Chapter 852: Chapter 595 Grand Finale (Part Five)
The wind was silent; no one answered.
Feng Yun quietly looked at him. "In the past, they said the people of Qi State were unreliable, and I didn’t believe them. It seems I was truly wrong. A moment of benevolence brings endless calamity!"
Shentu Jiong said nothing, merely glanced at her silently and gestured to the people by his side.
"Take the madam away."
Feng Yun watched the approaching attendant, her face darkened as she scolded coldly, "You insolent fools! Look clearly at who I am! You are soldiers of Da Yong; who should you be taking orders from?"
Shentu Jiong was a person of Qi State, possessing a heart loyal to Qi. Feng Yun couldn’t believe that all the Nan Yong Army here would side entirely with the Qi Army.
However, the attendants remained unmoved.
Shentu Jiong merely let out a sigh.
"Do not fear, madam. You will not be harmed."
He waved his hand again. "Take her away!"
Feng Yun saw the people around her, standing silently, watching her coldly. Her heart sank as she glared angrily at the two guards. "I will walk myself."
-
Suo Yue Ridge.
Xiao Cheng looked at the enemy soldiers surging forward like a dense tide and hesitated for just a moment.
At that moment, all strategies and tactics failed.
It wasn’t because of an ambush within Serpentine Canyon; in fact, he had anticipated this and was prepared to sacrifice some of his forces.
What caught him off guard was that, before his army could fully enter the ridge’s entrance, the opposition had already revealed themselves.
Then, they charged forward, clashing with the Qi Army in an instant and halting their advance.
The other side’s intentions were hard to fathom—
Several Qi army generals were equally bewildered.
"Has the Yong Army gone mad?"
Xiao Cheng said nothing.
Soldiers from both sides collided at close range, engaging in chaotic combat.
No formations, no strategy, just outright hand-to-hand combat, locked in a fierce and brutal struggle...
Suddenly, Xiao Cheng realized something.
"This isn’t good. We’ve been tricked."
He stared at the illuminated torches in the silent mountain, glowing brightly like daylight.
"Send the order: retreat quickly; do not get entangled with the enemy."
Xuchi, beside him, shouted loudly in response.
"Your Majesty, retreat is impossible. They’ve already entangled us..."
Adding, "Gong Sun, lead the Imperial Guard Camp and cover His Majesty’s retreat."
Gong Sun shouted in reply, "Understood. Protect His Majesty!"
"Protect His Majesty—!"
"Quick, protect His Majesty!"
The cries of battle roared like thunder.
Warhorses neighed sharply.
Xiao Cheng watched the chaos unfolding before him in silence, furrowing his brows in confusion. Beneath his calm facade, turmoil boiled within, his blood nearly surging to the point of eruption...
This wasn’t Pei Jue’s doing.
Nor was it his own.
So then, in Dan Prefecture, at Suo Yue Ridge, who else was there?
The ancient adage surfaced in his mind: "The sandpiper and clam struggle, only for the fisherman to benefit."
He and Pei Jue were like the sandpiper and the clam, locked in deadly combat on the front lines... while someone sought to reap the benefits as the fisherman.
But who was this person?
Who else could it be?
Xiao Cheng felt a surge of vigilance at his own thoughts.
Seated on horseback, he retreated step by step, his eyes fixed intently on the valley at Suo Yue Ridge.
"Xuchi."
He ordered solemnly.
"Ride swiftly back to camp and inform Xie Congguang: immediately, at once—strike the gong to signal retreat."
Strike the gong for retreat?
Cease the battle?
Xuchi asked no questions, pulling his warhorse sharply around.
"At your command!"
-
Feng Yun had lost control over her actions.
Sitting inside a sealed carriage swaying back and forth, she had no idea where she would be taken.
This feeling of complete loss of autonomy had not occurred for a long time...
After a brief shock, she gradually calmed down.
In the past ten years, with Changmen and Pei Jue, life had been smooth sailing, filled with fortune and prosperity. She had gone from trusting no one to gradually trusting those around her...
She had become more gentle.
Her vigilance had slowly eroded.
She had never considered that, in the Da Yong Army’s camp—she could be taken captive.
Today’s events were extraordinarily odd; Shentu Jiong hadn’t explained the reasons to her, and she couldn’t make sense of the logic behind it. Yet, there was an intuition stirring deep within her, leaving her especially uneasy.
It felt as if something crucial was slowly slipping away from her, beyond her control...
The feeling was suffocating.
It rendered her weak, tormented, as though submerged in a shroud of mist, unable to see the truth...
The carriage transitioned from uneven jerks to smooth motion as it entered the official road.
She still had no idea where they were taking her and quietly closed her eyes.
Adapt to the unchanging with a calm mind.
Sleeping to preserve energy and staying alert was the most critical thing now.
Having not rested well the previous night, she soon fell asleep, not even noticing the rope digging deeply into the flesh of her wrists, bound behind her back...
-
When she woke, the sky was already completely dark.
Her surroundings were pitch black, save for the faint yellow glow from the lantern on the carriage ahead, filtering dimly through the curtains.
Feng Yun leaned against the carriage wall, her body stiff, silently waiting.
