My respect for you knows no bounds

“No, that won’t do. Absolutely not…”

Pei Wugou shook his head like a rattle and said, “Little He, you secretly released the fish from Iron Gate Pass before. Once it was done, it was done. But this time is different.”

“This Song Shaoyi may look like nothing more than a prisoner, but in the Marquis’s eyes, he serves an important purpose.”

“Song Shaoyi must be carrying out some secret mission for Ren Tianye. A man like that is incredibly useful while he’s in our hands.”

“We might even be able to bring him out in front of the two armies. If we do, perhaps we could force Ren Tianye to withdraw. Someone as important as him may be called a prisoner, but in reality, he’s a hostage!”

“An extremely important hostage!”

“A hostage capable of turning the tide of battle at a critical moment!”

“We can’t release someone like that.”

Wen He frowned. “But…”

“You two armies are confronting each other. Why drag innocent civilians into it?”

“Song Shaoyi is just an ordinary civilian now.”

“Using someone as a hostage simply because you can’t defeat your opponent is hardly fair.”

The moment Wen He said this, Pei Wugou wavered.

That was true. Why should they use Song Shaoyi as a hostage?

What was this? Could the dignified Marquis Jingyi really not defeat a mere Ren Tianye?

But the thought only drifted through his mind for an instant before Pei Wugou rationally abandoned it.

Whether a war ended in victory or defeat often depended on countless minor matters and details piled together. With Song Shaoyi in his hands, his advantage would increase considerably.

He absolutely could not throw away such a fine opportunity just because of something Wen He had said.

He comforted her instead. “All right, Little He. This is an order from the Marquis. Even General Chen Song couldn’t do anything by pleading for him. I’m merely a lowly personal guard under General Chen Song.”

“Nothing I say will help.”

Disappointment spread across Wen He’s face. She rose unconsciously and looked toward Song Shaoyi’s back, murmuring, “That’s a human life… Am I really supposed to just stand by and watch him suffer?”

As Song Shaoyi was being escorted away, he seemed to sense something. Even with chains weighing him down, he still struggled to turn around—and met Wen He’s eyes from a distance.

Song Shaoyi could clearly sense the pity and compassion in her gaze. He couldn’t help feeling curious and asked the soldier escorting him, “Who’s that?”

“Why does she keep looking at me?”

“I was wondering… I’m not exactly handsome in my current state. What, can this still attract someone?”

The soldier glanced back at Wen He and immediately let out a mocking laugh. “Brother, I advise you to turn your face away as quickly as possible. Don’t let that person set her sights on you, or else…”

“You’ll be in serious trouble.”

“Oh? Why’s that?” Song Shaoyi became interested and continued asking questions as he was marched along.

The soldier guarding him was more than happy to indulge him.

After all, Song Shaoyi belonged to Lord Duke!

The outcome of the war was still undecided. No one could say for certain whether Lord Duke might eventually storm into Zhenjiang City. And if Lord Duke did break into Zhenjiang City, the odds that these soldiers would die were extremely high.

But if they could show Song Shaoyi some kindness, then at a crucial moment, they could ask him to spare their lives. That shouldn’t be too difficult.

To survive in this world, one had to leave himself a way out at every turn. Song Shaoyi was a tremendous way out standing right in front of them. If they failed to make use of this opportunity, they would be letting Heaven down.

“That’s probably a woman. Her name is Wen He. Her connections are incredibly powerful. No one knows which senior general in the army keeps her as his secret lover.”

The soldier had not guessed that she was connected to Marquis Jingyi, mainly because whenever Wen He had caused trouble, Marquis Jingyi, Pei Wugou, had always been sitting in the central command tent.

Of course, that wasn’t important.

What mattered was…

“This Wen He is a real troublemaker.”

“General Lu Chaosheng’s marriage was ruined by this woman, and she even made him wear a bright green hat.”

“And Iron Gate Pass was lost because of her too!”

The soldier listed Wen He’s “glorious achievements,” describing every last one of them to Song Shaoyi. In the end, he even offered him a word of advice.

“So, whenever you see this woman, stay as far away from her as possible. Otherwise, you never know when she’ll give you a surprise!”

“A world-shaking surprise!”

The soldier’s voice was full of sighs, but he failed to notice that Song Shaoyi’s eyes had already lit up—brilliantly.

Because the more Song Shaoyi listened, the more he felt that…

“This Wen He is a saint!”

“The former Demon Suppression Bureau has records on people like her.”

“To someone like us, a saint is an enemy to others but a close friend to me!”

“If I don’t make use of her, wouldn’t I be missing out on this chance to escape for nothing?”

Song Shaoyi’s thoughts raced.

He had followed Lord Duke’s orders and gone back to find his master, only to be captured by Pei Wugou through a moment of carelessness.

Being captured was one thing. At worst, he could simply die. As a former member of the Demon Suppression Bureau, he should never have feared death in the first place.

But the problem was…

No one knew he had been captured!

Lord Duke was still waiting for his report, while he had become trapped in a place like this and vanished without a trace.

How could that be acceptable?

So…

He had to find a way to escape!

At the very least, he had to get a letter out!

He hadn’t had an opportunity before, but now…

A ray of hope had illuminated the path before him.

Song Shaoyi calculated carefully. Before long, he had reached a conclusion. After being taken to the military camp where prisoners were held, he called over the soldier guarding him once more.

“Brother, help me out with something.”

“Sure. What do you want to eat? Or do you want some wine? But let me make this clear first—if it’s anything too fancy, I can’t get it.”

“No. I need you to deliver a letter for me!”

The soldier jumped in fright. “No! Absolutely not!”

“You have no idea how ruthless the Marquis is now. Anyone who violates military discipline even slightly will have to take at least twenty strokes. If I deliver a letter for you, I’ll lose my life over it.”

Song Shaoyi hurriedly said, “I’m not asking you to send it to Lord Duke. I want you to deliver a message to Miss Wen He.”

The soldier relaxed slightly.

That wouldn’t be difficult.

Even so, he was still hesitant. “Why do you want me to find that plague-bringer?”

Song Shaoyi said, “It’s nothing much. I only hope you’ll express my admiration to Miss Wen He. Just tell her…”

“Tell her that in all my years, I, Song Shaoyi, have never met anyone with a heart as compassionate as hers. I’m deeply moved and wish to express my respect.”

The soldier stared at him. “That’s it?”

“That’s it!”

“All right, then.”

The soldier agreed immediately. Naturally, he was willing to help with such a minor request. In fact, he wasn’t the only one willing to do it. All the brothers behind him supported helping Song Shaoyi with any small favor they could.

After all, Song Shaoyi represented a way to survive.

He represented the road to survival for an entire group of brothers.

Thus, carrying Song Shaoyi’s message, the soldier quickly found Wen He in the laborers’ camp. Taking advantage of the fact that no one else was there—and that the personal guard who was always pestering Wen He was absent—he approached her.

“Miss Wen He, someone asked me to deliver a message to you.”

“He said that you are the most compassionate person he has ever met, and that his respect for you is as endless as the Yangtze River, surging on without end.”

The moment he finished speaking, Wen He, who had been sitting down, sprang to her feet.

“What did you say?”

“Your respect for me?”

“Really?”

……