Shang Ruyi instinctively squinted her eyes.

When she opened them again, she had already stepped into the gate. The King’s Tent was indeed enormous; walking inside felt like entering a palace, surprisingly over ten zhang wide. On the left and right sides of the tent were several low tables, behind which sat men with varying expressions, all clearly ministers of the Western Turks. At this moment, upon seeing Ashina Zhuxie bringing Shang Ruyi inside, their gazes turned peculiar.

Then, they all looked toward the front of the tent.

Shang Ruyi also looked up toward the top center, where a giant table as wide as a person was placed. Behind the table sat a burly man, and just by looking at his attire and headpiece, Shang Ruyi almost instantly recognized this as the Western Turkic Khan—

Ashina Shali!

Previously in Yanmen County, in a life-or-death moment, she had only seen this man from a distance among thousands of soldiers and horses, without seeing his face clearly. Even now, she could not, because Ashina Shali was tightly furrowing his thick brows, a hand pressing firmly on his left eye socket, veins bulging on his forehead and hand as if he was enduring intense pain.

Was that the eye injured by Yu Wenye’s arrow?!

A cold wind swept over Shang Ruyi’s back once more. Instinctively, she turned to glance, seeing Shi Shu An Yi coming in to close the tent door. The last gust of wind blew over her back, causing her to feel cold sweat, soaking her clothes.

After closing the door, Shi Shu An Yi glanced at her, then sneered and walked forward.

He walked to the middle of the tent before bowing to Ashina Shali and said, "Khan, the Prince has returned."

"..."

However, Ashina Shali did not immediately raise his head.

His pain was severe, one hand tightly clutching his left eye as though he wished to crush it. His low, wheezing breath filled the tent with a tense, suffocating atmosphere.

At this moment, a gentle voice sounded—

"Khan, Prince Zhu Xie has returned." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Hearing this voice, the coldness on Shang Ruyi’s already damp skin deepened, and her gaze immediately turned toward the source. She saw that behind Ashina Shali stood an elegant woman.

This woman, nearing forty, though not young and with coarse skin and some wrinkles on her face, was exuding the charm of a mature woman. Slightly bending her soft waist, she whispered a few more words into Ashina Shali’s ear, as if an eye salve had been applied, the pain seemed to cease, and he moved the hand from his eye socket, looking toward them.

His cold gaze, like a knife, pierced through Shang Ruyi’s body.

At that moment, memories of being pursued by thousands in Yanmen County, the excruciating pain of her flesh tearing apart from the arrow, and the suffocating stare of eyes as keen as wolves’ all suddenly revived.

Shang Ruyi held her breath, her sweat-drenched hand gripping the hem of her dress tightly.

Only then did she see that the eye socket Ashina Shali had been clutching was empty!

Meaning, that arrow Yu Wenye shot back then didn’t just hit his eye but blinded it, causing Ashina Shali to have only one eye all these years!

Yet, even with only one eye, his gaze remained sharp, coldly eying his eldest son as if a blade, causing Ashina Zhuxie to immediately kneel: "Father Khan."

Ashina Shali said deeply: "You didn’t hold Taiyuan."

"...Yes."

"Do you know how great this crime is?"

"..."

"Do you know how important Taiyuan is to the Turkic people!?"

Ashina Shali knelt, buried his head deeply, remaining silent.

Those seated at tables on both sides, along with the woman standing behind Ashina Shali, displayed faint smiles of suppressed excitement on their faces.

But the next moment, Ashina Shali said: "But you brought back this woman—Yu Wenye’s woman!"

"..."

"This is a great achievement!"

Upon hearing this, those around, including the woman, were again amazed.

Ashina Zhuxie lifted his head, ready to speak, but before he could, Shali Khan raised his hand, pointed at Shang Ruyi, and declared: "Someone, drag her out, kill her!"