Chapter 45: Golden Short Saber

The people from Sanhe Fortress arrived at Hexi Fortress last night.

The original Sanhe Fortress, which had about a thousand people, now had fewer than five hundred left.

Plus the more than five hundred people from Hou Village, and the more than two hundred female slaves distributed from Aslan’s tribe.

Now Hexi Fortress had become a super-large fortress with a population exceeding two thousand five hundred.

Powerful, but the situation was also quite chaotic.

To settle the herdsmen from Sanhe Fortress and Hou Village, Li Xiao was exhausted.

But as the Fortress Lord, to prevent power from slipping away, he definitely had to do some things himself.

Doing things is actually the process of seizing power.

It wasn’t until the moon was high in the sky that Li Xiao walked home slightly wearily.

Arranging these miscellaneous matters was even more tiring than fighting a war, mainly because it cost a lot of saliva.

The comprehension ability of some herdsmen was too poor; they didn’t understand even after being told several times. Li Xiao was about to collapse with anger.

Wishing he could take out military law and implement militarized management.

Taking Erhu and riding his horse back home, the courtyard gate was open, and crying came from inside the house.

It was Li Xiao’s mother and grandmother.

Li Da Hai’s body had been brought back, and the two women cried miserably seeing this.

Li Xiao also felt uncomfortable in his heart but could only follow the Old Master’s instructions not to hold a grand funeral, stopping the coffin for three days before burying it in the ancestral grave.

However, just as Li Xiao was about to enter the house, he heard movement from the courtyard next door.

Creak~

With a sound, the heavy wooden door was opened, and a woman walked out of the room next door.

“Xiao Yanyan?”

Seeing her, Li Xiao suddenly felt as if a lifetime had passed.

Although he had only left Hexi Fortress for two days, Li Xiao felt as if a long time had passed.

Mainly because in these two days, two consecutive major battles made one mentally exhausted, always feeling that time passed very slowly.

“Miss Xiao, you haven’t slept yet?”

Li Xiao let Erhu go back first, while he rode his horse into Dahu’s courtyard, preparing to have a night talk with Xiao Yanyan.

He naturally didn’t think Xiao Yanyan’s appearance was a coincidence; she must be waiting specifically for him!

“Can’t sleep, came out to have a look.”

Xiao Yanyan stood in front of the door, wearing only a thin long gown, her jet-black hair scattered on her shoulders, arms crossed, leaning lazily against the door frame.

Smiling, she looked at Li Xiao dismounting: “Heard you won a big victory?”

“Eliminated the entire Aslan tribe?”

Yesterday evening, the four-fortress coalition had already returned with the spoils of war.

The news of the great victory at Sanhe Fortress also spread, and everyone was extremely excited.

When Xiao Yanyan learned this news, her expression was quite colorful.

Shocked, delighted, disbelieving.

She personally witnessed the process of the Battle of the Northern Mountains and was chased by the Karluks to the point of almost committing suicide.

She knew very well how formidable the Karluks were.

But unexpectedly, Hexi Fortress, with a mere six hundred people, eliminated the entire Aslan tribe in one battle. One-third of the Karluk rebel army in Jin Prefecture was wiped out instantly.

This record shocked Xiao Yanyan immensely.

This also highlighted Dahe Chuluoduo’s incompetence. A war with huge advantages was fought by him into such a mess.

Xiao Yanyan cursed that guy fiercely in her room for a whole day.

Moreover, Xiao Yanyan also heard that the plan to raid Sanhe Fortress at night was proposed by Li Xiao, and during the battle, he personally killed more than twenty Karluks.

These pieces of news made Xiao Yanyan very excited, and her interest in this young man Li Xiao grew even greater.

Decided to forgive this guy’s previous rudeness to her.

Give him a chance to apologize and please her.

So, Xiao Yanyan was waiting specifically for Li Xiao tonight!

“Not completely wiped out; a small number of Karluks still escaped in the dark,” Li Xiao said.

Stepping forward, his gaze sized up Xiao Yanyan.

Very beautiful!

In her early twenties, just when a flower is blooming.

Previously dressed as a man, Xiao Yanyan was already very beautiful.

Now changed back into women’s clothing, she appeared even more stunning.

After washing away the dirt on her face, a flawless white face was revealed. With her hair loose, under the moonlight, her temperament appeared even more outstanding.

Like a proud snow lotus.

Although Huang Xiu’er was also very beautiful, her temperament leaned toward charming, while Xiao Yanyan, being a princess after all, carried a noble temperament in her bones that Huang Xiu’er couldn’t compare with.

This kind of woman with both nobility and pure desire temperament naturally had quite a lethal effect on Li Xiao.

However, he was rational and knew very well that he couldn’t do whatever he wanted to Xiao Yanyan like he did to Huang Xiu’er.

But the seed in his heart had been planted.

“That’s also very impressive. Even if some escaped, it doesn’t matter much,” Xiao Yanyan said.

Being able to achieve this record was rare even in the Royal Court.

But immediately after, noticing Li Xiao’s gaze falling on her chest, Xiao Yanyan felt annoyed in her heart. Crossing her arms, she looked at Li Xiao and snorted lightly: “Your gaze is getting more and more presumptuous.”

She naturally knew she was beautiful, but men who sized her up as unscrupulously as Li Xiao were very few.

Those guys were mostly respectful on the surface but dirty inside.

While Li Xiao was dirty inside and bold in action.

“This is not presumptuousness, but appreciation.” Facing Xiao Yanyan’s reprimand, Li Xiao shook his head gently and smiled.

Not caring about this woman’s temper at all, knowing very well that the woman wasn’t really angry.

“Yearning for beautiful things is human nature.”

“Miss Xiao is born so beautiful and moving; I believe no man in the world can turn a blind eye.”

Listening to Li Xiao’s words, although Xiao Yanyan kept a straight face, the corners of her mouth unconsciously raised a bit.

But on the surface, she still raised her chin, unreservedly displaying that white swan neck to Li Xiao.

“Hmph~”

“Didn’t expect you to be a glib-tongued man too.” Xiao Yanyan snorted lightly.

Watching the woman’s appearance, Li Xiao knew his praise was effective.

No matter how arrogant a woman is, she always likes to hear others’ praise.

Saying no with her mouth, but actually enjoying it in her heart.

Some men in later generations, with average looks and average economic strength, could coax women into confusion just by being glib-tongued.

This was also a skill, and Li Xiao yearned for it.

“I am just stating a fact.” Li Xiao shook his head solemnly.

Then he stopped this topic. Such things should be done gradually and stop at the right point; continuing might be counterproductive.

After all, Xiao Yanyan couldn’t be treated as an ordinary woman; this was a woman with a relatively independent and strong heart.

“By the way, a gift for you.”

“It’s a spoil of war I got from Sanhe Fortress this time. It looks very beautiful, specially saved for you.”

Saying that, Li Xiao turned and walked toward his horse.

Xiao Yanyan was a Khitan princess after all, regardless of how much power she had.

Anyway, maintaining a good relationship with her was beneficial and harmless to Li Xiao.

If nothing else, Li Xiao was still counting on that ‘three-year tax exemption’ big promise!

As for the Hundred Household and Thousand Household matter…

With Li Xiao’s battle achievements, getting a Hundred Household position was certainly no problem.

But a Hundred Household position was useless to Li Xiao.

Just the original Hexi Fortress had more than two hundred households, and now there were nearly four hundred.

If the situation in Jin Prefecture remained the same after pacifying the Karluks, it would be fine.

But once the Khitans were determined to register households, Li Xiao had to get the position of a Thousand Household.

Otherwise, it would be very passive for future development.

“Hehe, didn’t expect you would bring me a gift too?” Xiao Yanyan crossed her arms and chuckled.

She still liked Li Xiao’s formerly unruly appearance.

However, when Li Xiao took the item from the horse’s back, the light smile on Xiao Yanyan’s face froze instantly.

“This is a spoil of war I snatched from the leader of Aslan’s tribe after killing him.”

“It’s a nice saber. The handle is made of gold, very exquisite.” Li Xiao took out a short saber made of gold.

It was exactly Aslan’s personal golden saber, which naturally became Li Xiao’s spoil of war.

About sixty centimeters long, the blade was Wootz steel, and the handle was forged from gold with exquisite patterns.

It felt good in the hand, but in Li Xiao’s view, this golden saber wasn’t a weapon, more like a personal ornament.

Anyway, if Li Xiao went to the battlefield, he definitely wouldn’t use this thing to kill enemies.

Although it could sell for a lot of money, the value was less appropriate than giving it as a gift directly.

If he could really exchange it for a Thousand Household position, then Li Xiao would have made a big profit.

But unexpectedly for Li Xiao, when he handed this golden short saber to Xiao Yanyan, the woman’s eyes turned a bit red.

Looking at this golden saber with an excited gaze, full of joy.

(End of this chapter)