Peerless Chapter 1

Table of Contents | Next Chapter →

---

Volume 1: Turmoil at the Borderlands

Translator: MomoePom, Yudun

Editor: Rei

---

Chapter 1

The north wind swirled and swept across the land. Spring was nowhere near.

It was almost March, but the weather remained bleak at the border.

The sky was blue just a moment ago, but in the blink of eye, it had changed without warning. A chilly wind surged forth. Dark clouds gathered into a dense black above people’s heads, like an insoluble shadow bearing down on their hearts.

Yuchi Jinwu could feel the obvious slowing down of his fleet as they advanced. He lifted the curtain and craned his neck to look outside.

Wind whistled in and brought with it some grit. His beloved concubine next to him cried out in alarm and hurriedly clung to his arm.

“Master, can we make it to the city before it’s dark?”

The sweet and suave voice eased a bit of Yuchi Jinwu’s anxiety. He casually patted her a few times on the thigh. Through the thin material came the elastic texture of what was underneath. He could almost imagine the fine and smooth sensation he would feel after he removed that annoying piece of cloth, but he was not in the mood to flirt with her now.

“I think so.” Yuchi Jinwu frowned and said with some uncertainty.

He was a member of Khotan’s royal family. This time, he was ordered by the King of Khotan to visit the Central Plains to pay tribute.

Around this time in the Central Plains, the Great Sui had just replaced the Zhou and established itself as the new rising Northern Dynasty.

The Emperor of Sui, Yang Jian, was an ambitious man who exerted himself to make the country prosperous. Because of that, the spirit of this new dynasty shone like a rising sun, radiating boundless splendour. Even the Chen Dynasty in the south had sent over envoys with congratulations.

The Kingdom of Khotan was only a tiny state located at a small corner outside of the Great Wall, but the frequent assaults from the Turks had pestered them beyond endurance. The King of Khotan heard that the Sui Dynasty was moving into its new capital this year with an order of general amnesty. Taking advantage of this opportunity, he hurriedly sent an official mission led by Yuchi Jinwu. They brought with them precious gifts and set off to have an audience with the Sui Emperor in Daxing City. On one hand, it was to establish friendly relations with Sui. On the other hand, it was also to appeal at the Sui Dynasty to dispatch troops to protect Khotan.

However, the trip did not go well.

After they left Khotan, the horses in the fleet suddenly started to vomit and have diarrhea as they were passing through Qiemo. It took them several days to recover, and right after they resumed the journey, they ran into this horrible weather. Anxiety and fret stirred in Yuchi Jinwu’s mind. He wished he could grow a pair of wings and immediately fly to Daxing City.

He couldn’t stop himself from casting another glance at the corner of the carriage.

Two trunks were stacked up together over there, containing Yuchi Jinwu’s clothes and personal belongings inside. Due to the fact that the carriage was spacious and the trunks weren’t that big, he especially ordered people to move them into his own carriage, having no need to place them at the back.

His beloved concubine also took notice of his continuous intense stare. She smiled sweetly and giggled, “Master, pray tell. Is there a beauty hidden in those trunks?”

Yuchi Jinwu’s taut mood slightly relaxed at the sound of this playful jest. “What will become of you if there really is one?”

His beautiful concubine feigned anger coquettishly, “Then I would have no choice but to move aside, give up my place, and surrender Master to her!”

Yuchi Jinwu gave a hearty laugh before embracing her in his arms. Their bodies pressed tightly against each other as things became intimate between them. This small episode did help to disperse a greater part of the dark clouds which loomed over his heart.

“You mustn’t tell others if I share. At the very least, you musn’t raise this to anyone before we arrive at Daxing City.“

The more solemn he sounded, the more curious the concubine became. She pulled Yuchi Jinwu’s sleeves, expending all her effort into a coquettish act before insisting again.

Only then did Yuchi Jinwu gradually say, “A tribute lies inside that trunk.”

“Aren’t all the tributes placed in the carriage behind us?” asked the concubine in puzzlement.

To which Yuchi Jinwu replied, “Those were just common items. Gold and jewelry as they are, how could an emperor of power like the Sui Emperor take such things into consideration?”

The concubine was all the more surprised by his words. “Our Khotan is only a small state. Just what kind of rare object do we have that would make even the Sui Emperor yearn for it? Unless it’s a rare fine jade?”

Yuchi Jinwu pinched her delicate face. “Clever. Indeed, it has something to do with jade, but not an ordinary one. It’s the Tianchi Jade.”

The concubine cried out in shock. “It’s the legendary Jade that grants people immortality?!”

Before she could finish, Yuchi had already covered her mouth. The concubine came back to her senses upon noticing the stern gaze directed at her, so she lowered her voice to a whisper at once. “I’ve lost myself. This treasure is the most precious object of Khotan, and the King is willing to give it away?”

Yuchi Jinwu answered grudgingly. “What else could we do even if he’s not? The King wished to form an alliance with the Sui Dynasty, so he had no choice but to give up something worthy as an utmost display of his sincerity.”

Despite being named the Tianchi Jade, it was not found near the actual Tianchi Lake but was discovered by a Khotan woodcutter by accident. While he was cutting wood in the mountain, the man unexpectedly came across a cave and found this piece of jade, which resembled the crystallization of the mountain’s essence, deep inside. Legends said that it was as clear and glittery as morning dew with an icy blue core in the center, like the Tianchi Lake surrounded by snowy mountains. That was how it got its name.

The woodcutter presented it to the last King of Khotan. According to rumors, the King’s mother had been suffering from a strange long-term sickness at that time. The King cut a slice off the Jade, ground it into powder and added it to her medicine. Not only was his mother completely cured, even her skin was rejuvenated and her face regained its brilliance. It was said that this Queen Dowager lived for more than ninety years and passed away just a few years ago.

Because of that, the name of the Tianchi Jade spread like wildfire. In many people’s eyes, not only could it restore them to their age of youth, it was also the elixir to all illnesses and the remedy that helped martial artists cleanse their meridians and marrows. Such a treasure would surely attract the greed of many, but Khotan saw it as their national treasure. No one knew where the King had kept it. In fact, the Jade must have been part of the reason that the Turks had been keeping a covetous eye on a small state like the Khotan.

The King of Khotan was no fool. He was aware of the crimes that came with the possession of a gem. A piece of jade was not all that important when weighed against the peace and welfare of his country and its people. Therefore, to present it to the Sui Emperor in exchange for protection was certainly a wiser choice than to leave it for the Turks to seize.

The whys and wherefores of the whole story took the beautiful concubine’s breath away. She asked, “But Master, would it really be alright to escort such a precious treasure all the way to Sui with only the few people we have?”

Yuchi Jinwu laughed, “Don’t underestimate those men outside. They are all top martial artists serving by the King’s side. The King sent nearly all of them with us this time. The less attention they draw, the better.”

He thought for a moment and warned her again, “Keep it between you and me. There must not be a third person to know it.”

His concubine nodded repeatedly, “I know better. If the news is leaked, our lives would be in danger. So the fewer people who know, the better.”

Yuchi Jinwu ran his fingers through her long black hair as he expressed his satisfaction, “You’ve been with me for almost five years. I always knew that you’re the most sensible one. There’s no need to worry too much. Once we get to the city, the Emperor of Sui will definitely send people to escort us to the capital. We’ll be rest assured by then.”

While they were whispering into each other’s ears, the wind grew stronger, bringing even more grit and snow with it. Even the firm carriage started to shake slightly. Its wooden frames creaked against the wind.

Yuchi Jinwu was no longer in the mood for conversation. He pursed his lips and fell silent.

His beloved concubine clutched tightly at his clothes. She huddled herself up in his arms and dared not even budge.

In the ceaseless howling of wind, Yuchi Jinwu seemed to hear the clatter of many horses’ hooves as they approached from afar.

Since travelling merchants cherished their goods and lives a lot, they were unlikely to continue speeding forward in such a weather. It might be the messengers that the Emperor of Sui had sent to meet them.

Yuchi Jinwu was refreshed by the thought of it. He said to his concubine, “I’ll go take a look outside…”

The curtain was lifted. A guard popped his head in from outside and said in a hurry, “Master, it’s too windy and dusty out here. Why don’t we stop at the shelter in front——”

And things changed within an instant.

It only took so long for Yuchi Jinwu to change his state from being annoyed by his guard’s interruption to widening his eyes in shock.

He stared blankly at the light and blood splashed before him. The guard’s head flew up and hit the top of the carriage. Then it fell back down, banged and rolled a few times on the white woolen felt, staining the spotless piece with bright red, before it finally hit Yuchi Jinwu’s boots.

His concubine screamed next to his ear, but it sounded so far away at this moment. He felt like his ears were wrapped in a thin layer of gauze. Everything became so muffled and blurred.

A chill hit him in the face and he shivered. A voice snarling anxiously in his head urged him to dodge, but his body had long been corrupted by comfort and luxury. He was unable to keep up with his brain until he felt a sharp, bone-chilling pain in his chest.

A blood-red expanse covered all that Yuchi Jinwu could see.

So this is how quickly death comes.

And that was the last thought that flashed across his mind before he fell.

…

A heavy snowfall could cover up all the filth on earth.

However, it was only temporary. When the snow stopped and the sky cleared up, the foul would be exposed once again.

There were some vile deeds that even the thickest snow with the greatest flakes could not conceal.

The dried blood turned black and hid itself among the snow chunks. At first glance, it looked like a stone popping out of the snow.

The long dead horses collapsed on the ground, the carriage overturned on its side. A few heads were half buried in the snow, and they seemed to have stopped breathing some time ago.

The clattering of the horses’ hooves came closer and closer.

Several majestic riders approached on horseback, galloping through the snow. The icy mist kicked up by their horses mingled and fluttered about with the snowflakes into a dense, hazy smoke.

The man in the front was wrapped tightly in a sable cloak with a hood over his head. Only his robe was blown about by the wind and rustled behind him.

Those following after him bundled themselves up even tighter. They even bound the openings of their sleeves. No one wished to expose their skin to this irritating snowstorm.

They seemed to have already foreseen that this incident would occur. None of them showed any surprise or fear. In fact, everyone walked up after they had dismounted, and stooped down to exam the scene.

A dead body was lying face down on the snow. Most of his back was covered in white, leaving only a section of his neck the color of which had already blended into the snow and ice surrounding it. A deep gash extended from his throat to his nape, skin and flesh torn and bone gaping. It almost cut through half of his neck, a clear indication of how much strength the murderer had put forth into killing him.

A hand appeared from underneath the the sable coat.

It was a fair and slender hand. The bones enveloped by the thin layer of skin appeared neither too gaunt nor too swollen. The fingers looked just perfect, like slim and graceful stalks of jade bamboo. People’s eyes were drawn to them without the need for any fancy movement. Only a person from a family at the highest pinnacle of prosperity could have maintained such flawless hands.

However, the owner of the hand did not shy away from the filth and grasped the ice and snow stained by blood. He played and crumbled them in his hand for a little, then loosened his grip. The remaining snow fell through his fingers, but they soon caught hold of the fur at the hem of his clothes in a lingering fashion, unwilling to part.

The man looked down and slightly knit his brows.

The constable to the side had just been worrying about having no opportunity to curry favor with this important individual from the capital. Upon seeing this, he immediately took out a clean handkerchief and stepped up, his face wreathed in smiles.

“I’ve got a handkerchief right here, sir. If it pleases you——”

Before he even finished, the man already took off the cloak and threw it right behind him!

While the constable and the clerks were staring at it woodenly with their jaws dropped, the cloak was caught by the young man behind him.

Pei Jingzhe gave a slightly bitter smile, “Sir…”

“Take it.” The man said quietly.

Without the shelter of the coat, his clothes were exposed directly to the wind and snow. He was dressed in white with a jade headpiece, and the large sleeves of his robe stirred madly in the storm.

The mere sight of it made people’s teeth chatter in coldness, but the man’s face was as impassive as before. He crouched and lowered his head as he continued to examine the dead body.

 

Author’s Note:

In this novel, seme came out first.

---

Table of Contents | Next Chapter →

---

Note from BBTL (Updated 2 September 2019)

Moe, the original translator for Peerless, has decided to continue translating the novel on SnowyCodex. Hence, there will be no further updates for the novel on our site. Please check http://snowycodex.com/ for any updates in the future. We will be removing all existing chapters from our site after September.

We wish Moe all the best for her future endeavours!