Unfortunately, their night was destined to be a restless one. Not long after everyone had fallen asleep, the tightly shut city gates creaked open.
Many people shot upright, their eyes fixed on what was ahead.
"Is someone coming out?" A person leaning against the city wall noticed someone moving on the ground in the moonlight.
"What is that?" Many people crowded around. By the light of their torches, they could finally see two figures covered in blood, crawling painfully on the ground.
"Isn't that He Tuliang? Looks like he got caught. How did he get so badly injured?" Even those who had been pushed out of the city before had only suffered minor scrapes. But seeing him crawling on the ground, leaving a trail of blood behind him, it looked like he had been beaten with a paddle.
