Chapter 1385 - 1061: You Nearly Fooled Me

Yu Wenye half-kneeled on the ground, still protecting Nie Chong in his arms, one hand pressing forcefully on the wound. Blood flowed down his arm, staining half of his body crimson. Bathed in such blood, Yu Wenye seemed cold and sharp, like a sword drenched in blood; even though it hadn’t yet emerged from its scabbard, its edge was already evident.

He said coldly, "You’re waiting for your ambush troops."

Hearing the words "ambush troops," the people subdued by Yu Wenye’s men drew a sharp breath, clearly not expecting Yu Wenye to know, and Shan Shiyu’s eyes suddenly dimmed—Yu Wenye knew, which meant...

At this moment, a whistle suddenly sounded in the heavy darkness of the night, coming from the direction Shan Shiyu had just been looking at expectantly.

At this moment, his heart sank.

Even though nothing could be seen, even though there was only that far-off whistle in the night, he, deeply understanding military strategy and deception, immediately realized that the ambush troops he had arranged around had been seized by Yu Wenye’s men. That whistle was the secret signal.

Regret, reluctance, anger, and despair, like multiple poisonous snakes entwining around him, their fangs sinking deeply into his heart. Shan Shiyu took a few heavy breaths to suppress these emotions. He raised his head to look at Yu Wenye, the red of blood on the other seemed to also dye his vision. He asked heavily, "How did you, how did you see through it?"

Yu Wenye calmly said, "I didn’t see through it."

"..."

"You did everything thoroughly. To deceive Shantong’er and Mu Xian, you didn’t even tell your own people in advance. That’s why you detained those who stopped you from surrendering in front of them, just to let them go back and tell me, to reassure me."

"..."

"Even—"

Speaking, Yu Wenye looked up at the soldiers behind him. By now, the uneasy emotions had slowly accumulated, making these men increasingly restless. But with Shan Shiyu subdued, and several commanders detained, without a leader and orders, they not only dared not act rashly but were even more afraid of the consequences of acting rashly, possibly being at someone else’s mercy. Moreover, they came tonight to surrender, so they could only continually make uneasy noises, yet none would come forward.

Yu Wenye slowly withdrew his gaze and said, "Even they, you didn’t tell."

"..."

"Because only then could you deceive me."

Shan Shiyu gritted his teeth, "Unfortunately, everything I did still didn’t deceive you."

Yu Wenye replied, "You almost deceived me."

"...!"

Shan Shiyu’s breath caught, his eyes widened, "Then—"

Yu Wenye said, "You only ignored one thing: your age."

"..."

"At your age, you must have a wife and children."

"..."

"You reunited with Shantong’er, and in the whole evening, besides telling him you would surrender to us, there should have been some time to talk about family ties, to discuss your experiences over the years. Yet from beginning to end, I didn’t hear Shantong’er or Nie Chong mention a single thing about you."

"..."

"So I wondered if you were deliberately not mentioning it, so that no one would notice this matter."

"..."

"Thus, I had people investigate overnight near Luoyang and at your former post. They quickly discovered you have a wife, children, and two consorts, but these people are all now within Luoyang City, ’protected’ by Liang Shide."

Shan Shiyu’s face instantly turned pale.

Beside him, Shantong’er’s small body swayed, as if he might collapse at any moment.

Yu Wenye glanced at him, said nothing, and then addressed Shan Shiyu, "It’s also for this reason that Liang Shide dared to entrust so many troops to you, allowing you to guard the northern key point of Hulao Pass, Luoyang City. With your family in Luoyang City, how could you have no reservations and decide to come over to us?"

Shan Shiyu was unable to say anything.

Because everything he did was already grasped by Yu Wenye.

From recognizing Shantong’er on the battlefield, from hearing Shantong’er whisper that sentence, to guessing he would find a way to meet himself, he had arranged everything. But he also knew that Shantong’er was naive and innocent, maybe easy to deceive, but the people he brought might not be; even if he could truly deceive their men, Yu Wenye was more skilled and strategic, he couldn’t deceive him without thorough preparation.

Therefore, he didn’t inform anyone in advance, because someone might inadvertently reveal a flaw in front of Shantong’er, and Yu Wenye, being so cautious, would certainly investigate thoroughly if he noticed, which would ruin everything if he found out.

He was confident he had done everything to perfection, yet he didn’t foresee the biggest flaw that he couldn’t cover or mend.

After a long sigh, Shan Shiyu raised his head again, his gaze calm but devoid of warmth or light, lifeless like ashes. He stared blankly at Yu Wenye, "Now I’ve lost, fallen into your hands. What will you do? Kill me?"

Someone nearby immediately breathed heavily.

Yu Wenye coldly looked at him, "Now, I won’t kill you yet."

"..."

"Since you didn’t inform the people at Hulao Pass that your surrender was a scheme, it means they are all still prepared to surrender to our Dasheng Dynasty."

"..."

"I need to take a living you there, to retake Hulao Pass."

As for what will happen after retaking it, he didn’t say.

Nor did anyone know.

Shan Shiyu understood that now, his life, and everything else, was in the hands of the other side. He stopped struggling and saying anything unnecessary, just let Shen Tu Tai drag him up from the ground, one arm hanging limply, the pain making his eyes red. Yet the other side showed no intention of healing him, treating him like a corpse with breath, and he only regarded himself as a corpse.

Until he stood up, his gaze finally met Shantong’er’s reddened eyes beside him.

When he spoke those words to Yu Wenye earlier, each sentence involved Shantong’er, yet had nothing to do with him. He was only a trusted tool, then a used tool.

Shan Shiyu saw him, wanted to avert his eyes, but felt them fixed on himself, as if trying to understand, yet wanting to ask clearly. But he didn’t speak, after calling Nie Chong’s name, it was as if something had been drained from him, leaving just a shell standing woodenly, ready to collapse at any moment.

Shan Shiyu’s Adam’s apple rolled up and down, looking at his brother whom he hadn’t seen for ages, yet in the instant of reunion had been used by him, wanting to say something.

But before he could open his mouth, Yu Wenye beside him suddenly called out, "Nie Chong!"