Chapter 228: Chapter 220: A Stunning Strike!
He was dressed in a thin, tight-fitting outfit, agile and crisp. His waist belt accentuated his wasp waist and ape-like back, making him as nimble as a leopard. In such a frigid place, he didn’t seem cold at all. In fact, Shang Ruyi, standing in his embrace, could clearly feel a familiar, fierce, burning aura emanating from his breath, even from every pore of his skin.
It enveloped her completely.
She suddenly didn’t feel cold, just a bit uncontrollable trembling.
Yu Wenye, he just appeared like this?
He’s really come!
She wanted to say something, but her lips parted in vain, her choked throat unable to utter a single word. Instead, in front of them, amidst the steaming blood gas, a deep voice slowly rose.
"Yu——Wen——Ye!"
Both of them looked up only to see Xiao Yuansui slowly walking over.
This scene wasn’t too surprising for him, after all, since the day Yu Wenye disappeared, he had been anticipating or wary of this person suddenly appearing at the most inopportune moment, under the most unexpected circumstances.
But he didn’t expect such a moment, such a situation, to truly occur within Xingluo Warehouse City.
Xiao Yuansui glanced up and down at the person in front of him, then thought for a moment, letting out a light laugh, said: "It seems, I still underestimated you."
Shang Ruyi’s heart jumped again.
The hand resting on her shoulder gently squeezed her, seemingly indicating for her to support herself, then, the figure flashed, and Yu Wenye moved in front of her.
His tall body immediately blocked the bloodshed and slaughter ahead.
Yu Wenye said in a deep voice: "You couldn’t even fathom my wife’s wisdom, how could you fathom me?"
"..."
"However, you were able to just think it through. Seems I underestimated you too."
Saying this, he lowered his eyelids and glanced around at the corpses strewn on the ground, those who were still standing but already covered in wounds, drenched in blood, and unable to fight, the Wanggang Army.
The recent chaos of killing, even if it hadn’t exhausted everyone’s strength here, had drained their fighting power.
Xiao Yuansui’s eye twitched, remained silent for a while, and said: "So those three defeats, were indeed intentional on your part?"
Yu Wenye took a deep breath, slightly raised his chin, and said: "Intentional, but also reality."
"..."
"The fact is, this Xingluo Warehouse City, you’re guarding it very well. With my current troop strength and combat power, I can’t break in."
Xiao Yuansui’s gaze grew colder: "So you used this outcome to further your plan."
By this time, those around had already realized they had fallen into a trap, Yu Wenye’s snare, but still didn’t entirely understand, and immediately someone asked: "Boss, what’s exactly his plan? He clearly already lost, why did he——"
Xiao Yuansui said: "Because he lost three battles, some of us——became complacent."
Upon hearing this, the surrounding eyes turned unanimously to Lu Yong.
At this moment, Lu Yong, whose face was covered in blood, looked unsightly, alternating between red and white, his eyes bulging with anger glaring at Yu Wenye, yet unable to utter a word. He could only lean on his blade to stabilize himself, gradually calming and gathering strength.
And beside him, someone had already said: "So we became complacent, and then?"
"Then we let our guard down, thinking everything around Huangtu Ridge was under control, thus we transported grain to Wanggang Village three times!"
"So you’re saying all three grain shipments——"
Xiao Yuansui nodded and then looked up at Yu Wenye: "A brilliant move."
"..."
"You not only hijacked the grain carts but also wiped out the grain transporters cleanly, so we were unaware of what happened, while Wanggang Village thought I, Xiao Yuansui, was ungrateful, deepening their suspicion towards me; finally you sent someone over there to set a fire, burning their stored grain. They then, in desperation, with anger towards me, came forward."
Speaking till here, he let out a bitter laugh and said: "Under such circumstances, they won’t listen to any explanation."
Yu Wenye calmly said: "I said, this Xingluo Warehouse City, you guarded it well."
At this point, he fell silent.
Perhaps the people around only heard this sentence, but Xiao Yuansui knew, Yu Wenye had an unsaid second half of the sentence—that is——
But the human heart, you didn’t manage well.
Just like the first day Shang Ruyi was abducted into Xingluo Warehouse City, she said almost the same thing—not that I could see through them, but rather, Mr. Xiao, you couldn’t hold them down.
He looked up at these two people, and suddenly let out a bitter laugh.
This couple appeared loving, yet seemed to have some unspeakable estrangement; but even if there was true estrangement, they had a nearly seamless match, astonishingly so.
With a bitter laugh, Xiao Yuansui said: "You’re praising wrongly."
"..."
"If I had truly defended this Warehouse City well, you wouldn’t have gotten in, nor would you have hidden under my nose for so long."
Yu Wenye said indifferently, "Well, you can’t really be blamed for that."
"..."
"Huangtu Ridge is so vast, and you have limited manpower. Even if you can guard all the passes, you can’t guard every cliff and mountain wall."
Xiao Yuansui trembled.
Standing behind Yu Wenye, Shang Ruyi’s breath also paused. She instinctively said, "You, you are—"
Although she knew she shouldn’t be distracted at this moment, upon hearing her voice, Yu Wenye still turned his face. In fact, being so close, Shang Ruyi noticed upon closer inspection that his body and hands bore numerous scratches. Even on his back, near the shoulder, his clothes had a large patch of brown-red stain, which was obviously dried blood!
Yet, Yu Wenye’s expression showed no hint of pain.
He only turned his face to glance at her, his eyes conveying a few gentle strokes amid the calm, as if a hand lightly brushed against her soul, then he said solemnly, "I’m fine."
"...!"
Shang Ruyi’s heart skipped a beat again.
She hurriedly lowered her head as if trying to restrain something.
And at that instant, the silent Lu Yong, whose face was livid, finally erupted, shouting angrily, "I’ll kill you!"
As he spoke, he swung the knife he had been leaning on, a knife stained with someone else’s fresh blood, which almost congealed into ice under the cold wind. At this moment, swinging it, countless frozen blood droplets scattered, forming a visible whirlwind. And amid that whirlwind, the blade carried cold fury and immense force, viciously hacking towards Yu Wenye.
Shang Ruyi was shocked: "Careful!"
But at the moment these two words escaped her lips, Yu Wenye’s face had already turned cold, and he said to her at the same time, "Close your eyes!"
Only two words, crisp and swift, and he had charged forward.
Shang Ruyi, however, did not heed his words.
She opened her eyes wide, watching Yu Wenye stride forward, his long arms outreaching, and the Mo Blade he had been holding upside down suddenly drew a dazzling arc of light, intersecting with the whirlwind of frozen blood droplets, swiftly slicing the whirlwind into two.
And simultaneously being cleaved into two was Lu Yong—
As they passed each other, Yu Wenye merely twisted his body, and the blood-red knife barely grazed his shoulder while the Mo Blade in his hand, bypassing behind Lu Yong’s head, suddenly turned around and forcefully chopped down on the back of Lu Yong’s neck!
A soft sizzle sounded.
The sound was very light, almost a faint noise that a gust of wind could carry away, but everyone present heard it clearly. They could even hear the dull thud of the blade cutting through every bone, and then in the next instant, the Mo Blade swung out from Lu Yong’s lower abdomen, covered in a spray of blood!
His entire body was sliced into two thin halves, falling to the ground.
Blood, along with the unbearable sight of broken bones and viscera, splattered onto the snow, instantly submerged by the previously deep accumulation of bloody water!
"Ah—!"
A mournful scream echoed!
But that sound did not come from the deceased, because Yu Wenye’s knife swiftly severed his throat, rendering him unable to make any sound before losing his vitality. The real scream came from a member of the Wanggang Army who witnessed the scene.
They had fought everywhere, slaughtering other tribes for grain and territory.
Yet, they had never seen killing like this, at least never seen someone from Wanggang Village killed so effortlessly and without dignity!
The person standing at the forefront clearly saw every detail and was instantly driven insane by fear!
As for the others, even if not crazed, their faces turned pale after the bloody spectacle, each feeling weak-legged, unable even to grasp their weapons.
Being outsmarted and trapped in an ambush wasn’t enough to break them.
But killing like this was enough to shatter what was already a fragile, desperate heart.
The sole person not shattered was Xiao Yuansui.
But even his bright eyes lost a moment’s brightness at this instant.
Yet Yu Wenye remained unchanged in expression from start to finish, his swift form even avoiding the airborne splashing blood, merely waving his hand as the Mo Blade swung cleaned of bloodstains, then he quickly retreated a few steps to stand before Shang Ruyi.
When he turned his face, he realized this young lady had remained wide-eyed.
He frowned and said sternly, "I told you to close your eyes!"
Even the person at the front from Wanggang Village was frightened mad, yet she—
He felt a vague concern, but upon looking at Shang Ruyi’s face again, though pale, her eye muscles involuntarily twitched, she raised her head to look at him and spoke. Her gaze and voice seemed calmer than when she first saw him.
She said, "After all, this won’t be the last time."