The night was dark and turbulent, with a gentle breeze blowing.
Su Tiyue stood there, watching the tall figure continue walking deeper into the darkness.
She frowned slightly, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her skirt...
"Xiao Heye, actually... I have another wish."
"If I could, I would also hope for world peace..."
However, Su Tiyue did not say the last two sentences.
She was innocent and kind. She had not lived through that dark and difficult time, so when she saw Yong'an City fall and the people living in misery, she wanted to save the world.
But Xiao Heye is different from her.
He was evil and callous; he came from the cold and damp hell. So when he saw Yong'an City fall, and saw those so-called powerful nobles, princes and ministers scheming against each other for power and profit, sacrificing everything, he only felt ridiculous and sad.
From beginning to end, Xiao Heye never thought of saving this broken world.
...
Su Tiyue didn't say anything because she knew she had no right to make Xiao Heye forget the past or forgive those who had once wanted to kill him.
But who knew that just as Xiao Heye was about to disappear into the darkness, he suddenly stopped and turned his back to her. Although his voice was very low, Su Tiyue still heard him clearly.
He said, "Even if Yue'er didn't say it, I would know."
"What?" she asked softly.
"In that case, I will bestow upon you a peaceful and prosperous world."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Heye's figure disappeared.
Su Tiyue froze, tears streaming down her face like broken pearls...
It turns out, she didn't need to say anything.
It turns out he knew everything.
Was it because she was too innocent, wearing all her thoughts on her face, that he was able to see through her secrets?
Or was it that Xiao Heye understood her too well? He understood her kindness and warmth, and knew all her thoughts and little secrets...
*
For several days in a row, the fighting raged and the air was thick with the smoke of battle.
In this battle, Xiao Heye not only had to face the forces of Zhou Lin and Jiang Zhun, but also the Rouran army's encirclement and surprise attack from the rear.
Su Tiyue is still in Yong'an. Xiao Heye doesn't want her home to be destroyed by the war, so he deliberately led his troops to retreat north, drawing the battlefield to the continuous mountain range outside Gusu City in the north.
Xiao Heye was familiar with the terrain there, which made him even more adept at fighting.
Even so, his troops and equipment were far fewer than those in Zhou Lin's possession.
After several encounters, both sides suffered heavy losses.
...
In the evening, Xiao Heye led his team to set up camp by a mountain stream to rest and recuperate.
When Han Zhou returned from his patrol with his squad, he found him sitting alone by the stream, drinking wine.
“Brother, our brothers have suffered heavy casualties recently. If we continue like this, we will surely die. Why don’t we… retreat to Suzhou first? The city is well-defended there, and they can’t break through.” Han Zhou handed him a roasted sweet potato and sat down next to him.
The freshly roasted sweet potato was still a bit hot to the touch. Xiao Heye rolled it in his hand, then broke it in half and handed one half to Hanzhou. "Hanzhou, if the soldiers only eat half a sweet potato for each meal, how many more days can we last?"
"If we don't go back to Suzhou, we can only hold out for three more days at most."
"Three days is enough." Xiao Heye took a bite of the sweet potato, which had been roasted to a golden brown by the fire. It was fragrant and sweet.
With the situation so dire, Xiao Heye was still able to remain calm and say that three days would be enough.
Han Zhou asked suspiciously, "Brother, you have a plan in mind?"
Xiao Heye shook his head: "No."
"and you……?"
Xiao Heye: "What I mean is, wait..."
"Wait for what? Wait to die?" Han Zhou's mouth was naturally venomous, and once he opened his mouth, it seemed like he couldn't utter anything nice.
"Wait for reinforcements."
Han Zhou was even more confused: "Brother, are you out of your mind? We have all our men here, where are we going to find any reinforcements?"
“Yes, and quite a few.” Xiao Heye pointed south: “Over here, there is General Su Lin.”
He then pointed north and said, "Over there, there's General Song Yunqian..."
Xiao Heye's analysis was indeed correct. Yong'an City was in chaos at the moment, and of all the Northern Liang troops, only Su Lin, who was stationed in the southern border, and Song Yunqian, who was guarding the northern border, held military power.
The situation is currently turbulent, the emperor is missing, and Zhou Ziqi, though he has ascended to the throne, is still an infant.
Needless to say, the Prince of Huainan, Zhou Lin, had already disheartened everyone simply because of his collusion with the Rouran to persecute the people in the city.
Therefore, Su Lin and Song Yunqian are the key to victory.
Han Zhou frowned: "But even if they come, they might not be there to help us. What if they choose Zhou Lin's side?"
“You’re right, Zhou Lin and I each have a 50% chance. General Su is my future brother-in-law, and I bet he definitely won’t choose Zhou Lin…”
"So, the key is whether General Song's 200,000 elite troops are aimed at me or at Zhou Lin."
"But isn't it too risky for you to do this?" Han Zhou still had a lingering worry.
Xiao Heye disagreed, speaking in a steady and powerful voice: "All adventures come at a price, but of course... there are also rewards."
"Besides waiting, I also have to gamble. Gamble on people's hearts, gamble on the morale of the army... and gamble on human nature."
While it may seem that Xiao Heye has been fighting a tough battle with them these past few days, that's not actually the case...
His informants were hidden in every corner of Northern Liang, including Zhou Lin and Jiang Zhun's armies, Yong'an City, Gusu, Youzhou...
Even the two major territories of the north and south.
They don't need to reveal their identities; they can simply hide in a dark, shadowy corner and pass on some key information.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
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