A chilling gust of wind suddenly swept through, making the flags on the city wall flutter noisily. To Nie Chong’s keen ears, the sound was like a clap of thunder, startling him into alertness.

Noticing his reaction, a soldier beside him immediately whispered, "Brother Nie, what’s wrong?"

A few others around them also turned to look.

They were guarding a carriage, around ten of them in total. The carriage was piled with burlap sacks filled with grain and bundles of forage, just like on previous trips to Taiyuan City, except this time there was more, making the journey even more arduous. Yet, not one of them complained, and they pushed on hurriedly, finally arriving at Taiyuan City just past noon.

At this moment, the carriage halted at the city gate, ready to enter the city.

Before Nie Chong could reply to the soldier, a low, hoarse neigh suddenly echoed from ahead.

Nie Chong immediately became alert and whispered, "Stay focused, look ahead!"

Upon hearing his words, everyone around him lifted their heads, feeling another gust of chilling wind rush into their faces, making their hair and beards stand on end.

The tall city gate slowly creaked open!

The group was overjoyed, hurriedly trying to drive the carriage inside. But just as they were about to step forward, two teams emerged on either side of the gate, blocking their path.

Everyone immediately straightened up with vigilance.

One of them, looking like a captain, rode forward on his horse, while the leader of their group quickly approached to meet him.

Their leader was named Chen Chuan, about forty years old, a trusted aide of Lei Guo. He had led previous grain and forage shipments, so he was well-versed with the routine, and even the gate soldiers recognized him.

Upon seeing him, the captain of the gate soldiers smiled and said, "You’re early today."

Chen Chuan also smiled, glanced at the sky, and replied, "It’s overcast today, Lord Lei was worried it might snow again, making it hard for the carriage to travel, so he sent us on our way early."

"I see,"

The captain nodded without further comment, but gave a signal to the soldiers behind him. A few soldiers immediately stepped forward, inspecting the lead carriages, poking the grain sacks and forage with their blades, even bending down to check under the carriages to ensure no one was hiding underneath.

Seeing this, Nie Chong and the others held their breath.

It was evident that even though Lei Guo had previously submitted to Taiyuan because of Lei Yu’s influence, they still didn’t trust him. Even the grain carriages needed inspection, showing just how cunning and suspicious Wang Shaoqiu was.

The inspection revealed nothing unusual.

The captain smiled at Chen Chuan and said, "Sorry to hold you up, you can go in now."

Chen Chuan smiled back, saying, "Not at all."

With that, he waved to the people behind him, and they began to drive the carriages inside.

But just as their first carriage passed through the gate, a team of horsemen suddenly galloped up the main road inside the city. The leader was dressed in exquisite clothes, but due to his emaciation and sallow complexion, he looked as if a snow-white face was propped onto a robe, seemingly about to fall off the horse at any moment.

However, until the horse came to a steady stop in front of the first carriage, sending a gust of wind onto Chen Chuan and the others, he did not fall.

Not only did he stay upright, but he also looked down at them with his narrowed, arrogant eyes that carried a coldness.

Even though it was the first time he saw him, Nie Chong immediately recognized—

This man was Wang Shaoqiu.

He was the brother of Wang Shaoji, the mastermind who allied with the Western Turks to capture Taiyuan City!

Even before they set out, Yu Wenye and Lei Guo had respectively described Wang Shaoqiu’s appearance and character to him, because for this mission, except for the leader Chen Chuan, all Yu Wenye’s men were under Nie Chong’s command—since Yu Wenye’s deputies had served in the former dynasty’s army, the Wang Brothers were likely familiar with them, as was Shen Tu Tai. Only Nie Chong, who hailed from Wanggang Village, was unknown to them. Even if someone recognized him, he could claim to have sought a new path after Wanggang Village’s downfall, joining Lei Guo in Qi County, without blowing his cover.

At this moment, seeing the "culprit" behind Taiyuan City’s capture, Nie Chong’s breath tightened.

He immediately lowered his head, not daring to meet the other’s gaze. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Wang Shaoqiu’s gaze merely swept over them nonchalantly, but he immediately sensed something amiss and slightly furrowed his brow, asking, "Why are there so many unfamiliar faces this time?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Chuan hastily chuckled and said, "My lord, the last group transporting grain and forage fell ill on their return."

"Fell ill?"

"Indeed, during those days it was raining and snowing, and the brothers dared not delay, braving the rain to deliver here, and they all fell ill afterward. They’re still bedridden, so we had to send these new hands."

"Oh..."

Wang Shaoqiu slightly raised his eyebrows, saying nothing.

However, he didn’t make way either, instead glancing at the grain and forage carriages at the rear and suddenly asked, "Previously, when Yuan An led his troops south, the supplies were loaded in Qi County."

Chen Chuan quickly replied, "Yes."

Wang Shaoqiu asked, "How much did he take?"

Chen Chuan’s eyes darted about and quickly said with a smile, "Just as your lordship wrote in your letter, no more, no less."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Wang Shaoqiu slowly frowned and murmured, "It’s been over half a month now, counting the round trip, they should have returned by now. How come—"

Although it was just his own murmuring, and even those following him didn’t hear it, Nie Chong, standing a bit further away, suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. At that moment, another gust of cold wind blew past, bringing a biting chill, causing him and several other soldiers standing against the wind to sneezed involuntarily.

Wang Shaoqiu frowned slightly, glanced at them, then impatiently waved his hand: "Go inside."

After speaking, he slowly rode away.

Watching his proud back, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. Chen Chuan turned back to look at Nie Chong, gave a hint to the people behind, and everyone quickly managed their horses and carriages and soon passed through the city gate.

However, just as they entered the city, a sudden gust of wind blew violently from the east.

This gust was particularly fierce, blowing the flags atop the city wall into a flurry of flapping, and because of the gate tunnel, the wind’s howling sounded like a dragon’s roar, creating a feeling of a battlefield with banners flying, swords clashing.

"Hmm?"

Nie Chong paused, suddenly stopped, and looked towards the east.

At this moment, Chen Chuan, who had retreated to his side, turned his head to look at him and said softly, "What’s wrong with you? Be cautious."

Now, they had entered the city, and the situation within the city was even more guarded than just at the city gate. As soon as they turned a corner, they encountered a patrolling troop, along with several Turkic soldiers in leather coats with open chests exposed to the cold wind, galloping down the long street, forcing them to dodge hurriedly.

Nie Chong said, "These are—"

"These are Western Turks."

Chen Chuan, walking forward, lowered his voice, "Now, the city is jointly controlled by the Western Turks and Wang Shaoqiu. It’s said that if people in the city commit an offense, the Western Turks can kill; if the Western Turks commit an offense, Wang Shaoqiu dares not intervene."

"..."

"So, you must not give yourselves away, otherwise—"

"I understand."

Nie Chong nodded immediately, but his gaze couldn’t help but keep looking towards the direction from which the wind, like the roar of tigers and dragons, blew.

He vaguely remembered that Yu Wenye mentioned before that to the east of Taiyuan was Shouyang...

Chen Chuan whispered, "What are you looking towards there for?"

"..."

Nie Chong stayed silent for a moment, also feeling inexplicable, and murmured, "I must have heard wrong. How could my ears be that sharp?"

After speaking, he turned his head and walked forward with him.

|

Almost as the gate of Taiyuan City closed, within Shouyang County to the east of Taiyuan, a Turkic army had flattened the pasture.

This army had tens of thousands of soldiers, entering Shouyang in several divisions, among which the central troop was the most majestic and powerful, representing the elite force of this campaign.

They were the reinforcement from the Western Turks.

Leading them was a man riding a bay horse, wearing a wolf head mask that covered the upper half of his face, revealing only sharp lips and a wide chin, giving him a very mysterious aura.

At this moment, he was quietly watching his subordinates replenish water and grass, then looked up at the sky.

At this time, a tall and strong man rode up to him, placed his fist on his left shoulder in salute, then said, "Prince, we are half a day’s journey from Taiyuan."

This wolf-faced prince turned and glanced at him.

Then he said, "Is there any movement in Taiyuan?"

The man said, "No."

"And Qi County?"

"Qi County?"

The man was momentarily stunned upon hearing this, then, after recalling, said, "Well, that man named Lei—what problem could he have?"

The wolf-faced prince was silent for a moment before saying, "If they are not of our race, their hearts must be different."

Upon hearing this, the man instead cast a peculiar glance at the wolf-faced prince, and after a while, he laughed and said, "But hasn’t that Lei Yu already—"

At this moment, the wolf-faced prince suddenly raised his head and looked forward: "What is that sound?"

The man immediately shut his mouth, instinctively following his gaze to look ahead. They were located on a flat grassland rich with water and grass, extending hundreds of feet forward to a spruce forest. As the cold wind blew, the dense branches swayed gently, as if the entire forest were moving.

But, there was nothing.

So he said, "There’s noth—"

Before finishing the sentence, several screams came from the crowd ahead. Upon a closer look, a few people had suddenly fallen from their horses, having been shot with arrows!

That was—

The wolf-faced prince was shocked, immediately raised his head, and at that moment, a cold gleam shot toward him like lightning!