CLICK.
Chen Yang lit a cigarette. This man before him shouldn't have to bear all this.
Soon, many people noticed Chen Yang's unfamiliar face, including Ning Kun.
All at once, the simple and honest man froze, his eyes shimring with tears.
"B-Boss."
A mont later, Ning Kun dropped the tools in his hands and hurried over to Chen Yang, ready to salute.
Chen Yang waved his hand. "It's been a while."
Ning Kun gave a sheepish grin, scratching his head. He felt a bit awkward, unsure of what to say.
Chen Yang passed a cigarette over. "I heard you're getting married?"
"Not yet." Ning Kun took the cigarette, a tender expression crossing his resolute face. "We just settled the details a few days ago, but the wedding is soon."
"Boss, don't just stand out here. Co on, let's go to my house for a drink." Ning Kun finally snapped back to reality, but as he called Chen Yang over, his expression betrayed a hint of nervousness and unease.
"All right."
The village wasn't large. People were everywhere, sitting in the sun playing cards or mahjong.
In front of a small bungalow, a young couple was preparing lunch. Seeing Ning Kun approach, the man called out, "Kun, is this your friend?"
"Brother, this is… this is my old comrade," Ning Kun said, his heart uneasy.
"Hmph!"
The woman beside him raised an eyebrow. "Helping you get a wife has already cost a fortune, and you still keep bringing ho all sorts of riffraff. Do you think this house is made of gold?"
Ning Kun had indeed t with a few old comrades recently, so hearing this, he imdiately hung his head.
Chen Yang sighed inwardly. The man who once carried the Anti-General Banner for is now reduced to such a humble state.
This fiery woman was Ning Kun's sister-in-law, Hu Yun. With her hands on her hips, her face was a mask of fury.
"Co in and sit down. The al will be ready soon," Ning Kun's older brother, Ning Shan, said.
"I'll go buy a couple of bottles of wine." The woman untied her apron, threw it harshly at Ning Shan, and started complaining, "I must have really owed your Ning Family in a past life."
"Thank you, Sister-in-law." Ning Kun was overjoyed and pulled Chen Yang into the house. It was clear he had completely integrated into this life. This sister-in-law of his had a sharp tongue but a soft heart; she still took good care of her younger brother-in-law. Such was the simple life.
Chen Yang suddenly felt his arrival was jarringly out of place, like a troublemaker. Perhaps I shouldn't have set foot here. This kind of disturbance is unbearable.
On the large square table was a full spread of dishes. Though they perhaps lacked in presentation, they wafted a fragrant aroma. The newly bought wine was also quite good. But as it entered Chen Yang's mouth, it tasted like wax, utterly flavorless. With a heavy heart, even the finest wine is wasted.
Chen Yang learned from Ning Kun that he was very satisfied with his current life. He was about to get married, and afterward, he would work hard to first repay the bride price his sister-in-law had fronted for him, then build a house of his own.
Chen Yang patted his forr brother-in-arms on the shoulder and nodded in agreent.
They had once faced life and death together, shedding blood for their holand, and now each had their own life. Chen Yang had a lover and had promised to have a child after this matter was over. Everything was on the right track.
At such a blissful ti, Chen Yang had no reason to drag this man back to the battlefield to be scorched by the rciless flas of war. He couldn't do it.
Finally, Chen Yang downed the wine in his cup in one go. The spiciness burned his throat, and a faint blush rose on his face. "I just happened to be passing by today, so I ca purely to see you. I wish you many big, healthy sons."
If he could do it over again, Chen Yang would never have set foot in this small mountain village, nor would he have intruded upon Ning Kun's life.
Ning Kun's gaze flickered. He nodded slightly and murmured his thanks.
With the war in Hanyun Valley flaring up again, how could he not guess the purpose of Chen Yang's visit?
But...
The atmosphere at the table suddenly grew heavy. The usually quiet Ning Shan didn't think anything was amiss, but it was his wife, Hu Yun, who broke the silence. "Since you two are old comrades, there's sothing I have to say."
"After so many years since retiring, how is it that there isn't even a small stipend?" Hu Yun complained, then shook her head. "Thankfully, Kun didn't lose any limbs. That's a comfort, at least."
Her implication was clear: it was enough that he was still alive.
Chen Yang nodded, steering the conversation toward the small details of daily life, never ntioning their heroic deeds on the battlefield.
He stayed for the night.
「The next morning.」
Chen Yang found Hu Yun preparing pig feed and handed her a card. "I also ca this ti to deliver Kun's stipend."
"Tell Kun I'll co see him again when I have the chance."
Without waiting for a reply, Chen Yang turned and left.
The rising sun was the color of blood, and the world was vast and silent. Standing at the door watching Chen Yang's receding figure, a silvery light gradually filled Ning Kun's fierce eyes.
THUD.
Ning Kun fell to his knees and kowtowed. "Boss, I… I won't be joining you. Please take care of yourself."
As the figure vanished from sight, the iron-willed man didn't feel a sense of relief. Instead, his mind was in a daze. So things, after all, can never be erased.
For Chen Yang, everyone had the right to choose their own way of life. He wouldn't force them, and he respected their choice.
However...
This iron-willed man, who once bore the Anti-General Banner for the Supre Martial Commander, ultimately returned to the battlefield without a second thought. His life had been fulfilling. He was soon to marry and have children, then build a house of his own. It was a simple life, yet it was brimming with happiness and anticipation.
But in the end, he took on an additional, ineradicable identity: hero.
That day was Ning Kun's twenty-sixth birthday. It was also the day he once again shouldered the Anti-General Banner, following closely behind Chen Yang as they pointed their swords at the Barbarians and swept south, crushing all resistance.
In the days that followed, a rare, heavy snow fell in Hanyun Valley, capping the mountains and rivers in white. Wherever Ning Kun carried the Anti-General Banner, blood flowed in rivers, and birds vanished from a thousand peaks.
In the end, though a war spear pierced his body, Ning Kun gripped the Anti-General Banner tightly, standing motionless as a statue, letting the flag flutter in the fierce wind. As long as he lived, the banner stood. Even in death, the banner must not fall.
"I, Ning Kun, received this Anti-General Banner, drenched in the blood of our enemies, from my predecessor! How could I let it fall in my hands? I'm no hero! I'm just a farr! But I am not the coward you speak of!"
That year, countless gallant n were buried in the green mountains. The Barbaric New Sovereign, Hei Qi, was pinned to Phoenix Water Mountain by a spear.
With that, the Barbarian nation was utterly destroyed.
As their Commander, Chen Yang, his eyes brimming with blood, personally wrote one Heroic Spirit Tablet after another and had them sent to countless households. They should have been sons, husbands, and fathers.
On this day, however, only one identity remained—
The heroes of Tianwu.
For days afterward, Chen Yang knelt before the nation's gate and did not rise.
...
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