Chapter 182. Prince Chen is Dead.
Verdant hills rolled endlessly into the distance, the wind whispering secrets laced with the faintest hint of smoke.
Yuan Li and Chu Hechao locked eyes, their minds reeling in shock.
Encountering Chu Hechao here, before the very gates of the enemy city, was a revelation neither could have anticipated.
The surrounding sounds seemed to fade away.
People around him were cheering, shouting excitedly, "Lord, it's Great General!"
"It's Great General!!!"
Many voices rang out, muffled like whispers of joy and celebration.
Everyone was telling Yuan Li that standing there was Chu Hechao, alive and well.
Yuan Li continued to watch Chu Hechao, witnessing the man's expression change from confusion to shock, and from shock to sheer joy, seeing the increasing brightness in Chu Hechao's eyes.
Unconsciously, Yuan Li's face broke into a smile.
Chu Hechao suddenly strode towards Yuan Li.
His steps grew larger and faster, almost breaking into a run.
In Yuanli's mind flashed images of bidding farewell to Chu Hechao multiple times.
-Take care, General.
-You too, take care.
-Hurry back, you should leave now.
-Okay, I'll go now, take care too.
Every time they parted, Chu Hechao would say "Take care" to Yuan Li. But this time, in their separation, Chu Hechao didn't even get a chance to say "Take care" to Yuan Li.
Yuan Li didn't know what was happening, his eyes began to blur.
The chaos of fleeing Yangzhou soldiers couldn't stop Chu Hechao's rapid approach, rubble and debris couldn't slow him down. Swiftly, Chu Hechao came closer, desperate to reach Yuan Li.
Though not far apart, there was still a distance of a hundred meters. Unable to restrain himself, Yuan Li left his men behind and took a few steps forward. The two men drew closer and closer, until they were within arm's reach.
Chu Hechao looked thinner, sweating on his forehead, faces with traces of soot, scruffy beard.
He gazed at Yuanli with intense longing and love in his eyes, more piercing than the blazing fire of Luling City behind him.
"You..."
Yuan Li choked in his throat, barely getting out a word before Chu Hechao pulled him into his embrace.
The familiar feeling enveloped Yuan Li in an instant, closing his eyes, he held onto Chu Hechao.
Chu Hechao wanted to meld Yuan Li into himself, restraining his strength out of fear of hurting him. Trembling with emotion, he whispered, "Le Jun."
His voice hoarse, filled with ecstasy, careful and cautious, as if Yuan Li was a vision, "I miss you so much."
His words began to pour out, his voice significantly lower than usual, "Is it cold in the winter? Have you closed all the doors and windows before sleeping? Have you been eating and sleeping well since my ambush? Why have you lost so much weight... Le Jun, have you cried many times? I told you, take care after I left..."
His words became incoherent, eventually fading into silence.
Breathing heavily, Chu Hechao held onto Yuan Li, murmuring absently, "I really miss you."
Unable to hold back his tears any longer, Yuan Li wept, his tears falling onto Chu Hechao's shoulder. Nodding firmly, he choked out, "I miss you too."
Chu Hechao's eyes were red, hiding his emotions by lowering his head and pressing a kiss onto Yuanli's hair.
Even the toughest of men couldn't contain their surging emotions at that moment. Cherishing Yuan Li's scent, Chu Hechao's restless heart finally found solace.
Chu Hechao continued to stroke Yuan Li's back.
Regained.
Once again, he experienced the feeling of regaining what was lost with Yuan Li.
Chu Hechao's eyes burned with intensity as he cherished every moment with Yuan Li, planting another kiss on his hair, wiping away Yuan Li's tears, and hoarsely saying, "Don't cry."
Yuan Li hummed in agreement, with a trembling voice, "Don't speak, don't comfort me, the more you talk, the more I feel like crying."
Chu Hechao chuckled softly, planting another kiss on Yuanli's forehead, reluctant to let go, saying, "I really want to just keep holding you like this."
Yuan Li wanted the same, but he knew it wasn't appropriate at that moment. After calming various overwhelming emotions, he gently eased away from Chu Hechao's embrace.
Chu Hechao looked up and down at him, scrutinizing every inch, feeling a pang in his heart, and remarked, "You've lost weight."
He straightened Yuan Li's disheveled clothes, adjusted his collar, suppressing his emotions, and said, "You've lost a lot of weight."
Yuan Li smiled, the frustration in his heart disappearing after crying, his face clearing up like after a storm, "You've lost weight too, let's go back together and regain it!"
Chu Hechao agreed, his eyes filled with intense affection, smiling, "I'll do as you say."
Yuan Li's ears turned red.
Chu Hechao's longing and attachment to him were tangible, surging like waves, deep and fiery, wanting to engulf him completely.
The two of them had been separated several times due to war, this time being the most difficult to bear. The distinction between life and death, the prolonged absence, they couldn't help but be overwhelmed by their emotions.
However, the current situation did not allow them to express their feelings, so they had to forcibly suppress them, holding back and pretending to be ordinary.
As soon as they embraced, their subordinates instinctively stopped, protecting them and waiting quietly. When they saw that their lord and Great General seemed to have calmed down, they approached, ignoring the previous scene, and greeted Chu Hechao with smiles.
Guo Mao couldn't help but feel amazed at how right their lord had been.
Indeed, their lord and Great General were a perfect match, a union blessed by the heavens. Despite facing countless challenges and hardships in the past few months, fighting battles and overcoming obstacles, the moment they reunited, all the problems seemed to miraculously resolve themselves.
With victory within reach, Guo Mao could hardly believe it.
It seemed that in order to bring peace to the world and end all conflicts, their lord and Great General had to be together for a lifetime.
Chu Hechao's temper had never been better, patiently nodding and responding to everyone with a simple "Good."
After exchanging greetings, Jia Qing was the first to ask, "May I ask General, did you set the fire in Luling City? Do you know where Prince Chen is?"
"The fire was indeed set by me," Chu Hechao furrowed his thick eyebrows, speaking in a deep voice, "Is Prince Chen here?"
This time even Yuan Li was surprised, "You don't know?"
Chu Hechao beckoned for Yuan Congyun to come over. As Yuan Congyun ran over, he explained, "I traveled all the way from Yangzhou to the south and just burned down the shipyard and ships in Luling, charging into their camp. The soldiers from Yangzhou kept retreating, fleeing in all directions, so I was planning to leave Luling when I saw you, without encountering anyone else along the way."
As he finished speaking, Yuan Congyun came running over, nearly in tears upon seeing Yuan Li and the others, "General, what do you need?"
"Send someone to the watchtower in Luling to see if there are any troops hiding nearby in the jungle," Chu Hechao instructed, "Prepare the troops, have all the soldiers in the city come out, close the gates, let it burn, there are more important matters to attend to now."
Yuan Congyun immediately nodded, greeted Yuan Li and then hurried off.
Seeing Chu Hechao, Yuan Li felt confident that they could win any battle, feeling completely at ease, "I agree with you. Prince Chen must have arrived before me, and you were probably attacking Luling, so you couldn't pay attention to what was happening outside the city. He must have known that Luling was in chaos and decided not to enter the city. Since he didn't enter the city, he must be in the surrounding deep mountains and forests."
"Great minds think alike," Chu Hechao playfully teased Yuan Li, pretending to be serious, "The jungle is dangerous, even though our Northern troops have experience surviving in the Southern jungle, it's not as good as the Southern troops. Fortunately, I brought soldiers from Jiaozhou, which is further south than Yangzhou, so they are better equipped to search for Prince Chen in the forest than using Northern troops."
Yuan Li smiled and agreed, "Prince Chen's strength is waning, he won't go too deep into the forest."
A moment later, the soldiers observing from the watchtower sent a message that there was movement in the eastern jungle.
Chu Hechao coldly smirked, sending a group of nimble and experienced soldiers from Jiaozhou deep into the forest, instructing them to discreetly report back if they found any trace of Prince Chen.
These soldiers from Jiaozhou quickly disappeared into the jungle. After about an hour, as the sun had set and darkness enveloped them from all sides, a few soldiers successfully located Prince Chen's whereabouts and reported back.
Chu Hechao didn't immediately lead the troops to capture Prince Chen's.
The night had fallen, and for those unfamiliar with the terrain of Luling, entering the mountains was undoubtedly very dangerous. However, while the darkness posed a challenge for them, it also worked against Prince Chen.
They couldn't approach, and Prince Chen couldn't leave in the darkness.
Chu Hechao took control of the troops from Yuan Li, surrounding the mountain where Prince Chen was located with soldiers, patiently waiting for daylight to trap Prince Chen from all sides.
Throughout the night, no one slept. In order not to alert Prince Chen, they didn't even light a campfire.
Chu Hechao wrapped his cloak around Yuan Li, asking softly, "Are you cold?"
Yuan Li shook his head, "Not cold."
Chu Hechao touched Yuan Li's hand, frowning as he reprimanded, "Your hands are frozen like ice, and you say you're not cold."
He rubbed Yuan Li's hands in his palm and then tucked them into his own clothes, saying, "Keep them warm until they thaw."
"Oh," Yuan Li obediently responded, "How are your injuries?"
Chu Hechao joked, "They were still hurting before I saw you, now it's just itching."
Thinking he was serious about the itching, Yuan Li offered, "Where is it itching? Let me scratch it for you."
Chu Hechao found Yuan Li's earnest expression adorable, feeling a warmth in his heart. He playfully brushed his stubble against Yuanli's face and muffled a laugh, "It's itching in my heart."
Yuan Li's brows twitched, "..." This person is still so unserious.
Quietly, time passed.
After the pitch-black midnight, the dark night slowly thinned out, with a faint light appearing in the misty east.
The sun had yet to rise.
Silently, Chu Hechao led the troops towards the mountain top.
Yuan Li was stationed below the mountain as backup, pacing anxiously back and forth, making Guo Maoh heart race, "My lord, the General will definitely succeed in capturing Prince Chen."
Yuan Li immediately cautioned, "Don't jinx it."
Guo Mao looked puzzled, "What is 'jinx'?"
Yuan Li cleared his throat, "Never mind."
Unknowingly, the sun rose in the east, hanging high in the sky, painting half the sky golden.
Yuan Li's brow furrowed deeply as he suddenly heard movement in the forest. Straining his eyes, he saw a group escorting Prince Chen and his subordinates approaching.
Yuan Li breathed a sigh of relief.
Approaching, he saw Chen Wang being carried down by a soldier. Although it looked like they were 'walking,' Prince Chen was actually being carried by a soldier.
Prince Chen's eyes were wide open, his face pale, lips trembling and turning blue, with traces of blood on his chest indicating he had coughed up blood again last night. Despite his condition, he remained calm and surprisingly had a faint smile on his face.
The prisoners were detained in an open space, and Prince Chen was placed on the ground. Being elderly, Yuan Li and Chu Hechao did not tie him up or humiliate him, but Prince Chen knew he couldn't escape.
He didn't try to escape.
He just looked at Yuan Li and Chu Hechao with a strange glint in his eyes. Yuan Li felt uncomfortable under his gaze but maintained composure, calmly stating, "Prince Chen, the outcome is decided. It's time for you to come with us."
It was better to capture Prince Chen alive so they could use his life to force the soldiers of Yangzhou to surrender, who were still entangled with He Lang at the Huai River.
Of course, if Prince Chen refused to surrender, they could kill him directly. Using his head could achieve the same effect, but they needed to be cautious of Prince Chen's loyal followers launching a desperate counterattack in anger.
Prince Chen shook his head and slowly said, "No, I am old and my body is not well. I can't handle the hardships anymore. Victory and defeat are common in warfare. I accept my defeat. You can proceed."
Just by looking at Prince Chen, it was evident that he was on his last legs. Perhaps, when he hurried to Luling yesterday, he thought there was still hope, only to find Luling broken as well. Overwhelmed with mixed emotions, he lost the will to resist.
Without wasting any words, Chu Hechao directly ordered Yuan Congyun to decapitate Prince Chen.
Yuan Congyun stepped forward with his sword.
As the big blade drew closer, Prince Chen coughed and suddenly burst into laughter, "How amusing, truly amusing. To witness such a spectacle yesterday, dying today wouldn't be unjust! I will visit the underworld and see how your fate unfolds! Will you be scorned by the world, abandoned by all? Perhaps no one would have imagined that you, supposedly a pair of relatives by marriage, would turn out to be that kind..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Chu Hechao swiftly snatched the blade from Yuan Congyun and decisively beheaded Prince Chen, his laughter frozen on his face as his head rolled on the ground.
Blood splattered on Chu Hechao's forehead, as he raised his eyebrows, gazing intensely at everyone present.
Yuan Li's expression remained unchanged as he squinted at Prince Chen's severed head for a moment before surveying the surroundings.
Silence.
Except for the chirping of insects and birds, no one dared to speak.
Some faces showed bewilderment, others were calm, and some displayed shock.
Yuan Li chuckled lightly, lifting the head of Chen Wang and examining it, before casually tossing it to Lin Tian, "Wrap it in lime, let's finish up and go back!"
His voice broke the eerie silence, with Lin Tian responding promptly.
Yuan Li's actions seemed completely ordinary, as if Prince Chen's earlier words were merely a rumor.
Jia Qing and Yuan Congyun suppressed their astonishment and turned their disbelief into relief. They initially thought Prince Chen was spreading lies but when they saw Yuan Li suddenly grabbing Chu Hechao's arm, they paused.
His fair, porcelain-like hand moved down Chu Hechao's arm and finally clasped his scarred and rugged hand. His slender fingers interlocked with Chu Hechao's without hesitation.
Chu Hechao was briefly stunned, then without any hesitation, he also held onto Yuan Li's hand.