Live to be a hundred years old
By the time Hu Xingche came out of the inner room after washing up, Tang Qi had already cooked several dishes with a large ladle. He even scooped some out for the two people next door and put them on the dining table.
"That's more like a child now," Tang Qi said, laughing at Hu Xingche.
Among the Wolf Strategy Army, only Hu Xingche was the youngest. He was personally led in by Tang Qi because of his extraordinary endurance and speed. The Wolf Strategy Army naturally accepted all talents without hesitation.
"Come on, sit down and eat." He beckoned to Hu Xingche, who slowly moved to his seat. In front of him was a large bowl of rice and a mountain of dishes that Tang Qi had served him.
Hu Xingche has no other faults, except that he is quiet and doesn't like to talk. He was like that when he was in the military camp. Because Tang Qi brought him in, he was only close to Tang Qi in the entire camp. Tang Qi treated him like an older brother and an elder, and most of the time he treated him like a child.
Seeing how strangely he was shoveling rice into his mouth, Tang Qi couldn't help but glance at his joints. There was a clear misalignment, making his entire arm appear twisted, but the brat didn't utter a sound.
"Don't move your arm around. I'll go find a doctor to take a look at it later."
Hu Xingche paused in his eating, threw down his chopsticks, and quickly sprang to his feet, covering his arm in a defensive posture, his eyes regaining their wariness.
The people at the dinner table naturally noticed something fishy.
Tang Qi exchanged a glance with them, and they all put down their bowls and chopsticks, blocking him from both sides. Tang Qi was about to grab his arm to look when Hu Xingche suddenly yanked him back, dislocating the joint even more severely.
"Hu Xingche! What kind of nonsense are you spouting with me!"
As soon as Tang Qi uttered his curse, Hu Xingche froze on the spot, staring blankly at him.
"Why are you looking at me? I told you you're a bit dim-witted. You can't remember the voice, and you can't remember the face either? You've seen Lin Zhengye before, and besides, how dare you not recognize my voice?" Tang Qi was too lazy to hide it from him anymore.
"Boss... Boss?" Hu Xingche tentatively stared into his eyes.
"What's wrong, finally learned to use your brain—" He was knocked back a few steps by Hu Xingche's sudden pounce, and his words trailed off for half a second before slowly slipping out of his throat: "Thinking?"
"I thought you were all dead!" he said in a muffled voice, pressing down on Tang Qi's shoulder.
“Me too,” Tang Qi said, patting his back, her voice soft and gentle with a hint of amusement. “Luckily, you’re still alive.”
Across from them, Shen Zhiqing and Ye Qian spread their hands as they watched the two of them reunite. "Put your tears aside for now. There are more important things to discuss."
So the group sat back down at the table. Tang Qi briefly explained to Hu Xingche how he had survived and the whole story of the Kachatsky incident. After that, he finally turned the conversation to Hu Xingche: "What exactly happened when you went east that day?"
Hu Xingche was momentarily stunned by the sudden realization of so much, and only after Tang Qi tapped his hand did he turn around and say, "I... I listened to you and rode my horse eastward from Katu, but I failed to get out."
"Did you run into someone sent by His Majesty?" Tang Qi asked.
Hu Xingche nodded: "They told me to turn around and not to retreat. But later, Brother Jiacuo also brought the Left Branch Army over, and we almost got into a fight with those people."
No wonder Gyatso looked so pale when he returned.
"I mingled in the crowd, and Jiacuo took advantage of the chaos to stuff the military report into my arms and even secretly delivered it to me under the gaze of those people. After leaving Kachu, I headed east without daring to stop. I ran my fast horse to death. At that time, there was still a long way to go to Xuanhe Army's garrison, so I kept running and running, hoping to run to the post station to change horses."
As Hu Xingche spoke, his body suddenly trembled in response: "Later, I finally ran to a brightly lit post station, but there were no officials inside. I saw a person in the lamplight."
Tang Qi: "Wu Shunyi?"
Hu Xingche stared wide-eyed at him and nodded incredulously.
"He was talking to a masked person. Judging from the accent, the person on the other end didn't seem to be from the Shuo Dynasty."
Ye Qian: "Wearing a mask? What kind of mask?"
"I couldn't see clearly, but it looked bluish-green and resembled a ghost."
Tang Qi and Ye Qian exchanged a glance and said, "It's Gui Luo. Blue face, fangs, and a demon mask—only he would have such terrible taste."
Tang Qi felt a lump in his throat when he heard the name. He had only met Gui Luo twice, but each time he loathed him more than the last, especially after Gui Luo kidnapped Tang Yan.
"So that person was Gui Luo." Hu Xingche realized belatedly.
"And then? What happened next?" Shen Zhiqing asked him.
“Later, I originally planned to sneak away, but I heard the boss’s name. So I wanted to get closer and find out what they were planning,” Hu Xingche frowned briefly, “but they found out too quickly.”
"You...you got your injuries like this?" Shen Zhiqing asked, opening her mouth.
Hu Xingche nodded: "I turned around and ran away while they were still reacting, but they had horses and I couldn't outrun them at all. Before long, the distance between us was getting closer and closer."
He suddenly laughed: "But luckily I was fortunate enough to escape to a riverbank at the last minute."
He spoke lightly, but it sent chills down one's spine.
"You—you jumped?!" Shen Zhiqing exclaimed in surprise.
Hu Xingche hummed in agreement, then scratched his head and looked at Tang Qi: "I've been good at swimming since I was a child—boss, you know that too, you even taught me."
"I was teaching you how to save your life." Tang Qi punched him on the head, and Hu Xingche rubbed the spot where he had been hit and chuckled sheepishly: "Isn't this how I save my life?"
"You really aren't afraid of death."
Hu Xingche: "Anyway, if we get caught and taken back, we'll probably die anyway, so we might as well take a gamble. It can't get any worse than that."
"So what happened to you after that?"
“After I jumped into the river, I was afraid they would follow me and kill me, so I kept swimming. I don’t know how long I swam or where I swam to. In the end, I was so tired that I felt like I couldn’t hold on any longer, so I forced myself to get ashore before I completely lost consciousness.” Hu Xingche continued to smile: “I thought I was going to die, but I didn’t.”
“Someone saved me; it was a couple. They took me from the shore and treated my wounds. Later, I was afraid that the group was still chasing me, and I didn’t want to implicate the couple, so I prepared to continue east to find Xuanhe Army. But on the way, I suddenly heard the news that the entire Langce Army had been killed in battle.”
He clenched his fist again, his voice trembling: "I thought it was because I was too slow and failed to bring back reinforcements, that's why—"
"I won't let any of those people get away with this." Tang Qi's gaze turned to Hu Xingche, and he asked softly, "Do you still have the military report that Gyatso gave you before you left Kayuchu? Has it been thrown away?"
I thought that after so many things, the military newspaper would have been thrown away long ago, but to my surprise, Hu Xingche shook his head.
"That's Wolf Strategy's only hope; I can't throw it away."
This time, Tang Qi was stunned. "You didn't lose it? The military report has been with you the whole time since the incident?"
"I had the military report in my hand before I jumped into the river," Hu Xingche laughed, his tone light as if he were joking. "I had already decided that even if someone cut off my arm, I would never let go of it."
Ye Qian was dumbfounded. He realized that these people who joined the army were all incredibly stubborn.
"Where is the military report now?"
Hu Xingche touched his arm and chuckled softly, "I sewed it into the flesh."
“After I learned that the entire Wolf Strategy Army was dead, I wanted to find out exactly what happened, but I was worried that those people were still monitoring me, so I kept hiding and didn’t dare let anyone find me. Until—” Hu Xingche turned his eyes to Shen Zhiqing: “I met this sister. Once when the Wolf Strategy Army ran out of food, I remember you asked her for help, boss. I found out she was looking for me, so I took a gamble.”
"No wonder you resisted so fiercely when I offered to take you to treat your injuries. It turns out the General's Report was sewn into your flesh?!" Shen Zhiqing was horrified.
“Although I know you have a relationship with the boss, this is a matter of great importance, and I cannot take the risk.”
"Are you crazy?!" Tang Qi immediately flew into a rage. Seeing his arrogant eyes and his continued ignorance, she pointed at him and shouted angrily, "Hu Xingche, do you think you have too long to live?!"
"Get me to see a doctor right now, immediately, right now!"
...
"Do all of you who join the army have the same brain?"
"What's the meaning?"
Ye Qian: "Why is everyone so fearless, as if their lives are as light as a feather? It's so hard to live, yet you don't cherish it at all."
Tang Qi looked over, thought for a moment, and then replied, "I don't want to lecture you. Anyway, you're always smarter than us. But Ye Qian, when you have to make a choice someday, you might suddenly act stupid."
Ye Qian lowered his head and chuckled softly: "Should I be looking forward to it?"
Tang Qi bumped into his shoulder and laughed loudly: "Forget it, there are so many stupid people in the world, you might as well be smart for the rest of your life."
"Ye Quchi, you may live to be a hundred years old."
"Zhong Le, you're being a scoundrel again."
"I don't care, you just have to live to be a hundred."
The door behind her opened, and Shen Zhiqing said to the two people outside, "The person is awake, come in."
Hu Xingche lay on the bed, a basin of bloody water beside him, and a tray containing the military report he had just retrieved. He didn't call the doctor, saying he didn't believe it, so Shen Zhiqing took care of all the surgery and stitches.
"Next time you're trying to kill yourself, don't drag me down with you. If I take too many lives, I'm afraid I'll run out of breath." Shen Zhiqing said as she tidied up the place.
Tang Qi: "There's nothing I can do. The capable are always given more work. Boss Shen, you are indeed knowledgeable and experienced. Didn't you save my life?"
Shen Zhiqing rolled her eyes at him: "I grow grain, not save lives."
"It doesn't matter," Tang Qi waved his hand and turned to look at the person on the hospital bed, asking, "How are you feeling?"
"It's nothing serious, just a little sore," Hu Xingche said with a smile.
Ye Qian helped Shen Zhiqing tidy up the things on the table. The two worked in perfect harmony. Ye Qian went to her side and said softly, "Thank you for your hard work."
"It's not hard work, just don't lie down on it."
Shen Zhiqing's sudden remark left Ye Qian stunned.
“I heard what you were saying outside the door,” she looked at Ye Qian, her eyes filled with an indescribable emotion: “I can’t save you.”
"Do you understand? I'm not a doctor. If you were the one lying there, I certainly wouldn't be able to save you. But I don't want you to die. If you still want me to forgive you, then you'd better live well and live a healthy life."
"Ye Quchi, you must live to be a hundred years old."
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