After Feng Ye left, Yan Sikong stood stiffly in the room for a long time until he heard the sound of table legs colliding behind him.

Yan Sikong came back to his senses and turned around to see Feng Hun staring at him. He murmured, "I thought I would be alone to welcome the spring today, but now you are still with me."

Feng Hun looked at the food on the table, then looked at Yan Sikong.

Yan Sikong smiled and said, "Eat if you want."

Feng Hun was not polite either. With a flick of his tongue, he finished most of the plate of stir-fried meat.

Yan Sikong sat back at the table, picked up his chopsticks, picked up a random dish, and stuffed it into his mouth, but he had no idea how to taste it. His mind had already left Guangning with Feng Ye and Yuan Nanyu, and had melted into the severe cold, snow, and the bloody murder that was about to come.

Will the people he cares about be able to return safely? When will this endless killing and fighting end? Will he be able to see the paradise of kingly way in his mind in this lifetime?

No one could give him answers to these questions. He could only hang in anxiety, suffering and waiting.

Feng Hun ate with great relish and soon finished several dishes.

Yan Sikong looked at Feng Ye silently and said with a smile: "Feng Ye said you are old, yes, you are almost twenty years old, but you have such a good appetite and are still strong, right?"

Feng Hun shook his tail gently.

"You always loved to fight with Zuihong in the past, but now Zuihong is in his prime." Yan Sikong picked up the cloth and wiped the corners of its mouth. "You can't beat it now."

Feng Hun immediately spit all over Yan Sikong.

Yan Sikong laughed: "You are still not happy, this little bad temper, and Feng..." He suddenly realized what he was saying, and his face immediately froze.

He put down the cloth, touched Fenghun's head, and murmured, "It's a good thing you're with me."

——

As soon as the ugly moment was over, Yan Sikong took Feng Hun and went to the yamen in a carriage.

He knew that Liang Huiyong and others would not be enjoying family time at home at this time, but must be anxiously waiting for battle reports in the government office. Judging from the time, Yuan Nanyu might be fighting against the Jin soldiers.

Seeing Liang Huiyong, Yan Sikong took the lead and asked, "How is the defense of the city?"

"Don't worry, we won't relax for even a moment." Liang Huiyong said, "General Cao's troops also left the city at an ugly time to support the Wolf King."

Yan Sikong nodded, sat aside with a serious expression, and waited with them.

Everything was going according to plan, but it still didn't free them from worry. After all, on the battlefield, things change rapidly and no one could really plan everything for sure.

Before dawn, Yuan Nanyu returned.

Of the 20,000 troops he brought to steal the camp, only half returned, which shows how brutal the battle was.

When Yan Sikong saw Yuan Nanyu covered in blood, his face turned pale as paper and he didn't even dare to go over to check.

Yuan Nanyu took off his helmet with one hand and opened his mouth, spitting out cold air: "Any news about the Wolf King?"

"Not yet." Liang Huiyong said worriedly, "Nan Yu, your injury..."

"I'm not injured, please rest assured, Second Brother and General Liang." Yuan Nanyu wiped the blood off his face with his sleeve and said to Yan Sikong, "Second Brother, this is not my blood."

Yan Sikong closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then walked forward, pressed Yuan Nanyu's shoulder, and said in a deep voice: "It's good that you're back. Report the military situation to General Liang."

Yuan Nanyu described in detail the events leading up to and following the attack on the camp.

Zhuoletai had been on guard for a long time. Although his camp defense was far inferior to Fengye's, and he dispatched a large army to pursue the Wolf King who escaped overnight, the troops in his camp were still several times more than Yuan Nanyu's.

However, fewer people means more flexibility, especially when it comes to things like sneaking into camps, so there shouldn't be too many. Yuan Nanyu's troops were divided into three groups, two of which sneaked into camps from the southeast, and one group ambushed in the mountains, making Zhuoletai think there were ambushes and not daring to move out rashly.

The battle lasted a whole night, and Zhuoletai's camp was in chaos. In addition, because he was afraid of ambushes in the mountains, he did not send more troops to pursue Fengye. In the end, Yuan Nanyu was outnumbered and retreated when the opportunity arose.

"I wonder how many Jin soldiers were sent to chase the Wolf King?" Liang Huiyong asked.

Yuan Nanyu said: "According to the scouts, there are at least 60,000 to 70,000 troops, and the Duoyan Guards are the vanguard."

"Sixty to seventy thousand." Yan Sikong said in a deep voice, "twice as many as the troops escorting the Wolf King."

"As long as the Wolf King follows the route we agreed on and lures them into the mountains, he can inflict heavy damage on the Duoyan Guards and escape back to Guangning from the secret Taoxian Road." Liang Huiyong said, "The terrain in the mountains is dangerous, so we don't have to be afraid of him even if we have a large number of troops."

"Why is there still no news?" Yuan Nanyu said worriedly.

As he was talking, the scout Liang Huiyong sent came back. As soon as he entered the house, he knelt on the ground and shouted in a trembling voice: "General, it's not good!"

Liang Huiyong's eyes widened: "What's wrong? Tell me!"

Yan Sikong and Yuan Nanyu both looked pale.

"After the Wolf King lured Duoyanwei into the mountains, the two armies fought fiercely, fighting and retreating. They finally got rid of Duoyanwei and wanted to withdraw to Guangning from Taoxian Road. I don't want to, I don't want to..."

"Speak!" Yan Sikong said sharply.

"There was a sudden avalanche in the mountains, and Taoxian Road was blocked!"

The room suddenly fell silent, and everyone's face turned pale.

No matter how much you plan, you can never beat fate. Human power is simply a joke in front of fate.

Yan Sikong secretly clenched his hands hidden in his sleeves into fists and said in a deep voice: "How is the Wolf King doing now?" In fact, he already had the answer in his heart, but he still held a glimmer of hope.

The scout cried out in a sad voice: "The Wolf King had no choice but to lead his troops to the heights, but they have now been completely surrounded by the Jin soldiers."

Yan Sikong only felt a buzzing in his head, and there was a brief blank in front of his eyes.

The wilderness was surrounded.

There was a voice in his heart that kept repeating this sentence, giving him a splitting headache.

Yuan Nan said in a sharp voice: "Where is Marshal Cao!"

"General Cao's army rushed in from the outside, but the difference in strength was too great and they were no match for the enemy, so they had to retreat."

"Pass my order to recall Cao Marshal to Guangning immediately." Yuan Nan stood up with great enthusiasm. His hand holding the hilt of the sword was so strong that even his finger bones turned blue and white. "Come with me to rescue the Wolf King."

"Wait." Yan Sikong uttered these two words from his almost bloodless lips.

Yuan Nanyu looked at Yan Sikong and said anxiously, "We must rescue him immediately. I don't know how long the Wolf King can hold out."

"Sending troops now will only help the Jin bandits to besiege and attack their reinforcements." Yan Sikong said in a deep voice, "They still have enough food for three days. Before the food and grass are exhausted, the Jin people will not charge forward. The damage will be too great, so the Wolf King is safe for the time being."

"What about three days later?" Yuan Nanyu gritted his teeth and said, "If we don't rescue them now, Zhuoletai will send more soldiers."

Liang Huiyong also said: "Yes, if we send reinforcements now and cooperate with the outside world, we may still be able to carve out a bloody path for the Wolf King. If we wait until Zhuoletai sends more troops, it will be impossible to rescue the Wolf King."

"If we send troops to break out now, even if we can rescue the Wolf King, our army will suffer heavy losses. How can we defend Guangning then? Moreover, Zhuoletai may take advantage of Guangning's defense being unattended to launch a surprise attack. No matter what... we cannot send troops out at this moment." Yan Sikong felt his chest was so blocked that he could hardly breathe.

Liang Huiyong asked anxiously, "Then... in your opinion, how should we save the Wolf King?"

Yuan Nanyu also looked at Yan Sikong anxiously.

"It is almost impossible to break out of the encirclement of Duoyanwei. The Jin people are not familiar with the terrain of Guangning and do not know the existence of Taoxian Road. The best plan now is to wait for the snow to melt and then help them withdraw from Taoxian Road."

Yuan Nanyu stared with his eyes wide open, and said in disbelief: "What? Wait for the snow to melt? What if the snow doesn't melt? How can we leave the life of the Wolf King to fate?!"

Yan Sikong said hoarsely: "Our lives are all ordained by God. If the Wolf King is not destined to die here, we will definitely be able to escape safely."

Yuan Nanyu shook his head, his face full of disapproval, and his voice kept getting higher and higher: "Second brother, we can't just wait like this! If the snow doesn't melt, Feng Ye might die!"

"Do you think I don't want to save him!" Yan Sikong growled and stared at Yuan Nanyu with red eyes.

Yuan Nanyu was stunned.

Yan Sikong took a deep breath and said in a trembling voice: "If... we mobilize all the troops in the city just to save him, how can we explain to the people of Liaodong when Guangning is left empty and the Jin army is at the gates of the city?"

Liang Huiyong held his forehead with one hand and sighed heavily.

Yuan Nanyu pursed his lips tightly, his eyes full of struggle.

Yan Sikong looked at Yuan Nanyu and said tiredly, "Listen to my second brother. When the snow melts, we can only take the Taoxian Road to save him."

Yuan Nanyu stepped back slowly, as if all the strength in his body had drained away instantly. He sat paralyzed in the chair with a dejected look on his face.

Liang Huiyong whispered: "Will the snow...melt?"

"It's spring now, it will melt sooner or later." Yan Sikong's heart was gripped as he thought about Feng Ye, who was trapped in the mountains, suffering from hunger and cold, with his life hanging by a thread.

But he had to stay calm.

Feng Ye must be waiting for him to rescue him.

He will also definitely rescue Fengye and defend Guangning.