jdhmnovel Chapter 499 Failure
Chapter 499 Failure
Lin Yongnan was the only one left in the tent. He looked at the map, his eyes gradually becoming complicated.
He recalled how His Majesty patted him on the shoulder and said, "The people of Chuzhou are in your care," before he set off. He remembered the soldiers who had come with him, Cui Zhihao and Shi Wanxia who were still waiting for rescue in the city, and countless innocent civilians.
He reached out and gently pressed his hand on the location of the west gate on the map, where he could still feel the warmth of his brothers' bodies and blood.
A single, murky tear slid down his cheek, landing on the map and spreading into a small patch of ink.
"Brothers, I'm sorry."
He said in a low voice, his voice full of guilt and self-reproach, "Once the city falls, I will definitely avenge you."
Outside the tent, the soldiers silently gathered the bodies of their fallen comrades. No one spoke, except for the occasional suppressed sobs.
The sunlight grew stronger, but it couldn't penetrate the camp filled with sorrow and anger, nor could it reach Chuzhou City, which was firmly controlled by the rebels. Inside the city, Shi Wanxia leaned against a haystack, listening to the screams coming from outside the city, her heart sinking deeper and deeper.
She didn't know what was happening outside, only that the voice was full of despair, which made her worry that the reinforcements might also be in danger.
Wang Ying held Ya Ya in her arms, hugging the child even tighter.
Ya Ya nestled in Wang Ying's arms and whispered, "Auntie, what's going on outside? Have reinforcements arrived?"
Wang Ying couldn't speak, she just shook her head, and tears fell silently down her face.
She didn't know how much longer they would have to hide in this dilapidated temple, or whether they would ever be able to wait until the day they were truly safe.
Meanwhile, Lei Zhao, atop the city wall, looked down at the sorrowful camp outside the city and laughed with increasing smugness.
He didn't realize that his smugness would only make the ensuing battle more brutal and cost more lives.
The curtains at the dilapidated temple swayed in the wind. Shi Wanxia stood at the door, leaning against the wall. She had just returned from inquiring about news outside, and the soot on her face couldn't hide her paleness.
She had only walked two blocks when she saw rebel soldiers with knives driving young men from the alley toward the city gate.
An old man clung to his son's leg and refused to let go, but was kicked in the chest by a rebel soldier and vomited blood on the spot.
Another woman chased after her husband, crying. The rebels raised their knives to strike her, but the man knelt down and begged them to let her go. However, he was forcibly dragged away, only managing to shout "Take good care of the child" before he was taken away.
"They...they drove all the men in the city to the city gates to be cannon fodder, and killed them if they didn't go."
Shi Wanxia leaned against the door frame, her voice trembling. With each word she spoke, the pain in her ribs seemed to drill into her bone marrow. She subconsciously pressed her chest, and the wound under her coarse cloth clothes bled again.
"And in the east of the city... the families of the young men who were captured in the east of the city, including women and children, are all being held in a small granary. When I passed by, I heard women crying inside, and also the laughter of the rebels..."
Before he could finish speaking, Cui Zhihao suddenly started coughing violently. He was leaning against the haystack, and the coughing made him curl up into a ball. The blood dripping from the corner of his mouth onto the dry grass was particularly glaring.
Lin Yiyu tried to help him up, but as soon as he stretched out his leg, the festering wound on his leg was pulled painfully. He gasped, and cold sweat instantly soaked his hair: "These beasts... we can't just ignore them."
"But how do we manage it?"
Wang Ying held Ya Ya, her voice filled with despair, "Young Master Cui and Young Master Lin are so badly injured, and you yourself are too..."
Shi Wanxia raised her head, her eyes filled with an almost stubborn determination.
She walked over to Cui Zhihao, squatted down, and gently patted his back to help him catch his breath: "Brother Cui, Brother Lin, you stay here and watch over Yaya. I'll take Sister Wang to the east of the city."
"no!"
Choi Ji-ho finally stopped coughing, grabbed her wrist, his grip wasn't strong, but it was tight.
"You're so badly injured, going there would be suicide!"
"Are we just going to stand by and watch them get bullied?"
Shi Wanxia raised her voice slightly, but her eyes reddened.
“There are elderly people, children, and so many women inside. If we don’t help them, they’ll be finished! I can endure this; these injuries are nothing!”
She pulled her hand away from Cui Zhihao's and looked at Wang Ying: "Sister Wang, do you dare to come with me? We don't need to force our way in. As long as we can lure away the rebels, we can let as many of them escape as possible."
Wang Ying looked at Shi Wanxia's pale yet resolute face, then looked down at Ya Ya in her arms.
Ya Ya was staring at her with wide eyes, her little hands clutching the hem of her clothes tightly. She gritted her teeth and nodded: "I'll go! I used to work at the grain depot, I know there's a small window in the back, big enough for someone to squeeze through!"
"Yaya, you stay here and listen to Uncle Cui and Uncle Lin. Auntie and Sister Shi are going to rescue the other aunties, they'll be back soon."
Wang Ying placed Ya Ya next to Cui Zhihao, then tidied her hair, tears welling up in her eyes. "If Auntie doesn't come back... you should stay with Sister Shi. She will protect you."
Ya Ya clung to Cui Zhihao's arm, pouting, but didn't cry. She just whispered, "Auntie, Sister Shi, please be careful."
Shi Wanxia patted Ya Ya's head, turned around and took out the small knife from under the stove—the blade was a little rusty, but it was still sharp.
She concealed the knife in her sleeve, then leaned against the wall and slowly straightened up: "Let's go."
Cui Zhihao watched her retreating figure, wanting to say something more, but then coughed. He could only watch helplessly as she and Wang Ying walked out of the dilapidated temple and their figures quickly disappeared into the alley.
Lin Yiyu leaned against the haystack, looking at Ya Ya's sensible appearance, his heart ached as if it were being cut by a knife: "It's all our fault... If we hadn't been injured, we wouldn't have let them take such a risk."
Outside the granary in the east of the city, four rebel soldiers stood guard, holding knives and leaning against the wall smoking.
Every now and then, he would shout out some vulgarities into the granary, from which came the cries of women and the sobs of children, making one's heart clench.
Shi Wanxia and Wang Ying hid at the entrance of a nearby alley, looking in the direction of the grain depot.
Shi Wanxia's wound started to hurt again. She leaned against the wall, quietly took a breath, and pressed her hand to her chest, feeling the blood seeping out little by little.
"The small window at the back is in the northwest corner, where there is only one guard."
Wang Ying whispered, "How do we distract them?"
Shi Wanxia glanced at the woodshed next door, her eyes lighting up.
She pulled Wang Ying along and quietly went around to the back of the woodshed, where a lot of dry grass was piled up.
She pulled a tinderbox from her sleeve—it was given to her by Choi Ji-ho before, and she had never been willing to use it.
“I’ll set the fire. The woodshed is close to the granary. Once the fire starts, they’ll definitely rush to put it out. You can take the opportunity to go to the northwest corner, open the window, and let the people inside run away quickly.”
Shi Wanxia handed the tinderbox to Wang Ying, saying, "Be careful. If you get caught, run into the alley and don't worry about me."
Wang Ying took the tinder and nodded.
Shi Wanxia took a deep breath, leaned against the wall, and slowly moved to the door of the woodshed. After confirming that no one was paying attention, she pushed open the door and hid inside.