Chapter 822: Summoning Old Friends for a Chat

He looked radiant, with the air of a Grand General. The disarray and decadence of last night had long since vanished without a trace.

"Yes." Zhao Qinghe, however, was thinking: how many secrets is this Grand General hiding? The news that weeping had come from the General's tent last night had spread like wildfire. It was said that the commander-in-chief had wept like a child on the anniversary of his family's memorial, and those in the know had spread the word about the tragic massacre the He family had narrowly escaped years ago.

Upon hearing this, the officers and soldiers were all deeply moved.

General He had suffered such an unjust grievance, yet had he been anyone else, he would have long since lost heart; instead, General He continued to run about and fight for the country, saving the Great Yuan empire from the brink of collapse.

To repay hatred with uprightness—a true man indeed. Everyone was filled with admiration.

￥￥￥￥￥

Catching the very tail end of May, He He Lingchuan arrived at Heishuicheng.

The capital of Yuan was already sweltering, but the wind in Heishuicheng still carried a hint of chill.

He He Lingchuan walked past the familiar city gate and took a deep breath.

Yes, this was that rough, wild scent—sand and dust mixed with rotten wood and old ash.

Dry, barbaric, yet intimate.

He He Chunhua had not yet arrived in Heishuicheng, so He He Lingchuan took Qiu Hu and his group to an inn to settle down first.

In the evening, he went out for a stroll alone.

Compared to when he left, Heishuicheng had not changed much; all he saw were the same old streets, old alleys, and old faces.

In such a frontier land, unless a major catastrophe occurred, things could remain the same for decades.

He He Lingchuan bought a scallion oil pancake he used to eat often before strolling leisurely into the Southern City Office.

Just two steps in, the gatekeeper came over to block him: "Out, get out! No eating allowed in here!"

This was a place for official business, after all; the smell of grease wafting about—what kind of decorum was that! He He Lingchuan took a bite of the pancake and turned his head with a smile: "Wang Wang Xiaoshuan, what did you say?"

The man froze, his mouth faster than his brain: "E-Eldest Young Master?"

"It's been over a year, why are you still guarding the gate here?"

A real hit to the mark; Wang Wang Xiaoshuan shuddered at the sting. "Eldest Young Master, didn't you go to, go to..."

He He Lingchuan smiled. "Right. Is Boss Situ Han inside?"

"Ah, yes, he's inside."

"Tell him to go to the Cai family's wonton stall; I'll wait for him there." He He Lingchuan tossed him a few bits of silver and turned to leave.

The Cai family's wontons were quite famous in Heishuicheng; the skins were thin, the fillings were large, and the portions were very honest.

The stall owner still recognized He He Lingchuan and beamed, serving him two massive bowls.

The wontons in the bowls were still swelling, round and plump, when Boss Situ Han arrived.

"Eldest Young Master!"

He He Lingchuan took one look at his uniform and knew: "You've become a squad leader? Come, sit!"

Boss Situ Han was originally a bandit leader from Mangshan. When He He Chunhua went into the Panlong Desert to find the ruins, he had directly incorporated the entire nest of over thirty bandits. Later, when the Heishuicheng army fought the heroic spirits in the Panlong ruins and battled Nian Nian Songyu and the State Preceptor Sun in the Panlong illusion, they had also participated, and upon returning to the city, they were rewarded and officially enlisted.

He He Lingchuan had originally thought they wouldn't get used to it and would soon return to their old profession.

Who would have thought that Boss Situ Han and the others were actually doing quite well here, and had even been promoted.

Sure enough, official status had its magic; stability outweighed everything.

He He Lingchuan also noticed that Boss Situ Han had his hands pressed against his trouser legs, his demeanor and movements showing restraint.

The former Mangshan bandits used to eat meat in big mouthfuls, drink wine from big bowls, and divide gold with big scales—that was not how they were now.

Only two years on the job, and it had taught them about hierarchy and status.

Boss Situ Han sat down properly and said to He He Lingchuan: "Eldest Young Master, did you come from the capital?"

"Where else would I come from?" The residents of Heishuicheng were poorly informed; Boss Situ Han still didn't know that He He Lingchuan had fallen into the water, thinking he had stayed in Xiazhou the whole time until recently moving to the capital of Yuan with He He Chunhua. He He Lingchuan scooped up a spoonful of soup to blow it cool. "Father was suppressing a rebellion in the south and won a great victory; he'll be here in a few days."

Boss Situ Han was startled, then overjoyed: "We won?"

"If we had lost, there wouldn't be time to come here," He He Lingchuan laughed. "You know about the war in the south?"

"Ah, it's spreading everywhere in the city. One moment they say we lost in the northwest, the next they say we lost in the south again. Everyone is very depressed." Boss Situ Han sighed, glanced left and right, and lowered his voice. "My brothers are also asking me: if the situation takes a sharp turn for the worse, should we go back to Hongya Road to make a living?"

"What did you say?"

Boss Situ Han let out a long sigh and said solemnly: "We are all men with positions and duties now; we can't go back."

He He Lingchuan smiled without a word.

Believe that nonsense; they all spoke better than they sang.

Boss Situ Han asked again: "By the way, how is that kid Mao Tao doing? He's sharper than all of us; he should have earned Master He's appreciation, right?"

When He He Chunhua was transferred to Xiazhou, the other Mangshan bandits were unwilling to leave their homes, and only Mao Tao had insisted on going.

He He Lingchuan's smile vanished instantly.

"..."

After he finished recounting those battles in Xiazhou, Boss Situ Han was silent for a long while before saying: "That kid Mao Tao, he's something. He sought benevolence and found it! I think he won't regret it."

Just listening to it, he could feel the heart-pounding intensity of the fighting.

He He Lingchuan took a cloth bundle from his chest and handed it to him: "He was a man of Mangshan. I couldn't bring his remains back, so I could only send his spirit tablet home. You build him a cenotaph, weed it twice a year, and burn paper money twice. The paper money should have more variety—paper people, paper horses, paper houses—you can do that, right?"

Inside the bundle was Mao Tao's spirit tablet. Boss Situ Han took it and nodded repeatedly: "Definitely, definitely. That kid Mao Tao liked girls with big eyes. I'll burn paper figures to that standard later."

He He Lingchuan smiled and handed over a pouch.

Boss Situ Han opened it to see several gold bars, totaling about thirty-some taels.

This was equivalent to over thirty thousand coins. Boss Situ Han hurriedly pushed it away: "Mao Tao is my brother; building a tomb for him is only right..."

"Take it."

"Oh." He He Lingchuan's brow furrowed, and Boss Situ Han felt a sudden, inexplicable shock, immediately abandoning the thought of refusing. The Eldest Young Master was not quite the same as before; calm and steady—was it because he had been on the battlefield and experienced life-and-death struggles?

He was a bandit by origin and was used to reading people. If he had met a figure like He He Lingchuan on the road, he would have wanted no part of him.

"The Eldest Young Master is benevolent and righteous."

He He Lingchuan shook his head: "Not righteous; I feel guilty. Mao Tao followed me out because he wanted a better life."

"For people like us who lick blood from the blade all day, how many can have a good end? Everything is fate, Eldest Young Master; no need to blame yourself. Isn't there an old saying: the water jar is bound to break by the well."

He He Lingchuan's brows twitched, and he immediately thought of the Water Spirit Shrine by County Magistrate Lake.

Mao Tao had drawn a lot there, and the oracle was exactly that phrase!

The old turtle demon had some accuracy after all.

He He Lingchuan changed the subject: "The letter I asked the reed-feather crane to deliver, you received it, right?"

"Received!" Boss Situ Han nodded repeatedly. "I have already followed your instructions and thoroughly checked the household registers in Heishuicheng for all new residents who moved here within the last eight months!"

(End of chapter)