Chapter Forty-Six: Mutual Destruction

No one knew how much time had passed when suddenly, the bandit chief's triumphant laughter rang out. “Quick! Second Brother, have the men push the grain carts! The rest, follow me—keep fighting!”

Hearing this, Gu Li knew at once that the outcome was far from what they had hoped for.

Sure enough, before long, the thunderous sound of footsteps faded into the distance, and once again, silence fell outside.

Gu Li could wait no longer. She flung aside the curtain, and the sight that met her eyes nearly brought her to tears. The ground was littered with gravely wounded soldiers, blood flowing and flesh mangled—a scene so harrowing that it spoke of the life-and-death struggle that had just taken place.

She leapt from the carriage and ran straight to the Crown Prince, anxiously asking, “Brother, are you hurt?”

Wei Chu, seeing the tears in his sister’s eyes and her pale face, felt a pang in his heart. His sister had been raised in the sheltered depths of the palace and had never witnessed such carnage and bloodshed. She must have been terrified just now.

Wei Chu reached out to touch her forehead, soothing her gently, “It’s nothing, just a small wound.”

But Gu Li, seeing the gash on his arm where a broadsword had cut through flesh and muscle, could hardly believe it was a minor injury. Her nose tingled and, unable to help herself, she began to cry.

“How is this a small wound? We must treat everyone at once. Jasmine, quickly, bring the medicine and bandages!”

The Crown Prince, seeing his sister’s tears, could not protest further and let her pull him aside to sit down so she could carefully tend to his wound.

To be honest, this was the first time he’d ever been cared for by his sister. It was both a surprise and a source of comfort.

Wei Chu turned to General Chang’an and Miss Yu Yang, asking, “Chang’an, Miss Yu, are either of you hurt?”

Gu Li paused in her cleaning of the wound, suddenly realizing that in her worry she had forgotten to ask if they were injured as well. She looked up, her tear-bright eyes meeting Lie Chang’an’s, “Chang’an, are you hurt?”

Lie Chang’an felt a warmth in his heart. The sense of loss and disappointment he’d felt when she first stepped from the carriage without looking his way vanished entirely. He shook his head, his voice gentle, “No.”

The bandits, though numerous and reckless, had fought chaotically, never landing a single blow on him.

Gu Li relaxed and returned to bandaging the Crown Prince’s wound with care.

The Crown Prince offered a faint smile. “Miss Yu, thank you for your help again just now.”

Yu Yang’s expression was still cold. “There’s no need for thanks. Since I travel with you, I won’t stand aside.”

The Crown Prince nodded, his gaze falling on the soldiers lying wounded and the meager grain that remained. With a heavy sigh, he said, “They took three thousand dan of grain.”

Lie Chang’an nodded. “If they’d had more men, we might have been completely wiped out.”

“They lost many as well,” Yu Yang observed, her eyes sweeping over the bodies strewn across the ground. “A pyrrhic victory at best.”

The Crown Prince clenched his fists, fury in his voice. “We must reclaim those three thousand dan of grain. The disaster victims in Lihuai County are still waiting on us. Every last dan of this ten thousand must reach the people.”

“Chang’an, have the soldiers rest and recover. We have little time. We must storm their mountain stronghold and take back the grain as soon as possible. If they regroup and return, the consequences will be dire.”

Yu Yang frowned. “You mean to raid their lair and seize back the grain?”

“Yes,” the Crown Prince replied, his gaze following the ruts left by the carts. As long as they followed these tracks, they would find the bandits’ den.