GSY Chapter38

Cen Yelan was drowsy and recalled the day when his adoptive father passed away.

 

Cen Xi gave him the Jingbei Commandery. Cen Yelan looked at Cen Xi at a loss. He knelt in front of the bed and said, “Adoptive Father, this should be given to Big Brother. I can’t—”

 

Cen Xi said, ‘Ah Lan, Adoptive Father has selfish motives.’

 

Cen Xi’s voice was hoarse, he had been coughing all night, his words were full of blood, but his expression was very calm. He said, ‘Yi’er is my brother’s only blood in this world. I want to protect him, so I can only hand over the North to you.’

 

Cen Xi said, ‘This is Adoptive Father’s selfishness, Ah Lan.’

 

Cen Yelan’s eyes turned red, and he shook his head vigorously.

 

A smile appeared on Cen Xi’s face. He reached out and touched Cen Yelan’s hair, saying, ‘Yi’er has been thoughtful since he was a child. You are his younger brother, so you should pay more attention to him as well.’

 

Cen Xi’s voice became lower and lower. He tightly grasped Cen Yelan’s hand and panted, ‘The Cen family members are responsible for guarding the border, and all of us will be buried on the battlefield to repay our country. From now on, the northern border will be handed over to you. The road ahead will be difficult, Ah Lan, don’t blame Adoptive Father.’

 

Cen Xi’s hands were cold, rugged, but strong. Cen Yelan clenched them tightly. He suddenly felt great grief in his heart, and when he opened his mouth, he uttered a choked “Adoptive Fathed”.

 

Suddenly, the surrounding scene changed. It was that day when Cen Yelan first met Cen Xi. He was in the wilderness, next to a corpse, and Cen Xi was looking down at him.

 

Cen Yelan was about to call him Adoptive Father, but Cen Xi turned around and left with a spear. Cen Yelan staggered after him, “Adoptive Father, don’t leave.”

 

The tip of the spear was like a cold light, and suddenly it was against Cen Yelan’s neck.

 

Cen Yelan was stunned for a moment, looking at Cen Xi, who turned his head and asked him, “Ah Lan, where is Yi’er?”

 

Cen Yelan’s face turned pale, and he opened his mouth, but he didn’t know what to say.

 

Cen Xi said, “Ah Lan, I asked you to look after him, and this is how you look after him?”

 

“I… I don’t know.” Cen Yelan choked up, “I really don’t know. I don’t know why this happened.”

 

He seemed to be trapped in a heart-piercing nightmare and could not wake up. Cen Yelan thought of the so-called traitors in Beicang Pass, the wide-open North Gate, and the unknown amount of gunpowder hidden in the city. Cen Yelan was not a fool. No matter how unwilling he was, he knew in his heart that these were related to Cen Yi.

 

Cen Yi was the commander of the Beicang Pass. Who could have buried so much gunpowder under his nose without his permission?

 

Was the gunpowder used to kill the Hu peoples or—to kill him?

 

But how could Cen Yi know that the Hu people would definitely enter the Beicang Pass, and how could he know that he would be trapped in the city one day?

 

The more he thought about it, the more unbearable it became, and his heart ached.

 

The pain was so severe that Cen Yelan suddenly woke up. He opened his eyes wide, and a piece of burnt wood hit his pupils. The fire was out, but red and black smoke was still rising slowly. He gradually heard sounds in his ears. In the distance, there were groans and explosions, which intertwined into a dark purgatory on earth.

 

The wood swayed for a long time before Cen Yelan realized that he was being carried by someone. It was Yuan Zheng.

 

Yuan Zheng said in a hoarse voice, “You’re awake.”

 

Cen Yelan did not speak. The young man carried him on his back. Both of them were in a mess. They slowly walked out of the city. He closed his eyes and said, “Put me down.”

 

Yuan Zheng paused, holding him tightly with both hands, and also holding Cen Yelan’s Liuhuo spear, and whispered, “You are injured.”

 

The gunpowder explosion was so violent that the blast wave overturned the entire silk shop. The surrounding houses turned into a sea of fire, and broken wood and rocks were shattered everywhere.

 

Yuan Zheng reacted quickly, but Cen Yelan was too close to the silk shop. When he woke up, Cen Yelan was half covered in blood, and his face was pale. Yuan Zheng almost thought he was dead. His heart stopped for a few seconds.

 

Cen Yelan then realized the pain belatedly. Not only did his shoulders and back hurt, but his legs also seemed to be cut, and his whole body was filled with the pain of a blunt knife cutting his flesh.

 

He said, “Put me down.”

 

Yuan Zheng turned a deaf ear and said, “Let’s leave the city.”

 

Cen Yelan struggled, and Yuan Zheng staggered and almost fell to the ground. The young man was covered in dust, and there was dried blood on his face. He looked more embarrassed than ever before.

 

“Cen Yelan!” Yuan Zheng said fiercely.

 

Cen Yelan’s wounds were not to be touched, he felt so painful that his eyes went black when he randomly moved. He gasped in pain, and his whole body was shaking with pain.

 

Yuan Zheng endured it and said, “Let’s go back to Hanzhou.”

 

Cen Yelan said hoarsely, “Put me down. There are still Hu people outside the city. We can’t leave if you take me with you.”

 

Yuan Zheng said, “We can.”

 

“I’ll take you back to Hanzhou.”

 

Cen Yelan was silent for a moment, then said, “Big Brother… Cen Yi might have already returned to Hanzhou. Even if we can go back—”

 

Yuan Zheng naturally understood what he said before he even finished.

 

Yuan Zheng also fell silent and said, “Let’s leave the city first.”

 

Cen Yelan asked, “Where are the people in the city?”

 

Yuan Zheng pursed his dry lips. He could still smell the smoke and burning smell of gunpowder. He said, “They are dead. Most of them are dead.”

 

Neither of them spoke. Yuan Zheng carried Cen Yelan on his back, walked through the devastated Zhuque Street, and went out of the west gate. The city gate of the west was half burned by the flames, and there was a charred corpse in the corner.

 

Perhaps the explosion was too sudden. Not only was Cen Yelan caught off guard, but the Hu people were also caught off guard. The two of them only saw a few scattered soldiers, all of whom were killed by Yuan Zheng. They actually got out of the city so smoothly.

 

It was not a good day. The clouds were thick and low. Yuan Zheng walked with one foot deep and one foot shallow. Sweat rolled down his forehead. His young muscles were tense. Cen Yelan was groggy and could vaguely smell the blood on Yuan Zheng.

 

The person on his back didn’t speak, and his breathing was as weak as a thread. Yuan Zheng was panicking and could only touch him lightly, but all he could heard was a groan mixed with pain.

 

Yuan Zheng called out, “Cen Yelan, don’t sleep.”

 

Cen Yelan opened his eyes with difficulty and heard Yuan Zheng say, “Cen Yelan, don’t fall asleep.”

 

Cen Yelan was a little dazed and said, “Your body is wet.”

 

Amid the explosion, Yuan Zheng protected Cen Yelan under his body. Countless fragments of debris, broken wood, and wood hit his back. Yuan Zheng was carrying Cen Yelan on his back. Every time he moved, the debris embedded in his flesh would cut into it, and his clothes would be soaked with blood.

 

Yuan Zheng clenched the Liuhuo spear tightly, placed it between Cen Yelan’s legs, and said casually, “I’m sweating.”

 

He panted and suddenly said, “Cen Yelan, don’t you want to find out what’s going on with the gunpowder in Beicang Pass?”

 

Cen Yelan trembled and said nothing.

 

Yuan Zheng said in a deep voice, “Don’t sleep, I’ll take you back, and you can ask Cen Yi in person.”

 

After a long time, Cen Yelan said, “Alright.”