Deposed? I couldn't be happier! I wouldn't even be a dog to the crown prince.

Lu Dongzan himself couldn't remember how he left the central command tent.

He felt the cold sweat on his back had been chilled by the fierce winds of the Western Regions, sticking to his body like a slippery venomous snake.

"I casually swatted two flies..."

Lu Dongzan mounted his horse, turned back and took a deep look at the luxurious carriage being pulled by eight black and white behemoths, his eyes twitching uncontrollably.

arrogant.

That's incredibly arrogant!

This Tang Dynasty crown prince completely disregarded the 200,000-strong Tibetan army, leaving no room for negotiation whatsoever. It wasn't bluffing; it was contempt that emanated from the very core of his being.

"Go! Go quickly!"

Gar Tongtsen whipped his horse and led the delegation away without looking back. He had to get this terrible news back to the plateau as soon as possible; the Tsangpo had truly bitten off more than he could chew this time!

The Tang Dynasty's western expeditionary force did not stop because of the incident involving the Tibetan delegation.

The heavy wheels crushed the withered grass on the Gobi Desert, and tens of thousands of troops, like a black dragon, snaked forward through the endless yellow sand.

Inside the panda carriage, the ice mirror emitted a cool breeze, completely isolating it from the outside heat.

Li Chengqian lazily rolled over, picked up a piece of chilled watermelon, took a bite, and the sweet juice instantly moistened his parched throat.

"This road is really hard to walk on, it's so bumpy it feels like my bones are going to fall apart."

He complained, glancing at Wu Meiniang who was still engrossed in calculating accounts beside him, "Meiniang, how far are we from Gaochang?"

"Your Highness, at the current marching speed, we have at most three more days' journey ahead." Wu Meiniang didn't even look up, her hands moving rapidly across the abacus beads.

Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats suddenly came from outside the carriage.

"Whoa—!"

A fast horse, kicking up a cloud of dust, suddenly stopped beside the imperial carriage. The imperial guard spy on horseback tumbled off and scrambled to the front of the carriage, his voice hoarse and almost cracking.

"Commander! Urgent report from 800 li away!"

Qinglong, who had been following the car, narrowed his eyes and reached out to take the bamboo tube that was covered in sand and dark red bloodstains.

With just one glance at the sealant, Qinglong's perpetually icy face instantly filled with a chilling murderous aura.

He lifted the curtain, strode into the carriage, and knelt on one knee.

"Your Highness, something has happened in Gaochang Kingdom."

Li Chengqian stopped eating watermelon, pulled out a silk handkerchief to wipe his hands, and raised his eyebrows slightly.

"What? Does that old bastard Ju Wentai have a death wish?"

Qinglong didn't speak, but carefully pulled the contents out of the bamboo tube and presented it with both hands.

It was a torn piece of white silk cloth, covered with shocking words written in blood. Even from a distance, you could smell the pungent stench of blood.

"Our caravans have been completely shut down by them."

Qinglong's voice was deep, suppressing a raging fire, "When Ju Wentai heard that my army was advancing westward, instead of surrendering, he offered a pledge of loyalty to the Tibetans..."

"He stripped our caravan leader, that imperial merchant named Qian Duoduo, naked, pierced his collarbone with an iron hook, and hung him tightly from the city wall of Gaochang!"

"The sun has been blazing in the Western Regions these past few days. Qian Duoduo was exposed to the scorching sun for two days and two nights. It's said... it's said that even vultures pecked at his flesh. He was suffering a fate worse than death!"

"Snap!"

The charcoal pencil in Wu Meiniang's hand snapped instantly, and the little girl's eyes welled up with tears, her face filled with disbelief.

"Not only that."

Qinglong pointed at the blood-written letter, his knuckles turning white from the force.

"Ju Wentai even forced our men to write this letter with Qian Duoduo's blood and had it thrown on the outpost that our army had to pass through."

Li Chengqian took the blood-written letter and slowly scanned it with his eyes.

The handwriting was messy and illegible, revealing the extreme fear and pain of the writer.

There is only one short line of text above:

"If the Tang army dares to cross the desert even once, this will be their fate!"

Quiet.

A deathly silence fell over the carriage.

There were no roars or howls, only the "drip-drop" sound of melting ice dripping from the ice jar, which sounded particularly clear in the oppressive air.

"Bang--!"

Just then, the carriage door was kicked open from the outside.

Huo Qubing charged in like a furious lion, wielding his tiger-headed golden spear, his eyes bloodshot and his chest heaving violently.

"Your Highness! I've heard the intelligence!"

The Marquis's teeth were grinding together, his murderous aura almost lifting the roof of the carriage. "That bastard Ju Wentai! How dare he? How dare he hang our Great Tang's citizens on the city walls?!"

"This is a slap in the face to the Tang Dynasty! This is trampling on the backbone of our Western Expeditionary Army!"

Following closely behind Huo Qubing was Li Ke, the Prince of Shu.

This prince, who usually took the rules very seriously, now had bloodshot eyes. He ripped open the buttons on his collar and yelled angrily.

"Brother! This cannot be tolerated! This absolutely cannot be tolerated!"

"These barbarians are like an old man eating poison—they're tired of living!"

Li Ke suddenly drew the horizontal sword from his waist and slammed it hard against the door frame of the carriage, sending wood chips flying everywhere.

"Give me five thousand men! No, three thousand will do!"

"I, your younger brother, will personally lead the team, traveling day and night, to first chop down the city gates of Gaochang! And skin that Ju Wentai alive to make a funeral banner for the merchants of our Great Tang!"

"Yes! Your Highness, give the order!"

Huo Qubing stepped forward, slamming one knee heavily on the ground, the spear in his hand emitting a buzzing dragon's roar.

"This humble general is willing to swear a military oath: within twelve hours, Gaochang will be captured! If even a single member of the Gaochang royal family escapes, this humble general will offer his head!"

The two young generals were so enraged that they wished they could sprout wings and fly to the city of Gaochang right now to raze it to the ground.

however.

Faced with this scene of intense public outrage.

Li Chengqian remained seated quietly on the soft couch, staring at the glaring blood-stained letter in his hand.

He didn't speak.

His facial expression remained completely unchanged, and he didn't even blink.

It's too quiet.

This stillness is neither weakness nor retreat.

Rather, it is the terrifying stillness before a storm, a stillness so intense it feels like the oppressive calm that could tear the entire sky apart.

The roars of Huo Qubing and Li Ke gradually subsided.

Looking at Li Chengqian's expressionless face, they suddenly felt an indescribable chill.

Your Highness... is truly enraged.

Li Chengqian lowered his head and slowly folded the blood-written letter in half.

Fold it in half again.

His slender fingers flew across the rough silk fabric, his movements as elegant as if he were creating a fine work of art.

"Your Highness, what's going on...?" Li Ke swallowed, somewhat confused.

"Folding paper airplanes."

Li Chengqian replied indifferently.

Soon, a "paper airplane" stained with dark red blood took shape in his hands.

He stood up, walked to the window of the carriage, and opened it.

A rough, fierce wind from the Western Regions rushed in, ruffling the stray hairs on his forehead.

Li Chengqian raised his hand and gently tossed the blood-red paper airplane away in the direction of the wind.

The paper airplane spun in the gale, heading west towards the Kingdom of Gaochang, before helplessly crashing into the yellow sand.

"Ju Wentai, Ju Wentai."

Looking out the window at the endless yellow sand, Li Chengqian finally managed a tiny, yet incredibly cruel, smile.

His voice was soft, yet it seemed to carry immense power, striking the hearts of everyone present.

"I just wanted to ask you for some toll money, and incidentally, to leave you with a complete corpse."

"Now it seems..."

"You've narrowed your path."