Chapter 641: Xun Cheng

Chapter 641: Chapter 641: Xun Cheng

BAM—!

He threw himself onto the coffin, his voice filled with anguish.

But the next moment, the man in the lead strode forward, grabbed him by the collar, and hauled him up!

He sneered, convinced Ye Yunfeng was just putting on a guilty act.

"Get out of my way! I’d like to see what secrets you’re hiding in this coffin—"

As he spoke, his gaze shifted to the coffin. He finally got a clear look inside, and his expression changed abruptly, the rest of his words dying in his throat.

A corpse, burned by fire, lay silently within.

It was clear the person had suffered immense torture. There was barely an uninjured spot on the body, and more than half of the face was burned away. The sight was ghastly and horrifying, a truly shocking spectacle.

Even those accustomed to bloody scenes frowned and looked away at the sight.

King Yan Nan was also stunned.

He too had assumed the coffin was empty. When Ye Yunfeng threw himself on it, King Yan Nan had even subconsciously wanted to help close the lid to avoid the guards’ inspection.

But he never imagined that there would actually be a body lying in the coffin!

And—just as Ye Yunfeng had claimed, it was someone who had died in "that fire"!

’Whose body is this?’

’Could it be that on the day of the arson, Ye Yunfeng had already planned ahead, stealing one of the corpses to use for today’s escape from the city?’

These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. King Yan Nan reacted swiftly, immediately closing the coffin and helping Ye Yunfeng to his feet.

But Ye Yunfeng clung to the coffin, completely breaking down.

"Brother! Brother! I failed to take care of you! Even in death, you have to suffer such humiliation! It’s all my fault! All my fault!"

The veins on the back of his hands bulged, his knuckles were deathly white, and his voice trembled.

"If only I had been a little earlier, if only..."

He couldn’t continue.

The street fell deathly silent, with only his low, muttered whispers remaining.

For some reason, a wave of sorrow washed over King Yan Nan’s heart.

Even the guards on patrol couldn’t help but exchange awkward, silent glances.

King Yan Nan took a deep breath and turned back to face them.

"Sirs, you’ve checked everything. Can you let us leave the city now?"

The man in the lead frowned, unwilling to get any more involved, and waved his hand dismissively.

"Let them go!"

The guards at the city gate took in the scene and nodded in compliance, not making things any more difficult.

And so the funeral procession escorted the black coffin, step by step, out of the city gate and slowly onward.

Only after their figures had receded into the distance did the man rub his face in frustration.

"Alright, alright! Stop staring! So what if someone burned to death? Don’t forget we have important business today! Get a move on! If you let the target slip away... watch your own necks!"

The men all stiffened.

"Yes, sir!"

...

After they were some distance from the city gate, King Yan Nan still felt like he was in a dream.

’He actually... really got out just like that!?’

’Right in front of so many people, no less!’

After passing a small grove of trees, he saw another group of people appear.

King Yan Nan immediately grew alert, but Ye Yunfeng clapped him on the arm first and explained with a smile, "They’re with us."

Only then did King Yan Nan relax.

"You’re finally out!" The few men in front walked over quickly and surrounded Ye Yunfeng. "We’ve been waiting here forever! We were just thinking that if you didn’t show up by noon, we’d storm the city!"

Ye Yunfeng’s eyes crinkled in a smile as he took a few playful punches, not minding at all.

"If I couldn’t even handle a small thing like this, I wouldn’t have dared to bring you all here."

The group burst into laughter.

"The kid’s got guts!"

"Yeah! You’ve performed a great service this time!"

"And might I ask who this is...?"

The men had, of course, already noticed the addition of King Yan Nan. Their expressions grew serious and much more respectful.

Ye Yunfeng nodded.

"This is King Yan Nan."

The men immediately moved to salute, but King Yan Nan stopped them.

"Brothers, there’s no need for formalities. You are the ones who saved me this time! It is I who should be thanking you!"

King Yan Nan was truly filled with emotion.

There weren’t many people present, but under Ye Yunfeng’s leadership, they had completely played Tuoba Yu for a fool!

Who knew how many people would be green with envy upon hearing of such an accomplishment!

"A true young hero, just as the stories say!"

Seeing that he put on no airs, the men all relaxed and chimed in with a laugh, "Speaking of which, this whole plan was arranged by A Feng from start to finish! Without him, we’d probably still be completely in the dark!"

King Yan Nan couldn’t agree more.

In the past day and night, he had witnessed Ye Yunfeng’s skills and potential, and he was genuinely and completely impressed.

He glanced at the coffin again.

"Indeed! To be able to untangle such a chaotic situation and find a way out is truly remarkable!"

Ye Yunfeng laughed. "If you really want to praise me, Your Highness, it can wait until after we’ve taken back Long City."

At the mention of Long City, King Yan Nan’s expression also turned serious.

He looked back into the distance.

From here, he could only faintly make out the city’s silhouette.

"That’s right."

His brows furrowed.

"Our most urgent task is to deal with those Southern Hu people once and for all!"

...

「Time slowly passed.」

People came and went at the city gate.

Many eyes were watching from the shadows, but after observing for a whole day, they still hadn’t found anyone suspicious.

This made them grow anxious.

If they couldn’t catch their target, their superiors would not let them off lightly!

Just then, a horse-drawn carriage ambled toward the city gate.

If King Yan Nan had been there, he would have surely recognized it as the same one he had ridden in the previous night.

Only now, the driver was someone else.

"Halt!"

The gate guard immediately stepped forward, demanding in a hostile tone, "What business do you have leaving the city!?"

The driver flashed a humble, fawning smile, quickly dismounting to explain.

"You misunderstand, sir. We’re not leaving the city, we’re just going home."

"Going home?"

The guard was skeptical.

’The carriage looks ordinary enough, nothing special about it, but who knows if someone is hiding inside!?’

"Yes, yes! My young master came here a few days ago to visit a gravely ill relative. Unexpectedly, the city was sealed for the past few days... Now that the time has come and the relative has recovered, we felt it was improper to impose any longer, so we must head home."

As he spoke, he discreetly slipped a silver ingot into the guard’s hand.

"Please, be so kind."

The guard surreptitiously weighed the silver ingot in his hand, and his expression softened considerably.

But he still had to keep up appearances.

"Is your master in the carriage? Anyone else besides him?"

He lifted his chin.

"It’s not impossible to let you pass. Have your master get out of the carriage. We’ll search it according to regulations, and then you’ll be on your way."

The driver’s expression was hesitant.

"This... this..."

The guard’s eyes narrowed.

"What, a problem?"

His tone had already turned dangerous.

As he spoke, he walked directly toward the carriage. With a flick of his wrist, he raised the sword at his waist, about to lift the curtain!

’Silver is a fine thing, but my head is more valuable!’

’So, I still have to check!’

"Hey—"

The driver seemed to want to stop him but didn’t move. Just then, a gentle, weak voice came from inside the carriage.

"Long Jiu, do not be rude."