Chapter 45
In the deadly silence of the standoff, the third brother slowly withdrew his short sword.
Blood dripped from the tip of the sword, spreading a small patch of dark red on the soil at his feet.
He looked up, and his face, which was usually full of honesty and simplicity, was now expressionless.
"Young Master Liu, there is no need to panic."
The third brother spoke, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching everyone's ears.
"This sword strike avoided vital points and was not fatal. This is merely a small punishment from Master Song for Lord Yu... for deceiving Young Master Liu."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over Yu Mobai, whose face was pale from the pain and blood loss but who was still trying to hold on, before finally settling back on Liu Jinhuai's distraught face.
"Master Song still wants to take his life; he has a very important use for him."
These words, spoken lightly, shattered all of Liu Jinhuai's struggles.
He realized that from beginning to end, he was just a pawn on Song Guansui's chessboard, and even the right to "punish" Yu Mobai was firmly controlled by his good cousin.
He watched as Yu Mobai staggered and was roughly supported. His eyes, which always held a gentle smile, were now unfocused due to pain, yet he still stubbornly refused to look at him.
An unprecedented sense of despair and powerlessness, like an icy tide, completely overwhelmed Liu Jinhuai.
He felt like a fool, unable to even protect the people he wanted to protect.
But this helplessness lasted only a moment.
The pride of the eldest son of the Liu family, and the ruthlessness he displayed when driven to the brink of despair, instantly overwhelmed all other emotions.
He suddenly straightened his back, his gaze like that of a venomous snake, sweeping fiercely over his hesitant subordinates before finally fixing on the face of his trusted confidant.
“Young Master, the Master has instructed that this operation… must be carried out under the command of Master Song. This Wang Jianglin is Master Song’s man.”
Under Liu Jinhuai's terrifying gaze, one of his men's voices grew weaker, but he still forced himself to remind him.
"Now!"
Liu Jinhuai's voice was not loud, but it carried a resolute and unquestionable determination.
"Do as I say!"
"Click—"
Before he finished speaking, his well-trained guards had already drawn their bows and nocked arrows, the cold arrowheads instantly locking onto Wang Jianglin a few steps away.
The air seemed to freeze, all sounds disappeared, leaving only the faint hum of the taut bowstring.
Liu Jinhuai stepped forward, met the third brother's calm gaze, and said, word by word, "Release the person. You, get out of here."
The third brother gave Liu Jinhuai a deep look, his gaze complex and unreadable, as if trying to discern something from his tough demeanor.
But he didn't hesitate, nor did he utter a single word of argument; he simply raised his hand and made a gesture.
His men immediately released their grip.
Yu Mobai, weakened by blood loss, lost his support and his body went limp. He was about to collapse when Liu Jinhuai rushed forward and held him tightly.
The third brother no longer glanced at them, as if his previous sword strike and his current retreat were merely the strict execution of orders.
He turned around deftly, and with his supplies and men, quickly disappeared into the depths of the dense forest, just as silently as he had come.
The taut string suddenly loosened.
Only after the third brother's figure completely disappeared did Liu Jinhuai realize that his back was soaked with cold sweat.
He held Yu Mobai's arm, his trembling slightly. He looked down at the pale face of the person in his arms, his voice hoarse and filled with lingering fear that he himself was unaware of.
"...Mo Bai?"
Yu Mobai leaned on his shoulder, his consciousness blurred by the intense pain and blood loss.
He struggled to lift his eyelids, his lips slightly parted.
In the end, he said nothing and was completely plunged into darkness.
Looking at the still-bleeding wound on his shoulder and back, Liu Jinhuai felt that the blood was extremely glaring.
He took a deep breath, picked the person up horizontally, and addressed his still-shaken soldiers in his cold, stern tone.
"Anyone who dares to divulge a single word about what happened today will be dealt with according to military law, and their entire family will be implicated!"
"Return to camp immediately! Find the best military medic!"
...
Jiang Manyan stood on the city wall, looking at the distant firelight with unease.
Some fragments came to mind.
A meticulously planned night raid, known only to a select few, was launched with the objective of destroying a valuable Allied catapult.
The operation was ambushed halfway through, and the team was almost completely wiped out.
Once, a secret route for transporting wounded soldiers was suddenly heavily patrolled by the enemy. If it weren't for the vigilance of the veteran general leading the team, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
A mole!
This word lingered in Jiang Manyan's mind like a venomous snake.
He conducted a thorough investigation without making a sound, and even deliberately released a few "bait" messages that were half true and half false.
He found that actions related to this information always encountered setbacks.
The third brother, one of his most trusted brothers, always managed to cleverly stay out of trouble, or his assigned tasks always managed to "luckily" avoid the most severe blows.
This excessive "luck" had previously acted like a tiny thorn, pricking Jiang Manyan's sensitive nerves.
But the "suspect" is the third son!
Wang Jianglin, who had followed me the longest and was the most loyal!
Trust those you employ, and don't employ those you don't trust.
Entrusting his back to his partners has always been his bottom line.
But at this moment, is he wrong?
More images came to mind.
He remained the same calm and taciturn third brother, but when he was alone with his third brother, he talked about "defending to the end" and "living and dying with Jincheng".
A complex emotion flashed across the third brother's eyes—not fear, but an indescribable heaviness and avoidance.
The third brother began to persuade him to "conserve his strength" more and more frequently.
Qin Lingfeng decided to lead a team to raid the Allied forces' supply camp—this was a truly top-secret operation, concerning the survival of Jincheng.
After Jiang Manyan announced the detailed plan, the meeting adjourned.
He left behind a loyal and cunning old subordinate trained by Qin Lingfeng, giving him a silent mission: to secretly monitor the third brother's men and see if they behaved strangely after the meeting.
Time slipped away in anxiety.
Finally, the old subordinate returned.
The moment her old subordinate nodded heavily, the last glimmer of hope in Jiang Manyan's heart was completely extinguished.
"I saw it with my own eyes."
The old subordinate kept his voice very low.
"Commander Wang's confidants were flying by carrier pigeon from the abandoned canal in the west of the city towards... the Allied Forces' camp."
Not long after, the latest reconnaissance intelligence was delivered.
"Report: The deployment of the Allied forces' supply camp area has been quietly changed. It seems relaxed, but in fact, there are hidden ambush troops on the outside. General Qin and his troops are surrounded."
"Report! An elite cavalry unit has been secretly deployed to the flank of General Qin's planned retreat route..."
...
One bad news after another followed.
"Reporting, Commander Wang has returned with the supplies."
Jiang Manyan exchanged a glance with her old subordinate.
"Go and invite Commander Wang."
There were only the two of them in the tent.
Jiang Manyan did not roar, question, or even show the slightest anger.
He simply gazed at Wang Jianglin with his unusually calm and weary honey-brown eyes, his voice as soft as a sigh about to fade away.
"Third Brother, will Ling Feng and Zhong Ge be able to return from this trip?"
He didn't call him "Third Brother," but rather used the term he used in private, a term that carried a sense of reliance and trust—Third Brother.
Just a word, a glance.
The mask of honesty on the third brother's face shattered instantly.
He stood frozen in place, his lips moving as if he wanted to explain or deny it.
But in the end, all the words were frozen in those all-knowing eyes.
He avoided Jiang Manyan's gaze and slowly, as if carrying a heavy burden, lowered his head.
This bowing of the head is an admission of consent.
Jiang Manyan didn't look at him a second time and resolutely turned away.
He had to immediately adjust his plans to save his lover who was on the verge of death because of betrayal, and to save his brother Zhong... His mind was racing, trying to figure out how to fix this fatal flaw.
"Slow smoke..."
Behind him came the hoarse voice of the third brother, a voice with an almost desperate calm, as if all pretense had been removed.
"Stop struggling."
Jiang Manyan stopped abruptly, but did not turn around.
The third brother's voice continued, each word like a sharp blade piercing his heart.
“The Li family in the east of the city, the Xiong family in the west of the city… and Mr. Zhao, whom you personally promoted and who controls one-third of the granaries… half of the gentry and wealthy households in Jincheng have already secretly pledged allegiance to the powerful and influential in the central district.”
boom--!
These words struck Jiang Manyan like a thunderbolt from the heavens, leaving her mind in a state of utter devastation.
His fingers, hidden in his sleeve, began to tremble uncontrollably. A chill shot from his feet to the top of his head, almost freezing his blood.
The order he poured his heart and soul into building, the core members he trusted and relied on... had long been hollowed out from the inside, becoming a crumbling empty shell!
All his efforts and perseverance seemed so laughable and vulnerable under the silent erosion of the powerful.
After the immense shock and sense of betrayal came a numb calm.
The fact that half of the local gentry and wealthy households in the city had rebelled meant that the lifeline of Jincheng's grain supply and the true state of its defenses were already transparent to Song Guansui.
Qin Lingfeng is trapped in a deadly situation, Jiang Zhong has fallen into enemy hands, and the internal structure is falling apart... all paths have been completely blocked.
He stood there, as if a moment had passed, yet also as if a long time had gone by.
Those honey-brown eyes, which always held wisdom and gentleness, now seemed to have lost all their luster, leaving only a bottomless look of weariness and powerlessness.
Jiang Manyan slowly turned around, forcibly suppressing all her emotions. Her honey-brown eyes regained their calmness, but in an instant, they became sharp and insightful again.
For Song Guansui, Jincheng was already within his grasp!
He looked at the person in front of him who was both familiar and unfamiliar, his voice eerily calm.
What were Song Guansui's conditions?
The third brother met his gaze, his honest face now showing only the indifference of someone who had completed a task, and a trace of deep-seated pain.
He clearly and deliberately uttered the ultimate goal.
"He wants you to walk out of the city gate yourself."
"He promised that as long as you leave, he will spare the people in the city."
Wang Jianglin spoke the word "common people" with exceptional difficulty.
...
Inside the most luxurious tents of the Allied forces.
The tall, handsome man stood up, laughing wildly: "It's time to welcome my 'eagle'."
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