Yun Wenfang felt someone holding a knife and slashing at his neck. He knew exactly how to dodge it, but his body couldn't help but move slower and slower. However, his mind was clearer than ever before. The surroundings became very quiet, and all the sounds of fighting faded away from him. Only the fatal knife was getting closer and closer.
Yun Wenfang smiled, but he did not close his eyes. It was not because he felt that he would die with his eyes open, but because the blade that was slashing towards him could not make him afraid or retreat, and he thought of Ren Yaoqi.
Yun Wenfang thought he was remembering the scene he'd dreamt of over a decade ago, Ren Yaoqi kneeling and begging him to let her go. But it didn't. Instead, he recalled all the smiles she'd seen in his mind. Yun Wenfang's gaze softened, and he moved his hands, not knowing where to reach, until he remembered that none of Ren Yaoqi's smiles had been for him.
Of course, Ren Yaoqi also smiled at him sometimes, but that faint smile made him hate her every time he saw it, so in the end she even stopped giving him that polite smile. When facing him, she was always on guard and impatient, wishing she could pretend not to see him.
Yun Wenfang suddenly felt a little tired. It was not the kind of tiredness that came from physical exhaustion, but the despair and helplessness that came from the depths of his soul. He closed his eyes.
"General--" The close follower who was stumbling behind him had bloodshot eyes. He did not try to block the knife that was coming towards him, but used up his last bit of strength to rush towards Yun Wenfang regardless of the consequences.
The sound of the blade entering the flesh had numbed everyone present, and the gushing blood only dyed the ground beneath their feet red.
"General—"
Yun Wenfang fell down. The soldiers who had been struggling to hold on did not see the figure fighting bravely, and their eyes began to become a little confused. Some of them fell to the ground due to physical and mental exhaustion.
Just when the entire army was about to be wiped out, the sound of chopping and killing suddenly came from outside the woods.
A soldier who was sneaking towards Yun Wenfang and wanted to chop off his head to take credit for it, had not yet raised his knife when an arrow came from nowhere and pierced his heart and nailed him to the trunk of a tree in front.
"The reinforcements from the Yanbei Army are here—"
Someone shouted this, but the imperial army, which had been planning to rush over and finish off the remaining Yanbei soldiers, instantly lost their composure. They initially thought someone was just taking advantage of the chaos and shouting nonsense. But when they saw the armored Yanbei soldiers charging in from outside the woods, all they could think of was to turn around and flee.
Outside the woods, Xiao Jingxi, wearing soft armor, sat on his horse, looking towards the gate of Yunyang City.
Tongde stepped forward and said, "Sir, Shu Lilin is only a small group. General Zhu has already led his men in, and the battle should be over soon."
Xiao Jingxi didn't say anything.
Tongde continued, "The prince just sent someone to report that Eunuch Lin, who came with General Zhang, requested a ceasefire and promised to withdraw his troops immediately."
A young general following behind Xiao Jingxi scoffed softly, "Calling for a ceasefire when they can't win—that's really their usual style. But do we in Yanbei always come and go as we please? That's a bit too much to hope for!"
"General Zhu is back!" Tongde was sharp-eyed and saw Zhu Ruomei walking out of the woods with some people, carrying a person on his shoulders.
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