CHAPTER 233: CHAPTER 223: THIS PERSON IS NEVER HERS_2

Shang Ruyi shook her head.

Yu Wenye thought for a moment: "We’ll look into this carefully after we return."

Saying this, he furrowed his brows and looked at Shang Ruyi again: "So, just for this one letter, you risked your life to come here?!"

Shang Ruyi replied confidently: "But, someone’s trying to harm you."

"..."

"How could I not get involved?"

Yu Wenye was momentarily stunned.

After a long silence, during which he suppressed his feelings, his expression changed several times. Finally, he took a deep breath, turned around, and started walking out, saying, "Follow me!"

"Huh? Oh."

Shang Ruyi didn’t know why his expression suddenly changed, but she quickly followed him.

Yu Wenye led more than ten thousand men in two groups to execute this plan to attack Xingluo Granary. Now, the number of men hadn’t significantly decreased. He left more than ten thousand to continue defending Warehouse City, repeatedly ordering them to guard it strictly, cautioning against letting it fall easily like last time. Otherwise, the Emperor would surely execute them all.

Meanwhile, he took only a few hundred men for the return journey.

Although it was late, with snow falling continuously, the cold chilling them to the bone, Shang Ruyi explained everything she encountered at Luokou Ferry to Yu Wenye, all while walking. Especially when she mentioned how she nearly lost her life to Kou Junliang that night, Yu Wenye’s face, though under the gloom of the night, visibly darkened ominously.

Yet, he said nothing.

Shang Ruyi asked: "Do you think that Kou Junliang, not only holding back your supplies but also repeatedly pushing you to send troops, knowing the route couldn’t be conquered, is forcing you to your death? So, is he the one the painting mentioned who wants to harm you?"

"Perhaps."

"But he’s the supervisor, appointed by the Emperor. Since the Emperor ordered you to attack Xingluo Granary to reclaim it, wouldn’t harming you disregard the granary’s control?"

Yu Wenye glanced at her coldly: "You’re awfully good at defending the Emperor."

Shang Ruyi was taken aback and immediately said: "I didn’t—"

But before she could finish, Yu Wenye interrupted with a cold "I don’t want to hear it" look: "Nonetheless, this proves that although Kou Junliang is the supervisor sent by the Emperor, he might be working for someone else."

"Hmm?"

Shang Ruyi widened her eyes, looking at him.

Yu Wenye glanced at her and said: "Maybe it’s related to the painting you received."

"..."

Shang Ruyi took a deep breath, following him while deep in thought. But the snowy road was slippery, and she almost slipped off the icy mountain path in a moment of distraction. Fortunately, Yu Wenye’s quick reflexes saved her.

He frowned and said: "Can’t you be more careful!"

Shang Ruyi’s heart skipped again, especially feeling the warmth from his hands, to which her cold limbs unexpectedly grew attached.

And Yu Wenye looked at her slightly flushed face, surprisingly not withdrawing his hand immediately.

He simply looked down at her: "Cold?"

"..."

Shang Ruyi was silent for a while before nodding lightly.

The clothes Xiao Yuansui had prepared for her were fine in the city, but once outside, the wind and snow quickly froze her, especially after feeling his warmth. She realized she was nearly frozen.

At that moment, a pair of hands wrapped around her, pulling her into a warm embrace.

Shang Ruyi was startled and looked up at him, but Yu Wenye was looking ahead coldly, seemingly uninterested in glancing at her, saying: "I’ll settle this with you later!"

"..."

Shang Ruyi lowered her head, unable to suppress a bitter smile.

The things he wanted to settle with her seemed numerous.

But at this moment, she managed to piece some things together.

So, as she nestled in his embrace, matching his steps, she whispered: "You mean to say—the person who truly wants to harm you is someone else. Kou Junliang might be related to this person. The person who sent the painting was from that person’s side, discovered this secret, and passed the message to me."

Yu Wenye said: "That seems reasonable, at least."

Shang Ruyi softly said: "I thought of someone."

Yu Wenye’s breathing seemed to pause for a moment, but he didn’t look down at her or stop walking, only moving forward calmly: "No need to say it out loud."

"Hmm."

At this moment, both of them suddenly found common ground, and this understanding created a feeling within Shang Ruyi’s heart that she couldn’t quite describe. It was as if she knew his body was warm, his hands too, yet that warmth felt distant, nothing more than a faraway glow in a snowy night.

The person so close to her... was ultimately not hers.

The moment this thought appeared, her heart became unsettled.

And as her mind grew chaotic, so did her steps. Yu Wenye clearly noticed something was off with the girl in his arms. He couldn’t resist looking down at her overly pale face, deeply buried in his embrace, and asked in a serious tone: "What’s wrong?"

He asked this precisely as they passed through that mountain gate.

This place was the necessary path away from Xingluo Granary and down Huangtu Ridge, a place of sheer cliffs on one side and towering mountain walls on the other, with a narrow path forcing everyone to gather closely. Dusk was approaching, so to avoid accidents, the group lit torches. In the torchlight, Yu Wenye’s tall and sturdy figure was the most prominent.

As they passed through the narrow mountain path, the torchlight cast the shadows of the surrounding people onto the mountain wall, creating ghostly dark shapes that looked especially frightening.

Yu Wenye suddenly frowned: "Extinguish the fires!"

The people around were baffled. The mountain road here was treacherous. If they extinguished the fires, wouldn’t they have to descend in darkness?

Everyone hesitated, and Shang Ruyi also raised her head from his embrace, softly saying: "We—"

But before she could finish, from the other end of the narrow mountain gate, a flash of cold light suddenly shot out like lightning, stirring a chill that nearly extinguished the torches. When the flames rekindled, everyone turned to look and was shocked!

An arrow had pierced Yu Wenye’s chest!