The two of them walked to the old house of the Yuan family based on their memories.

They imagined that it should have been a ruin with broken walls and shabby houses, but to the brothers' surprise, although the house looked old and simple, it was not dilapidated. The plaque on the lintel showed signs of being recently repaired, and there was a rusty general's lock hanging on the door, but a closer look showed that it was just hanging there and not locked.

The two looked at each other, both a little confused. Could it be that there were some homeless people living there?

Yuan Nanyu took off the lock that was frozen like an ice cube and pushed open the door. The door leaf made a rough sound. He stepped over the threshold and a tall ginkgo tree appeared in front of him. In the cold winter month, the bare branches were covered with frost and snow. The wildly spreading mulberry trees and the purity of the silver flowers on the tree complemented each other, with the world as a picture scroll. An aura of emaciated and dignified seemed to leap over it.

That was the big tree they loved to climb up and down when they were children. The simple wooden house on the trunk was once their secret fortress, but now it was shaking in the raging wind and snow.

Looking at everything in their memories, the two brothers could not hide their sorrow and were speechless for a long time.

This is their home, but the happiness of the past has been buried under ice and snow, never to see the light of day again.

Yuan Nan said sadly, "Brother, these twenty years have been like a nightmare."

Yan Sikong's nose was sore: "If this is really a nightmare, it would be fine."

At least you will wake up from a nightmare.

They walked slowly across the courtyard and headed towards the inner courtyard's chambers.

Yuan Mao was an honest official. His residence was not big, just a few rooms. As expected, someone had cleaned and repaired the place, and the houses still retained their original appearance, old but not dilapidated, but no one lived there.

Could it be that Liang Huiyong sent someone to protect him? But Liang Huiyong never said that, and he had a hard time surviving under Han Zhaoxing for the past twenty years, so he probably wouldn't dare to send someone to do such a thing. If he was discovered by a despicable villain like Han Zhaoxing, he would not let him off easily.

"I wonder who is cleaning it." Yuan Nanyu said, "Let's go back and ask General Liang."

"Okay." Yan Sikong pushed open the door of Yuan Mao and his wife's bedroom with a nervous heart.

The house was as cold as an ice cellar, but the furnishings were the same as in my memory. There was a thin layer of dust on the table, and everything looked as if the owner had been away for a while and would be back soon.

Yan Sikong resisted the urge to cry and checked everything in the house one by one. He never thought that one day he would be able to come back again, but now his "home" was only a cold house. How could he have a family without reunion?

They went to see their childhood bedroom again. In their memory, it was much bigger, but now it seemed so small. Standing in front of the couch where they used to roll around and play, memories flooded back and made them feel sad.

After closing the door, they arrived at the ancestral hall.

After the accident, the Yuan family moved to Jinan Prefecture, taking the ancestral tablets with them. Now, there is only a lonely tablet in the main hall.

When I got closer, I saw that it was indeed Yuan Mao's. I didn't know who had set it up, but the niche was fully stocked with incense and offerings.

They both knelt down.

Yuan Nanyu finally couldn't hold back his tears and said, "Dad, I am unfilial. I am back."

Yan Sikong said in a sad voice: "Dad, are you watching over us from heaven? Can you bless us and Liaodong?"

The two of them burned incense, kowtowed, and knelt for a long time before Yuan Mao's spirit tablet. They had a thousand things to say but didn't know where to start.

"Second brother." Yuan Nanyu said hoarsely, "Let's move back."

"That's what I was thinking." Yan Sikong said sadly, "The leaves fall and return to their roots. We can still go home. It must be because Dad is protecting us in heaven."

Yuan Nanyu looked at Yan Sikong and said, "I always resent God for being blind, but when I think about the fact that you and I can be reunited in this life, I feel that fate has finally left us a glimmer of hope."

Yan Sikong smiled sadly: "When I knew you were still alive, that's what I thought."

Yuan Nanyu held Yan Sikong's hand tightly with a man's strength: "Second brother, in front of Dad's spirit tablet, let's pray together and never be separated in this life or the next, okay?"

Yan Sikong also looked at Yuan Nanyu, his eyes were infinitely gentle: "Yu'er, my second brother doesn't want to be separated from you, but things in this world are not always as we wish..."

"I don't care. Everything is up to human beings. Second brother, please promise me first." Yuan Nanyu's face was filled with sorrow. "My eldest brother has gone mad. Please forgive him. My eldest sister and mother are still in Jinan Prefecture. One day when the world is at peace, our family may be reunited. Second brother, please don't separate from me anymore. As long as I, Yuan Nanyu, am still alive, I will not allow anyone to hurt you in the slightest."

Yan Sikong smiled with tears in his eyes and said, "Second brother promised you. Second brother can promise you anything."

The two knelt in front of Yuan Mao's spirit for a long time, talking about many things in the past, until it got dark.

When they walked out of the ancestral hall and crossed the courtyard, they saw an old man at the gate of the mansion. He was wrapped in a thick cotton-padded jacket and sweeping the snow in front of the door with a broom.

Yan Sikong didn't want people to see his face, so he put on a hood, and the thick fur covered most of his face.

"Old man." Yuan Nanyu called out.

The old man turned around and shouted excitedly, "I have seen the Yuan generals." As he said this, he was about to kneel down tremblingly.

"Please don't be so polite." Yuan Nanyu said hurriedly.

The old man knelt down again, and Yuan Nanyu stepped forward to help him up: "Old man, on such a cold snowy night, why are you..."

The old man grabbed Yuan Nanyu's arm, tears in his eyes: "I never thought that the people of Guangning could look forward to another 'Yuan general'."

Yuan Nanyu and Yan Sikong looked at each other and said, "Old man, do you know my father?"

The old man wiped his tears and said, "It's been twenty years, and fewer and fewer people remember General Yuan Mao. Twenty years ago, if it weren't for General Yuan Mao, Guangning would have been gone, and the people of Guangning would have been killed by the barbarians. But the court punished such a good official..."

Yan Sikong's body trembled slightly, and his chest felt stuffy and painful.

Yuan Nanyu said hoarsely: "It turns out that there are still people who remember my father's achievements and the injustices he suffered."

"There are fewer and fewer people who remember it," the old man sobbed. "As an old man on the verge of death, I can die with my eyes closed if the court can rehabilitate General Yuan Mao."

Yuan Nanyu said with emotion: "Has the old man been repairing and cleaning my old house all these years?"

"I'm not the only one." The old man said, "For twenty years, we have never forgotten the kindness of General Yuan Mao and have been secretly guarding this house. Now Guangning is in trouble, and another Yuan general has come to save us. We have hope, we have hope!"

Yuan Nanyu said firmly: "Don't worry, old man, I will definitely inherit my father's legacy and defend Guangning and Liaodong."

"Thank you, General Yuan." The old man couldn't hold back his tears.

Yan Sikong felt sad, but also a little comforted. It turned out that there were still people who remembered the hero who had saved Guangning. As long as there is one person in this world who still remembers him, he will be immortal.

The two returned to the inn, and Yuan Nanyu touched Yan Sikong's cheek with his hand and said, "Second brother must have been frozen. Go and warm yourself up and go to bed early."

"You too, ask General Liang to send someone to clean up the old house tomorrow so that you can move back home as soon as possible." Yan Sikong smiled slightly, "As long as we are here, we will never let the thieves get involved in Guangning."

Yuan Nanyu nodded heavily.

After they separated, Yan Sikong walked straight to his own courtyard. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw a dark figure sitting on a stone bench.

Taking a look through the thin moonlight, I discovered that it was Fengye.

Yan Sikong paused, and seeing that Feng Ye had turned his head towards him, he knew neither how to advance nor how to retreat.

Feng Ye stood up, and a layer of snow fell off his hood. His face was red from the cold, and he didn't know how long he had been sitting here: "Sikong." His voice trembled as he opened his mouth.

Yan Sikong frowned and looked at him silently.

"You're back." Feng Ye looked at Yan Sikong without blinking, "I want to say a few words to you."

"It's late now. Let's talk about it tomorrow." Yan Sikong walked towards his door.

Feng Ye rushed to the door in a few steps. He was wrapped in cold air, and his whole body looked like an icicle. When he looked closer, he saw a thick layer of frost on his long eyelashes. "Tomorrow, you are also going to say another day. Why not do it today?"

"The Wolf King and I can only talk about business." Yan Sikong said coldly, "Business is not something that can be discussed here and now."

"It's also a serious matter between you and me."

"There is no such thing as 'between you and me'." Yan Sikong said, "Wolf King, please go back."

Feng Ye could not hide his sadness. He gritted his teeth and said, "Where should I go back to? It was you who asked me to come to Liaodong. It was you who wrote to me in person and asked me to come to Liaodong to save you."

Yan Sikong said frankly: "I asked you to come to Liaodong, because only you can save Liaodong by sending troops."

Feng Ye said excitedly: "Kong'er, you still have me in your heart, right? You asked me to save you, and you believed that I would come. For you, I would come even if I had to go through thousands of mountains and rivers."

"I did it for Liaodong." Yan Sikong looked at Feng Ye expressionlessly. "For Liaodong, I can die. Let alone those two words, even if I were asked to build a temple for the Wolf King, erect a monument and write a biography, what would be so difficult?"

Feng Ye's body stiffened. Yan Sikong's eyes were colder than a snowy winter night in Liaodong, piercing his heart.

Yan Sikong pushed open the door and said, "Please go back and rest, Wolf King. The country is more important. I am afraid I will get hurt." As he said that, he stepped over the threshold and turned around to close the door.

Feng Ye held the door with one hand and stared at Yan Sikong with red eyes.

Yan Sikong said coldly: "What exactly does the Wolf King want? You always said that I used you. Yes, I used you. Do you want revenge? Do you want to put me in jail, or force me to sleep with you?"

Feng Ye's lips trembled, he was so heartbroken that he didn't know what to do. In his whole life, he had fought on battlefields and sailed through rain of arrows. He believed that he was destined to be the king and had never been afraid of swords. But a word, a look, or an expression from Yan Sikong could easily make him full of wounds. It was like this in the past, it is like this now, and it will probably be like this for the rest of his life.

"You have me... in your heart..." Feng Ye said harshly. He was speaking to Yan Sikong, but it was more like he was speaking to himself. He stretched out his hand to take something out of his arms, but his hand was frozen and he couldn't reach into his clothes for several times. The more anxious he was, the more he failed. Finally, he pulled the thing out of his arms in frustration, but it fell to the ground.

Yan Sikong looked down and saw a palm-sized piece of red cloth with burnt edges.

His face changed.