The Slender Waist-Chapter 65 - 52: Who Lost Their Heart

Wen Xingsu’s face instantly softened.

Embraced trustingly in his arms, leaning against him without any defense, Wen Xingsu’s revealed smile was underlaid with a heartache that felt as though it was about to tear apart.

"Yao Yao..."

Wen Xingsu slowly lifted his hand to hug Feng Yun back, his palm gently stroking her back.

"Don’t be afraid, your big brother is here."

He closed his eyes, but then he heard Feng Yun say, "Big brother, if surviving is the priority and the General blackmails us with his life, it wouldn’t matter to surrender..."

Her voice was neither light nor heavy, enough to reach the ears of the guards.

Then, Feng Yun pinched his lower back, and Wen Xingsu heard a lower breath of voice speaking to him, "I will find a way to save you, big brother, take great care of yourself."

Before Wen Xingsu could speak, she raised her voice slightly, "There’s nothing more urgent than staying alive. Big brother, you are the only family I have left in this world..."

Inhaling, her voice was low, "You are very important, so very important."

"Yao Yao," Wen Xingsu’s throat tightened, feeling the warm breath on his ear, nearly tearing his rationality apart. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

He wished he could literally give his heart to make the delicate woman in his arms have a smooth, joyful, and peaceful life.

As a man, what could be more painful than watching the person you want to protect being bullied and living at the mercy of others, and being powerless to stop it?

Wen Xingsu was in pain.

Pain that made his ribs tighten.

Such a wonderful Yao Yao had fallen into the hands of the enemy.

"Does the wound hurt?"

"No. I am much better now."

"Don’t try to fool anyone," Feng Yun’s scolding voice had a touch of a young girl’s coquettishness, finally showing the appearance that a seventeen-year-old girl should have. Her eyes unabashedly showered Wen Xingsu with concern, "I have seen your wounds before. Even with Puyang Medical Officer, it’s difficult to heal quickly."

"At this point, as an elder brother, I fear nothing, as long as Yao Yao... you are well," Wen Xingsu’s chest heaved violently, visibly enduring.

Feng Yun squinted her eyes upon hearing this.

Was her big brother prepared to die?

With his pride, he would not surrender.

And if he didn’t surrender, Pei Jue would not release him.

"Don’t be sad," Wen Xingsu smiled gently, patting Feng Yun’s back, only for her to suddenly wrap her arms around his neck and hug him tightly.

She didn’t speak, instead, she let the tears fall silently.

Wen Xingsu was choked up, filled with an indescribable sense of defeat in his chest. He held Feng Yun improperly in his arms, hugging her more wantonly than before, tightly embracing her as if he had forgotten the wounds on his body, as if wanting to crush her, meld her into his embrace, into his body...

"Yao Yao, no matter if I live or die, you must keep on living well."

Feng Yun’s heart shattered.

Wen Xingsu had said the same thing in his previous life.

Before he left to lead troops into battle.

Feng Yun, who found it unlucky, became angry, covered his mouth, and demanded he take back his words...

Who would have known that he truly would not return from that departure.

Feng Yun bit her lower lip, sniffing to stop the emotions that threatened to surge forth. She leaned into Wen Xingsu’s arms, letting him embrace her, immersed in the emotions of the past and the present, forgetting the people around them...

The chamber was silent.

The people at the door also held their breaths...

A brother and sister embracing was not a very unusual sight, but this brother and sister were different.

They were too beautiful and too attractive—a tall prisoner General and a fragile, gorgeous young lady, a man full of a sense of brokenness and a petite, lovely woman. The sight was so stirring no matter how one looked at it, so beautiful yet so regretful, it made people wish they could stay embraced forever.

Of course, those who thought this did not include Ao Qi.

Ao Qi watched with green eyes, his heart sour, wishing he could throw the little brat over to stop them.

But he had no reason.

His fists clenched and unclenched while the little brat still nestled in his neck, preventing him from moving.

He didn’t notice that in the shadow outside the dark room, Pei Jue watched the troubled siblings embracing, his face flickering with light and dark...

The guard spotted Pei Jue first and saluted with a fist, "Great General."

The rest returned to their senses from the scene of the siblings’ embrace and bowed their heads in unison, "Great General."

Feng Yun did not immediately rise from Wen Xingsu’s embrace, but instead turned her head against him, sniffed, and looked vulnerably like someone who had just seen a relative.

"Has the General arrived?"

Pei Jue spoke indifferently, "General Wen, have you thought it through?"

Wen Xingsu looked up.

Seated, he made Pei Jue appear even taller.

Heroes emerge in troubled times. Wen Xingsu had seen many powerful and arrogant lords, but Pei Jue was different; he was wild yet restrained, both brave and resourceful.

For some reason, seeing him made Wen Xingsu suddenly think of Xiao San.

He could even foresee the coming storm of bloodshed.

He lowered his head to glance at Feng Yun, and with a gentle smile said, "I have said before, falling into the General’s hands, I am at your mercy. But as the guardian of Xinzhou, to abandon my post is already a grave sin. If I were to surrender to you, how could I still have the face to stand in this world?"

Pei Jue said, "A fine bird chooses a tree to nest in—what is there to call surrender?"

Wen Xingsu gave a wry smile, shook his head, and patted Feng Yun’s back lightly twice.

"Yao Yao, you go back first. It’s damp here, and your health isn’t good, don’t stay long."

"Big brother..." Feng Yun raised her head.

As their eyes met, Wen Xingsu’s face showed none of the hardship of being in prison, always so gentle and calm, as if the harshest environment couldn’t shake him in the slightest.

"Alright." Feng Yun hugged him tightly with both hands.

By the time she stood up to pay her respects to Pei Jue, her emotions had returned to normal, with a smiling indifference on her face.

"Thank you, General, for making this happen."

After speaking, she glanced at Wen Xingsu, and then said to Pei Jue, "I’ll wait for you outside."

She had something to say.

Pei Jue’s face was expressionless, and he told Ao Qi, "Take her back to the Central Military Tent."

Ao Qi looked down, "Understood."

—

Feng Yun waited for about half an hour in the Central Military Tent before Pei Jue returned.

She greeted him with a smile.

"How was it? Were you able to persuade my big brother?"

Her eyes were clear, as if she truly hoped that Wen Xingsu would defect to Jin Country.

Pei Jue leaned against the tent flap, motionless, "You all, leave."

Surely, he meant everyone else.

Feng Yun glanced sideways at Ao Qi, "Please take care of the turtle, Ao Guard."

Ao Qi felt as if something was stuck in his throat. He sensed the tension between the two and wanted to say something, but that was his uncle he had respected since childhood, possessing a natural and insurmountable authoritative force.

He picked up the turtle, retreating like the others.

Yet his gaze lingered on Feng Yun, full of worry.

The tent curtain fell, making Pei Jue’s armor seem even colder and more imposing.

"General?" Feng Yun’s body tensed for a moment, a reaction from physical memory, but it quickly relaxed again, and she smiled calmly.

"Why aren’t you speaking?"

Pei Jue: "You talk."

Um! He was waiting for her to start...

Under Pei Jue’s icy stare, Feng Yun fell silent for a moment, swallowing down those circumventive pleasantries.

Pei Jue was not talkative, but he was not ignorant of human nature, nor was he foolish.

She approached and stood before Pei Jue, raising her head to look directly into his eyes, "Do you desire me, General?"

Seeing that Pei Jue remained silent, she smiled warmly and relaxedly, "I know, General, you do."

On Pei Jue, Feng Yun actually had many tactics, but the most effective were always the most straightforward—

She gently placed her hand on Pei Jue’s shoulder, and seeing no reaction, she took the opportunity to slide in front of him, her fingers lightly wandering across the armor...

"The General’s body is really hard..."

Pei Jue’s Adam’s apple shifted slightly, his complexion even colder than before.

He grabbed Feng Yun’s hand and pulled her forward.

"You wish to save Wen Xingsu, even if it means offering yourself?"

Feng Yun bumped into him and looked up with a smile, "I never conceal my thoughts from the General, nor can I. But as for what you said... hmmm... the first part is right, the second part is not."

Pei Jue’s dark eyes deepened.

She said, "It’s absolutely true that I want to save my big brother, but I don’t like to hear about ’offering myself.’" She lifted her captivating eyes, her lips curving into a smile, her softness pressing against him, blooming like a bewitching spirit, "A true man like the General, who wouldn’t wish to claim him?"

Before her voice faded, she chuckled, "It’s me who desires the General, wanting the General to promise himself to me."

Pei Jue went rigid.

His expression at this moment, whether in his past life or in this life, was something Feng Yun had never seen before; probably he had never imagined a woman would say such outrageous things. His brows were tightly knitted, as if he were suffocating.

"Are you willing, General?" Feng Yun glanced at his lower abdomen, "It seems the General has consented?"

"Nonsense!" Pei Jue pulled her hand to push her away, his voice cold and sharp, "To save Wen Xingsu, you really stop at nothing."

Feng Yun shook her head, her voice revealing a hint of half-real, half-fake sigh, "I would not insult you or my big brother with such a thing."

"Oh?" Pei Jue, as if he had heard too many of her lies, had a rare hint of mockery in his dark eyes, "Are you sincere?"

Feng Yun nodded solemnly, earnestly saying, "The Qi Emperor Xiao Jue is incompetent and foolish, and the Prince of Jingling, Xiao San, is even more petty. For my big brother to return to Qi would not only waste his talents, but it would also be like walking into a dragon’s den. But you are different, General. You’ve always been magnanimous and dignified..."

She laughed softly and, sensing Pei Jue’s eyes were dark and deep, she continued seriously, "A person like the General is the only match for my big brother, a general of unparalleled brilliance. Otherwise, no matter how capable he is, if he does not die on the battlefield, I fear he’ll likely die at the hands of his own people for being too eminent."

These words were not against her heart.

Sincere by the sound, one could tell she meant them.

"I truly hope my big brother can follow you, General, to achieve great things..."

She spoke earnestly, with an implied meaning.

In this chaotic world, there were not a few who raised their flags and aspired to the throne. With Pei Jue’s strength, as long as he wished, it wasn’t about gaining the world immediately, but with the control of a few cities, he could plan for a kingdom...