Chapter 89

As soon as Cheng Duo took out the firearms, even Wei Ling and Xie Yuan felt relieved. At this point, Xie Yuan simply agreed to help without hesitation.

That evening, the group didn't leave the courtyard. Cheng Duo saw that Wei Ling and the others had prepared their clothes, so he taught them some makeup techniques.

Yong Ge provided the color-changing potion, and Cheng Duo used charcoal to darken Wei Ling's eyebrows and features. He stuck on a fake mustache made of hair and changed into the attire of the foreign tribes people. They looked just like regular horse traders wandering around the frontier!

Looking at Cheng Duo, Xie Yuan was astonished. "Brother Cheng, you actually know disguise techniques?"

The other generals were also amazed. If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn't have believed that the person in front of them was their young general!

Wei Ling glared at everyone and pushed away some hands that were trying to touch his mustache. "Don't touch!"

Cheng Duo explained, "It's just a simple disguise. When you go out, try to cover yourselves with clothes, and also, speak less."

"If we could have left Meng Ji here, that would be great. He speaks Rong language the best and even knows some dialects of the small tribes. He could definitely fool people." One of the more straightforward generals sighed.

"Young General can also speak Rong language, but not as fluently," Cheng Duo said.

Wei Ling frowned when he heard this. "He Kuntai has been on the border for decades and speaks Rong language very well. We might deceive him with disguises, but as soon as we open our mouths, we'll be exposed."

Those foreign tribespeople were not very clean, and horse traders were even dirtier and smellier. They deliberately made themselves smellier, which was acceptable from a distance.

But the accent was the problem. Wouldn't He Kuntai ask something? They had to respond at least once or twice.

"Let me handle it; I can speak the Wuhu language," a heroic voice suddenly came from outside the door. Everyone turned to look and was immediately surprised and delighted, "General!"

"Why are you here?"

"If I'm not here, is that fine? Such a big matter, you bunch of brats didn't even pass me any information. I'm not dead yet!" Wei Zhenyuan's face darkened as he scanned everyone present, and soon, he saw the guilty looks on their faces.

"It's not our fault, Young General told us not to inform you…" someone muttered.

Wei Ling glared at him and then looked at the bodyguard hiding behind Wei Zhenyuan. This guy had become quite bold, secretly informing his uncle!

The bodyguard shrunk his neck and quickly slipped away.

"Don't mind him; I came out on my own."

Wei Ling helplessly used the final card: "General, didn't Cheng Duo tell you to rest for a month? If you run around like this, Yong Ge will worry."

When Wei Ling mentioned Cheng Duo, Wei Zhenyuan didn't react much. However, when he followed Wei Ling's gaze and saw Yong Ge, his expression immediately turned flattering. "Yong Ge, Daddy just wants to make sure you all are safe. My wound is almost healed. If you don't believe me, ask Cheng Duo to check it for me."

The group of generals, along with Xie Yuan, as if seeing General Wei for the first time, were all speechless.

General, do you have to change your face so quickly? And this ingratiating tone, aren't you the one who uses disguise!

Wei Zhenyuan didn't care about what his subordinates thought; he just tried to coax his young son, "Look, dad came to help right away. Few people understand the Wuhu language. Dad will try to deceive He Kuntai, guaranteed he won't recognize us."

After saying that, he winked at Yong Ge, looking very confident.

Yong Ge found it both funny and exasperating but considering he could indeed help, he gestured to Cheng Duo, "Brother Cheng, go ahead and check."

Cheng Duo then approached his father-in-law and examined his wound, making sure it wouldn't easily open. After that, he nodded, "It's fine; let him come."

Wei Zhenyuan felt somewhat suffocated, but since Yong Ge was watching, he didn't dare to show his dissatisfaction.

So they decided: General Wei Zhenyuan would disguise himself as the leader of the horse traders, Boke'a, while Wei Ling and four other soldiers would be his subordinates.

The next day, Xie Yuan took the group of horse traders out in the open, starting with their own trading company, and handed out invitations on behalf of his father to some people who might be interested.

Xie Yuan came and went, working hard for several days. The news reached Xie's father, and that evening, he intercepted him at the door of their house, "A'Yuan."

Seeing his father walking out of the darkness, Xie Yuan was startled, "Father? Why aren't you resting? "

Xie's father glanced at the strange-looking foreign people behind him, "I have something to discuss with you."

Xie Yuan could only let General Wei Zhenyuan and others go inside and then tried to deal with his father, "Father, what do you want to discuss with me? I've been very busy lately. If it's about business, can we talk about it later?"

"Follow me," Xie's father said, turned around, and walked away.

Father and son entered the study. Xie's father glanced out the window and lowered his voice, "Do you know what you're doing? If something happens, our Xie family won't be able to escape!"

"Father, what are you talking about?" Xie Yuan pretended to be clueless.

"They are not horse traders from the frontier at all!" Xie's father was angry, "You sent all the horses from our trading company to Old Feng Manor and even sent a batch of horses with unclear origins. What are you planning to do?"

He realized that the batch sent to Old Feng Manor were all warhorses, and that's when he became suspicious. Moreover, all the servants at Feng Manor had been replaced. Although the Xie family was powerful, it was unnecessary to arrange so many servants in an empty place like Feng Manor. Even the few housekeepers who usually handled the cleaning had been transferred elsewhere by his son.

"What horses from our trading company? Those are excellent steeds Boke'a collected from the frontier! Father, don't listen to someone's nonsense!" Xie Yuan's heart trembled. His father truly was a shrewd old fox to have noticed so quickly.

Xie's father snorted coldly, "If I hadn't helped you cover up, you would have been exposed already. Now, tell me the truth!"

Xie Yuan couldn't fool his father and could only resort to acting spoiled, "Father, I can't tell you right now."

Xie's father's face darkened, "A'Yuan!"

"Father, I know what I'm doing, and I'm confident. Please trust me this time, okay?" Xie Yuan looked at his father with earnest eyes.

Xie's father remained silent for a long time, then sighed, "Fine, you've already made up your mind about what to do now, and I can't control you anymore."

He took a few steps towards the door and turned back to say something but ultimately decided against it. Shaking his head, he left.

After Xie's father left, Wei Ling and the other two who had been eavesdropping in the shadows came out. Wang Xiaowei asked, "Young Master, should we send someone to monitor Mr. Xie?"

"No need," Wei Ling refused. Unlike Xie Yuan, his father, Mr. Xie, was not someone they could keep under surveillance without being discovered. They didn't distrust Xie Yuan; it was merely because both sides were unfamiliar with each other.

"""

Due to Xie Yuan's willingness to spend money, news of horse traders entering the border quickly reached He Kuntai's ears. The military was in dire need of horses, especially after the fall of Hangu Pass, resulting in significant horse losses.

He Kuntai was somewhat tempted by the news but hesitated due to the disappearance of General Wei Zhenyuan and others.

"General, the source of these horses is absolutely reliable. I've made contact with them. The middleman is a renowned landlord in the capital, Mr. Huang, and the young master of the Xie family, who runs a restaurant business. Moreover, the meeting place is near Xie's family manor, not far from Twenty Li Slope. If there's any problem, we can quickly send word back. No need to worry," Chai Gaozhan tried his best to persuade him.

Yuan Kui pointed at him, "Are you so enthusiastic because you got some benefits?"

"Absolutely not! I'm completely loyal to the general. How could I accept anything without the general's consent?" Chai Gaozhan used this opportunity to show his loyalty and then chuckled, "But they did give me a divine steed, 'Black Clouds Treading Snow,' and said it's for the general. It's quite impressive. It's outside the main tent; would the general like to see it?"

He Kuntai glared at him, "Since you've brought it back, what do you think?"

Of course, he was delighted when he saw it. Cheng Duo and the others had specially found a top-quality, sturdy horse with an imposing appearance that could run fast and steady. He Kuntai rode the horse around the camp, and with Chai Gaozhan's constant persuasion, he finally agreed.

However, He Kuntai was cautious by nature. On the day of their departure to see the horses, he not only brought his trusted senior general but also over 500 soldiers, guarding the entire Old Feng Manor, including all entrances and exits.

Seeing the scale of the preparations, Mr. Huang couldn't stop sweating on his forehead. He didn't know Xie Yuan's plan, but he was worried that the General wouldn't approve of Boke'a's horses and would then vent his anger on him.

Xie Yuan felt a bit nervous, but Wei Ling gave him a gentle reminder from behind, which helped him calm down.

He Kuntai and his generals dismounted, and Xie Yuan and Mr. Huang quickly led their people forward to bow and introduce themselves.

Wei Zhenyuan and his team, disguised as horse traders, stayed behind and pretended to be unfamiliar with the customs of Da Xia, awkwardly paying their respects.

He Kuntai casually asked, "Boke'a, how long have you been a horse trader? Why haven't I seen you before?"

This question made everyone tense. Wei Zhenyuan, not showing any weakness, nervously rubbed his colorless clothes with his big hands and answered in a strange tone of the Rong language, "Sir, I have been a horse trader for over ten years. I've always operated in the border areas and this is my first time in Da Xia."

Then, he spoke a series of fluent Uyghur language, which no one in the group understood. Yuan Kui even asked, holding his nose, "Which tribe's language is he speaking?"

(T/N: Uyghur- a dialect in Rong language.)

"%&*." Wei Zhenyuan replied in Uyghur, but they still couldn't understand. They decided to drop the subject.

The stench from these people was overwhelming and made their eyes sting!

"General, shall we go in and see the horses first?" Xie Yuan took the opportunity to step forward and urge them.

He Kuntai raised his hand, "Wait, I have another question. How did you manage to bring the horses into the border without any of my men receiving any information?"

Wei Zhenyuan immediately lowered his head, "Sir, that is a secret of the border horse traders. Please forgive me for not being able to tell you."

His accent was too heavy, and only a few of the generals who understood the Rong language were not baffled by his mixture of strange-toned Rong language.

Since He Kuntai couldn't get any more information, he lost interest in asking further questions. He couldn't just capture them and torture them for answers; that would discourage any horse traders from selling to him. Besides, he understood that people from the border had their own rules, and some of these exotic people were very stubborn. If he pressed too hard, they might not want to do business with him at all. In any case, after the deal was done, he could just send someone to follow these foreigners out of the border.

"General, shall we go in?" Seeing He Kuntai's silence, Yuan Kui behind Xie Yuan couldn't wait and urged.

Although their soldiers had also been among the horses, they weren't as stinky as the horse traders. It seemed like these people had fallen into a pile of horse dung!

He Kuntai looked back at Yuan Kui and then glared at the other loyal generals, all holding their noses. He scolded them with irritation, "Pathetic!"

Despite his words, he led the way and entered the place, and the rest followed suit. It was because of the unbearable stench that, except for He Kuntai, almost no one paid any attention to Boke'a. Thus, they failed to realize that the horse trader in front of them was none other than the elusive General Wei Zhenyuan, the General of Wei Family…