Chapter 100
Those old wounds, those long-forgotten events, were long gone. More than a decade had passed, and now, at this moment, Lin Yi didn't know if Xie Chengnan still needed words of comfort. She gazed intently into Xie Chengnan's eyes, seeing only a habitual resignation. Thus, the countless words that had been choking her, rising in her throat, ultimately condensed into a silent sigh, weak and powerless. After a long silence, she finally asked a seemingly innocuous question, "Madam, is she your grandmother?"
"Yes, that's what I should call her, but I've never met her and don't know what kind of person she is."
"..."
Noticing her heaviness and helplessness, Xie Chengnan lowered his eyes lightly, his voice carrying a captivating smile: "The Lin family, the one who was engaged to my father back then was Zhan Xian's mother."
ah……
She said, "Why does this surname sound so familiar?"
General Lin Menghe was Zhan Xian's grandfather. When he was fighting on the battlefield and killing many enemies, Emperor Zhaowen was still a baby!
Lin blinked. "Then... you and Zhan Xian were almost siblings?"
Xie Chengnan was stunned for a moment, and just as he was about to say something, he saw her shaking her head like a rattle drum, denying herself, "No, no, that wouldn't be you, and it wouldn't be Zhan Xian either."
Xie Chengnan didn't understand those modern biological and genetic concepts, but he understood the meaning behind her words.
If his father had really married Zhan Xian's mother back then, there might not be him, nor Zhan Xian.
Lin Yi's attention was completely drawn to this secret setting. Xie Chengnan saw her still immersed in shock for a long time, lowered his eyes and smiled, his gaze melting on the top of her head.
“I don’t know if she had any other purpose in getting close to my father, nor do I know if she did anything back then, but she was very good to me and my dad.”
Although he can't remember many things, he remembers his mother holding him to see the lanterns and rolling up her sleeves to wash her hands and cook soup for his father.
"She must love you all very much," Lin Yi said.
Xie Chengnan looked up and saw the moonlight shining in, filling his eyes with a clear glow. He remembered that one year during the Mingzhou Lantern Festival, he had run off to watch people release river lanterns and almost got lost in the crowd.
After finding him, the woman hurriedly hugged him tightly, murmuring, "You scared me to death." She didn't say a harsh word to him the whole time, but from then on, she never let go of him when they went out shopping. The woman's hands weren't smooth, but they were soft, and she held his little hand tightly as they walked through countless streets and alleys of Mingzhou City.
"I think so too."
The next day, the troops sent by Anjun successfully found the local vagrants.
These people are used to being alone in the wind and sand, and their bodies and faces are covered in dust, with varying degrees of cracks on their faces, hands and feet.
When An Bing found them, they were leading camels slowly forward. Judging from the weight of the luggage on the camels' backs, they seemed to be preparing to cross the Gobi Desert.
They were neither from Anguo nor from Xili. The leading soldier was unsure whether they understood Anguo language, so he explained his purpose through a combination of words and gestures.
To everyone's surprise, these people didn't even raise their heads, just kept walking forward. When they got really annoyed by the questioning, they waved at them as if to shoo them away.
Only one tall, thin girl glanced at them a few more times.
Human lives are at stake. Hundreds of soldiers in the camp are still waiting for medical treatment, and we have no time to waste on them.
The leader grabbed the girl, "You understand Anguo dialect?"
The girl looked at her in alarm, then hesitated and shook her head.
The soldier next to him spat on the ground, "Why waste words with them? Just take them back first!"
After saying that, he brandished his weapon and brandished it at the girl's neck in a threatening manner.
Unsurprisingly, the girl looked at them with even more terror.
Fortunately, the leader was a man who had received some education and was relatively mild-mannered. After all, they needed his help, and as long as the subordinates weren't from Xili, he was more willing to speak politely. He stopped several of his impulsive subordinates.
"Do you understand? We're not robbing you, and we certainly aren't taking your lives. We're begging you to come back and save lives! Every single one of your lives is precious! You see, they're very anxious and determined to bring you back. I might not be able to stop them. Before dark, no matter what, we'll bring you back. The soldiers of Anguo keep their word!"
The girl seemed to understand, nodded hesitantly, then walked to the front and said something to the oldest man. The old man's cloudy eyes finally turned to the soldiers, but he looked away after just one glance and shook his head slightly.
"Damn it! We already said to tie him up and take him back! You're just wasting our time!" The soldiers were getting impatient. It was a matter of life and death. Since they couldn't reason with him no matter what they said, they might as well stop talking!
The leader wavered; he was determined to take these people back today. He realized that the old man was the one in charge of making decisions for this group of vagrants; if he took him away, all the others would follow.
But before he could get close, the girl said something to the old man and then hurriedly ran back to them.
“I’ll go with you.”
The voice was slow and the tone was a bit strange, but you could tell that it was spoken in Anguo dialect.
"You're alone?" The leader frowned at her. This girl seemed to be the youngest among them. Even if someone among these homeless people knew how to rescue them, it wouldn't be her. "No, all of them have to go."
This time, the girl refused to back down: "They stay, I'll go."
The girl thought for a moment and explained, "I know a little... Help, I can't do it, and neither can they."
The girl was taken to the medical tent, where Gu Shuan, Xie Chengnan, and some military generals were waiting.
As a military doctor, Lin Yi was naturally present.
The girl was probably seeing so many people in armor for the first time; she kept her head down the whole time, and her hands and feet were trembling.
Over the past day, the soldiers' wounds had stopped gushing blood, but they hadn't healed either. Lin Yi had tried to stitch them up, but the needle and thread only drew more blood. And the dense, ominous blackish-purple markings showed no sign of diminishing.
Gu Shuan personally opened the wound of an An Jun, revealing a spiderweb-like radial pattern, and the girl took a deep breath.
Is there any way?
The girl glanced at him uncertainly again and shook her head.
It was very quiet inside the tent.
Gu Shuan asked again, "Do you know what kind of injury this is?"
This time, the girl didn't shake her head, but whispered, "I don't know."
Just when everyone's last glimmer of hope was about to be extinguished, the girl said again, "But I've seen this before." Her words were not very clear, slow and strange, and some of her phrasing was inaccurate, but no one interrupted her. They held their breath and listened to her continue, "In the past, someone went to the desert and encountered... soldiers, was wounded, and later... died."
"Over there? Which way?"
The girl glanced around the tent, seemingly trying to determine directions, then pointed and said, "Over there."
"South... grasslands?" Xie Chengnan thought for a moment and headed south in the direction she pointed. After crossing the desert, he would reach the grasslands where the Xili royal family was located.
The girl was unfamiliar with the word "grassland," and after thinking about it, she still didn't dare to nod.
Although no cure was found, An Jun returned the girl as promised and gave them some dried meat and several sets of winter clothes.
Only a few important generals remained in the tent, their faces serious and at a loss.
The soldier, in pain, vaguely heard their conversation and knew his days were numbered. He endured the pain and made some noise.
Gu Shuan looked over upon hearing the sound and took his hand.
"Commander..." the soldier began with difficulty, "This humble general... killed... killed seven Li soldiers in this battle. This life should be returned to this sandy land... Could you, when we return in triumph... help me look after my mother..."
Gu Shuan'an's Adam's apple bobbed as he gripped his hand and slowly tightened his grip. "We will win. When we return in triumph, everyone will know how bravely our Anguo soldiers fought, each one taking on ten men. I will personally go to your home to ensure they live a worry-free and peaceful life."
The soldier squeezed his hand slightly, but the pressure was negligible, and he released it in an instant. The soldier's face finally calmed down; whether he had fainted from the pain or… was unclear.
The heavy atmosphere inside the tent was almost suffocating.
Xie Chengnan slowly exhaled and looked at the last doctor who was still there.
Xie Chengnan didn't want her to stay here any longer; it would be good for her to go out for some fresh air.
But Lin Yi stood behind them, frozen in place, his gaze fixed on the void, his brows furrowed tightly, seemingly impatient.
Xie Chengnan took her hand and whispered, "Qingye?"
Lin Yi finally came to her senses, her furrowed brows relaxed, she only glanced at Xie Chengnan briefly before looking for someone else.
Xie Chengnan was somewhat displeased. When he saw that gaze finally land on Gu Shuan, he became extremely displeased.
He slipped his fingers between Lin Yi's fingers, their hands intertwined. But Lin Yi ignored him, and Xie Chengnan reluctantly curled his lip.
But soon, he lost interest in dwelling on his own little emotions.
Lin kept looking at Gu Shuan and said, "I might have a way, but I can't guarantee a full recovery. We'll also need more help. Can I give it a try?"
"What method?" Gu Shuan asked.
"I can't be sure yet."
“You don’t even know what the solution is. I can’t let the soldiers try things without any limits in this vast Gobi Desert.”
"It's not that there are no limits, and it doesn't need to be too complicated; just help me find some medicinal herbs—"
Gu Shuan interrupted her: "This area is barren for miles around. Go outside and see for yourself where the medicinal herbs you need grow."
His tone was stern and harsh, and he paused for a moment after speaking. She meant well, trying to find a solution when all else seemed impossible. Gu Shu'an realized this was due to his previous prejudice against Qiu Qingye, his habitual assumption that she couldn't do anything good. But the words were already spoken, and there was no going back. He simply shut his mouth, his face grim.
Although Lin Yi felt uncomfortable being refuted in front of a group of generals, she didn't care. She had more important things to do and wouldn't waste her emotions on trivial matters.
She wanted to try again, but Xie Chengnan stepped aside and stood between her and Gu Shuan.
"What kind of attitude is this?" Xie Chengnan even raised his chin, a posture that was completely unbecoming of a subordinate to their commander.
"She has no choice, but do you?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com