CHAPTER 407: CHAPTER 358: PHOENIX CRY ON XIAO MOUNTAIN SIDE

"Shang Ruyi!"

Yu Wenye shouted, his voice deep and heavy, immediately echoing through the mountains.

However, it was so quiet around that not even a whisper of the wind could be heard.

Yu Wenye’s eyes reddened instantly, he wrapped the reins around his palm with one hand, gripped them tightly, and was about to turn the horse to charge up the mountain.

Shantong’er, who was sitting in front of him, was caught off guard and almost fell off the horseback.

But just as Yu Wenye was about to spur the horse up the mountain, Shen Wuzheng glanced around and immediately rode forward to block him, saying in a deep voice, "Wait a moment."

Yu Wenye was forced to stop, and as he looked up at him, a murderous intent that couldn’t be concealed already showed on his face.

Although Shen Wuzheng’s expression was also very grave, indeed, when he discovered that Shang Ruyi was not at the foot of the mountain, a rare fierce light flashed beneath his normally calm and undisturbed facade. Yet at this moment, he spoke with a measure of calm, "Ruyi shouldn’t have gone up the mountain. There is only this one path up the mountain. If she had followed us up, we would have encountered her on the way back."

Yu Wenye’s breathing was heavy, "Xiao Yuansui—"

"It shouldn’t be him either,"

Shen Wuzheng said, glancing around again, "If he had acted to capture Ruyi—never mind whether he currently has the capacity, let alone whether his men could overpower those you’ve left here, no matter how you slice it, Mu Xian and the others would certainly resist. But look, there’s not even a trace of a struggle around here."

"..."

Hearing this, Yu Wenye frowned and looked around.

Indeed, as Shen Wuzheng said, it was not only as quiet as could be without a whisper of wind, but also without any signs of a chaotic battle. So evidently, Shang Ruyi was not forcibly taken away.

It wasn’t until this moment that his breathing eased a bit.

Thinking about it, he should have been able to see all this at a glance, but just now, even though everything was in full view, he was completely unaware, just single-mindedly charging up the mountain.

But now, he couldn’t care less about why he had been so rash earlier; he just anxiously looked around again.

"But, where is she?"

"..."

Shen Wuzheng also frowned, looking around.

If Shang Ruyi wasn’t forcibly taken away by Xiao Yuansui, then why has she disappeared?

Just then, Shantong’er, sitting in Yu Wenye’s arms, suddenly turned back and pointed loudly at a road behind them, "It’s her!"

Yu Wenye hurriedly turned around.

Only to see a group of riders rushing over from another path, their hooves kicking up a cloud of dust. Leading the way out of the dust wasn’t anyone else but Shang Ruyi!

At the sight of her, Yu Wenye’s heart immediately settled back into place.

Immediately, his handsome face returned to its usual calm and sternness, but his eyes clearly showed a hint of fierceness. It wasn’t until they drew closer that he noticed that both Shang Ruyi and the people following her, including Mu Xian, all had traces of smoke on them.

Not the smoke of the mundane world, but real smoke and fire!

Their faces were covered with large patches of soot, their clothes seemed to bear scorch marks, and the followers behind them were even more disheveled and dirty.

Yu Wenye’s brow immediately furrowed.

Yet this time, he remained still, only gripping the reins in his hands so hard that his knuckles cracked. Shantong’er, sitting in his arms, glanced at his hand, then looked up at him, as if sensing something, shrank his neck.

In contrast, Shen Wuzheng rode forth to meet them.

At the sight of them, a smile immediately appeared on Shang Ruyi’s soot-covered face as she urgently rode over, calling out to Shen Wuzheng, "Elder brother!"

Shen Wuzheng’s eyebrows were tightly knit, but he couldn’t bear to scold her, and just asked in a deep voice, "Little sister, where did you go?"

"I—"

Shang Ruyi was just about to speak, but her gaze involuntarily moved past him, and when she met Yu Wenye’s glaring eyes, she paused for a moment, then immediately saw Shantong’er sitting in his arms, and was instantly surprised and delighted.

"Shantong’er?!"

Shantong’er was also very pleased to see her, softly saying, "Madam..."

"How did you end up together?"

Shang Ruyi was a bit puzzled for a moment, but after another look at Shantong’er and the two large copper hammers in his hands, she somehow felt something, and Shen Wuzheng added, "He is the Ninth Master of Wanggang Village."

"What?!"

Shang Ruyi was greatly shocked. Seeing Shantong’er’s somewhat embarrassed and apologetic smile, she thought for a moment and finally began to come to her senses, "So you—so you’ve been going to Wanggang Village all this time?"

"Yes. I normally stay in the village."

"Then how did you all end up coming back together?"

Shen Wuzheng said, "Just now, he had a confrontation with Yu Wenye, and we brought him back—let’s discuss this further when we return. Little sister, first tell us where you went and how you ended up like this."

At this moment, Shang Ruyi glanced at Yu Wenye again.

No matter how they conversed just now or how surprised and delighted they were, Yu Wenye remained silent throughout.

But his gaze was like a knife, piercing into her. Even without meeting his eyes, Shang Ruyi could feel her face burning, with a faint sense of unease in her heart.

She sensed that he seemed angry.

So, she swallowed, steadied herself, and softly said, "Just now, we set a fire."

"What?!"

Shen Wuzheng and Shantong’er were immediately taken aback, looking at her somewhat incredulously: "That fire, did you set it?!"

Yu Wenye’s gaze grew deeper and colder.

He still said nothing, just coldly stared at Shang Ruyi, but Shang Ruyi glanced at him again — though knowing she shouldn’t, she couldn’t help feeling guilty and looked away, then said: "Yes, we just set a fire in the back mountain of Wanggang Village, you all saw it?"

Shen Wuzheng turned and gave Yu Wenye a look.

Noticing the change in his expression, especially since Yu Wenye had been sullen, Shang Ruyi finally mustered the courage to speak to Yu Wenye: "Is there something wrong?"

"..."

Yu Wenye coldly looked at her, still silent.

The atmosphere was a bit stiff, and it was Shantong’er sitting in Yu Wenye’s lap who cautiously said, "Brother Xiao asked Second Young Master if he sent someone to start the fire, and the Second Young Master said he didn’t."

"..."

"The Second Young Master also said that he’s not interested in playing the same trick twice —"

As he spoke, he could clearly feel the air above him grow heavier, pressing his neck to shrink tighter, making it hard to continue.

Meanwhile, looking at Yu Wenye’s expressionless face, Shang Ruyi also felt embarrassed.

While strategy in warfare involves deception, the manner of doing things is one thing, and one’s integrity is another. Especially for someone as proud as Yu Wenye, in facing a strong opponent like Xiao Yuansui, he not only had to win in wit but also in psyche. However, her self-assertion had turned him into a person who spouted nonsense.

She immediately felt somewhat guilty and said: "Yes, I’m sorry, I acted on my own initiative, but didn’t expect to drag you into it."

"..."

"If there’s a chance in the future, I, I will explain to him —"

"No need,"

Yu Wenye’s eyes darkened, coldly interrupting her: "You and I are husband and wife; we’re one."

"..."

"What you did is what I did."

"..."

For some reason, hearing this, Shang Ruyi’s face burned fiercely, even hotter than when the fire just ignited the granary on Wanggang Village’s back mountain, licking her cheeks.

Seeing her flushed face, Yu Wenye’s rage, burning hot enough to drive him mad, gradually subsided.

Yet when he spoke, his voice remained cold and hard —

"But why did you do it?"

Shang Ruyi glanced at him, hesitated but didn’t speak, while Shen Wuzheng, who had already darkened his face after hearing their earlier conversation, also looked at Shang Ruyi and sighed.

He said in a deep voice: "Little sister, it’s too dangerous!"

Shang Ruyi was clearly prepared from the start to respond to their questioning, even her brother’s reproach, so she said softly: "I know, but I also can’t just stay down there while you all go up and take risks. Moreover, I thought about it later, although you might have many ways to deal with Xiao Yuansui, if Xiao Yuansui really decided to use all of Wanggang Village’s strength to kill you, it would be very hard for you to escape."

"..."

"And he certainly has such an idea."

Shen Wuzheng asked: "Why?"

Shang Ruyi replied: "Because of that —"

As she spoke, she raised her hand to point, and both Shen Wuzheng and the grim-faced Yu Wenye followed her direction to look, only to see the huge stone tablet outside the pavilion, where the blood-red "Xiao Mountain" words were still so glaring.

Yu Wenye said deeply: "What kind of reason is this?"

Shang Ruyi said: "That prophetic song — because his own family declined because of that prophecy, and later the decline of the Zuo Family, Zuo Heng’s rebellion, were also connected to that prophecy. The first thing Xiao Yuansui did after taking Wanggang Village was change the stone tablet from ’Wanggang’ to ’Xiao Mountain’, all of which proves he should believe in that prophecy strongly."

"..."

"And what he cares about most should be that line — Phoenix Cry on Xiao Mountain."

Shen Wuzheng’s eyes flickered slightly.

Yu Wenye asked: "So what?"

"So,"

Shang Ruyi said: "He definitely won’t allow you to appear in his command of Xiao Mountain Village, and he can’t let you weaken his strength, shatter the morale of the village and leave alive."

"..."

"Because that would be Phoenix Cry on Xiao Mountain."

"..."

Yu Wenye was silent for a while, and then coldly said: "Nonsensical."

Shang Ruyi replied: "I know you don’t believe in God Buddha, nor do you believe there’s any prophecy in this world, but just because you don’t believe doesn’t mean others don’t. Others will not only believe but also act against you because they believe in these omens."

"..."

This time, Yu Wenye did not speak.

After a long silence though, he suddenly said: "Mu Xian. You and your men, when you return, will receive eighty military strokes, and forfeit a year’s salary."