Chapter 358 Phoenix Cries Beside Xiaoshan

"Shang Ruyi!"

Yuwen Ye shouted, his voice deep and resonant, and it immediately echoed through the mountains.

However, the surroundings were so quiet that there wasn't even a whisper of wind.

Yuwen Ye's eyes suddenly turned red. He wrapped the reins in his palm with one hand, gripped them tightly, and immediately turned his horse around to charge up the mountain.

The boy sitting in front of him was caught off guard and almost fell off his horse.

Just as Yuwen Ye was about to ride his horse up the mountain, Shen Wuzheng glanced around, immediately rode forward to stop him, and said in a deep voice, "Wait a moment."

Yuwen Ye was forced to stop, and when he looked up at him, his face revealed an undisguised murderous intent.

Although Shen Wuzheng's expression was also very solemn, and even when he discovered that Shang Ruyi was not down the mountain, a rare fierce glint appeared in his eyes beneath his calm exterior, he still spoke calmly at this moment: "Ruyi should not have gone up the mountain. There is only one way to go up the mountain. If she followed us up the mountain, we should be able to meet her when we come back."

Yuwen Ye's breathing was heavy as he said, "Xiao Yuansui—"

"It shouldn't be him either,"

As Shen Wuzheng spoke, he glanced around again: "If he had taken Ruyi's place—not to mention whether he has the resources to do so now, not to mention whether his men can defeat the people you left here, Mu Xian and the others would definitely have resisted. But look, there isn't even a trace of a fight around here."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Ye frowned and glanced around.

Indeed, as Shen Wuzheng said, it was so quiet here that there was not a sound of wind, nor any trace of a chaotic fight. Therefore, Shang Ruyi was obviously not forcibly abducted.

Only at this moment did his breathing ease somewhat.

He should have been able to see these things at a glance, but just now, even though he had a clear view of everything, he was completely unaware and just rushed up the mountain without thinking.

But now, he couldn't care less about why he had been so reckless just now, and anxiously looked around again.

"But where is she?"

"..."

Shen Wuzheng also frowned and looked around.

If Shang Ruyi wasn't forcibly abducted by Xiao Yuansui's men, then why is she missing?

Just then, Shan Tong'er, who was sitting in Yuwen Ye's arms, suddenly turned around, pointed to a road behind them, and shouted, "It's her!"

Yuwen Ye hurriedly turned around.

A group of people came galloping over from another road, their hooves kicking up dust. Leading the way, the one who charged out of the dust was none other than Shang Ruyi!

Upon seeing her, Yuwen Ye's heart immediately settled back down.

Immediately, his handsome face regained its usual calm and coldness, but his eyes clearly revealed a fierceness. It wasn't until they got closer that people realized that both Shang Ruyi and the Mu Xian group behind her had a touch of human warmth about them.

It's not the mundane, everyday atmosphere of the world, but the true essence of everyday life!

Their faces were covered in soot, and their clothes seemed to have been burned. Their followers were even more disheveled and covered in soot.

Yuwen Ye's brows immediately furrowed.

But at this moment, he stopped moving and gripped the reins tightly, cracking his knuckles. The boy sitting in his lap looked at his hands, then looked up at him, as if sensing something, and shrank his neck.

Shen Wuzheng, however, rode his horse to meet them.

Upon seeing them, Shang Ruyi's ashen face immediately lit up with a smile. She hurriedly spurred her horse over and said to Shen Wuzheng, "Big Brother!"

Shen Wuzheng frowned, but couldn't bring himself to scold her. He asked in a deep voice, "Little sister, where did you go?"

"I--"

Just as Shang Ruyi was about to speak, her gaze involuntarily drifted behind him. When she met Yuwen Ye's angry eyes, she was stunned for a moment, and then she saw Shan Tong'er sitting in his lap. She was both surprised and delighted.

"Good boy!?"

Shan Tong'er was also very happy to see her, and said softly, "Madam..."

How did you two get together?

Shang Ruyi was a little confused for a moment, but when she looked at Shan Tong'er and the two large copper hammers in his hands, she suddenly seemed to sense something. Shen Wuzheng said, "He is the ninth leader of Wanggang Village."

"What?!"

Shang Ruyi was taken aback. Looking at Shan Tong'er's somewhat guilty and embarrassed smile, she thought for a moment and finally came to her senses: "So you—so you ran away these days to Wanggang Village?"

"Yes. I usually stay in the village."

"Then why did you all come back together?"

Shen Wuzheng said, "Just now, he fought with Yuwen Ye, and we brought him back—we'll talk about these things when we get back. Little sister, tell me where you went and how you got into this state."

At this moment, Shang Ruyi looked up at Yuwen Ye again.

Regardless of their conversation or their surprise, Yuwen Ye remained silent.

But his gaze was like a knife, fixed on her. Even without meeting his eyes, Shang Ruyi felt her face burning and a vague unease creeping into her heart.

She sensed that he seemed angry.

So she swallowed hard, composed herself, and said softly, "We just... set a fire."

"What?!"

Shen Wuzheng and Shan Tong'er were immediately shocked, looking at her in disbelief: "You set that fire?!"

Yuwen Ye's gaze deepened and grew colder.

He remained silent, only staring coldly at Shang Ruyi. He saw Shang Ruyi glance at him again—though he knew he shouldn't, he felt a little guilty and looked away, then said, "Yes, we just set fire to the back mountain of Wanggang Village. You all saw it?"

Shen Wuzheng turned and glanced at Yuwen Ye.

Sensing something amiss in his expression, especially given Yuwen Ye's consistently somber face, Shang Ruyi finally mustered the courage to ask him, "What happened?"

"..."

Yuwen Ye stared at her coldly, still remaining silent.

The atmosphere was a bit stiff. Shan Tong'er, who was sitting in Yuwen Ye's arms, said cautiously, "Brother Xiao asked the Second Young Master if he sent someone to set the fire, and the Second Young Master said no."

"..."

"The second young master also said that he has no interest in using the same method a second time—"

As he spoke, he clearly felt the air above him grow heavier, pressing down on his neck and making him shrink back even tighter, so he couldn't say anything more.

Shang Ruyi felt embarrassed when she saw Yuwen Ye's expressionless face.

While warfare is known for its deception, the methods used are one thing, but integrity is quite another. Especially for a proud man like Yuwen Ye, facing a formidable opponent like Xiao Yuansui, victory requires not only mental superiority but also psychological dominance. However, his own self-serving actions have turned him into a despicable and blatant liar.

She immediately felt a little guilty and said, "Yes, I'm sorry. It was my own idea, and I didn't expect it to implicate you."

"..."

"If I have the chance in the future, I will explain it to him clearly—"

"No need,"

Yuwen Ye's eyes darkened, and he coldly interrupted her: "You and I are husband and wife, we are one."

"..."

"What you do is what I do."

"..."

For some reason, upon hearing these words, Shang Ruyi's face burned intensely, even hotter than when she had just set fire to the grain storage behind Wanggang Village, and the flames had scorched her cheeks.

Looking at her flushed face, for some reason, the raging fire in Yuwen Ye's heart, which was almost driving him mad, gradually subsided.

But when he spoke, his voice remained cold and hard—

"But why did you do this?"

Shang Ruyi glanced at him but hesitated to speak. Shen Wuzheng, who had already frowned when he heard their conversation, also looked at Shang Ruyi and sighed.

He said in a deep voice, "Little sister, this is too dangerous!"

Shang Ruyi was clearly prepared to face their questions, even her brother's reproach, so she said softly, "I know, but I can't just stay down here and let you go up and risk yourselves. Besides, I thought about it later, and although you may have many ways to deal with Xiao Yuansui, if Xiao Yuansui really wants to use all the strength of Wanggang Village to kill you, it will be very difficult for you to escape."

"..."

“And he must have had this thought.”

Shen Wuzheng asked, "Why?"

Shang Ruyi said, "Because of that—"

As she spoke, she raised her hand and pointed. Shen Wuzheng and Yuwen Ye, whose face was gloomy, looked in the direction she was pointing. They saw the huge stone tablet outside the pavilion, with the blood-red characters "Xiaoshan" still so glaring.

Yuwen Ye said in a deep voice, "What kind of reason is that?"

Shang Ruyi said, "That prophecy song—because his own family declined because of that prophecy song, and later the decline of the Zuo family and Zuo Heng's rebellion were also related to that prophecy song. The first thing Xiao Yuansui did after taking over Wanggang Village was to change the two characters 'Wanggang' on the stone tablet to 'Xiaoshan'. All of this proves that he must have believed in that prophecy song very much."

"..."

"And what he cares about most is that line—'The phoenix sings beside Xiaoshan Mountain.'"

Shen Wuzheng's eyes flickered slightly.

Yuwen Ye asked, "So?"

"so,"

Shang Ruyi said, "He will definitely not allow you to appear in Xiaoshan Village, which he controls, and he will not allow you to weaken his strength, defeat the morale of the villagers, and then leave alive."

"..."

"Because that is where the phoenix sings on the side of Xiaoshan Mountain."

"..."

Yuwen Ye remained silent for a moment, then said coldly, "Nonsense."

Shang Ruyi said, "I know you don't believe in gods or Buddhas, nor do you believe in any prophecies in this world, but your disbelief doesn't mean others don't believe. Not only will others believe, but they will also take action against you because they believe in these omens."

"..."

This time, Yuwen Ye remained silent.

After a long silence, he suddenly said, "Mr. Mu, you and your men will go back and receive eighty strokes of the military rod, and your salary will be deducted for a year."