Chapter 1061 You've almost fooled me

Yuwen Ye knelt on the ground, still protecting Nie Chong in his arms. He pressed one hand hard against his wound, and blood flowed down his arm, staining half of his body crimson. Against this backdrop of blood, Yuwen Ye appeared cold and sharp, like a blood-stained sword, its edge already revealed even before it was drawn.

He said coldly, "You're waiting for your ambush."

Upon hearing the words "ambush," the men subdued by Yuwen Ye's subordinates gasped, clearly not expecting Yuwen Ye to know. Shan Shiyu's eyes dimmed—Yuwen Ye's knowledge meant…

Just then, a whistle suddenly rang out in the deep night, the sound coming from the direction in which Master Shan had been looking with such anticipation.

At that moment, his heart sank.

Although he couldn't see anything, and there was only that distant whistle in the night, he, who was well-versed in military strategy and deception, immediately understood that the ambush he had arranged around the area had been captured by Yuwen Ye's men, and that whistle was the signal.

Regret, resentment, anger, and despair were like several venomous snakes coiling around him, their fangs biting deep into his heart. Shan Shiyu gasped for breath before suppressing these emotions. He looked up at Yuwen Ye, the crimson blood on the other man's body also staining his eyes. He said in a deep voice, "How... how did you figure it out?"

Yuwen Ye calmly said, "I didn't see it."

"..."

“You did a very thorough job. In order to deceive Shan Tong’er and Mu Xian, you didn’t even tell the people around you beforehand. So you imprisoned those who were trying to stop you from surrendering in front of them, just so they would come back and tell me, so I could rest assured.”

"..."

"even--"

As he spoke, Yuwen Ye looked up at the soldiers behind him. By this time, unease was slowly building up, making them increasingly restless. However, Shan Shiyu was restrained, and several generals were being held captive. Without a commander or orders, they not only dared not act rashly, but were also afraid of the consequences of being slaughtered if they did. Moreover, they had come tonight to surrender, so they could only keep making uneasy noises, but no one stepped forward.

Yuwen Ye slowly withdrew his gaze and said, "You didn't even tell them."

"..."

"Because only in this way can you deceive me."

The virtuous master gritted his teeth and said, "Unfortunately, all that I did still didn't deceive you."

Yuwen Ye said, "You've almost fooled me."

"...!"

The virtuous master gasped for breath, staring wide-eyed at him: "Then—"

Yuwen Ye said, "You've overlooked one thing, and that is your age."

"..."

"At your age, you must already have a wife and children."

"..."

"You and Shan Tong'er recognized each other, and for the entire night, apart from telling him that you were going to surrender to us, there was always some time to talk about your feelings and your experiences over the years. But from beginning to end, I didn't hear Shan Tong'er and Nie Chong mention a single thing about you."

"..."

"So I was wondering if you deliberately didn't mention it so that none of us would notice it."

"..."

"So I sent people to investigate the area around Luoyang and your former residence overnight. They immediately found out that you have a wife and children, as well as two concubines. However, these people are currently in Luoyang and are being 'protected' by Liang Shide."

Master Shan's face immediately turned pale.

The little boy beside her swayed slightly, as if he were about to fall over at any moment.

Yuwen Ye glanced at him but said nothing. He then turned to Shan Shiyu and said, "It is for this reason that Liang Shide dared to entrust so many troops to you and put you in charge of guarding Hulao Pass, the most important pass north of Luoyang. Since your wife and children are in Luoyang, how could you possibly decide to surrender to us without any hesitation?"

The virtuous teacher was speechless.

Because everything he did had been predicted by Yuwen Ye.

From the moment he recognized Shan Tong'er on the battlefield, and from the moment he heard Shan Tong'er whisper those words, he guessed that Shan Tong'er would try to find a way to see him. He had been setting up this scheme from the moment he saw Shan Tong'er, who was naive and innocent, and perhaps easy to deceive, while the people Shan Tong'er brought with him might not be so easily fooled. Even if he could deceive their people, Yuwen Ye was a skilled warrior and a master strategist. If he didn't make adequate preparations, he would absolutely not be able to fool him.

Therefore, he did not tell anyone beforehand, because if these people were not careful, they might reveal their flaws in front of Shan Tong'er, and Yuwen Ye, being such a cautious person, would definitely ask about it when he got back. If he found out, he would fail at the last minute.

He was confident that he had done everything perfectly, but he never expected that this biggest loophole was something he couldn't fix, nor could he fix it.

After letting out a long sigh, Shan Shiyu raised his head again. His eyes had calmed down, but they were as cold and lifeless as ashes. He stared blankly at Yuwen Ye: "Now that I've lost and fallen into your hands, what are you going to do? Kill me?"

The person next to them immediately began to breathe heavily.

Yuwen Ye looked at him coldly: "I won't kill you now."

"..."

"Since you didn't tell the people at Hulao Pass that your surrender was just a plan, it means that they are now also preparing to surrender to my Great Sheng Dynasty."

"..."

"I need to bring you there alive so we can retake Hulao Pass."

He didn't say what would happen after the recapture.

Nobody knows.

The virtuous master understood that his life and everything else were now in the other party's hands. He stopped struggling and said nothing more. He was dragged up from the ground by Shen Tu Tai, his arm hanging limply at his sides. The intense pain made his eyes red, and the other party showed no intention of healing him. It was as if he was just a still-breathing corpse, and he only regarded himself as a corpse.

As he stood up, his gaze finally met the red eyes of the boy standing beside him.

When he was talking to Yuwen Ye just now, every word he uttered mentioned Shan Tong'er, yet it had nothing to do with him. He was merely a tool that was trusted and used.

When Shan Shi saw him, he wanted to look away, but he felt that Shan Shi's gaze was always on him, as if he wanted to see clearly or ask questions. But Shan Shi never spoke. After calling out to Nie Chong, Shan Shi felt as if something had been taken away from him. Now, Shan Shi seemed to be just an empty shell standing there, about to collapse at any moment.

Shan Shiyu's Adam's apple bobbed as he looked at his brother, whom he hadn't seen in a long time but who had been used by him the moment they met again, and wanted to say something.

Before he could even speak, Yuwen Ye suddenly exclaimed in a low voice, "Nie Chong!"

Ask for leave

I forgot to mention yesterday that I need to come to the hospital today and need to take a day off. Please forgive me.