Governing the country, enriching the people, an unparalleled imperial tutor

Gunshots rang out in the tent, like the sound of a piece of wood being snapped in two. The warrior staggered forward half a step, his body spinning rapidly as he fell, landing first on his knees before collapsing sideways onto the felt.

The flames in the fire pit flickered slightly due to the blast of air from the gun barrel, then returned to normal. The tent was silent for about five seconds. No one spoke.

Ashina Gule's mouth was still open, the bone in his hand suspended in mid-air. Yuwen Tuo's gaze shifted from the edge of the fire pit to the warrior's profile, his mouth agape, unable to utter a word. Huyan Lie's hand remained on his knee, motionless.

Lin Yanzhou put the item back into the side of his belt and looked up at Huyan Lie: "This kind of weapon is considered a light dagger. Every soldier in our Xuan Shuo army has one. This is a common weapon in our immortal realm. I also have weapons of mass destruction. Would you like to try them out?"

Huyan Lie didn't look in the direction the warrior had fallen, nor at the dark stain slowly spreading on the ground. He turned his head to look at Yuwen Tuo, who withdrew his gaze from the edge of the fire pit, took out a small package wrapped in old cloth from his bosom, and opened it to reveal several parchment sheets.

Huyan Lie took the paper, unfolded it, picked up a burnt charcoal from the edge of the fire pit, drew several symbols on it, then flipped it over, pushed it across the fire pit, and onto the ground in front of Lin Yanzhou's feet: "Great God, from now on we are yours. I've signed the surrender document. Please have mercy, Great God. We sincerely surrender! We will never betray you!"

"You're all sensible people. Alright, Xiaoyu, come in and collect the letter of surrender." Xiaoyu, who was outside the door, obeyed the order and went in to collect the documents.

Hu Yanlie glanced at the woman who entered and thought to himself: This great god seems to be very lecherous, as he brought two beauties with him.

As night fell completely, only the fire and a few oil lamps remained outside the tent. The wind blew in from the north, making the smoke vents on the tent roof hum softly.

Hu Yanlie sat by the fire pit, holding a half-empty wooden bowl in his hand. He glanced towards the tent entrance, then turned to Lin Yanzhou and said, "Tonight, the Great God will be staying in this tent. This place is not as good as Xuan Shuo, much less as good as the Great God's immortal realm. Please make do for the night. I've arranged some entertainment for you later, please accept it."

He put down the wooden bowl, stood up, and paused at the tent entrance. "The people have all been arranged. They're all clean and won't cause you any trouble." Without waiting for a reply, he bent down, lifted the curtain, and went out, his footsteps echoing on the ground outside the tent.

Not long after, footsteps were heard outside the tent, and someone lifted the curtain and stepped in. Three young women entered, wearing dark robes with loose sashes at the waist, their hair unbraided and loose over their shoulders.

The one at the front was slightly taller, with well-defined cheekbones and jawline, and a skin tone lighter than that of the herders commonly seen on the grasslands, as if he rarely spent long periods of time in direct sunlight.

After she came in, she stood by the fire pit, glanced at Lin Yanzhou, and waited for the other two to stand behind her. Then she first untied the belt around her waist, took off her outer robe, folded it neatly, and placed it on the felt in the corner of the tent. Then she sat down by the fire pit, picked up the bowl of milk tea that had gone cold, took a sip, and put it back in its place.

The second woman was shorter than her, with narrower shoulders. Her hair was braided into a long plait that hung down to her chest, tied at the end with a thin string. When she unfastened the clasp, the string twirled in her hand before falling to the ground. She sat on the other side of the fire pit, casually draping her outer robe over her lap.

The third person was the youngest, and looked the youngest, with a bit of baby fat still clinging to her cheeks. She sat in the spot closest to the door, neither drinking milk tea nor taking off her outer robe, simply sitting quietly, her gaze fixed on the edge of the fire pit, like a plant just transplanted into a new pot.

The tall woman adjusted the iron rack above the fire pit, placing the kettle of boiling water steadily directly above the flames. Then she glanced at Lin Yanzhou and said in a flat tone, "Great God, the tribe is out of tea leaves. We only have milk tea."

Lin Yanzhou placed the empty wooden bowl on the ground, the light from the fire pit flickering across his face. Seeing his tacit agreement, the tall woman remained silent, rose, and sat down beside him.

When she reached out to untie the sash of his outer robe, her fingers did not touch his skin. After loosening the knot with her fingertips, she used the momentum of the same movement to pull the edge of the robe to the sides, allowing him to pull his arms out of the sleeves on his own.

When the woman with the braid approached from the other side, she had a folded old blanket in her hand. She unfolded it and draped it behind him, then sat down beside him. She didn't touch him immediately, as if she was adjusting to the difference between his breathing rate and body temperature in her own way, before slowly leaning her shoulder against him.

The youngest woman sat motionless by the doorway. The firelight from the fire pit fell on her profile, as if she were measuring the distance and shape of the space in her own way, seemingly deciding not to move for the time being. The taller woman reached over and took down the kettle of boiling water above the fire pit, poured it into a wooden bowl, and then handed the bowl to Lin Yanzhou.

The night wind continued to blow through the chimney at the top of the tent, churning the smoke and warm air from the fire pit together. The embers of the campfire began to darken as the night deepened, the burning edges slowly shrinking towards the center. Lin Yanzhou found the three women's clumsy technique amusing, but this was truly his first experience with such exotic customs; their physical structures were slightly different.

The excitement was mixed with a slight lack of enjoyment, and finally, she couldn't help but call out, "Xiaolan, Xiaoyu, come in and coach these three!"

Lin Yanzhou woke up rather late the next morning. The fire in the pit had gone out, leaving only a layer of fine ash.

The tall woman was already up and washing her hands with a water bag outside the tent. The woman with the braid was folding the blanket. The youngest woman sat on the edge of the fire pit, holding an empty bowl and slowly wiping the remaining grease from the rim with her fingertips. Xiaolan and Xiaoyu had already gone out to get in the car and change their clothes.

When he put on his outer robe and stepped out, Huyan Lie was standing at the entrance of a nearby tent, holding a steaming bowl in his hand. Seeing him come out, Huyan Lie waited until he was within a safe distance before speaking: "Great God, how did you sleep last night?"

"Well, you're alright, you're a sensible person."

Huyan Lie didn't continue the topic, changing his tone: "When will those farm tools and techniques you mentioned arrive?"

Lin Yanzhou stood in the morning light, not turning to look at Hu Yanlie's expression: "Is the open space outside your tent big enough?"

"Big enough, big enough."

"Then let's look at it now."

Lin Yanzhou raised his left hand, palm up, the edge of the silver ring reflecting the morning light. A thought crossed his mind, and a row of neatly stacked burlap sacks and several bundles of tools tied with rope appeared on the open ground.

The burlap sack was lighter in color than the earth, its surface imprinted with fine textures, reflecting light differently from the surrounding materials in the morning light. The wooden handle of the tool was freshly planed, its surface still bearing the marks of the planing process, revealing a pale yellow texture in the morning light. The grain narrowed slightly near the ends, as if the details had been repeatedly corrected by the same planer.

Huyan Lie's hand, holding the bowl, paused in mid-air. He was so astonished he forgot to put the bowl down, nor did he turn to look at the herders gathering outside the tent. His gaze lingered for a moment on the row of supplies that had suddenly appeared. Once he confirmed that it had indeed just happened in his direction, he lowered his head, took a sip of what was in the bowl, then placed it on the wooden box beside him, knelt on the ground, and prayed, "Truly divine intervention! Are these things really for us? Can we use them now?"

Lin Yanzhou withdrew his hand, and the light at the edge of the silver ring returned to its normal color: "These are the most basic ones; we can use them now."

Huyan Lie did not press further about how the supplies had ended up there, and continued kneeling: "The matter of the Northern Barbarians submitting to Xuan Shuo is settled. The things you promised have arrived, and we will certainly be loyal to Xuan Shuo and to the Great God."