can even speak idioms." Su Jian said to Su Baiyi.
"You called me a barbarian?" the man growled.
"My host, please forgive me for making you feel so ignorant of etiquette as a guest from the Southern Territory!" Tan Tai Jing Yue was so frightened that she immediately knelt down.
Su Jian and Su Baiyi didn't care at all. After all, these white wolves could scare ordinary merchants, but in front of them, they were just beasts that could be killed with a single sword.
"Do you know who is in front of you?" The man who just dismounted to collect the gold bars also spoke in the Southern Border Mandarin.
Su Jian looked at the three white wolves and said, "Three wolves guarding each other, is it Na Yan or the prince?"
The man was stunned for a moment, then said: "You seem to know a little bit about the rules of our Jingbei tribe. This is Prince He Shan from our Jingbei tribe!"
"And Prince Shan!" Tan Tai Jingyue was so frightened that her face turned pale and her lips trembled slightly.
"He doesn't look friendly at all." Su Baiyi curled his lips.
"This is not the time to say these things!" Tan Tai Jing Yue said in a low voice.
"Hmm?" Su Baiyi noticed Tan Tai Jing Yue's expression and asked in confusion, "Could this person be very powerful?"
"Prince He Shan is a hero of our grassland!" Tan Tai Jingyue said seriously.
"Not really a hero. He just raised a few hundred wolves and slaughtered a few tribes." The Hedan Prince suddenly turned his horse's head, "Kill the two men, take all the sheepskins and gold nuggets, and send the girl to my tent tonight."
"Yes." The others shouted.
"Your evaluation of heroes really confuses me." Su Baiyi said helplessly.
Tan Tai Jing Yue was so scared that her legs went weak. She knew that the words of this ruthless prince were not just words. The rule on the grassland was that whoever was the most ruthless and the strongest was the hero favored by the gods. But when Tan Tai Jing Yue raised her head and wanted to plead again, she found that there was an extra person behind the horse seat of the Shan Prince.
Su Jian.
"This girl cannot go to your tent at night, but we don't mind going to sit in His Royal Highness's tent." Su Jian said lightly.
"You are very brave." Prince He Shan said in a deep voice.
"After all, you are not very courageous, so the head is yours." Su Jian said nonchalantly.
"You are very capable." He Shan Prince praised.
"So what?" Su Jian asked quietly.
"You are qualified to sit in my tent." Prince He Shan said finally.
"Okay." Su Jian jumped off his horse and walked to Su Baiyi's side. "Then go sit in your tent."