Chapter 29

“You give way first, then only we’ll let him go. This is the bottom line for me.” Wu Mei said smilingly, but her eyes were very firm and accepted no other option.

Yu Shang was the only trump card they have saved. She wouldn’t let him go first no matter what.
“It seems that we can’t reach a consensus.” Yu Jia lowered his lips.

Wu Mei quit smiling and said with a serious face, “If the second prince does not believe me, I can guarantee it with the honor of Wu family. You give way and I let him go. I’ll be true to my words.”

“Hmph! I can also guarantee my words with the honor of myself as the second prince of Ning State. You let him go and I’ll give way immediately. General Wu, don’t tell me that you don’t believe me?”

They were going around in circles. Both of them refused to give in and they were both going around in circles.

Wu Mei stared at Yu Jia and said helplessly, “Anyhow, I can’t let him go first.”
Yu Jia sneered out and said, “Then we can only be deadlocked here.”

Wu Mei was secretly panicking, but she didn’t know what to do. If he insisted on not letting them through, she couldn’t do anything about it.

Tang Yin who was at the back clenched his fist, urged the horse forward for a few steps. He came to Wu Mei and whispered, “General Wu, why are you wasting time with him?”

Now they were in the enemy camp and the situation was dangerous. The longer they were delayed, the more dangerous it got. Wu Mei was deadlocked with the other party, so it was just natural for Tang Yin to be anxious.
Facing such a troublesome character as Yu Jia, Wu Mei was looking calm on the surface but she was actually starting to get nervous secretly. She whispered back to Tang Yin, “Then… what should we do?”

Tang Yin looked at her suspiciously, We’ve the hostage with us and you don’t know what to do?

He took a deep breath and said, “Let me talk to him!” After he finished, he looked up at Yu Jia and shouted, “Yu Jia, I am not talking about conditions with you now, I only want you to let us through. Of course, you have the right to decide on it, but I have to remind you that your brother’s life will be depending on your decision too.”

Yu Jia sneered and asked, “What if I don’t let you go?”
“Then you are joking about the life of your brother.”

“I’ll tell you the truth, if you dare to hurt him even with a single hair, I’ll kill you immediately…”

When he hadn’t finished speaking, Tang Yin had laughed and interrupted him. With no warning at all, he raised his hand and pinched Yu Shang on his left ear. He pulled down suddenly and all they could hear was a tearing sound, Yu Shang’s left ear was torn off by him just like that. At the same time, Yu Shang let out an ear-shattering scream.

The expression on Tang Yin’s face was unchanged, holding the bloody broken ear in his hand, he glanced at it indifferently, then he threw it towards Yu Jia casually. He said with a blank expression, “This is just the beginning, I can do it again. Next time it’s not just the ear, maybe it’s his nose, or probably his eyes.”

“Ah?“
Tang Yin’s sudden move had not only stunned the enemies, Wu Mei and Wu Ying were also shocked by it. They had never expected that Tang Yin, who was always looking smiley and like a gentleman, would have acted this cruelly and ruthlessly.

He used to be an assasin and mingled with people from the underworld. He was very clear about human nature, and he knew it well on how to use the hostage to torture the enemies psychologically.

It went just as he expected. Seeing that his brother’s ear was torn off, Yu Jia’s heart was about to break, he was going crazy. His eyes were bloodshot and were widened to its limit, he squeezed his face into a scary expression. He let out a roar and drew out the sword from the back of his waist. Seeing his reaction, the surrounding Ning soldiers also lifted their silver spears and pointed it towards the front, preparing themselves for a charge.

If the two sides were deadlocked a few seconds ago, then it could be said that they were on the verge now.

Wu Mei pouted and yelled with a lowered voice at Tang Yin, “What do you think you’re doing?”

Tang Yin ignored her, and looked directly at Yu Jia. The fingers covered with blood were slightly hooked and pointed at Yu Shang’s eyes. He said coldly, “Yu Jia, do you still want to see how he’ll look like with his eyes fall out?”

When his ear was torn off, Yu Shang was already in great pain that he almost fainted. Now he said he wanted to dig out his eyes, he was even more scared. He kept screaming at Yu Jia. Not for long, he lost his voice and was left with the sobbing sound.
Yu Jia’s initial anger turned into fear, and he quickly lowered his steel sword. Looking at the dying Yu Shang whose face was covered with blood, then at Tang Yin who was cold and emotionless, he was scared. He could feel the chill even deep in his heart, he could feel that Tang Yin was being serious that he would actually dig Yu Shang’s eyes out.

He swallowed his saliva and stopped him hurriedly, “Don’t, don’t hurt him again…”

“Okay! But you have to let us through!”

“No problem! I can let you through, but you have to promise that you don’t hurt him anymore, and you’ll free him after this.”

Tang Yin did not answer, but turned to look at Wu Mei.

It was the eldest daughter of the Wu family but not him who was in charge now. She would be the one to make the decision.
After being watched by Tang Yin for a while, Wu Mei recollected herself from the shock and glanced warily at Tang Yin. She then said to Yu Jia, “I… I have already made my promise, as long as Your Highness let us through to Tongmen safely, I’ll definitely let your brother go.”

Yu Jia gave her a deep look and hesitated for a second. He nodded and said, “Okay, I believe in you.” After that, he yelled to the back, “Let them through!”

“His Royal Highness-“

Several Ning generals were about to dissuade Yu Jia, but he glared at them coldly, and he asked them, “Are you questioning my decision?”

Under his sharp eyes, everyone bowed and no one dared to speak again.
The second prince, Yu Jia, was the chief to the Ning army. His order meant everything to them. The soldiers and generals dared not defy him and retreated to the left and right. The gave out a spacious passage for the Feng soldiers to pass through.

Tang Yin turned to Wu Mei and nodded, “Let’s go!”

“Okay!” Wu Mei replied to him without a second thought. She and Wu Ying rode to the left and right of Tang Yin, keeping him in the center, guarding against any sneak attacks from the enemy as they went past.

Originally Wu Mei and Wu Ying were the main generals, but now it looked more like Tang Yin was the main general and everyone was following his orders.
In the Ning camp.

Looking at it from the outside, the Ning camp was already quite big; it looked even bigger as they went inside. As the saying went, when there were tens of thousands of people, there was no border. With more than four hundred thousand people gathered together, it was like a vast ocean. It extended to as far as their eyes could reach, the camp was full of flying flags and military tents, with as many soldiers as the ants.

They had not walked to the halfway point of the journey, they had seen more than ten horse stables, and these were only the tip of the iceberg of the huge camp. The Ning State really had an intimidating amount of horses and military forces.

Wu Mei carefully watched the enemies around them and whispered, “Tang Yin, great job. How did you know that Yu Jia would cave in but not to get provoked into a battle with us?”

“This is the so-called family, the so-called humanity.” Tang Yin explained, “If General Wu Ying is the one who gets caught and the enemy threatens you with her, I think you’ll make the same choice yourself too!”
He was an orphan with no family, and didn’t know what a family was. His attitude towards family was that he desired for it yet at the same time disdained it. However, he had never admitted that he has a desire for family.

Wu Mei frowned at Tang Yin’s unconcerned and sarcastic attitude, but she also had to admit that he was telling the truth. If Wu Ying was really held hostage by someone, she thought she would panic too.

However, she was very curious and wondered why Tang Yin was so indifferent to the bond of family.

She asked casually, “What about your family? Where are they now?”

Tang Yin glanced at her inexplicably, then pointed his finger up and said, “There!”

Wu Mei looked up and wondered, “In heaven?”
Tang Yin’s words had a hidden meaning in it, “I would rather they actually live in heaven.”

He would rather hoped that his family were all dead, which was more acceptable to him than they were alive. It were two completely different concepts that he was orphaned by his family’s death than be abandoned by them. He would naturally hoped for the former possibility.

It was difficult to understand the meaning of his words, and it was difficult to read his mind too. Wu Mei looked at Tang Yin in confusion, feeling that he was like a mystery to her, a mysterious man.

The road through the Ning camp was not a comfortable ride. On the way, they were watched by thousands of Ning soldiers. Under the naked eyes full of hatreds, no one could act too normally.

“What did you do before you joined the army?” Wu Mei spoke again. She felt that if she didn’t say anything, she would be killed by this repressed atmosphere.

On the other hand, Tang Yin next to her seemed to feel nothing and could turn a blind eye to all the enemies around them. She was very curious and wondered what kind of environment could make Tang Yin into such a cold and apathetic personality.

“An assassin.” Tang Yin was being frank.
“An assassin?” Wu Mei was puzzled.

“It’s the assassin.” Tang Yin changed to a name that would make Wu Mei understood better.

“He!” Wu Mei chuckled, she looked at Tang Yin from top to toe as if she had just met him for the first time.

“What?” Tang Yin asked. “I don’t look like one?”

“Listen to what you said, you do look a bit like one.” Wu Mei who was riding on the horse leaned toward Tang Yin and whispered, “How many people have you killed when you were an assassin?”

Tang Yin’s answer was simple. “Countless of them.”

Although it was just a simple three words, Wu Mei couldn’t help but feel a chill went down her spine. She stared at Tang Yin without blinking and she didn’t say a single word.

When she stared at him like this, even Tang Yin who was extremely slow with these kind of stuff felt awkward. He smiled and asked, “Are you interested in me?”

Wu Mei did not deny it. She threw the question back at him, “Are you interested in me then?”

Tang Yin hasn’t answered yet, and Wu Ying on the other side interrupted coldly, “Both of you, now is not the time to flirt!”

Tang Yin laughed silently and did not answer Wu Mei directly. He said softly, “You are very beautiful.”

Wu Mei had heard countless praises before, but none of those were as simple as Tang Yin’s words. However, his words made her blushed the most.

She suddenly felt that with Tang Yin, the most dreadful road she had walked through during her life in the Ning Camp seemed to become more bearable.