Mo Rong smiled gently. The city wall of Kuanglan City was nearing completion, so she really didn't need to worry about it anymore. "Now that the city is finished, I should take my leave. It's been quite a while since I left Yue Renling, and I really miss my hometown."
Li Jun sensed a deep weariness in her words, as if she were already tired of life in the outside world. He hadn't expected that Mo Rong was actually tired of the struggle between Li Jun and Lei Hun, and wanted to stay far away. Even if she couldn't escape her longing for these two ordinary people, she wanted to avoid contact with them. A sense of sadness welled up in her heart. Lei Hun hadn't come to see her for so long; he had probably already forgotten her.
But her words greatly shocked Li Jun. He said softly, "Sister Mo, could you stay here for the time being and I will send you back after I have settled Yuzhou?"
Mo Rong felt a surge of warmth in her heart. She could deeply feel Li Jun's concern for her, which softened her heart. But she immediately reminded herself and said, "Let's talk about it later. Don't just come to see me. You have other things to do when you come back, right?"
Li Jun thought she had agreed and chuckled, "Yes, I still have some things to take care of. I'll go first and come see you again when I'm done. I won't leave again until Sister Mo recovers."
Mo Rong felt a fever again. She turned her gaze and saw that Ji Su's face was even paler than hers, the patient. She stood there silently. Only women can truly understand women. The two women looked at each other, as if they could see right through each other and understand what the other was thinking.
"Sister Ji Su...please sit for a while." Mo Rong suddenly felt that the distance between her and Ji Su was very, very far, and could only reluctantly greet her.
"No... Sister Mo, please take good care of yourself... I'll go out for a while too." Unable to hide her feelings, Ji Su strode out of Mo Rong's room just before tears welled up in her eyes.
Only Li Jun and Mo Rong remained in the room. Mo Rong's face, which had been flushed from Li Jun's blush, began to turn pale again. She said, "Brother, you should go out too. I'm tired and want to sleep for a while."
Li Jun was unaware that during that brief eye contact between Mo Rong and Ji Su, both women had suffered a profound blow to their hearts. He left Mo Rong's residence as instructed, and saw Ji Su's graceful figure facing him, seemingly gazing at the sky, or perhaps waiting for him to come out.
Section 3
Hearing Li Jun's approaching footsteps, Ji Su didn't turn around, but asked in a low voice, "What did you two talk about again?"
In recent times, since Ji Su stopped resorting to violence against Li Jun at the drop of a hat, their relationship had improved considerably. Li Jun also knew that although she had a bad temper, she was by no means someone who would indiscriminately kill innocent people. However, such hushed whispers were still rare between the two of them. Therefore, he was somewhat surprised.
"I didn't say anything. Sister Mo felt tired, so I came out. I had other things to do." He said calmly. Although he had no intention of explaining anything to Ji Su, he still answered Ji Su's question honestly, not knowing what to do.
"Oh," Ji Su responded softly. The two walked slowly down the street, the shade of the trees blocking out the sun and casting strange shadows on them. Ji Su's mind, like the shadows of the trees, was filled with countless strange thoughts, but for a moment she didn't know what to say.
Li Jun, however, was different. Half of his mind was on Mo Rong's health; although she was alright, he still felt some worry. The other half was on Peng Yuancheng at the front. Whether Peng Yuancheng's surrender was genuine or not would be known by observing the outcome of his attack on Yujiang City. Although he only had 15,000 troops, Li Jun believed he had a way to solve the problem.
Seeing that Li Jun remained silent, Ji Su decided to test him with words to see what this chosen one of the God of War was really thinking. She said, "I miss home too. I just heard Sister Mo mention it, and I miss my family too."
"oh."
"On our grasslands, the sky is as blue as if it had been washed clean, and the cattle and sheep on the grasslands are as numerous as the clouds floating in the sky. The hearts of the people on the grasslands are as broad as the sky."
"oh."
“My father only has one daughter, and he must be very worried about me since he hasn’t seen me for so long.”
"oh,"
No matter how she tried to hint, Li Jun only responded with an "Oh." Ji Su suddenly felt she could no longer bear it. She glared angrily at Li Jun and said, "You just knew it, you just knew it was Sister Mo, you...you...you're a big bad guy!"
In her haste, she scolded Li Jun like a child, calling him a "big bad guy." Li Jun, who had been pondering how Peng Yuancheng would capture Yujiang City, hadn't noticed her words until now, and exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? Why are you calling me that?"
"You..." Ji Su was speechless with anger, and tears welled up in her eyes again. She never knew she could cry so much. The tears she had shed for Li Jun since she met him were probably more than all the tears she had ever shed before.
"I'm sorry." Seeing her reddened eyes, Li Jun was at a loss. If Ji Su were to angrily scold or attack him, he could handle it, but a girl's tears were something someone like him with "gender phobia" simply couldn't handle. "I... I'll go to the Qionglu Grassland with you when I have time." In his haste, he blurted out a promise he immediately regretted.
"Really?" Ji Su immediately burst into laughter. "You have to make a promise and keep your word."
Looking at her beautiful face, Li Jun didn't know what to do, so he could only say, "Anyway, I'm going to see your father anyway, so it's fine to take you back."
The soldiers who sacrificed their lives resisting the Japanese pirates had been cremated, and their remains were interred in the cemetery in the center of Kuanglan City at noon the day after Li Jun returned. The weather was cold and gloomy that day, a rare rainy day since the beginning of summer, and the continuous drizzle made it almost feel like spring had returned. But even more than the drizzle were the tears of the soldiers and civilians in Kuanglan City.
Li Jun refused the guards' offer to hold an umbrella for him, but when Mo Rong, despite her illness, appeared at the ceremony, he strictly ordered the guards not to let her get wet in the rain. The other generals, like him, stood in the open square in the rain, quietly waiting for the ceremony to begin.
First came the mournful sound of a suona horn, its plaintive melody weighing heavily on everyone's hearts. Li Jun frowned slightly, looking due south. Behind the band, eight rows of Peace Army soldiers, all dressed in white armor, marched in perfect unison. Following them was a group of soldiers carrying cremation caskets, also dressed in mourning clothes, who walked solemnly forward. Although the living far outnumbered the dead, seeing these two thousand-plus soldiers carrying the ashes of their comrades, Li Jun couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow.
"One general's fame is built on the bones of ten thousand." Whenever someone praised Commander Lu, he would say this self-deprecatingly. I never understood it before, but now I do... Thinking of those two thousand-plus lives, and of the enemy, whose numbers were several times greater, all being slaughtered, Li Jun felt two completely different emotions rising within him. The deaths of his generals filled him with grief, but the even heavier blow dealt to the Japanese pirates also excited him. Rain pattered against his helmet, making a tinkling sound as if echoing this mournful music, then streamed down the helmet's edge, flowing down Li Jun's cheeks. For a moment, Li Jun himself couldn't distinguish whether the water flowing down his face was tears or rain.
Among the onlookers, women and children had begun to weep. The soldiers clearing the way tossed paper money into the air, which danced in the wind before gently falling to the ground. Every so often, a burst of firecrackers would sound, reminding everyone that this was a day of mourning for the entire city of Kuanglan.
Thousands of people slowly walked in and out. After they passed, Li Jun, Tu Longziyun, and others followed behind and headed towards the mausoleum. At the place where Mo Rong had originally planned to build a mansion for Li Jun, a quiet and elegant mausoleum was already taking shape.
The dead are gone, but the living must still face the arrangements of fate and the challenges of life. Li Jun walked slowly forward, striving to free his mind from the battles ahead and his feelings for Mo Rong, focusing instead on remembering the fallen soldiers. In this solemn and dignified atmosphere, any distracting thoughts would be a desecration of the spirits of the dead. Even Ji Su, who held a special position in the Peace Army, had slightly red and swollen eyes, her gaze gentle and serene. At this moment, respect for the dead surpassed everything else.
Tu Longziyun still wore the same old, yellowed armor. Beside him, the Yi girl who had inspired the Peace Army with her song, gently lifted the hem of her skirt, her head bowed, and walked slowly. Her delicate face was framed by slightly furrowed brows, and her eyes shimmered with boundless sorrow and grief. Her lips were tightly closed, trembling occasionally with pain, but no sound escaped her lips. This seemingly fragile girl had become strong the moment she lost her last remaining family member.
Li Jun's gaze lingered on her for a moment before returning to the front. Tu Long Ziyun introduced the woman as Lü Tian, an orphaned girl from the Yi people. During the battle to defend Kuanglan City, it was she who appeared at the most critical moment, boosting the morale of the Peace Army and allowing the defenders to hold out until Tu Long Ziyun arrived. Such an orphan girl should be properly taken care of; she is still too young, only thirteen or fourteen years old.
Suddenly realizing that he was thinking about something else, Li Jun brought his thoughts back.
At the end of the ceremony, Li Jun addressed the soldiers and civilians of Kuanglan City once again. But he could only get to the beginning before he felt he couldn't continue.
"Residents of Kuanglan City, soldiers of the Peace Army! Today, at this time, in this place..." He suddenly turned around, wiped the water from his face—some said it was sweat, some said it was rain, and some said it was tears—and then faced the crowd again.
"Our brothers used their blood and flesh to defend Kuanglan City!" Li Jun said again, "Kuanglan City will surely be honored by this battle!" But a sob blocked his words. This time, he did not turn around, but looked sadly at the crowd below the altar.
And so, in the wind and rain, the commander of the Peace Army stood silently on the altar, while below, a chorus of low sobs rose. The young soldiers lay face up to the sky, letting the rain wash away their tears. The stench of blood in the air had long since faded, but the blood in their hearts was boiling.
The people were also sobbing, their grief perhaps tinged with guilt. At the height of the battle, only one barbarian girl appeared among the peace army, while most of them were busy fleeing for their lives and gathering their belongings. Although they could justify themselves by saying, "I am not a soldier, the war has nothing to do with me," deep in their hearts, they must have felt a profound sense of remorse for these warriors who had turned to ashes.
Li Jun understood that some things didn't need to be said, and he felt he couldn't say anything more. So, he beckoned to Lü Tian and invited her onto the altar.
"At the height of the battle, this young girl, this barbarian girl, stood with the soldiers of the Peace Army. She inspired them with her songs, and now, let her sing once more to bid a final farewell to the fallen heroes!"
Li Jun's praise brought a blush to Lü Tian's fair face. She looked up and saw thousands of eyes below the altar, then hurriedly lowered her eyes, completely lacking the composure she had displayed when singing to the brutal Japanese pirates that day, and the courage she had shown when she personally shot the Japanese chieftain. She gave a graceful curtsy to the crowd, and then began to sing softly.
"What joy is there in life, what fear is there in death? What sorrow is there, what happiness is there? Heaven and earth are vast, what does my heart seek? Time flies by, when will this life end?" The girl's clear yet sorrowful melody rang out in the altar. Her voice was not loud, but the melody seemed to linger throughout the entire cemetery. Even those who could not hear the lyrics could feel the music flowing slowly in their hearts.
The ceremony ended with Lü Tian singing. After everyone dispersed, Li Jun began to think about how to settle Lü Tian when Tu Long Ziyun summoned Lü Tian to his side.
"Li Jun." He was still not used to calling Li Jun Commander Li, but called him by his name directly. Li Jun did not care about this. In his eyes, status and identity were just superficial things. Only power was real and could truly change the world.
"I have something to discuss with you." Seeing Li Jun's slightly questioning gaze, Tu Long Ziyun explained, "I hope the Peace Army can take in this little sister, Lü Tian. She has no relatives left."