After nightfall, firecrackers and fireworks rang out, and the sound of music was so loud that Yan Sikong could vaguely hear it in the prison. The air was filled with the smell of saltpeter, which lingered for a long time.
Yan Sikong could imagine the scene at this moment of Feng's mansion decorated with lights and filled with guests, and his heart was filled with anxiety. He couldn't tell whether it was because Feng Ye was getting married or because he was worried that their jailbreak would fail.
Yan Sikong peeked at the moon in the sky through the narrow iron window. The passing time was like a needle piercing his heart, making him feel extremely tormented.
He couldn't help imagining what Feng Ye was doing at this moment.
The bride must have been picked up and the wedding ceremony has begun. The wedding banquet must have filled the entire mansion. It’s time to toast now. Later, it will be time to enter the bridal chamber...
When Feng Ye was in prison, did he also think about how he and Wan Yang got married? Now he finally understood the feeling of being devoured by others.
But what can I do?
The moonlight grew darker, and Yan Sikong, feeling restless, finally waited for She Jun to arrive.
Taiyuan is not like the capital. The prison in Taiyuan is naturally not as well guarded as the imperial prison in the capital. She Jun disguised himself slightly and wore the uniform of the Feng family army. There was a hint of fireworks on his body. He obviously just came out of the Feng Mansion. He held the key to the prison door in his hand and said quickly while opening the door: "I have confused the prison guards. The horses are ready. My people have rescued Ali, but time is short and the plan cannot be more thorough. Once the city gate is closed, it depends on you."
“…Depend on me.”
"Yes." She Jun opened the cell door and threw the cloth bag to him, "Change it."
Yan Sikong opened the cloth bag, and inside was not only the mask, but also Yuan Nanyu's clothes. Yan Sikong took a deep breath, and since he had made up his mind, he could not hesitate at this time. He quickly changed his clothes and put on the mask.
She Jun came up to him, combed his hair, and put cotton pads on his shoulders. Yuan Nanyu was about the same height as him, but a little stronger.
After a slight makeover, She Jun looked at Yan Sikong, who was dressed from head to toe in the style of Yuan Nanyu, and sighed.
"What's wrong?"
"I saw him today," She Jun said. "Even through the mask, I could tell you looked alike. How could others not notice it?"
"It's not that they didn't notice it, but they don't know our backgrounds, so they only think we are slightly similar. And you know, the more you look at us, the more similar we become."
"That's true." She Jun patted Yan Sikong on the shoulder, "Drink the wine. If you can't get through the city gate with this mask, you can only force your way through."
Yan Sikong took a deep breath, gulped down the wine that She Jun brought, then slammed the wine bottle and said with a firm look: "Let's go." Then he strode out of the cell.
"What else are you bringing?" She Jun was about to pull the thin luggage in his hand.
"It's just some personal belongings. It's so light and won't be a problem." Yan Sikong dodged and walked straight out.
After She Jun's men had knocked out the jailers, they had cleared an escape route. They quietly ran out through the back door, where they were waiting for several horses, as well as Ali and She Jun's men, all wearing the same uniforms as She Jun.
"Ali!" Yan Sikong strode over.
Ali's eyes turned red and he was about to kneel down to Yan Sikong from a distance.
Yan Sikong grabbed his arm and looked him up and down: "Have you been tortured?"
Ali shook his head and murmured something.
She Zhun urged, "Don't waste time, let's go." He pushed down the brim of Ali's hat and said, "Be hunched over later, don't let anyone see you."
Ali nodded vigorously.
Several people mounted their horses and headed towards the west gate, which had the least guards.
The commander of the west city gate was of the lowest rank and had little contact with Yuan Nanyu, so it was the least likely for him to notice anything unusual about him.
It was already late at night, and they didn't meet anyone along the way until they arrived at the city gate. When the guard Zhao Xian saw the leader, he hurriedly bowed and said, "I am here to see you, General Que. Shouldn't you be at the Wolf King's wedding banquet? Why..."
Yan Sikong lowered his voice slightly, pretending to be slightly drunk after a banquet: "Zhao Xian, I am leaving the city in the name of the Wolf King, open the city gate quickly."
"General, please show your token."
"The Wolf King is in the bridal chamber right now and has no time to give me the token." Yan Sikong shouted, "Open the door quickly, don't let me delay my mission."
"This..." Zhao Xian said in embarrassment, "The Wolf King has ordered that anyone leaving the city after nightfall must have a token."
Yan Sikong said coldly: "Are you going to disobey orders? This matter is urgent and imminent. If you dare to obstruct me again, I will punish you for disrupting military operations!"
Zhao Xian fell to his knees, and the other gatekeepers followed suit. He trembled and said, "I dare not, but the Wolf King's military orders are as heavy as a mountain, and I dare not disobey him."
Yan Sikong drew out his sword quickly, the tip of the sword almost stabbed Zhao Xian's forehead, and said in a sharp voice: "Zhao Xian, I am leaving the city on the order of the Wolf King. The Wolf King will naturally not hold you accountable for this afterwards. But if you make a big mistake here, you don't have to wait for the Wolf King to punish you. I will kill you now according to military law!"
Zhao Xian gritted his teeth and shouted, "Open the door!"
Yan Sikong and She Zhun exchanged glances, but they held their breath and did not dare to relax.
As soon as the city gate opened, several people grabbed the horses' bellies and Yuguan rushed out of the city and ran away.
Yan Sikong couldn't help but turn his head and look at the towering Taiyuan City. In order to capture this city, a stronghold that was essential on the road to the capital, he and Feng Ye had put in too much effort, experienced both victory and defeat, honor and disgrace, and countless young and promising soldiers were buried forever in a foreign land.
When they fought side by side at the beginning, he thought that they had almost put aside the past grudges and could work together. He didn't expect that Feng Ye would use him and turn against him in a blink of an eye. Maybe just as Feng Ye said, he learned all these from him, but he, everyone in the world thought he was heartless and ungrateful, but compared with the current Wolf King, he had to sigh that he was not as good as him.
He clearly understood that the Feng Ye of his youth was Feng Ye, the Wolf King of today was the Wolf King, and the young boy he loved no longer existed, so there was no need to treat them as one person anymore.
The city of Taiyuan was left far behind them, and even the grand fireworks that rose into the sky all night gradually became smaller.
Yan Sikong, there is no turning back.
——
She Jun's subordinates escorted them for a day and a night, and then dispersed. Only three people were left to continue the attack. They did not dare to enter the city or take the official road. They could only move forward along the mountain road and slept in the mountains at night. The weather was cold and they suffered a lot.
They must leave the Central Plains as soon as possible. Now they are not far from Qingyang. As long as they pass Qingyang, they will no longer be under the influence of Fengye. Only then can they truly get rid of their pursuers.
But I have been in the mountains for the past few days and have been cut off from news. I don’t know where the pursuers sent by Feng Ye have gone. I just feel that I am being chased closely from behind and I dare not relax for a moment.
However, they could not continue walking on the mountain road. First, they had run out of dry food, and second, the snow in the mountains had not melted, so it was difficult for the horses to find food. People could bear not eating, but the horses could not move at all.
As a last resort, they could only change into civilian clothes and planned to sneak into a remote small county town to buy some food and hay, but Ali did not enter the town. Ali was tall and strong with an ugly face. Anyone who had seen him would never forget him, so it was too easy to be discovered.
After entering the city, Yan Sikong and She Jun found a noodle shop. When the hot beef noodle soup was served, the two of them held their bowls, buried their heads, and ate heartily, as if they hadn't eaten for several days.
After they felt full, they both felt warmer and their tiredness was relieved.
Yan Sikong took a sip of wine and sighed, "It's really not easy to finish the hot noodles."
"That's right." She Jun called the waiter, "Bring two more bowls."
"Further south is Qingyang, that is the city that Yu'er conquered after a bloody battle. Later, he also captured Pingliang and Fengxiang one after another." Yan Sikong thought of the past and sighed secretly.
She Zhun snorted coldly: "Although they are both brothers of the Yuan family, Yuan Nanyu and Yuan Shaoxu are completely different."
In the past few days, unable to withstand She Jun's questioning and doubts, Yan Sikong has told She Jun the whole story. She Jun was furious, and Ali's eyes were full of hatred and ferocity. If Yuan Shaoxu was right in front of them, he would definitely be torn to pieces by him.
"Yes, fortunately, Dad still has a good son."
"But no matter how cruel Yuan Shaoxu is, it is because of Feng Ye that he can stir up such trouble." She Jun said in disgust, "You have suffered a lot of injustice in front of Feng Ye in the past two years, but you never told me how you could become such a coward? He is no longer the little prince he used to be."
Yan Sikong laughed mockingly: "You are right, I am a coward, not only a coward, but also I brought shame upon myself. I know he has changed, but I can never forget the Feng Ye of the past... I have been deceiving myself all along. How can anyone not change after encountering the misfortune of family destruction? I have experienced it myself..."
"It's pitiful that his family was destroyed and he fell from the clouds to the abyss, but it's not your fault. Feng Jianping commands a large army and his achievements are so great that the emperor is afraid of him. Which emperor in history would tolerate him? If it weren't for you, Feng Ye would have died in prison!" She Jun became more and more angry as he spoke, "He even repays kindness with enmity and blames you. How stupid!"
"It's useless to say this now." Yan Sikong said calmly, "I owed him, and I've paid it back. From now on, I... don't want to have anything to do with him."
She Jun frowned: "So what are your plans for the future?"
Yan Sikong smiled bitterly: "I haven't thought about it yet."
"Nan... Sikong." She Zhun looked at him steadily, "Come back to Jiangnan with me, hide your identity and live out your life in peace."
Yan Sikong stared blankly at the empty bowl of noodles in front of him.
He has struggled for twenty years, but now he has nothing and doesn't even know where to go?
"Sikong, I know you are unwilling to accept this. You still have the ambition to govern the country, but you have already taken your revenge. Now you must stay away from the temple and not let Feng Ye and Chen Yi find you. You can only return to the world of martial arts."
Yan Sikong let out a long sigh and said quietly, "Twenty years, nothing but flowers in the mirror and moon in the water."
Before She Zhun could say anything, a few ruffians came into the noodle shop with loud voices, and sat down next to them, making the tables and chairs rattle.
"Waiter, serve the wine and meat!"
"Sir, please wait a moment..."
I heard a man slam his sword on the table and cursed: "Didn't the King of Chu say he would come to Taiyuan in the spring? Why is he raising an army now? I've just failed the escort job I just took!"
Yan Sikong was shocked.