When a common man is enraged, blood splashes three feet; imagine, then, the fury of the Left Wise King, the fiercest warrior of the Xiongnu!
He lunged from his seat and stood with imposing presence in the center of the Xiongnu Royal Court, his eyes flashing with lethal intent.
"Left Wise King... what are you doing?" Li Aotian looked up, sneering as the man charged forward.
"What am I doing? Li Aotian, you have gone too far! Insulting my people is one thing, but today you dared to lay hands on my woman. You ask what I am doing? I am going to kill you! I must kill you!" The arrogant and impetuous Left Wise King stomped across the floor of the Royal Court as he shouted.
Lined up on both sides of the court were dozens of Xiongnu soldiers. The Left Wise King reached out, snatched a blade from the waist of one of the guards, and swept it through the air. The whistling edge of the steel cut through the room, its tip pointing directly at Li Aotian’s face.
"I challenge you to a duel! A duel between Xiongnu men!"
The room fell into stunned silence. The Xiongnu nobles and ministers drew sharp breaths, casting nervous glances at one another.
"We’re done for. The Left Wise King has been pushed to his limit by the Han Envoy," one whispered.
"Indeed. The Left Wise King is a man of legendary battlefield accomplishments, regarded by the Xiongnu Grand Chanyu himself as the next leader of our people. For a young prodigy like him, such humiliation is simply unbearable."
"He won't actually kill Li Aotian in a fit of rage, will he?"
Anxiety rippled through the court. Li Aotian was a civil official; for the Left Wise King, killing him would take only a single stroke. But what would follow? The unstoppable charge of the Han army.
"Left Wise King, please! Calm your temper! You must be prudent!" a Xiongnu minister in heavy furs—the Left Great Dangguhu—stood up and shouted. "The Han Envoy is an honored guest; his safety concerns the survival of our entire nation. Do not act rashly!"
But the Left Wise King was beyond reason. With a glare, he swung his blade and shattered the minister’s table. "If you want to stop me, you’ll have to answer to my sword! No one is to stand in my way! Today, either he falls, or I do!"
His words were utterly domineering. The Left Great Dangguhu scrambled backward, forced to the very feet of the Xiongnu Grand Chanyu by the fierce wind of the blade.
"Grand Chanyu, you... you must stop him! The Envoy’s safety is of the utmost importance!"
The plea reached the silent Xiongnu Grand Chanyu, who looked on in mounting distress. This Han Envoy was truly a headache. His mere presence had forced the Grand Chanyu to suffer the humiliation of having his authority trampled upon. On one side, the Left Wise King had been insulted; on the other, the status of the Han Envoy could not be ignored. This man could not be killed—certainly not on Xiongnu soil, and absolutely not within the Royal Court.
"Left Wise King! Stand down!" The Xiongnu Grand Chanyu rose abruptly and slammed his hand against the table.
The Left Wise King winced, not daring to defy his father’s authority. He turned his head and spat, "Li Aotian! Are you a man or not? If you have the guts, face me in a duel!"
Provoked to this extent, Li Aotian raised an eyebrow and began rubbing his knuckles. "A man’s duel? That sounds interesting."
Li Aotian rose slowly, flicking his white sleeves as he spoke in a booming voice: "I came as an envoy of the Han, bearing sincere intentions! Yet from the moment our Han Envoy delegation entered this court, you, the Left Wise King, have repeatedly obstructed us, even threatening my life! And now you demand a duel? Is this the hospitality your people boast of?"
His words made the surrounding officials wince. *Good heavens!* they thought. *My dear Han Envoy, you certainly know how to twist the narrative! Who is the one who has been making things difficult for whom?*
Nonetheless, the Xiongnu ministers gritted their teeth and offered apologies. "Our apologies, Envoy. It is we who have been negligent."
"You are a civil official; there is no need to take offense at the Left Wise King, who is a man of war."
"Indeed, we surely view you and the Han Envoy delegation as our most honored and important guests."
Though they spoke with forced politeness, they were cursing inwardly. They wished nothing more than for this man to leave Xiongnu territory immediately; his presence was a blade hanging over their heads.
Just as the tension reached its peak, Li Aotian spoke again. "Fine! If you want a fight to the death, Left Wise King, then let us meet on the training grounds! I want to see whose blood stains the blade today!"
Li Aotian stepped forward until he was face-to-face with the Left Wise King, jabbing two fingers repeatedly at his shoulder. His arrogance was boundless. The people in the room were dumbfounded, and even the members of the Han Envoy delegation were in shock.
"What is... what is the Envoy saying?"
"Is he... is he, a civil official, actually challenging the warrior Left Wise King to a duel?"
"He must have had too much kumis—has he lost his mind?"
Nan Wujue, the deputy envoy, looked up in horror and rushed forward, bowing respectfully. "Lord Li, this must not happen! Sir, perhaps the sheep’s milk wine has gone to your head? Are you intoxicated?"
Nan Wujue tried frantically to dissuade him, but Li Aotian was unmoved.
"It is nothing! A mere Left Wise King—I am confident I can handle him," Li Aotian said, standing with his hands behind his back, exuding utter confidence.
"This... this is..." Nan Wujue was speechless. *Lord Li, where on earth is this confidence coming from?* he wondered. A Han civil official defeating a warrior? It had never happened in history!
"Hahahaha! Li Aotian, you are walking to your own grave! Your arrogance will be your undoing!" The Left Wise King threw his head back and laughed, waving his blade in contempt. "Wait and see! I will make sure you learn the price of provoking the Xiongnu."
The Xiongnu Grand Chanyu narrowed his eyes, stepped back, and declared, "Since the Envoy has agreed, then... meet on the training grounds."
Just as the crowd began to move toward the arena, Li Aotian glanced back at the Consort of the Left Wise King, who sat silently at her table.
"Wait!" he said casually. "Since it is a duel to the death, there must be a prize. Left Wise King! If I survive, you will send the Consort to my quarters tonight."
At these words, the murderous intent in the Left Wise King's eyes deepened. This man dared to covet his woman—he would kill him today, no matter the cost.