For this trip back ho to visit relatives, Shitou only had three days.
After three days, he had to leave.
His son Liao Licheng had been awkward and at odds with him all along, but he was a child after all. When his father was really about to leave, he still couldn't bear the reluctance to part in his heart.
Not to ntion Qiaohua. Separated for ten years, they only saw each other for three days.
She said almost all the longing she wanted to say, and used all the strength she could use.
The old bed at ho couldn't withstand the tossing and turning, creaking and squeaking, and broke three legs before even making it to the second day.
Three days later, Shitou changed back into the clothes he wore when he ca, led the reins of his brown warhorse, and walked towards the outside of the village.
Chu Xun walked shoulder to shoulder with him, while Qiaohua led Liao Licheng and followed behind.
Further back were Qi Ermao and other villagers.
"Going back this ti, I might not be able to return for another few years. I still have to ask Brother Xun to help take care of things at ho."
"When I beco a General, I will bring the mother and son over to enjoy a good life," Shitou said.
Chu Xun nodded, "You saw it when you ca, the mother and son haven't suffered any grievances, so there's no need to worry. Swords and spears on the battlefield have no eyes, you still need to be cautious and careful."
Whether or not you beco the General in the New Year pictures is not important; staying alive is the most important.
Walking to the village entrance like this, the two stopped their steps.
Shitou turned his head and waved to Qiaohua and Liao Licheng.
Qiaohua threw herself into his arms without hesitation, tears flowing endlessly.
Liao Licheng hesitated for a mont, and was pushed by Qi Ermao before dawdling forward.
Shitou didn't mind. He rubbed his head and said, "Take good care of your mother at ho."
Liao Licheng lowered his head and didn't make a sound, only picking at his fingers.
Shitou took out a piece of paper from his chest, handed it to Chu Xun, and said, "Help burn this for my mother."
Chu Xun was puzzled. Just as he was about to take it, Shitou suddenly took it back.
"Never mind, I'll burn it for her myself in the future."
Saying that, Shitou mounted his horse.
Qiaohua wept, Liao Licheng's eyes also turned red, and Qi Ermao and other childhood playmates hesitated to speak.
Shitou knew what they wanted to say. He cupped his hands and said, "Military orders are like mountains, I have to go. When I am drawn in the New Year pictures, I will never leave again. Brothers, uncles and aunts..."
He wanted to ask them to help take care of his family, but thinking that the villagers had already done very well over the years, there was no need to be long-winded.
So he cupped his hands in salute again, shouting loudly just like back then, "One day, you will be proud of !"
Then he nodded slightly to Chu Xun, Qiaohua, and the others, and spurred his horse away.
Qiaohua cried and chased out for dozens of ters, only catching up to so dust kicked up by the horse's hooves.
A man being able to beco an official is certainly worth rejoicing over, but at the ti of parting, reluctance outweighs anticipation.
A crow flew from the village, chasing after Shitou from afar.
Chu Xun looked up. Although there were dozens of crows at ho, to others they all looked the sa.
But in his eyes, each one was different.
This crow was the one Chu Xun sent to find Shitou when he joined the army.
Ten years ago, it didn't find him.
This ti Shitou left again, and it hurriedly chased after him.
Chu Xun wanted to open his mouth and call it back, but the words reached his lips and were swallowed back.
Who doesn't have so regrets.
People do.
Crows do too.
People's regrets are mostly difficult to fulfill.
The crow's regret is so easy, let it go.
At this ti, an urgent call ca from behind, "Ah Xun! Ah Xun!"
Chu Xun turned his head and saw Li Guangmao running over hurriedly, his face full of anxiety and panic, "My dad! My dad is dying, hurry, hurry go take a look!"
Chu Xun was not a physician. Li Guangmao coming to find him at this ti was obviously not for him to save a life.
There was no ti to say more. His physical fitness already exceeded ordinary people, and sprinting with all his might, he left everyone behind in the blink of an eye.
Even Zhang Erzhu, recognized in the village as being faster than a wild dog, was dumbfounded.
"So Brother Xun can run this fast!?"
Chu Xun first ran ho, took out the treasured old ginseng, cut a few slices, clenched them in his palm, and then ran towards the Li family.
By the ti he arrived at the Li family, many people had already co.
"Ah Xun is here, quick, make way!"
Chu Xun had no ti for pleasantries and stepped into the house with a single stride.
On the bed board made of old elm wood, a coarse cloth mattress was laid, and a few clusters of reed catkins used for padding poked out from under the mattress.
The old Village Chief, Li Shoutian, lay on the bed, his breathing intermittent.
"Ah Xun..." Li Guangmao called out.
"Don't panic." Chu Xun pried open Li Shoutian's mouth and stuffed the prepared ginseng slices under his tongue.
The dicinal power quickly surged up, adding a trace of color to Li Shoutian's pale and emaciated face.
The rising and falling of his chest beca slightly smoother, and he struggled to open his eyes.
Li Guangmao squatted by the edge of the bed, which had been worn shiny by the years, and cried out with red eyes, "Dad, how do you feel? I've sent soone to invite the physician from the town, he'll be here soon!"
The wrinkles on Li Shoutian's face squeezed together, revealing a forced but not sad smile, "I've already lived a long ti, I haven't lost out."
"Not long enough, you still have to live to a hundred!" Li Guangmao said.
His two sons and one daughter all squeezed over, making choking sounds.
Li Shoutian's complexion beca increasingly rosy, and he chatted with his children and grandchildren with a smile, seeming to have improved.
Many people secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that Chu Xun was indeed capable to have such a miraculous panacea.
However, Chu Xun's expression remained solemn. Although he only had Qi Condensation stage cultivation, he had long been able to slightly perceive the changes in others' vitality.
Li Shoutian's vitality only had a trace left, and could be completely cut off at any ti.
It was entirely relying on the old ginseng to hang onto his last breath.
Li Shoutian also seed to understand this, so he said to Li Guangmao, "You all go out first, I have sothing to say to Ah Xun."
Although Li Guangmao felt uneasy, he still obediently pushed everyone out.
After he closed the door, Li Shoutian finally raised his hand.
It was just that his vitality was already exhausted, so Chu Xun hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed his hand.
Li Shoutian smiled and said, "Among the younger generation in the village, I have always thought the most highly of you, and indeed I wasn't wrong."
"Fortunately, I pushed you back into the courtyard back then, otherwise if you had really perished in front of that old well, it would have been a waste."
Chu Xun nodded, "I rember."
Li Shoutian humd, his voice a fraction weaker than before.
"After I'm gone, the village's affairs will rely on you to shoulder."
Just as Chu Xun was about to speak, Li Shoutian's tone beca a bit sterner, "You grew up eating the food of a hundred families, you cannot push this burden away!"
Chu Xun subsequently fell silent. With Li Shoutian bringing up the relief from back then, what else could he say?
Li Shoutian's voice weakened by another three fractions. Even though his vitality was failing, the hand grabbing Chu Xun was very forceful.
"I know that Anxiu alone, plus Sanchun's family, cannot stop your intentions."
"But now adding the hundred or so households in the village, if sothing happens to you, our village will have to return to the situation of relying on dead people to fight for water for the children to drink."
This old Village Chief, who had run around for Pinecone Village for most of his life, tightly gripped Chu Xun's palm.
Chu Xun's heart sank slightly, thinking that the old Village Chief was going to use the favor of the whole village to make him give up seeking revenge.
Unexpectedly, Li Shoutian said, "So if you are going to kill him, you must kill him cleanly!"
"Do not bring future troubles to yourself, nor to the villagers."
"If you can't do it, then don't go."
[End of Chapter]
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