Chapter 336: Victory Looming?

Yu Lin feels that he, like Liu Huan Shu, also has a touch of succubus traits.

But this target, perhaps, is a bit off.

He leads the child who calls herself Diao Chan to a nearby food stall, casually finds a stool to sit on, and lets them sit opposite him.

The stall owner, seeing Yu Lin's distinguished bearing, even though he is accompanied by a dirty little beggar, does not dare to be slow, and quickly brings a steaming bowl of lamb soup and a freshly baked flatbread.

Yu Lin says nothing, merely watching the child before him quietly.

The child is pitifully frail, hair dry yellow like tangled grass, the tiny body wrapped in tattered rags whose original color is barely visible, and the exposed skin is covered in grime.

Thick mud almost covers their entire face, making their original appearance impossible to discern, let alone any connection to the future peerless beauty who will captivate a nation; even their gender is hard to tell.

Only their eyes, though dim from malnutrition, still reveal a faint outline.

Yu Lin thinks, so this child has come to me; any other irritable passerby would have kicked them away and shouted, "Where did that little beggar come from? Get away!"

Diao Chan is clearly starving; smelling the food, their eyes flicker slightly, yet their movements remain cautiously restrained.

They first glance at Yu Lin covertly; seeing no objection, they extend their dark little hands, lift a Clay Bowl larger than their face, sip the warm lamb broth in small gulps, then break off pieces of the baked flatbread, stuff them into their mouth, chewing slowly, fearing any crumb might fall.

Yu Lin patiently watches them finish the bowl of soup and the flatbread slowly.

When they put down the empty bowl, Yu Lin finally asks, "Are you full?"

Diao Chan lowers their head, their small hands fidgeting with their garment, voice thin, "Not… not yet."

Yu Lin nods, then shakes his head again: "Then you still shouldn't eat more. You've been hungry too long; your stomach is weak, and eating too much at once will hurt you."

He changes tack, looking at the child's slightly dim eyes: "I'll ask you a question."

Diao Chan lifts their head: "Brother, you speak."

"Just now, so many people passed on the street—men and women, old and young, rich and poor—why did you specifically come to me?"

Diao Chan falls silent upon hearing that, seeming to think hard.

After a while, they say uncertainly, in a childish voice, "Because… um, because… I feel, brother, you… don't hurt when you hit people."

The answer is somewhat unexpected, yet carries a childlike intuition.

Yu Lin listens to this hardly a reason, says little, and merely nods slightly: "Consider your feeling correct."

He places a few Copper Coins on the table, then looks at Diao Chan, his expression calm as he raises the index fingers of both hands.

"A meeting is fate; you also have the courage to seek me. Now, I give you two choices."

He wiggles his left index finger: "One, I will find you a well‑off, kind‑hearted good family, let them adopt you, ensure you have food and clothing, and grow up safely."

Then he wiggles his right index finger: "Two, come with me. But I must state beforehand, I am a person…"

Before he finishes speaking, Diao Chan suddenly lifts their head, those formerly dim eyes suddenly flashing an intensely bright and resolute light, with almost no hesitation, they blurts out:

"I choose two!"

Yu Lin, seeing them so decisive, is slightly surprised, silently thinking it's no wonder that later he could make someone like Lv Bu fall for him, ignoring any future possible beauty; just this resolve and daring in a desperate moment already exceeds most people.

"Hmm, that's rather clever," Yu Lin comments lightly, stands from his seat, "Let's go."

Diao Chan, seeing this, quickly gets down from the stool, follows closely behind him, tilting their small face to ask:

"Brother, where are we going now?"

Yu Lin reaches out, casually grabs their chicken‑coop‑like dry, tangled hair, feeling greasy and rough, his tone tinged with a tease:

"First I'll find you a place to wash properly, then change into clean clothes."

He lowers his head slightly, leans in, deliberately wrinkles his nose, raises his hand and waves it, feigning disgust:

"Stinky, can't be a beauty."

Diao Chan lowers their head, whispers, "I… I don't want to be a beauty........"

"As long as you can eat enough, that's fine."

Yu Lin smiles, "Don't worry, come with me."

"Three days, nine meals, occasional extra servings."

……………………

Zhongping First Year, third month.

The spring chill is biting, yet the land of Jizhou is suffused with a murderous aura colder than winter.

At the top of Guangzong Xian city, Zhang Jiao stands alone in the wind.

His yellow Dao robe is already worn, pressed tightly to his slender frame by the wind, emphasizing his gaunt, skeletal form.

His complexion, compared to what Yu Lin saw months ago, is even more sallow and withered; his eye sockets are sunken, lips a sickly pale, yet his eyes still blaze with unyielding flame, though that flame now bears an inevitable hint of fatigue and dusk.

He stands at the city rampart, gazing at the black, oppressive Imperial Army banners stretching dozens of li beyond the city, and the low, heavy clouds overhead that seem ready to crush the walls.

The wind wildly scatters his graying hair, ruffles his wide sleeves, yet he remains as part of the wall beneath his feet, unmoving, his lips pressed into a resolute yet desolate line.

After a long while, he finally lets out a barely audible sigh from his nearly bloodless lips, which the wind instantly disperses:

"Lu Zhi… have cut down over ten thousand of my Yellow Turban…"

His gaze seems to pierce the distance of space, meeting the eyes of his counterpart in the Imperial Army camp, his tone complex, tinged with resentment, yet forced to admit:

"Truly a famous general!"

Meanwhile, within the Imperial Army main camp, inside the central command tent.

Lights blaze, generals gather.

North Middle Colonel Lu Zhi, clad in battle armor, stands solemnly before a massive map of Guangzong, brows furrowed, his finger moving slowly across the map, deducing the forthcoming siege strategy.

His face is lean and sharp, eyes eagle‑keen, exuding the steadiness and decisiveness of a veteran of countless battles.

"'Zhang Jiao is already at the end of his strength; though Guangzong is sturdy, it is not unbreakable! We must strike in one surge, capture the city, and quell the source of disaster!'" Lu Zhi's resolve is set, about to issue orders.

He turns, facing the generals inside the tent, his voice steady and strong: "Dispatch the command: from now on, build massive walls on all four sides outside Guangzong City, dig deep moats to trap the bandit army! At the same time, hasten the production of ladders and battering carts for a strong assault…"

However, before his words finish, outside the tent a sudden rapid gallop of horse hooves and frantic shouts erupt!

"Urgent report—!!"

A dusty, weary messenger with his helmet askew and armor crooked ignored the guards' block, rolled and crawled into the big tent, and with a thud fell to one knee, raising both hands high to present an urgent document sealed with fire wax, his voice hoarse:

"General! Urgent report! Your Majesty… Your Majesty has issued an order!"

All the generals inside the tent were startled, their gazes flashing toward the document.

Lu Zhi felt an inexplicable heaviness in his heart, a foreboding premonition seizing him instantly.

He forced himself to stay calm, stepped forward, took the urgent report, quickly broke the fire wax seal, and unfolded it to read.

In the next moment, the famed general who never flinched even as Mount Tai collapsed before him saw his complexion change dramatically!

The hand holding the silk trembled uncontrollably, the color in his face fading at a visible rate, first shock, then disbelief, finally turning into raging fury and profound sorrow!

"Ugh… Pff—!"

Under a sudden Fire Attack, Lu Zhi felt a sweet sensation in his throat and suddenly spewed a mouthful of fresh blood! The crimson droplets splashed onto the urgent report and his chest armor, shocking to the eye!

His body swayed, and he could no longer support himself, stumbling backward a step and collapsing heavily onto the ground.

He recalled the little eunuch Zuo Feng.

Someone urged him to bribe Zuo Feng, but he refused.

He didn't expect.............

Lu Zhi, with trembling fingers, pointed at the military report that had fallen to the ground, his eyes bulging, and using all his strength let out an extremely mournful roar, a voice filled with endless resentment and despair, echoing throughout the big tent:

"Eunuch—damn my Han Empire!!!"

On the opened urgent report, Liu Hong's decree was starkly written: relieve Lu Zhi of his Northern Middle Colonel position, and transport him back to Luoyang in a prison cart, granting him a first‑class exemption from the death penalty!

The generals inside the tent hurried forward to help, and someone who picked up the military report also turned pale, his whole body icy cold.

For a moment, the big tent fell silent as a tomb, leaving only Lu Zhi's heavy, painful breathing and the howling, blood‑scented cold wind outside the tent.

The victory that was about to be seized was ruined by a single word from a petty court official, and the army's morale collapsed instantly.

At the top of Guangzong City, Zhang Jiao still stared at the oppressive sky, unaware that the opponent's camp had already undergone an earth‑shattering transformation.

He was only thinking:

"I must do something again, at least do something before I die."

Zhang Jiao turned around and descended the city wall.