Feng Ye brought them to a cave. At some point, wolves emerged from the mountain one after another, gradually covering the entire mountain, following the team as they moved through the woods and forward.

Feng Ye got off his horse, looked at the cave entrance covered by weeds, and said, "Come here, bring the saber."

The guard presented the saber and said, "Wolf King, please let me do it."

"Give it to me." Feng Ye took the saber and went to cut the weeds.

Yan Sikong said from the side: "Your injury..."

"Besides my injury!" Feng Ye suddenly turned his head and stared at Yan Sikong. "Besides my duties as the Wolf King, what else do you care about? You are like my capable subordinate, making plans for me and solving problems for me. In your eyes, it doesn't matter whether I am Feng Ye or not, but I must be the Wolf King, right?"

Yan Sikong looked at Feng Ye and said calmly, "I am on you and I can no longer see Feng Ye."

Feng Ye stared at Yan Sikong in a daze, with unspeakable sadness in his eyes. He lowered his head, pursed his lips, and continued to cut the weeds.

Yan Sikong wanted to persuade him but couldn't open his mouth, so he could only ask for a saber and help Feng Ye to chop.

After clearing the weeds at the entrance of the cave, the soldiers carried Feng Hun's coffin into the cave. Feng Ye also went in. He looked around and remained silent for a long time.

Yan Sikong stood beside the coffin that sealed his soul, imagining what a furry and cute little thing it must have been when it was just born. Twenty years passed in a flash, and life and death were like a cycle, and it returned to the starting point again.

If wolves are like this, why are humans any different?

Feng Ye stretched out his hand, and his slender fingers gently stroked the heavy coffin, and whispered: "I have never told you why I chose Hun'er to be by my side."

Yan Sikong said: "No."

"When I was a kid, I always went up the mountain to play with wolves, and I only played with wolves. You are the first friend I made." Feng Ye looked at Yan Sikong across the coffin. "After returning from Datong, I missed you very much. I even begged my father to send me to Datong to see you next year."

Distant memories emerged before his eyes one by one. Yan Sikong thought of the two carefree children running on the horse farm, and his heart was filled with mixed feelings.

"In the end, what I waited for was the news that you were exiled to the northwest." Feng Ye shook his head. "My father sent people to the northwest to look for you, but they brought back news of your death. I cried for a long time, and I could only go up the mountain to look for those wolves. At this time, my wet nurse happened to give birth to another litter. Hun'er was the biggest and strongest cub in that litter, and he was also the only one who was not in a hurry to drink milk, but wanted to crawl to my side."

Yan Sikong's palm was against the coffin, and he seemed to feel the warm and thick fur of the one-eyed giant wolf again.

"I was still young at that time, so I lied to myself that you were reincarnated into this wolf. When I grew up, I knew it was impossible, but the real you appeared in front of me." Feng Ye looked very sad. "I always thought that you and I were destined to be together for life, but in fact, I was the only one who was obsessed with you for many years."

Yan Sikong lowered his eyelids, his eyes dim.

Feng Ye was right, they would probably be bound together for life, but being bound together for life does not necessarily mean a good match. As they have experienced so many things and the times have changed, it is likely that they have been through so many hardships that nothing can stop them from being young. How could they ever go back to their youth?

Feng Ye took out the incense burner and offerings, lit three incense sticks, and placed them in front of the coffin. He said softly, "Hun'er, Sikong and I will stay here with you tonight, just as a vigil for you. Although you are a wolf and don't have to follow human funeral rites, but... I want to accompany you to the end."

Yan Sikong also lit three incense sticks for the soul sealing ceremony and chanted Buddhist scriptures in his heart.

The guards laid soft couches for them in a small cave and lit a bonfire. They sat facing the coffin that sealed the soul. The fire was bright and the shadow of the coffin was swaying on the stone wall. But it didn't look scary at all. Instead, it made them feel exceptionally warm.

The setting sun melted into gold, the evening clouds merged into one, and when the mountains finally fell into darkness, the howling of wolves echoed in the woods.

Yan Sikong could hardly suppress his sadness: "They are here to send souls away, too."

"Yes." Feng Ye turned his head and looked at Yan Sikong, "Do you remember that we also spent a night in the cave with Hun'er?"

Yan Sikong also looked at Feng Ye, the firelight danced in his dark and deep pupils. Suddenly, he thought, he didn't know since when, these eyes lost the innocence and frivolity of youth, and became deep and dark. He also didn't know since when, these eyes no longer had a smile.

How long had it been since he saw Feng Ye smile, not a bitter smile, not a sneer, not a mocking smile, but a smile from the bottom of his heart out of joy?

So long ago that he couldn't even remember it.

Yan Sikong felt his breathing become suppressed, and he said, "Remember." He will always remember it.

He remembered that they were caught in a heavy rain, getting soaked, the first time they saw each other naked, and Feng Ye's playful eyes. That night, every word they said and every look they exchanged was heart-pounding.

Ten years later, the wolf that had been keeping watch for them had fallen into a long sleep. Ten years later, they were sitting side by side, but it seemed as if there was a galaxy between them.

The saddest tragedy in this world is when beautiful things become unrecognizable.

At that moment, Yan Sikong felt sad.

Feng Ye was lost in memories: "It was so good back then, everything was still there, everything was fine."

Yan Sikong pursed his lips.

Yes, that was really good. At that time, my soul was still sleeping at my feet. At that time, they were still Feng Ye and Yan Sikong, but now only the King of Zhenbei and the "Mr. Riding the Wall" are left.

As fate cut them one by one, "they" were scattered all over the place, leaving their souls and flesh in every place where they had suffered, endured pain, and fought, and they could no longer piece together "themselves".

They can never find themselves again.

Feng Ye stared at the flames with empty eyes: "It's strange, I felt like I had everything then, but now I feel like I have nothing."

"...Feng Ye, you can't have everything."

"I used to get whatever I wanted, but you, the one I wanted the most, I just couldn't get. Even though you're by my side now, I still feel..." Feng Ye said softly, "You'll leave me one day."

Yan Sikong did not answer.

"During the time when you were missing, I..." Just recalling those tormenting days and nights, Feng Ye trembled with fear. That was the most desperate, darkest, and most painful time in his life. The memory was enough to make him heartbroken. "I think, as long as you are alive, I don't ask for anything. As long as you are alive, that's enough."

Feng Ye took a breath, suppressed the trembling of his voice, and continued: "Then I found you, and I thought, as long as you are by my side, even if it's just to look at you, even if it's just to talk to you, as long as you are by my side, I will be satisfied." He shook his head, "But later, I wanted more and more, but every time I took a step forward, you took three steps back. I have racked my brains countless times, what should I do to make you forgive me."

"Feng Ye, I no longer hate you."

"Not enough." Feng Ye stared with red eyes, "It's far from enough. I want you to love me."

Yan Sikong frowned deeply.

"I have done everything I could, and I am willing to do anything you want me to do, but..." Feng Ye smiled bitterly, "Are you really never going to have feelings for me again?"

Yan Sikong looked into Feng Ye's eyes and said hoarsely, "I will follow your words and stay by your side. I am willing to assist you for the rest of my life. Isn't that enough?"

"Not enough." Feng Ye's face flickered in the light of the fire. "Especially now that I know why you stayed, it feels even more inadequate."

“…I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

"You are so smart, don't you really understand? Last night, I had a long talk with my uncle. He said he was extremely disappointed in me. He asked me to kneel in front of the ancestors' spirits and count the mistakes I had made." Feng Ye's eyes slowly turned red. "He said that my way to Beijing was paved with the blood and flesh of hundreds of thousands of Feng's soldiers, including his son who died on the battlefield, but I gave up."

Yan Sikong let out a breath, like a person who had been underwater for a long time and finally got a breath. He looked at Feng Ye with an expression so complicated that it was difficult to describe it in words. He said, "Do you regret it?"

Feng Ye stared at Yan Sikong fiercely with red eyes: "This is what you really want to say to me. You think I will regret it. You have always thought that I will regret saving Liaodong for you. I will regret giving up the world for you. In your heart, you have been waiting for me to tell you that I regret doing all this for you, right?"

Yan Sikong's eyes flickered, and he was unable to look directly into Feng Ye's eyes.

"So you are so cautious all day long. You hide yourself and pretend to be a loyal servant to serve me. You are worried that one day I will blame you for all my mistakes, so you try every means to compensate me from other sources. You don't want to owe me. This is what you think in your heart. This is why you stay, right!"

Yan Sikong secretly clenched his fists and looked at Feng Ye without blinking: "Don't you regret it? Even if not now, what about in the future? Who dares to say that he will have no regrets for the rest of his life?"

Feng Ye laughed mockingly, "Regret? If I were asked to go back to the year when I was eighteen and choose whether to meet you again, I would still choose you and still be devoted to you. Don't you believe in fate? Isn't this fate? So when the Zhuoletai army besieged the city and Chen Yi led his troops to Guangning, I would still choose you between you and the world a million times, because I can only choose to live with you or die with you. From that moment on, I knew that you were right when you said that Chen Yi was more suitable to be the emperor than me..." His eyes were as sharp as a wolf, "Because as long as it's for you, I, Feng Ye, have no regrets."

Yan Sikong's heart was shocked. He opened his mouth and his brows gradually tightened: "I just..."

"You hide yourself and refuse to show any true feelings to me. You seem to take care of everything for me and be ready to retreat at any time. Do you really think I don't notice anything?!" When he got excited, Feng Ye felt a sharp pain in his heart. His face changed suddenly and he covered the wound unconsciously.

"Feng Ye." Yan Sikong quickly supported him: "Don't say anything, you..."

"I want to say something." Feng Ye stared deep into his eyes, "You won't say anything, and you won't even tell me a single word from the truth, so let me say it. I want to see when you'll take off this indifferent mask!"

Yan Sikong froze. He was shocked by the determination in Feng Ye's eyes. It seemed as if those eyes could penetrate his body and see the fear and cowardice deep in his soul.

Those determined, fearless, and unreserved eyes were always looking at Yan Sikong. Feng Ye asked carefully, "Do you want to leave?"

Yan Sikong's body swayed, his lips moved, but no sound came out.

Feng Ye's eyes were immediately filled with boundless despair. He pointed at Feng Hun's coffin with a trembling hand and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito's hum: "In front of Hun'er's coffin, do you dare to tell the truth? You have always wanted to leave. Every day you were by my side, you were thinking about when and how to leave me."

Yan Sikong closed his eyes to barely stop the tears from falling.

Yes, he felt that Feng Ye would regret it. One day, Feng Ye would regret giving up his vast kingdom and his ambition for just one person. When he was no longer the one Feng Ye desired, when his face aged, when Feng Ye finally woke up one day and found that he was just an ordinary person, and all those infatuations and obsessions disappeared in an instant, Feng Ye would resent him.

People always say that they have no regrets after making a move, but until the game is over, how can we really say that we have no regrets?

When will Feng Ye regret his move? Rather than waiting for Feng Ye to regret his move for the rest of his life, it would be better for him to end the game early. In this way, at least he would not have to see Feng Ye's hateful and blaming eyes again.

He couldn't go through that again.

Yan Sikong's silence has revealed everything. Feng Ye only felt as if a thousand arrows were piercing his heart. He was in so much pain that he didn't know what to do. He wished he could die right away. He wanted to eat the person in front of him bite by bite. Perhaps only in this way could he keep him by his side forever. He was overwhelmed by a huge surge of grief, and when he came to his senses, he pressed Yan Sikong under him and fiercely plundered those soft and ruthless lips.

When their lips and teeth collided, they both tasted the strong smell of blood, but no one could tell who was injured, because the heartache overwhelmed everything. They were dominated by a crazy thought and they were in so much pain that they could not breathe. They were like wild beasts, without consciousness and without thinking. That was enough to overturn Jiangshan's brain, leaving only a blank.

They kissed with such force that they wanted to tear each other apart and eat them up.

Feng Ye tore at Yan Sikong's clothes. He wanted to tear apart all the obstacles that prevented him from entering Yan Sikong's heart, even if it was flesh and blood, even if it was bone marrow, even if it was...

Suddenly, he was stunned.