Chapter 136: Wisdom

In western Nepal, where the Kailash and Himalayan ranges meet, the map depicts a diamond-shaped expanse. The Peacock River flows from north to south, its valley constricted by mountains to form a narrow outlet. Liu Ji and his party were well-acquainted with the local terrain from their journey.

At this moment, they were traveling in the opposite direction from Kantipur. As in most of the region, there were no proper roads; the paths were mostly natural, which meant that the heavy wagons typical of the Tang Dynasty could hardly pass through. Fortunately, the weather was fair, and the ground was firm, baked hard by the sun. The rhythmic sound of horseshoes striking the earth created a continuous, clear echo through the valley. Had they been on a formal military march, this noise would have alerted an observant enemy from a great distance. Liu Ji was well aware of this, but he had no time to spare.

"Whoa!"

Upon reaching a bend, Liu Ji reined in his horse. Those following him tightened their own reins and halted by his side.

"Dismount and rest. The two of you, go ahead and scout."

"Yes." Two soldiers stepped out from the group and soon vanished behind the mountain wall.

By his estimation, they were not far from their destination. This was the final bend before the Peacock River emerged from the mountains, and the Peacock River Valley, where the Nepalese people gathered, lay just beyond it.

Their party consisted of twenty men in total—the same group Liu Ji had brought with him. The only addition was the woman. To his surprise, despite the high-intensity pace of their travel, she had neither fallen behind nor shown signs of physical exhaustion.

"Your Majesty, do you not need to dismount and rest, or perhaps eat something?"

"There is no queen here. You may call me Saraswati."

The woman, now dressed in form-fitting nomadic attire, hopped off her horse with a playful smile. She sidled up to Liu Ji, lifted one foot, and gently pressed her inner thigh, feigning a look of pain.

"If you hadn't reminded me, I wouldn't have realized how long it has been since I rode like this. Look, it’s all chafed and red."

It must be said that the outfit accentuated her curvaceous figure, and combined with her subtle, teasing demeanor, it left Old Kang, who was following closely behind, breathing heavily, his eyes practically glued to her.

Liu Ji reached out and gripped her chin, staring at her steadily with an unmoved gaze. "Saraswati, if we wanted you dead, there would be no need to travel this far. So, put away your tricks. If you truly provoke my men, no one knows what they might do, and you would only have yourself to blame."

The flirtatious glimmer in the woman's eyes vanished in an instant, and she regained her dignified composure. Her ability to shift expressions left him feeling inferior; women, truly, are natural-born actors.

"I did nothing. You are overthinking, my noble guest."

"Under these circumstances, I am forced to think one step further. There is no foundation of mutual trust between us." Liu Ji released her and stopped looking at her. He, too, had been suppressing himself; some temptations are indeed stirring, especially when this body was still in its prime.

"Rest assured, my Elcirea is in your hands. She is the only kin I have left in this world, so you need not worry that I would do anything detrimental."

The woman smiled faintly. "My hometown is just ahead. By my count, I haven't returned in nearly ten years. My cousin should be the one in power now. Like my uncle, he is an old stubborn man. Perhaps only I can persuade them to pledge allegiance to your Great Tang."

"To tell you the truth, whether they pledge allegiance or not is not the point. I only care about one thing: how many people will be waiting for us there."

As they spoke, the soldiers returned from the front, signaling from afar that all was clear.

The troop mounted their horses and set off again. Turning the bend, the entire valley revealed itself. Vast fields stretched out on both sides, dotted with villages. In the distance stood a city built along the river. While its population density could not compare to Kantipur, it was one of the few significant cities in western Nepal.

"Look, this is my city of Kapilavastu, with a population of over eighty thousand. If I were to offer it to you as a gift, what would I receive in return?"

"What is it that you wish to receive?" Liu Ji countered.

"Can you rule a country by relying on those mobs? If I can persuade them, you could have the entirety of Nepal soon enough."

"Is the condition your support for your cousin to become king?"

"Talking to a smart man is truly effortless. You are the smartest Tang person I have ever met, and it is rare that you are also so young." The woman offered a compliment before continuing, "In any case, Nepal needs a king. The Vicha family is all but wiped out. I am too old to bear more children, and Elcirea is too young. Perhaps we can compromise: let my cousin serve as regent for now, and when she has children, they will be the natural candidates for the throne."

Liu Ji understood that the woman’s logic was the prevailing practice of this era. Under the vast heavens, all land belongs to the king; if the people were to find the throne empty, it would spell the arrival of chaos and war.

The woman was trying to seduce him in a different way. Would Elcirea’s future child not be his own? For a woman to scheme to this extent, she was certainly a formidable figure.

"That will depend on whether your cousin agrees to our conditions."

"Let me go and speak to him. There will be no problem."

Liu Ji looked at her deeply. Just when the woman thought it was hopeless, he spoke: "Very well. We shall wait here for news."

The two soldiers accompanied the woman as she departed. Old Kang reminded him with concern:

"Should I take some men to follow her?"

Liu Ji shook his head. "She is not that foolish. A small number of men would be useless. Let us wait."

Old Kang immediately began setting up a perimeter. They had chosen a high vantage point, making the happenings in the valley clearly visible. Liu Ji said nothing of his methods, though he did not take them to heart.

In the city of Kantipur, he had already witnessed the woman's methods. She could offer herself and her daughter as gifts without hesitation, and after the fact, remain cool and collected—all just to preserve her own life?

This ruthlessness and decisiveness were things he had rarely seen in either of his two lifetimes. In the future world he knew, she would be considered a quintessential "strong woman." Following this train of thought, and looking at the valley before him, the secrets hidden beneath the picturesque scenery became quite intriguing.

Saraswati, in the local tongue, meant wisdom and beauty. He truly wanted to see what other ploys this incarnation of beauty and wisdom had in store under these circumstances.

He had not expected that such a small country, barely mentioned in history books, would lack neither drama nor characters.

It was, indeed, an era worth looking forward to.