Chapter 642

Ling Feng!

Ling Feng heard Xiao Yin's shout from outside the military tent and entered, bowing respectfully.

"Prince?"

Xiao Yin pointed at Ling Feng, then pointed at the sand table before him.

His long finger pointed at a sand dune north of Yankou Pass.

Then he pressed down hard with his fingertip, making a dent in the raised sand dune, and said slowly: "Tomorrow we will set out to attack Yingzhou; you send some people to stay here, to guard against the Duan family cutting off our retreat."

"Yes!"

"Moreover..." Xiao Yin's dim, glistening peach-blossom eyes slowly narrowed, his gaze falling on the sand table where he had made the dent.

"The troops we trained earlier, it's time to release them."

"At my command, when the time is ripe, let them also stretch their limbs."

"Having raised them for so many years, I want to see what surprise they will give me."

Ling Feng nodded, turned and went out to make arrangements.

Xiao Yin placed both hands on the edge of the sand table, exhaled deeply, and his gaze fell on the spot representing Yingzhou on the sand table.

This time he stakes everything he has: the Azure Dragon Army he rebuilt, and the person he loves most.

Three days later, inside Yingzhou City, the atmosphere had become extremely tense.

Throughout the city were hurried soldiers and young men conscripted from within the city.

The young conscripts carried materials on their shoulders, using mud to raise the surrounding city wall by another layer, and various watchtowers were built inside the city.

Even fire oil, sourced from somewhere unknown, and catapults for defending against siege were prepared.

Seeing that the city's able-bodied labor force was severely lacking, as the fortifications to be reinforced kept increasing, even the sons of grain merchants sent to Yingzhou as hostages were driven to the foot of the city wall to work.

"What bloody bad luck; my lifetime's retribution is all in this place."

A slightly plump young man, panting, lifted a stone onto an ox cart, waiting for a dedicated person to come later to haul these stones away.

This is the preparation before the decisive battle.

Those stones required two people to move; Gu Jiu Ling and the cute fat guy opposite were placed in the same group. She gently touched her shoulder, and because she had been moving slowly, she received a whip lash.

The fat guy opposite received even more lashes, because Gu Jiu Ling had just endured hers stoically, while the fat guy, having talked back, almost got whipped to death.

At this moment, the two lifted the stones again; the fat guy looked at Gu Jiu Ling and sighed, saying, "Are you a young master of the Zhang family? I haven't seen you before."

Gu Jiu Ling also felt dizzy and blurred vision; these days she had eaten too well in Yingzhou City and slept poorly, not expecting that she would actually be dragged to the city wall to do such heavy labor.

However, from another angle it's clear that the Eight Great Clans are very tense this time.

The more work they have, the more it shows that Xiao Yin's siege date has been moved up; Gu Jiu Ling actually felt a hint of anticipation.

The chubby young master opposite is actually quite talkative; she now feels even breathing is a bit tiring, yet he still has the energy to chat with her, but Gu Jiu Ling thinks this kid is quite nice.

At least he is kind-hearted and optimistic; that whip lash earlier landed on his body, and this fat boy originally didn't need to show up, since he had no relation to her.

But because of her whip lash and the guard, they quarreled again, resulting in him receiving several more heavy blows.

Now Gu Jiu Ling, though tired, cannot let the atmosphere go cold, lest the fat guy lose face.

"I am a distant relative of the Zhang family; these days I've come from Jiangnan to the border pass, wanting to see if there's any profit in border-market trade, but I didn't expect to run into this situation."

The fat guy opposite Gu Jiu Ling is from Yankou Pass, the son of a grain merchant.

He also reeks of aristocratic indulgence, which actually suits Gu Jiu Ling's taste.

This time he glanced left and right, lowered his voice, and said, "I'm telling only you; don't spread it. I previously discovered... a passage leading outside the city."

Gu Jiu Ling's hand holding a stone froze there; a depth flickered in her eyes as she lifted her gaze and smiled at the opposite Mr. Li.

"Brother Li, you also see that Yingzhou City has almost become an iron barrel; where could there still be a passage leading out?"

When Li Gongzi saw that Gu Jiu Ling didn't believe his words, he instantly grew anxious, his tone becoming even more urgent, and he lowered his voice, speaking hastily: "How could I possibly lie to you? Did you see it behind that pile of stones? There's a dog hole at the base of the city wall—I crawled inside."

「I can't even get through a day like this; eating coarse tea and bland food is bearable, but I, a young master raised in noble lineage, now have to endure this indignity; just a moment ago I saw it over there. 」

「Last night I crawled down that dog hole once; beneath it there turned out to be another cavern, and there's also a passageway. Today we two will find a chance, and soon we'll hide in there. 」

Gu Jiu Ling actually already had an idea in mind; the passage he knew about was far more extensive than what Li Gongzi, this little fatty, knew.

Earlier Gu Kang had given her a map; this passageway is clearly drawn, far exceeding the small, dog‑hole‑sized passage Li Gongzi described—it is actually a long, straight underground tunnel leading directly out of the city.

It truly was a coincidence—this so‑secret matter ended up being known by that little fatty across from us.

Where are the entrance and exit of that secret passage? Gu Jiu Ling had long known them perfectly clear.

But she couldn't let Li Gongzi see anything, so she hastily nodded and gave a perfunctory reply.

Today's stone‑moving labor nearly broke Gu Jiu Ling, and they weren't allowed to rest until the moon was high in the sky.

Gu Jiu Ling and Li Gongzi walked hand in hand to the base of the wall, where groans could be heard everywhere.

Gu Jiu Ling held the flatbread she had just received, looking at the dark, lumpy thing in her hand, and she found she couldn't bring herself to eat it.

These past days she had taken many nutrient solutions from her space, as well as the unfinished chocolate she had previously hidden, and even gave some to Li Gongzi.

「You… why aren't you eating? 」 Li Gongzi stared at the flatbread in Gu Jiu Ling's hand.

He was truly starving to the point that even this flatbread mixed with tree roots and grass, dark and lumpy, was edible to him.

All that remained was a thin rice soup like clear broth, yet after such heavy stone‑moving work, the two of them were almost lying in the corner of the wall.

「You eat it, I can't, 」 Gu Jiu Ling handed the flatbread in her hand to Li Gongzi, who smiled somewhat embarrassedly.

「You'd better eat it; if you starve to death, you'll never be able to get out. 」

「I have a small appetite and eat little; I'll break off a piece, and the rest is yours. 」

Gu Jiu Ling forced a small piece down, suppressing her nausea.

Li Gongzi took the flatbread from Gu Jiu Ling's hand and began to eat.

Then he leaned close to Gu Jiu Ling's ear and lowered his voice: 「In a moment, when the curfew comes, we'll be driven back to the camp, 」