CHAPTER 397: CHAPTER 351: THOSE WHO LEARN FROM ME THRIVE, THOSE WHO IMITATE ME PERISH

After walking for about half an hour, they finally caught sight of two towering arrow towers amidst the lush trees on either side of the mountain path. Yu Wenye shook the reins, and the steed sped up, bypassing a giant rock ahead. The renowned Wanggang Village finally came into view.

However, the central gate between the arrow towers was tightly shut.

Although it was closed, the atmosphere around was far from calm. Not only was it restless, amidst the sound of their horses’ hooves advancing, one could even sense a hidden murderous intent carried by the wind.

At this moment, Yu Wenye suddenly stopped and pulled the reins tight.

Shen Wuzheng turned his head to glance at him and noticed Yu Wenye was looking down at a patch of ground not far ahead, which was – blood red!

Shen Wuzheng furrowed his brows slightly.

Yu Wenye tilted his head, seemingly trying to discern carefully and noticed that, although the blood red patch seemed trampled, leaving messy footprints, it still looked like it sprayed out in a fan shape. The closer to their position, the lighter the blood, and the closer to the gate, the deeper it was, almost forming a pool of blood.

After watching for a while, Yu Wenye said, "It seems, elder brother, your prior suspicions were correct."

"..."

Shen Wuzheng kept silent, his gaze lingering on the glaring red before lifting his head to gauge the distance from the gate, remarking, "They didn’t even make it past the gate."

"..."

"It seems Xiao Yuansui is more clever, more resourceful, and more ruthless than I thought."

Yu Wenye said, "Surviving the court’s purge after the Zuo Family’s rebellion, capturing Eastern Capital and now Wanggang Village, a common man would never make it this far."

"I wish to meet this man."

"He likely shares that sentiment."

"Oh?"

"Otherwise, knowing we’ve entered the mountain, he wouldn’t have waited until now without making a move."

With that, Yu Wenye lifted his head, gazing at the tightly closed village gate ahead, stating, "He likely wants to first see us clearly."

Shen Wuzheng said, "With only two people, should he actually fear not seeing clearly?"

Yu Wenye said, "Precisely because there are only two people, it’s hard to see clearly – "

Then, he chuckled softly and added, "However, the sooner he opens the gate, the better. Otherwise, facing merely two individuals and still having to keep the gate closed, that would hardly pacify the people in the village."

As soon as he finished speaking, they heard a creak from the front.

The gate slowly opened.

Yu Wenye lifted his head, only to see a tall figure emerging at the very center of the gate, with eyes shining coldly upon him.

It was Xiao Yuansui.

As the gate opened, those standing beside him also revealed themselves, naturally, all the subordinates from Wanggang Village whom he had subdued. At this moment, each was dressed in tight gear, swords and sabers in hand, glaring fiercely at the two outside the gate, like fierce beasts ready to pounce and devour them.

Yu Wenye scanned his eyes over them briefly, not seeing any familiar faces.

"Long time no see, Assistant General—"

Xiao Yuansui spoke. Though he did not intentionally raise his voice, his clear tone carried strong vigor, making even his calm words resonate powerfully, especially when compared against his cadre of brothers beside him.

But immediately, they heard him chuckle softly, saying, "Currently, ’Assistant General,’ is likely not as resounding as ’Second Young Master Yu Wen,’ right?"

Yu Wenye said, "I wonder, between Xiao Mountain Village and Wanggang Village, which one is more influential."

Xiao Yuansui’s gaze sank.

Yu Wenye continued, "Actually, I understand that Young Master Xiao has just taken over this village and must be busy consolidating people’s hearts and eliminating old enemies, certainly very occupied. We shouldn’t have bothered you by coming up the mountain at this time. However, since Young Master Xiao has accomplished great things, as an old acquaintance, I must offer my congratulations."

Xiao Yuansui sneered and said, "Second Young Master is too kind."

"Not at all."

"In fact, without Second Young Master, I wouldn’t have succeeded so easily this time."

"Oh?"

This statement indeed took Yu Wenye by surprise. He slightly raised his eyebrows, looking at Xiao Yuansui who was wearing a cold sneer. Yet, despite a somewhat proud demeanor, he was evidently not lying. Besides, at this moment, lying served no purpose.

Beside him, Shen Wuzheng whispered, "What he means is—"

Yu Wenye did not speak immediately. Instead, he lowered his head again, looking at the glaring blood red patch a few steps ahead, pondering, he said, "If I guess correctly, Young Master Xiao acted here, and Wang Quyi never took another step from this spot."

Xiao Yuansui spoke loudly, "He betrayed his brothers and had already set up axmen in the village, poised to kill me the moment I entered. How could I fulfill his wish?"

"Indeed,"

Yu Wenye nodded slightly, glanced over his shoulder then said, "You killed him here, and behind you should be Wang Quyi’s brother, Wanggang Village’s second-in-command, Wang Quren, who came to meet you."

"Yes."

"He is closest to you, and although you didn’t bring many people, they can restrain him and his men effectively, right?"

"Yes."

"So within ten steps, you’re not in danger,"

Yu Wenye said, as he slowly shifted his gaze from the pool of blood-red liquid towards the gate of Wanggang Village—this distance of over ten steps was a life-and-death line that Xiao Yuansui had long ago set for himself. Despite Wang Quyi’s death, others might be stunned into inaction, but Shen Tu Tai would definitely be the first to rise up for revenge.

If he charged forward, even if Xiao Yuansui had already killed Wang Quyi, he would still have to immediately meet his end as well.

But now, Xiao Yuansui was still alive—

So someone must have stopped Shen Tu Tai.

This person had the ability to fight him, or perhaps, even if they could not defeat him, they would at least impair his ability to attack.

This way, Shen Tu Tai was temporarily restrained.

However, no matter what, once this period passed, those who followed Wang Quyi to the village gate to greet Xiao Yuansui would certainly regain their senses. They would also be driven to a frenzy by anger and would charge in to avenge Wang Quyi.

By then, all of Xiao Yuansui’s men would be engaged in subduing Wang Quren and his troops, and Xiao Yuansui himself, alone, would have no way to withstand the forces charging out of the village.

Unless—

Yu Wenye slowly lifted his head, looking toward the gate.

After pondering for a while, he chuckled softly. When he looked at Xiao Yuansui again, Xiao Yuansui also returned his gaze with a cold smile, calmly saying, "Wang Quyi did not expect that while he had sent people to monitor me along the way, checking if I brought reinforcements, my troops had actually left much earlier than I did, but they took a different route, not this one."

"..."

"They entered Wanggang Village, not through this gate, but from the back mountain."

Yu Wenye nodded slightly, then looked at the two towering arrow towers and the high walls made of pointed wooden fences, and said, "I heard that after Young Master Xiao entered Wanggang Village, he personally supervised the construction of the village’s defenses. So, you had already set this up for yourself from the beginning."

Xiao Yuansui said, "Second Young Master comprehends immediately, indeed."

He then let out a sudden cold laugh, a gleam of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes, and said, "But to be honest, Second Young Master should have realized this sooner."

"Oh?"

"After all, this tactic is the same one you used against me at Xingluo Granary. If not for your sudden ambush back then, I wouldn’t have been as easily forced to retreat from Xingluo Granary."

Yu Wenye’s eyes flickered slightly.

In fact, while down the mountain, he had already suspected that Xiao Yuansui might employ this method to capture Wanggang Village. Hearing it confirmed now was not surprising, though it still elicited a slight sigh in his heart.

He nodded and said, "Those who learn from me will live, those who imitate me will die."

"..."

"Though you couldn’t snatch victory from defeat, you managed to turn defeat into victory—Xiao Yuansui is indeed Xiao Yuansui."

"..."

"No wonder, after Zuo Heng’s defeat, when so many were purged, you alone survived and now have risen again."

At this moment, Shen Wuzheng said, "It seems that even if he truly knows the secrets of Left General’s Tomb, no one can do anything to him."

Xiao Yuansui’s face changed immediately, saying, "What did you say?"

Yu Wenye said, "Young Master Xiao must still remember, earlier I mentioned that we should not have come up the mountain now, but we did because something was left in Wanggang Village, and so, we are here to retrieve it from you, Young Master Xiao."

"Oh?"

Xiao Yuansui squinted slightly: "And what might that be?"

Yu Wenye did not immediately answer him. Instead, he turned for a glance, and just then, Shen Wuzheng gave his reins a flick, galloped a few steps forward, and said, "The map of Left General’s Tomb."

At these words, a murmur rose from the crowd at the gate.

Evidently, they were not entirely ignorant of this item, and even though Wang Quyi had killed Li Wen Yang, the matter of the treasure must have spread following Li Wen Yang’s death.

Xiao Yuansui’s face darkened further.

After a moment of silence, he said, "Did you give those maps to Sixth Brother and Eighth Brother?"

Shen Wuzheng said, "They took them from me."

Xiao Yuansui’s gaze grew colder: "Who are you?"

Shen Wuzheng said, "My name is Shen Wuzheng."

"Shen—Wuzheng,"

Xiao Yuansui’s expression changed, and he instinctively said, "Are you her, brother?"

Yu Wenye’s face darkened.

And Shen Wuzheng’s expression also changed slightly at this moment, but he said nothing more, only calmly said, "No matter who I am, what is lost should be returned to its owner. I would request Young Master Xiao to return that map to me. After all, Young Master Xiao now not only owns Eastern Capital Luoyang, but Wanggang Village is also within your grasp. The treasure of Left General’s Tomb should hold no appeal to you."

...

The entire Wanggang Village seemed to fall into an almost deathly silence at this moment.

The word ’treasure’ seemed to have taken the breath away from everyone.