The servants lit the charcoal fire and made the beds. The house, which had not been lived in for twenty years, finally had the warmth of the human world.

Yuan Nanyu got on the bed first. He looked around the curtains, touched the mattress with his hand, and said with emotion: "I used to think this couch was very big. We often played and quarreled on it. Now it's just enough to stretch our legs."

Yan Sikong walked over. He was wearing a plain white undershirt. His shoulders were thin and the fabric on his chest was somewhat loose. His long black hair hung down like dark clouds, covering only a narrow square of his face.

Yuan Nanyu frowned: "Second brother, why are you so thin?"

Clothes are bulky in winter, but you can’t see it at other times.

Yan Sikong sat down on the bed and said nonchalantly, "I wasn't fat to begin with."

"No, you were much healthier before." Yuan Nanyu held Yan Sikong's shoulders, and it felt like he was grabbing a handful of bones. "You are too thin now. Do you eat well?"

Yan Sikong smiled and said, "Of course, you train all day long, you move a lot and eat a lot, and I can't compare with you."

Yuan Nanyu still didn't quite believe it, so he grabbed Yan Sikong's wrist and took his pulse. He wanted to pull his hand back, but he couldn't.

Yuan Nanyu's eyebrows knitted together: "Your pulse is too weak, it wasn't like this before..." He said impatiently, "Are you injured?"

Yan Sikong said lightly: "I have been wandering around these years, and I have been very tired. Naturally, my body is not as strong as it was when I was young and strong."

"No." Yuan Nan said decisively, "Second brother, don't forget that my master is Yao Gu Que. Why are you hiding this from me?"

Yan Sikong stared at Yuan Nanyu's stubborn expression and said helplessly, "I set the fire... How can I escape unscathed?"

Yuan Nanyu suddenly lifted up Yan Sikong's loose collar. Yan Sikong froze but did not stop him.

Seeing the large burn marks on Yan Sikong's back, Yuan Nanyu's face changed instantly. He opened his mouth and trembled, "...where else?"

Yan Sikong whispered, "There are some on my legs and hands."

Yuan Nanyu's hand trembled as he touched the ugly scar, and his eyes turned red.

Yan Sikong smiled faintly and said, "What a coincidence! Clothes can cover it, so it's no problem. Your wound is still on your face, so why not..."

Yuan Nanyu hugged Yan Sikong's shoulders and felt heartbroken.

Yan Sikong felt a pang in his heart, and he patted Yuan Nanyu's hand: "It's okay, the pain has long gone."

Burning pain is the worst form of torture in the world. Yuan Nanyu himself had experienced it. It was just a small wound on his forehead, but it was enough to give him nightmares for years. He didn't dare to think about how Yan Sikong had suffered. He cried, "It was me... who left you in the enemy camp."

"It's not your fault." Yan Sikong said firmly, "I went to burn Chen Wu's granary not to save you, because you were already safe at that time. The sooner we finish the battle, the fewer casualties there will be. I also don't want to see the Da Sheng soldiers killing each other. Yu'er, that was my decision, and it has nothing to do with you."

Yuan Nanyu shook his head, feeling very upset: "How have you been living these days? Is there a good doctor to treat you? Is there any good medicine to relieve your pain?"

"I got through it all." Yan Sikong comforted him, "She Jun got me the best burn medicine from Medicine Valley. I'm fine now."

Yuan Nanyu wiped away his tears and said, "Let me see the medicine."

Yan Sikong took out a medicine bottle from his simple luggage. Yuan Nanyu opened the bottle and smelled it: "This should be prepared by my second uncle. It is indeed a good medicine for burns. From now on, I will prepare all the medicines for your internal and external treatments. I will definitely take care of your health."

Yan Sikong smiled and said, "Okay." He reached out and rubbed Yuan Nanyu's face, "You are already a general now, why are you still like when you were a child, shedding tears at every turn? If this gets out, you will be laughed at."

Yuan Nanyu said in a hoarse voice: "I am only like this in front of my second brother." The world is so big, but now only in front of his second brother can he let down all his guard.

Yan Sikong said softly, "Don't cry, I'm fine now."

Yuan Nanyu could not suppress his grief: "Second brother, you are good in everything except your fate."

Yan Sikong smiled bitterly and said, "You are right."

"But we can't accept our fate." Yuan Nanyu held Yan Sikong's hand tightly, "Once we chase away the Golden Dog and defeat Chen Yi, no one in this world will be able to hurt my second brother."

Yan Sikong lowered his eyes: "...Okay."

Yuan Nanyu hesitated and asked, "Is Second Brother worried about Feng Ye?"

Yan Sikong couldn't help but laugh mockingly and didn't answer.

Yuan Nan sighed, "Big brother and he have done too many wrong things. What they have gotten themselves into is their own fault. But seeing you... lovers torturing each other, I feel very uncomfortable."

Yan Sikong said coldly: "He and I have long been in love, so how can we be lovers? Did he ask you to be his lobbyist?"

"No." Yuan Nanyu quickly defended, "I can be stubborn and charge into battle for him, but I will never help him persuade my second brother and make him embarrassed." He whispered, "He knows it in his heart, so he never mentioned it and just asked me to accompany you well."

Yan Sikong breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that Yuan Nanyu was a man who valued friendship and loyalty and was easily moved. He suddenly realized that his tone was a little harsh, so he comforted him, "Brother, I don't mean to blame you. It's just that tonight, I just want to relive our childhood together and don't want to talk about anything else."

Yuan Nanyu nodded and smiled gently, "I have a lot to say to my second brother."

The two of them lay side by side on the couch, reminiscing about the past. After twenty years, they returned to the old house again. Laughter and tears accompanied them to sleep that night.

——

Zhuoletai's actions became more and more aggressive. Since the Huangshui River froze, he collected countless ice stones from the river and transported them to the suburbs of Guangning in batches. Fengye sent elite soldiers to launch a sneak attack once. Although they killed a group of their soldiers, the effect was not great. The real threat to them was the huge ice blocks that could not be cut by knives or pierced by swords, but were about to hit their city walls.

Yan Sikong pondered for many days and finally came up with a plan, which he put forward during the meeting.

"Build a city wall?" Liang Huiyong asked in confusion. "It's freezing cold, the wall we build won't be strong, and we probably don't have enough time."

"It's not about building a real city wall, but a defensive wall, which won't take much time."

Everyone looked at each other, not really understanding what Yan Sikong was talking about.

Yan Sikong pulled out a scroll from his sleeve and unfolded it: "I have already drawn the blueprints. As long as we build according to them, it will be completed in 20 days at most."

A few people came over and took a look, and were stunned.

According to Yan Sikong's drawing, three battlements about two meters long were to be built on the original city wall. After completion, the facade of the city wall would be in the shape of a "mountain".

They had never seen such strange-looking city walls in their lives.

"This..." Liang Huiyong asked in confusion, "Is there such a city wall?"

"It didn't exist before." Yan Sikong said, "It exists now."

Feng Ye pondered for a moment and said, "These three parapets can protect the original city wall from some cannonball attacks. Secondly, no matter where the enemy attacks the city from, as long as they enter the range of the parapets, they will be attacked from all sides." He looked at Yan Sikong deeply, not hiding the admiration and desire in his eyes, "Great idea."

Yan Sikong avoided Feng Ye's gaze. He knew that Feng Ye must be the first person to understand his intentions. Although the two of them often held different opinions when leading troops to fight, they could understand each other's thoughts the fastest. This kind of tacit understanding was honed through several times of fighting side by side.

Yuan Nanyu suddenly realized: "So that's how it is, and this kind of battlement is much easier to build than a city wall. Second brother, what a good plan!"

Yan Sikong nodded and looked at Liang Huiyong: "General Liang, what do you think?"

"Okay." Liang Huiyong's eyes lit up. "There is no time to waste. We need to repair it immediately before the Jin soldiers attack the city."

"We have to hurry. If we really don't have time, at least we have to build the structure and then pour ice water over it. They are only useful this time."

Feng Ye said, "General Liang, you can also use the troops of my Feng Family Army to repair the wall."

Liang Huiyong bowed and said, "Thank you, Wolf King." He took the drawings and left in a hurry.

"Second brother actually came up with the idea of ​​building a city wall in this way. It's truly unprecedented." Yuan Nanyu praised him generously. Just like when he was young, he was proud of every bit of Yan Sikong's excellence.

Yan Sikong smiled bitterly and said, "What do you mean unprecedented? This is just a simplified version of the clay city, but it looks a little weird."

"It would take at least three months to build a city wall, or at most a year. But if we follow my second brother's method, it won't take even a month."

Yan Sikong nodded: "But don't rush to praise me. No one knows if this thing will be useful in a real war."

"It will definitely work." Yuan Nanyu said firmly, "Even if we can't defend against their cannonballs, as long as the Golden Dog gets close to our city wall, it will be attacked from the front, from the top, from the side, and from the back. It will not be able to escape our bows and cannons."

Feng Ye also said: "I also think that these three 'mountain'-shaped battlements can greatly enhance the defense of our city walls, and they are more flexible than the 純城. This battle is just the right time to test their effectiveness. If they are useful, we should ask the world to emulate them."

Yan Sikong bowed and said, "Thanks for the praise, Wolf King. I hope this wall can protect our Guangning Guard."

Yuan Nanyu said: "Second brother, give these three walls a name."

Yan Sikong said: "Then let's call it the 'mountain' wall."

Feng Ye said: "The mountain is majestic and unshakable. With this mountain guarding Guangning, it will be indestructible and unbreakable."

Yan Sikong could feel Feng Ye's hot, focused, and wanton gaze, but he never looked back. He stood up and said, "Yu'er, I'm going back home first."

"Okay, I'll send someone to take you there."

Feng Ye also stood up and said, "I was once a guest of Yuan Mansion. Now that Yuan Mansion has a new owner, when can I be invited to visit?"

Yan Sikong lowered his brows and said nothing.

Yuan Nanyu looked a little embarrassed. One was his brother and the other was his king. He gripped the hilt of his sword and said, "Wolf King, my humble abode is simple. Now..."

"I don't care." Feng Ye stared at Yan Sikong.

Yan Sikong sighed inaudibly, "Since the Wolf King is willing to condescend to visit our humble home, my two brothers will certainly fulfill our duties as hosts."

He knew that Feng Ye did it on purpose. It wasn't because he was afraid of Feng Ye's aggressiveness. He just didn't want to make things difficult for Yuan Nanyu.