Feng Ye sat on the couch, his face full of gloom, staring at the mattress in silence. He had only changed half of the medicine on his body, and the faintly bleeding wound on his strong and naked chest looked particularly glaring.

Yuan Nanyu, like a leopard with its fur standing up, stood beside the bed in a rage, his eyes wide open and his face blue.

Hearing the voice, one looked up, the other turned around, and they both looked at Yan Sikong who had just stepped into the room, with different expressions on their faces.

Yan Sikong stared at them: "What's going on?"

Yuan Nanyu gritted his teeth and glanced at Feng Ye, as if he didn't know how to start.

Feng Ye's sharp and arrogant wolf eyes that once looked down upon the world were now not only dim but even contained pain and despair. He looked at Yan Sikong quietly, his lips tightly pursed, as if silently asking for help.

Yes, Yan Sikong felt that Feng Ye was asking him for help.

Yuan Nanyu lowered his head and rushed out without saying a word.

Yan Sikong grabbed his arm and asked, "What happened?"

"Ask him yourself." Yuan Nanyu's voice trembled as he spoke. It was unclear whether he was angry or...

Hearing this, Feng Ye turned his face away evasively.

After Yuan Nanyu left, Yan Sikong stared at Feng Ye without blinking. He wanted to wait for Feng Ye to speak, but Feng Ye remained silent.

Yan Sikong took a deep breath: "Feng Ye, what on earth are you..."

"I'm tired." Feng Ye said softly, "I want to rest."

Yan Sikong clenched his fists: "I'll ask someone to change the bandage for you." He turned and left.

Feng Ye opened his mouth, but could only watch Yan Sikong's back disappear from his sight. He was unable to speak in the end. He closed his eyes, his tightly furrowed brows full of torment.

Yan Sikong ordered his servants to find a doctor immediately to treat Feng Ye's wounds, while he went to find Yuan Nanyu.

He searched for a long time and finally found Yuan Nanyu standing motionless by the lake in the back garden. His back looked particularly bleak.

Although he heard footsteps, Yuan Nanyu did not turn back. He watched a carp leap out of the water in the center of the lake, and the ripples it created pushed outward in circles until they disappeared without a trace.

No matter how big the waves are, they will eventually return to calm. This is true for fish, wind, and people.

Yan Sikong walked over and stood side by side with Yuan Nanyu. He turned his head and looked at the face that looked so similar to his own, feeling a little dazed for a moment.

The two were silent for a long time.

Yuan Nanyu then said, "Are you leaving, brother? Where are you going? Why don't you tell me?"

"…Feng Ye told you?"

Yuan Nanyu turned his head and looked at Yan Sikong: "You said that there will be no more secrets between us brothers, do you plan to disappear like you did before?"

"I didn't intend to hide it from you, I just didn't have time to tell you. Maybe... I will go back to Guangning." Yan Sikong frowned, "Why did you and Feng Ye argue?"

Yuan Nanyu said in a muffled voice: "I have followed Feng Ye for so many years. In my eyes, he is the greatest hero in the world. Whether he is the emperor or the King of Zhenbei, it is my luck to have such a great man follow me all my life and to be able to show my strengths under him. It is not in vain for me to live my life in vain."

Yan Sikong looked at Yuan Nanyu quietly, waiting for him to continue.

"There is only one thing he did that I cannot agree with, and that is... you." Yuan Nanyu said in a deep voice, "I cannot say much about the two of you, but over the years, I have watched you torture each other even though you clearly loved each other, and it really pains me."

Yan Sikong sighed. Yuan Nanyu knew everything that happened between him and Feng Ye, but he never asked too much, firstly because he was the elder brother, and secondly because he was used to thinking of others and didn't want to embarrass himself.

But not saying it doesn't mean he doesn't want to.

Yan Sikong whispered, "It's hard to say what's going on between us, and we can't go back to the past."

"Why do we have to go back to the past?" Yuan Nanyu frowned deeply. "No matter how good the past was, no one can go back. The days ahead are longer."

Yan Sikong was stunned.

Yuan Nanyu pursed his lips: "Second brother, I don't want to control you or make things difficult for you, but I just watch you like this, and I feel very uncomfortable because I haven't seen your sincere smile for a long time, and the same goes for Feng Ye. I can only watch you like this, watching you become more and more silent, and watching Feng Ye become more and more out of control." He looked at Yan Sikong with his eyes gradually turning red, "Second brother, tell me, what should I do to make you not be so... so..." He couldn't even find the right words to describe it.

Yan Sikong looked away: "You don't have to do anything, and you can't do anything, I..."

"Then I'm just going to watch Feng Ye die." Yuan Nanyu's face was filled with sadness and anger.

Yan Sikong's body stiffened: "You... said what." Although he already had a guess in his mind, it was just a guess after all.

Yuan Nanyu covered his eyes with his hands and whispered, "Second brother, I don't know what to do. You are all people I would risk my life for, why do you have to torture each other?"

"What on earth are you talking about?" Yan Sikong gritted his teeth.

Yuan Nanyu shook his head, his eyes filled with sadness. His trembling voice was filled with a hint of forbearance: "His wounds should have healed long ago, but he...he used his internal energy to repeatedly open the wounds..."

Yan Sikong felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, his face turning pale as paper.

"I asked him why he did that, and he said..." Yuan Nanyu took a breath and said hoarsely, "He said that when your injury is healed, you will leave."

Yan Sikong's mind went blank, and he was unable to think of anything in his trance until he suddenly felt a piercing pain in his heart, making it almost impossible for him to stand.

He staggered back two steps, almost falling into the lake. When he came to his senses, he was already stumbling back. He passed through half of the palace and met many people. From their surprised or questioning eyes, he could also imagine how distraught he was at that moment.

He ran all the way back to Fengye's villa and kicked the door open.

Feng Ye's house was in a mess, as if a hurricane had passed through it. All the objects and furnishings were swept to the ground. The servants knelt down, not daring to breathe.

Feng Ye stood in the middle of the room, his hair was disheveled, his face was pale, and his eyes were blood red, like a wild beast that was forced into a desperate situation, ferocious and dangerous. He was only wearing a pair of underpants, with his upper body naked, and the wound on his chest was bleeding, but he turned a blind eye to it.

The two people were kneeling on the ground across half the room, and their eyes met. At that moment, it was as if a thousand arrows were piercing their hearts.

Yan Sikong strode over and gave Feng Ye a loud slap in the face.

Ordinary people all thought that Yan Sikong was a heretic, but they didn't know that he had been learning Confucius and Mencius since he was young, and respected rites and laws. He had always been well-versed in etiquette. When facing his enemies, he always tried his best to behave properly. How could he do such a disrespectful thing to the dignified King Zhenbei in front of his servants?

But at that moment, he couldn't control the rage in his chest. He felt his blood boiling, flowing through his body, burning every inch of his skin. He felt not only pain, but also madness.

Feng Ye's head was tilted due to the blow, his lips and teeth collided, and blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.

The kneeling servants began to tremble.

Yan Sikong said coldly, "Get lost."

They retreated tumbling and crawling.

Feng Ye turned his head, his wolf eyes were bloodshot and lifeless, with only endless fatigue and despair.

"Do you know what you are doing?" Yan Sikong stared at Feng Ye with a ferocious look on his face.

Feng Ye said calmly: "You said that you would leave once my injury healed."

"You! Are you really crazy?!"

"So what?" Feng Ye looked at Yan Sikong with empty eyes, "Do you care?"

Without waiting for Yan Sikong to speak, Feng Ye answered in a self-centered manner: "You care, what you care about is the Wolf King, the King of Zhenbei, but not me, Feng Ye. If someone can replace me, I will die, what difference does it make to you." He laughed bitterly, "You should probably be happy, because no one will bother you anymore."

Yan Sikong felt like his heart and lungs were about to explode: "You are the King of Zhenbei, and you can actually do such a ridiculous thing. Have you ever thought about the people of the four prefectures, the two hundred thousand Feng family soldiers, or..."

"Who has thought of me?" Feng Ye looked at Yan Sikong. The pain in his heart was beyond his endurance. It was as if an invisible hand had strangled his throat and could take away his breath at any time. "I still don't understand why loving someone would be so painful."

"...How can a man be controlled by his son's love?" Yan Sikong's vision was a little blurry, and his heart was in great pain. He paused for a word and said, "It's just a jerk."

"Yes, wretched woman, but I am constrained by this." Feng Ye choked up, "I don't want to embarrass you, I promised you, the sky is high and the clouds are broad, I will let you go, but, I just want to keep you for one more day, one more day is good..."

Yan Sikong's mind was in a turmoil. He didn't even know which one was stronger, anger or grief. He pointed at Feng Ye with trembling hands and blurted out, "What I want is a King of Zhenbei who can rule the northern border and benefit the people, not a useless man who would disregard his own safety for the sake of love!"

Feng Ye stared at Yan Sikong in a daze, as if his soul had been pulled out of his body, and the last glimmer of light in his eyes disappeared. He looked at Yan Sikong for a long time before nodding and saying softly, "I'll give you everything you want. I'll give you the title of King of Zhenbei."

Yan Sikong stared at Feng Ye stiffly. Feng Ye was standing in front of him, but he could clearly feel that Feng Ye was dying—not the King of Zhenbei, but "Feng Ye".

Feng Ye lowered his head and used all his strength to utter a weak voice: "...Go away before I regret it."

He finally understood that there was no one in this world who needed Feng Ye anymore, especially the person he needed the most who needed him the least.

Therefore, "Feng Ye" should disappear.

Yan Sikong was filled with grief and anger, he had never been so out of control in his life, but at this moment, he just wanted to escape. He didn't dare to look into Feng Ye's eyes again. Those dim pupils were exactly the same as when Feng Ye was shot and fell in his arms - eyes that were dying but no longer asking for help.

Then he clearly saw that the high wall of his heart that he had built for himself was about to collapse. He was afraid, and he fled in panic. He didn't even know what he was running away from. He just wanted to escape. He rushed out of the house, ran to the stable, pulled out a horse, jumped on it, and ran out of the city without looking back.