Xiang Yu laughed loudly: "Good boy, let's still call him Big Guy."
Wu Sangui said, "Brother Xiang, take care."
Xiang Yu said sadly, "There's no point in worrying about taking care of yourself anymore. I feel most sorry for Xiao Hei. It's like I had a premonition; it hasn't eaten for several days now."
Hua Mulan choked up as she said, "Brother Xiang..."
Xiang Yu said seriously, "Little flower girl, let me tell you, don't think that just because I always lose in military strategy simulations, you might not be able to beat me in a real battle. I can still defeat your 5,000 troops with 500 men."
Hua Mulan, tears streaming down her face, said, "Keep bragging!"
Xiang Yu sighed and said, "It's a pity I won't have the chance to demonstrate for you."
Liu Bang shouted, "Stop talking nonsense, let's go."
We looked up, and he had already slowly disappeared. Then, there was silence from Xiang Yu's side as well…
Chapter Seventy-Nine: Prologue
After the group of five left, the house suddenly became much quieter. Fortunately, Mulan and Wu Sangui were still there to keep her company, but she was no longer willing to go to Yucai. Baozi was the kind of person who couldn't bear to see farewells.
But I'm different; I have to be there for every client who leaves.
The day then arrived for the heroes. After dinner, they gathered in the courtyard of the old campus, each looking relaxed, like a tour group about to embark on a trip.
That's the advantage of having a large group; at least they weren't lonely on their journey. Of course, Hua Rong and Fang Zhenjiang were among those who came to see them off, and quite a few other clients also came. They huddled together, chatting and laughing, as if they were really just waiting for the tour guide.
Xu Delong didn't notice at first, but later realized something was wrong and asked me, "What are they trying to do?"
Zhang Qingyuan said, "Captain Xu, we're leaving now."
Xu Delong asked in surprise, "You...aren't you here even later than us?"
The heroes all burst into laughter. Wu Yong, holding Xu Delong's hand, said with a smile, "I'm sorry, Captain Xu. In the underworld, it may seem that we didn't win against you, but we actually arrived here before you. By the time you met Xiao Qiang, we had already been playing in Hainan for more than ten days."
Xu Delong was first taken aback, then stamped his foot: "I'm going to settle accounts with Liu Laoliu!"
The heroes laughed again. Lu Junyi said, "We greatly admire Yue Fei's army, but I also have a piece of advice for you: as a person, you must know how to be flexible. Of course, being serious also has its advantages, as we're seeing now."
Xu Delong forced a smile: "This may not be a good thing. We would rather leave before you all than witness this farewell."
Lin Chong patted him on the shoulder and said gently, "Strictly speaking, we are all soldiers. Haven't we seen enough life and death? Now that we are all together, we can leave in peace."
Dong Ping brought me a glass of black water and handed it to me. I said, "I don't like coffee."
Dong Ping said angrily, "These are my fish! You'd better take good care of them for me."
I had no choice but to take it, muttering, "I wonder if they'll starve themselves and follow you in death." I looked into the cup for a long time but didn't see any fish. Dong Ping was probably raising loaches.
The heroes huddled together in twos and threes, outwardly appearing nonchalant, but everyone knew it was all a forced smile. After all, this wasn't about winning another gold medal. Even a tough guy like Fang Zhenjiang was now expressionless, his face grim. Hua Rong, needless to say, was already in tears. This pretty-boy general's archery skills were unparalleled, but he wasn't the tough-guy type. I suspect that before he regained his memories, he was an artistic youth; perhaps that influenced his current personality?
Actually, the most heartbroken people when someone leaves aren't the ones leaving, but rather those left behind. This applies regardless of whether they're clients or if the term is only a year. Fang Zhenjiang and Hua Rong are clearly among the most heartbroken. Leaving aside Hua Rong, Fang Zhenjiang and the heroes were brothers for two lifetimes, and without his memories restored, he was actually in even more pain. The heroes had never treated him like an outsider from beginning to end, so Fang Zhenjiang still felt a certain amount of regret. The reincarnated Wu Song kept saying, "You should have waited until I got married before you left..."
Xiuxiu nestled against Hua Rong, her eyes glistening with tears, unable to utter a single word.
At this moment, five figures quickly passed through the crowd and arrived. It was Fang La with the Four Heavenly Kings.
Fang La grasped Lu Junyi's hand and said, "My brothers and I debated for a long time, but in the end, we decided to come and see you off." Fang La and the Four Heavenly Kings were, without a doubt, locked in a bloody battle with the heroes the moment they met, accumulating countless blood debts. But in this life, their murderous intent had vanished, and even when the heroes were caught off guard, they couldn't bring themselves to truly kill them. In Fang La's words, without him and the Four Heavenly Kings, the heroes might have had a very lonely year. Moreover, they had fought side-by-side; they were the same kind of people. Who would willingly choose to fight to the death with their own kind?
Lu Junyi held Fang La's hand for a long time without speaking, and finally said hesitantly, "Brother Fang, hehe..."
Fang La said, "Just like you said, let's be enemies again in the next life." This sentence has a double meaning. Being enemies again in the next life is a pact between heroes, but more importantly, it means: we were friends in this life.
Lu Junyi laughed and said, "Actually, being brothers is fine too."
Fang La said generously, "That's right, let's be brothers if we're not enemies, anyway we'll still have to mess around together!"
Li Tianrun asked Zhang Qing, "Old Zhang, do you still hate me?"
Zhang Qing said angrily, "Hate? How could I not hate you? I wish I could take you with me, but I feel sorry for your little girl. Most importantly, I have to keep you alive and under your wife's control—five yuan a day for pocket money, hahahaha."
Li Tianrun glared at Zhang Qing and cursed, "Now I hate you!"
Suddenly, the two of them hugged each other tightly, wished each other well, and let bygones be bygones with a smile.
Wang Yin said to Li Yun, who still harbored resentment towards him, "Look at those two..."
Li Yun spat and said, "Bullshit! I died a terrible death."
Wang Yin rolled his eyes and said, "That's because you're simply not as skilled as others."
Li Yun rubbed his arms and rolled up his sleeves, saying, "Let's have another spar while we still have time?"
Lin Chong pressed down on his shoulder and said, "Never mind, never mind."
Wang Yin snorted, "Of course you're one of us! You're the one who killed me with a single spear thrust!"
Everyone laughed, "This debt is impossible to settle."
Li Yun pointed at Wang Yin and said, "Drive carefully, don't cause any accidents." Just as everyone was wondering why he had suddenly changed his tune, Li Yun continued, "I've decided, I'll be reborn at Yucai in my next life, and I'll settle the score with you in 18 years!"
Wang Yin cursed, "Damn it, I'll be almost 60 in 18 years, do you have no shame?"
Everyone was overjoyed.
Bao Jin suddenly nudged Hua Rong with his shoulder: "Hey, their debts are all settled. Even though we work in the same unit, shouldn't you show some appreciation?"
Hua Rong wiped away her tears and said, "You're not leaving, so what's the point of settling accounts? What do you want then?"