The Blood Crown - Chapter 308

The ambush on the supply convoy was carried out by Zhuo Letai’s Duoyan Guards, the Jurchens’ most formidable and terrifying heavy cavalry. Before the fall of the Seven Northern Prefectures of Liaobei, the Liaodong Cavalry had been the backbone of resistance against the Duoyan Guards. Now, the only force in the Central Plains capable of directly opposing them was the Feng Family Army’s Fenglang Cavalry.

 

The Feng Family Army’s elite forces were divided into three units. The cavalry was the Fenglang Cavalry, composed of elite soldiers personally selected by the Feng Family Army’s commander-in-chief. The infantry was the Suiran Army, named after a passage from The Art of War: “He who uses troops skillfully may be compared to a ‘suiran,’” a mythical snake of Changshan said to be exceptionally agile and capable of mutual coordination. “Strike its head, and the tail attacks. Strike its tail, and the head strikes. Strike its body, and both head and tail attack.” Drawing inspiration from ancient military texts, Feng Jianping devised and refined the Changshan Formation, training the fearless Suiran Army. The artillery unit was the Qianji Battalion, equipped with powerful weapons such as cannons and firearms. These three units were the foundation of the Feng Family Army’s reputation for invincibility.

 

Because they were trump cards, these units were rarely deployed. The fact that Zhuo Letai had dispatched the Duoyan Guards meant he had obtained accurate intelligence, confirming their suspicion of a traitor within the court.

 

Fortunately, Feng Ye had sent Yuan Nanyu with the Fenglang Cavalry to respond, and Xu Feng’s reinforcements arrived as quickly as possible, preventing the Duoyan Guards from easily succeeding.

 

After a day and a night of anxious waiting, Yuan Nanyu and Xu Feng finally returned to Guangning. The battle had resulted in heavy casualties. The supply convoy had been split apart by the Duoyan Guards. If not for Yuan Nanyu’s desperate resistance and entanglement with the enemy until Xu Feng’s reinforcements arrived, the entire mission might have been lost. Even so, more than half of the supplies had been seized by the Jurchens.

 

Yuan Nanyu, lightly wounded and filled with the anger and frustration of defeat, came to Feng Ye to apologize.

 

Feng Ye, with a grim expression, asked, “How much of the supplies were lost? What about Hun’er?”

 

Yuan Nanyu replied in a low voice, “Over ten thousand shi. Hun’er is safe and has been sent to the courier station.”

 

Yan Sikong exhaled in relief. “You returned, and Hun’er returned. That is fortune amid misfortune.”

 

Feng Ye, too, seemed relieved. “I had prepared for the worst. The fact that you and Hun’er returned safely, and not all the supplies were lost, is already a good outcome. Que Wang, you’ve done well. Stand up.”

 

Yuan Nanyu, unwilling to accept the situation, said, “There must be a traitor in the army! The Duoyan Guards came prepared and had been lying in ambush.”

 

“The grain was dispatched from the capital. I’ve already instructed my uncle to investigate,” Feng Ye said coldly. “If I uncover the traitor, I will exterminate his entire clan!”

 

“Could the traitor be…” Yuan Nanyu clenched his fists, gritting his teeth. “Someone from Chen Mu’s faction?”

 

Yan Sikong nodded. “It’s very likely. I burned his forty thousand shi of grain, so he colluded with Zhuo Letai to rob ours.”

 

“Shameless!” Yuan Nanyu said angrily. “To fight for the throne, the once-proud Crown Prince of Dazhong conspires with barbarians. How is this any different from treason?”

 

“Even if we know, there’s no evidence,” Yan Sikong said gravely. “For now, we are truly caught in a pincer attack.”

 

Guangning’s situation was already perilous. With the grain supplies raided and Chen Mu secretly aiding Zhuo Letai, it was a disastrous blow. Could it be that fate had decreed the fall of Liaodong?

 

Feng Ye rubbed his temples. “Que Wang, go and rest. Summon Xu Feng to see me.”

 

Yuan Nanyu saluted. “Yes.”

 

Yan Sikong rose. “I’ll escort him back and check on Hun’er.”

 

Feng Ye nodded in agreement.

 

The brothers left the room together.

 

Yan Sikong looked at Yuan Nanyu with concern. “Yuer, your injuries…”

 

“Just flesh wounds. It’s nothing.” Yuan Nanyu’s eyes, filled with fury, stared ahead, as though he were still on the battlefield, face-to-face with the enemy he wished to destroy.

 

“I’ll accompany you home to tend to your wounds.”

 

“There’s no need.” Yuan Nanyu forced his tone to sound casual. “Second Brother, you have other matters to attend to. I’ll first take care of the wounded.”

 

“No, you must treat your injuries first.”

 

“I’m a doctor. I know my own condition. It’s fine.” Yuan Nanyu took a deep breath and looked deeply at Yan Sikong. “Second Brother, we can defend Liaodong, just like we did twenty years ago, right?”

 

Yan Sikong replied firmly, “Yes. Zhuo Letai will never step foot into Guangning in this lifetime.”

 

Yuan Nanyu nodded resolutely before turning and leaving.

 

Yan Sikong opened his mouth to offer words of advice but ultimately held back. He knew that for Yuan Nanyu, nothing was more humiliating and infuriating than losing to Chen Mu.

 

Even though the direct opponent was Zhuo Letai’s Duoyan Guards, Chen Mu’s shadow loomed unmistakably behind the scenes, impossible to ignore.

 

Yan Sikong’s heart ached for Yuan Nanyu, but he was powerless to help.

 

It’s said no one can suffer in place of another, yet it was Yuan Nanyu who endured exile for him, Yuan Nanyu who bore the ink punishment and could no longer show his face, and Yuan Nanyu who suffered Chen Mu’s humiliation. And this foolish younger brother, despite remembering everything, held no resentment toward him.

 

What he owed the Yuan family, he could never repay in a lifetime.

 

—

 

After seeing Yuan Nanyu off, Yan Sikong went to the courier station to check on Feng Hun.

 

Perhaps due to having accompanied Feng Ye on too many campaigns, the chaotic battle of this ambush seemed to have had no effect on it. Feng Hun was leisurely tearing apart a piece of mutton, surrounded by several wolves.

 

When Yan Sikong entered the room, the few wolves immediately stood up in a defensive posture, baring their teeth at him.

 

Feng Hun let out a low growl, and they all obediently sat down.

 

“Huner.” Yan Sikong walked over and noticed that the fur along Feng Hun’s temples had turned gray, and its once mighty physique was no longer as strong. A wave of sadness filled his heart.

 

Feng Hun also stood up and walked over to Yan Sikong, gently nudging his chest with its large head. Unable to resist, Yan Sikong embraced its head.

 

The once mighty, lion-like one-eyed giant wolf had now aged. It seemed the sharpest weapon in the world was time itself, which kills everything in heaven, earth, and the mortal realm without shedding a drop of blood, and there’s no defense against it.

 

A wave of sorrow surged within Yan Sikong.

 

Feng Hun seemed to sense his sadness and licked his face, making small whining noises.

 

Yan Sikong rubbed its thick fur, speaking softly, “Huner, it’s so good that you came to Liaodong. I’ve missed you.”

 

Feng Hun continued to whimper.

 

A gentle smile appeared on Yan Sikong’s lips. “These must be your pups, right? They’ve grown well, but none of them are as big and mighty as you.”

 

The few wolves eyed the mutton on the ground hungrily but didn’t dare approach without Feng Hun’s permission.

 

Yan Sikong sat on the ground, accompanying Feng Hun as it ate the meat, talking to it softly. He remembered the first time he met it, when he was so scared he shrank into a corner and couldn’t move, as if it had been just yesterday. Yet, in the blink of an eye, ten years had passed.

 

After a long time, the door was pushed open.

 

Without needing to turn around, Yan Sikong knew it was Feng Ye.

 

Feng Hun dropped the meat in its mouth and excitedly rushed toward Feng Ye. Feng Ye embraced it, his voice trembling, “Huner.”

 

Feng Hun whimpered, desperately rubbing against Feng Ye, as if it wanted to merge into him, expressing its longing without reservation.

 

Feng Ye kept soothing it, and after a long time, it calmed down.

 

“Huner says it wants to follow me always,” Feng Ye said softly. “No matter where I go.”

 

Yan Sikong stroked Feng Hun’s back. “Wolves are more loyal than humans.”

 

A fleeting shadow of melancholy passed through Feng Ye’s eyes. “Do you know, it was Huner who found that Xi Pa(red veil) back then?”

 

Yan Sikong looked at Feng Ye in surprise.

 

“That Xi Pa was held by someone who looked like you, but had already been burned beyond recognition. I truly thought it was…” As he recalled that scene, Feng Ye still shuddered with fear. When he thought there was no more Yan Sikong in this world, he only wanted to follow him into the afterlife. “Later, I had the coroner examine the body and found that the person died from a sword wound, which made me sure it wasn’t you.”

 

Yan Sikong thought to himself that only Ali could have done such a thing. He hadn’t realized Ali was so sharp-witted, even going so far as to fake his own death by finding a corpse to create the illusion that he had died, all to avoid Feng Ye’s search. Unfortunately, it didn’t work.

 

Feng Ye opened his arms and pulled Yan Sikong into an embrace.

 

Yan Sikong’s body stiffened but made no response.

 

They sat together, hugging and leaning against Feng Hun, looking as if nothing had changed, but everything had.

 

Feng Ye pressed his cheek against Yan Sikong’s and whispered, “At that time, I thought that as long as you were alive, I’d do anything.”

 

Yan Sikong remained silent.

 

Feng Ye tightened his embrace, his soft lips kissing Yan Sikong’s ear and neck. “If I could hold you like this now, I’d give up my life for it.”

 

Faced with Feng Ye’s affection, Yan Sikong felt a tingling sensation in his scalp. He endured it, but eventually began to struggle quietly.

 

Sensing Yan Sikong’s resistance, Feng Ye immediately stopped. His disappointment was evident as he whispered in Yan Sikong’s ear, “Don’t be afraid. If you don’t want it, I won’t force you.”

 

“Then let go of me.”

 

“I’m just holding you.” Feng Ye greedily inhaled the warmth from Yan Sikong’s skin. “Just holding you.”

 

Yan Sikong couldn’t help but mock him, “Yet you don’t realize how foolish the Wolf King is to keep making the same mistakes.”

 

“Whatever you give me is fine.” Feng Ye said without hesitation.

 

Yan Sikong frowned.

 

Feng Ye took his hand, gently playing with his fingers. “I know you’re worried now, but back then, Guangning was much weaker than it is now, and it still managed to block Zhuo Letai’s hundred thousand-strong army. So you must have faith. I’ll give my all to protect Guangning and defend Liaodong.”

 

Yan Sikong pondered for a moment. “If it’s only Zhuo Letai, I’m not afraid of him. What worries me more is Chen Mu.”

 

“I’ve already spread rumors about Chen Mu’s treasonous collusion with Zhuo Letai. Let’s see how he handles the accusations from the world. For now, he only dares to stir up trouble in the shadows.”

 

“He’s not someone who fears public opinion.” Yan Sikong said coldly. “Moreover, history favors the victor. Once he becomes emperor, who would dare to say anything against him? Have you thought about what will happen if he goes to war with Zhuo Letai at the same time?”

 

Feng Ye’s expression turned grave. “That’s the worst case scenario. All we can do is face it head-on and deal with it as it comes. With both internal and external threats, there’s no way for me to avoid them either.”

 

Yan Sikong took a deep breath, feeling the heavy burden on his shoulders making it hard to breathe.

 

“Don’t be afraid, Kong’er. Don’t be afraid.” Feng Ye spoke softly. “I’m here for you. I’ll shield you from the wind and rain, never allowing you to suffer any more hurt or sorrow. I’ll protect you and your homeland.”

 

Yan Sikong closed his eyes. Though unwilling to admit it, he knew that right now, the only person he could rely on was Feng Ye.