Faced with the confused high command in the great tent, Tie Muer stood up in frustration. He walked to the entrance and pushed aside the heavy felt flap.
The night wind of the plains howled, rushing in and carrying with it the cries of distant wolf packs and the strange shrieks of demons and fiends.
The night sky was as black as ink and dotted with stars. The vast Northern Desert slumbered in the darkness, unaware that the fires of war were silently drawing near.
In the past, it was always the Northern Desert Da Kuo that initiated hostilities. No one had expected the Great Xia Dynasty to be so decisive this time.
"Where are Great Xia’s two hundred thousand Imperial Guards now?" he asked without turning back.
"The vanguard has already passed Black Water Pass. At this rate, they will reach Yingchou Creek in ten days at most. That is the first line of defense for our Royal Court’s southern border, and we have a large force stationed there," the Reconnoitre Commander reported from his kneeling position.
Tie Muer turned, a cold glint in his eyes. "So, whether we did it or not, we have to fight this war. That little bastard Xia Shengming has already made up his mind."
The Left Prince, Huyan Zhuo, spoke in a low voice. "Great Khan, Emperor Xia’s actions don’t necessarily mean he’s convinced the culprits are among us. In my humble opinion, he’s been backed into a corner by various factions within his own country and needs an enemy to divert attention from internal conflicts. We, the Northern Desert, are undoubtedly the perfect target, the most convenient scapegoat for his retaliation."
"That’s right," Tuoba Xiong sneered. "We’ve had constant friction with Great Xia over the years, with border skirmishes every year. By making an example of us, Emperor Xia can appease his domestic audience and seize the opportunity to weaken our Royal Court. He kills two birds with one stone."
Tie Muer was silent for a long moment before finally letting out a long sigh. "Issue the order: all tribes are to assemble their warriors and prepare for war! Since Great Xia wants a fight, then we’ll give them one. Let Xia Shengming learn that the sons of the grasslands are not to be provoked. Our Da Kuo Royal Court does not fear war."
"Yes, sir!" the commanders in the tent roared in unison, many of their faces lighting up with excitement.
But Tie Muer knew this was a deeply frustrating war. He was being forced to take the blame for something he hadn’t done; he had no choice but to fight.
What was even more infuriating was that he was beginning to suspect it himself. ’Could there really be a hidden True Monarch within the Royal Court? Or a hidden group of Celestial Humans who went to Great Xia behind my back?’
’Otherwise, based on the intel from our spies, how could Emperor Xia’s most trusted forces—the Imperial Guard, the Shadow Guard, the Divine Capture Sect—have found so many clues pointing to us? It’s not like all of the Great Xia Dynasty’s powerful organizations are traitors, is it?’
A similar scene of confusion was playing out in the Ten Thousand Mountains of the Southern Barbarians.
Witch God Valley, the heart of the Southern Barbarian Hundred Races’ lands, was also the center of their faith.
Deep within a primordial forest thick with miasma, it was home to numerous Demons and Ghosts.
There were no magnificent palaces here, only bamboo buildings and wooden huts built into the mountainside. They were layered one upon another, hidden amongst towering ancient trees and thick vines, making them difficult to spot.
In the tallest bamboo structure in the valley, the ruler of the Southern Barbarians, Witch God Panhu, sat cross-legged on a mat of animal hide. Before him, a pile of strange, green flames flickered.
Panhu appeared to be a man of about forty, but he was actually over seven hundred years old. He was a Two Spirits True Monarch, possessing a millennium-long lifespan.
He was draped in a multi-colored Feather Robe, his face painted with indigo Totem patterns, and a Beast Tooth Necklace hung around his neck. He exuded a primal and mysterious aura, and the sense of danger he projected was in no way inferior to Emperor Xia’s—it might even have surpassed it.
He was the only one among the Southern Barbarians to have reached the True Monarch Level. The Hundred Races revered him as the Witch God; he was the object of their faith.
At this moment, he too held a declaration of war, one personally written by Emperor Xia.
Its contents were nearly identical to the one received by the Northern Desert Royal Court. The only differences were that "Northern Desert Da Kuo Royal Court" had been replaced with "Southern Barbarian Hundred Races," and the threat of "Horse Trampling the Royal Court" had been changed to "Fire-Burning Witch Valley." The rest was more or less the same.
"Utterly absurd!"
Panhu’s voice was low, carrying a strange resonance as if the valley itself was speaking. "The Broken Yang Pill may be a specialty of our Southern Barbarians, but its formula was developed long ago, and countless batches have been sold. To claim the Southern Barbarian Hundred Races are responsible based on that alone is completely baseless. And as for dispatching a True Monarch to infiltrate White Jade City... I haven’t even left Witch God Valley in decades, much less traveled to White Jade City."
Also in the bamboo building were several Clan Leaders from the major Southern Barbarian clans, the very people who managed the daily affairs of the Hundred Races.
Panhu spent most of his time in cultivation, leaving external matters to them. There was also a general clan leader, appointed by Panhu. Unless a major crisis arose, no one would disturb Panhu.
An old man whose face was covered in tattoos spoke. He was Chi Gu, Clan Leader of the Black Miao. "Lord Witch God, our spies report that Daxia’s Southern King has mobilized two hundred thousand soldiers from the Border Army. They are currently massing their forces. It appears they intend to move against our Hundred Races."
Panhu frowned, irritated by this sudden development. "Their reason?"
"They claim we’re Refining the Broken Yang Pill to poison the Princes of the Great Xia. But we’ve sold plenty of those pills before; blaming us just for that is absurd. They also say we might have dispatched a large number of Celestial Humans, or even a True Monarch, to plunder important sites like Great Xia’s Inner Treasury, National Treasury, and Qianqing Palace," Chi Gu said with a wry smile.
The White Miao Clan Leader, Granny Hua, chimed in, "I suspect someone is trying to frame us, using Great Xia as a weapon to deal with us Southern Barbarians."
"But who has that kind of power? To infiltrate the Deep Palace, cripple so many Princes and Princesses—even the Empress was deposed—and then go on to plunder the Inner Treasury, the National Treasury, and Qianqing Palace... This is no ordinary feat."
The group fell silent, all of them harboring the same suspicion.
After a long silence, Panhu slowly rose and walked to the window of the bamboo building.
Outside the window lay the lush, primordial forest. Mist swirled through the trees as the air filled with the incessant chirping of insects, the roars of beasts, and the fresh scent of vegetation.
This was the ancestral homeland of the Southern Barbarians. They had always kept to themselves—or so they believed.
"If Great Xia wants war, then let there be war," Panhu finally commanded. "Order the Hundred Races to assemble their warriors and set up the Poisonous Miasma Gu Array. Let the Southern King learn that the Ten Thousand Mountains are not so easily entered."
"Yes, Lord!" The Clan Leaders accepted the command and hurried off to begin preparations.
But as they departed, they all carried the same question in their hearts: ’Who is it? Why frame the Southern Barbarians and drag us into a war?’
While the Northern Desert and the Southern Barbarians were grudgingly preparing for a war they didn’t want, the scene inside Wenhua Hall in White Jade City—where the true mastermind resided—was entirely different.
The last vestiges of late spring’s chill had finally faded. Early summer sunlight streamed through the ornate window lattices, casting warm patches of light across the hall floor.
In the courtyard, the crabapple blossoms had already faded. Now, tender green leaves rustled in the gentle breeze, creating a pleasant sound.
A few early cicadas clung to the branches, tentatively letting out sharp, crisp calls.
Inside the Warm Pavilion, twelve newly arrived Jiangnan Beauties were rehearsing a dance. Each was a breathtaking beauty, so lovely they could make the moon hide its face in shame. On a scale of one to a hundred, every single one of them would be considered a perfect score.

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