Chapter 431 The real test is yet to come!

Leaving all the noise behind, it was almost 11 PM when they returned to the government office.

The night grew deeper, but the cheers and jubilation throughout Fufeng continued, perhaps even all night long, but all of that was already too far away for them.

Back at the government office, after dismounting, Shang Ruyi was led inside by the hand that was not injured.

Just as they reached the entrance of the courtyard, they encountered Wo Xue, who was guarding the gate.

Hearing footsteps, she hurriedly stood up and bumped into the two men. She was stunned for a moment, but Yuwen Ye had already walked inside without turning his head, saying as he went, "Bring a basin of cold water."

"Uh, yes."

Wo Xue hurriedly went down.

Before Shang Ruyi could even say another word, he pulled her into the room, lit the oil lamp, and then sat her down at the table.

Yuwen Ye held the fingertips that had regained sensation and were now burning with pain in his hand. He frowned and saw that all the fingers were a bloody mess. It was alright that the skin and flesh had been torn open on the city wall, but the wounds had been constantly reopened from the force of the drumsticks, which aggravated the injury. The little finger, which had no sensation, was the most deeply injured.

I could faintly hear his breath catch in his throat.

Shang Ruyi subconsciously said, "Actually, no—ah!"

Before she could finish speaking, she felt a sharp pain in her fingertip, which made her scream in agony.

It was Yuwen Ye who deliberately pinched her finger!

Shang Ruyi's tears were about to fall. She tried to pull her hand back, but he held it so tightly that she couldn't move. She could only glare at him with red eyes and say, "What are you doing!"

Yuwen Ye said in a deep voice, "Don't lie again!"

"..."

"You can lie at other times, but to lie at a time like this, are you trying to comfort me or insult me?"

"..."

Shang Ruyi couldn't tell whether she felt guilty or angry, so she could only bite her lower lip and glare at him, but dared not say anything more. Fortunately, Wo Xue came in at this moment with a basin of cold water. She looked at the two people in the room, didn't dare to say anything, and obediently withdrew after putting the basin down.

Yuwen Ye then rolled up his sleeves, soaked a towel in some cool water, and began to clean her wounds.

Although it wasn't a serious injury, just a chafing from the rough city wall, the pain was excruciating because the wound was mixed with grit.

But Yuwen Ye's hands were surprisingly soft.

His hands, which held the towel, were rough and strong, having just slain countless Longxi soldiers on the battlefield, even stopping two galloping horses with a single stroke and subduing the invincible Xue Xian. Yet now, they were so careful as he wiped away the residue from her wounds, cleaned the blood, and gently dried her hands.

For some reason, even though it should be her hand that hurts, Shang Ruyi doesn't feel any pain. She only feels her heart pounding, which is what causes her some pain.

Could it be because the ten fingers are connected to the heart?

Her face flushed, and she instinctively lowered her head.

An awkward silence fell over the room. After thinking for a moment, Shang Ruyi said softly, "But is it really okay for you to bring me back like this?"

"how?"

"The battle has only just ended."

"I've told you everything I needed to, so why can't I come back?"

"But so many people are watching..."

"So what if they see?" He said calmly, his expression unchanged. "When you were beating the drum on the city wall, even Xue Xian was watching. Are you afraid that these people will see it?"

"..."

"Besides, if you don't treat this injury quickly, it will become very troublesome."

Shang Ruyi opened her eyes slightly and looked at him: "How did you know?"

Yuwen Ye glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, his gaze seeming to say—how would I know?

Shang Ruyi immediately cursed himself for being stupid. What else could it be? He had just fought a battle and was able to defeat Xue Xian in one battle, which boosted the morale of the entire Fufeng army and people. This was all thanks to his real skills, and such skills could not be given by the imperial court or by his status as the second son of the Duke's mansion.

It was he who fought battle after battle, leading from the front and shedding blood in the fight.

So, wouldn't such injuries be commonplace for him?

Shang Ruyi sighed inwardly, but then heard the person opposite her say in a deep voice, "When I first went to war with my father, I was not even eight years old. At that time, I watched him go into battle from the city wall. I was just like you, worried and scared. I gripped the city wall with both hands until my palms were almost worn through."

"..."

Shang Ruyi felt a lump in her throat for a moment.

He was only eight years old.

After a moment of silence, she asked softly, "And then?"

By this time, her wound had been cleaned. Yuwen Ye tossed aside the towel, went to the side to get a box of wound medicine, used a needle to apply it carefully to her wound, and then said, "Because it wasn't bandaged in time, it hurt for half a month."

"..."

"He can't even pick up chopsticks."

Shang Ruyi gasped.

Yuwen Ye glared at her again, took the gauze and bandaged her wound before saying, "So your injury needs to be treated quickly. Now that you've applied the medicine, you'll be fine in a few days. Remember not to get it wet for the next couple of days, and leave everything to the staff below."

"knew."

Yuwen Ye put the medicine box away and placed it aside. Shang Ruyi, still shaken, looked down at her thickly bandaged fingers, then looked up at him and said softly, "Then, what about Fufeng—"

Yuwen Ye casually lowered his sleeves, which he had just rolled up: "Are you asking if the crisis in Fufeng will be resolved after this battle?"

Shang Ruyi said, "It's not that easy, is it?"

Yuwen Ye looked up at her and said, "Half the reason we were able to win this battle today is because Xue Xian underestimated us. His goal today was not to attack the city and kill the enemy, but to target me, so he didn't make proper troop deployments."

"..."

"His abilities are far more than that."

"..."

"Moreover, although the battlefield has not been cleared yet, I just estimated that we have annihilated at most eight thousand enemy soldiers today, and there should be around a thousand prisoners."

"..."

"This level of damage hasn't even been enough to cripple the Longxi army, not to mention they still have over 100,000 troops that haven't arrived yet."

"..."

"so,"

Yuwen Ye's gaze turned serious as he said, "The real test is about to begin."

Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi's breathing immediately became tense.

The real test?

Just as she was about to ask something else, she heard footsteps approaching from outside. It must be the supervisor and the other deputy generals returning. Yuwen Ye then said, "Alright, your injuries have been treated. Rest for a while. I still have some things to tell them."

After saying that, he got up and prepared to leave.

But as soon as he stood up, he suddenly felt dizzy and his tall body swayed, almost falling over.

Shang Ruyi was startled and quickly reached out to support him.

"What’s wrong with you?"