Under the starry night, Kebineng and his men walked from the bedroom without encountering a single guard, arousing their suspicion. Arriving at the palace gates, they found no sentries, only a pool of blood.
Exchanging a worried glance with his deputy, Kebineng and his group pushed open the palace doors and entered the dark hall, using fire sticks for light as there wasn't even an oil lamp lit.
"General!" The deputy at the front suddenly shouted. Rushing over, they were horrified by the sight before them.
On the throne sat Huchuquan, pale and wide-eyed in death, a curved blade they had been searching for protruding from his chest! The dark red blood had soaked the sheepskin rug beneath him.
"This is bad," Kebineng exclaimed, "Someone's trying to frame us..."
Before he could finish, the hall suddenly lit up, and a flood of Xiongnu soldiers surrounded Kebineng and his men from the side and main doors.
"Father!" A heartrending cry pierced the air as the crown prince, Qubi, arrived first. Pushing through the crowd, he collapsed beside Huchuquan's cold body, weeping uncontrollably.
Kebineng hurried to explain, "Crown Prince, this is a misunderstanding! We had nothing to do with Huchuquan's death! Please..."
"Nothing to do with it?" Qubi stood, teeth clenched, glaring at the Wuhuan envoys and pointing at the curved blade in Huchuquan's chest, "Kebineng! This is your knife, isn't it?"
Kebineng was speechless and could only nod. "But I only noticed my knife was missing after returning to the inn, until..."
"Missing?" Qubi roared, "That's because it's lodged in my father's heart! You treacherous Wuhuan dogs! Budugen must have sent you here under the guise of peace to assassinate my father!"
"Calm down, brother!" Huchuquan's second son, Tumur, arrived upon hearing the news, "Things aren't that simple."
Tumur, standing on the other side of Huchuquan, surveyed the scene before speaking. "I believe the murderer is someone else."
Qubi glared at Tumur. "Brother! These Wuhuan scoundrels sneaked into the hall and killed our father. Now, with the evidence in hand, you still defend them?"
"Listen to me!" Tumur, though deeply grieved, knew the truth was more important. "These Wuhuan men have been in the hall for less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, while our father has been dead for at least an hour. The timelines don't match."
"And if they intended to assassinate our father, a simple dagger would suffice. Why use such an obvious curved blade and leave it at the scene to implicate themselves?"
Facing Tumur's barrage of questions, Qubi's eyes flickered slightly. Soon, their younger brother Chaji arrived, agreeing with Tumur.
"Thank you, Second and Third Princes!" Kebineng gratefully acknowledged the princes, knowing they had just been spared from being hacked to death by the Xiongnu.
Tumur waved his hand and then turned, expressionless, to Qubi. "Brother, I have to ask. Why did you return to the hall an hour ago?"
Everyone was stunned, including Qubi, who widened his eyes slightly.
Tumur took a deep breath and continued, "Earlier, I was taking a walk in the city and saw you return to the hall with your entourage. Curious, I watched from a distance. After you entered, several others went in too. You should know who they are, right?"
Tumur's words left no doubt about his implication. Chaji murmured, "Second Brother, you mean... it was Big Brother..."
"Someone who was not invited to the banquet sat next to the Wuhuan envoys, beside our father, Big Brother, you remember, don't you?"
Tumur's words enlightened everyone. At the banquet, the Wuhuan envoys sat near Huchuquan's throne. To show respect, on their left was Crown Prince Qubi, and on their right... was the Black Banner Army leader, Tadu!
"Tadu returned to the palace with you. At the banquet, you instructed him to steal the envoy's curved blade unnoticed. After the banquet, you murdered our father and framed the Wuhuan. Then you staged this farce. Am I right, Brother?"
Faced with Tumur's relentless questioning, Qubi's expression turned grim, his face shifting from grief to a sinister smile.
"Well done, Brother..." Qubi suddenly lunged forward, drawing the curved blade from Huchuquan's chest and slashing Tumur's throat.
"Too bad. If you had stopped me earlier, maybe. But now, I am the new Xiongnu King. Even if you know everything, you can't change it! Hahaha!"
In front of everyone, the deranged Qubi kicked Tumur down the steps. Blood spurted from Tumur's throat as he convulsed violently.
"Big Brother, you're insane!" Chaji knelt by Tumur, trying to stop the bleeding to no avail. "What are you all standing around for? Qubi has committed patricide and usurped the throne! Arrest him!"
The soldiers, stunned by the scene, hadn't reacted when another squad entered the hall. More decisive in their killing, they quickly slaughtered the Xiongnu soldiers and detained the Wuhuan envoys.
"Tadu pays respects to the King!" Tadu had been waiting outside, his Black Banner Army infiltrating all garrisons in the city, meticulously arranged by Qubi.
Qubi sneered, wiping the blood from the blade with two fingers and tossing it before Chaji.
"Chaji, our brotherly bond runs deep. Since things have come to this, I may hesitate to kill you. Give your second brother a swift death, and I will not mistreat you."
"Once I declare my succession at dawn, we will march on Wuhuan. After we conquer the city, you will be the new Wuhuan King. Together, we will dominate the grasslands and revive the glory of Xiongnu!"
"You... you devil!" To Chaji, Qubi was no longer a brother but a power-mad demon. Looking down at his dying second brother, Chaji's eyes filled with tears.
"A devil? Hahaha!" Qubi laughed, pointing at Huchuquan's corpse. "A devil? Look at him! Once, we Xiongnu ruled the north. In less than a year, the Xianbei and Wuhuan betrayed us."
"The unified North Desert splintered again. If he had listened to me, killed all the traitors like Yufu and Budugen, how did we fall to this? Three failed campaigns, and he still sat on the throne, accepting peace from those who betrayed him!"
"Everything I did was to ensure Xiongnu's survival. Otherwise, once Xianbei and Wuhuan join forces, we'd be driven from this land of survival of the fittest! Do you understand?"
Qubi grabbed Chaji's collar, roaring, "Choose! Witness Xiongnu's resurgence with me or die like these two fools!"
"I... I'd rather die than serve a patricide!" Chaji picked up the curved blade and slit his own throat, blood spraying Qubi, and collapsed beside Tumur...
"Heh... heh hahahaha!"
Amidst the ghostly laughter echoing in the hall, a blood-red sunrise slowly emerged...
That day, news of Huchuquan and his two sons' assassination by Wuhuan envoys spread through the capital. Crown Prince Qubi succeeded as Xiongnu King, executing the Wuhuan envoys in front of the hall.
"Wuhuan! These filthy rats! They entered the capital under the guise of peace. Father, to preserve Xiongnu, agreed to their terms. But last night, they returned to the hall after the banquet and murdered Father and my brothers! It's a Wuhuan plot!"
Qubi's first act as King was to announce the "Wuhuan Assassination" to the Xiongnu people, declaring war on Wuhuan.
Fury swept the city, and seventy thousand Xiongnu volunteered to join Qubi in attacking Wuhuan, achieving Qubi's second goal...
At that time, in the Wuhuan city of Langcheng, Budugen was shocked by the news. "What? Kebineng assassinated Huchuquan?"
"The truth is unclear, but Huchuquan and his two sons are dead. His eldest son Qubi ascended this morning. Kebineng and his companions were killed in the city. Now, Qubi leads a hundred thousand Xiongnu, burning and looting, sparing no one..."
"Damn it!" Budugen slammed the table. "Kebineng would never do something so foolish. This brat Qubi seeks an excuse for war! I've fought for over twenty years and won't back down!"
"Gather all our forces. I will personally lead the army against the Xiongnu!" Budugen donned his heavy wolfskin coat and strode out of the hall.