GHLCS Chapter153

Hezhou was an empty and desolate city with soldiers and horses running rampant.

 

The sun was about to rise, and the dark clouds in the distance had not yet dispersed. A large crowd of people gathered at the door of Jinyan Tang, standing solemnly, waiting for the leader inside to come out. Duan Zhanzhou was also waiting there. The horse under his crotch was a little uneasy, and he touched the horse’s head.

 

Everyone’s face showed an expression of selflessness, bravery, and fearlessness. Everyone shouldered the heavy responsibility of defending their country. They knew that this was a life-threatening situation, but they had no other choice.

 

After a while, a cloud of black smoke floated above Jinyan Tang. Looking up, they saw a jujube tree in a corner of the garden was on fire and had burned to the top.

 

Duan Yelin also woke up early today, but he had just walked out of the room when he smelled a strong smell of smoke.

 

In the yard, Xu Hang stood facing a burning tree trunk. The fire was so big that it made his skin red. Even the air in the yard seemed distorted.

 

In the firelight, Xu Hang threw away the fire stick in his hand, turned around slowly, looked at Duan Yelin, and said lightly, “Follow me.”

 

He doesn’t know how to describe Xu Hang’s looks in his eyes at that moment. It was neither calm nor sharp, neither sad nor painful, neither excited nor happy.

 

It’s like he was reborn, a different person.

 

So Duan Yelin followed Xu Hang all the way to the main hall, where there was a small round table. On the table was a round plate, and on the plate were two cups, each filled with wine.

 

Xu Hang sat down on one side and made a ‘please’ gesture towards another empty seat, signaling Duan Yelin to sit down. Duan Yelin took off his military cap and looked at this ceremonial setting with a frown: “Don’t tell me, you want to give me a farewell party?”

 

Xu Hang shook his head, and his pale lips slowly opened: “I thought about it all night last night and settled the debts and repayments between us, adding and subtracting, and found that everything is almost done, except for one thing… after completing that one thing, everything will be smoothed out.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“I still owe you a glass of wine from four years ago.”

 

Duan Yelin was puzzled: “Wine?”

 

“Do you remember that you gave me two glasses of wine, one for living and one for dead, and I chose to live? Now, I will give you two glasses of wine.” Xu Hang spun the round plate in front of him, and the two glasses kept swapping positions along the plate. When they stopped, no one knew which was which. “Here are two glasses of wine that look identical, but one of them is brewed with ‘Duhuo.’ Duhuo, its name is as fierce as its poison. I buried this jar in Qiyuan four years ago, and it hasn’t been opened until today.”

 

Duhuo, one live and one die.

 

Giving Duan Yelin a meaningful look, he pushed the round plate in front of him and said, “I’ll let you choose first. You don’t have to drink it, but I will drink the rest of the cup. It depends on who God chooses to let live.”

 

It’s a life-or-death decision!

 

Duan Yelin’s eyes suddenly changed. He didn’t expect that Xu Hang, who had just come back from the gates of hell, would do such a careless thing with his life. His tone couldn’t help but become more serious: “Do you really have to do this?”

 

“Yes, it must be so.”

 

“There’s no need to go this far. I said, ‘we’re clear’ and it means ‘we’re clear’.” Duan Yelin punched the table, and a few drops of wine splashed out of the glass. “If I come back alive from the battlefield, I won’t come to look for you again; if I die on the battlefield, even as a ghost I also won’t bother you in your dreams. I mean what I say. If I go back on this, I’ll be covered in sand, and my body will be mutilated!”

 

The sonorous oath struck Xu Hang’s heart like a gust of wind sweeping through the bells under the eaves, swaying left and right.

 

Xu Hang looked at the reflection of his mouth in the wine glass, and the smile he forced out was so fake and awkward: “It’s rare for you… to say such harsh words.”

 

Duan Yelin also laughed at himself: “If I didn’t learn anything from you, wouldn’t all those years be a waste?”

 

Both of them were silent.

 

Why is it that when he thinks or talks about it now, there is no warmth at all, but a bunch of unpleasant topics?

 

Xu Hang raised his head again and emphasized his tone: “Then you should also know that I have my own persistence in my decisions. You… choose.”

 

He deliberately ignored Duan Yelin’s shocked look and pointed to the outer door: “From here, it’s exactly fifty steps to the door. If I drink the deadly wine, the moment you step out of Jinyan Tang, that’s when I will hold my breath.”

 

Duan Yelin’s breathing became heavier: “If you want this, then shouldn’t you… let me drink the poisoned wine?”

 

Xu Hang laughed out loud, sounding relaxed but still a little bitter and desolate: “I’m not sure whether the decision I made was right or wrong. I had a choice at the beginning, so I accept whatever has happened to me. But I’m curious, if I had no choice and just left it to fate, would God think that it’s enough for me, Xu Shaotang, to live to that point?”

 

Duan Yelin looked at the person sitting in front of him. He had loved him for four whole years, and he always forced him to do things that hurt his heart. “I just said that life and death are up to you, and you are already so impatient to ruin your own life… if I had known that you wanted to die, I should have left you in Jinyan Tang and let you fend for yourself!”

 

Xu Hang met his disappointed look and said, “No one forced you. You walked in here of your own accord.”

 

“Yes, I volunteered,” Duan Yelin admitted. “You are really brave. You won all the games with just this one chip.”

 

And he was the one that personally placed this chip in Xu Hang’s hand.

 

“You haven’t chosen yet, and the result is unknown. How can you be sure that I am not ruining myself?”

 

Xu Hang raised his eyes. For a long time, they were colorless, but today they finally sparkled a little more: “Remember what I said before, you are always so confident, I hope you can always be confident. Come, choose a cup, and see if fate will favor you who are confident or sympathize with me who is down and out?”

 

At this point, Duan Yelin understood that the result was not important, Xu Hang was just forcing him to make this decision.

 

The two glasses of wine were Xu Hang’s silent answer, telling Duan Yelin that—if they really wanted to be “clear on both sides”, one of them would have to die while the other lived. As long as they lived, they would never be “clear on both sides”.

 

In fact, Duan Yelin knew it well. He was just deceiving himself by saying that.

 

He also understood Xu Hang’s thoughts, just like how he had concealed his drug addiction and wanted to die quietly. He had already taken revenge, and the rest of his life suddenly became meaningless. The grief was too great to heal, and it was better to die than to live.

 

There’s really no choice.

 

Duan Yelin smelled the slightly bitter aroma of the wine and asked, “If I choose, will you hand over the medicine?”

 

“Yes, no matter what the result is, I will hand over the medicine.”

 

“Then that’s enough.” Duan Yelin has made up his mind.

 

Without hesitation, he picked up the cup closest to him.

 

Seeing Duan Yelin make a choice, Xu Hang naturally picked up the remaining cup, but Duan Yelin, who was in front of him, actually put the cup directly to his lips and drank it all in one gulp!

 

“Duan Yelin!”

 

The wine brewed with Chinese medicine is slightly bitter and very strong, the kind that Duan Yelin likes to drink, burning his throat and scalding his stomach.

 

Watching Duan Yelin drink it, Xu Hang was extremely surprised and didn’t even have time to stop him. Just when he picked up the other glass and had not yet had time to drink it, Duan Yelin snatched the glass from his hand and drank it too!

 

He has seen people rushing to drink water when they are thirsty, but he has never seen anyone rushing to drink poison.

 

“You…!” Xu Hang widened his eyes slightly, scratching the edge of the table with his fingers, almost standing up.

 

Duan Yelin turned the cup upside down to show that he had finished drinking it and threw it away with a cool sound, and the white porcelain wine glass broke. He stretched out his big hand, grabbed Xu Hang’s collar, yanked him forward, and kissed him fiercely across the table!

 

There was no wanton tongue kissing, they were only sticking to each other, but it was very strong, very powerful—both strong and restrained.

 

Because this person, these lips, will never be touched again.

 

Xu Hang’s body was lifted slightly, and he stared at Duan Yelin’s face, which was so close to him. It was too close to see clearly, and only the smell of the wine he had just drunk lingered at the tip of his nose.

 

Maybe it was because the wine was too strong or the medicine was too spicy that made his eyes sore and numb and his vision a little blurry.

 

This was the lightest touch between them. In just a moment, Duan Yelin loosened his hand, his eyes full of bloodshot, and he lowered his voice and said, “…You said you had no choice back then, but you were wrong. Those two glasses of wine were both live wine. Locking you up for four years and having to pay all the costs sounds silly, but I think it’s worth it. Xu Shaotang, since I have given you the promise of ‘being together forever through life and death’, I will not take it back. This life is my fulfillment of the promise. I want to tell you one thing… even though we are mutually exclusive, I am still glad… that I did not let down the Qiyuan from that year.”

 

After saying that, he took two steps back, looked at Xu Hang deeply, picked up his hat, and put it on to cover his eyes. Under Xu Hang’s eyes that were shaking like the sound of wind chimes, he walked out with the sound of iron armor and military boots, step by step, with his head held high and his cloak fluttering, and walked calmly towards the door.

 

The door of Jinyan Tang is open.

 

No one could tell that he was going to die. In the eyes of his soldiers, their commander was dignified and always looked like a god of war, walking out with full confidence.

 

In fact, with every step he took towards the edge of death, Duan Yelin’s heart sank a little deeper.

 

He felt like he was leaving by stepping on the broken flesh of his own heart. He was like a lotus root, and Xu Hang was a piece of his body. The farther he walked, the more painful it would be for him, right?

 

However, he cannot look back. If he looks at him for one more moment, he will burst into tears.

 

He walked to the door with a lot on his mind and stepped out of it. It was only then that he felt something was wrong.

 

There was no poison, no pain, and his body was not feeling any discomfort. He was as safe as if nothing had happened.

 

Nothing happened?

 

Turning back in surprise, Xu Hang was leaning against another door. He didn’t know what expression to put on his face, feeling helpless and also disappointed.

 

Leaning against the door and looking back, there is neither wind nor rain, and the weather is neither clear nor cloudy.

 

Xu Hang’s face was filled with a feeling of powerlessness after being defeated. He took two steps forward against the wind and said, “You have solved even such a difficult problem… heh, Duan Yelin, I really can’t do anything to you.”

 

Duhuo, with such a sad name, is actually a non-toxic analgesic medicine.

 

He returned Duan Yelin’s two glasses of live wine with two glasses of live wine. Four years ago and four years later, the same thing happened.

 

He just wanted to give himself an excuse to prove that Duan Yelin no longer had any feelings for him, but until now, Duan Yelin’s passion had never cooled.

 

Looking back at himself, he feels so ugly.

 

Xu Hang lowered his head and fulfilled his promise: “The tree I burned was a signal to Ruan Xiaodie. She will wait for you outside the city and tell you where the medicines are hidden. You… go. That’s enough. Everything is over.”

 

He was tired and wanted to go back to the room. As soon as he turned around, Duan Yelin called him again.

 

“Xu Shaotang!” A shout that almost broke through the sky went straight into Xu Hang’s ears, nailing him firmly in place.

 

Duan Yelin asked one last time, “Do you have anything else to say to me?”

 

Say… Xu Hang froze in place. From Duan Yelin’s perspective, he looked thin and frail, so cold and untouchable.

 

Outside, Duan Zhanzhou’s horse neighed and pedaled left and right impatiently, as if urging Duan Yelin to set off.

 

Then, Xu Hang turned around, took out a small object from his sleeve, and threw it to Duan Yelin from a distance. Duan Yelin waved his big hand in front of him and grabbed it firmly. He spread his hands and saw that it was the peony sachet he gave to Xu Hang.

 

When he looked up again, Xu Hang’s lips moved and his mouth opened, but he only exhaled without saying a word.

 

Very good, it ended without any words, and the last gift was returned to its original owner.

 

It seems that there is really not a single drop left.

 

Duan Yelin tightly grasped the sachet, put his hand on the door, frowned, closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, turned around, and closed the heavy door.

 

Click. The inside and outside of the door were separated.

 

Qiao Song led the horse over, Duan Yelin jumped onto the horse’s back, took a bowl of wine, drank two liang of it down his throat, then threw it hard to the ground, took out his gun, and fired three shots into the sky.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

The whole army was full of vigor and vitality, and they roared in unison to boost morale.

 

Qiao Song waved the flag and said, “Let’s go!”

 

The sound of neat and powerful footsteps started from the road in front of Jinyan Tang, extended to the outside of the alley, and seeped through the cracks in the gravel road, adding a bit of tragic charm to the entire empty Hezhou city.

 

The vast land is full of wind and fire,

 

The anger in the heart has been flowing for ten years.

 

I will sacrifice all my heroic blood.

 

Reach straight to the sky to show your heroism.

 

Perhaps no one could hear it, but behind this battle song, in the forgotten Jinyan Tang, a faint, clear, and melodious Yue Opera tune, like a hook, hooked the heels of the soldiers.

 

It is long and slender, fleeting, like a hum or a chant, about to tell something but yet to be told.

 

“I send my brother to the east of the lotus pond, where the fallen petals of lotus fill the pond; I send my brother to the south of the small building. Where will you be today? I send my brother to the west of the curved railing, where you came with joy but are now sad; I send my brother to the north of the painted hall. When will you come back after we part today—”

 

At the end of the song, Xu Hang sank into his chair, looking at the closed door, and finally he could not sing anymore.

 

After taking off his makeup, he is no longer a real performer, his acting is so absurd that it is unbearable to listen to it anymore.