The Blood Crown - Chapter 324

Chapter 324

 

This time, the siege clearly showed the decline of the Jin forces. First, their initial defeat had dampened their morale. Second, this deployment had been too hasty, leaving them ill-prepared. Third, Guangning Guard, which had repelled Zhuo Letai multiple times, had become a psychological obstacle for the Jin soldiers. Even though the city now seemed on the brink of collapse, it still stood like a mountain before them.

 

But Zhuo Letai had no way out. Without conquering Guangning, how could he return to Jin with any semblance of dignity?

 

The sound of war drums thundered, banners obscured the sun, and the enemy army hurled fierce artillery at Guangning Guard. The bloodstains from comrades on the walls had yet to fade, and fresh waves of soldiers stepped forward to shed their blood, their lives as cheap as grass.

 

The Feng family army still appeared on the walls, fighting alongside the defenders of Guangning.

 

Yan Sikong was uneasy, knowing that if Feng Ye wanted to flee, his only chance was to break through now, while Zhuo Letai’s forces were tied up. If Zhuo Letai wanted Guangning, he wouldn’t risk chasing the Feng family army into an ambush.

 

Amid the intense battle, Feng Ye’s guard came to summon Yan Sikong. With Liang Huiyong and Yuan Nanyu overseeing the defense on the walls, Yan Sikong followed the guard down the tower and into the duty room beneath it.

 

The short walk of a hundred steps felt unbearably heavy.

 

He wanted to protect Guangning with his life but not at the cost of Feng Ye abandoning the capital. The Feng family army had fought its way into the imperial city, and he had poured his heart and soul into this effort. How could he accept letting someone else reap the rewards? Yet now, they truly had no way out.

 

Pushing the door open, Yan Sikong entered the room to see Feng Ye standing by the window, staring thoughtfully at the cracks in the wall.

 

This was merely a resting room for the city gate’s commander, simple and unadorned. The cracks on the walls mirrored the battered Guangning city walls outside, which trembled under the enemy’s relentless bombardment.

 

“Wolf King,” Yan Sikong called softly, “Why are you…”

 

“Call me by my name,” Feng Ye said without turning around.

 

“…Feng Ye, you shouldn’t be moving around like this.”

 

“Sitting or lying down all the time is making my body sluggish.” Feng Ye turned to face Yan Sikong, his deep eyes fixed intently on him.

 

Yan Sikong pulled a chair over. “Sit down.”

 

But Feng Ye neither sat nor moved. “Aren’t you going to ask what I want to say to you?”

 

Yan Sikong’s heart tightened, but he remained calm. “If you want to leave, I have nothing to say.”

 

“Come with me,” Feng Ye said. “As long as we live, we’ll have another chance. I will reclaim Liaodong.”

 

Yan Sikong gazed at Feng Ye and gave a bleak smile. “You know that’s impossible.”

 

Feng Ye looked at him, his dark eyes filled with somber intensity. After a long pause, he said softly, “I know.”

 

“Then go.” Yan Sikong took a deep breath and said hoarsely, “Perhaps Guangning can hold out until Chen Mu arrives. Perhaps… In any case, Chen Mu won’t let Zhuo Letai take Liaodong.”

 

“If I leave, you’ll either fall into Zhuo Letai’s hands, or Chen Mu’s, or…”

 

Yan Sikong didn’t answer.

 

He wouldn’t let anyone capture him again. If Guangning fell, he would end his own life.

 

Feng Ye’s eyes filled with sorrow. “Kong’er, come here.”

 

Yan Sikong walked over slowly. Feng Ye reached out and touched his cold cheek. “When I was young, I dreamed of staying by your side. Why is such a simple wish harder than climbing to the heavens?”

 

Yan Sikong’s heart ached.

 

How should he respond? “Why?” He wanted to know “why,” too.

 

Was it the world, fate, people, or… himself?

 

He might spend his entire life searching for that answer. Yan Sikong could only shake his head.

 

“I admit, I want to leave. I don’t want to fail the Feng family soldiers who died on the battlefield or give up the hard-won empire. But…” Feng Ye’s expression was pained. “I also don’t want to fail you.”

 

Yan Sikong’s eyes widened.

 

Feng Ye took a deep breath and said resolutely, “If you don’t leave, I won’t leave.”

 

“You…” Yan Sikong’s voice trembled. “Are you really willing… to give up the empire?” For him?

 

“If the world doesn’t have you, what use is it to me?”

 

Yan Sikong stared at Feng Ye, momentarily unable to believe it. His heart swelled with conflicting emotions. His lips trembled, but no words came out.

 

“Besides…” Feng Ye said quietly, “The people of Guangning rely on me. If I abandon them, I won’t have peace of mind. This crisis is my doing. If I had listened to you and not aspired to the throne, perhaps the world wouldn’t be in chaos now.”

 

Yan Sikong choked out, “Feng Ye, I…”

 

They both understood what Feng Ye was giving up with this decision.

 

Throughout history, how many men didn’t dream of ruling the world and holding vast power built on the lives of countless soldiers? How many could willingly let it go?

 

Feng Ye looked deeply into Yan Sikong’s eyes. “You said you wouldn’t love again and that you only used me. I accept that. You’re not a good person, not particularly kind or upright. But I believe you’re someone who values loyalty. I’ve replayed everything you’ve done for me, and I know you once had feelings for me. If we stay together, one day…” His voice trembled slightly. “You’ll remember.”

 

Yan Sikong looked at Feng Ye as if seeing him in a new light. He had watched this face grow from a boy to a youth to a man. He thought he had seen every expression on it—innocence, joy, affection, sorrow, rage, cruelty, hatred, regret. He thought he understood this man, yet now he was utterly surprised.

 

Feng Ye was truly willing to give up the world for him and for Liaodong?

 

Yan Sikong drew in a sharp breath. “Do you understand that some things cannot be undone?”

 

“I do. If I could, I would go back and treat you well,” Feng Ye said with a bitter smile. “Or back further, to spare you all the pain and suffering.”

 

Yan Sikong’s eyes stung, and his heart trembled violently.

 

The person who loved him most deeply had also hurt him the most. Yet in this life-and-death moment, the one who gave him hope was still this person. He had loved and hated Feng Ye. But now, with the nation in crisis, past grievances felt insignificant and distant. All he knew was that when Feng Ye decided to stay in Guangning, he was deeply moved and grateful.

 

Yan Sikong looked into Feng Ye’s eyes and said softly, “Feng Ye, thank you.”

 

“I don’t need your gratitude,” Feng Ye said, his gaze intense. “I only want us to stay together. Even in death, we must die together.”

 

Yan Sikong said hoarsely, “Alright, we will live and die together.”

 

Feng Ye took something out from his pocket. Yan Sikong looked down and saw two necklaces, each embedded with a sharp, crescent-shaped wolf fang.

 

Feng Ye stared at the wolf fangs with a mix of tenderness and sorrow. “These are Huan’er’s fangs. If we wear them, Huan’er will be with us in life and death. What do you think?”

 

Yan Sikong’s nose tingled as he nodded.

 

Feng Ye placed one around Yan Sikong’s neck and then wore the other himself. Yan Sikong gently rubbed the hard wolf fang with his fingertip, as if recalling the warm and sturdy fur of that one-eyed giant wolf.

 

He missed Huan’er deeply. His life had been filled with loss after loss, to the point of becoming numb to it. But Huan’er was more than just a wolf to him; it was a cherished companion. There would never be another wolf so mighty and majestic. He truly missed it.

 

Feng Ye stretched out his arms and embraced Yan Sikong. “Huan’er will watch over us from the heavens and help us win this battle.”

 

Yan Sikong raised his hands and returned Feng Ye’s embrace.

 

Feng Ye’s body trembled slightly, his expression shifting from surprise to joy. He tightened his arms further, as if wishing this moment of embrace could last forever.

 

—

 

Feng Ye and Yan Sikong returned to the city walls to oversee the defense. Though it was perilous, the presence of the commanders standing shoulder to shoulder with their soldiers under the rain of artillery and arrows was the greatest boost to morale.

 

The thousand martial artists summoned by She Zhun, led by Xu Feng, formed a guerrilla force to harass the rear of the Jin army and disrupt their formations. Despite their extraordinary skills, their numbers were too few. While they significantly delayed the Jin forces, they couldn’t change the tide of the battle.

 

Under such dire circumstances, Guangning held out stubbornly for a day and a night. Amid the relentless onslaught, the defensive line was breached three times. Jin soldiers climbed onto the city walls but were fought off at great cost. However, the city gates were on the verge of being shattered by the battering ram.

 

In a siege, one breach could lead to complete collapse. Guangning was already at the brink of exhaustion.

 

Standing atop the crumbling city walls, Yan Sikong’s face was filled with despair.

 

Was it truly beyond salvation?

 

Or was it Heaven’s will to doom Liaodong?

 

He gripped the sword in his hand tightly. Even if the city fell and he perished, as long as he had a single breath left, he would take down as many Jin soldiers as he could!

 

“General! General!” A guard on the watchtower shouted, “Reinforcements are here—”

 

Everyone was stunned.

 

Liang Huiyong traversed the wreckage-strewn walls, climbed up the watchtower, and looked into the distance. He saw banners rising slowly on the horizon—those were…

 

“It’s the King of Chu!” Liang Huiyong exclaimed in shock.

 

Yan Sikong and Feng Ye exchanged a glance, their expressions complicated. Yuan Nanyu rushed up to the tower in a few strides and fixed his gaze southward. The gradually clear banners indeed bore the large character “Chu.”

 

Chen Mu had arrived, a day earlier than She Zhun had estimated.

 

Liang Huiyong was naturally overjoyed. Though he had been won over by Feng Ye and was willing to serve the Wolf King, defending the city took precedence. The arrival of the King of Chu would at least save Guangning.

 

With the Chu army’s arrival, Zhuo Letai realized his defeat and hastily ordered a retreat. It was less of a withdrawal and more akin to a rout.

 

But how could the proud land of China allow barbarians to come and go as they pleased? This was a golden opportunity to strike and annihilate them!

 

They watched as the Chu army split into two forces—one moving toward Guangning and the other pursuing Zhuo Letai.

 

From the city walls, they saw the Chu army’s banners approaching, led by a figure in full armor, surrounded by soldiers as he drew closer to the gates. The red plume on his helmet obscured most of his face, but those sharp, ambitious eyes and the aura of commanding authority made him unmistakable even among thousands.

 

Chen Mu!

 

Yan Sikong and Feng Ye stood with grim expressions, looking down at Chen Mu from above.

 

Using heaven and earth as their chessboard, Feng Ye and Chen Mu had played a game of bloodshed and turmoil that shook the world. This game was one where the land was strewn with corpses, rivers ran red with blood, grievances filled the mountains and rivers, and cries of sorrow resonated through the heavens.

 

A single general’s success came at the cost of countless bones.

 

Now, the two chess players finally met face to face.