GHLCS Chapter160

If you have listened to this part of the story, then open the window and take a look, you will see that the rain stopped long ago.

 

The sandalwood incense should have been reduced to ash by now, the scent in the air should have disappeared, and the Yue opera piece should have ended by now.

 

If you stand up, stretch your muscles, and touch your cheeks, you will feel as if you have aged by decades.

 

Then you can close the book and wait for the next rainy day to begin a new story. There’s no need to take it too seriously or remember any of the characters.

 

As for the ending, it doesn’t really matter whether you hear it or not, it’s terribly clichéd. If you don’t hear it, you might be left wondering and lose your appetite over it; but if you do, you’ll likely feel you already saw it coming, and there’s nothing remarkable about it after all.

 

The ending says this—

 

Not long after, the Japanese, which had attacked blindly and lost its strategy, was finally defeated and rolled out of the Chinese land. The souls of the millions who defended their country finally rested in peace.

 

While the whole country was celebrating the victory of peace, the prestigious Duan family had nothing but a few more martyrs’ tombs with flowers.

 

Hezhou survived. The refugees returned to the city they were familiar with and rebuilt their homes brick by brick. Everything was recovering, except for two places.

 

One is Xiaotong Guan, which was bombed; the architects in Hezhou City now suggest turning the site into a park. The other two are Heming Medical Hall and Jinyan Tang, both left abandoned. People believe their owner may have perished in the war, and they all lament that there will never be physicians with such remarkable skill again.

 

But in fact, if one walks hundreds of kilometers away, to a place called Shucheng, they will see a martial arts school and a medicine house built on the wall next to the peony garden outside the city.

 

The sounds of fighting in the martial arts school were full of confidence from early morning until noon. When the door opened, a group of apprentices with sore backs walked out of the door, supporting each other and complaining, “Master Duan, you are too strong. This will be bruised for several days!”

 

Duan Yelin walked out of the door and put his coat on his shoulders: “Turn left when you go out, and all diseases will be cured.”

 

The apprentices rolled their eyes and shouted, “You are too good at doing business!”

 

“Remember ah, tell him my name, and you’ll get twenty percent off on the herbal wine for traumatic injuries.”

 

“Come on,” There was a burst of laughter. “It’s better if I don’t tell him your name, the last time I told him your name, the price even doubled…”

 

Duan Yelin was stunned after hearing this, then smiled and turned into the medicine house through the back door.

 

There was a scent of flowers in the medicine house. Newly picked peony petals were spread on the ground to dry, slowly dehydrating one by one. Someone was sitting on a low stool reading a letter.

 

The faint scent of peony surrounded him, making his eyes seem softer. His pale skin color was given a hint of redness. He pursed his extremely thin lips and moistened them with the tip of his tongue.

 

Duan Yelin covered his eyes from behind: “Shaotang, what are you looking at? Is it another letter?”

 

Xu Hang raised his hand and knocked Duan Yelin on the forehead with the back of his hand: “Get out of the way, you’re sweating.”

 

Duan Yelin stepped forward regardless and said, “Read it to me.”

 

Xu Hang folded the letter and said, “Yuan Ye said that Qiao Song did a good job there, and the little monk has already entered the school. Chan Yi will bring him to Shucheng after the holidays. Also, Fangfei is suffering from severe morning sickness due to her second pregnancy and asked me to prescribe some medicine for her.”

 

While listening, Duan Yelin sat directly by the table and poured a whole pot of tea: “He is very caring. He is willing to look for you no matter how far away you are. This is the fifth letter he has sent this month, right? I remember that when his wife was eight months pregnant with their first child, she would grab Yuan Ye’s hair when she got angry. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe that the person was Gu Fangfei. In my opinion, you should prescribe some medicine for Yuan Ye to replenish his body so that he won’t become bald at such a young age.”

 

“You’ve never given birth to a child, what do you know?”

 

“…You speak as if you have given birth to one.”

 

After Duan Yelin finished talking, he picked Xu Hang up by the waist and put him on his lap: “Let’s not talk about them. You are the one who should take care of your health the most.”

 

On that night of the bloody incident at Qiyuan, Xu Hang was gravely wounded. He clung to life through the blood donations of several soldiers and the use of various medicines and needles. Barely holding on, he was rushed to Shanghai by boat, and with Yuan Ye’s assistance, a foreign doctor ultimately saved his life.

 

At one point, his heart and breathing came to a halt, and he remained unconscious for an entire month before finally waking up.

 

Xu Hang will probably never forget Duan Yelin’s expression when he woke up.

 

There is no Commander Duan in this world. Commander Duan has sacrificed his life on the front line to protect Hezhou and for the sake of national justice. The remaining person is Duan Yelin, who no longer needs to wear a military uniform and can live an ordinary life.

 

When choosing a city to live in, Xu Hang made a decision that surprised Duan Yelin—to return to Shucheng.

 

Only those who have completely let go will not care about the past at all.

 

After the burning many years ago, Shucheng no longer looks like it used to. The city has been reborn, and there is no reason for people living in this city to still be obsessed with the past anymore.

 

When the martial arts hall and the medical house opened, Xiao Yan came to cut the ribbon. He and Shen Jingmo went abroad to seek refuge during the war. They sold all their belongings in Shanghai, bought military supplies and equipment to donate to the army, and returned to China again, even if it meant starting from scratch.

 

For this reason, he deliberately claimed to be poor and ate, drank, and took medicine for free in Shucheng, causing Shen Jingmo to gain five catties. He stayed there for several weeks until his subordinates came to the gate and asked him to return to Shanghai to handle matters. Only then was he exposed and was kicked out by Duan Yelin.

 

There are no more casualties, no more farewells, old friends and loved ones are all within reach. There is nothing more reassuring than this.

 

Xu Hang pinched Duan Yelin’s face and said, “I’m fine, but you, what are you planning again?”

 

Today, Duan Yelin closed the martial arts school a little earlier than usual.

 

Duan Yelin put Xu Hang on the stone stool and coaxed him, “The peonies are in full bloom this year. How about we go and see the night view of the river of lights after we finish cleaning up? Today is your birthday, so put your work aside. I won’t go to the martial arts school this afternoon. Can you drink with me in the evening?”

 

This was the first time that Duan Yelin had been able to properly celebrate Xu Hang’s birthday. He had been planning for a long time. He had booked all the river lanterns along the street and the river bank. The boatmen and every lantern-lit boat on the river were waiting to celebrate for this little birthday boy.

 

Perhaps only Duan Yelin himself thought it was perfect, but his two sparkling eyes and the meaningful invitation had already betrayed him. This guy, who has been a soldier for most of his life, probably doesn’t have the ability to prepare for so-called romance and surprises by nature.

 

Xu Hang looked at it and suppressed his smile. He pointed at the things on the ground and said, “The yard full of dried peony flowers is waiting to be ground into powder. If they are just left there, will they jump into the millstone by themselves?”

 

Duan Yelin sighed and accepted his life of hard work: “Alright, I’ll grind it.”

 

He picked up the dried peony flowers and threw them into the small stone mill on the table. He turned it a little bit with gentle force. The bright red petals were crushed into powder and fell down from the other end in fine and dense powder, like the rouge powder used by girls.

 

The sun shone down from above the yard, half warm and half cool. Duan Yelin felt that this job was not painful, so he yawned and said, “Shaotang, how about singing another song for me?”

 

Xu Hang used a soft rabbit fur brush to collect the peony powder into a small mortar. He tapped the mortar edge twice with the brush handle to shake off the powder on the tip of the brush. “What do you want to listen to?”

 

“Hmm… Eighteen Farewells?”

 

“It was the same thing yesterday and the day before yesterday, you haven’t gotten tired of it yet?”

 

“I’m not tired of it. I just like this one. As long as you sing it.”

 

With such a supportive fan, how can he not sing?

 

The cool and mellow voice, with a watermill-like melody, spreads in the air, like a breeze blowing up millions of petals, flying up from the sky, dancing and spinning, singing from people’s eyes into their hearts.

 

Duan Yelin held his chin and smiled faintly as he watched Xu Hang singing softly. His slender fingers held the orchid and tapped along with the tune, making the smile lines at the corners of his eyes look affectionate.

 

The paint and makeup feel maddening, almost demonic. In this world, there are few who can find someone to dream with, sleep beside, and even face death together.

 

Fortunately, they found it.

 

Fortunately, the soul and the body are united.

 

—Finish