The high heavenly warrior god looked down on the earth, and the young men who carried his will placed their still immature palms in one place, and the kings of the troubled times made their first covenant. There is a will that will not be extinguished at any time, and there is a fire that will always burn the wasteland. Have you ever heard an eagle outside the sky? Have you ever heard heavy breathing from the ground? A new era has begun. - "Chu Zhang"

The sky in the sky gradually darkened, and the stars gradually floated into the starry sky, Ah Qi stretched his head, stood motionless in the courtyard, looked up at the starry sky, looked at the trajectory of the stars, and the old things from the past came to mind.

"Ah Qi, what did you see?"

"The sun passed through the center of the sky and entered the palace of scorpions, the celestial sphere rotated a minute and a half centimeters faster than before, and the trajectory of the main star did not change, but at night, we should see the north star rising from the top of the mountain.

There have only been three times in five hundred years, and the North Star is the star of war, Teacher, will the Temptar God protect us from the punishment of the North Star God? ”

"If you ask me, who should I ask? Do you really want me to ask the Tartar gods? ”

"But...... Teacher, you are our great witch! ”

"The teacher has been a witch for thirty-six years, and I have never heard a word from the god of Pantar, maybe the god of Pantar has forgotten the son of the steppe, maybe he is just taking a nap, the previous generation of great witches said that the god sleeps for a thousand years each time, and only opens his eyes three times in this thousand years, although I think my body is still strong, but it is estimated that it will not be able to withstand that day."

"That'...... Teacher, what do you see in the astrology? ”

"Didn't see anything! There are so many stars, a mess, and many of the great witches before me tried to see through the changes in the starry sky, but none of them succeeded. ”

The old man reclined on the horse's back, picked up the white copper wine jar at his waist and took a sip, his eyes wide with drunken eyes, "Now that they are all dead, otherwise I wouldn't be a great witch!" ”

It was noon in July, and the sun was a little scorching.

The teacher and the student, dressed in white linen robes, stood side by side in the field outside Shuofeng City with two horses on their feet.

The young student looked intently at the sky, his eyes obscured by the oddly shaped lenses of two sunglasses, which allowed him to observe the sun's orbit in the sky in the blazing sunlight.

The student's name is Ah Qi, and like other Hokuriku nobles, he also has an elegant Donglu name, called Wu Yanbai, which means "Tianyan Zhibai", and his full name is Wu Yanbai Aqi.

However, people up and down Shuofeng called him the "Spectacled Dragon", because he imitated Heluo's technique and honed this pair of ink-crystal thin mirrors that could see the sun during the day.

Ah Qi took off the pair of ink crystal lenses and turned his head to look at the teacher who was in the saddle.

The old man yawned as he poured the liquor, and his bald head was red from the wine.

Ah Qi thought countless times that it was a mistake for the teacher to become the great witch of Shuofeng, if he was really the messenger chosen by the Pantar Heavenly God, then the Pantar Heavenly God drank no less than the teacher.

His teacher, the Great Witch of the whole Shuofeng, was a man whom the whole steppe feared.

"Great Witch" is a noble honorific title, meaning "messenger of the Temptar gods", the leader of the sorcerers of the steppe children, and the unique great celestial master.

There is only one great celestial master in each generation, and only he can learn the most profound scrolls of the stars and reveal the will of God. The major affairs of the tribe, from expeditions to sacrifices, were determined by his observation of the stars, and from the herdsmen to the nobles, their words were like oracles.

Before Ah Qi followed him to learn astrology, he also regarded Wusa as a demigod, but the first time he followed Wusa to preside over the annual sacrifice of the Lamb Festival, Wusa showed his horse's feet.

The festival was held on a distant high slope, surrounded by bonfires, and the Maharaja, including the Maharaja, could only be seen from a distance with the herdsmen. On the high slopes, the witches sang ancient worship songs, dressed in silver ornaments, with huge rhino horns on their heads, and danced with war swords in their hands, which seemed to summon the gods to look down on the world, so everyone fell to the ground and worshipped.

And only Ah Qi, who was with Da Wusa, knew that at that time, Wusa's face was red, his eyes were drunk and confused, he still had a wine jar in his mouth, a knife in one hand, and an armpit in the other, I don't know if it was because he didn't take a bath for several days and gave birth to lice.

There were originally four verses of the sacred prayer, but he secretly cut one and a half verses, because he said that he had forgotten how the verses and a half were sung.

Poor and pious Shuofeng Erlang will never hear the full prayer again, for this sacred ballad has no paper and is passed down by word of mouth.

The old man kept a lemming, which was common in the grasslands, and whenever a nobleman came to ask him about his marriage and funeral, he would run back to his tent, catch the lemming from the bamboo cage, and feed it wheat and black millet.

If the lemmings choose the wheat, it is auspicious; If it is black millet, it is fierce.

Only in the dead of night is he still like a real witch, when he sits on the empty grassland and looks up at the stars, sometimes looking at it for a day and night.

Sometimes, however, when Ah Qi sat carefully beside him and wondered which star he was observing, he found that Wu Sa was simply sitting there asleep.

Many years later, Ah Qi was known as the greatest witch of the barbarian tribe in 500 years, and he walked alone in the grassland with astrology, and even the famous astrology masters of the Eastern Continent worshiped him.

But Ah Qi always said calmly that my teacher is the one who really sees through the secrets of the starry sky, he actually knows everything for a long time, but he doesn't want to tell the cruel truth.

"It's hot, it's hot!" The Great Witch muttered under his breath.

I don't know if it was because he drank too much wine or it was hot, his face was flushed, his skinny chest was open, and he kept fanning his shirt with a shaky shirt.

Fan and fan, the old man slipped off the horse's back like a mess of mud, Ah Qi was startled, and rode the horse around the old man's burly white horse, only to find that the old man was sitting in the shadow under the horse's belly to avoid the sun.

"Teacher, teacher," Ah Qi hurriedly called him, but the old man waved his hand at him in the sun, indicating that he was okay.

The old man simply rolled over and slept on the grass.

Ah Qi knew that he didn't want to call him up in such a situation, so he lazily looked at the white flag in front of him.

Large white flags are occasionally waved in the breeze, and on them are the patterns of leopard-like mythical beasts flying in the clouds.

It was his most impactful afternoon, he missed the teacher, and Ah Qi lowered his head.

The horses snorted lowly, the white flags rolled in the wet wind, and the two armies came to a halt at a distance of a hundred paces.

The warriors of the Feather Forest Rider looked curiously at the well-armored Eastern Continent envoys, although they had trudged through the wind and rain for so long, the hand-forged scale armor on their bodies still reflected the sword-like silver light, and the heavy iron helmets sprinkled black tassels, which extended to the tip of their noses and protected their entire faces, covered their faces.

Under the scarlet golden chrysanthemum flag, on the black horse sat a man shrouded in black robes, he was shrouded in heavy black robes, as if the whole thing was forged out of black iron.

For forty years, the armies of the Eastern Continent did not set foot in the grasslands of the Northern Continent.

The steppe warriors despised the cowardice of these Eastern Continent people, and were wary of their fine armor and swords.

Most of the fathers of the Yulin Cavalry warriors had fought in the war forty years ago, and now they were faintly uneasy when they saw their enemies.

The hearts of the Donglu soldiers were terrified, and they saw so many healthy horses with long chests and broad legs standing under the thousands of clouds on the opposite side, which were pitch black, one foot higher than the Donglu war horses.

The war horses were still uneasily shaking their horse's mane with their hooves under the control of the steppe cavalry, and at first glance the horse tide was churning, as if it was about to charge in a landslide posture at any time.

The warrior under the black-robed envoy licked his lower lip, feeling that his throat was dry, and his legs were a little weak.

He is a descendant of a military family, and when the elders talk about the emperor's northern expedition, they can't help but talk about these barbarians wearing thick iron ring armor, they roar like crazy and insert into the wings and formations of the imperial army, wielding sabers and slashing, as if everyone is not afraid of death, shooting down one after another and pounced, the famous generals of the Eastern Continent have never heard of such a method of warfare in their lives.

The yellow-brown muntjac had long legs and a narrow back, and it crossed the variegated meadow like lightning, and the grass seemed to flow under it like a swift stream of water, and in front of it was a grassy slope, and beyond it was a blue sky.

With billowing dust and smoke, Shuofeng Dajun strangled the war horse under his crotch.

The war horse neighed and froze, and after only one step, the black horse of Tuoba Shanyue stopped beside him, the eight-foot-long black horse shook its long black mane, and shaved its hooves in a rage, and the black-robed man struck its shoulder bone with a horsewhip at will to quiet it.

"This brute is so fast-legged that it doesn't seem to be able to catch up."

The Lord of the Wind looked at the figure of the muntjac flashing in the grass, and laughed a few times.

The black-robed man also smiled: "The monarch is a good handsome horse, but he is not as agile as a wild thing to escape on the grassland all his life." ”

The Lord of the Wind did not answer, but took out a horned bow from the side pocket of the saddle, buckled a silver-painted purple-tailed wolf's tooth arrow, tried the string, and suddenly led the horse out.

The black-robed man waved his hand to stop the group of warriors who were following the hunt, and everyone stood still, watching as the Great Wind Lord spread his horned bow on the stormy white horse.

At the end of the grassy slope, it bounced into the sky like a projectile, stretching its sturdy body in mid-air, and at the same time turning its head to look back at the hunters chasing behind it, with the unruly unruliness characteristic of wild animals.

With a "bang", the bowstring cut through the air clearly, and the sturdy figure at the end of the grassy slope suddenly stagnated, as if time had stopped for a short time, and the shadow of the muntjac leaping high became a painting painted in the blue sky and white clouds.

The wolf's tooth arrow pierced its curvaceous back, bringing up a stream of flying blood, and it fell feebly.

Lord Shuofeng looked back with a smile.

After a short silence, the black-robed man on the black war horse took the lead in pulling out his Pixiu knife and striking the scabbard and cheering loudly, and the companions and the warriors came back to their senses from their admiration, pulled out their weapons and struck the scabbard together, cheering at the hero in a way unique to the steppe people.

The Lord of the Wind galloped back into the crowd with a bow and a smug look.

"Wild creatures are agile, but they don't have the wisdom of men."

He smiled, "I roasted the muntjac here, and offered its head as my homage to the messenger." ”

The black-robed man pressed his chest and saluted back: "It's not that it has no wisdom, no matter how smart the muntjac is, it can't escape the minions of the leopard, just like a sparrow works hard, but it can't fly as high as an eagle." ”

The smell of barbecued meat wafted to the nose, the warriors of the black-robed men and the warriors of the great wind sat casually on the saddles, the blue sky covered the green grass as the mat, the burnt muntjac roasted on a bonfire, and someone held a copper kettle to heat barley tea beside them.

Lord Shuofeng clapped his hands with clear water, respectfully picked up the silver knife, cut off the head of the muntjac with a knife, and held it in front of the black-robed man on a silver plate.

"The Maharaja is so respectful, how can I enjoy this?" Tuoba Shanyue excused.

The custom of the steppe is to give the head and heart of the first deer hunted to the most heroic man or the most powerful old man in the tribe.

The Lord of the Wind smiled slightly, he cleared his throat, and suddenly began to sing.

The warriors of the Eastern Continent couldn't understand the songs of the grassland, but the black-robed man on the side watched him wave his robe sleeves, laughing and singing, and the song was loud and piercing the clouds, and they knew that it must be a ritual music to welcome distant guests.

The Shuofeng warriors stood up together, and the black-robed man also stood up with the song, listening respectfully.

After the song was finished, the Lord shook the hem of his leather robe: "The black-robed man came from the distant Eastern Continent, and he is the one I respect, and of course the muntjac head can only be dedicated to you." The peace and strength of our steppe should be expected from you. ”

The black-robed man saluted to his chest, took the silver plate, cut off a piece of meat on the cheek of the muntjac head and bit it in his mouth, holding the silver plate high.

"This muntjac head is shared with the warriors under the Maharaja's command, which is the grand intention of the Maharaja."

The Lord of the Wind and the black-robed man both stared at the bonfire in silence for a long time.

"In front of the Tiantuo Strait is Zhongzhou, the common hometown of the grassland people, the center of heaven and earth. Soon, it will be His Majesty's. ”

"What do you call me?"

"Your Majesty. Chugo Akanti Shuofeng, apart from the descendants of the White Wolf God, His Royal Highness the noble Chugo Akanti Shuofeng, who can sit on the throne of the King of Jiuzhou? ”

"Oh, the king of Jiuzhou?" , Shuofeng Dajun patted the horse's back and smiled silently.

"Do you know the Queen Mother of the Great Zhou?" , Shuofeng Dajun said curiously.

"Not only do I know, I once drank with the late Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty in his hall with her, performed miracles by performing magic, and even traveled thousands of miles to present him with the letters of the Great Monarch of the Northern Continent. She is a majestic and noble queen mother. ”

"Do you, people of the Eastern Continent, know not the shame of forsaking your faith? How can you say so calmly in front of me that you were once their friend in the seat, and what about you now?

He came all the way to me with the so-called will of God, saying that you are willing to honor me as the king of Jiuzhou. ”

"We are not ashamed, we just honor the will of God, and we are God's messengers."

"That's just the god of your Eastern Continents."

"Is there such a big difference between the gods of the Eastern Continent and the gods of the steppe people?"

"Your gods, high up, are embedded in the dome of the temple in the form of stars carved in gold and silver as symbols of these gods.

People knelt down to worship, burned incense wood, offered gifts, and begged them to bless themselves. And our god, who gave birth to the head of a wolf, the back of a bear, and the feet of a pair of yak hooves, and the wings of an eagle behind his back, he held in one hand the axe that opened up the heavens and the earth, and in the other hand he held the sword of war that destroyed all living beings, and he slowly rotated in the sky, and with each turn he turned, the heavens and the earth were born and destroyed once.

Even if some herding fools offered blood animals, even if they offered newborn babies to plead, he did not respond, and there he slowly whirled, and one day, he would kill them all. ”

"I didn't expect you to know much about the customs of the Eastern Continent, but I also heard that King Xun ordered the seven barbarian tribes to recognize themselves as the descendants of the Pantar Heavenly God, and they have been brothers for generations. In your eyes, are the Temptar gods so brutal? ”

"It's not brutal, but God is God, and man is human," Shuo Feng, one of the two old men who was talking, suddenly raised his finger to the sky, and his voice was hoarse, "I'm not stupid enough to beg for anything from something that has nothing to do with me." Like you care about the beasts you hunt?

If you don't care, then why does God care about people's lives and deaths? ”

"I heard before I came that the Lord of Hokuriku was barbaric and murderous, like a devil, but now it seems that maybe those mediocre people are not as many as you think, right?"

A black-robed man chuckled in a low voice, "But you also look down on us, I dare not say that I know what kind of gods are in the hearts of the steppe people, but the gods worshiped by the people of the Eastern Continent also bite the bloody sacrifice in their mouths, and they are indifferent." ”

"I don't understand that."

"You are a hero of the grassland, not a disciple of our Qin Tianjian, so you don't need to understand this."

"Say, what do you need in return for helping us? I can give you whatever is on the steppe, but it does not include the dignity of the land and the sons of the steppe. ”

"We don't want anything, we just need you to win and take Tian Yuan City. I can tell you the truth, if the Emperor had lived another twenty years, we might not have turned to you. It's a pity that he died too early, and he is still a weak man at heart. ”

"I heard you mean all that is needed is war?"

"Not necessarily, but we need war now, to destroy the Great Zhou."

"My friend said you were as nasty as flies buzzing around the dead yak carcass, and I think he's right."

"I don't disagree with that." Lord Shuofeng turned his head and glanced coldly at the black-robed man, his eyes were blood-red from the black, not like human pupils.

"Bring a word to the Empress Dowager of the Eastern Continent, the price is not enough, my son and I need a reason to enter the Eastern Continent in a big way, in a different attitude!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, follow your wishes!" The mysterious black-robed man leaned down and retreated.

The Maharaja was silent, and he suddenly laughed silently. He thought of that autumn many years ago, when his father stood alone on a hill with a war knife and hummed a nameless madrigal.

Many years later, it suddenly became clear what his father was singing.

"Father," he said softly in his heart, "how lonely it is to sit in your position! ”