The churning river waters roared in the darkness like a sleeping monster, its endless maw seeming capable of swallowing heaven and earth.

Though their ship was firmly moored at the dock, it still swayed with the waves.

Yu Xiang’s face turned ghastly pale in the candlelight.

If the waves were this fierce here, wouldn’t they be even more violent on the other side?

So Shen Yun’an had known about tonight’s storm all along, deliberately luring Xiao Changyan westward to destroy his entire army!

“Tonight brings not just fierce winds, but also a downpour. Though being of noble birth, perhaps with heaven’s protection, Prince Jing might survive,” Shen Yun’an spoke softly, giving Yu Xiang an ambiguous look. “Would General Yu like to wait with me, to see if heaven shows mercy?”

Wait? For what?

Wait for news of Xiao Changyan’s death. Even if Xiao Changyan miraculously survived, what about the others? Could they all escape unscathed?

Xiao Changyan had taken a large force with him, all to be buried in the river. How could Yu Xiang’s remaining men be a match for Shen Yun’an?

“Oh, I forgot to ask: did General Yu keep the letters I sent?” Shen Yun’an suddenly inquired.

The panicked Yu Xiang was startled by this question, first freezing, then tensing up.

All those letters were in Xiao Changyan’s hands!

“I heard Prince Jing has a trusted advisor who didn’t join him in pursuing Young Master Bu…” Shen Yun’an added leisurely.

The letters weren’t in Shen Yun’an’s handwriting; keeping them wouldn’t have helped Yu Xiang. Since he’d chosen to side with the Emperor, having them fall into Xiao Changyan’s hands shouldn’t matter!

But that was only if they were victorious. Now with the situation changed, with Xiao Changyan and his army drowned in the river, someone would have to take responsibility for such a grave crime.

If someone presented these letters to the Emperor, even if they couldn’t charge him with collaborating with Shen Yun’an, they could accuse him of conspiring with “river bandits.”

Someone had to answer for all these soldiers who died in the river!

“General Yu, whether this advisor lives to return to the capital depends entirely on you,” Shen Yun’an reminded him.

This meant Xiao Changyan’s advisor was already in Shen Yun’an’s hands!

If Xiao Changyan had backup plans, Shen Yun’an naturally had to cut off all his escape routes!

Yu Xiang stared hard at Shen Yun’an. This young Northwestern Prince’s heir, not yet thirty, already deeply understood the art of controlling people’s hearts.

From the beginning, he knew Yu Xiang wouldn’t be easily coerced. Everything was just waiting for Yu Xiang to outsmart himself, walking step by step down the path Shen Yun’an had prepared!

Now he had only two choices: fight Shen Yun’an to mutual destruction and die here, earning a posthumous title for loyalty, or…

Yu Xiang looked up at Shen Yun’an: “Why should I switch sides for Young Master?”

In truth, if possible, Shen Yun’an didn’t want to protect this man before him. He’d rather let him be posthumously honored as a hero than let such a cowardly, fickle person return.

However…

Shen Yun’an lowered his eyes, staring at the teacup in his hand, letting out a light laugh before drinking the now-cold tea: “Would General Yu dare to rescue Prince Jing?”

Yu Xiang froze, seemingly not understanding Shen Yun’an’s meaning. He slowly turned his head to look at the gradually calming river surface, where the wind seemed to have lessened.

“General Yu, there’s only one way now – lead troops to aid Prince Jing,” Shen Yun’an said with a faint smile. “However, if the General wants to go personally, you’ll have to get past me first.”

Getting past Shen Yun’an meant confronting him directly. At this moment, he was helpless here, and even in single combat, he was no match for Shen Yun’an.

Undoubtedly, Shen Yun’an was telling him that resistance meant certain death.

His hand on his sword hilt loosened and tightened repeatedly, his mind in turmoil. After countless internal struggles, Yu Xiang lowered his hand: “What does Young Master want?”

“What can I do?” Shen Yun’an’s eyes were full of innocence. “If General Yu allies with me, I’ve always protected my people. How could I stand by and not help?

Naturally, I’ll send someone to aid Prince Jing in your place.”

Aid? More like hunting him down!

But as long as Xiao Changyan died in the river, his advisor was dead, and “he” was seen trying to rescue Xiao Changyan, the court couldn’t hold him responsible. This truly was his only path to survival.

“The military token and seal, General,” Shen Yun’an stated his purpose clearly.

After some hesitation, Yu Xiang took them out. Mobilizing troops wasn’t so simple – besides the military token, there were also deployment orders with code words known only to the commander and general. The token alone wasn’t enough; the codes had to match to move troops.

While Xiao Changyan had openly left Yu Xiang only two hundred men, there were thousands in reserve, mostly men Yu Xiang had promoted himself.

Yu Xiang handed all of this over.

After receiving these items, the merchant ship didn’t leave but remained detained, as it was no longer suitable to sail that night.

Shen Twenty-seven stayed with Yu Xiang while Shen Yun’an went to meet Shen Fifteen, who was disguised as Yu Xiang, giving him everything.

“Young Master, let me go,” Shen Fifteen urged, seeing Shen Yun’an wasn’t disembarking.

Shen Yun’an shook his head slightly, his gaze fixed on the wind-blown sails: “I must go.”

Shen Yun’an wanted Yu Xiang’s men not to openly rescue but secretly eliminate Xiao Changyan, and to intercept the Emperor’s Divine Brave Army.

Shen Xihe had already informed him that the Emperor had dispatched the Divine Brave Army. They would certainly follow behind Xiao Changyan, as he was convinced that both Shen Yun’an and Bu Shulin were on that ship.

Tonight’s storm and rain had been predicted by an elderly member of the Qu family shipping business, based on decades of sailing experience. Judging from the recent gust of wind, the old man’s judgment was accurate.

Darkness, reefs, fierce winds, and downpours – this would be an extremely dangerous battle.

Shen Fifteen didn’t want Shen Yun’an to take such risks, but Shen Yun’an couldn’t let these guards go alone. Firstly, he needed to give them faith and morale; secondly, he needed to personally confront the Divine Brave Army and Xiao Changyan’s shadow guards!

Military orders couldn’t be defied. Unable to dissuade Shen Yun’an, Shen Fifteen had to obey. Shen Yun’an commandeered all of Yu Xiang’s official ships, dressed Shen’s family’s men and those sent by Shen Xihe in official patrol uniforms, mixing them in. With one command, they set sail!

The journey was smooth at first, but as they moved deeper into the river, the turbulence grew worse. The wind came in gusts, the moon above had long since vanished, and even the scattered starlight had disappeared.

A distant lightning bolt split the sky, illuminating the night, and revealing the menacing face of thick black clouds.

The large ship that had first lured Xiao Changyan suddenly stopped, and the few remaining sailors abandoned the ship, jumping into the river.