On the battlefield, Yu Wenye possessed such skill!

Yu Wenqian’s gaze flickered as he looked at him for a moment, ultimately saying nothing. He only turned his head to look ahead at the shadowy figures racing forward.

The sound of hoofbeats was even more rapid and tense than before.

Evidently, this chase had also startled those in the front. Wang Shaoji and his group knew that Yu Wenye and the others had caught up, so they wanted to send someone to intercept them midway. However, unexpectedly, failing this much, they now dared not linger in battle and only spurred their horses even harder, wanting to shake off this group.

But, it wouldn’t be that easy.

And so, they chased and fled, from the dim weather of early night, until the surroundings became as dark as ink, the rumble of horse hooves turning the silent night into a tumult. In the end, the horizon ahead gradually revealed the pale light of dawn, the morning light gradually whitening the sky, and with the crow of a rooster, light spread everywhere.

They had chased for an entire night.

During this night, several skirmishes occurred as well. All those sent to intercept them were ruthlessly cut down by Yu Wenye and Shen Tu Tai leading their men, and Yu Wenqian’s men also joined the fight.

Even so, they were still at a distance from the figures fleeing ahead.

By this time, Yu Wenye had not closed his eyes for a whole day and night.

After finishing the battle at Taiyuan, he had rushed north, day and night to the Western Turkic Yatai, barely resting for a couple of hours after retrieving Shang Ruyi. On the last day, they hurriedly returned before Taiyuan City closed its gates, only to encounter the matter of Wang Shaoji before entering the city, and now pursued all night long—

As the sky grew brighter, Yu Wenqian’s stamina was reaching its limit.

He gritted his teeth, winding the reins around his palm twice to ensure he wouldn’t fall from his horse due to exhaustion. He turned his head to see Yu Wenye’s pale face, lips nearly devoid of color.

He said in a deep voice, "Second Brother!"

"Imperial Brother,"

Yu Wenye still didn’t look at him, but his pale lips slightly parted, clearly saying, "If I guessed correctly, their destination is just ahead."

"..."

"So, we can’t stop. We can’t stop here!"

"Ahead?"

At these words, Yu Wenqian paused, instinctively raising his head to look forward, and in just one glance, he saw a towering mountain standing before him, its main peak like a high-back chair, with arms stretching out. The mountainside was covered with dense pines and cypresses, evergreen despite the cold, even concealing the rocky slopes. Once someone entered such a forested mountain, it would be nearly impossible to find them!

That was Gonggong Mountain, northeast of Taiyuan!

At that moment, a gust of wind blew through, rustling the pines, with horse whinnies and human shouts carried on the wind.

Yu Wenqian’s eyes widened suddenly.

Yu Wenye, however, seemed unsurprised, as if he had anticipated this. He only squinted slightly to lessen the glare from the rising sun, then said, "Last night, among those who broke out of the city, there were also prisoners and surrendered soldiers they deliberately mixed in, but after estimating, the number of troops Wang Shaoji has left shouldn’t be just those."

Blinked by the sun, Yu Wenqian also squinted his eyes.

He immediately recalled that day on the prairie when he orchestrated a conflict between Wang Shaoji and the reinforcements of Western Turks coming to Taiyuan. Afterward, both sides withdrew separately. Although he pursued Wang Shaoji’s troops and killed quite a few, judging by their frantic retreat, there should indeed be more than those from last night.

Moreover, all along this pursuit, something had seemed odd—

If Wang Shaoji was attacking with an army, his outposts stationed around Taiyuan should have quickly detected their movements.

Unless it was a small group, making them hard to detect.

And upon hearing Yu Wenye’s analysis, it matched—Wang Shaoji must have hidden the remainder of his main force on that nearby Shuishen Mountain in front, while leading a small unit to sneak into East City Gate and set a fire while Yu Wenqian was at the north of the city to greet Yu Wenye, with insufficient defense inside. Meanwhile, rescuing Wang Shaoqiu and others, they rushed here.

Yu Wenye and his troops were not many.

But those Wang Shaoji hid in Shuishen Mountain were numerous enough.

Once they entered the mountain, regardless of finding them, if they indeed regrouped and launched a counterassault, they might all be trapped here!

Upon this thought, Yu Wenqian said, "Feng Chen!"

But Yu Wenye seemed to not hear his words, or perhaps he did and just showed no intent to retreat. As they rounded a turn, an almost dry riverbed, with cold water barely reaching the top of one’s feet, slowly flowed past.

Once across that river, Shuishen Mountain would be right in front!

They might have no more chances then!

But just at this moment, they saw at the end of the road ahead, Wang Shaoji and Wang Shaoqiu, the two brothers, taking the lead, spurred their horses toward the river. As the hooves plunged into the icy water, a splash rose as high as a person, drenching them, cold to the bone.

Immediately following, their accompanying troops plunged into the river too.

At that moment, with horses and men mixed together, tramping nearly dried up the river, with water splashing like rain. But they ignored all, only galloping forward with all their might.

Damn it!

Witnessing this, Yu Wenye reached back for his bow and arrows, but found the arrow tube empty.

The surrounding soldiers, exhausted from the night’s battles, were all panting heavily, faces pale and fatigued, watching as the opponents were about to cross the river. At this moment, a sense of defeat seemed to seep among them.

No longer able to pursue...

At that moment, suddenly there was a "whoosh," as a silver light flashed before their eyes!