Chapter 1470 - 1143: Coward

Shantong’er’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Having fought alongside Yu Wenye several times, he was no stranger to getting injured or seeing heavily wounded soldiers undergoing emergency treatment. Sometimes, when a wound is too large and bleeding won’t stop, army medics use charcoal to cauterize wounds to staunch bleeding and heal injuries.

But Yu Wenye... His wound was already stitched and didn’t need any bleeding control. He just had to wait quietly for a few days for the wound to heal.

He was using cauterization to relieve pain!

By burning the wound, the flesh feels no pain during this period!

Yu Wenye stretched his arm again, ensuring his injury was completely numb, making large movements without causing intense pain. He let out a deep breath, wiping away the sweat beads rolling down his forehead, then turned to Shantong’er, who looked at him with red eyes.

Yu Wenye calmly pulled up his clothes, tightening his belt while speaking in a deep voice, "This, will be our secret."

"..."

"Hmm?"

Shantong’er couldn’t speak for a moment and slowly lowered his head.

Seemingly anticipating his reaction, Yu Wenye didn’t say much, dressed and stood up, directly opened the door. Despite a basin of charcoal in the room radiating heat waves, stepping outside felt little change in temperature. At this moment, the sun was blazing, and the heat was swept by the wind onto his face.

Yu Wenye took a deep breath, saying, "It’s about time."

Having said this, he walked outside, and Shantong’er, finally swallowing the bitterness in his throat, silently followed his footsteps. Observing Yu Wenye heading out, he instructed two soldiers to remove the charcoal basin from his room, and quickly ascended the fortress walls.

The soldiers here all looked angry and clenched their teeth.

While the cursing from below had become hoarse after wave upon wave, Yu Wenye ascended the walls to see that group already parched, struggling to shout even as they jumped around.

Yet, upon seeing Yu Wenye appear on the wall, the crowd regained their spirits and shouted, "Oh, the coward has come out!"

"What a leftover turtle king!"

"Dare to come down and let grandpa see your cowardice!"

...

Listening to these harsh curses, the surrounding soldiers all turned red-eyed, Shen Tu Tai clenched his bow tightly, while Yu Wenye, though biting his teeth, casually glanced over them, looking towards the massive army beyond the Sishui River. The sun was at zenith, and even the people on the wall could feel the heat rising. On the exposed earth, soldiers had endured the scorching sun for most of the day—dry mouths, tired limbs, seeing the group cursing Hulao Pass below not going out, their morale waned, some sitting down outright.

The army started showing signs of disorder.

Shen Wuzheng said, "Are we going to fight now?"

Yu Wenye watched for a while, then suddenly said, "Xue Lin."

Hearing King Qin’s call, Xue Lin eagerly stepped forward, "What are your orders, Your Highness?"

Yu Wenye said, "Take a group of people down, chase that crowd back over the Sishui River, but remember, cross the river and immediately return, don’t engage them."

"Ah?"

"Quickly go."

Excited to battle, Xue Lin was initially overjoyed, but hearing they couldn’t engage was a bit dispiriting. He acknowledged and turned to leave, taking two steps when Yu Wenye, behind him, said, "If you defy military orders, not even your father can save you!"

Upon hearing this, Xue Lin immediately replied, "I understand."

Having said this, he quickly descended the wall.

The group below was still cursing with hoarse voices when suddenly they heard a creak, and a sudden gust of wind swept sand onto their faces and bodies, momentarily blinding them. When they opened their eyes again, they were stunned—the long-closed gate was open!

Inside, a dense group of men and horses charged at them, filled with panic and joy, they frantically shouted, "They’ve come out, hurry, run!"

Saying this, they mounted and immediately turned to flee.

They didn’t manage to see clearly, but hearing heavy hoof beats and shouts, they knew things had taken a turn, thus scattering in frantic flight, fortunately, Shen Tu Tai’s earlier arrow had kept them a shot distance away, making their escape easier, soon crossing the Sishui River; seeing this, the troops stationed on the east bank of Sishui grew somewhat anxious, especially the front-line soldiers who quickly raised heavy shields, holding their breaths, waiting for the army to cross Sishui.

But a careful listen revealed something was off.

The hoof beats and shouts sounded sparse.

Peering to look, they saw that the troops coming from Hulao Pass amounted to only about a hundred, led by Xue Lin, who had previously battled with Shi Yutao. This minor general, almost anonymous on both sides, led the charge, shouting fiercely at the group fleeing ahead, until they completely crossed the Sishui River. He rode forward, directly stepping into the river.

The river was shallow, the splashes from the horse hooves barely wetting his boots, Xue Lin stood angrily within the river, glaring at the army ahead.

Yet, the army on Xiao Yuansui’s side couldn’t help but laugh coldly, these mere hundred men, against their hundred thousand strong force, akin to the faint splash he had just stirred, disappearing without a trace, if he dared truly come, he’d face obliteration!

Thinking this, they grasped their swords tighter, the entire army’s formation reassembled firmly.

There was palpable tension on the wall, especially from Shen Tu Tai, earlier Xue Lin couldn’t contain the urge to fight, now, surely he wouldn’t really—

Simultaneously, news of Hulao Pass opening spread to the central army tent at the rear, upon hearing it, Shi Yutao seemed restless, looking at Xiao Yuansui, just awaiting his orders.

But Xiao Yuansui slightly frowned: "Only him, just a hundred men?"

"Yes, they’ve chased back those who were cursing us."

"And then?"

"Then, they stopped in the river."

Xiao Yuansui paused, Shi Yutao impatiently said, "Great General, let’s not worry about too much, kill him, crush their spirit!"

Just as he finished speaking, another soldier rushed in from the front: "Report!"

Xiao Yuansui looked up, "What is it?"

The soldier replied, "Great General, that Xue Lin—returned to Hulao Pass."

"What?!"