Because of the mountain flood, they were delayed for a day and a night.
Wang Dian wanted to let Liang Ye rest for two days, but first, without a physician to treat the wounds, he was not at ease, and secondly, the situation outside did not allow them to stay for long.
In the mountain cave, Wang Dian had been sitting most of the time. Now, as he walked, Liang Ye discovered he was limping, and frowned slightly.
After holding back for a moment, he could not help but ask, “What happened to your leg?”
“I accidentally bumped it, but it’s much better now,” Wang Dian said carelessly, squinting to determine the direction. Immediately after, Liang Ye pressed him to sit on a stone.
“It’s really nothing,” Wang Dian was afraid he would go crazy with the injury, his temples throbbed slightly, “You were so severely wounded and still fine, my body is not bad either.”
He could even catch a wild chicken while limping.
Liang Ye half-knelt on the ground and lifted his injured leg. Wang Dian was half awkward and half annoyed, “Liang Ziyu, your wound doesn’t hurt anymore? I already said it’s nothing, put it down.”
Liang Ye touched his ankle, taking advantage of Wang Dian’s inability to move, and leisurely rolled up his trouser leg. A large area of blue-black bruises looked particularly glaring.
He slowly touched up from the ankle, and when he reached the bruised area, Wang Dian’s face twisted for an instant.
“The bone is not broken,” Liang Ye pinched his calf, looked up seriously and said, “If I use a bit more force, I could break it and even hear a sound.”
“…” Wang Dian stared at him with a wooden face, “I said it’s nothing—damn!”
A crisp cracking sound, and Wang Dian broke out in cold sweat, his lips turning white, unable to recover for a long time.
Liang Ye smiled and said, “Still saying you’re not delicate.”
Then he gathered some internal energy in his palm and covered the wound. Wang Dian felt the wound become sore, hot, and swollen, and the piercing pain slowly began to subside.
“Now it’s broken,” Liang Ye said confidently, “I’ll have to work harder and carry you on the road.”
“Get lost,” Wang Dian’s forehead was covered with cold sweat from the pain.
Liang Ye covered the wound for a while, pulled down his trouser leg, helped him put on his boots, and very roughly wiped the sweat from his forehead with his hand. The movement was not gentle at all, but very careful. He patted Wang Dian’s thigh and casually touched it twice, saying, “The bone was dislocated and reset. If you had continued to tough it out, you would have been sitting in a wheelchair with Cui Qi.”
Wang Dian finally recovered, wanted to say thanks, but felt awkward, and simply said, “Let’s go.”
Liang Ye pulled him up, deliberately slowed down, walking shoulder to shoulder, cleared his throat and said, “Limping and still able to carry Zhen from the water’s edge, picking herbs and catching wild chickens, as delicate as you are, you could do this much, clearly because you have deep feelings for Zhen.”
“Liang Ziyu,” Wang Dian gritted his teeth and smiled slightly, “Say one more word of nonsense and I’ll kick you into the river.”
Liang Ye said cheerfully, “That won’t do. If Zhen dies, wouldn’t you have to be a widow?”
“Don’t worry, if you die, I’ll expand the harem and have them hold meetings at your grave every day,” Wang Dian smiled sarcastically, “So noisy you won’t rest in peace.”
“…Truly a venomous heart,” Liang Ye narrowed his eyes, moved closer to him, and then seized the opportunity to firmly grasp his hand.
Wang Dian turned to look at him.
Liang Ye stared back righteously, “What?”
Wang Dian raised the corner of his mouth and tightly clasped his hand, “Nothing, just suddenly felt that returning from Southern Zhao was not bad.”
Liang Ye let out a light snort, “Even so—”
“Shut up.”
“Tsk.”
****
“Cough, cough, cough!” The person who crawled out of the mud coughed desperately, knelt on the ground, and spat out several mouthfuls of mud and sand, then laughed hoarsely.
“Your Bian family only produces lunatics,” the person standing in front of him said coldly, “Your such stupid decision almost ruined everything.”
“Anyway, you only want Liang Ye to die. What does it matter whose hand he dies by, or where he dies?” Bian Feng covered his shoulder, gritted his teeth, and yanked the short arrow out, swallowing the suppressed cry of pain. He looked up and laughed at the person before him, “Or does Qi Daren care about the Prince of Danyang? You treat him as a friend, but he calculates against you without mercy. If I hadn’t risked giving you the fake death medicine, you would have been poisoned to death long ago.”
“Bian Daren did not plan to make me commit suicide by poison. He had a way to rescue me before the execution,” Qi Ming looked at him coldly, “It was you who acted on your own. If I hadn’t reacted quickly, we would have been exposed long ago.”
Bian Feng wiped the mud from his face, “So what? Are you going to tell my grandfather to kill me?”
Qi Ming took a deep breath, “I’m just here to warn you, don’t be too clever. Now the entire plan has been disrupted by your interference. Liang Ye did not die at Sipan Mountain, and the killing trap we set at Zhangmu Mountain may very well fail. If Liang Ye starts to seek revenge, you’ll be the first to die. It would be a waste of Bian Daren’s years of nurturing you.”
Bian Feng looked at him contemptuously, not caring about the blood flowing from his shoulder, “Enough, Qi Ming. Don’t make it sound so serious. Even if I hadn’t made a move, with Liang Ye’s abilities, you couldn’t have killed him at Zhangmu Mountain.”
Qi Ming knew his temperament and said coldly, “You exposed yourself too early.”
“What difference does early or late make?” Bian Feng spat out the mud from his mouth and smiled meaningfully at him, “Qi Daren, how do you know he would really spare your life? From the moment you were tricked out by Wang Dian, you were already a waste piece. Don’t you understand? You, Tan Yishuang, including me, are all chess pieces he can discard at any time. Why serve him so loyally?”
“Bian Daren showed me great kindness,” Qi Ming said.
“Stop deceiving yourself and making it sound so noble,” Bian Feng moved his stiff neck, “That old man Bian Cang doesn’t dare to rebel. At most, he’ll just be a regent king. What future is there in following him? If he doesn’t rebel, and you’ve already committed treason, do you expect him to clear your name or reuse you to return to the court? You, including Wei Wanlin, even if Liang Ye dies, as long as the person sitting on the throne is surnamed Liang, you’ll forever be branded as traitors. It’s already good if they don’t kill you. What daydreams are you having?”
Qi Ming said with a sunken face, “You’re going to betray Bian Daren.”
“Hahaha, don’t make it sound so serious,” Bian Feng laughed and patted his shoulder, “Bian Cang is my grandfather after all. He’s gone to such lengths to nurture me. I’m just helping him. If Liang Ye had died at Sipan Mountain, fine. He could have put that little brat on the throne. But now that Liang Ye is lucky enough not to die by my hand, and I’m exposed, the Bian family must rebel, whether they want to or not. As long as we kill Liang Huan, guess who’ll end up sitting on the throne?”
Qi Ming’s gaze toward him changed instantly.
Bian Feng patted the mud off his clothes, “The Tan family’s problem is that they’re not decisive enough. They thought Wang Dian was easy to manipulate, which is why they lost their opportunity. If my grandfather continues to hesitate, he’ll be suppressed by Liang Ye sooner or later.”
He took two steps forward and turned back to look at Qi Ming, who was still standing in place, “So, Qi Daren, do you understand who you should follow now?”
Qi Ming sneered, “I never realized you were so eloquent before.”
“Just tearing away your hypocritical coverings,” Bian Feng laughed while hugging his arm, “If you had the chance, wouldn’t you want to sit on that dragon throne?”
He turned and walked away. Qi Ming was silent for a moment before finally following.
Bian Feng stepped over the corpse without changing his expression, his gaze pausing briefly. He stepped back and kicked the already silent corpse, “This is Wang Dian’s man. Cut off his head and carry it.”
“Yes,” the person beside him responded, “Master, Li Mu, the spy beside Liang Ye, escaped. This subordinate is incompetent.”
Bian Feng turned to look at him and said with a smile, “Indeed incompetent. You can’t even kill someone properly.”
The other person shrank back slightly.
“Don’t be afraid, I’m not as brutal as Liang Ye,” Bian Feng said with some regret, “Didn’t I play the part well? Who told me that Liang Ye likes loyal and jealous men?”
The surrounding people fell silent. The deputy eventually mustered the courage to say, “It was—it was the personal eunuch serving Liang Ye in the palace who said so.”
Bian Feng narrowed his eyes and said with a laugh, “But Liang Ye’s face is indeed quite good. If I ascend to the throne in the future, I can play with him as a pet.”
A flash of disgust crossed Qi Ming’s eyes, and he stepped forward, “Young Master, Bian Daren wants you to return to the capital immediately.”
“No rush,” Bian Feng mounted his horse, “Liang Ye will definitely go to Zhangmu Mountain. If I cut off his head and take it back to my grandfather, he will definitely be very happy! Hya!”
Qi Ming’s frown deepened.
“Daren, please,” someone led over a horse.
Qi Ming glanced at the person and mounted his horse, heading in the opposite direction.
“Daren! Qi Daren, where are you going!?” The deputy behind him chased and asked.
“The important task given by the Young Master,” Qi Ming harshly cracked his whip and increased his speed.
Bian Feng was by no means a wise leader. He finally understood why Bian Cang had always suppressed him and refused to let him out—he was a stupid and completely unprincipled madman.
The chess piece at Zhangmu Mountain was already ruined. Bian Feng’s journey was a path to self-destruction.
The horse galloped westward, heading straight to the capital.
Chuandong County, Zhangmu Mountain.
Yang Wujiu lay in the bushes, looking from afar at the broken temple below the cliff, nervously asking, “Big Brother Chang Ying, is Chong Heng really inside?”
Chang Ying nodded, “There are at least a hundred experts ambushed around that broken temple. When I approached earlier, I was almost discovered.”
Yang Wujiu immediately looked at him with admiration, “You actually managed to come back alive.”
“…” Chang Ying twitched his mouth, “The Young Master’s letter instructed us not to act rashly for now.”
Yang Wujiu immediately brightened, “The Prince must have already helped His Majesty out of danger.”
Chang Ying shook his head solemnly, “The Young Master took nearly 20,000 personal troops to Sipan Mountain, but no one has returned so far. Moreover, the letter paper is rough and the ink quality is poor, as if hastily found. It’s very likely something unexpected happened.”
Yang Wujiu’s heart suddenly tightened. Just as he was about to speak, a group of horses stopped in front of the broken temple. Someone dismounted, and although he was far away, he still recognized the figure, “Young General Bian?”
“Bian Feng?” Chang Ying, who had been lurking in the military for many days, naturally knew his reputation, remembering him as a very capable young general.
His martial arts were good, and he saw more clearly than Yang Wujiu. He watched as Bian Feng took down a circular object from his horse, threw it to a subordinate, and gave an order. The round ball was then hung high at the temple gate.
As the wind blew, the dark side turned to reveal a face—it was actually a human head.
“Big Brother Chang Ying, what’s wrong with you?” Yang Wujiu anxiously asked, seeing his strange expression.
Chang Ying stared fixedly at the hanging head, moving his lips, “…Chang Li?”
