"Calm down." She Jun said anxiously, "Maybe Feng Ye is cheating. What I can find out now is just superficial. What if this is Feng Ye's trick to lure you back? He can't possibly gamble with three cities."

"Yes, he might be cheating, but he is still using Yu'er to threaten me." Yan Sikong gritted his teeth, "Doesn't he think that Yu'er is his childhood sweetheart? Doesn't he think that I am ungrateful and cold-hearted? How could he bear to let his 'Sikong' take risks? Why does he think that I will go back for Yu'er? What does he mean?!"

She Jun's handsome face was as gloomy as a rainstorm: "Maybe, deep down in his heart, he knows who the real Yan Sikong is, but he just doesn't want to admit it."

She Zhun's words were like a piercing arrow, hitting Yan Sikong's heart. How could he not think so? How much did Feng Ye hate him that he was unwilling to acknowledge his identity? He said self-deprecatingly, "Maybe, he just hopes that the 'Sikong' in his mind is not me."

"There is another possibility." She Zhun stared at Yan Sikong, "In addition to Yuan Nanyu, Feng Ye also sent someone else."

Yan Sikong narrowed his eyes, and already had the answer in his mind: "... Yuan Shaoxu?"

"That's right." She Jun said, "This way, no matter whether you are Sikong or Nanyu, there is always one of the two Yuan brothers that you care about."

"Yuan Shaoxu, haha." Yan Sikong sneered, "I don't believe he can't see that there is no brotherhood between Yuan Shaoxu and me."

"It doesn't matter whether he can see it or not. What matters is that you don't fall into his trap." She Jun held Yan Sikong's shoulders tightly. "The reason why I didn't tell you is because this information is mixed and it's hard to tell the truth from the false. How can you let him be satisfied!"

"Let's not talk about Feng Ye's lies for now, but I'm worried because he let Yuan Shaoxu stay with Yu'er." Yan Sikong's eyes were sinister. "He secretly colluded with Chen Yu to frame me. I don't know what else he can do."

She Zhun said with disgust: "This Yuan Shaoxu is simply shameless and despicable. You are brothers after all, and you have sacrificed half of your life to avenge his father. Not only is he ungrateful, he is also jealous of your talent and teamed up with the enemy to frame you. He will not die a good death!"

"What I want to know most now is how deep his relationship with Chen Yi is."

"Do you think he will betray Feng Ye?"

Yan Sikong shook his head: "I don't think he would. After all, Yu'er is his biological brother. He has the best chance of rising to prominence if he follows Feng Ye. He himself knows that everyone looks down on those who betray their master. Therefore, he is cooperating with Chen Yu, most likely just to get rid of me."

"In order to get rid of you, he must have revealed your true identity to Chen Yi. Otherwise, it would be hard to explain the dagger incident. But what about Yuan Nanyu's true identity? Could it be that Chen Yi already knows it?"

Yan Sikong shook his head and said firmly: "Yu'er is Yuan Shaoxu's greatest support. He would never sell Yu'er even if he sold Feng Ye."

"Maybe not now, but in the future, a despicable and treacherous person like Yuan Shaoxu will do anything for himself."

"Yes, this is what I am most worried about. Yuan Shaoxu's going with Yu'er on this expedition may be Feng Ye's intention, but it may also be Yuan Shaoxu's request. Although Yu'er is the commander-in-chief, he is his younger brother. If he is not restrained, Yuan Shaoxu will definitely want to take over. If he is too restrained, given Yuan Shaoxu's narrow-mindedness, I don't know what kind of trouble he will cause for Yu'er."

She Zhun said coldly: "After all, you just want to go back, right? You worry about Yuan Nanyu on the left and Yuan Shaoxu on the right, but in fact, the one you can't let go of the most is Feng Ye. Yan Sikong, are you possessed by a demon?"

Yan Sikong sighed softly: "She Zhun..."

"If you want to go back." She Jun said sharply: "No matter what Feng Ye did to you, you only brought humiliation upon yourself!"

“So I’m not going back.”

"What..."

Yan Sikong said calmly: "Don't worry, I won't go back to find Feng Ye."

"It's the same if you go find Yuan Nanyu, isn't it? I've gone through so much trouble to find you..."

"I won't look for Yu'er either."

She Jun was stunned. Even though Yan Sikong said this, from his tone, he didn't sound like he was going to give up.

Yan Sikong looked at the dusk that was falling on the horizon, gradually swallowing the rolling mountains into darkness. No matter how powerful the forces in this world are, they all have destiny that cannot be violated. The sun rises and sets, cold and heat alternate, rivers will eventually flow into the sea, flowers will eventually wither, heavy rains will eventually stop, and the fire that spreads across the prairie will eventually go out. In the dark, everything has its own arrangement.

He wanted to rebel against the suffering he had endured, but he didn't know what to rebel against. Just like the sun and the moon cannot be reversed, and the cold and heat cannot be disordered, if even the celestial phenomena are like this, what about ant-like people?

He had been running in a direction that confused him, but he knew deep down that his heart was still trapped there.

"Sikong..." Seeing that he didn't say anything, She Jun felt even more uneasy.

"She Zhun." Yan Sikong looked at She Zhun, his eyes clear and wise, as if so many days had passed and he had just come back to his senses. "You said you would take me back to Jiangnan. What should we do after we return to Jiangnan?"

"The money I earn is enough for us to spend for the rest of our lives. We can retire to the countryside or travel around. You can do whatever you want..." The more She Jun spoke, the weaker his voice became. He might have suddenly realized that the person in front of him was Yan Sikong, the youngest successful candidate in the double imperial examinations in the past hundred years, the man with the talent to plan and direct the country.

Although Yan Sikong failed because of love, he still cannot be underestimated.

Yan Sikong said calmly: "I have had thoughts of such a life, such as sailing around the world, and living in the wild... But it was only fleeting, just like after eating delicacies for a long time, one always wants to try some light porridge and side dishes. Who among the scholars in this world doesn't want to be an official? Not for the sake of being an official, reading the books of sages and selling them to the emperor's family, even if it is not for fame, not for profit, not for the sake of bringing glory to the family, it is just for the word 'ambition'. Otherwise, apart from being an official, there is no other way. What are the options for scholars? Those who cannot become officials or have difficulty making achievements in the officialdom write about how free it is to travel around the mountains and rivers and how fun it is to retire to the countryside with resentment. Most of them are just sour. "He stared at She Zhun, "I have been confused these days and don't know where to go. I have studied all my life, but my ambitions have not been fulfilled. How can I live the life of an octogenarian in my prime years?"

She Jun's eyes dimmed. "In fact, I have already guessed that your ambition is as great as Feng Ye and Chen Yi. How can you be content to be nameless and unknown?"

"I am ambitious, but unlike them, I know what I can and cannot do. I am a minister, I cannot be a commander, nor can I be a good emperor. Feng Ye is not a talent for an emperor, but he insists on competing for the throne. Chen Yi is not a talent for a commander, but he insists on leading the army. Both of them will surely suffer losses." Yan Sikong secretly clenched his fists, "And I, I still have unfinished business. I have not yet announced Yuan Mao's grievances to the world, I have not yet personally sent Xie Zhongren to hell, I have not yet made peace with Shen Hexuan, and I have not yet seen the revival of the Great Sheng Dynasty. She Zhun, I am too deeply trapped, I can't let go."

The word "can't let go" was filled with so much helplessness that She Jun felt sad. He took a deep breath and said, "Yes, this is you."

Yan Sikong said with guilt: "She Zhun, I'm sorry. I, Yan Sikong, can die on the battlefield with swords and swords, and I can die in the turbulent court, but I can't die peacefully in my old age. That's not my fate. I can be infamous or have a bad reputation in history, but I can't be nameless."

She Jun nodded, as if admitting it: "You have never changed, that's fine, if Feng Ye can really change you, then you are not you anymore."

"Feng Ye... Feng Ye is just an accident to me." Yan Sikong said lightly.

"So what exactly are you planning to do?"

Yan Sikong took a deep breath and looked towards the south: "I'm going to find Chen Yi."

She Jun froze and couldn't speak for a long time.

Yan Sikong gave a cold and sinister smile.

"If we go find Chen Yu, I'm afraid Feng Ye will..."

"Do you hate me more?" Yan Sikong chuckled. "What's the problem? Whether it's true or not, if he dares to threaten me with Yu'er, I won't let him succeed. If he really only gave Yu'er 30,000 soldiers, then even if I go to help, I won't win because of the disparity in numbers. So I might as well go to Chen Yi's camp. I will make Shen Hexuan and Chen Yi pay the price. I also want to let Feng Ye know that no one can control me, Yan Sikong!"

She Jun felt a chill down his spine. He realized that the familiar Yan Sikong had really returned. He asked, "What are you going to do? Are you going to ruin Chen Yi's army?"

"I don't know yet, but I know I want power and a monarch who is easy to control. I used to think about 10 steps ahead, but later I found that I could predict some things accurately but not others. For the ones I could predict accurately, I might lose everything at the 11th move, but for the ones I couldn't predict accurately, I might turn the tables and win at the very end. If you don't go to the very last moment, you don't know whether you win or lose, so why bother to limit yourself to what you can and can't do? I have no home and no burdens, and now I don't care about anything. I want to play this game according to my own ideas and try my best to make it the way I want it to be. If I lose, I'll just die."

She Jun said in a deep voice: "Sikong, you will get what you want."

Yan Sikong smiled faintly: "Why do you say that?"

"I have a feeling."

"I hope so. It really makes a huge difference whether you get it or not. You can't take it with you when you die."

She Jun's expression was somewhat gloomy: "Since you have made up your mind, I can only help you."

Yan Sikong felt guilty: "She Zhun, you don't have to accompany me into danger anymore."

"What I do is not an honest business." She Jun laughed at himself, "Just give me enough money."

Yan Sikong frowned and said softly, "I know you helped me, not for money. What do you need? When we were young, you and I depended on each other. If you hadn't been here for all these years, I would have died countless times. She Jun, I don't know how to repay you."

"You have saved me and avenged me. What's there to talk about between you and me?" She Jun smiled bitterly. "It's just that I thought that you and I had no relatives in this world. We really depended on each other. I didn't expect that your brother is still alive. I should be happy for you, but..."

"You are also my brother." Yan Sikong said seriously, "She Zhun, you and Yu'er are both brothers for whom I am willing to sacrifice my life."

She Jun was stunned for a moment, then he showed his cynical smile again: "I am embarrassed that you didn't scold me when I said such sour words. Sikong, I am really happy that your brother is still alive. You have been obsessed with revenge all those years, and disguised yourself with coldness and ruthlessness, but I still know that you are a person who values ​​friendship and loyalty, otherwise I am not a fool, how could I be willing to help you, but..." He suddenly said seriously, "You must not have any entanglement with Feng Ye again, otherwise you will really let me down."

Yan Sikong was nervous, but he seemed calm and said, "Don't worry, I am done with him. When he knows that I would rather go to find Chen Yu than go back to find him, he and I will be... enemies."

She Jun couldn't be completely relieved, but as long as Yan Sikong didn't go back to find Feng Ye, it would not be a bad choice, because he knew that apart from Feng Ye, Yan Sikong would never fall in love with anyone else, especially Chen Yu. The ruthless Yan Sikong was the most powerful Yan Sikong, and his strength alone was enough to shake the world.

"So when do you plan to go find Chen Yu?"

"I can't go find Chen Lei. I want Chen Lei to come find me. To be more precise, to snatch me away."

"…Robbery?"

"Didn't Chen Yi try to sow discord between Feng Ye and me? Then I would do as he wished and betray Feng Ye. But he and I have been teachers and students for many years, and he knows my temper. He knows that even if I leave Feng Ye, I still hate him and it is impossible for me to help him. If I take the initiative to look for him, he will be suspicious."

"What are you going to do?"

As they talked, the two of them had already walked back into the forest. Looking at Ali who was waiting for them not far away, Yan Sikong said, "She Zhun, you can live in seclusion in the city without being traced, but Ali can't. This time I come out of the mountains, I want to be free of worries. I hope you can send Ali away. Then I will deliberately expose my whereabouts and lure Chen Yi's troops to capture me."

She Jun looked at Ali and said, "Okay, but I'm afraid he may not be willing to leave."

"You have to agree even if you don't want to."

When Ali saw them coming back, he felt relieved and couldn't hide the joy on his face. He jumped up and ran to their side.

"I brought you some food. You must be hungry." Yan Sikong took off his luggage. "It's still warm. Eat it while it's hot."