Chapter 166
"You're like this with everyone..."
Zheng Hu followed behind Xiao Li, trudging through the muddy snow with uneven steps, his armor stained with blood. He complained to Song Qin, "There's really not a single peaceful day. I just finished killing that group of barbarians with Second Brother, hadn't even managed to get a proper sleep back at camp when we received word something had happened here. Luckily these bandits weren't too quick, allowing us to catch up in time..."
Noticing Song Qin's unusual expression, he grew puzzled until Song Qin shot him a meaningful look.
Zheng Hu had been blocked by Xiao Li walking ahead and only now, as he shifted position, did he see Xiao Li and Wen Yu silently gazing at each other from a distance.
He promptly shut his mouth and took the great bow from Xiao Li's hands, saying, "Um... Second Brother, let me carry that for you!"
But the bow was extremely heavy. The moment Zheng Hu took it, both his hands were instantly pulled downward. He quickly exerted more strength to steady it, muttering through clenched teeth to Song Qin, "How is this bow so heavy..."
Xiao Li lifted his foot and slowly walked toward Wen Yu.
Wen Yu observed his battle-weary appearance, fresh from the battlefield with killing intent still lingering around him. Her gaze fell on the bloodstains on his collar, and she slightly furrowed her brows. As he approached, she said, "I've ordered the remaining guards on the mountain to hide in the cellar. Dou Jianliang has infiltrated the Northern Border with Chen Jun's troops disguised as refugees. It must be part of Pei Song's scheme. You should report this unusual military movement to Wei Qishan, but don't kill this man yet—I still have questions for him..."
"Are you injured?" Xiao Li interrupted hoarsely.
Flecks of blood from the previous fierce battle still dotted his brow, and his eyes meticulously scanned every bloodstain on her cloak. The bloodshot veins from lack of rest made his usually fierce expression appear somewhat softened by exhaustion.
Wen Yu was momentarily taken aback. Before she could respond, he had already grasped one of her hands, still carefully examining every bloodstain on her as if trying to determine whether she had any wounds.
Wen Yu instinctively tried to pull away but couldn't break free. Not wanting to make a scene in front of so many soldiers, she relented and said, "I'm not injured. This isn't my blood."
"That's good." Xiao Li's expression seemed to relax slightly.
Wen Yu wanted to continue their previous discussion: "I feared the Scout sent to deliver the message might have been killed, so I ordered beacon fires lit to intimidate them. If other Wei troops within the border see it, you can use this to expose Pei Song's conspiracy..."
"Wen Yu." Xiao Li suddenly called her name softly.
Wen Yu stopped speaking and met his tired, restrained gaze. For a moment, she felt Xiao Li desperately wanted to hold her, but perhaps fearing his blood-soaked armor was too filthy, he restrained himself. Instead, he only tightened his grip on her wrist and said, "I'm so tired. I want to sleep for a while."
He looked as if he hadn't closed his eyes in a long time. Dried blood, sweat, and grime mixed on his face. Though he remained resolute and unyielding, he resembled a cracked mountain eroded by wind and rain.
Even if he were to eventually crumble into rubble, he wouldn't show the slightest hint of weakness.
He just looked at her and asked, "When I wake up, will I still be able to see you?"
Wen Yu pressed her lips together tightly.
He knew everything.Knowing that she lit the beacon fire not only to intimidate Dou Jianliang but also to signal the Liang Camp troops still searching for her within the territory.
To keep Dou Jianliang stabilized, she performed a complete act, giving him a meaningless golden hairpin to deliver to Liang Camp—merely to make him believe she truly placed her hopes in him.
Regarding the Battle of Majia Liang, whether it was his sole doing or had the Jiang Family's approval, he still couldn't produce evidence. Based solely on his one-sided account, Wen Yu naturally wouldn't be so presumptuous as to trust him outright.
Her goal was to ensure she wouldn't be controlled by Dou Jianliang, then use the beacon fire and the large-scale troop movements from various camps to draw Liang Camp's attention to this mountain convent.
Her wrist had been gripped so tightly it began to ache, as if branded with something permanent.
Wen Yu couldn't give him an answer for a long time.
Zheng Hu, watching from afar, saw Xiao Li holding Wen Yu's wrist and assumed they had already reconciled. Hoping to make Wen Yu feel some pity for Xiao Li, he shouted loudly: "Sister-in-law, my second brother hasn't slept for three days and nights! The moment he returned to camp and heard you were in trouble, he turned around and came here without even dismounting!"
The address "sister-in-law" pierced Wen Yu's heart like a shallow cut. She finally looked at Xiao Li and said: "You didn't need to come personally."
Xiao Li silently watched her, his gaze in that moment so heavy that Wen Yu couldn't meet his eyes.
A dried bamboo leaf from their passage through the bamboo grove clung to the shoulder guard of his armor. Avoiding his gaze, Wen Yu reached up to remove it, but before her hand could touch his shoulder armor, the hand gripping her wrist suddenly tightened. She stumbled forward into his embrace, which reeked of blood.
A powerful palm pressed against her back, forcing her raised wrist against his shoulder guard.
This was a solid, forceful embrace.
Xiao Li's arms tightened around her, one hand clamping so firmly around her waist that the bloodstains on his armor smeared her snow-white cloak into disarray. Burying his face in the fur collar of her cloak and her half-updone black hair, he breathed heavily—his breaths so deep and labored, like a wounded beast filled with pain and despair.
No matter how unwilling, he had no way to deal with her anymore.
Pressed sideways against his cold breastplate, Wen Yu could hear nothing but the wind and the pounding of his heartbeat through the armor, like someone beating a muffled drum.
An inexplicable bitterness rose in her chest.
This seemed to be the only genuine embrace they had ever shared.
Xiao Li's voice, extremely suppressed and painfully fierce, sounded in her ear: "Are you this cruel to everyone?""
He was so close that his warm breath entirely enveloped her ear, intimate like lovers' whispers.
The hand on her back pressed with such force that it wrinkled her cloak, as if trying to pierce through the fabric, through flesh and bone, to tightly grasp the beating heart in her chest and demand whether she possessed any genuine feeling.
But what he said was: "I won't like you anymore, Wen Yu."
Yet the arm clamped around her waist showed no intention of loosening, instead tightening even further.
Enduring the pain in her back, Wen Yu finally felt the ache in her chest begin to dissipate.Her hand resting on Xiao Li's shoulder slowly clenched into a fist, as she struggled to suppress all emotions, letting out a soft, calm "Mm."
Xiao Li's breathing grew heavier. Though he was the one holding her, in that moment he seemed like a collapsing mountain, relying entirely on Wen Yu's support to remain standing amidst the wind and snow that had intensified once more.
It seemed to take immense effort for him to whisper painfully yet fiercely by her ear: "I too will marry another woman and have children with her."
His breaths were filled with Wen Yu's scent and the fragrance of her hair. His chest felt so stifled, so swollen, and so sharply painful it seemed to scream.
Xiao Li felt as if he were about to explode.
If he were to burst into a mess of blood and flesh scattered across the earth, would she feel pain? Would she spare him another glance?
After a long silence, Wen Yu still uttered only a very soft "Alright."
Alright.
That word seemed to shatter Xiao Li's last shred of hope. He heavily closed his eyes, red with piercing pain, and when he opened them again, all emotions appeared to have been suppressed.
Releasing his tight grip on Wen Yu, he took a step back and said, "You may go."
Wen Yu gazed at him steadily for a moment before turning and walking toward Dou Jianliang, who had been pinned to the ground by his earlier arrow.
Xiao Li's arrow had been aimed at Dou Jianliang's right chest. By now, the bleeding had likely clogged the wound, making the blood seeping from the arrow hole less horrifying. Instead, blood continuously trickled from the corner of his mouth—perhaps the arrow had damaged other organs.
Wen Yu half-knelt before him and said, "You know you won't survive this, but your wife, children, parents, and all your clansmen are indeed still imprisoned in the Southern Chen dungeons. Tell me truthfully: did the Jiang Family participate in the Battle of Majia Ridge? If so, what evidence exists? Colluding with the enemy and treason are crimes punishable by the extermination of nine generations. If it wasn't your doing alone, at least your Dou clan won't face complete annihilation."
By now, how could Dou Jianliang not realize he had fallen into Wen Yu's trap earlier?
Though resentment flickered in his eyes, he understood his fate was sealed. Staring fixedly in one direction, murky tears rolled down his cheeks: "It was me... I was blinded by greed, deceived... deceived by that Bandit Pei's treacherous scheme."
With great difficulty, he recounted how Yu Jingwen had schemed to make him plan the Majia Ridge incident. As if seeking some assurance, he looked at Wen Yu, his words interspersed with gasps: "The plan... was indeed proposed by me... but it was also approved... by Chancellor Jiang. Those two golden leaf tokens... were the sign of approval. Had he not given me these... golden leaves... I wouldn't have dared... to undertake this... head-risking endeavor."
Wen Yu asked calmly, "There was no letter, nor any trusted follower from the Jiang Family, correct?"
Dou Jianliang nodded with difficulty.
Wen Yu pressed further, "Where are those two golden leaf tokens now?"
Trembling, Dou Jianliang retrieved them from his chest.
He had been carrying them all along.Wen Yu took it and wrapped it in a handkerchief, saying to him: "For crimes you committed, I won't reduce your punishment by one bit; for crimes not yours, I won't add an ounce of blame either. You masterminded the vicious plot at Majialiang that trapped and slaughtered Wei's troops. Twenty thousand wronged souls await justice in the underworld. Dou Jianliang, you brought this upon yourself. But since you acted under the Jiang Family's orders after proposing the scheme, your entire clan won't be exterminated. I'll protect relatives beyond the five degrees of mourning."
After saying this, Wen Yu stood and looked at Gongsun Sanniang: "These past days, I've been indebted to your care."
Gongsun Sanniang had been utterly shocked upon learning her identity, though it soon made sense. Given the urgent circumstances then, she couldn't dwell on the astonishment. Witnessing how Wen Yu completely outmaneuvered Dou Jianliang left her in profound admiration.
Now being thanked by Wen Yu, she hurriedly declined the courtesy.
Wen Yu said: "Your previous assignment should be concluded. I'd like to hire you as my escort for the next leg - would you accept this job?"
Gongsun Sanniang glanced at Xiao Li before responding readily: "Accepted."
Wen Yu said: "Payment will be settled after I reunite with my people."
With that, she strode directly before Xiao Li and calmly stated her demand: "I helped you capture the traitor Dou Jianliang without costing you a single soldier. You'll gain another major merit with Wei Qishan. In exchange, I request two fast horses - surely not overstepping bounds?"
Xiao Li stared fixedly at her, eyes slightly reddened, but ultimately ordered Zheng Hu: "Tiger, give her two horses."
Zheng Hu never expected things to unfold this way and protested urgently: "But Second Brother..."
Xiao Li seemed unable to contain his fury any longer and shouted: "Give them to her!"
Wen Yu's cloak and dress still bore bloodstains from their earlier embrace, her gaze steady yet resolute as she met Xiao Li's eyes.
Zheng Hu quickly brought two warhorses.
Wen Yu mounted without looking back at anyone, immediately whipping her horse to gallop away through the heavy snow.
Gongsun Sanniang soon spurred her horse to follow.
Xiao Li seemed to finally reach his limit, suddenly coughing up blood.
Having gone three days without sleep and aggravating old wounds during the barbarian pursuit, he'd pushed himself to the brink.
Zheng Hu, Song Qin and others exclaimed "Second Brother!" and "Prefect!" as they rushed to surround him.
Breathing the icy air that pierced his lungs, Xiao Li wanted to say he was fine when urgent hoofbeats approached again.
Wen Yu dismounted and stopped before him.
Xiao Li wiped blood from his lips with his hand, unwilling to show his current wretched state, asking coldly: "Weren't you leaving?"
Wen Yu said: "Night approaches. Let me send word to the Azure Guard."
She stared at him: "I'll depart after you've had your sleep."
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