Chapter 223 This person was never hers.
As evening fell, Xiao Yuansui left with his men.
Shang Ruyi stood at the highest point of Cangcheng, at the entrance of the somewhat deserted council hall, watching those people slowly leave Cangcheng, their figures gradually disappearing into the heavy snow along the winding mountain road.
A biting wind, carrying with it a thick, pungent stench of blood, lingered within the city. The intense chill seemed to freeze the blood of everyone present. Although she had not suffered any injury, she felt strangely weak and powerless, as if she were about to collapse into the suffocating stench of blood.
Just as she was about to collapse and hurriedly reached out to steady herself by holding onto the door frame, she heard the hurried footsteps and shouts of the people around her. A moment later, a group of people came over.
It was Yuwen Ye who led the men to clear out the city.
Although the main force had left, some inevitably escaped and remained hidden in the shadows. Yuwen Ye cleared them all out, ordered the various passes to be cleaned up immediately, the corpses to be carried away, and the granaries to be re-counted and all exits to be sealed off.
Finally, he led Mu Xian and several lieutenants back to the main hall, saying as they walked, "Have someone prepare horses at the foot of the mountain; we'll return to the city immediately."
Mu Xian said, "Yes."
He turned and left, while the officers and their men took their orders and went down to guard the granary again.
After explaining everything, Yuwen Ye arrived at the main gate.
Previously, he had only worn a thin single garment, obviously for ease of movement. Now that the crisis in the city had been temporarily resolved, he no longer needed to endure the cold, so he put on a heavy fur coat. Although it was a fur coat, it was very simple, without any decoration, and the color was a dark blue that was almost black. However, because he wore it, it exuded a unique kind of nobility in its simplicity.
Shang Ruyi couldn't take her eyes off him at first glance.
But when she looked up and met Yuwen Ye's gaze, she immediately looked away.
Upon seeing her, Yuwen Ye's expression immediately darkened, and his cold gaze swept across her face like a knife.
Shang Ruyi shuddered involuntarily.
She suddenly remembered how furious Yuwen Ye had been with her before, as if he wanted to tear her apart. Even now, he still made her feel uneasy. Moreover, she wondered if his previous statement, "I'll settle the score with you later," meant that he was still "later" now.
However, Shang Ruyi decided to strike first. As the saying goes, you can't hit someone who's smiling at you!
So she stepped forward and said softly, "Are you leaving already?"
Seemingly surprised that she would speak up, Yuwen Ye merely narrowed his eyes and glanced at her, understanding that she was using this as a pretext to back down and show weakness. He wasn't angry anymore, and simply said coldly, "What, you're reluctant to leave?"
"No, I just felt that you must be very tired from running around these past few days. Don't you want to take a rest?"
"..."
"You still have a wound on your back. Does it hurt?"
"..."
Even though he knew she was saying these caring words on purpose and speaking so gently, Yuwen Ye's heart still couldn't help but soften.
His expression softened.
He stared at her intently for a while, his expression conflicted for a long time, before finally sighing and saying, "It's alright now."
"That--"
"But we can't stay any longer."
"Why?"
"I suffered three defeats in three battles before. Although it was a temporary measure, if we really took it seriously, it would have cost me my life. If I don't return to the Eastern Capital to report the results of the battle as soon as possible, I fear—"
At this point, Shang Ruyi suddenly realized what was going on.
Yes, Chu Yang had already harbored murderous intentions towards Yuwen Ye, and had even spoken to her about it. Although she risked her life to advise him and gained an opportunity for Yuwen Ye, this time, news of Yuwen Ye's "defection" has emerged. It is likely that Kou Yunliang has already reported this crime back to Dongdu. If they return even a moment later, the Yuwen family will be in grave danger!
They really need to get back as soon as possible!
Yuwen Ye frowned again and asked, "Why did you come here?"
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi hurriedly said, "I received news that someone wanted to harm you, and I was worried that you wouldn't be on guard, so I came."
Yuwen Ye raised an eyebrow.
Shang Ruyi then quickly told him about the secret letter she had received and its contents. Yuwen Ye frowned as he listened, pondered for a long time, and then asked, "Do you know who sent it?"
Shang Ruyi shook her head.
Yuwen Ye thought for a moment and said, "We'll investigate this matter further when we get back."
As he spoke, he frowned and looked at Shang Ruyi, saying, "So, just because of this one letter, you risked your life to come here?!"
Shang Ruyi said confidently, "But someone wants to harm you."
"..."
How could I not care?
Yuwen Ye was stunned for a moment.
After a long silence, his expression shifted several times before he finally took a deep breath, turned and walked out, saying as he went, "Follow me!"
"Huh? Oh."
Shang Ruyi didn't know why he suddenly changed his expression, but she still followed him immediately.
Yuwen Ye led more than 10,000 men in two groups to carry out the plan to attack Xingluo Granary. Now, the number of men has hardly decreased. He left more than 10,000 men to continue to guard the granary city and repeatedly ordered them to guard it strictly and not to be captured as easily as last time. Otherwise, the emperor would definitely have them all executed along with their entire families.
He, on the other hand, only led a group of a few hundred people back.
Although it was late and the heavy snow was relentless, making everyone shiver with cold, Shang Ruyi recounted her experiences at Luokou Ferry to Yuwen Ye as they walked. Especially when she spoke of the night she nearly lost her life at Kou Yunliang's hands, Yuwen Ye's face, even in the dim light, was frighteningly grim.
But he didn't say a word.
Shang Ruyi asked, "You said that Kou Yunliang not only blocked your supplies, but also repeatedly forced you to send troops even though he knew you couldn't take that road. He was essentially pushing you to your death. So, is he the one in that painting who was supposed to harm you?"
"Maybe."
"But he is the military supervisor, sent by the emperor. Since the emperor sent you to attack Xingluo Granary to reclaim it, if he were to harm you, wouldn't that be disregarding the ownership of Xingluo Granary?"
Yuwen Ye glanced at her and said coldly, "You certainly know how to speak up for the Emperor."
Shang Ruyi was taken aback and immediately said, "I didn't—"
But before she could finish her explanation, Yuwen Ye interrupted her with a cold "I don't want to hear it" expression, saying, "However, this also proves that although Kou Yunliang is the supervisor sent by the emperor, he may also be under the command of someone else."
"Um?"
Shang Ruyi stared at him with wide eyes.
Yuwen Ye glanced at her and said, "Perhaps it's related to the painting you received."
"..."
Shang Ruyi took a deep breath and followed him forward while concentrating on her thoughts. However, the road was slippery due to the snow, and she almost slipped on the icy mountain path when she lost focus. Fortunately, Yuwen Ye reacted quickly and caught her.
He frowned and said, "Could you please be more careful?"
Shang Ruyi's heart skipped a beat, especially when she felt the warmth from his hands. Despite her icy hands and feet, she suddenly felt a surge of desire for him.
Yuwen Ye looked at her slightly flushed face, but surprisingly did not immediately withdraw his hand.
He just looked down at her and asked, "Are you cold?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi remained silent for a long while before nodding gently.
The clothes Xiao Yuansui had prepared for her were fine to wear inside the city, but as soon as she left the city, a heavy snowstorm struck, and her hands and feet immediately became icy cold. She was fine when he didn't touch her, but as soon as she touched his body temperature, she immediately felt that her whole body was about to freeze.
At that moment, a pair of hands wrapped around her, pulling her completely into their embrace.
Shang Ruyi was taken aback and looked up at him, only to see Yuwen Ye staring coldly ahead, seemingly too lazy to even glance at her, saying, "I'll settle the score with you when we get back!"
"..."
Shang Ruyi lowered her head and couldn't help but smile bitterly.
It seems he has quite a lot to calculate for himself.
However, at this point, she did manage to clarify some things.
So, nestled in his arms and following his steps, she whispered, "What you just said is—the one who really wants to harm you is someone else, and Kou Yunliang may be related to this person; and the person who gave you that painting should also be someone close to that person, who discovered this secret and therefore passed the message to me."
Yuwen Ye said, "At least this way it seems more reasonable."
Shang Ruyi said softly, "I thought of someone."
Yuwen Ye's breathing seemed to freeze for a moment, but he didn't look down at her, nor did he stop walking. He simply walked forward calmly and said, "There's no need to say it."
"Um."
At this moment, the two of them suddenly became in sync, and this tacit understanding gave Shang Ruyi a strange feeling. It was as if she knew that his body was warm and his hands were warm, but that warmth seemed very distant, like a distant fire in the snowy night.
The person so close... was never hers.
The moment this thought crossed her mind, her heart was in turmoil.
With her mind in turmoil, her steps faltered. Yuwen Ye clearly sensed that something was wrong with the young woman in his arms. He couldn't help but look down at her excessively pale face, which was almost buried in his chest, and asked in a deep voice, "What's wrong?"
They were saying this as they passed through the mountain gate.
This place is the only way to leave Xingluocang and descend Huangtuling. On one side is a sheer cliff, and on the other side is a towering mountain wall. The narrow path inevitably brings everyone together. As darkness falls, the people in the group light torches to prevent accidents. In the firelight, Yuwen Ye's figure is the tallest and most imposing, and also the most conspicuous.
As we passed through the narrow mountain path, the firelight cast the shadows of the people around us onto the mountainside, creating eerie and terrifying images.
Yuwen Ye suddenly frowned: "Put out the fire!"
The people around were somewhat taken aback. The mountain road was rugged, and if they put out the fire, wouldn't they have to descend the mountain in the dark?
Everyone hesitated, and Shang Ruyi lifted her head from his embrace, whispering, "We—"
Before they could finish speaking, a flash of cold light suddenly shot out from the other side of the narrow mountain gate, stirring up a gust of cold wind that nearly extinguished the torches. When the flames reignited, everyone turned around and was immediately shocked!
Yuwen Ye was struck in the chest by an arrow!
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