Chapter 829: Coercion

Mo Lin felt like he was unwanted in the army. For the rest of his life, he would be chasing after the previous Khan’s killer, but the Dragon King wouldn’t allow him to enter Jade City and hunt down Waning Moon Hall members.

As a wing guard, Mo Lin had enormous prestige among Norland soldiers. People always showed him great respect as they mentioned his old name, “Silver Condor,” regardless of if they had met him before or not. Like the legacy that the previous Khan had left behind in this mortal world, Mo Lin’s name was old but sacred.

This was also the very reason why the Dragon King had taken him in.

Mo Lin somewhat liked this young man, and he voluntarily linked his cause of seeking revenge to the Dragon King’s. But he was growing a little impatient, and hoped to set out on his own business as soon as possible.

Maybe, this impatience was the exact reason why he had caught a lobbyist’s eye.

After quite a few people had tried to court him with all kinds of guarantees, Mo Lin had finally agreed to enter that common tent. To his surprise, the lobbyist was Prince Duodun himself.

“Your Highness,” Mo Lin greeted with a slight nod. He had discarded his identity as a wing guard, but he still kept his previous habits, one of which was not kneeling before the Khan’s offspring.

Duodun decided to temporarily forget about his identity. With a broad smile, he said, “You never thought that it would be me?”

“You flatter me, Your Highness.” Mo Lin indeed hadn’t expected this. He had thought that the lobbyist would be some general, like Azheba.

“Ha-ha, I’d trade an army for you.”

Mo Lin didn’t respond to Duodun’s praise. The Khan’s wing guard rejected all praise and flattery from any and all royal family members. This was their obligation and bottom line. The Khan had ascended to the Heavens, but his influence hadn’t declined at all.

The smile on Duodun’s face disappeared. He was constantly trying to forget about the previous Khan, but it felt like there were reminders of that skinny old man everywhere. “I want you to come back and take up the mantle of a wing guard again.”

“Only the Khan has the right to designate wing guards,” Mo Lin reminded. “I came here only because I respect you. It doesn’t mean that you have anything that I want.”

Duodun clapped his hands, making a ringing sound. “This is what it means to be a wing guard! That’s right, only the Khan can designate wing guards. I’m inviting you on behalf of the future me.”

Mo Lin remained indifferent as he replied, “I serve only one master. Now that he’s dead, I have no master anymore. I don’t have one now, and I won’t have any in the future either.”

“What’s the Dragon King to you?” Duodun asked blandly.

“An ally.” Mo Lin knew his place very well as he explained, “We have common enemies. After we get our respective revenge, we’ll go our separate ways.”

“The Dragon King doesn’t seem to think so.” Duodun was not annoyed with Mo Lin’s explanation. He had prepared himself for all of Mo Lin’s potential answers. It would be an impressive victory for him to overcome this obstacle. “He’s been using you to keep the Norland army under control all along.”

“That’s a price I’m willing to pay.”

“Ha-ha. Then what will the Dragon King do for you?”

“He’s going to help me find Waning Moon Hall.”

“Even with the honorable identity of The First Wing Guard of Norland, you actually need to ask a Western Regioner for help?”

“I don’t have any other choice,” Mo Lin answered frankly. “The Dragon King’s one of the very few people who holds an irreconcilable hatred towards Waning Moon Hall. Although the Norland is powerful, it has its own greater cause, and it isn’t able to focus on a grain of sand beside its feet.”

The look on Duodun’s face was grave as he replied, “Well, I can focus on it. Actually, I’ve been in contact with Waning Moon Hall this whole time.” After a pause, and verifying that Mo Lin was still indifferent, he had no choice but to resume talking. “Those women are a bunch of lunatics, but I can eradicate them – kill every single one of them.”

Mo Lin sighed as he said, “It’s about time I took my leave. Please rest assured, Your Highness. I won’t tell anybody about this meeting between us, including the Dragon King.”

After putting so much effort into arranging this meeting with Mo Lin, Duodun found that he acted more like a bronze statue that didn’t understand human language at all.

Duodun also let out a sigh. He appreciated Mo Lin’s principle but was still disappointed as he called out, “Wait.”

Mo Lin stopped.

Duodun suddenly became somewhat shy and restless as he said, “These words are not easy for me to say, really. I’ve always hoped that I wouldn’t have to do this…”

Mo Lin seemed to have understood something, and the five fingers of his right hand made a gentle movement.

Duodun sensed danger, but he didn’t reveal anything on his face. Instead, the look in his eyes gradually became cold and haughty. “Women are just passersby. They come and go, and there’s always someone better than you, waiting ahead. But children are an extension of you. They’re irreplaceable. Even the previous Khan…”

Mo Lin took a step forward. The look on his face was as sullen as a tomb and as fiery as a volcano about to erupt. “The Khan would never do such a shameless thing.”

That night when the Khan had been assassinated, Mo Lin had sent his wife and children to somewhere safe. They were the only remaining living people that he cared about.

“You don’t know what kind of man the previous Khan was when he was young.” Duodun’s heart was quivering, but he managed to collect himself, and he concealed his true feelings very well. “But I know. The previous Khan told these kinds of stories to me very often. Among them, there was an aura of shamelessness that you couldn’t even imagine. He used to say this a lot: in order to seize the crown, you can sacrifice anything, and you can do anything. Because you’re not acting for yourself, but rather the whole grasslands.”

Mo Lin believed this the previous Khan had indeed said this, but the anger in him didn’t subside a single bit. “Where are they?”

Duodun felt that he had grabbed the tail of the victory, leaving the opposing side nowhere to escape to, “They went to Heaven’s Pass with a group of refugees. I’ve been keeping an eye on them, and have made sure that they have everything they need. They think that you’re working for me.”

Mo Lin regained his composure. Duodun had kidnapped his family much earlier, but had been waiting for the right opportunity for so long. Thus, he shouldn’t make any rash decisions either. “There’s nothing I can do for you, Your Highness. You’re a prince and you have enough followers.”

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“I don’t. I can never have enough followers.” Duodun also took a step forward, his intense eyes tinged with a look of greed as he said, “And you can do more than this.”

“The Dragon King,” Mo Lin finally understood why Duodun had first tried to sway and then finally coerce him.

“I know you well, and I won’t make you do anything that would trouble your conscience too much.” Duodun raised his head slightly as if he were talking to one of his companions. “All you need to do is –nothing. You don’t have to kill the Dragon King. Just stand by.”

“Trying to assassinate the Dragon King is a stupid idea.”

“Then you have even less to worry about. Just watch me fail.” Duodun was in a good mood. This was the first step to tame a ferocious dog – tightening the constraints step by step. And then an unpleasant thought occurred to him: he seemed to have learned this too from the previous Khan.

When Mo Lin returned to the Dragon King’s tent, he was busy assigning tasks to subordinates.

After glancing briefly at Mo Lin, Gu Shenwei continued to explain to Tu Pianpian, “These are Norland armies. I’ll never use them to rescue Central Plainsmen. Go back and tell that Royal Uncle this: when the war starts tomorrow, he can take the risk to run out and keep riding eastwards. That will be his only chance.”

It seemed as if Tu Pianpian still wanted to argue, but Fan Yongda beat her to the punch and hurriedly said, “Thank you, Dragon King. Royal Uncle will always be grateful to you for your kindness. Aunt Master and I…”

Tu Pianpian glared at him and he hurriedly shut up. Holding her crutch, the old woman thought for a while before replying, “There’s no other way, I guess. We’ll leave right away. The Kongtong Sect… owes Dragon King a favor.”

Gu Shenwei nodded impassively. Before Tu Pianpian, he would never show any sign of weakness.

His head turned down, Mo Lin felt a little uneasy. The Dragon King trusted him and didn’t ask him to leave before discussing confidential issues right in front of him.

Tu Pianpian and Fan Yongda took their leave. Gu Shenwei then requested Tie Linglong to protect Dugu Xian during the next day.

Tie Linglong was unhappy about his decision. “I’m your exclusive bodyguard, Dragon King. Why do you want me to protect other people?”

“Because General Dugu will be in a dangerous situation and he will need you more than I will.”

“You’re the one who will be charging at the enemies recklessly, while he’s the one who be in the rear and giving out orders. How will he be in a situation more dangerous than yours?” Tie Linglong believed the Dragon King was merely trying to make an excuse to keep her away from the battlefield.

Mo Lin turned around and was about to leave, but Gu Shenwei raised his hand and signaled him to stay. Then he said to Tie Linglong, “The rear is not necessarily a safe area. You have to trust me.”

Tie Linglong began to understand Gu Shenwei’s point, and replied, “You worry that… Okay. As long as I’m alive, nobody will be able to hurt General Dugu… again.”

“I can rest assured then.”

Tie Linglong walked out of the tent with plenty of fighting spirit in her.

“Nie Zeng.” Gu Shenwei called another bodyguard in. “From now on, you have to stay close to Shulitu at all times.”

“Got it.” Nie Zeng didn’t ask a single question, as this was a part of his duty.

Meanwhile, Wu Zongheng was in command of the 10,000-strong Dragon Army, which would be deployed in the rightmost position. Long Fanyun, as the head guard, would follow the Dragon King into battle. Those who received their assignments left the tent one by one until, at last, Mo Lin and the Dragon King were the only ones left in the tent.

Mo Lin had been curiously watching the Dragon King’s mannerisms and found that although he had an expressionless face, the Dragon King’s attitudes varied slightly towards each person. He was cold to Tu Pianpian, gentle to Tie Linglong, lukewarm to Nie Zeng, dignified to Wu Zongheng, and casual to Long Fanyun.

Mo Lin was slightly expectant about what attitude the Dragon King would have towards him.

This was an interesting game that he used to play a lot when he had been serving the previous Khan. Mostly because it would break the dull monotony of the boring guard work.

Gu Shenwei turned around to face Mo Lin. The look on his face was as sullen as usual, as if there was something on his mind or he was always speculating over what other people were thinking aout. This is not the kind of temperament that a king should have, Mo Lin thought even as he felt slightly guilty for it.

“I need you to do me a favor.”

The Dragon King spoke out. His tone was just as lukewarm as the one he used when he talked to Nie Zeng, and he was clearly trying to maintain a moderate distance from Mo Lin. But this sentence also faintly sounded like a request, indicating that the speaker knew that his audience had a bottom line – Mo Lin was not his subordinate and had a right to decide whether he would follow or decline the request.

“At your service, Dragon King.”

Mo Lin was surprised – the Dragon King and the previous Khan had only met each other once and externally, they were very different. But internally, they had so much in common.

On the contrary, Duodun looked exactly like the previous Khan, but they actually had completely opposing personalities.

“Commander-in-chief Mo Chu needs a bodyguard, and I think that you’re the only one suitable to do it.”

Mo Lin was amazed. He didn’t expect the Dragon King to assign him be Mo Chu’s bodyguard. In this case, Duodun’s threat seemed totally redundant. “All right. May I ask why?”

He wouldn’t have asked if he were facing the previous Khan, but the Dragon King hadn’t become someone like the previous Khan just yet.

“I have a premonition, just a premonition, that there seems to be some conspiracies brewing in our camp. I need Mo Chu alive because I want to make sure that our army doesn’t split.”

Mo Lin nearly blurted Duodun’s plots out at this moment, but he regained control of himself and said, “I understand. I’ll keep the commander-in-chief safe.”

‘The Dragon King’s not the previous Khan,’ Mo Lin reminded himself. ‘My family members are more important than the Dragon King .’

In his tent alone, Gu Shenwei slightly missed Fang Wenshi, who had just left only a few days ago. His had a very intense foreboding feeling that there were some conspiracies underfoot, but he had no one to talk to about his suspicions.

It was past midnight by now. A gust of wind blew by outside. Gu Shenwei walked out of the tent quietly and started sneaking towards the camp of the Land of Fragrance soldier.