Lin Chong met with the fifteen kneeling people again. After pacifying thirteen of them, blaming everything on Gu Hai, he told them to pack their belongings and return home to search for their families.
However, two of them continued staring at Lin Chong, their eyes already red from crying, refusing to stop kneeling.
“Rip!”
One of them tore the shirt he wore.
“Sir, look at this. Look at all the wounds I suffered when I charged through the battlefields with you. I have followed you for many years, but I have never complained. Now, my little sister was humiliated, and my mother was murdered. My entire family was wiped out. I only ask Sir to stand up for me. Sir, this subordinate has already followed you for so many years. Can I not ask for even one thing?”
“Sir, there is no need to try persuading us. You have seen how Old Wu is like for yourself. I saved his life. He has no children and cannot move around easily. Would money move him? Even if he had money, he would find it hard to go out and spend it. Would he lie to me? Look at the keepsake he sent. My sister always hangs this stone around her neck, never parting from it. It is normally kept under her clothes; no one knows about it. If not for burying her body, could he have obtained it? Sir!”
The two kowtowed continuously.
Lin Chong felt very bad at this moment. Although he believed the two, the commander had issued orders.
He tried persuasion. “Don’t worry. Go back to the capital and investigate first. If it is true, we will—”
“No. If we go back, who would admit to it? At that time, it would be impossible to ask the commander to get justice for us. We are just insignificant people, unable to return to the camp. Although we are just ruffians, we understand that we will never have the opportunity again if we do not get the commander to fulfill his promise now.
“Sir, I know that it was just minor officials who were caught bullying others previously. Those could be killed without a care. This time, it is the crown heir, a truly important person. We are just ants. Perhaps we might even die on the way back without realizing it!”
“Sir! I have already spread the news. Many people in the camp know about it already. The crown heir killed my entire family during this war. According to the law, he should be executed. However, that is an aloof personage; who would dare seek trouble for him? In the future, he will be the crown prince, then the emperor. We will never be able to get our revenge. Didn’t the commander say that he would get justice for us? Well, let him do it now. If he is not going to do it, then he is just uttering nonsense, not keeping his word! The commander’s declaration is just nonsense!”
“How impudent!” Lin Chong glared at the two.
The two immediately kowtowed.
“Sir! We want revenge. Even if we die for it, we want revenge. Back when we joined the army, we did so on your advice. However, our entire family died because we listened to you. Sir! Sob! Sob! Sob! Sob…!”
Lin Chong found this incredibly unbearable, but he could not do anything about it.
“Sir, we fought while risking our lives, all for what? Song Zhengxi is the future sovereign. We fought our hardest for him at the frontlines, yet he messed with our families in the rear.”
“The commander will definitely get justice for you. However, the situation now is urgent. When the war is over, I will get the commander to seek justice for you even if I have to die,” Lin Chong exhorted.
“Sir, you are clearer than us on this. When the war ends, no one will listen to the commander anymore. What is the point? Sob! Sob! Sob!” his subordinates complained while sobbing.
Lin Chong gritted his teeth. At this point, he had no other choice but to be ruthless. He looked at the two, and a cold light flashed in his eyes. Then, he moved his hand towards the handle of his saber.
“Brother-in-law! Brother-in-law!” Suddenly, anxious cries came from outside the tent.
An extremely weak and skinny man with a pale complexion and tattered clothes barged into the tent. Two soldiers followed close behind.
“Sir, we did not stop him seeing as he is your family,” the two soldiers explained after they entered.
“Alright. You can go out first.” Lin Chong nodded.
The two soldiers immediately left.
“Xiaoyu, why are you here? Why are you in such a state?” Lin Chong asked in shock.
Xiaoyu started crying upon seeing Lin Chong.
“Brother-in-law, you have to take revenge for Elder Sister. Elder Sister died with grievances. Sob! Sob! Sob! Sob! Sob! Sob…!” Xiaoyu cried as he hugged Lin Chong’s leg.
“Xiaodie? Xiaodie? What happened to Xiaodie?” Lin Chong’s expression immediately changed drastically. His hand, which was heading for his saber’s handle, suddenly paused as he looked at the weak man in horror.
“Elder Sister…she…the crown heir, Song Zhengxi caused her death. His subordinates killed everyone in our entire village before burning it down. Everyone died! Everyone died! Sob! Sob! Sob! Sob!” Xiaoyu cried heavily.
Buzz!
Lin Chong suddenly felt the world spinning around him. The scenes from before he joined the army filled his head.
——
“My husband, don’t go to war, alright? We’ll just remain here and be wealthy landlords, isn’t that good? I feel afraid if you go to war.”
“Xiaodie, trust in me. It’s fine. I am following the commander. As long as the commander is there, there won’t be any danger. Trust me.”
“However…Sob! Sob! Sob! What if you go and something unexpected happens? I cannot do without you!”
“It will be fine. Following the commander and making great accomplishments is my lifelong dream. Trust me!”
“However, people die in wars. If you…Sob! Sob! Sob!”
“I’ve already made up my mind. Stop dissuading me. If I die, I’ll love you again in the next life.”
——
I’ll love you again in the next life?
Lin Chong immediately stumbled. At that time, he just wanted to follow Gao Xianzhi. In his fit of anger, he said such a thing, declaring his willingness to die. However, not Xiaodie, not her!
Now that Lin Chong thought back to it, he wondered how hurt Xiaodie had felt. Why did I not think about it from Xiaodie’s shoes? How could I be so selfish?
Xiaodie? I don’t want to love you in the next life. I want to do it in this life!
As Lin Chong trembled, Xiaoyu started speaking again.
“Brother-in-law, it was Song Zhengxi. It was him. You know that Elder Sister caught his eye during the Lantern Festival. After you left, Song Zhengxi came to harass Elder Sister a few times. However, she was not willing. Then, that day came…that day, Song Zhengxi wanted to molest Elder Sister, but Elder Sister slapped him. When he returned, he brought over a group of people, wanting to rape her and humiliate her!” Xiaoyu said while crying.
“Song Zhengxi?” Lin Chong could not stop trembling.
“Elder Sister preferred to die than submit to Song Zhengxi. So, she committed suicide, smashing her head against a pillar. In his anger, Song Zhengxi got one of his subordinates to rape Elder Sister’s corpse. Then, he killed the entire village. He did not let anyone off, even Elder Sister’s corpse and myself, stabbing everyone with his sword. Then, he set the entire village on fire. Everyone died! Everyone died! Sob! Sob! Sob!” Xiaoyu said while crying.
Plop!
Lin Chong suddenly fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around his head in pain.
Lin Chong joined the war to accumulate outstanding accomplishments. More importantly, he wanted to contribute enough to become an important official so that Xiaodie could become the wife of an official and live a life of luxury. However…!
“Xiaodie, I should not have left! I should not have left! When you needed me the most, I was fighting a war for Song Zhengxi! I was fighting a war for Song Zhengxi!” Lin Chong wept disconsolately.
“Brother-in-law, before Elder Sister committed suicide, she looked to the north, saying something in your direction. She sounded very sad,” Xiaodie said while crying.
“Elder Sister said, ‘Lin Chong, don’t say you will love me again in the next life, Xiaoyu repeated painfully.
Lin Chong, don’t say you will love me again in the next life?
Lin Chong, don’t say you will love me again in the next life?
Don’t say you will love me again?
The despair that Xiaodie must have felt and her determination before she died kept running through Lin Chong’s head.
“Ah!” Lin Chong shouted while hugging his head.
Lin Chong’s shout was very loud. Everyone in the camp heard his pained cry.
“Sir, do you still want to silence us? Let Song Zhengxi get away scot-free?”
“To hell with the big picture! To hell with this war! I just want my family back alive. Sir, I beg you. Get the commander to take revenge for us!”
“Sir! Sob! Sob! Sob! Sob! Sob!”
Sobbing and crying rang out in the tent.
Lin Chong’s earlier loud shout already attracted the attention of everyone in the camp.
After a while, Lin Chong walked out of the tent like a zombie. Xiaoyu and the two soldiers in pain followed behind as he made his way to the large tent in the middle of the camp.
After arriving outside of Gao Xianzhi’s tent, Lin Chong slowly removed his officer’s uniform, then his shirt, and knelt outside Gao Xianzhi’s tent with his torso bare. Everyone could see countless terrifying scars on his body, inspiring chills.
The two soldiers behind Lin Chong also did the same. They removed their upper garments and revealed terrifying scars as they knelt outside Gao Xianzhi’s tent.
“Commander, Lin Chong has followed Commander for fifteen years, killed five hundred people, gotten severely injured ten times, and suffered light injuries fifty times. I fought while risking my life, not fearing any difficulty nor complaining. Now, someone killed Lin Chong’s family. I beg for Commander to uphold justice for me, uphold the military law, and uphold the nation’s law. Kill the crown heir, Song Zhengxi!”
“Commander, we beg you to fulfill your promise. Uphold the military law and execute Song Zhengxi!” the other two soldiers roared in pain.
When the other thirteen soldiers whom Lin Chong persuaded away earlier heard about this, they quickly ran over.
“Commander, we beg you to uphold the military law and execute Song Zhengxi!” the thirteen shouted in unison.
When the soldiers who had been through life and death with Lin Chong heard the news and saw Lin Chong kneeling, they knelt as well.
Lin Chong was the general of Gao Xianzhi’s vanguard. He always fought on the frontlines, right beside his troops and risking his life with them. These were true brothers who had been through life and death. When Lin Chong made his plea, hundreds of people knelt together with him.
Soon, more than five hundred people knelt outside Gao Xianzhi’s tent. All of them removed their upper garments and revealed the countless scars resulting from their participation in past battles.
Lin Chong knew that it would be useless to seek out Gao Xianzhi quietly. If he wanted to take revenge, the entire army needed to know.
Indeed, by now, hundreds of thousands of soldiers had already heard Lin Chong’s shout.
Execute the crown heir? He could be the emperor someday. Was this even possible?
The truth of Lin Chong’s matter was one thing. However, would the commander’s attitude to this be another thing? Would the commander offend the crown prince for Lin Chong? Would the commander honor the promise he made not long ago? Would the commander retract his promise on account of the other party’s status? Was the military command as firm as a mountain or simply just a game?
Countless people paid attention to this.
As Crown Prince Song issued orders, he suddenly heard Lin Chong shouting for Song Zhengxi’s death, causing his heart to skip a beat.
At this moment, Gao Xianzhi sat in his chair within his tent. He looked towards the closed tent entrance. Although he could not see the scene outside, he could guess. Now, he frowned exceptionally heavily.
Crack!
The teacup in Gao Xianzhi’s hand shattered.
“Gu Hai, I still underestimated your speed. Are you not even giving me time to catch my breath?” Gao Xianzhi muttered with an unsightly expression.
—
Song City, the Song Nation’s capital:
Gu Han looked at a crippled man in front of him. That cripple stared at Gu Han with a sullen expression.
“I have already written the letter. I hope that you will honor your promise and not harm the families of my brothers!” the cripple said sullenly.
“Old Wu, rest assured. They are absolutely safe. This time, we had no other choice. Please forgive us. There will definitely be injuries and casualties in war. By doing this, we are minimizing the casualties. When the war ends, all of them will be safe,” Gu Han replied seriously.
The cripple clenched his fist but felt helpless.
It turned out that the tragedy of those two soldiers’ families was faked.
After Gu Han made arrangements for Old Wu, he went to Gu Hai.
At this moment, Gu Hai was staring at a Go board in deep thought.
“Adoptive Father, you didn’t review the new information?” Gu Han asked.
“Even if it is by messenger pigeons, the information is too outdated. There is no point in looking at it. Perhaps, Lin Chong is already causing a huge commotion in the military camp.” Gu Hai smiled as he placed a black Go stone.
“Adoptive Father, did you prepare so many true and false pieces of information in the earlier stage for this Lin Chong?” Gu Han asked out of curiosity.
“That’s right. The truth of the information does not matter. It is sufficient for the most crucial piece of information to be true. Song Zhengxi has only himself to blame; he should be punished for what he has done. To think that he is the crown heir. It is a coincidence that we ran into him,” Gu Hai said as he placed down a white Go stone.
“What if we did not have Song Zhengxi? What would happen to the plan?” Gu Han asked out of curiosity.
“If that did not happen?” Gu Hai stopped and looked at Gu Han.
“Yes, what if Song Zhengxi did not kill Xiaodie?”
“Haha! That does not matter. This plan was originally called ‘Creating Something from Nothing. Without Xiaodie, there would be Xiaomao, Xiaohua, Xiaowen. Furthermore, I did not intend to use Song Zhengxi at the beginning. After all, the identity of the crown heir is not prestigious enough. In Song City, there are still the prime minister and the imperial tutor. It does not matter who I used as the primer. The crux of this endless cycle requires only one black Go stone to ignite it. I have more than one black Go stone in my Go bowl.” Gu Hai smiled.
As Gu Hai spoke, he took a black Go stone from among the many black Go stones in the bowl at the side. Then, he placed the black Go stone on the Go board in front.
[TL Note: Go stones are stored in a Go bowl when not in use. Unless the stones are on the board, they should be in the bowl and not just lying around. It is also bad etiquette to fiddle with the Go bowl while playing. There would be two Go bowls, one on the right side of each player, beside the Go board.]
Gu Han’s expression changed. Then, he nodded. “It looks like Song Zhengxi stumbled into this by himself; he was too unlucky. As long as the position is right, anyone can replace him?”
“That’s right!” Gu Hai smiled faintly.
“However, is paying such a huge price for just this Lin Chong and Song Zhengxi sufficient?” Gu Han asked worriedly.
“It’s enough, as he is the crown heir. Now, all eight hundred thousand soldiers are watching, waiting to see how Gao Xianzhi will give an account to the entire army!” Gu Hai said confidently with a faint smile.
“If I were Gao Xianzhi, I would kill the offender, even if it were the crown heir!” Gu Han said after some thought.
“Indeed, kill! However, this game is only just beginning. Hence, I want the crown heir to live!” Gu Hai said as he slowly placed a white Go stone on the Go board.
“Clack!”