The black color is very light and is not noticeable in the mud. Only by careful observation can traces be seen.

And that definitely does not belong here.

Ye Chutang stood up, wiped his hands with a handkerchief, and looked around.

The vegetation is not lush now, and the mountains are covered with yellow and white dead grass.

However, it is not difficult to imagine that this place must be lush and flourishing in spring and summer.

By then, no one would notice this ordinary and inconspicuous tomb.

Xiaowu walked over curiously, squatted where Ye Chutang had just stood, stretched out his little hand, and wanted to touch it too.

Ye Chutang called her.

"No need to touch it, it's just that someone burned paper here."

When Xiaowu heard this, he immediately stopped what he was doing, ran to her side with his short legs, and opened his eyes wide.

— Burning paper? This is a desolate mountain area, why would anyone come here to burn paper?

Ye Chutang smiled and said, "Since there is a grave, it is normal for people to come and burn paper, isn't it?"

Xiao Wu nodded subconsciously, yes! There is also a tombstone here——

She looked back and realized it belatedly.

——Could it be that the people who came to burn paper were the family members of that “Wu Ya”?

But if that was the case...why was this "Wu Ya" buried here alone?

Moreover, the surrounding area looks very desolate, as if not many people come here on weekdays.

If you really care about her family, how could you bear to let her be so lonely?

It is really, really contradictory!

"Xiao Wu, you are still young and don't understand that there are many things in this world that you have to do against your will." Ye Chutang shook his head gently and looked at the tombstone which was still clean even though the words on it were blurred. His guess was confirmed again.

Xiaowu was confused.

Ye Chutang looked into the distance.

It's empty, the sky is high and the mountains are far away.

"She should feel that her plan is foolproof and all traces of her whereabouts are perfectly hidden and no one can detect it."

"But she forgot herself."

“That’s the biggest flaw.”

…

Longcheng.

A group of people came out of the city gate.

Tuoba Yu looked at them from afar, and only when he could no longer see their figures did he finally let go of his worry.

A sturdy man standing beside him snorted coldly, "Finally we got rid of these big shots! They are just passing on an order, but they are still putting on airs!"

They spent a lot of effort in the past two days, and finally coaxed these people over by using all kinds of persuasion.

Finally, after paying a lot of money, these people agreed to leave.

Tuoba Yu's face was cold. "Most of the officials in their court are like this. Although this job is hard and tiring, it is a lucrative one. They will not leave unless they can make a fortune, not to mention--"

What's more, the real King Nan of Yan is not in their hands now. Although they have a fake one to deal with it, it can only be a temporary solution.

The longer these people stay in Longcheng, the easier it will be for the secret of the real and fake King Yannan to be exposed.

For the sake of safety, it is worth spending money to buy peace of mind.

"Master is right!"

The man clasped his hands together and frowned as he spoke of this.

"But up to now, our people haven't found any trace of King Yannan. What should we do? Could he have already escaped from the city? If he brings reinforcements, we will be in a passive position!"

"No." Tuoba Yu shook his head. "He was poisoned and lost all his martial arts skills. He is now no different from a useless person. If he only relied on his own ability, he would be trapped to death before he could even climb over the mountain. What's more, there are still hundreds of his personal soldiers in this city. With his character, he will never abandon them and live alone."

The King of Yannan was famous in the southwest, and before this action, Tuoba Yu had specially studied his temperament.

If King Yannan didn't know enough, he wouldn't have been fooled so easily.

He never fights a battle unprepared.

After hearing this, the man's brows relaxed and he nodded, "That's right! He is probably hiding somewhere in the city!"

Tuoba Yu gave an order in a deep voice, "Tell them to continue searching! Even if they have to dig three feet into the ground, they must find him for me!"

"yes!"

…

In a valley ten miles outside the city, many soldiers had already gathered.

In a makeshift tent, a group of people gathered together, with a map of Longcheng placed in the middle.

——This is an enlarged version that Ye Yunfeng re-drew based on his memory.

The letter that Xun Cheng sent Long Jiu to deliver to him had long been burned. After Ye Yunfeng had been in Longcheng for some time, he became more familiar with this place.

So he brainstormed and drew a new picture after consulting the suggestions of several of his companions.

If Xun Cheng were here, he would surely sigh that this painting is more detailed and meticulous than the one he sent.

It even marked several major camps where troops were stationed in Longcheng.

Ye Yunfeng stood in the middle, his tone calm and composed.

"Their food supplies have been burned, and it is inconvenient for them to ask for help. I don't think they can hold out for too long. So to win this battle, we only need to believe in one word: delay! Delay until they run out of ammunition and food and have no choice but to send out news. Then we can choose to launch a night attack and we will surely be able to take them down in one fell swoop!"

His hand swiped across the map.

"Longcheng is easy to defend but difficult to attack, but there is one thing: most of the soldiers in the city don't know that the entire Longcheng has been controlled by the Southern Hu people. Once they learn the truth, they will definitely cause riots. When the city is the first to fall into chaos, it will be more advantageous for us."

He looked up at the soldiers around him with a solemn expression.

"However, we are short of manpower. Even with the help of these soldiers defending the city, it will be difficult to organize a strong counterattack for a while. Therefore, the real fight still depends on us."

A soldier in his thirties nodded in agreement, "Afeng is absolutely right!"

The other man scratched his head, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "But we only have so many people in total, and there are 5,000 Nanhu soldiers in the city alone. The number of both sides is very different. How should we fight to ensure our victory?"

It is easy to say that defeating a larger force with a smaller one is actually very difficult to do on the battlefield.

Ye Yunfeng stretched out his hand and pointed at a certain place on the map.

"So, we must not disperse our forces, and we should concentrate on attacking the east gate! Their rotation time is very regular, and all we have to do is choose an auspicious time--"

He lowered his voice.

"When the time comes, we..."

Only after he finished talking about his plan did Ye Yunfeng look up and ask,

"What do you think?"

Seeing that several people were looking at him with strange eyes, Ye Yunfeng was stunned for a moment, "Why... are you all looking at me like that? Is there something on my face? Or is the plan I just mentioned not feasible?"

After a while, the oldest man sighed, patted his shoulder heavily, shook his head and laughed.

"It's not impossible, it's too feasible! No wonder Lord Feng Zhang thinks so highly of you, young people are really to be feared! Ah Feng, you - you will definitely have a bright future!" (End of this chapter)