Chapter Eighty-Nine: The Miserable Turks

Wu Yuanshuang glared with bulging eyes and roared himself hoarse. These Turkic men were his only support today, yet in only a few words Yun Hao had left them bewildered and at a loss. He simply did not believe that an eight-year-old boy like Yun Hao could know some great Turkic chief.

“You say you know our chief. Prove it,” one of the minority brothers said. Though plainspoken, he was not foolish. The child before them looked no more than seven or eight. Even if he had been to Turkic lands, he could hardly have any connection to so exalted a chief. The boy was trying to fool them. That had to be it.

“There’s no way to prove it, because I’m lying to you. So what? Bite me.” Yun Hao sat on his horse, the picture of a mischievous child. He deliberately adopted a mocking tone, and the crowd watching burst into laughter at once. This boy had shown his hand so plainly, and yet he had actually managed to fluster the Turkic men.

“You’re courting death! You Han people only know how to use trickery and deceit. Not one of you dares face us Turkic warriors in a real fight with blades and steel. None of you Han men are real men. Serves you right that we Turkic people seize your women and seize your cattle and sheep.” Ahuinan was so enraged it felt as though one Buddha had flown out of his body and another had ascended to heaven. He had never imagined being toyed with by a mere child. They always said the Han were cunning, but he had not expected even a child to be so sly.

Those words were too much. Among the onlookers, at least more than half were men, and after hearing Ahuinan’s insult, they were all filled with righteous anger. Many Han men who had suffered humiliation at Turkic hands clenched their fists, ready to beat these people to the ground and avenge their dead kin and friends.

“What? Your Han men still refuse to accept it? If any of you refuse, come up. I’ll kill you one by one, and your officials won’t even dare fart about it.” Ahuinan pointed arrogantly at the people around him, his eyes full of contempt. His chin was lifted high, like a wolf among a flock of sheep. The crowd erupted at once. The Turkic men were indeed rude and overbearing, but never before had they been so brazen in broad daylight. A few hotheaded youths who were eager to move were dragged back by their relatives. If these Turkic men really killed someone, the authorities would never give them justice.

Seeing the surging mass of Han people around him, yet not a single one daring to step forward, Ahuinan laughed wildly, and the Turkic men behind him laughed along with him. Now they had the feeling of a tiger roaring in the mountains and forests. Wu Yuanshuang stood awkwardly beside the Turkic men, the muscles in his face twitching, impossible to tell whether he was laughing or crying. Looking at the fire in everyone’s eyes, he began to regret having provoked these Turkic men today.

“Ahuinan, you are a man of the grasslands. Do you know who lived on the plains you now call home before your people did?” Yun Hao asked with a smile, undaunted by Ahuinan’s swagger.

“Too much nonsense. I don’t care who lived there before. Hurry up and hand over your wife so my brothers can enjoy themselves.” Ahuinan pointed at Yun Hao, already preparing to have his men seize her. After all, with thousands of Han people gathered around, he was somewhat afraid in his heart too.

“You call yourselves the Wolf Tribe, yet you don’t know that hundreds of years ago there was also a people called the Xiongnu, who called themselves the Wolf Tribe and lived on your grasslands. So where did they end up? I’ll tell you: they were wiped out by us Han people. That war lasted three hundred years. Our Han blood flowed like rivers, and bodies piled up like mountains. But we were not afraid. We drove the Xiongnu far beyond the edge of the world, and they never dared return.

“Ahuinan, your Turkic people will one day follow the same road as the Xiongnu. We won’t bully you today, as long as you can beat him. Then I’ll let you leave alive.” Yun Hao raised his hand and pointed at Li Yuanba beside him.

Despising Ahuinan’s arrogance to the core, Yun Hao decided to set a trap for him. The greatest fighter of the age, a man even Yu Wenhua could not defeat. Yun Hao did not think Ahuinan had any chance of surviving.

Li Yuanba had originally been following Chai Shao to the Yun household for a wedding feast, only to run into this affair along the way. He had just squeezed up beside Yun Hao when Yun Hao pushed him out to take the lead.

Chai Shao’s brow knotted into a tight furrow. Jinyang lay on the border between the Sui realm and Turkic territory. He had not wanted to provoke the Turkic people, but their arrogance was simply too much. To openly seize someone in broad daylight and need no lesson at all would make them think the Han were sheep.

“Kill him, and I’ll make you fried meatballs to eat,” Yun Hao said, ignoring Chai Shao as he bent close and spoke softly to Li Yuanba.

The brother with negative intelligence was remarkably straightforward indeed. Hearing about fried meatballs, his eyes lit up at once. He looked at Ahuinan, then turned back to Yun Hao. “I also want braised pork hocks!” Whoever called this fellow stupid would be negotiating with a fool.

“No problem. I’ll stew you a chicken too.” Yun Hao smiled wickedly. Once Li Yuanba made his move, Ahuinan was dead for sure. You want to make a move on my wife? Hmph. And as for Wu Yuanshuang, I’ll settle with you afterward.

“Xuanba... just teach him a lesson!” Chai Shao was horrified upon hearing this. He did not want these Turkic men spilling blood in the streets of Jinyang. Yet he dared not say it loudly, for it would ruin the dignity of the House of Duke of Tang. His voice was faint to begin with, and with the noise around them, Li Yuanba did not hear him at all.

Ahuinan saw a thin, dark youth step out from the other side and did not even spare him a proper glance. He turned and waved to the Turkic men, saying in Turkic, “Seize the bride and have a good time tonight.” Since Yun Hao was so detestable, Ahuinan decided to sell the bride to Wu Yuanshuang tomorrow instead.

The Turkic men behind him had long since grown impatient. At Ahuinan’s order, they rushed forward at once. The first man reached out to grab Li Yuanba, thinking the dark, wiry youth was nothing but a chick. One punch would send him flying.

When Li Yuanba saw the broad palm coming for him, he too reached out a hand. The two hands locked together, and the Turkic man felt as though his hand had been clamped in iron tongs. Just as he sensed something was wrong, Li Yuanba exerted force and twisted violently.

“Ah...!” The Turkic man let out a terrible scream as one arm was actually twisted around in a full circle. The bones inside had been turned to a twisted mess. Even a bear-like brute was crippled on the spot.

Before the scream had even finished, Li Yuanba’s foot had already smashed into the Turkic man’s shin. With a crisp crack, pale bone splinters thrust out from inside his trousers. He could no longer stand and dropped to one knee. Then Li Yuanba drove a knee upward with crushing force, and the Turkic man’s skull was shattered outright. The tremendous impact actually jolted both eyes from their sockets. They hung there in a pitiful, ghastly sight.

A cry of shock rose all around. In the blink of an eye, that bear-like giant had died a violent death on the spot. His body thudded to the ground and twitched only twice before falling still.