Chapter 626 You Have a Good Brother
"Did you and my brother get into a fight?"
She didn't speak loudly, but on such a night, in the quiet where the two were so close that they could barely hear each other's breathing or heartbeat, this question was like a bolt from the blue.
It even carries the immense power of thunder, striking with such force that it terrifies people's souls.
"...!"
Yuwen Ye stopped immediately.
But he didn't move. Instead, he stood quietly at the doorway, his once robust and imposing figure blending into the darkness. The longer he remained silent, the less discernible he became. When he finally spoke after an unknown amount of time, his deep voice almost merged with the night, carrying an oppressive and somber quality.
"You mean I hit him, right?"
"...!"
Behind her came Shang Ruyi's voice as she took a deep breath, which sounded somewhat suppressed and was low and dry: "My brother is injured."
"..."
“Even Nie Chong didn’t have it, but he did.”
"..."
“If you really did encounter a petty thief, Nie Chong should be the first to rush to protect you.”
"..."
"Why was my brother injured? How dare you—why did you treat him like this?"
When she spoke the last few words, her throat was so dry it felt like it was being ground by rough gravel. The pain went straight to her chest, like being stabbed with a knife, and she could barely speak.
Upon hearing her words, Yuwen Ye sneered.
While laughing, he subconsciously touched the inside of the corner of his lips with the tip of his tongue—there was an invisible gash there, caused by the sudden attack from his opponent, which caught him off guard. He had barely spoken since then, and the wound hadn't reopened. But because the wound was on the inside of his lips, the taste of blood kept sticking to his tongue and spreading throughout his mouth.
That salty and astringent taste stimulated him all the way.
Finally, the moment arrived. The rage that had been spreading yet also lurking in his blood was completely aroused by the smell of blood. He turned around abruptly, his movements so swift that they even stirred up a gust of wind in the tent.
Even though there wasn't a ray of light in the tent, and it was pitch black, Shang Ruyi seemed to clearly see a dark shadow suddenly rushing towards her.
That familiar aura had now transformed into malevolent energy, instantly enveloping her entirely.
Shang Ruyi suddenly felt suffocated!
No one grabbed her by the neck, nor did anyone cover her mouth and nose, yet she instinctively held her breath, her eyes wide open, staring at the figure slowly lowering towards her in the darkness, like a tiger under the moonlight, looking down at its prey beneath its claws. The eyes, usually cold and bright, seemed to glow red at this moment.
But she did not back down.
Although she was suffocating, and her eyes were red from the suffocating sensation, she still tried her best to open her eyes wide to discern the emotions in those red eyes in the darkness.
I wanted to find an answer in his emotions.
Yuwen Ye did not take any further steps.
Under the assault of the stench of blood, he stared intently, even with a hint of malice, at the bright eyes so close to his face—from their first meeting at the door of her boudoir in the Shen family home, to the eye contact when he saved her on her way to her wedding, to her countless tender moments after their marriage, and then to her countless moments of cold indifference after being rejected and hurt, and finally, in the Buddhist hall of Dayan Temple, when they finally pledged their love, those eyes had never changed. When they looked at him, even in moments of loss and pain, they would still carry her clarity and gentleness.
He thought that from that moment on, those eyes belonged entirely to him, and their gaze was solely his, but—
Thinking of this, he suddenly let out a cold laugh.
This cold laugh made Shang Ruyi's heart skip a beat. She subconsciously took a deep breath, but before she could exhale, she heard Yuwen Ye's hoarse, deep voice in her ear. This time, however, his voice was accompanied by an even colder laugh, a laugh that seemed to carry a tangible, overwhelming mockery, making her gasp for breath once again.
"In your heart, there really is only your family."
"..."
"No, from beginning to end, all you had in your heart was your family."
"..."
"Even so, Shang Ruyi, don't turn against me too soon. After all, I haven't succeeded yet; wouldn't all your efforts for your family have been in vain—"
"...?!"
For some reason, upon hearing the last sentence, Shang Ruyi suddenly froze, her eyes widening abruptly. In the pitch-black night, her eyes shone unusually brightly, as if she were eager to hear what followed.
But Yuwen Ye stopped.
Not only did he stop, but after taking a deep breath, he slowly straightened up. The fierce aura he exuded, like a tiger pouncing on its prey, vanished almost instantly. Shang Ruyi even felt as if an invisible stone had been lifted from her heart, but her heartbeat became even heavier.
Especially when she saw the tall, dark figure slowly turn around, completely blending into the night and becoming indistinguishable, she actually saw something within that shadow—
lonely.
How is this possible?
She could hardly believe it, but before she could figure it out, the dark figure slowly disappeared, and as it left, the surrounding air seemed to suddenly turn cold.
Shang Ruyi suddenly shivered. As the curtain was lifted slightly, the faint light outside made the dark figure stand out more clearly. But the sense of loneliness that had been there just now had vanished, leaving only the outline of a stiff, cold body that was even colder than the weather outside.
She gritted her teeth and instinctively called out, "Feng Chen!"
"...!"
Yuwen Ye's figure trembled instantly.
But he didn't turn around. One hand was still tightly gripping the heavy tent, so much so that the entire tent shook at his low cry.
After a long while, he spoke, but did not turn around.
Only a faint, seemingly mocking remark remained—
"You have a good older brother."
After saying that, he left without looking back.
The tent flap fell again, plunging the entire tent into a deep, impenetrable darkness once more. But it was as if a slit had been torn open in Shang Ruyi's vision, and something bright flashed into her eyes and pierced through her chest in an instant.
This wasn't the first time she'd heard those words.
This wasn't the first time she'd heard Yuwen Ye say that to her.
In an instant, she recalled that it was on their way back to Chang'an after they had broken through Wanggang Village that she and Yuwen Ye talked about the name Shen Wuzheng. It was just like the saying, "The highest good is like water, which benefits all things without striving." She also told Yuwen Ye that Shen Wuzheng was not indifferent to anyone or anything. When other children bullied him when he was a child, Shen Wuzheng would not only fight back but also go to their homes to teach them a lesson until they dared not speak disrespectfully to him again.
At that time, Yuwen Ye said this to her with a complicated expression—
You have a good older brother.
Today, he suddenly repeated the same sentence, even in the same tone as before.
Could it be...?
|
As this silent entanglement intensified the tension, under the same moonlight, in the valley in front of Cangbai Mountain, Yuwen Cheng's emotions grew even more volatile. Especially when a personal guard used painstakingly dried branches to light a campfire and brought him the only bowl of hot soup he'd had in days, Yuwen Cheng, in his haste, scalded his mouth after just one sip. Enraged, Yuwen Cheng kicked the guard to the ground, cursing, "Damn it, you're scalding me to death!"
The guard fell to the ground, gritted his teeth, got up, and immediately kowtowed to admit his mistake: "Young master, I was wrong, please spare my life."
Although he was angry, Yuwen Cheng didn't have the strength to hit him anymore. But just as he lowered his head to blow on the soup to cool it down before drinking it, he suddenly remembered something, looked up at the guard, and asked, "What did you call me?"
"Well?"
The guard was taken aback, then quickly realized what he had done and hurriedly kowtowed again, admitting his mistake: "Your Highness! Your Highness!"
These people had been defeated and fled Taiyuan a few days ago. The last news they received in Taiyuan was that Yuwen Yuan would ascend the throne in Daxing City—which would later be renamed Chang'an City—and Yuwen Cheng, like his two older brothers, would be made a king.
At the time, the message that came through was that the account had not yet been officially banned.
Now, it has been the thirteenth day. Seven days have passed since Yuwen Yuan ascended the throne in Chang'an, but he, who has been made king, is still trapped in this valley with no way out. Because of the rain and snow, the branches in the valley are all wet and cannot be used to start a fire. For several days, he can only eat cold and hard dry cakes and drink snow water dripping from the rocks. This hardship makes him very irritable.
No matter how irritable they were, they couldn't break through.
While the valley was indeed easy to defend and difficult to attack, preventing Wang Shaoji's troops from passing through, at the same time, those people were blocking the outside, preventing them from getting out.
What's even more unbearable is that the rain and snow finally stopped today, but the wind direction has changed.
A cold wind began to blow into the valley, carrying the smells of people outside grilling meat and cooking. The food, which had already run out and been starving for two days, became even hungrier. Some people could only tighten their belts, hug their swords, and sleep soundly to barely get through the day.
Yuwen Cheng was both angry and too weak to be angry. He glared fiercely at the guard and said, "If you call me by the wrong name again, I'll chop you up!"
"Yes, yes."
The guard bowed his head and retreated.
Yuwen Cheng glared at him again, annoyed, before lowering his head to drink the soup. But just as he blew on it to cool it down and took a sip, someone rushed over and called out anxiously, "Third Young Master!"
"Oh shit!"
Upon hearing this address, Yuwen Cheng flew into a rage, slamming the soup bowl in his hand to the ground. With a loud "crack," the bowl shattered, spilling the fragrant meat broth all over the floor. Those around him watched, their eyes turning red with rage.
Yuwen Cheng was about to look up and curse, but when he saw who it was, he immediately stopped.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com