Watching those people frantically flee across the blood-red river, Yu Wenye’s pupils darkened suddenly.

Meanwhile, the soldiers behind him displayed complex expressions on their faces.

Everyone knew that the decisive moment in battle was rare, yet they dared not cross the river without the command of their general—after all, they had been pursuing all night, and even the formidable Shen Tu Tai was at his limit. Many among them bore injuries, some couldn’t even lift their arms.

Moreover, Yu Wenye’s arrow tube was completely empty, and after Yu Wenqian shot his last arrow, he took no further action.

Still, a sense of restlessness surged among the crowd.

After all, it had come to this point.

But just as they wished to tighten their reins and spur forward, suddenly, a sharp whistling came from above. Yu Wenye’s eyes turned cold as he raised his hand and shouted, "Fall back!" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Just as the words were spoken, several arrows sliced through the air from the mountain ahead, gleaming silver, and finally landed with precision on the riverbank.

The crowd was startled, quickly turning their horses and retreating a few steps.

Yu Wenye and Yu Wenqian didn’t retreat whatsoever, instead looking towards the front. Seizing the opportunity created by those few arrows, Wang Shaoqiu was already leading his men rushing ashore. Although they were soaked with the frigid, blood-red river water trickling down, leaving behind a trail on the river beach, they ignored it and on reaching the shore, they desperately spurred their horses and shortly after vanished into the dense woods.

At this moment, Shen Tu Tai rode forward, watching with a grave expression as the pine forest ahead trembled from the disturbance of that group. Right now, their traces were still barely discernible, but if they ventured further into the deep mountains, finding them would become difficult.

He said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, are we not pursuing?"

"..."

Yu Wenye remained silent.

At this moment, only Shen Tu Tai moved forward a few steps, and the people on the mountain were obviously startled again; however, only sporadic arrows shot down, landing on the east side of the riverbank, fiercely warning them not to cross the Thunder Pool. But actually, everyone knew they were merely bluffing.

If they truly had the courage to fight, now would be the time for their army to crush downward.

After all, the troops behind Yu Wenqian and Yu Wenye were fewer than a thousand, and the reinforcements hadn’t arrived yet. If Wang Shaoji’s men were indeed stationed on Shuishen Mountain, they might muster strength and defeat, capturing the Yu Wen brothers, thus achieving a coup; and the newly established Dasheng Dynasty would suffer a significant blow from losing the valor of Han King and King Qin.

Perhaps, the situation could change entirely.

Yet now, what they were doing was merely this feeble "intimidation," not daring to make a direct attack, even fearing that annoyingly pursuing might provoke an actual chase, so they didn’t even dare shoot at Yu Wenye.

It was clear they lacked the courage.

Not only was their confidence shattered in the previous Taiyuan battle, but also because of the recent scene, the Wang Brothers’ own "mutual slaughter" made them lose faith in their leaders, even if they were to follow, morale had disintegrated.

At this moment, it is unnecessary to pursue beaten foes.

Instead—

Yu Wenye slowly turned his head back, looking at Yu Wenqian who was still standing behind him, his face slightly alarmed, staring at the river water which had gradually calmed down. But those clear eyes seemed dyed with the blood-red river water, revealing a slight red glow.

He said, "Imperial Brother, good archery."

"..."

Hearing his voice, Yu Wenqian snapped back to reality, his gaze shifting to him, although the red in his pupils hadn’t faded yet, making his eyes look somewhat unfamiliar.

He said, "What a pity."

"..."

"If only I could have—then Wang Shaoqiu wouldn’t have escaped."

Although these words carried a hint of self-blame, they weren’t excessively self-deprecating. After all, if he had chosen to directly shoot at Wang Shaoqiu, even if not fatal, he could have severely injured him, preventing his escape; but Yu Wenqian, perhaps influenced by his Buddhist compassion, only shot Wang Shaoqiu’s horse, allowing him to seize the chance, dragging the also injured Wang Shaoji down as a shield, and escape with his life.