Chapter 690

I felt sad in my heart, yet there was nothing I could do.

I am merely a tutor who has just been forced out of the girls' school; I have no ability to shake the Marshal's Mansion, nor to demand justice from the Huang household.

I even know that the Huang spirits bear grudges; once angered, they bring disaster upon three generations.

At this moment, I utterly despise my own insignificance and helplessness.

The next morning, as I personally buried the doll back in the ground, I knelt beneath that pine tree for a long, long time.

I began to examine my life; could it be that I am destined only to be a female tutor for my whole life?

War frequently erupts; those who can persist in studying are already few, and even fewer are girls; this job I have now is thanks to Zhao Zixun pulling strings for me.

Perhaps I should pick up my nursing knowledge again; it would not only help rescue the wounded, but also benefit myself and my family, wouldn't it?

I took half a day off in the morning, but I still had to teach in the afternoon.

I left the temple, walking home in a daze.

As I walked, I constantly felt a pair of vicious eyes fixed on my back, making me very uncomfortable.

But whenever I turned around to look, I saw nothing.

A few days later, Marshal Zhao returned victorious, and Zhao Zixun came back as well.

That evening we met, and he brought me a gift: a sugar figurine wrapped in wax paper, plus a poetry collection.

I liked it very much, thanked him repeatedly, and asked if he was injured.

"Just superficial wounds," Zhao Zixun said, "this time everything went unusually smoothly, as if aided by the gods."

I hesitated, then asked, "Zhao Zixun, your unit should have a military doctor, right?"

Zhao Zixun puzzled: "Of course we do; why are you asking?"

"I want to become your apprentice," I said. "I want to pick up my nursing knowledge again; when you go to war, I can follow the army and serve as your rearguard."

"Nonsense!" Zhao Zixun disagreed, "Charging into battle is for us men; you just stay and be your tutor, and when the outside world is pacified..."

I stared at him intensely, waiting for his continuation.

He changed the subject: "Anyway, our unit keeps growing, our combat experience is ample, I am confident we can defend Wufu Town; even if the world outside falls into chaos, you staying in Wufu Town will still live a peaceful life."

This sounded like a promise from him.

But I felt it was too heavy, too heavy, and I persisted: "But I want to fight side by side with you."

Zhao Zixun reached out and took my hand.

He held it tightly.

"Fu Wan, I will write to you," Zhao Zixun said. "No matter where I fight, whenever I have time I will write to you, telling you of our situation; trust me, and one day I will return with military merit as a betrothal gift, and come to ask for your hand in marriage in grand style; then we shall surely be united as lovers."

Zhao Zixun's heartfelt confession moved me.

In the years that followed, he indeed did so.

No matter how far Marshal Chen's forces expanded outward, I always received Zhao Zixun's safety notices first.

During those years, the basically defunct pawnshop entrance in Wufu Town, with its green mailbox and the small window's receiving room, became the place I frequented most.

Letter after letter was delivered to my hands; each was filled with Zhao Zixun's love and longing for me, and the envelopes often contained small trinkets—sometimes stamps, sometimes a dried flower plucked from the battlefield…

In those years, Zhao Zixun experienced at least dozens of battles, never suffering a defeat.

For a time, Zhao Zixun's reputation as an ever-victorious general was known to every household.

At first, he would return from the battlefield happy and excitedly share with me; later, I don't know if he had become numb or something else, but I could sense his heart was heavy.

During that time, rumors spread wildly in Wufu Town.

Everyone said Wufu Town was cursed.

The origin of this curse rumor was that, over these years, every so often a young girl in Wufu Town would disappear for no reason.

Some were never found; when others were found… there was only a mangled body of flesh and blood… the skin was gone.

Even more eerily, almost every time a girl died shortly after, Marshal Chen would raise troops, and soon thereafter a victory report would inevitably return.

Privately, I even heard people say that these girls were all killed at Marshal Chen's behest, so that before battle their lives could be offered as sacrifices to the war spirits, ensuring his hundred victories.

Actually, I did not believe this.

First, I have absolute confidence in Zhao Zixun's combat ability; he received professional training at the military academy, and his years of battlefield experience are extremely rich; with his ability, he deserves the title of ever-victorious general.

Second, if Marshal Chen could win a hundred battles by sacrificing war spirits, why couldn't the enemy also think of doing the same?

Why would it be only Marshal Chen who wins a hundred battles?

I think that way, but whenever I hear again that another girl has met misfortune, I still feel my heart jump.

I not only regret those young lives cut short, but I cannot help thinking of the Second Young Lady from back then.

Thinking of the Second Young Lady makes my heart waver slightly.

Now, looking back, wasn't Marshal Chen also launching a campaign not long after the Second Young Lady's death?

That battle also went very smoothly.

Could it be… no, I don't believe Marshal Chen; could it be that I also don't believe Zhao Zixun?

One week later, I received another letter from Zhao Zixun.

This time, the envelope contained not only a several-page letter, but also a silver ring tucked inside the paper.

In the letter, Zhao Zixun told me that the battle he was fighting was already winding down, yet he was still beating the enemy so badly they lost control of their bowels.

Marshal Chen said that after this battle, once he takes Small Camp Mouth, his position in this region will be unshakable; then there will be no need for further east-west campaigns, and holding what we already have will suffice.

Upon seeing this, I slipped that silver ring onto my ring finger.

It fit just right.

There is still one more battle.

As long as we win, Marshal Chen will be settled.

Once Marshal Chen is settled, Zhao Zixun can also settle down.

This is why Zhao Zixun gave me the Silver Ring; he felt that our relationship could progress further in this stable environment.

I finally waited for this day!

At that time, I got the letter from the mailroom and headed back.

I opened it and read while walking.

When I put on the ring, I stood still at Xijiekou, too excited; I struggled to calm myself and read the letter over and over.

After I put the letter away, just as I was about to leave, I felt someone staring at me from behind.

That feeling of a prickling on my back has occasionally appeared these past few years, making me uneasy.

But every time I turned around to check, without exception, I saw nothing.

Today I turned my head to look again, and indeed there was still nothing.

Just as I was about to withdraw my gaze, my peripheral vision caught a white-furred yellow weasel standing upright on the southern eaves, staring at me without blinking…