Huo Xiaolong yelled so loudly that he woke everyone at Fengyue Tower. Mother Cen walked to the base of the wall and listened to the children talking, but did not go up to disturb them. It was a done deal that Chunying was a member of the Huo family. To put it bluntly, even if Huo Xiaocheng died on the battlefield and never came back, this girl could still marry into the Huo family with his memorial tablet and live as his widow.

That stubborn brat.

"Senior brother, be careful. I'll make you extra provisions these next few days. Eat them when you get there, and send a message home when you run out, and I'll make more."

Erhei nodded. He didn't know who else to say goodbye to besides the Huo family; it could only be Er Ya and his master. The burly young man's face was red from the heat of the stove fire. After a while, he took out a hair tie from his pocket and said...

"I noticed you didn't like hairpins, so I bought you this."

Er Ya was different from the other girls in the building. Because she worked in the kitchen, she never used hairpins to comb her hair. Every day, she would tie her hair up tightly with silk flowers.

He took a liking to this silk flower when he went to buy gifts for his relatives during the Chinese New Year, but he hadn't found a suitable time to give it to them.

Now that's bad, the person is about to leave, if we don't send them off now, it might be too late in this lifetime.

Huo Xiaocheng told him yesterday that going to the battlefield is a life-or-death matter, and you might lose your life if you're not careful. What if you don't come back?

Erhei knew it, he understood it, but he still wanted to go.

There's no particular reason. It's because Huo Xiaocheng is going too. If someone really dies, he can at least die before his brother. It would be best if Xiaocheng could come back, since he still has his parents and sister.

And myself...

I'm all alone now, so what if I'm gone?

"It's settled then, I'm going."

Huo Shuwen didn't give his son a chance to refute, and made the final decision directly.

"Dad, even if you don't let me go, it's no use. You want to make something of yourself and secure your future, and so do I."

You want to avenge your woman, and I want to give my woman a grand wedding. We're both men, and I can't be inferior to you just because I'm your son.

He Yi remained silent.

She knew in her heart that speaking up would be useless; she knew her husband and the child who had crawled out of her womb better than anyone else.

The person who's most depressed in the house right now is Huo Xiaolong.

They originally agreed that only one man would leave, but now all three men in the family are leaving, and the little one is having a hard time accepting it.

"Fine, you go! But why are you dragging Erhei along?"

The burly, dark-skinned boy felt a little uneasy when he heard his name called.

"No, it wasn't Uncle, I wanted to go with Xiao Cheng myself."

"Brother Erhei, you need a household registration to join the army, do you have one?"

"ah?"

Household registration? Erhei never had one since birth. When he entered Pingyang County, he always returned with a caravan, and they didn't check his household registration.

"I didn't," the boy said matter-of-factly.

"You can't go without me."

Huo Xiaolong thought to himself, "At least one of them should be left." The burly young man suddenly felt smaller and hung his head dejectedly.

"It's alright, I'll take you to the government office to get it done tomorrow," Huo Xiaocheng said.

Since I have connections in the government, it shouldn't be a problem for me to use connections.

The little dumpling pouted again. Fine, fine, anyway, none of them will stay.

She stood up, snorted at the three men on the kang (a heated brick bed), and walked out of the room.

"What's wrong with her now?" Huo Shuwen asked his wife, somewhat bewildered.

He Yi didn't really want to talk to him, and said irritably.

"Think for yourself"

Your daughter is already being kind by not taking a knife to the border army's garrison to kill Xiao Lanyi. Why are you asking why? It's not easy for the whole family to be together, and then they have to separate again in just a few days. Anyone would be happy in that situation, but unfortunately, three men with bad brains were born into her family.

"We're going to register Erhei's household registration tomorrow. What name should we put on it?" He Yi asked.

I wonder if this child has a proper name; he just keeps calling me "Erhei Erhei" all the time.

"So your name is Erhei?"

"What's your surname? Your full name?" Huo Xiaocheng explained from the side.

"I don't know...no."

Erhei scratched his head. "No, that's not true. His mother never told him his father's last name; he's always been called Erhei since he was little."

"How about taking our family name?"

The young man looked at his father, who nodded without hesitation. Huo Shuwen was also an orphan, and his name was given to him by his master. What's wrong with letting the child use it? They're all family.

"Huo Xiaomo," He Yi began.

Anyway, they called him Erhei, and it all started with the character "Xiao". They made the three of them think about it, and they still couldn't come up with a name by the time the new recruits set off.

Erhei couldn't speak; he just felt a lump in his throat.

It wasn't until he actually received his household registration that the burly young man felt he had a place to belong.

"Mom, look, I'm registered now!"

Erhei didn't stay at the Huo family's house tonight. Instead, he took his household registration and left Pingyang County, returning to the area beyond the Great Wall where he was born as a child. The boy lay on the withered grass, holding up the household registration, and said to the stars in the sky...

"I met a really nice family who were willing... willing to take me in as a child."

The boy wiped away his tears and continued.

"Didn't you say I was a citizen of the Great Yan? Look, Mother, from today onwards I am a legitimate citizen of the Great Yan."

"Your son can even read now."

I also have a younger sister and a brother.

"My uncle and aunt said they're willing to be my parents, and I'll kowtow and acknowledge them when I go back tomorrow."

"Now I can eat my fill every day, Mom."

The burly, dark-skinned boy muttered to himself, tears streaming down his face and sliding down his cheeks onto the withered grass.

"Mom, I miss you."

The woman's face in Erhei's memory has become blurry, but he still misses the hand that gently stroked his back and patted him as he slept every night.

"Wait for me, wait until I've made something of myself, then I'll bring you back to Great Yan."

His mother is buried deep in the grassland, far from Pingyang County.

"Mom, I'll be fine, don't worry."

The stars on this grassland are no different from those in Pingyang County, but the boy just felt that he could be closer to his mother here.

He carefully tucked the household registration book into his pocket, mounted his horse, and headed towards Pingyang County.

After all, I still need to serve tea to my parents tomorrow.

After the boy left, the stars on the withered grass twinkled, as if saying goodbye, as if responding.

My son, I hope your wishes come true and that you live a peaceful and prosperous life.

The Xiongnu and the Great Yan had a long history of conflict, and no matter which emperor came to power, they would fight several times. Both sides had their moments of advantage and then fell to the bottom.

The victims of the power struggle within the imperial court were commoners like Erhei's mother. They did nothing wrong, yet suffered this immense calamity in vain.

The woman who had been touched by the Xiongnu dared not go home, for fear of bringing shame upon her family.

The child in her womb left her with nowhere to turn, nowhere to turn for death.

To wander aimlessly and die far from home is the best possible ending.

The boy, traveling under the stars and moon, galloped home, his horse's hooves splashing mud and water from puddles, shattering the few glistening stars in the sky.

There's no turning back, no stopping now.