The four of them remained silent. Apart from the wailing lament of the wind and Wang Cuihong’s soft sobs, the back hill was quiet.
Ye Beizhi pulled out the last weed in front of the grave and, with his back to Fang Dingwu, said, "Brother Fang, pass me the water flask."
Fang Dingwu silently unfastened the flask from his waist and handed it to Ye Beizhi.
Fang Dingwu wasn’t an alcoholic, so he naturally didn’t have the habit of carrying alcohol everywhere like Xue Qiming did.
Kneeling halfway in front of the grave, Ye Beizhi removed the stopper from the flask and tilted its mouth. Crystal-clear water poured out like tears.
None of them had brought incense, candles, paper money, or offerings when they climbed the mountain. With such circumstances, they could only use water as a substitute for wine—a small gesture of solace.
Ye Beizhi ignored the dirt on the ground and sat cross-legged on the soil, placing his Tang sword across his lap.
Chi Nanwei heard the seated man softly say, "I'm here..."
The figure hunched slightly, his head lowered toward the ground. His faint voice carried exhaustion and a hint of vulnerability.
Chi Nanwei had never seen Ye Beizhi before.
"The Flying Mallard Battalion is gone... all dead." His weary voice drifted into the mountain wind. Ye Beizhi paused. "No, not all—there’s still me... only me."
"I always thought I’d die before you..." The flask ran dry. Ye Beizhi shook it lightly and replaced the stopper. "You were the one who taught me how to survive. So how... could you die before me?"
"You said that you could survive if you killed all your enemies... That day, we killed all the Northern Qiang. So why did you still die?"
"I still don’t know how to wield a sword properly," Ye Beizhi said as he placed the flask beside him and gently touched the wooden gravestone with his hand. "But I’ve learned how to kill now...
"They all say my swordsmanship is excellent and ask who taught me... I tell them it was you, Niu Dayong... but they don’t know who you are."
"I’m strong now... not so easy to kill anymore."
"I later went looking for your body, but I couldn’t find it... It must have been gathered up and burned.
"I’m sorry... I should’ve gone looking sooner."
"Northern Qiang is invading again... This time, many more people will die... But I’m no longer a soldier.
"Even though the Northern Qiang killed you... I’ve never hated Northern Qiang... Neither did you.
"I still remember... what you said..." Ye Beizhi chuckled softly. "Northern Qiang isn't what's wrong... war is."
"It’s clearly wrong, but it’s what you always did." Ye Beizhi sighed. "Was it worth it?"
His scattered words came and went like the spring breeze, as if he was speaking whatever came to mind.
Chi Nanwei lowered her head, looking at that figure. The sorrow he couldn’t hide seemed to fill the entire world.
She had never asked Ye Beizhi much about his past, but this was the first time she had heard him say so much.
After some time, Ye Beizhi seemed to have said all he could. He pushed himself up and said two final words in a low voice.
Like his first words, it was concise—a simple soldier's farewell.
After bidding farewell, he left freely, his robe flapping in the mountain wind.
Ye Beizhi walked down the mountain alone, with Fang Dingwu and the others silently following behind.
Chi Nanwei bit her lip, quickened her pace, and caught up to him, taking his hand in hers.
The warmth from her palm made Ye Beizhi turn his head to look at this lovely woman beside him. Chi Nanwei simply gave him a radiant smile, as if clearing away the gloom and bringing forth a ray of sunshine.
Upon returning to Wang Cuihong’s home and entering the inner courtyard, they saw Niu Geng and Fang Xiuju waiting there. Both had unpleasant expressions, as if they had just argued.
Niu Geng forced a smile and stepped forward to greet them, but before he could speak, Ye Beizhi interrupted him.
"To the ancestral shrine... We offer incense for the battalion commander."
The ancestral shrine is usually reserved for those with family bloodlines or those who made significant contributions to the clan, granting them the honor of being enshrined after death.
When Ye Beizhi had just picked up a stick of incense at the ancestral shrine, an elderly man quickly walked in.
Niu Geng’s expression shifted, and he was about to step forward to explain, but the old man merely glared fiercely at Ye Beizhi and the others before striding toward Niu Geng and slapping him hard across the face.
The slap landed solidly, its sound crisp and clear.
"Who allowed you to bring outsiders in here?!" The surprisingly strong old man stomped his foot in outrage.
Niu Geng held his face, glaring at the old man with suppressed anger. Nonetheless, he quickly pulled the elder aside and began explaining in a low voice.
The elder didn’t seem convinced by the explanation, stomping his foot again as he cursed, "It’s still not acceptable—this is the ancestral shrine! You little bastard—do you even know what the shrine represents?!"
Niu Geng seemed to lose his composure, his voice rising despite himself. "Father! You didn’t see their silver. Do you know how they brought? At least a hundred taels—they’re just here to pay respects to Niu Dayong!"
"Don’t you bring up Niu Dayong!" The elder grew even angrier at the mention of the name. "I never agreed in the first place—if it weren’t for you begging by my bedside all night, hmph. How can a mere soldier be enshrined here?!"
"Because he was a soldier," a voice abruptly interrupted the old man.
The old man froze momentarily, then turned to glare at Ye Beizhi with displeasure. "And who are you?"
"I was Niu Dayong’s soldier," Ye Beizhi replied calmly.
"And do you know who I am?!" the old man roared, waving his hands in exasperation. "I am the head of the Niu clan! I can have Niu Dayong’s plaque thrown out at any time—"
"You are a commoner," Ye Beizhi interrupted again. "Niu Dayong was a soldier."
"The reason the commander fought, the reason he died..." Ye Beizhi stared into the old man’s eyes and said, slowly and deliberately, "Was for people like you."
"You—" The old man tried to respond, but Ye Beizhi pulled the stack of silver notes from his coat and threw it into the old man’s arms. The notes scattered all over the floor.
Ye Beizhi turned away, ignoring Niu Geng and his wife as they scrambled to pick up the scattered notes. Instead, he lit the incense in his hand, bowed respectfully three times to the small plaque in the corner of the shelf, and placed the incense into the censer.
After finishing, Ye Beizhi turned to Wang Cuihong, who had remained silent for a long time, and said, "We’re leaving."
Wang Cuihong nodded hurriedly. "Let me see you off."
Ye Beizhi shook his head. "No need."
As they left the house, Fang Dingwu was still fuming. "That family is so detestable—I’d love to just beat them to death and be done with it!"
Ye Beizhi said nothing.
Chi Nanwei shook her head and said to Fang Dingwu, "That won’t do, Brother Dingwu. You’re being too impulsive—Dummy did this for Wang Cuihong. She’s already remarried, and although her life with them may not be great, it’s still a home for her. If we harmed that family, wouldn’t we also be hurting her? That’s why we can’t even say anything too harsh. Everyone has their own fate..."