Chapter 351 Those who learn from me will live, those who imitate me will die.
After walking for about half an hour, they finally saw two towering arrow towers among the lush trees on both sides of the mountain road. Yuwen Ye shook the reins, and his horse quickened its pace. After rounding a huge rock in front of them, the famous Wanggang Village finally came into view.
However, the main gate in the center of the arrow tower was tightly closed.
Although the room was tightly shut, the atmosphere around them was anything but calm. In fact, the sound of their horses' hooves as they rode forward carried a palpable sense of menace.
At this moment, Yuwen Ye suddenly pulled on the reins and stopped.
Shen Wuzheng turned his head and glanced at him, only to see him looking down at a patch of ground not far ahead—a patch of blood red!
Shen Wuzheng frowned.
Yuwen Ye tilted his head, seemingly trying to make a careful observation. He saw that although the patch of crimson blood looked like it had been trampled by footprints and was somewhat messy, it was still clear that it was spraying out in a fan shape. The closer it was to them, the lighter it became, while the closer it was to the gate, the darker it became, and it even seemed to have accumulated into a pool of blood.
After watching for a while, Yuwen Ye said, "It seems that your previous guess was correct, elder brother."
"..."
Shen Wuzheng didn't speak, but looked at the somewhat dazzling red, then looked up at the distance between the blood-red area and the gate, and said, "They didn't even get through the gate."
"..."
"It seems that Xiao Yuansui is smarter, more resourceful, and more ruthless and daring than I thought."
Yuwen Ye said, "To survive the court's purge after the Zuo family's rebellion, and to take over Luoyang and Wanggang Village now, no ordinary person could have achieved this."
"I'd like to meet this person."
"He probably thinks the same way."
"oh?"
"Otherwise, they wouldn't have waited until now without making a move, even though they knew we had entered the mountains."
After saying that, Yuwen Ye raised his head and looked at the tightly closed gate in front of him, saying, "He probably wants to get a clear look at us first."
Shen Wuzheng said, "There are only two of us, are you worried about not being able to see clearly?"
Yuwen Ye said, "It's precisely because there are only two of us that we can't see clearly—"
He chuckled again and said, "However, he should open the door as soon as possible. Otherwise, if he has to keep the door closed to both of them, it won't be good for him to appease the people in the village."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a creaking sound was heard from ahead.
The door slowly opened.
Yuwen Ye raised his head and saw a tall figure standing in the center of the gate, his bright eyes looking at him with a cold light.
It was Xiao Yuansui.
As the gate opened, the people standing beside him revealed themselves. They were all his subordinates whom he had subdued in Wanggang Village. At this moment, they were all dressed in tight-fitting clothes and holding swords. When they saw the two people outside the gate, their eyes flashed with ferocity, as if they were ferocious beasts that would pounce on them and swallow them whole at any moment.
Yuwen Ye glanced at it briefly and didn't see any familiar figures.
"It's been a long time, Grand General of the State—"
Xiao Yuansui spoke, and although he did not deliberately shout, his voice was clear and resonant, so even when he spoke calmly, his voice was loud and clear. Compared to the group of brothers around him, he seemed even more imposing.
But immediately, he chuckled and said, "Now, I'm afraid the title of 'Grand General Who Assists the State' is not as well-known as the title of 'Second Young Master Yuwen'."
Yuwen Ye said, "I wonder which one, Xiaoshan Village or Wanggang Village, will have a greater presence."
Xiao Yuansui's gaze darkened.
Yuwen Ye continued, "Actually, I know that Young Master Xiao has just taken over this stronghold and must be busy winning back the hearts of the people and eliminating old enemies. He must be very busy. We shouldn't be coming up the mountain to disturb him at this time. However, since Young Master Xiao has accomplished his great task, as an old friend, I should still come to offer my congratulations."
Xiao Yuansui sneered, "Second Young Master is too kind."
"where."
"Actually, if it weren't for the Second Young Master, I wouldn't have been able to succeed so easily this time."
"oh?"
These words surprised Yuwen Ye. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Xiao Yuansui, who had a cold smile on his face. Although Xiao Yuansui's attitude was somewhat arrogant, he was clearly not lying. Moreover, at this moment, there was no point in him lying.
Shen Wuzheng, standing to the side, also whispered, "What he means is—"
Yuwen Ye did not speak immediately, but instead looked down at the glaring pool of blood a few steps in front of him. After thinking for a moment, he said, "If I am not mistaken, Young Master Xiao made his move here, and Wang Quyi has definitely not taken another step from here."
Xiao Yuansui said loudly, "He betrayed his brothers and had already laid ambushes in the stronghold, ready to kill me the moment I entered. How could I possibly do as he wishes?"
"good,"
Yuwen Ye nodded, glanced behind him, and said, "You killed him here, and behind you should be Wang Quyi's brother, Wang Quren, the second-in-command of Wanggang Village, who came to meet you."
"yes."
"He's closest to you, and although you brought few men, you just happen to be able to subdue him and his men, right?"
"yes."
"So you are safe within ten steps,"
As Yuwen Ye spoke, he slowly turned his gaze from the pool of blood to the gate of Wanggang Village. This distance of a dozen steps was the life-or-death line that Xiao Yuansui had set for himself long ago. Because if Wang Quyi died, others might be too shocked to react, but Shen Tu Tai would definitely be the first to rise up and avenge Wang Quyi.
Once he charges in, even if Xiao Yuansui has already killed Wang Quyi, he will immediately be buried with him.
But now, Xiao Yuansui is still alive—
Therefore, someone stopped Shen Tu Tai.
This person has the strength to fight him, or perhaps, even if he cannot defeat him, he will make the opponent unable to bring themselves to do it.
In this way, Shen Tu Tai was temporarily restrained.
However, no matter what, once this period of time passes, the people who came to the gate of the village with Wang Quyi to greet Xiao Yuansui will surely have come to their senses. They will also be blinded by rage and will rush up to avenge Wang Quyi.
At this time, Xiao Yuansui's men were all used to subdue Wang Quren and his troops, leaving him alone. No matter what, he could not possibly withstand the troops rushing out of the village.
unless--
Yuwen Ye slowly raised his head and looked behind the gate.
After a moment of contemplation, he chuckled softly. When he looked at Xiao Yuansui again, Xiao Yuansui also looked at him with a cold smile and said calmly, "Wang Quyi didn't expect that although he had sent people to monitor me all the way to see if I had brought a large group of people back, my people actually left earlier than me. However, they didn't take this route, but another one."
"..."
"They didn't enter Wanggang Village through this gate, but from the back mountain."
Yuwen Ye nodded, then looked at the two towering arrow towers and the high walls formed by the sharpened wooden fences around them, and said, "I heard that after Young Master Xiao entered Wanggang Village, he personally supervised the construction of the village's defenses—so, you've been keeping a backup plan for yourself since then."
Xiao Yuansui said, "Second Young Master really understands things quickly."
As he spoke, he suddenly let out a cold laugh, a sharp glint in his eyes, and said, "But to be honest, the Second Young Master shouldn't have only just come to his senses now."
"oh?"
"After all, this is the same move you used against me back in Xingluo Warehouse. If you hadn't suddenly appeared out of nowhere and attacked from the warehouse, I wouldn't have been forced to retreat from Xingluo Warehouse so easily."
Yuwen Ye's eyes flickered slightly.
In fact, he had already realized when he was at the foot of the mountain that Xiao Yuansui might use this method to take over Wanggang Village. Hearing it now, he was not surprised, but he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
He nodded and said, "Those who learn from me will live, those who imitate me will die."
"..."
"Although you cannot turn defeat into victory, you can win by defeat—Xiao Yuansui is indeed Xiao Yuansui."
"..."
"No wonder, Zuo Heng was defeated and so many people were wiped out and slaughtered, but you were the only one who survived until now, and even made a comeback."
At this moment, Shen Wuzheng said, "It seems that even if he really knows the secret of Zuo Gong's suspected tomb, no one can do anything to him."
Xiao Yuansui's expression immediately changed, and he said, "What did you say?"
Yuwen Ye said, "Young Master Xiao should still remember, right? As I just said, we shouldn't have come up the mountain at this time, but the reason we came is because we left something at Wanggang Village, so we want to ask you, Young Master Xiao, to return it."
"oh?"
Xiao Yuansui narrowed his eyes slightly: "What is that?"
Yuwen Ye did not answer him immediately, but turned his head to look. At this moment, Shen Wuzheng shook the reins, spurred his horse forward two steps, and said, "It is the map of Zuo Gong's suspected tomb."
Upon hearing this, a murmur rippled through the crowd at the main entrance.
Clearly, the people here are not entirely ignorant about this thing. Even though Wang Quyi killed Li Wenyang, the news about the treasure has probably already spread with Li Wenyang's death.
Xiao Yuansui's expression darkened further.
After a long silence, he said, "Was it you who gave those maps to my sixth and eighth brothers?"
Shen Wuzheng said, "They took it from me."
Xiao Yuansui's gaze grew even colder: "Who are you?"
Shen Wuzheng replied, "My name is Shen Wuzheng."
“Chen—Wuzheng,”
Xiao Yuansui's expression changed, and he subconsciously asked, "Are you her...brother?"
Yuwen Ye's expression darkened.
Shen Wuzheng's expression changed slightly at this moment, but he didn't say much. He simply said calmly, "No matter who I am, lost items should be returned to their rightful owner. I would appreciate it if Young Master Xiao could return the map to me. After all, Young Master Xiao has now not only occupied Luoyang, the eastern capital, but Wanggang Village is also yours. The treasure of Zuo Gong's Suspicious Tomb should be beneath your notice."
...
At this moment, the entire Wanggang Village fell into an almost deathly silence.
The word "treasure" seemed to instantly take everyone's breath away.
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