On the vast grassland,

After a fierce battle, the originally peaceful grassland has become a mess.

Yuan Jingxin took a deep breath, carefully scanned the mess in front of him, frowned, and thought quickly about his next strategy in his mind.

Several bodies of Northern Barbarian scouts were lying on the ground, their blood had stained the surrounding grass, and the air was filled with a strong smell of blood.

Although the battle was over, the traces of the fierce fighting were too obvious to be completely covered up.

Therefore, he did not order his men to clean up all traces, because this was simply impossible, but calmly weighed the pros and cons.

He knew that the Northern Barbarians’ scouts were no ordinary people. When they saw their companions had not returned for a long time, they would definitely follow the clues to track them down.

If they arrived here and found that there was not even a body left, it would obviously be even more suspicious. By then, once the news was passed back to Hailanhak, the consequences would be disastrous.

“Although this is just a guess of mine, I can’t afford to gamble now, and I can’t gamble.” Yuan Jingxin thought secretly in his heart, with a hint of coldness in his eyes.

“The safest way now is to wipe out this group of people and let Hailanhak guess on his own. Only in this way can the risk be minimized.”

However, before he could fully sort out his thoughts, the sound of hurried horse hooves was heard in the distant night.

The sound came from far away and was accompanied by faint whispers. It was obvious that a group of people were approaching this side quickly.

“Sure enough, they are coming.” Yuan Jingxin’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he suddenly became alert.

He turned around quickly and whispered to his followers behind him: “Everyone, hide immediately! The enemy’s reinforcements have arrived, prepare to fight!”

Upon hearing this, the followers nodded, quickly dispersed, and hid again under the cover of the grass and terrain.

Their movements were light and swift, without making any unnecessary sounds, as if they were a group of experienced hunters ready to ambush their prey at any time.

Yuan Jingxin stood where he was, staring coldly at the darkness in the distance.

The sound of horse hooves was getting closer, accompanied by low voices talking and the panting of horses. Soon, a team of northern barbarian scouts appeared in sight.

There were more of them than before, as many as seven or eight people. Each of them was wearing light armor, holding a weapon, and their expressions were alert and murderous.

“It seems that they are here to look for their missing companions.”

Yuan Jingxin thought to himself, a cold light flashed in his eyes, “But now that you are here, don’t even think about going back alive.”

He slowly squatted down, completely hiding his figure in the grass, and stared at every move of the Northern Barbarian scouts.

“Be careful, there is a smell of blood ahead.”

The leader warned his companions in fluent Northern Barbarian language, “Maybe something happened to them!”

Hearing this, the others slowed down and looked around vigilantly. They had obviously noticed something strange, but they did not find the murderous intent hidden in the darkness.

“Come a little closer…” Yuan Jingxin said silently in his heart, his fingers gently clenched the sword, and his whole body was like a fully drawn bow, ready to attack at any time.

The Northern Barbarian scouts gradually approached the ambush circle, their horses’ hooves making muffled sounds on the blood-stained grass.

Soon, they found the body on the ground, and expressions of shock and anger appeared on their faces.

“It’s our companion!” A scout shouted in a low voice, then drew his weapon and glanced around vigilantly, “Be careful, there’s an ambush!”

However, just as the scout finished his words, Yuan Jingxin suddenly jumped out from the bushes, and the sword in his hand flashed a cold light in the moonlight.

“Kill!” He shouted softly, and his followers rushed towards the Northern Barbarian scouts from all directions like tigers out of a cage.

“Enemy attack!” The Northern Barbarian scouts reacted quickly, drawing their weapons and trying to fight back.

However, Yuan Jingxin and his team had already seized the geographical advantage, and the speed of their raid was so fast that they gave the other side almost no chance to organize a defense.

Yuan Jingxin rushed towards a scout first, and with a flash of his sword, he directly knocked the opponent’s weapon away.

Then he kicked the opponent in the chest, knocked him off his horse, and stabbed him again without mercy.

“Don’t let them escape!” Yuan Jingxin shouted loudly, with unquestionable majesty in his tone.

Upon hearing this, the followers accelerated their attack. They surrounded the remaining northern barbarian scouts tightly, not giving them any chance to escape.

Amid the flashing of swords and the shadow of sabers, screams rang out one after another, and the Northern Barbarian scouts were quickly suppressed.

The battle lasted less than a cup of tea, and all the Northern Barbarian scouts were completely wiped out.

Silence returned to the grass again, leaving only the fallen corpse and the strong smell of blood.

Yuan Jingxin stood there, breathing slightly, and glanced around coldly.

His hand was still tightly gripping the sword, and the blood dripping from the blade was particularly dazzling in the dim glow of the sunset.

After the battle, Yuan Jingxin remained highly vigilant.

He stood in the center of the battlefield, looking around coldly, as if confirming whether there were any potential threats.

After a moment, he waved his hand, signaling the two scouts who had been scouting the enemy situation earlier to come forward.

“Are you sure these are all the scouts sent by the Northern Barbarians?” Yuan Jingxin asked in a low voice, with a hint of coldness and unquestionable majesty in his tone.

The two scouts nodded quickly, with a hint of certainty in their tone: “General, the Northern Barbarians’ scouts always act in batches. According to our previous observations, these ten or so people should be all the tracking troops they sent out. It is unlikely that there will be reinforcements in the rear.”

Yuan Jingxin heard this, his brows relaxed slightly, a look of satisfaction on his face.

He nodded and whispered, “Very good. This way, our concealment can be guaranteed to the greatest extent.”

He turned around and looked at his followers behind him. Although they had just experienced a fierce battle, they still maintained a high level of vigilance and did not relax their weapons at all.

“Everyone listen up!” Yuan Jingxin’s voice was low and calm, with an unquestionable majesty in his tone.

“Clean up the battlefield immediately and bury all the bodies on the spot. Move quickly but thoroughly, leaving no traces behind.

Remember, our goal is to delay time. The longer we delay, the later our intentions will be exposed, and the greater the chance that your Highness’s plan will succeed.”

“Yes!” Everyone responded in unison, and then quickly took action. They gathered the bodies on the ground in one place, used the tools they carried with them to dig a temporary burial site, and buried all the bodies there. Yuan Jingxin stood aside, watching everyone’s actions with cold eyes.

His hand was still tightly gripping the sword, and although the battle was over, he remained highly alert, as if ready to deal with new danger at any time.

“Hurry up, there’s not much time left.” Yuan Jingxin urged in a low voice, with a hint of urgency in his tone.

The followers quickened their work and soon buried all the bodies.

The bloodstains on the ground were also covered by grass, and the entire battlefield looked as if nothing had happened.

“Clean up the traces here again to ensure they won’t be easily discovered.” Yuan Jingxin gave the order again, with a calm look in his eyes.

Everyone took action again, carefully cleaning the grass and ground around the battlefield, trying to cover up all traces of the battle as much as possible.

Not until everything was settled did Yuan Jingxin finally reveal a look of satisfaction.

“Very good.” He whispered, then raised his head and looked at the night in the distance, “Now, we can leave.”

He turned around and looked at his followers behind him, with a firm tone in his voice: “Everyone, leave immediately and follow me back to the camp! Our mission is not over yet, we must bring the news of the success of the plan to General Lin as soon as possible!”

“Yes!” everyone answered in unison, then quickly reorganized the team and followed Yuan Jingxin towards the camp.

The night wind was still howling, and there was a hint of chill in the air on the grassland.

Yuan Jingxin rode on his horse, staring coldly at the road ahead, his heart filled with complicated emotions.

“This step is finally the right one.” He said secretly in his heart, with a firmness in his eyes.

“But every step that follows cannot be wrong. Only when the message is successfully brought back can our plan truly work.”

However, what he didn’t know was that at this moment, Hailan Jiabo was frowning and thinking hard about their identities.

At this time, night was falling and the lights in Hailan Jiabo’s tent were bright, but the atmosphere was not as dull as the night outside.

Inside the tent, a group of generals were gathered together, all of them were excited, and even faintly happy. Their voices rose and fell, making it particularly noisy.

“Haha! Chagan Uli is really a joke! The envoys they sent are so arrogant and rude. How can they come here to negotiate peace? They are clearly here to provoke us!” A general laughed and said with excitement in his tone.

“That’s right!” another person echoed, slapping the table with a hint of gloating in his tone.

“I’ve said it before, Chagan Wuli is not trustworthy at all! Now it seems that he doesn’t take us seriously at all! The failure of this peace talk plan is actually a good thing!”

“Yes!” someone else stood up and said with an unconcealable smile on his face.

“If Hailanhaq and Chagan Uli really join forces, won’t we be suppressed to death?
Now, Chagan Uli actually dared to treat Hailanhak like this. I think they will turn against each other sooner or later!”

All the generals spoke one after another, and they all felt “fortunate” for Chagan Wuli’s attitude.

In their view, Chagan Uli’s arrogance and disrespect would completely ruin the peace talks, which was exactly what they wanted to see.

After all, in their eyes, after this incident, it would be wishful thinking for Chagan Wuli to think about it again.

However, Hailan Jiabo, who was sitting in the main seat, was not as relaxed as everyone else. He frowned, his eyes swept over everyone coldly, and he felt a little uneasy in his heart.

“These people…” Hailan Jiabo sighed secretly in his heart, with a complicated emotion in his eyes, “They only see the situation in front of them, but have never thought about whether there is another hidden story.”

He took a deep breath, raised his hand and tapped the table lightly, making a low sound.

When everyone heard the voice, they stopped talking and turned their eyes to Hailan Jiabo.

“Enough!” Hailan Jiabo’s voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable majesty, which instantly made the tent quiet.

Everyone looked at Hailan Jiabo with a hint of awe in their eyes.

Although they were happy with Chagan Uli’s attitude, no one dared to underestimate Hailan Jiabo’s judgment when facing him.

“You only see Chagan Uli’s arrogant attitude, but you don’t think about whether there is another hidden reason behind it.”

Hailan Jiabo’s eyes were deep and cold, and his tone was calm, “Chagan Wuli has always been far-sighted. Will he really break off cooperation with us so easily?”

Hearing this, everyone showed doubtful expressions. Someone couldn’t help but ask: “General, do you mean… Chagan Uli has other plans?”

Hailan Jiabo did not answer immediately, but waved his hand, signaling a personal soldier to come forward.

He stared at the other person coldly, and said in a low and dignified tone: “Tell me everything that happened in the big tent that day. Don’t leave anything out.”

The soldier nodded quickly and then repeated the situation of that day in detail.

From the moment the envoys sent by Chagan Uli entered the tent, to their rude words, to the ambiguous conditions they put forward, every detail was narrated one by one.

Everyone in the tent listened quietly, with complicated expressions. But unlike Hailan Jiabo’s calmness, they were still excited, even a little excited.

“Haha, General! Doesn’t this just prove that Chagan Uli doesn’t take us seriously at all?” A general couldn’t help but say, with a hint of relief in his tone, “In that case, we don’t need to have any expectations of him anymore!”

“That’s right!” another person echoed with a smile on his face.

“Since Chagan Wuli dares to be so arrogant and rude, there is no need for us to worry about anything! Instead of bothering to deal with him, it is better to focus on dealing with the rebels!”

However, Hailan Jiabo’s expression remained stern. His eyes narrowed slightly, as if he was looking for a deeper truth through the surface anger and joy.

“Something’s wrong…” Hailan Jiabo murmured in a low voice, with a hint of doubt in his tone.

“General, what do you think is wrong?” A general couldn’t help but ask, with a hint of confusion in his eyes.

“Is Chagan Wuli really so arrogant?” Hailan Jiabo spoke slowly, with a cold light flashing in his eyes. “Even if he despises us in his heart, would he say it directly at this critical moment? Isn’t this…”

After hearing this, everyone looked thoughtful. But after a moment, someone couldn’t help but say, “General, maybe Chagan Uli has no intention of making peace with us, so he deliberately sent such a group of people to provoke us…”

“That’s possible.” Another person nodded, with a hint of caution in his tone, “Chagan Wuli has always been cunning, he may want to use this to test our bottom line.”

Hailan Jiabo frowned even more. His eyes were filled with deep thought, and his fingers tapped the table lightly, making a low sound. (End of this chapter)