Chapter 231: Chapter 222: Maybe What I Lack Is Not Luck
"Be careful!"
In that instant when the chill light struck, Shang Ruyi suddenly spread her arms and shielded herself right in front of Yu Wenye!
At the same time, she closed her eyes.
No one understood what was happening, not even Yu Wenye had time to react at that moment, just hearing the sharp whoosh pass by their ears, suddenly, an arrow skimmed past them, and thudded into the door frame behind them!
That soft sound, though faint, struck like a thunderbolt at some people’s hearts.
Yu Wenye suddenly widened his eyes.
And Shang Ruyi, she held her breath, didn’t even tremble, just stood there rigidly, but after a long while, the anticipated pain and death did not come, she somewhat blankly opened her eyes, looked at the group of stunned people ahead, then lowered her head, looked at herself.
Nothing happened!
She didn’t die, not even a scratch!
The joy of escaping great danger surged up all at once, she let out a big sigh of relief, a smile immediately emerged on her face, but then, a cold, gloomy voice sounded above her head—
"What are you doing!?"
Shang Ruyi suddenly cringed, hurriedly turned back, only to see Yu Wenye glaring at her with a steel-blue face, with a look so vicious it almost seemed he’d tear her apart the next moment and swallow her down. Shang Ruyi had been married to him for months, yet never seen him so angry, she was shocked, instinctively said: "I, I—"
But, she couldn’t explain.
Actually, just now, when Yu Wenye was confronting Xiao Yuansui, both almost perfectly planning without missing a move, she suddenly thought, they both overlooked one person.
It was Hua Ziyang.
Ever since Xiao Yuansui said something to him, he turned and disappeared into the crowd, and hadn’t been seen since, but this man, and his superior archery, were always lingering in Shang Ruyi’s mind, and when Yu Wenye’s arrangements blocked all of Xiao Yuansui’s escape routes, she suddenly understood why Xiao Yuansui wanted Hua Ziyang to leave.
A Divine Archer, at times like this, is an escape route!
But if she rashly told Yu Wenye at this time, not only would it fail to stop a skilled Divine Archer, it might even disrupt Yu Wenye’s mindset, causing him to make mistakes in his confrontation with Xiao Yuansui, if that were the case, they would really be finished.
So, she could only keep silent, yet pay attention to everything around, even when sensing it was the timing for the opponent to act, she voluntarily moved in front of Yu Wenye.
Yet unexpectedly, the opponent still held back.
But all of this, there was no time to explain now, especially seeing Yu Wenye grinding his teeth as if he was about to tear her apart in anger, she stammered even more, unable to speak.
Actually, she wasn’t wrong in her feeling.
At this moment, Yu Wenye’s eyes were bloodshot and red, the kind of unprecedented overwhelming anger almost tore away his reason, he just wished to instantly chew up this woman who foolishly disregarded her life!
But fortunately, he still retained a trace of reason.
He fiercely glared at Shang Ruyi: "I’ll deal with you later!"
After saying that, he roughly pulled her behind him, then took a deep breath to calm himself, looked behind, at the arrow nailed to the door frame, the shaft still slightly quivering, though a distance from them, he knew well it was not a missed shot.
But a warning.
Thinking of this, he took a deep breath, slowly raised his head to look at Xiao Yuansui opposite, his gaze went beyond him, looking behind him.
Within this Xingluo Warehouse City, houses stood densely, coupled with various steep terrains as reliance, even though his eyes were like a falcon’s, he couldn’t locate the hidden bowman within such a short time.
Moreover, it’s a Divine Archer.
But at this moment, this Divine Archer had suppressed everything here under the arrows, the tight tension in the air like a bowstring pulled to a full moon, though not yet breaking, everyone felt a suffocating sense of being prey, even the people of Wanggang Village instinctively held their breaths, and Yu Wenye’s men immediately rushed to the front, using their bodies as shields for him.
Yu Wenye simply waved his hand: "Stand down."
"General—"
"Stand down!"
Those men had no choice but to grit their teeth, cautiously retreated two steps, but dared not be too far from him. And Yu Wenye lifted his head toward Xiao Yuansui, his gaze slightly flickering.
"So, you have a backup plan too."
Only then did Xiao Yuansui withdraw his astounded gaze from Shang Ruyi, his expression complex, remaining silent for a while, before regaining the composure he had during negotiations with Yu Wenye, though his breath seemed a bit unstable when he spoke: "Naturally."
Yu Wenye narrowed his eyes slightly: "So, what do you want to do?"
"..."
"Fight me to a mutual destruction?"
Xiao Yuansui glanced behind him again, that young woman was still somewhat shocked, watching him nervously, yet hadn’t noticed, when Yu Wenye had grabbed her roughly just now, distinct finger marks had emerged on her wrist, showing how angry Yu Wenye was earlier, he almost couldn’t control his strength at that instant.
In a place unseen by others, Xiao Yuansui sighed quietly.
Then, when he looked at Yu Wenye again, there was a trace of openness in his eyes, and he said, "Since Young Master Yu Wen has given me a way out, how can I not give Young Master Yu Wen one as well?"
Yu Wenye said, "How do you plan to take this path?"
Xiao Yuansui said, "I can withdraw from Xingluo Granary."
As soon as he finished speaking, the people behind him became anxious and stepped forward: "Master—"
Before they could finish speaking, he raised his hand to stop them and then said, "But I have one condition."
"Speak."
"I want to take away everyone here who is still alive."
"..."
"They followed me here. The ones who died, I have let them down, but I cannot let down the brothers who are still alive. I must let them return alive to Wanggang Village!"
As soon as these words were spoken, those who had been reluctant and angry suddenly fell silent. Everyone looked at each other, seemingly feeling a despair of being trapped in a hopeless situation, and at this moment, they could only wait for the final judgment.
Yu Wenye slightly raised his eyebrow: "Is that all?"
Upon hearing this, the people on their side were surprised, and even Shang Ruyi couldn’t help but poke her head out from behind him to look at him, but was forcibly pressed down by Yu Wenye, nearly pushing her into the ground. Shang Ruyi could only obediently shrink back.
Xiao Yuansui immediately chuckled and said, "Young Master Yu Wen, indeed you can see through people’s hearts."
He took a deep breath and said, "I also want a hundred carts of food."
Yu Wenye said, "Twenty carts."
Xiao Yuansui frowned but quickly said, "Eighty carts."
"Thirty."
"Fifty carts!"
"Alright."
With just a few words exchanged between them, everything was agreed upon before the people around could react.
Once they finished speaking, the surrounding people had nothing more to say; there was a sense of bewilderment, but at this time, no one could raise their swords anymore.
Life and death were decided, victory and defeat settled.
Xiao Yuansui looked at Yu Wenye one last time and smiled bitterly: "It seems I attacked Xingluo Granary too early."
Yu Wenye said, "For those with ambitions for the world, it’s never too early, nor too late."
Xiao Yuansui said, "If it’s not too early or too late, then how did today’s crushing defeat happen?"
Yu Wenye looked at him seriously and replied, "You were just, lacking a bit of luck."
Xiao Yuansui thought for a moment and suddenly smiled, saying, "Perhaps what I lack is not luck, but—"
He looked one last time at the slender figure behind Yu Wenye, seemingly frail yet moments ago, willing to stand in front of that man who could almost stir the world and aspire to greatness. His eyes carried a complex expression that finally transformed into a helpless smile, then he withdrew his gaze and said calmly, "Enough."
After saying this, he gently waved his hand.
Although this gesture meant nothing to those around, everyone immediately understood that he was signaling Hua Ziyang hidden in the shadows, and subsequently, they felt the tension in the air dissipate, without knowing what they noticed, the suffocating feeling as prey faded from everyone’s hearts.
At this moment, a group of people suddenly arrived from behind them.
It was Mu Xian and several armored Vice Generals leading a large troop rushing in. Seeing the rivers of blood and corpses everywhere, they nearly drew their swords but were stopped by Yu Wenye’s command: "Stop, let them leave!"
Upon hearing this, Mu Xian and others heeded his words.
A few Vice Generals, not knowing what had transpired, especially seeing Yu Wenye confronting those people, were worried and said, "Great General, what is—"
Yu Wenye said, "The imperial decree is to seize Xingluo Granary. Now that Xingluo Granary is ours, the rest is to follow my arrangements. Now you withdraw and escort all outside captives to the mountain gate, then prepare fifty carts of food to let them leave without harming anyone."
Those people immediately understood, and several Vice Generals took the order and turned away with their men.
Yu Wenye said, "You may leave."
Xiao Yuansui looked at them one last time, bowed, and was about to leave.
But just as they were about to leave, Yu Wenye suddenly said, "Wait a moment."
Those people immediately grew tense again, fearing a change of heart, several tightened their grip on their swords, but saw Yu Wenye slowly approaching, lifting his gaze to look at the dense houses behind them, the dangerous mountains, then turned back to see the arrow still embedded in the doorframe as a warning.
Finally, he glared hard at Shang Ruyi.
Yu Wenye suddenly said, "Tell that person that this arrow, someday I will return it to him!"