Chapter 77 Drinking Snow (Seventeen) His instincts and will refused...

Zhi Rou's arm injury was not serious, but she was exhausted both physically and mentally, and had been frightened. After Su Du left, her willpower suddenly collapsed, and she fainted as soon as she touched the bed, and did not wake up for a long time.

It was already dark when the door opened from the outside, and a pair of black leather boots strode into the room, followed by a woman from the State of Yan.

Su Du walked to the bedside, turned to look at the woman, then at Zhi Rou, and gestured for the woman to come forward.

The candlelight flickered in the room, and the person on the bed had a deep frown, seemingly muttering to himself. Su Du looked at Zhi Rou, and hearing the words "Chang Huai" coming out of her mouth in fits and starts, guessed that it must be the person he had shot outside the city.

Because he was backlit, it was difficult to discern his expression. The female doctor glanced at him and walked over in fear.

The physician did not shy away from the traditional separation between men and women, but after lifting just a small part of the clothing, she discovered that the person on the bed was actually a woman. She then turned her head to glance at Su Du, as if to tell him to step aside.

Having spent a long time on the grasslands, Sudu had not forgotten the proper etiquette and manners, but these trivial formalities were no longer important to him.

He remained expressionless. Seeing the female doctor hesitate and reluctant to begin, he finally frowned, turned around, and urged, "Can you treat her now?"

The female doctor was too busy to keep up with the agreement.

Even if she wanted to leave, she still took good care of the injured person. When she stopped, the person on the bed seemed to be in a dream again, weakly calling out "Mother".

The voice sounded like a child seeking shelter, and it was truly pitiful.

The female physician withdrew her hands and covered her sleeves, then rose from beside the bed. Immediately, soldiers entered and led her out.

The door opened and closed, and diamond-shaped light and shadow briefly seeped into the room before receding like the tide.

The lighting is poor here.

Su Du, holding a candle, walked silently to the bedside. His gaze lingered on Zhi Rou's face, as if looking at flowers through a mist, his expression growing increasingly somber.

Who exactly is she?

At such a young age, there's no way she could have any connection with her father. Her surname is Song, but which Song family?

At the beginning of the case, even my maternal grandfather abandoned the Chang family; even though Lord Wei was on good terms with my father, he didn't say a word in his defense. The only one who stood up was Lord Yuan, who usually didn't have much contact with the Chang family.

Song Shi… Su Du rubbed her temples, unable to recall.

After a long while, the voices in the room gradually faded away. Zhi Rou suddenly woke up from her shock. She did not get up, but just lay on her back, her breathing slightly rapid.

The dim yellow light cast a shadow on her face, blurring her vision. She could vaguely make out the man's shadow standing in front of the bed; it was Bei Li in his long robe.

Zhi Rou closed her eyes again, then opened them again and saw clearly.

She straightened up and stood in the place furthest from the light, watching Su Du warily.

In fact, during the months she spent in Beili, her relationship with Su Du was not particularly strained. However, once they arrived in Suyuan, perhaps due to the change of territory or the war, the two suddenly became hostile to each other, and because they knew each other somewhat, they became even more wary of each other.

Su Du remained the same; when quiet, his features appeared even more unfathomable.

He placed the candle on the table, sat down, reached into his robe, and held the jade pendant in his palm: "Where did you get this jade pendant?"

The shadow of the flames illuminated clearly what was in his hand. Zhi Rou unconsciously took two steps forward, a hint of impatience in her voice: "This is my mother's! Give it back to me!"

"You're full of lies." Su Du clenched his fists slightly and stared intently at Zhi Rou. "Tell the truth, and I'll let you go."

Zhi Rou, who had been flustered just now, was now calm and composed. After considering the matter, she decided not to lie to him about it: "I'm telling the truth. If you don't believe me, I won't believe you either."

Seemingly angered by her, Su curled her lips into a sneer, then thought for a moment and said, "Are you waiting for Enhe? He's on a different side from you, why should he save you?"

Enhe had long been aware of Song Zhirou's admiration, but the Prince of Beili had no reason or intention to harm a Yan person who was of no benefit to the Beili army.

Zhi Rou never thought of waiting for anyone.

Throughout her entire life, only she could rely on herself.

She tried to regulate her breathing, and looking down, she saw that her body had been bandaged. She moved her fingertips slightly, and even the abrasions on them were covered with a layer of gauze.

If he wanted to kill her, why bother with all that?

Zhi Rou remained silent for a while before tentatively asking, "You're not going to kill me, so why haven't you done it yet? Do I still have any value to you?"

Su Du's eyes narrowed, then a smile appeared on his lips, and he said in a low voice, "Self-righteous."

Zhi Rou was unwilling to waste time with him here. She still wanted to see Chang Huai with her own eyes. If Chang Huai was no longer there... she felt a pang of sadness and frowned.

A moment later, Zhi Rou's thoughts returned, and her gaze fell on Su Du's half-lit face.

"They say you are the son of Changyu."

The sound was soft, yet firm, carrying a hint of reckless madness, like a gambler.

Su Du's expression grew even colder, and he stared at her for a long time.

The room was cramped and empty, with no one burning incense, yet a strange scent wafted to the air. After a while, Zhi Rou realized that her anxiety had caused her to twist the gauze ribbon between her fingers, releasing the herbal aroma.

Su Du's eyes, gleaming like a beast waiting for its chance, fixed on Zhi Rou: "What do you want to say?"

She looked directly at him, her words carrying a coaxing undertone.

“There is a man who exchanges letters with General Chang very frequently, and all his letters are kept in an attic. I know where they are. Perhaps there is something useful in the letters for you. Don’t you want it?”

She had visited Yuan Zhaobi's residence and retrieved a stack of notes from his attic.

“If you let me go, I will find a way to deliver those letters,” Zhi Rou suggested.

Su Du was surprised when she suddenly said those words. There were indeed rumors about him on the grasslands, but she was the only one who dared to speak them out in front of him.

She was desperate, so she gambled.

But her words did indeed arouse his desire.

Back then, when news from the imperial court reached the capital, his father sent out all his trusted confidants. He sensed something was wrong and went to ask his father if anything had happened, but the answer he always received was, "Don't worry."

At that time, he saw his father sitting in the study day and night, letters coming out one after another, and going in one after another. In his memory, his father's hands, which were usually used to handling knives, rarely held a wolf-hair brush for long. He knew that something must have happened.

Returning to the present moment, Su calmly observed Zhi Rou, trying to discern the truth in her words.

Finally, he shook his head and stood up: "You know I don't believe you."

Zhi Rou questioned, "Then what is the point of trapping me here?"

Su fell silent.

He probably wanted to believe her, wanted to get something from her, but his instincts and will wouldn't allow it.

Seeing her deeply furrowed brows and the expression of doubt and confusion on her face, Su didn't want to get entangled with her any longer, so he casually said, "If you want to die, then go ahead."

As she spoke, she turned towards the door and called out anxiously, "Su Du!"

He stopped and looked back at her.

"The jade pendant in your hand, it really belongs to my mother, can you give it back to me?"

The firelight warmed her eyes slightly, and unlike their earlier confrontation, a hint of helplessness flickered in those brown eyes, which were similar to his. He almost believed it.

"What is your mother's name?" he asked after a moment.

Six hours ago.

As the sun rose higher, Lan Ye stepped out of the barracks and yawned. He hadn't gone far when he caught a glimpse of Wei Yuanzhan practicing his spear in the open space in front of the camp. His sleepy eyes immediately snapped open, and he straightened up and went over to him.

He had just finished his stance when he caught sight of Lan Ye, so he threw the spear, which landed steadily in Lan Ye's hand.

"Didn't you sleep all night, Master?" Lan Ye asked, guessing.

Wei Yuanzhan frowned and said, "I can't sleep."

After arriving in Changxuan City, they encountered numerous obstacles.

Even if they said it was true, the Beili people always liked to use feints to attack the east while attacking the west. How could they know that this plan was not a way to lure the tiger away from the mountain? The defense line of Suyuan was already weak. Even if the Beili army really attacked Suyuan, Changxuan's troops could not turn the tide. On the contrary, the troops would be scattered, and the gains would not outweigh the losses.

In short: You have made a mistake in your judgment. If you have any doubts, you should report them to Yu Yang.

Wei Yuanzhan was unwilling to return empty-handed, so he spent half the night with Commander Xu.

The spring morning breeze was chilly. He practiced for a while in the wind wearing only a thin undershirt. Then he went to the well to fetch water, poured it directly on himself, and washed his face.

"They're all up?" Wei Yuanzhan asked, glancing sideways.

Glistening water droplets shimmered on his eyebrows, then quickly trickled down, following the curve of his face into his collar, soaking the fabric and revealing a muscular chest.

In the army, the master is truly different from before. Has it been too long? Will the master also abandon some of his manners and become like those rough men?

Lan Ye imagined things randomly, but couldn't bear to look, so she shook her head.

Wei Yuanzhan raised an eyebrow at him, and he quickly replied, "They're all up."

As they walked, he asked, "Master, when are we returning to Suyuan? Changhuai isn't here, and there's no one to keep me company. The few in the tent... I have nothing to say."

"Of course I'll go back." Wei Yuanzhan walked into the barracks, took a towel to dry himself off, and changed his clothes.

He often does the job of persuading people.

Xu Rong refused to lend troops simply because he was worried that if he sent troops, his own defenses would be weakened, and he would be unable to bear the responsibility if anything went wrong.

He didn't sleep a wink last night. He overheard the soldiers in the city talking about Xu Rong, so he went over and asked them a couple of questions.

Wei Yuanzhan thought about it all night. He realized that he had been a bit impatient during the previous negotiations and was afraid that he had offended him in some way.

After a casual breakfast, Wei Yuanzhan wrapped his outer robe around himself and called to Lan Ye, "Let's go see Commander Xu."

Xu Rong was not with these soldiers, but Wei Yuanzhan, with his long legs, could walk far and soon arrived.

It was about half the size of Zhang Jixiao's official residence, with sentry posts nearby and soldiers carrying weapons patrolling back and forth. There were no civilians passing by, only soldiers, and the place was very imposing.

A soldier dismounted by the roadside and rushed into Xu Rong's residence, panting heavily, his footsteps thundering as if he had something extremely urgent to report.

Wei Yuanzhan paused slightly, standing still as he gazed at the man's retreating figure. A sudden tightness settled in his chest, like a lone boat adrift at sea, feeling the ever-changing winds and clouds, yet utterly helpless.

Lan Ye observed his expression but remained silent for the time being. After the people who went in came out with Commander Xu, he said to Wei Yuanzhan, "I'll go ask."

They then arrested another soldier who had come out of Xu's residence. His face was grave and his steps were slightly hurried. He had been sent by Xu Rong to deliver a message to the army.

News must be communicated, so seeing his comrades listening intently, he said frankly, "Before dawn, the Beili army launched a surprise attack on Suyuan, and Suyuan City has already fallen. The enemy army will likely head straight for Changxuan."

Lan Ye was suddenly taken aback: "This report... is it accurate?"

The person lowered their eyelashes.

Upon hearing this, Wei Yuanzhan thought of Changhuai and became extremely flustered. Although he didn't show it on his face, his pace quickened, almost as if he were running. He grabbed the mane of a warhorse and mounted it.

Xu Rong then noticed Wei Yuanzhan's figure, his chest tightened, and he hurriedly shouted, "Quick! Stop him!"