Chapter 868: Qing'er, Your Brother Has Failed You!

Mi Man smiled. "If the Supreme Elder was able to notice it in time, then it was not luck. It was because all the Supreme Elders were attentive."

The words were distinctly flattering.

The old man sighed.

"Attentive or lucky, so long as it benefits the sect, it is what old fellows like us ought to do."

"I simply cannot understand how matters came to this point."

"I only hope these two hostages prove useful."

He showed no intention of accepting the praise or claiming credit.

The sigh in his voice left the current generation holding authority in the various sects feeling ashamed.

Pang Teng shifted his gaze away from Shang Shuqing and the infant, who looked almost like mother and child together.

He asked the person beside him, "Using a newborn infant as leverage while two armies face one another—aren't we going too far?"

"If the soldiers below see this, I'm afraid they'll have thoughts of their own."

Zuo Chengfeng, Sect Leader of Luoxia Villa, gave a cold laugh.

"Did we not take this risk for their sake?"

"Isn't this better than letting them lose their lives?"

"If you people had not been so useless, why would we have needed to resort to such despicable methods?"

Pang Teng could only raise his face toward the sky and sigh.

He understood the military situation better than anyone.

The enemy's heavy forces had surrounded them, seized the key routes, and cut off every line of supply to the Zhao army.

Given enough time, they could simply be starved and trapped to death.

Breaking out would be extraordinarily difficult.

Even if they somehow succeeded, the losses would be catastrophic, and afterward they would likely no longer possess the strength for another battle.

He regretted it.

War concerned the fate of a state.

He should never have launched troops so rashly.

Jiang Wanlou, Sect Leader of Guiyuan Sect, said, "The Supreme Elders took a somewhat indirect route back for safety. Even so, the other side shouldn't be reacting this slowly."

"Shang Chaozong should already have received the news from Nanzhou's provincial capital by now."

This side was waiting.

Waiting for Shang Chaozong to contact them.

But after nearly half a day passed without the slightest response from the Yan army, they began to lose patience.

They did not know whether Yan was simply ignoring them or whether some accident had prevented the news from reaching its destination.

Meanwhile, battle could erupt at any moment.

In the end, Zhao sent a messenger across.

The envoy met Shang Chaozong and proposed talks between the two sides.

Shang Chaozong had not wanted to negotiate.

He feared it would affect army morale.

Niu Youdao, however, advised him to accept. They needed to confirm where Shang Shuqing and the child were.

Only then did Shang Chaozong agree.

The messenger immediately hurried back with the reply.

At the appointed time, both armies' forward lines stirred.

On each side, a contingent of troops escorted a group forward.

The commanders of both armies advanced slowly under guard until they finally met.

The two sides stopped at a clear distance from one another, their formations sharply divided and every man highly alert.

The atmosphere felt as though battle might erupt at any moment.

Mr. Yucang had appeared among the Yan forces as well.

Xiaoyue Pavilion had left liaison personnel here to coordinate between the two allied armies.

Once those men learned of the sudden development, they urgently sent word back.

Afraid the situation might change, Mr. Yucang immediately rode a large flying bird over from the rebel army in Zhao to see matters for himself.

He had arrived only shortly before Zhao requested negotiations, so he came along.

Mounted on horseback, Shang Chaozong pointed toward Pang Teng opposite him.

"Pang Teng, victory and defeat are common affairs in war. This Prince once held some respect for you."

"I never imagined you would stoop to something this contemptible and shameless."

"From this alone, it is clear Zhao's allotted fate has run out!"

Pang Teng shouted back, "You callow brat! Deception is part of war. Heroes are judged by victory and defeat. What is contemptible or shameless about it?"

Shang Chaozong roared, "Old thief, release them immediately! Otherwise, this Prince will exterminate all nine generations of your Pang clan!"

"Stop wasting words on him!"

Jiang Wanlou, Sect Leader of Guiyuan Sect, gave a cold laugh and swept one hand aside.

The crowd parted.

Several cultivators escorted Shang Shuqing forward.

Dust-covered and disheveled, she still refused to let go of the swaddled infant in her arms.

The moment she stepped out, one hand pressed down on her shoulder and forced her to stop.

The cold edge of a treasured sword rested against the back of her neck.

The meaning was made perfectly clear to the Yan army opposite them.

Her head could be taken at any moment.

It was Shang Shuqing.

Though dirty and stripped of the dignity expected of a Commandery Princess, anyone familiar with her could still recognize her at a glance.

The Yan ranks fell completely silent.

The Sect Leaders of Yan's three great sects exchanged looks.

Niu Youdao, mounted on horseback, frowned as well.

Meng Shanming, seated in his specially fitted saddle, unconsciously clenched one fist.

A number of veterans who had followed the family since Prince Ning's days showed grief and fury on their faces.

Shang Chaozong's chest rose and fell.

His cheeks were rigid.

His agitation was obvious.

Shang Shuqing stared blankly at the opposite side.

She saw row after row of familiar faces.

With matters already like this, how could she fail to understand that she had become a hostage in Zhao's hands?

She did not want to become a burden dragging down the Yan army.

For a moment, she wanted simply to die.

But then she lowered her eyes to the infant in her arms.

The little fellow had eaten his fill and was sleeping soundly, his tiny nose, eyes, and mouth soft and innocent.

If only she died, he would remain a hostage.

But if she were to kill the child as well...

How could she possibly bring herself to do such a thing?

His father and mother were still alive.

She had no right.

Niu Youdao spoke.

"Commandery Princess, are you and the young prince all right?"

"They haven't done anything to either of you, have they?"

Shang Shuqing had naturally seen him too.

Since Niu Youdao entered the Tiandu Secret Realm, the two had not met again.

She had wanted to see him for so long.

She had never imagined their reunion would happen under circumstances like these.

Whenever a group met in the past, Niu Youdao had never once been the first person to speak to her.

Today was the first time.

She shook her head hard, indicating that they were all right.

The moment Niu Youdao spoke, countless members of Zhao's three great sects turned cold eyes toward him.

They hated him to the bone.

He was the bastard who had reignited the war after the frozen conflict ended.

If not for what this grandson of a bitch had done, how could Zhao possibly have reached this point?

Jiang Wanlou stared at Niu Youdao and sneered.

"You've seen the younger sister. But I imagine Prince Yong still hasn't seen his own son."

"Let Prince Yong take a good look at what his son looks like. That should put his mind at ease."

His son and younger sister?

The Yan formation stirred.

The baby in those swaddling clothes was the young prince?

Whispers immediately spread.

Army morale had already been affected.

Among the cultivators holding Shang Shuqing, one immediately tore the swaddled infant from her arms.

Shang Shuqing was horrified and tried to snatch him back.

Someone seized her hair and yanked her head backward.

Pain twisted her face.

Her few martial skills were meaningless before cultivators.

The swaddling clothes were turned, exposing the baby's face clearly to Shang Chaozong and the others across the field.

The cultivator holding the infant curled one finger and flicked the child's cheek.

The sleeping baby woke with a jolt of pain.

His mouth opened and he burst into loud, wailing cries.

"No!"

With her hair pulled back and her face forced upward, Shang Shuqing reached toward him and pleaded, terrified they would hurt the child.

Her reaching arm was seized, twisted behind her back, and pinned there.

Between the two opposing armies, the infant's cries rang out clear and piercing.

The little fellow wailed as though his heart were breaking.

The sound struck Shang Chaozong directly in his weakest place.

His heart nearly shattered.

He had never imagined the first time he saw his son would not be inside the Prince's residence, but on a battlefield.

Not in his own camp, but in the enemy's hands.

Shang Chaozong had fought across battlefields for years.

He had seen life and death until both were commonplace.

He had seen mountains of corpses and rivers of blood.

Yet now his fists were clenched so tightly that his lips trembled and no words would come.

He could storm cities, seize territory, kill decisively, and lead armies with unmatched courage.

But what use was it?

He commanded thousands upon thousands of men and knew he could defeat the enemy before him.

Yet he was utterly powerless.

He could not even save his own son.

There was nothing he could do.

Meng Shanming's mouth tightened into a hard line.

The old veterans who had come from Prince Ning's Residence clenched their teeth until some nearly cracked.

At last, one man said mournfully, "Your Highness, forget it. Let's withdraw."

"They wouldn't dare break their word. Surely that would preserve the young prince and the Commandery Princess!"

Withdraw?

The Sect Leaders of Yan's three great sects immediately caught the key word.

They glanced over.

Given the circumstances, none said anything, but the slight lift of their brows concealed unmistakable coldness.

Withdraw?

Mr. Yucang went on alert as well.

If the Yan army withdrew now, only Xiaoyue Pavilion's rebels would remain to fight Zhao's main army.

For Xiaoyue Pavilion, that could be fatal.

Years of painstaking preparation might collapse in a single stroke.

How could he not be alarmed?

Meng Shanming reacted too.

He turned toward the general who had spoken.

How could words like these be thrown out carelessly in such a setting?

Even if they truly intended to withdraw, it could not be said here.

Otherwise, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Forget rescuing the hostages across the field.

The people on this side might themselves fall into danger.

Meng Shanming snapped, "Shut your mouth!"

"Marshal Meng..." The general was still unwilling to give up and tried to speak again.

Meng Shanming became furious.

"I told you to shut your mouth!"

Across the field, Pang Teng raised his voice.

"Shang Chaozong, have you seen clearly enough?"

"So long as the Yan army withdraws back inside Yan's borders, I guarantee that neither your son nor your younger sister will suffer the slightest harm."

"The moment Yan's troops cross back into Yan, your son and sister will be returned to you completely unharmed."

"I will not break my word!"

The Sect Leaders of Yan's three great sects and Mr. Yucang all fixed their attention on Shang Chaozong's reaction.

Shang Chaozong raised his face and exhaled long toward the sky.

Then his gaze slowly settled on Shang Shuqing.

Suddenly, he shouted, "Qing'er, your brother has failed you!"

Tears instantly poured from Shang Shuqing's eyes.

She understood what he meant.

Her brother would not compromise.

Sure enough, Shang Chaozong shouted again.

"Old thief Pang Teng! Since you led troops into Great Yan, this war has continued for nearly two years."

"How many sons of Great Yan have spilled their blood and thrown away their lives to bring us to this day?"

"My younger sister's life is a life. My son's life is a life."

"But are the lives of Yan's soldiers somehow not lives?"

"There is no reason the sons of Great Yan may die while my younger sister and son may not!"

"Listen well!"

"This Prince will never let the sons of Great Yan die for nothing merely to satisfy my own selfish desires!"

"Your Highness!"

"Your Highness, please reconsider!"

The generals were moved, yet several still tried to persuade him.

Shang Chaozong's cheeks remained rigid.

He would not be moved.

The expressions of the three Sect Leaders eased slightly.

Mr. Yucang secretly let out a breath of relief.

Meng Shanming's thin figure sat perfectly upright in the saddle, silent.

Niu Youdao narrowed his eyes slightly.

His gaze shifted slowly.

He said nothing.

Across the field, Jiang Wanlou leaned slightly sideways and murmured something to his disciple Tao Yanfeng.

No one could hear what he said.

Tao Yanfeng jumped down from his horse and strode to Shang Shuqing's side.

Then he shouted, "Shang Chaozong, try making one move!"

With that, he reached for Shang Shuqing's chest.

His hand seized her collar and suddenly pulled.

Rip!

Before both armies, the fabric tore open.

If his hand pulled again, the spring scenery of Shang Shuqing's chest would be completely exposed.

Restrained by cultivators, Shang Shuqing could not move.

Tears were already streaming down her face.

Shang Chaozong's eyes nearly split apart.

Hot blood surged into his face until it turned scarlet.

He roared, "Dog thief! Let go of her!"

Rage surged through the Yan army like an explosion about to erupt.

Tao Yanfeng shouted back, "Shang Chaozong, you'd better withdraw your army obediently!"

"Otherwise, I don't mind stripping your younger sister naked and letting everyone take a good look!"

"If you dare move, then so do I!"

[End of Chapter 868]