Hearing this, Wanxin felt a complex mix of emotions well up inside her.
On the one hand, she was relieved that her younger sister was safe; on the other, she was glad that Dacheng had captured Qingzhou. However, at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of cruelty.
Zhao Yanke gently placed his warm palm over her cold hand. "On the battlefield, it's either you or the enemy," he said softly, but his words carried great weight. "To be merciful to the enemy is to be cruel to our own people. If it weren't for this surprise move, who knows how many men in General Feng's troop would have died..."
"I... I understand," Wanxin said, her long eyelashes drooping as she changed the subject. "So, according to you, General Feng captured Qingzhou without much trouble?"
"Right!" Chen Mazi chimed in. "There were only 80,000 men in Qingzhou. They were sitting ducks, and their reinforcements were cut off. Some of them were so scared that they wet their pants... If they didn't surrender, were they waiting to be stung by the bees?"
Zhao Yanke suddenly frowned. "Then, how did you get captured by the Anluo people? And what did you mean just now about running or not running?"
"Alas, it was just my bad luck..." Chen Mazi said dejectedly, hanging his head. "After we set up the ambush on Fengyang Slope, a general told me and the boss to leave first and that they would take care of the rest."
"At that time, Qingzhou hadn't been captured yet. So our boss decided to take me and Miss Chuntao to hide in a cave in Dayi Mountain for a while and come out after everything had settled down."
"Who would have thought that on our way up the mountain, we ran into a group of Anluo people!"
"We took off running, and those barbarians chased after us with their swords drawn!"
"We ran, and they chased..."
"We ran, and they chased..."
"I... I watched helplessly as the boss and Miss Chuntao darted into the mountains like rabbits... I don't know how those two girls could run so fast!"
"Then, I couldn't keep up... and I got captured..."
Wanxin's heart skipped a beat. "Are you sure my younger sister wasn't captured by the Anluo people?"
"Definitely not!"
Chen Mazi said, "I understand a bit of Anluo language. I didn't hear them say they had captured two girls, and besides..."
After saying that, he pursed his lips and muttered, "They ran so fast. Who could catch up with them!"
Hearing that Li Wanming was safe, the heavy stone in Wanxin's heart finally dropped, and her tense shoulders gradually relaxed.
Zhao Yanke noticed her expression and comforted her softly, "Li Wanming is so smart. She'll be fine. After General Feng captured Qingzhou, she probably went there with him."
After saying that, he turned to Chen Mazi. "So, when you led them, were you leading them to find the black-tailed bee honey?"
"Am I crazy? Lead them to find honey?"
Chen Mazi rolled his eyes and shouted, "I found honey for the boss to deal with the Anluo barbarians! If I led the Anluo barbarians to find honey, wouldn't they just pour it all over me?"
"Then..."
"After I was captured by them, to save my life, I lied to them and said that there was a kind of herb in the mountains that could neutralize the poison of the black-tailed bees, and I could lead them to find it... But, damn it! Look at how they beat me up!"
"I already told them I was going to find the antidote for them, and they still whipped me! Damn Anluo barbarians. They deserve to be stung!"
Chen Mazi rambled on for a long time before finally explaining the whole story.
Wanxin looked up at the sky. The sun was already starting to set.
She patted the grass clippings off her skirt and stood up. "Are you two rested? Can you still walk? If so, we need to hurry back to Yanchuan... General Guo and the others must be extremely worried by now."
The three of them got up and slowly walked down the mountain. They were all exhausted, looking like eggplants beaten by frost.
It took them nearly two hours to walk down the short mountain path. When they saw the towering city wall of Yanchuan, the sky was already tinged with red.
However, as soon as they entered the city and saw General Guo, Wanxin heard another distressing piece of news - Wanmo and He Muhao still hadn't returned!
"How is that possible?" Wanxin was shocked. "We had agreed before that no matter whether we found the people or not, we would all return at dawn this morning! We were delayed because we ran into the Anluo people... Why haven't Wanmo and the others returned yet?"
General Guo said in a deep voice, "Madam Li, don't be too worried. Your younger sister is highly skilled in martial arts. She won't be in danger. I've already sent my personal guards to look for them. We'll have an answer before nightfall."
Zhao Yanke had been hiding behind Wanxin, afraid that General Guo would scold him. But when he saw General Guo looking absent-minded, he couldn't help but speak up. "What's wrong? Is there something going on in the city?"
General Guo's expression tightened slightly. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "I'm not sure... The Anluo people didn't launch an attack on the city today..."
"Didn't launch an attack?" Zhao Yanke was stunned.
Since the start of the war, they had been defending Yanchuan for six days.
During these six days, the Anluo people had launched extremely fierce attacks, as if they were determined to capture Yanchuan at all costs and then form a pincer movement to bury all 300,000 Dacheng troops in the southern border. In the most brutal attack, they had even cracked a corner of the city gate of Yanchuan...
But today, they didn't launch a single attack?
This was a bit too unusual.
Zhao Yanke immediately said, "Do they have some kind of conspiracy? Could it... be related to the three Anluo people we met in the mountains?"
"Probably not..." General Guo mused. "According to what you just said, those three Anluo people were looking for the antidote to the black-tailed bees to relieve the siege of Qingzhou. If the battle situation in Qingzhou has really eased, they should attack Yanchuan even more fiercely... I don't think it's related to those three people. However, I can't make a hasty judgment on whether there's a conspiracy or not."
Zhao Yanke thought for a moment and said, "Regardless of the reason, we can't let our guard down. Maybe... they're brewing a bigger attack and trying to capture Yanchuan in one fell swoop."
"I suspect so too," General Guo said, his brows still furrowed with worry. "So I've already issued an order to put the whole city on high alert. Rolling logs and boulders are all ready... If the Anluo people dare to come again, we'll fight to the death!"
"If..." Zhao Yanke suddenly spoke up. "If it really comes to the last resort... do you think, Your Majesty, I can... can I also..."
He hesitated at this point and swallowed the words back, not knowing whether he should say them.
"Your Majesty..."
However, General Guo finished the rest of his sentence for him.
"If it really comes to a critical moment, I hope Your Majesty will ascend the city tower and share the weal and woe with the whole city's military and civilians!"
"If the soldiers see the imperial flag, their morale will surely be greatly boosted!"
"Really?" Zhao Yanke's eyes widened. "You... you agree to let me lead the army in person?"
General Guo smiled guiltily. "I was too short-sighted and stubborn..." He knelt on one knee. "If we can win this battle, I hope Your Majesty will punish me..."
Zhao Yanke laughed heartily and helped him up. "What punishment? That's so formal! After our triumphant return, I'll hold a victory banquet for you in the Golden Hall. Then we'll drink for three days and three nights until we're drunk!"