Jiang Linchuan looked at him and continued, "Didn't you want to reignite the war? Didn't you want to bribe the high-ranking military officials? Didn't you want us to cede our precious land? Unfortunately, you failed last time, and you're destined to fail this time as well!"

The man in black suddenly stood up, pounding the table frantically, his eyes bloodshot as he roared, "Impossible! We will succeed! That time, we succeeded because other countries intervened! It doesn't matter, even if we don't succeed this time, we will succeed in the future! This place will definitely belong to our country! Even if I can't see it, my descendants will! People like you don't deserve to own this land!"

Jiang Linchuan watched him go mad, and only spoke slowly after he had shouted until he was hoarse, "Your descendants won't see it either. Although you are more developed than us now, what's the use? We will catch up with you sooner or later. You only have a few islands, and your area is not even as big as Liaoning Province. What makes you think you can compete with us? Don't dream."

The man in black went even crazier, spitting as he shouted, "I curse you! This country will be engulfed in war sooner or later, and will be ravaged by war! Just like before, your bones will be crushed!"

Jiang Linchuan suddenly raised his hand and slapped him hard across the face.

He stared at the man's face, which had suddenly frozen, and said, word by word, "Your life is useless now."

The man in black seemed to have all his strength drained away, instantly deflated, slumped back into his chair, staring blankly at the ceiling, muttering incoherent words.

Jiang Linchuan, too lazy to pay attention anymore, turned around and walked out. He called over the soldiers guarding the door and said in a deep voice, "There's no better time than today. Let's carry out the execution today. Shoot him and there's no need to send him to the capital."

After all, all the necessary clues have been obtained, and this person has completely lost his value.

His life is worthless now.

Otherwise, living would be a waste of precious food.

The soldiers obeyed and quickly dragged the distraught man in black away.

Jiang Linchuan went to the washroom, washed his hands with cold water, and carefully straightened his collar and the corners of his clothes before heading to the hospital.

In the hospital ward.

Xu Xinghe had already packed a few simple belongings.

The wound on her shoulder healed very well; as long as she didn't exert herself, there was almost no trace of the injury.

Seeing Jiang Linchuan push the door open and come in, she smiled and said, "You're back. Let's go then."

Jiang Linchuan nodded, his gaze softening as he looked at her. "Let's go."

The two walked out of the hospital side by side and got into the military vehicle that was waiting outside.

The car started, but instead of heading towards the train station, it turned a corner and drove straight towards Shiwa Village.

An hour later.

The car stopped at the entrance of Shiwa Village.

Xu Xinghe and Jiang Linchuan got out of the car and walked along the familiar path.

The village has long since returned to its former bustling state, the houses that had been occupied by spies have been returned to their rightful owners, the military has even distributed compensation to each household, and smoke is rising from the chimneys of every house.

However, the year-long imprisonment left the villagers with health problems, and many elderly people and children are still recuperating in their homes.

She hadn't walked far when some sharp-eyed villagers recognized Xu Xinghe. They immediately ran over excitedly, grabbed her hand, and thanked her profusely. "Girl, you've finally come! We really owe you a debt of gratitude. Without you, we would never have been able to go home in our lives!"

Xu Xinghe quickly grasped her hand in return, shaking her head with a smile, "This is what we should do."

"No, that's not true at all. In that critical situation, you even got injured while helping us. We should be thanking you properly!"

More and more villagers gathered around, chattering with the two of them. Even the village chief, who was leaning on a cane, slowly moved over.

Surrounded by people, Xu Xinghe patiently responded to each one, "I'm leaving soon. I came here to see everyone and make sure you've all returned to your normal lives, so I can feel at ease."

The village chief patted his chest with a smile, "I've recovered! Life is good now, all thanks to you!"

Upon hearing that Xu Xinghe was leaving, many villagers spontaneously ran home. Soon after, someone came back carrying a basket full of eggs and stuffed them into the two of them's hands.

"Come on, this is a little something. It was laid by our own old hen, it's delicious!"

"These are mushrooms from our farm, dried. We'll use them to stew with chicken."

"This is a sticky fire spoon I made myself, take it!"

Xu Xinghe and Jiang Linchuan declined repeatedly, but they couldn't resist the villagers' enthusiasm. When they finally left, the back seat of the military vehicle was completely packed, leaving no space at all.

Xu Xinghe glanced back at the things and couldn't help but chuckle softly, "This feeling is quite nice."

Even when she was injured, she never thought about anyone's gratitude.

But when that day actually came, she couldn't help but feel happy.

Jiang Linchuan glanced at her, pursed his lips slightly, said nothing, and continued to concentrate on driving.

Another hour and a half passed.

The military vehicle was parked at the entrance of Lijia'ao Village.

Xu Xinghe pulled Jiang Linchuan and walked into the village.

Just as they rounded a ridge between fields, they bumped into several girls carrying bamboo baskets, with A-Cui walking at the very front.

She recognized Jiang Linchuan at a glance.

After all, this was the man she had fallen in love with at first sight.

When her gaze swept over Xu Xinghe beside her, she paused for a moment, then gave a mocking smile.

Thinking about what she had been through, she couldn't help but utter a harsh remark, "I thought you and that ugly girl had such a deep relationship, but in the end, you still changed partners, didn't you?"

Xu Xinghe looked at her, a slow smile playing on her lips. "Sorry, we didn't change anyone."

The voice was very familiar.

It's clearly that ugly monster!

The girls froze instantly, staring intently at Xu Xinghe's face.

They couldn't help but tiptoe closer to take a good look. The eyebrows and the outline were clearly very similar to the ugly monster with a large birthmark on his face from before!

It's just that the unsightly birthmark disappeared, revealing her originally delicate features, which is why she didn't recognize him at first.