The Blood Crown - Chapter 267

After the whipping ended, Yan Sikong’s consciousness was blurry, his skin, covered in bloodstains, felt as if it had been burned. With each breath, an indescribable pain spread through him. In the late winter and early spring, sweat poured down his face like apricots, and the sweat mixed with the blood on his body, soaking his white inner clothes.

The prison guards removed the glaring bloodstained clothing and, ironically, folded it carefully before placing it into a silk bag.

Shen Hexuan looked at the lacerated body, his eyes dark and deep, inscrutable. He muttered, “General Que, I admire your loyalty and courage, but you have small-mindedness and lack of greater righteousness. Your extraordinary military talent is used to follow a rebel. Tens of thousands of Dazheng soldiers have died in vain under your hand. It’s truly hateful, regrettable, and sorrowful. This whipping, let it count as you taking the punishment for your lord. If this bloodstained clothing can draw Feng Ye to Fengxiang, you may live a few more days. If he abandons you, soon your head will hang on the city wall as a warning to the world.”

Yan Sikong struggled to open his swollen eyes and glared fiercely at Shen Hexuan. “I… die with dignity.” He thought to himself how he could make Shen Hexuan die.

Shen Hexuan was slightly surprised by the look in his eyes, it seemed somewhat familiar, but having seen Que Wang before, he didn’t dwell on it. He shook his head, stopped speaking, and instructed the prison guards, “Apply some medicine to him, don’t let him die.”

“Yes.”

Shen Hexuan picked up the bloodstained clothing, gave Yan Sikong one last glance, and turned to leave.

Several prison guards carried Yan Sikong back into the cell and roughly applied medicine. Yan Sikong, in pain, was on the verge of losing consciousness but could not afford to close his eyes, fearing the guards would take advantage of his unconscious state and remove his mask.

Fortunately, the guards didn’t meddle too much, but their mouths weren’t idle. One of them, seeing Yan Sikong’s unmoving body, assumed he had passed out and teased, “This is one tough guy. Thirty lashes, and his lips are bitten to pieces, but not a sound came from him.”

“The famous masked general, how could he be an ordinary person?” another replied, “I wonder what kind of face is hidden under that mask. I’m really curious.”

“Don’t go poking around. If the prince finds out, watch your head.”

“Who am I to dare?” the guard said, “Look at him, then look at that surname Yuan guy, tsk tsk.” His tone was full of disdain.

Yan Sikong shuddered, gathering a bit of consciousness, his ears straining to listen.

“Which Yuan are you talking about? What happened?”

“That general leading the troops ambushed at Dazi Slope, surnamed Yuan, haha, you wouldn’t know in the East District, but my brothers from the East District said that guy was howling all day today, wanting to see Master Yan. When Master Yan didn’t go, he said he’d spill some secrets.”

“What secrets?”

“How should I know? The prince handed this man over to Master Yan to handle. Tomorrow when Master Yan wakes up, someone will go and report.” The guard sneered, “I think he’s trying to sell out his lord to gain favor.”

“Speaking of selling out…” another guard mocked, “Who can compare to Master Yan?”

“Shh… keep your mouth shut, or you’ll lose your life. Think of Madam Qi’s face and those rumors, don’t you get it?”

“Could it really be…?”

The conversation made Yan Sikong’s breath unsteady. He could no longer focus on the searing pain in his body. Just a few days, and Yuan Shaoxu couldn’t hold out? If he wanted to trade the Feng family army’s military secrets for freedom, with his rank, it wouldn’t be too fatal. But if he was threatening with their identities…

For a long time, due to the Yuan family’s kindness to him, he had never been able to bring himself to kill Yuan Shaoxu, even though what Yuan Shaoxu had done to him was enough to justify his death a thousand times over. Letting Yuan Shaoxu live had been his compromise, but if Yuan Shaoxu truly endangered his and Yuan Nanyu’s lives, he wouldn’t show mercy. He’d have no choice but to apologize to Yuan Mao in the afterlife.

But now, even if he wanted to kill Yuan Shaoxu, how could he act?

If Shen Hexuan really persuaded the Prince of Ning’s heir to go to Huai’an to convince Han Wang, Yuan Nanyu would have no reason to leave Pingliang. If Yuan Nanyu left, even if Chen Mu and Shen Hexuan found out about their identities, what would it matter? His goal would already have been achieved. But if Yuan Nanyu couldn’t leave, he would remain in the prison, hiding his identity. The longer this dragged on, the easier it would be for Yuan Nanyu to expose them.

Moreover, Shen Hexuan was about to send him to Fengxiang to lure Feng Ye away from Taiyuan.

All of his plans had been disrupted by Shen Hexuan!

Under the double torment of physical pain and mental anguish, he hated himself for his past softness in sparing Shen Hexuan, which had led to this troublesome enemy. He swore he would never make such a mistake again.

The pain slowly robbed him of his sanity, his worries deepening the torment of his mind and body, until he finally succumbed and fainted.

—

When Yuan Nanyu woke from his stupor, the daylight had already broken.

His body was stiff and sore, his eyes swollen to the point that he could barely open them, and his throat was dry, making it hard to speak. When his consciousness fully returned, a strange dull pain immediately took over his thoughts.

The wild and unbearable memories of the night before flooded back. He felt like a lifeless zombie, unable to move.

He begged the heavens, recalling everything, carefully discerning, hoping it was just a nightmare. But the clear pain told him it was all real.

A man, a man had…

Yuan Nanyu bit his lip hard, tears of humiliation and hatred hovering in the creases of his eyes. He raised his hand and wiped them away, unwilling to shed even a single tear for such a disgrace; otherwise, it would feel like he had lost.

Everything that happened last night, starting from the bowl of poisonous pear soup, filled his heart with hatred.

He wasn’t unaware of Chen Mu’s intentions toward Yan Sikong, but he never imagined that the woman, as Chen Mu’s concubine, would do such a crazy and shameless thing. He had let his guard down against the seemingly weak woman, and despite thinking about it a thousand times, a million times, he could never have foreseen this kind of experience.

Now, his mind was filled with the sordid and obscene images of himself and Chen Mu. The disgraceful actions under the influence of the drugs made him want to kill himself, and he wanted to mutilate Qi Manbi and Chen Mu a thousand times over!

A thousand cuts!

Ignoring the pain, Yuan Nanyu struggled to climb out of bed. He wanted to kill Qi Manbi, he wanted to kill Chen Mu, he wanted to…

His arms weakened, and his whole body tumbled from the bed, his head hitting the footstool, and immediately he saw stars.

Lying on the cold floor, he could hardly bear the humiliation. How could he live on with any face after such an insult?!

Chen Mu, Chen Mu, Chen Mu!

Yuan Nanyu let his mind wander through a thousand possible ways to take revenge on Chen Mu, but he couldn’t erase his face, his voice, his warmth, his body, his touch from his mind or his body. These things, along with the madness of the entire night, had left a deep and humiliating mark on his soul.

The bedroom door was pushed open, and a servant rushed in. “Oh, Master Yan!” The servant hurried over, “How did you fall to the ground?” He moved to help Yuan Nanyu.

Yuan Nanyu growled hoarsely, “Don’t touch me!”

The servant hesitated, “I was just going to help you back into bed, or you’ll catch a cold.”

Yuan Nanyu gritted his teeth and slowly rose from the floor. “Don’t touch me.” With his solid foundation in martial arts, he had recovered somewhat and managed to move back to the bed on his own.

“Master, should I assist you with washing…”

“Get out.”

“Yes, yes.” The servant nodded repeatedly and backed out.

Yuan Nanyu lay on the bed, his fists clenched tightly, his eyes filled with pain and murderous intent.

Master Yan.

Yes, now he was “Master Yan.” If he hadn’t been disguised as “Master Yan,” he wouldn’t have suffered all of this. He would rather endure the hardships of prison, the torment of punishment, than bear this kind of humiliation.

But who could he blame?

Was it destined for him, Yuan Nanyu, to always take the fall for Yan Sikong?

The first time, he took Yan Sikong’s place in exile to the northwest, nearly losing his life and memory. The second time, he took his place and was violated by a man.

Yuan Nanyu gave a bitter laugh, his eyes growing hazier, his chest constricted to the point where he could hardly breathe.

It seemed that if this was his fate, he had no choice but to accept it. After all, they were brothers, and such was the arrangement of destiny. How could human effort go against it?

Even if he lamented and complained, it wouldn’t help. At least they were still alive. The only thing he could do was live on, to avenge himself, to correct the mistakes he had made. No matter what happened last night, he had kept his identity a secret in order to survive.

He must live.

—

Yan Sikong alternated between unconsciousness and brief moments of awareness in prison. He even had a fever during the night, but luckily his body was strong. If it had been an ordinary person, they would have been near death by now.

He didn’t know how many days had passed, but he had learned that he would soon be sent to Fengxiang.

This meant that Feng Ye was going to Fengxiang.

He didn’t believe that Feng Ye would seek peace with the court. Whether it was negotiating with Chen Mu or submitting to the court, it was probably just a delaying tactic. With Feng Ye’s pride and arrogance, he would rather die than bow down. If outsiders didn’t understand this point and saw that Feng Ye was surrounded on all sides, they might hesitate, but Yan Sikong was sure it was all an act.

Moreover, considering how important Yuan Nanyu was to Feng Ye, it was to be expected that Feng Ye would agree to Chen Mu’s terms and personally come to Fengxiang to take someone. What was surprising was that attacking Taiyuan in a hurry wasn’t wise. How could Chen Mu trap Feng Ye in Fengxiang? Regardless of whether it succeeded, Taiyuan certainly wouldn’t fall overnight.

Feng Ye’s peace-seeking move had indeed forced Shen Hexuan and Chen Mu to act, even though they weren’t prepared.

Now, whoever seized the initiative would have a better chance at survival.

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Feng Ye will appear in the next chapter!