Chapter 25: Defend your homeland, don't forget to return...
Apart from training the army and missing his mother, Lin Yuanjiu often looked towards home silently, stroking the hilt of the sword in his hand, called Fuguang Sword, with his fingertips.
Fu Guang is a dark black sword that is not at all noticeable.
She followed her father Lin Yuanjiu in the first half of her life, and followed Lin Yuanjiu in the second half. It was also in Lin Yuanjiu's hands that she developed intelligence.
Since Fu Guang gained intelligence, he has been unable to condense into a physical body and can only accompany his master in the sword every day.
The phrase she heard her master say most often was: "Fuguang, I want to go home."
Since you want to go home, why not go home?
The next day, General Shen asked the doubts that had been buried in her heart for a long time.
"Do you want to go home?"
As the final battle approached, General Shen summoned Lin Yuanjiu for questioning. Outside the tent, a fierce wind howled, the military flags fluttered in the wind, and from afar, the neighing of war horses and the shouts of soldiers training could be heard from time to time.
Lin Yuanjiu said, "When the war ends and peace reigns at the border, it will be time for me to return home."
It's not that she doesn't want to go home, but she has seen the people in the border towns trapped in despair and displaced by the war; the able-bodied men were brutally beheaded for rising up against the barbarians; the women and children cried bitterly while holding the corpses of children who died of starvation; the miserable scenes were heartbreaking, and all that she saw made her dare not mention going home again.
Initially, Lin Yuanjiu joined the battlefield to fulfill her father's wish, but later, she did it for the common people and for her country.
General Shen heard this and looked at the urgent military reports piled on his desk. His brows furrowed, and he sighed deeply. He said, "In that case, I will allow you to go home and visit your mother for three days."
Lin Yuanjiu's usually silent expression showed a rare change. "Thank you, General!"
General Shen said, "Go, good boy."
When they got home, Lin's mother was overjoyed. She asked, "Is the war over? Are you still leaving?"
Lin Yuanjiu nodded silently.
Hearing this, Mother Lin's eyes, aged by years of worry, drooped in disappointment. She said, "Well, your father always longed for peace at the border, and now it's almost here. If your father knew how outstanding his daughter is, he would surely be pleased."
She kept embroidering clothes with her hands. "It's cold at the border all year round. I'll embroider more warm robes for my son." Mother Lin continued to chatter.
Lin Yuanjiu placed her sword on the table and said, "My daughter will not be back for an unknown date, so I left Fu Guang at home to think of you. Please forgive me for being unfilial and not being able to fulfill my filial duties to you." She knelt down and said.
On the day of leaving home, mother silently packed Lin Yuanjiu's luggage. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she forced herself not to let them fall.
Before leaving, she held Lin Yuanjiu's hand tightly, her voice trembling but firm: "Go, child, defend your homeland, and don't forget to come back."
After Lin Yuanjiu left, Fu Guang could only accompany his master A Niang.
I saw Lin's mother embroidering clothes over and over again every day, and then sitting at home, gazing in a daze towards the border through the high courtyard wall. Her temples were gradually turning white, like the snow-stained dead branches as winter approached.
The border battle was won, and the generals returned home happily. However, Lin's mother was told that her daughter had died tragically and her body was nowhere to be found. She was heartbroken and her heart ached. Finally, one night when no one was around, she slipped and fell into a well and died.
By the time Fu Guang was anxious and suddenly able to transform, it was too late.
She could only fish out Lin's mother's body from the well and hide it at home. Then she transformed herself into Lin's mother's appearance, hurried to the border, and used her intuition to find the whereabouts of Lin Yuanjiu.
Fortunately, Lin Yuanjiu was still holding on to his breath, but it wouldn't last long.
Fu Guang ignored the surprised looks of the crowd and carried Lin Yuanjiu out of the forest. Someone came to find a doctor.
After examining Lin Yuanjiu, the doctor told Fu Guang, "This person's pulse is weak and rootless, like a dying lamp or a thread about to break. His vital energy is exhausted, and his organs are extremely weak. Even if Hua Tuo were reborn or Bian Que were reborn, it would be difficult to bring him back to life."
Fu Guang didn't understand and asked with red eyes: "Are you going to prescribe the medicine or not?"
The doctor sighed and wrote a prescription for her.
The others all knew that the medicine on the prescription was just a consolation. When a person is about to die, there is nothing that can be done to save him.
Fu Guang took the prescription and hurried to get the medicine, her eyes full of anxiety and anticipation. After getting the medicine, she boiled it herself, and the smoke rising from it seemed like her last hope.
However, even after Lin Yuanjiu took the medicine, he still showed no signs of improvement. His breathing became weaker and his face became paler.
But she had clearly seen Lin Yuanjiu sick in the past, and he also took medicine and recovered in a few days. Why didn't the medicine work this time?
When Lin Yuanjiu was in a state of confusion and dying, she pulled Fu Guang, who was dressed as Lin's mother, over. Her usually calm and dignified face was rarely stained with fragility and helplessness. Perhaps she knew she was going to die, or perhaps it was because her mother was by her side that she could show her vulnerability without restraint.
Lin Yuanjiu's eyes were swollen and red from the injury. She cried tearfully, "Mother, I want to go home."
She wanted to go back to the time when her father pushed the swing for her with a smile, and her mother sat beside her with a helpless look on her face, helping her add winter clothes.
Fu Guangyi cried and replied to her: "Let's go home!"
Despite the doctor's repeated and earnest warnings: "The patient's internal injuries are difficult to cure, and moving him should not cause him further pain."
Fu Guang still brought Lin Yuanjiu back home.
She thanked all the visitors and Fu Guang boiled medicine for her day after day.
But at some point, her master suddenly became motionless, not saying a word, not drinking any medicine, and just lay there like a wooden sculpture, motionless.
Like a dead tree that has lost its soul.
What else could she do? She could only deceive herself and use her spiritual power to protect the bodies of Lin's mother and Lin Yuanjiu. She boiled medicine every day and prayed foolishly for the moment when Lin Yuanjiu would open his eyes and wake up.
Fu Guang's cries were shrill and echoed through the sky, as if he wanted to cry out all the resentment and grievances he had felt in the past few days.
Upon hearing this, Chen Qing's heart trembled, and he thought to himself: So my guess was completely wrong. It wasn't a demon possessing Lin's mother, and Lin Yuanjiu was long dead. The only thing keeping the Lin family afloat these days was a sword spirit left behind.
As for why Lin Yuanjiu suddenly disappeared a few months later, leaving only Lin's mother's body to be discovered.
Chen Qing tentatively lifted Fu Guang's hand to check, then looked at the inside of Lin Yuanjiu's wrist on the bed. Unexpectedly, there was a blue mark on the inside of both wrists.
This seal is a soul contract, a life contract between the spirit creature and its master.
Once the owner of the soul contract encounters an accident and the body is kept for too long, it will skip the process of decay and dissipate instantly, and the other spiritual object connected to the soul contract will also be destroyed.
The reason why Lin's mother's body had not decayed before was entirely due to the spiritual power of the sword spirit. Once the sword spirit dissipated and the spiritual power lost its effectiveness, Lin's mother's body began to decay, and the strange smell naturally emitted, which was easily noticed by the neighbors.
As a result, the rumor that Lin Yuanjiu had killed his mother and escaped was groundless and spread quickly.
It all makes sense.
The teeth marks on her wrist still hurt. Chen Qing bared his teeth and asked her, "So what are you going to do? Are you going to just watch them lie there dead?"
Fu Guang cried and shook his head, "I don't know! I don't know! I want the master to wake up, I just want to follow the master, alive and well, why is it gone?"
It's extremely rare for a sword to be able to transform into a spirit. It would be a pity if it disappeared along with its owner. Chen Qing pointed to the soul contract on her wrist and said, "I'll help you remove this, would you like it?"
Fu Guang retracted his hands, "No! Go away! Don't even think about destroying the connection between me and my master!"
Chen Qing said, "Hey!", folded his arms across his chest, and said, "Forget it! I can't control what happens to you, but Army Officer Lin and his mother must be buried in peace."
"There's a rumor that says if a dying person can't rest in peace, they'll never find peace in the afterlife. Their souls won't be able to enter reincarnation, and will be forced to wander between the Yin and Yang realms, suffering the pain of loneliness and helplessness. Can you really bear to watch their souls return to a state of rootlessness?"
Fu Guang bit his lip and looked at Lin Yuanjiu on the bed, "Really?"
Chen Qing: "Of course it's true, why would I lie to you?"
Fu Guang finally relented after hearing this: "Okay, I agree."
Chen Qing repeatedly emphasized the effectiveness of the soul contract, but Fu Guang insisted on not canceling the soul contract, so Chen Qing stopped interfering in other people's affairs.
The bodies of Lin's mother and Lin Yuanjiu were discovered by two children who "accidentally" broke into the Lin family's home.
Later, Chen Qing's father personally sent people to bury the mother and daughter. Among the burial objects was Lin Yuanjiu's favorite sword during his lifetime. The sword was buried with its owner and has never seen the light of day since then.
Not knowing whether he had done any good deeds to accumulate merit, Shen Qing returned home dejectedly. The next day, the magistrate of Wannian County came to visit him.
The county magistrate was a thin but tall middle-aged man, and his wife was a beautiful woman with delicate features.
The couple weren't as harsh or cunning as Chen Qing had imagined. On the contrary, the county magistrate was gentle, even a little taciturn, and his whole body exuded a sense of restraint. His wife also lowered her head and looked submissive, her expression full of uneasiness.
Mother Shen specially invited the two of them and asked them to take a seat.
The magistrate took the teacup from the servant with both hands and whispered his thanks, his voice soft and feeble. His wife sat quietly beside him, her hands folded in her lap, her head slightly bowed.
His every move and behavior reveals the peace and tranquility that comes from his honesty and integrity.
How could such a simple couple give birth to such a daughter? Chen Qing couldn't figure it out even if he racked his brains.
The county magistrate asked tentatively, "I wonder if the madam summoned us here because of the matter concerning my Yuerong?"
Yuerong is Shen Ling’s nickname.
Mother Shen smiled lightly, “County Magistrate Shen is too polite, it is indeed so.”
As soon as the word "county magistrate" was uttered, the closeness of the relationship became clear instantly.
These words made the couple's brows tighten again, and the county magistrate asked worriedly: "But what did Yuerong do wrong to make Madam angry?" Earlier, Chen Rongzhi and his family of three had just received a favor from General Shen and moved from their ancestral home to Wannian County. Chen Ling then asked her mother to go to the Shen Mansion to see her sister whom she had never met.
County Magistrate Shen thought that although his younger brother was already a general, a high-ranking official whom his family did not dare to marry, the daughters of the two families had a slight blood connection after all, and perhaps the two cousins could play together.
Therefore, he tacitly agreed to send his daughter to the Shen Mansion to recognize her relatives. Fortunately, although General Shen and his wife were rich, they did not forget their old friendship and calmly accepted their daughter to stay for a while.
Unexpectedly, after a few days, the daughter did something that made Mrs. Shen personally invite the county magistrate and his wife.
Now the couple are also worried.
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