Chapter 333: Have We Met Somewhere Before?

Han City, the capital of the Dahar Khanate, was located in the heart of the great Grassland, three thousand li north of the Moxi Mountain Range in the Northern Domain. The city was named Ukolok City; in the Dahar Khan Language, “Ukolok” roughly translates to “scorching midday sun.”

The Dahar Khanate revered the White Wolf King as its totem. Their military was called the Wolf Army, and the Garrison Army protecting Ukolok was known as the White Wolf Army.

Ukolok City was the largest city in the Northern Domain. While not as vast as Jianye City in the Central Domain, it was still twice the size of Shuoyue City.

It was also different from the South Garden Royal Court. Although Ukolok City also lacked city walls, its central district was filled with houses built entirely of brick and stone. The buildings weren’t tall, but they looked incredibly sturdy.

Surrounding the brick and stone houses of the central district were hundreds of thousands of felt yurts, erected by the Grassland nomads who had flocked to the city.

The brick and stone buildings formed the Inner City, while the outer yurts constituted the outer city. At the very heart of the Inner City stood a grand, castle-like Palace City.

Although called a kingdom, the Dahar Khanate was, in reality, a confederation.

It was a polity formed by the union of countless Grassland clans, all subject to the unified rule and resource allocation of the Khan Court.

Niu Guli was the half-brother of Goyerno and Goyelda. All three were sons of the Old Khan King, but while Goyerno and Goyelda shared the same mother, Niu Guli’s was different.

The bloodlines of the Dahar Khanate were, in truth, a tangled mess, especially among the nobility.

There were cases of a son fathering children with his own father’s concubine after the father’s death. It was also common for several brothers to share a single wife, making it impossible to determine a child’s true parentage.

In the most outrageous recorded instances, a single woman had been shared by four generations of the same family—from great-grandfather to great-grandson.

As a result, the new Khan King, Niu Guli, had dozens of paternal half-brothers. On top of that, he also had maternal half-brothers.

And that wasn’t even the most preposterous part. He had an uncle who, by his father’s line, was indeed his uncle. However, by his mother’s line, this so-called uncle was also his own elder brother.

Because of these chaotic bloodlines, every succession in the Dahar Khanate was a period of utter turmoil.

Brothers would not only turn on each other in the fight for the Khan’s throne, but even after a new Khan was crowned, the process of sorting through bloodlines to grant fiefs and titles was a monumental task.

For thousands of years, they had been aware of this weakness, but they could never seem to control their baser urges. Whenever the mood struck, regardless of time or place, they would take any woman they saw, ignoring her identity or status. The only line they wouldn’t cross was their own mother (which was, perhaps, their last remaining shred of decency).

And yet, one had to admit that the Qinke name belonged to the one true Platinum Clan of the Dahar Khanate. Ever since the khanate’s founding, no matter how the sons of the Khan fought amongst themselves, the throne could only be inherited by a scion of the Qinke Race. Furthermore, the successor had to be a direct son of the recently abdicated or deceased Old Khan King.

Niu Guli was his given name; his full name was Qink Niu Guli, just as Goyerno’s was Qink Goyerno.

When addressing one another, the Northern Domain People typically used only their given names, omitting their surnames. Those who were particularly close would even shorten the name, often using just the last part of it.

For instance, at the South Garden Royal Court, the commanders referred to Goyelda as General Erda.

While the Northern Domain strictly abided by the law of the jungle, its clan-based social hierarchy was nevertheless crystal clear.

The Qinke Race was the most venerated, the Platinum Clan of the Northern Domain. Below them were the Eight Golden Families. (Because of their reverence for the White Wolf King, white was considered the noblest color in the Northern Domain.)

Each of these Eight Golden Families commanded one of the most powerful tribes on the Grassland.

Though others could gain some status and resources through their own merits, they were ultimately Vassals to these nine great clans, living to serve them.

Ukolok City sprawled across the boundless Grassland, a magnificent sight to behold.

Chu Fan had disguised himself as an ordinary young man from the Northern Domain. He’d transformed his Celestial Dragon Armor into a suit of Beast Hide Armor, leaving his arms and legs exposed and his chest half-bare. Aside from his lack of a beard, he looked utterly rugged.

It had taken him a full three days to travel here from the South Garden Royal Court.

He had encountered countless nomads along the way and had also managed to learn the Dahar Khan Language—a feat he owed to his formidable Spiritual Power.

Upon reaching the outer city, he saw merchants from the Central and Western Domains everywhere. They traveled in groups, and their wares were a dazzling sight to behold.

But regardless of whether they were from the Central, Western, or Northern Domains, every person’s face carried a fierce, hardened expression.

Smiles were a rare sight on their faces. Even the few he saw were forced, humorless grins that didn’t reach their eyes.

Walking through the crowd, Chu Fan blended in perfectly, looking just like an ordinary commoner from the Northern Domain as he occasionally inquired about the price of goods.

“Hey, brother, let me tell you, our caravan acquired this Snow Lotus from one of the Golden Clans. I heard them say they picked it from an iceberg in the Far North! They lost seventy or eighty men for this one flower, including an Integration Realm master!”

A middle-aged man dressed as a merchant was tugging on the arm of another, more lavishly dressed man, boastfully presenting the goods before them.

Though the merchant’s clothes were rugged, Chu Fan recognized his face in an instant.

‘I can’t believe I’m seeing this guy here after four years.’

‘Then again, maybe conning people is the only thing he’s ever been good at.’

Four years ago, right after he and Yan Ying had left the Celestial Dao Palace for Jianye City, Yan Ying had dragged him out for a walk. That very afternoon, the same one where he first met Wen Chan at the Xi Jun Building, a fortune-teller in a Daoist Robe had publicly grabbed Chu Fan and insisted on reading his fortune.

“If a Golden Clan lost that many people to harvest a Snow Lotus from the Far North, why would they turn around and sell it to you?” the lavishly dressed man immediately retorted, seeing through the lie.

The merchant didn’t get angry. Instead, he gripped the potential customer’s arm even tighter and whispered in his ear.

His voice was so low that even someone standing right beside them wouldn’t have heard a thing.

But Chu Fan heard it all perfectly.

“Alright, I’ll be honest,” he whispered. “I stole it from that Golden Clan. I’m just trying to sell it here for some travel money to get back to Hua Xu. I’m only selling it for today. First thing tomorrow, I have to get out of here before their people come looking for me.”

Chu Fan just shook his head and chuckled at the transparent lie. ‘Of course I’m not getting involved in this.’ Even if this were the Eastern Domain, let alone the Northern Domain, he wouldn’t bother with someone like this.

‘If someone actually falls for a lie that flimsy, they deserve to be scammed.’

He skirted around the pair and continued toward the center of the city.

He took this meandering route for two reasons. First, he wanted to overhear more information about the Dahar Khanate. Second, he knew that entering the Inner City involved a very strict inspection.

He could use the Inner Binding Seal, of course, but it required twelve hours to recover after each use. With the path ahead uncertain, it was best to save it. The Inner Binding Seal would be most effective when deployed at a critical moment.

He had no intention of getting involved, but to his surprise, the con artist came hurrying after him just a moment later.

“Hey, young brother, have we met somewhere before?”