It was quiet outside the tent. The sentries and patrolling soldiers did not disrupt the order because the commander returned to the camp late at night.
But Meng Lie still felt an extremely noisy sound in his ears. The sound of the wind, the torches, the grass and trees in the distance, the land under his feet, and even the surging night seemed to have form and life. They mixed together, with a surging sound, and rushed into his senses without explanation.
Relying on his memory from the day, Meng Lie determined the direction and walked quickly towards the camp gate.
When he was about to reach the camp gate, two guards blocked his way with their spears and asked, "You are leaving the camp so late at night. Do you have any military orders?"
Meng Lie subconsciously reached out and grasped the barrel of a spear. He looked forward and saw the sentinels and guards outside the camp saluted one after another, and the group of people returning home at night gradually slowed down.
"Coach!"
"Welcome back to the camp, Commander!"
The flames flickered on both sides of the camp gate, and the leading girl, wearing a green robe, rode her horse over.
Meng Lie held the gun tightly in his hand, staring at the approaching man and horse.
Chang Suining looked carefully in the light of the fire, with some surprise and uncertainty in his eyes.
Immediately, she changed her grip on the reins with one hand and raised the other hand to signal.
The two soldiers understood and immediately retracted their spears, stepped to the sides, and saluted Chang Suining.
Without the soldiers to stop him, Meng Lie did not move. He stood where he was, watching the tall and strong brown-red horse and its owner approaching.
The noisy sounds in Meng Lie's ears disappeared, the world fell into silence, and instead, endless and surging memories of the past came rushing towards him.
Thanks to the darkness of the night, he could not clearly see the face of the girl on horseback in front of him. Her facial features were blurred by the night, but the aura around her became increasingly unconcealable.
The aura with a strong personal soul background made the girl gradually overlap with the old master in Meng Lie's mind.
Meng Lie vaguely felt that the world was turning upside down and spinning. He tried hard to steady his body, so he looked stiff and solemn.
Seeing that he was blocking the way, Chang Suining dismounted in front of him.
She Cai, He Wuhu and Tang Xing and others behind her also dismounted.
"… Suining is back!" At this time, Chang Kuo, who was wearing an outer coat, came over after hearing the news.
Chang Suining glanced at Meng Lie who was standing motionless, then looked at Chang Kuo with questioning eyes.
Chang Kuo hurriedly approached, stood between the two of them, and explained in a voice that the three of them could hear: "...Meng Dongjia just arrived yesterday. He first went to the governor's mansion, and then came to the camp!"
As he spoke, he looked at Her Royal Highness with a look that indicated "I didn't say anything".
"I didn't expect that Mr. Meng would come here in person." Chang Suining said, "Then please go in and talk."
Meng Lie tried hard to suppress the turmoil in his heart and nodded slightly.
Chang Suining handed the reins of his return to Azhi.
Chang Kuo followed Chang Suining and said as they walked: "I originally thought that you would take at least three to five days to come back. You came back so soon, but did you gain anything?"
"Let's talk inside." Chang Suining replied, and turned back subconsciously, only to see Meng Lie still standing there, seemingly unable to come back to his senses.
Chang Kuo looked over, shouted, and waved to Meng Lie, and Meng Lie slowly followed.
Chang Suining asked Tang Xing and the others to go down and rest, and they could discuss the matter again tomorrow morning. Everyone agreed, bowed and left.
Inside the tent, Xier had already lit the lamp and was busy making tea.
Chang Kuo just felt thirsty, so he took the teacup handed to him by Xier.
Xi'er was just about to offer another cup to her girl when she heard her say, "You two should stay outside the tent for now."
Xier agreed and retreated with the other two female soldiers in the tent.
Seeing Chang Kuo standing there drinking tea without moving, Chang Suining said, "Father, go back and have a rest first."
Chang Kuo suddenly said "Oh" and said quickly: "Okay."
He glanced at Meng Lie and walked out.
After leaving the tent, Chang Kuo realized that he was still holding the teacup in his hand. He turned around to look at the military tent behind him and realized that he did not go in. So he left while drinking tea.
In the tent, Chang Suining took off the sword from his waist, hung it up casually, and walked to the back of the main table, saying, "Master Meng, please sit down and talk. There is no need to be restrained."
Meng Lie seemed not to hear her words. He just stared at the sword hanging above the Lanqi.
That is Sunday.
His Highness's Sun appeared in the hands of "someone else". He should have felt offended for His Highness, but at this moment he had no such feelings at all. Instead...
His Highness once said that a horse and a sword both have spirits. They just can't speak, but that doesn't prevent them from establishing a deep bond with their masters.
At this moment, Meng Lie looked at the sun and seemed to be able to feel the sense of belonging around it.
This sense of belonging seemed to have some kind of appeal, which was silently transmitted to him, allowing him to feel a long-lost sense of home.
Meng Lie didn't know when his eyes became moist. He moved his gaze away from Yaori and looked slowly at the girl who was sitting behind the desk. She was sitting cross-legged with an upright posture and a calm demeanor.
As they looked at each other, Meng Lie opened his mouth and it took a while before he could make a sound.
He didn't need to test him, and His Highness was not Chang Kuo, His Highness was not A Dian, and he couldn't test His Highness...
So at this moment, he could only make the most sincere sound. The sound was hoarse and trembling, without any crying sound, but it seemed like he was sobbing.
"Your Highness, it's you... right?"
Meng Liena asked in the simplest and most straightforward words.
Chang Suining looked at him and said nothing for a while.
She wrote to Meng Lie with the intention of testing him. She thought of many possibilities, and Meng Lie coming to Jiangdu in person was one of them.
Because there were too many uncertainties and unknowns, she had not decided whether to recognize Meng Lie, but at this moment...
Chang Suining looked at Meng Lie's tearful, inquiring eyes, and then at his pale temples.
What can hurt people is not only the blade of a knife, but also the tears and gray hair of deceased friends.
After a while, Chang Suining's eyes finally became silent little by little, and she stared at Meng Lie quietly, just as before.
The tears in Meng Lie's eyes instantly turned into torrents of tears.
The night wind was blowing outside the tent, and it seemed to penetrate his body, taking away the last wisp of dust in his heart that concealed the truth.
His stiff body seemed to have had all its support taken away by an invisible force. He seemed to have lost his strength, yet he bent down to kneel with incomparable determination, and placed his hands on the ground. He lowered his upper body tremblingly, and crawled down section by section until his forehead touched the ground.
He couldn't say anything anymore, but there was no need to say anything anymore. Only tears flowed silently.
Chang Suining looked at Meng Lie, his mind filled with mixed emotions.
She had experiences that ordinary people could not imagine. When she returned to this world again, she was confused for a while. Yu Xie's betrayal and Yu Zeng's suspicion made her more aware of the unpredictable human heart.
In addition to being on guard, she also always believed that she had been dead for more than ten years, and if her soul came back to life, she should not selfishly disrupt everyone's existing lives.
So at first she didn't plan to meet anyone.
He confessed to Wu Jue that it was because of the formation in the Heavenly Maiden Tower and the temptation from the Empress.
She recognized Chang Kuo because she had already decided to return to the battlefield, and in such a familiar environment, she was destined not to be able to hide from Chang Kuo for too long. Moreover, her and Chang Kuo's situation were closely connected, so they should move forward together.
As for Meng Lie, she had never had the chance to contact him since she came back, and her understanding of Meng Lie was limited to what she had heard from others.
She was very grateful when she learned that Meng Lie had found the secret method for her, but that was an old thing from more than ten years ago after all. She could not blindly regard herself as the old master and self-righteously believe that Meng Lie should wait for her there.
This time she only showed half of the token without saying everything directly, in order to test Meng Lie's reaction and then act accordingly.
She needed to take back the private property she had left in Dengtai Tower. Because she was unsure of Meng Lie's attitude, she was prepared to use the half token to take back only half, and she thought of many countermeasures...
But now...
Looking at Meng Lie like this, Chang Suining suddenly felt ashamed.
Her vigilance and scheming, in the face of such pure loyalty, seemed... seemed like she was nothing.
Chang Suining, feeling that he was nothing, stood up from behind the desk, walked over, bent down slightly, held Meng Lie's arm and helped him up.
Meng Lie's face was covered with tears, and his forehead was covered with dust, which mixed with tears made him look a bit disheveled.
When he raised his head in tears, he met the pair of bright eyes above his head, and suddenly he seemed to be back to that night more than 20 years ago.
That night, the moonlight was bright, the wind was blowing, and the insects were chirping. He was reborn from then on... And this night was no different? Chang Suining helped him up and said softly, "Come, sit down with me and talk."
Meng Lie wiped his tears and smiled vaguely: "No, I can just stand... I have sat too much in recent years, and today I finally get to stand and talk..."
As the owner of Dengtai Tower in the capital, he has always been treated with courtesy over the years. Few people allow him to stand and talk, and there has never been anyone who allows him to stand and talk willingly.
Chang Suining also smiled: "So, you have been living a good life these years?"
"Yes..." Meng Lie's face showed more and more genuine smiles: "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I have lived a good life these years."
Chang Suining's smile did not fade, his eyes fell on his temples, and his voice lowered: "It's good anywhere."
Noticing his former master's gaze, Meng Lie said with embarrassment: "I am just old."
"You are only in your early forties, a generation younger than Old Chang, how can you be old?" Chang Suining roughly guessed why his hair turned white, so he said ashamedly: "It's my fault that I met you only today."
Meng Lie was flattered and said quickly: "Your Highness, your words are too kind. How could Your Highness not be nice——"
Chang Suining pulled the corner of his mouth in self-loathing and said with a wry smile: "The more you act like this, the more I feel like I am nothing."
Meng Lie hurriedly took a step back, bowed and saluted: "My lord, if you humiliate yourself, I shall die! Please do not defile yourself, Your Highness!"
Chang Suining looked at him; he was still the same.
Mr. Meng, who was very good at dealing with people when running the intelligence building for her, was always so stubborn and unwilling to compromise in front of her.
Meng Lie lowered his body even lower and said solemnly, "Your Highness's safe return is a great blessing. Your Highness did not summon me before, so he must have his own considerations."
"Even if Your Highness suspected that my subordinates had ulterior motives before, it was reasonable. Your Highness is still on guard and vigilant, which is good."
At this point, Meng Lie's voice was choked with uncontrollable sobs, and he was more relieved: "If Your Highness can be more vigilant, I will feel more at ease..."
Having had such an experience, he knew better than anyone the importance of being alert at all times. Being alert was for self-protection, and a vigilant person would not be easily harmed. He did not want His Highness to fall into any dangerous situation again.
Who is his Highness? His Highness is admired by the people, not just for his benevolence. Without the edge and armor, his Highness cannot ascend to the throne of the heir, let alone become the great general of the Xuan Ce Army.
If Your Highness is easily emotional and takes risks when it is not necessary, then he is not Your Highness.
Your Highness should be like this. This is what makes Your Highness different from ordinary people, not a mistake.
He could sense His Highness's guilt at the moment, and he felt honored and terrified, but -
Meng Lie still maintained the posture of bowing and saluting: "I am loyal to you because it is my duty and responsibility. Your Highness deserves our loyal following. But this loyalty is not a soft knife to force Your Highness to feel guilty. If it is, then I shall die."
Chang Suining took a step forward, supported his elbow, and sighed helplessly: "In these few short sentences, you mentioned the word death so many times, and you don't mind it being unlucky, but I do."
"Yes, I should..." Meng Lie swallowed the words back when they came to his lips.
Seeing his thin appearance and the wrinkles around his eyes, Chang Suining said, "Okay, I told you to sit down so you sit down. Just take it as following my orders."
Meng Lie hesitated for a moment before he agreed. Just as he was about to sit down, he suddenly thought of something and said, "Your Highness, please wait a moment. I have something in the tent. I will go back and get it!"
Seeing that he seemed very nervous about this thing, Chang Suining's eyes lit up slightly and nodded: "Okay, then go quickly."
"yes!"
Meng Lie stepped back quickly and soon returned holding something.
Meng Lie held it up with both hands and handed it to Chang Suining.
Chang Suining took it. It was heavy and wrapped in black cloth, like a box.
"What is this?" Chang Suining asked even though he knew the answer.
Meng Lie lowered his voice and said, "These are your remains."
Chang Suining: "?"
Not a banknote or a key to a safe?
And this thing...
She was probably the first person in the world to hold her own remains in her arms? Chang Suining, who was overjoyed, asked subconsciously: "...the one that was previously enshrined in the Tiannv Pagoda?"
"That's right, Your Highness has already entered the Heavenly Maiden Tower?"
Chang Suining said "hmm" and asked in confusion: "Did you steal it? Why do you carry this with you?"
“After Wu Jue died, I didn’t know that His Highness had returned, so I dared to steal His Highness’ remains and wanted to go to the Western Regions to seek new secrets.” Meng Lie explained: “Now that His Highness has returned, it’s time to return them to His Highness.”
Chang Suining couldn't throw it away, nor could he hold it, so he could only put it aside for the time being.
Speaking of the secret technique, she thanked Meng Lie: "If it weren't for you and Wu Jue, I wouldn't be standing here right now."
At this moment, when Wu Jue was mentioned again, Meng Lie's heart was filled with gratitude and admiration: "I did not do anything, I just went to the Western Regions. Your Highness was able to come back because Wu Jue risked his life to start the battle formation and sacrificed his life for you."
Since this was mentioned, Chang Suining told him the truth: "Wu Jue is still alive."
Meng Lie: “?!”
Thank you all for your monthly tickets!! Love you all! (In the last chapter, I would like to thank the book friend [Wei Lan] for leaving a message to popularize the background of the Japanese pirates and the difference between the emperor's internal affairs. I did my homework overnight and deleted the wrong name in the text, which caused the comment of this book friend to automatically disappear and not be displayed. So I would like to thank him here, and thank every book friend who helped me find bugs. I will try to be more rigorous in the future. Thank you everyone, and welcome corrections!
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