78: Chapter 78 Lost the Bet

Chu Xinran put down her phone, looking at the skyline of her A-tier city outside the window, not knowing how to describe the feeling in her heart.

She could not help Zhou Yun.

At least, not right now.

Meanwhile.

Above the sky in the direction of Flower City, a red light silently lit up.

A huge red arrow hung high in the sky, its tip pointing straight at—

The direction they were rushing back to.

Among the returning team, the scouts walking on the flanks were the first to notice this red light.

The news quickly reached the front, and five thousand soldiers looked up one after another, their faces filled with suspicion.

"That direction... is it Flower City?"

"It's a declaration of war symbol!"

"Who? Who is declaring war on Flower City?"

A commotion broke out in the ranks.

The soldiers whispered to each other, their hands gripping the coffins they were escorting tightly.

The commoners just brought out from Han City were even more terrified; some hugged their children tightly, while others subconsciously shrank toward the middle of the formation.

Lei Lie walked quickly to Zhou Yun's side, his face sinking.

"City Lord, the red arrow in the sky—"

Strategist Zhu Ge's wheelchair was also pushed up.

He looked up at the glaring red light in the sky, his brows locked tightly.

Wan'er did not speak, but her gaze had already shifted from the red arrow to Zhou Yun's face.

All three were waiting for him to speak.

Zhou Yun did not speak.

He just slowly took out the city lord seal from his chest and looked down at it.

The city lord seal was slightly hot.

A character appeared on the seal face—"Qing".

The one being declared war on was Flower City, no mistake.

The declaring party, Qing City.

He had just killed City Lord Zhang Hao, and immediately after, he was declared war upon.

He knew clearly who the declaring party was.

Zhou Yun put the city lord seal back into his chest, his expression calm.

"Continue moving."

He only said these four words.

Lei Lie opened his mouth, wanting to ask something, but after seeing Zhou Yun's expression, he swallowed the words back.

Strategist Zhu Ge did not ask further either.

He just looked at Zhou Yun deeply, then nodded.

The team continued to move forward.

The red arrow hung in the sky above their heads, following them all the way, never dissipating.

Five thousand soldiers escorted hundreds of coffins, followed by hundreds of Han City commoners, braving the red light of the declaration of war, walking step by step back to Flower City.

Flower City.

The city gates were wide open.

The officials and citizens left behind had already received the news and stood in lines along the road.

But Zhou Yun could not care about anything else.

He dismounted, issuing orders at the first moment: bring the coffins into the city, settle the Han City commoners, and have Wan'er coordinate all matters.

At this moment, Lei Lie could finally no longer hold it back.

"City Lord!"

He knelt on one knee, his voice filled with suppressed anger.

"The red arrow in the sky points directly at our Flower City! Someone has declared war on us!"

He raised his head, his gaze burning: "This subordinate requests to fight! No matter who it is, daring to move against Flower City at this time—this subordinate will lead troops to slaughter them, let them know that Flower City is not a soft persimmon!"

"Not allowed." Zhou Yun responded immediately.

Lei Lie was stunned, not understanding why Zhou Yun refused his request to fight.

But Zhou Yun gave no explanation, just silently walked into the city.

Since Wang Shuai had declared war, then one side must exit.

But he knew very well that his current state was not right.

So he chose to delay.

Strategist Zhu Ge saw that Zhou Yun was in a bad mood because of the events in Han City, gave Lei Lie a look, and then followed up on Zhou Yun's words:

"In that case—we will arrange the defense and wait for the enemy in comfort."

Lei Lie let out a muffled grunt, his fists clenched tight: "Then if they really dare to come—we will make them never return!"

And Zhou Yun, after saying the two words "Not allowed", turned his attention to those seven hundred people.

The seven hundred people who were originally coerced by City Lord Zhang Hao and brought poison to Flower City.

They stood on both sides of the road, thinking they could finally reunite with their loved ones.

In the end, they only saw coffins.

The smell of wood mixed with the faint stench of decay drifted over, drilling into their noses.

Their lips trembled, their gazes wavered, as if they were forcibly enduring something.

Actually... they had long anticipated this result.

From the day they left the city to poison others, they had a premonition in their hearts.

A premonition that someone like City Lord Zhang Hao would never keep his promise.

But they had no choice; they could only gamble with their own lives!

It's just that when people are alive, they always have to leave a little hope for themselves.

Even if it is fake.

Even if it is deceiving oneself.

One must hold on until the moment they see that answer with their own eyes before they are willing to let go.

Now, the answer had come.

They, had lost the bet.

The three hundred soldiers who accompanied the army to Han City walked out.

They passed through the crowd and walked into the middle of the seven hundred people.

Some found faces they recognized, some had their sleeves tugged, some had their arms tightly grabbed by companions who were crying so hard they couldn't speak, trembling as they asked the same question—

"Where is my mother?"

"Where is my wife?"

"My other half... what exactly happened to them?"

Even though they had already seen the facts, they still hoped to hear a miracle from someone else's mouth.

But the reason a miracle is a miracle is that it almost never happens.

The answer from the three hundred people was unanimous.

"The ones who killed them were the City Lord of Han City, and the City Guard of Han City."

"The City Guard of Han City have all been executed. Not a single one left."

"The City Lord of Han City—" the soldier who spoke paused, his gaze subconsciously looking toward the distant direction of Zhou Yun, "was personally beheaded by the City Lord."

The seven hundred people heard these words, and their crying stopped for a moment.

It wasn't that they weren't sad anymore.

It was that something else was welling up.

The revenge had been exacted.

The beast who ordered the killing of their families was already dead.

Those City Guards who personally wielded the blades were also dead.

The City Lord had not arrived late—the City Lord had already done everything he could.

The seven hundred people turned in unison toward the direction where Zhou Yun was.

Then—

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

One after another, they knelt down.

"Thank you, City Lord—for upholding justice!!!"

When everything was settled, and they returned to the City Lord's mansion, it was already 6:30 in the evening.

The sky had darkened.

The lights in the City Lord's mansion were lit, the warm yellow light reflecting on the window lattices.

Zhou Yun sat in the study.

Not saying a word.

He just sat there, nothing on the table in front of him, his hands crossed and resting on his knees, his eyes looking at the desktop, not knowing what he was thinking.

On the way back from Han City, he had not shown any emotion.

When arranging the defense, he was clear-headed; when receiving the Han City commoners, he was orderly; when facing the kneeling of the seven hundred people, he was calm and composed.

But now he was the only one left.

Those things he had suppressed in his heart were all weighing heavily on him.

The corpses in the north of Han City.

The infant clutching a moldy black cake.

Chen Xiaoyu committing suicide by fire.

The blood that splattered on his hands when City Lord Zhang Hao was beheaded.

Light footsteps sounded outside the door.

Very light, as if afraid of disturbing something.

Then came a knock on the door.

Three times, each one cautious.

"City Lord?"

It was Xia Nuannuan's voice.

Zhou Yun did not answer.

Nuan Nuan hesitated for a moment, then gently pushed the door open.

She stood at the door holding a bowl of hot porridge, seeing Zhou Yun sitting there, motionless, the lamplight casting quiet shadows on his face.

She put the porridge on the corner of the table, stood to one side, opened her mouth, and closed it again.

After a while, she spoke softly: "City Lord... are you troubled by something?"