Chapter 1455 - 1130: Good-for-Nothing!

Shang Ruyi’s brows knit together, but the next moment she let out a cold laugh. "You can’t kill him."

"Oh?"

"Before he rescues me, he won’t die either."

Though she said this very calmly, in Xiao Yuansui’s ears it sounded like a knife scraping across his eardrums, and on its way it jabbed into his heart. He drew in another deep breath, then sneered. "But last night, he almost died."

Shang Ruyi’s expression darkened.

Last night, when she heard someone outside shouting "Yu Wenye fell into the trap," and someone else waving a blood-stained spear back and forth outside the main tent, saying Yu Wenye had already been cut down—at that moment her liver and gall were torn, and she nearly blacked out on the spot.

But just before losing consciousness, she still forced herself to calm down.

Yu Wenye was Yu Wenye. Back then, in such a nine-deaths-and-one-life situation in Jiangdu Palace, he could still retreat unscathed—how could he possibly be so stupid as to fall for Xiao Yuansui’s trick like this? Fall for it, and then die at the hands of some nameless nobody?

Absolutely impossible!

So she struggled desperately. Even when Xiao Yuansui, before leading men out to kill, ordered people to watch her, and later they went so far as to bind her, making her feel like she’d spent the entire night in Hell, she still kept her mind clear—Yu Wenye could not be dead.

Sure enough, just now when she heard the commotion outside and knew Xiao Yuansui had returned with his men, just from listening to those reactions she could be certain they hadn’t managed to kill Yu Wenye. To Xiao Yuansui, Yu Wenye was not only his greatest rival in the struggle for the realm, but also his sworn enemy. If he had truly killed the man, he would definitely have made a grand display of it, might even have thrown a blood-dripping head in front of her, to make her give up completely.

He hadn’t done that, which meant he’d failed.

But Shang Ruyi also knew that he had made such a big move, that the entire camp had been turned upside down by Yu Wenye and his men—this kind of thing easily shook the troops’ morale. Having paid such a great price, there was no way they came away with nothing at all.

Who knew how severe Yu Wenye’s injuries were, and whether last night when Xiao Yuansui led men in pursuit, he’d inflicted new wounds on him?

Shang Ruyi’s pale lips moved slightly. Fortunately, she still had a veil over her face, so Xiao Yuansui couldn’t see how she was trembling. But when she finally opened her mouth again after a long while, her voice was involuntarily trembling and hoarse. "Is he... badly hurt?"

Xiao Yuansui stared fixedly into her eyes. "Very badly."

"..."

"If not for—he’d be dead."

"..."

Shang Ruyi didn’t speak again. After a period of silence, she drew in a deep breath, worked to steady herself, then said, "Almost, still means not quite. He’s still alive, and that’s enough."

"..."

Xiao Yuansui looked at her and suddenly fell silent.

Looking at the firmness in this woman’s expression—that same look which had moved him countless times—at this moment, Xiao Yuansui silently made up his mind. If that day really came, if Yu Wenye truly managed to break through layer after layer of obstacles to rescue her, then he would never let him succeed.

He would never let Yu Wenye take her away from his side alive.

Even if it meant—

His gaze grew heavy and resolute, but at this moment Shang Ruyi failed to read in it the ruthless determination that could decide her life or death. After regaining her composure, she instead thought of that young man from just now, and said, "As for those people just now, I don’t think I’ve ever seen them before."

Xiao Yuansui looked at her again. His gaze was no longer gentle, yet there was a faint, subtle smile in it. "Do you think you can recognize all the men under my command?"

Shang Ruyi said, "I might not recognize them all, but I’ve been here so many days—at least I’d find their faces familiar."

"Oh."

"These few, their faces are new."

"They came from Luoyang."

"Luoyang?"

As soon as Shang Ruyi heard this, she immediately understood. "They’re the ones Liang Shide sent to transport grain from Huilu Storehouse. So, you failed?"

Her use of the word "you" made Xiao Yuansui’s face darken again, but he didn’t grow angry over it. He only said coldly, "Indeed, the grain transport failed. But your Prince Qi has been besieging Luoyang for so long to no avail, and on top of that he still let Liang Shide send people out from inside to haul grain. Using this kind of good-for-nothing as your vanguard—do you really think you can win?"

Hearing this, Shang Ruyi’s expression also darkened.

In her heart, she couldn’t help but gnash her teeth and curse: Grass bag! Truly a grass bag!

They were both Yu Wenquan’s sons. Even though Yu Wenqian had spent years devoted to Buddhism, once he returned to officialdom he could still have eyes and hands everywhere, and on the battlefield he could still defeat the enemy. So why could this youngest son not accomplish a single thing?

It couldn’t be just because they had different mothers, could it?

Though the official family had been a civil servant by origin, yet even as Madam Guan’s son, Yu Wenye could sweep across the battlefield, domineering and unstoppable, while this Yu Wencheng was nothing but a conceited, incompetent grass bag!

Thinking this, Shang Ruyi felt her anger surge even higher.

But facing an "enemy," Shang Ruyi had resolved that even if she lost to the person, she would not lose in bearing. So after a brief thought she said coldly at once, "Could it be that General Xiao believes the outcome at Luoyang this time is to be decided by the situation over there?"

Xiao Yuansui slightly raised his brows and looked at her. "Then what do you think—"

Shang Ruyi said, "The victory or defeat of Luoyang will be decided at Hulao Pass."

"..."

"If you lose, Liang Shide will lose!"

Hearing this, a trace of appreciation still could not be suppressed from rising in Xiao Yuansui’s gaze toward her. He then asked, "Then, what if I win?"

Shang Ruyi said, "You cannot win."

"..."

Xiao Yuansui looked at her in silence for a long time, then suddenly let out a faint laugh.

Only, in this laugh there was none of the appreciation from before, nor the sense that he found it absurdly funny, but rather a hint of helpless bitterness. He lightly waved his hand. "You may go."

"..."

Shang Ruyi slightly knitted her brows, fixed her gaze on him for a moment, said nothing, then turned and left this Central Army Tent.

After walking out, Shang Ruyi could not help but turn back and glance once more.

She did not know if it was her illusion, but after last night’s failed pursuit of Yu Wenye and his return, Xiao Yuansui seemed somewhat different from before. She had never doubted this man’s confidence and composure; even when he’d once been hunted by Wang Shaoji into that wretched state, his bearing had not been diminished. Yet today, for the first time, she sensed from this man a trace of helplessness and—frustration.

Was it just an illusion?

While Shang Ruyi was puzzling over this, the soldier who had brought her here had already stepped forward. "Princess, it is time to return."

After last night, Xiao Yuansui had tightened his watch over her compared to before. Shang Ruyi merely gave him a glance, then turned and walked toward the tent where she had been temporarily lodging when she came.

However, just as she reached the entrance of that tent, Shang Ruyi said, "All my things from before were left in that tent. Were they all burned?"

The soldier nodded. "Seems so."

Shang Ruyi said, "The weather is very cold. Go and bring me a thicker quilt."

The soldier hesitated for a moment. Shang Ruyi said calmly, "There are so many people in your camp. I am but a weak woman. Where could I possibly run to?"

The soldier looked around. Indeed, even if Shang Ruyi truly possessed formidable martial skills, it would be hard for her to get out of their main camp. All the more so since her reaction last night had made clear she was not a prodigious woman of both letters and arms like General Shi. It did seem unnecessary to keep constant watch on her.

So he said, "Then, please do not wander about, Princess. I will be right back."

Having said this, he left.

Once he was gone, Shang Ruyi did not obediently stand where she was as he had said. Instead, she lifted her eyes to take in her surroundings, then walked toward the noisiest part of the camp at this moment—after last night’s commotion, and with the soldiers having spent the entire night repairing fences and tents, they were all extremely exhausted. At this time most were resting. The only place where people were speaking loudly was naturally where outsiders had just arrived and both sides were negotiating.

As she walked over, she indeed saw those people who had just come out of the Central Army Tent speaking loudly with the soldiers here—

"There are so many of us, and you give us one tent?"

"Aren’t you going a bit too far in bullying us?"

"Exactly, there are so many of us and you’re making us all squeeze into one tent—how is that acceptable?"

Faced with their anger, the soldiers on Xiao Yuansui’s side were both impatient and discourteous. They said coldly, "What a big mouth you have. Do you have any idea what a mess it was last night? Do you know how many tents we lost? Being able to spare even one for you is already something."

The other soldiers chimed in one after another. "To make room for this one for you, we still have quite a few brothers with nowhere to stay."

"Keep shouting and we’ll have you spend the night in the cesspit!"

At that final remark, the group immediately flew into a rage; a few of them raised their fists, about to strike. The men on this side, having bottled up their anger all night, were in no mood to back down and rushed forward at once. It looked as though the two sides were about to brawl.

Fortunately, there were a few older men on Xiao Yuansui’s side whose tempers were not so hot. They quickly stepped to the front, stretching out their hands to block the others, and urged, "We’re all our own people. How can we come to blows over one or two tents? Calm down, all of you—don’t make trouble!"

Among those who had come from Luoyang, there was also one person who stepped out. "Gentlemen, we are guests here. As guests, we should follow the host’s arrangements."

When he finished, he lifted his head and said to those soldiers, "Many thanks to you brothers for yielding this to us."

Shang Ruyi immediately stopped in her tracks.

Because she could see clearly that the one speaking in such refined, bookish tones—nothing like the coarse roughness of a man hardened in the army—was precisely that young man who had just come out of the Central Army Tent and turned back to glance at her.

The ferocious, swollen scar on his face made everyone draw in a sharp breath.

The few soldiers at the forefront, seeing him like this, also found it hard to strike. They only glared at the others before withdrawing. The young man again expressed his thanks to the soldiers who had stepped in to mediate, his every movement even less like a soldier and more like a scholar.

In an instant, the anger dissipated like smoke, and those soldiers all dispersed.

Left behind were only those who had come over from Luoyang. Still somewhat indignant, they said to the young man, "Guan Chiying, you certainly have a good temper—people are already walking all over our heads!"