Chapter 222 Perhaps, what I lack is not luck.
"careful!"
Just as that cold light struck, Shang Ruyi suddenly spread her arms and stood in front of Yuwen Ye!
At the same time, she closed her eyes.
No one understood what was happening. Even Yuwen Ye didn't have time to react before they heard a sharp whooshing sound. Then, an arrow grazed their side and landed on the door frame behind them with a thud!
That soft sound, though not loud, struck some people's hearts like a thunderclap.
Yuwen Ye's eyes widened in surprise.
Shang Ruyi held her breath, not even trembling, and stood there stiffly. But after a while, the expected pain and death did not come. She opened her eyes blankly, looked at the people in front of her who were stunned, and then looked down at herself.
fine!
She didn't die, and she wasn't even hurt!
Overwhelmed with the joy of surviving a near-death experience, she breathed a huge sigh of relief, a smile immediately spreading across her face. But just then, a cold, sinister voice rang out above her—
"What are you doing!?"
Shang Ruyi flinched and quickly turned around, only to see Yuwen Ye glaring at her with a livid face. His eyes were so fierce, it seemed he would tear her apart and devour her at any moment. Having been married to him for several months, Shang Ruyi had never seen him so angry. She was stunned and instinctively stammered, "I, I—"
But for a moment, she couldn't explain it clearly.
Just now, when Yuwen Ye and Xiao Yuansui were facing off and both of them had almost perfected their strategies, she suddenly realized that she and Yuwen Ye had both overlooked one person.
It is Hua Ziying.
Ever since Xiao Yuansui said a word to her and then turned and disappeared into the crowd, he had not been seen. However, this person and his superb archery skills remained in Shang Ruyi's heart. When Yuwen Ye's arrangement blocked all of Xiao Yuansui's escape routes, she suddenly understood why Xiao Yuansui wanted Hua Ziying to leave.
For a skilled archer, in a situation like this, it's a way out!
However, if they were to rashly tell Yuwen Ye at this moment, not only would they fail to stop a highly skilled archer, but they might also disturb Yuwen Ye's mind and cause him to make a mistake in his confrontation with Xiao Yuansui. If that were to happen, then they would truly be finished.
Therefore, she could only remain silent, while paying attention to everything around her. In fact, when she sensed that the time had come for the other party to make a move, she took the initiative to walk up to Yuwen Ye.
Unexpectedly, the other party also left room for maneuver.
But there was no time to explain all of this now. Especially seeing Yuwen Ye clenching his teeth and looking furious, as if he was about to tear her apart, she stammered and couldn't say a word.
In fact, her intuition was not wrong.
At this moment, Yuwen Ye's eyes were bloodshot and red. An unprecedented and overwhelming rage almost completely swept away his reason. He wished he could immediately chew up this woman in front of him who disregarded his life and death but was stupid to the extreme!
Fortunately, he still retained a sliver of reason.
He glared fiercely at Shang Ruyi: "I'll settle the score with you later!"
After saying that, he roughly pulled her behind him, took a deep breath to calm himself down, and looked behind him. There was an arrow nailed to the door frame, its fletching still swaying slightly. Although it was still some distance away, he knew very well that it was not a miss.
It's a warning, not a warning.
Thinking of this, he took a deep breath, slowly raised his head to look at Xiao Yuansui opposite him, and then looked past him to look behind him.
The city of Xingluocang is filled with houses and has various steep mountains as a base. Even with his sharp eyesight, he couldn't find the archers hiding in the shadows in such a short time.
What's more, he's a master archer.
But at this moment, this archer had everything under his control. The tension in the air was like a bowstring drawn to its fullest extent. Although it had not yet broken, everyone felt a suffocating sense of being the prey. Even the people of Wanggang Village subconsciously held their breath. Yuwen Ye's men immediately rushed forward and surrounded him, using their bodies as shields.
Yuwen Ye waved his hand dismissively: "Step back."
"General—"
"Step back!"
Those people had no choice but to grit their teeth and cautiously take two steps back, but they didn't dare to stray too far from him. Yuwen Ye looked up at Xiao Yuansui, his eyes flickering slightly.
"So, you had a backup plan too."
Only then did Xiao Yuansui withdraw his astonished gaze from Shang Ruyi. His expression was complicated, and he remained silent for a long time before regaining the composure he had when negotiating with Yuwen Ye. However, when he spoke, his breath seemed a little weak: "That's... natural."
Yuwen Ye narrowed his eyes slightly: "So, what are you going to do?"
"..."
"Will you fight me to the death?"
Xiao Yuansui glanced behind him again. The young woman was also somewhat shaken and stared at him nervously. However, she did not notice that several finger marks had clearly appeared on her wrist when Yuwen Ye grabbed her roughly. It was clear how angry Yuwen Ye had been. In that instant, he had almost lost control of his strength.
Where no one could see, Xiao Yuansui sighed softly.
Then, when he looked at Yuwen Ye again, a hint of composure appeared in his eyes, and he said, "Since Young Master Yuwen has given me a way out, how can I not give Young Master Yuwen a way out as well?"
Yuwen Ye asked, "Which way do you plan to take this route?"
Xiao Yuansui said, "I can withdraw from Xingluo Warehouse."
As soon as he finished speaking, the people behind him panicked and rushed forward, calling out, "Boss—"
Before they could finish speaking, he raised his hand to stop them and said, "However, I have one condition."
"you say."
"I'm going to take all the remaining living people here with me."
"..."
“They came out with me. I’m sorry for those who died, but I can’t let down the brothers who are still alive. I have to make sure they can return to Wanggang Village alive!”
As soon as these words were spoken, the people around who had been somewhat unwilling and angry suddenly fell silent. They looked at each other, seemingly feeling a sense of despair at being trapped in a hopeless situation. At this moment, it seemed that all they could do was wait for the final verdict.
Yuwen Ye raised an eyebrow slightly: "That's all?"
Hearing this, the people on their side were also startled. Even Shang Ruyi couldn't help but peek out from behind him to look at him, but Yuwen Ye forcefully pressed her down, almost knocking her to the ground. Shang Ruyi could only obediently shrink back.
Xiao Yuansui chuckled and said, "Young Master Yuwen, you truly have the ability to see through people's hearts."
He took a deep breath and said, "I need another hundred cartloads of grain."
Yuwen Ye said, "Twenty carts."
Xiao Yuansui frowned, but immediately replied, "Eighty carts."
"thirty."
"Fifty carts!"
"Can."
The two exchanged words back and forth, and before anyone around them could react, everything was settled.
After the two of them finished speaking, the people around them were speechless. Everyone felt a sense of bewilderment, but at this moment, no one could lift their swords.
Life and death are decided, victory and defeat are determined.
Xiao Yuansui glanced at Yuwen Ye one last time and said with a wry smile, "It seems I attacked Xingluocang too early."
Yuwen Ye said, "For those who aspire to rule the world, it is never too early or too late."
Xiao Yuansui said, "If it had been neither too early nor too late, how could we have suffered such a crushing defeat today?"
Yuwen Ye glanced at him and replied quite seriously, "You're just lacking a bit of luck."
Xiao Yuansui thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "Perhaps, what I lack is not luck, but—"
He glanced one last time at the slender, seemingly frail figure behind Yuwen Ye, who had just stood in front of the man who had almost stirred up the winds and was capable of ruling the world. The complex expression in his eyes finally turned into a helpless smile, and then he withdrew his gaze and said lightly, "Never mind."
After saying this, he gently waved his hand.
Although the gesture meant nothing to those around him, everyone immediately understood that he was signaling to Hua Ziying, who was hiding in the shadows. Then, everyone felt as if the tension in the air had disappeared. Even though they hadn't found anything, the suffocating feeling of being the prey dissipated from everyone's hearts.
Suddenly, a group of people appeared behind them.
Upon closer inspection, it was Mu Xian and several armored lieutenants leading a large force charging forward. Seeing the blood flowing like a river and corpses strewn across the ground, Yuwen Ye was almost about to draw his sword when he immediately ordered, "Stop! Let them go!"
Mu Xian and the others listened attentively.
Several subordinate generals, unaware of what was happening, especially seeing Yuwen Ye confronting those people, said worriedly, "General, this—"
Yuwen Ye said, "The imperial order was to seize Xingluo Granary. Now that Xingluo Granary is in our hands, everything else is up to me. Now you all step back and take all the prisoners outside to the mountain gate. Prepare another fifty carts of grain for them to take away, and do not harm anyone else."
Those people immediately understood, and several lieutenants accepted the order, turning around and leaving with their men.
Yuwen Ye said, "You can leave now."
Xiao Yuansui gave them one last look, bowed, and prepared to leave.
But just as they were about to leave, Yuwen Ye suddenly said, "Wait a minute."
Those people immediately tensed up again, fearing that he might go back on his word. Several of them gripped their swords tightly, but then they saw Yuwen Ye slowly walk up, look up at the rows of houses and the treacherous mountain behind them, and then look back at the arrow that was still nailed to the door frame as a show of defiance.
Finally, he glared at Shang Ruyi again.
Yuwen Ye suddenly said, "Tell that person that I will return this arrow to him one day!"
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