In a snow-filled tent in Feng Prefecture.
On the journey back to the capital, Cui Xun had barely managed to hold on for ten days. He felt his life rapidly slipping away. By the tenth day of the third month, he could no longer move even a step. He spent more time unconscious than awake. Knowing his end was near, he summoned He Shisan and the others to his tent to make his final arrangements.
Of the ten Tianwei Army family members who had followed him from Chang’an to the northern campaign, five had died in battle. These five were all boys who had just turned fourteen, but they did not regret their choice. Being able to die on the battlefield like their elder brothers was a glory to them.
He Shisan’s eyes were red. Beside Cui Xun was a box of grasshoppers, with the last one just completed in his hand. His fingers were no longer nimble, and this grasshopper was crooked and quite unsightly. He handed the grasshopper to He Shisan, gesturing for him to place it in the wooden box. He had finally completed the one thousandth grasshopper.
He instructed He Shisan to send the box of grasshoppers to the Cui residence in Chang’an after his death. He Shisan suppressed his grief and asked, “Elder Brother, what about you? Aren’t you returning to Chang’an?”
Cui Xun shook his head and said softly, “Bury me at Luoyan Ridge, with your elder brothers.”
When He Shisan heard this, he could no longer hold back and began to wail in grief. Cui Xun smiled gently and said, “Why cry? This body is but a passing guest in the world. From now on, my soul returns to the azure sky, with no lingering attachments.”
Clutching Li Ying’s lotus sachet in his hand, he murmured, “The only one I can’t bear to leave is Mingyue Pearl.”
After saying these words, all strength left his body. With longing and remorse for Li Ying, he slowly closed his eyes.
The hand clutching the lotus sachet also fell heavily, without strength.
He Shisan and the other four staggered to their knees, their cries shaking the heavens: “Elder Brother!”
He had once been the person He Shisan and the others hated the most, but at this moment, these youths were genuinely kneeling on the ground, weeping bitterly and calling him “Elder Brother.”
They had truly accepted him, truly admired him as they would their elder brothers.
Because he deserved their recognition, and deserved their admiration.
In the pitch darkness, Cui Xun opened his eyes.
At first, he thought his soul had dispersed with no future life, and this darkness was the eternal void that trapped him. But in the darkness, he saw a beam of light. Confused, he followed the light forward and finally stepped into a dense fog.
Through the fog, he could vaguely see a dark river ahead of him. The river was very wide, with the opposite shore completely invisible. He was utterly puzzled. What place was this?
Was it the Nai River? Was it the netherworld? But he should have no soul left; he shouldn’t have come to the netherworld.
Just as Cui Xun was wondering, he suddenly heard a voice:
“Seventeen Lang!”
Looking toward the sound, he saw the fog gradually dispersing, revealing the fifty thousand soldiers of the Tianwei Army standing before him.
At their head was Guo Qinwei.
And there were also Cao Wulang and Sheng Yunting.
Cui Xun was stunned. Cao Wulang had already stepped forward quickly and embraced him: “Seventeen Lang!”
After releasing Cui Xun, Cui Xun finally came to his senses: “Why are you all here?”
“This is the netherworld, the bank of the Nai River. After those who harmed us received their retribution, we should have left the City of Wrongful Deaths to be reincarnated. But we were worried about you, so we waited for you here before being reborn.”
“Waited for me…” Cui Xun murmured. “But I…”
He wanted to say that his soul had already dispersed, so why had they bothered to wait for him? But he didn’t speak these words. Since he could appear in the netherworld, perhaps he had received some sort of opportunity. Looking at Cao Wulang and the other Tianwei Army brothers, tears filled his eyes: “If you hadn’t found me, would you have just kept waiting without being reborn?”
Cao Wulang nodded with absolute certainty: “Of course!”
He pulled Cui Xun to stand before Guo Qinwei: “General Guo is also waiting for you.”
Looking at Guo Qinwei, Cui Xun suddenly felt somewhat ashamed. He lowered his head, not daring to look at Guo Qinwei: “I… I failed to live up to General Guo’s teachings. General Guo always told me to be an upright and honorable person, but I didn’t manage it… In these six years, I’ve done many wrong things…”
“Seventeen Lang,” Guo Qinwei patted his shoulder, saying with guilt, “If anyone is to blame, it’s me. I placed the burden of clearing our names on your shoulders, making you suffer greatly. That’s why you couldn’t become the person I hoped you would be. But you still fulfilled your promise to me. You are the benefactor of all of us.”
Cui Xun’s eyes reddened. He wasn’t used to being treated as their benefactor, and he didn’t believe that all the hardships he had endured were Guo Qinwei’s fault. On the contrary, he felt he had done what he should have done. To change the subject, he asked Guo Qinwei, “By the way, General Guo, didn’t Mingyue Pearl say your soul was imprisoned in the Ghost Judgment Hall and couldn’t be released until your natural lifespan ended? How did General Guo leave the Ghost Judgment Hall?”
“The people of the Great Zhou built many shrines for me, offering incense and worship. As merit accumulated, when the Tianwei Army soldiers left the City of Wrongful Deaths, King Qinguang also released me, allowing me to be reincarnated with them.”
Cui Xun murmured, “So that’s how it is.”
“One good deed offsets one wrong. Including you, Seventeen Lang. Even knowing you would die, you volunteered for the northern expedition, reclaimed the six provinces, saved the people, and forced the Turks to retreat three thousand miles. You achieved extraordinary merit, and your merit has offset your wrongs,” Guo Qinwei said. “You went on the northern expedition with the certainty of death and the dissolution of your soul, but this saved you from that fate. Seventeen Lang, you saved yourself.”
No wonder he could come to the netherworld; he had saved himself.
Cui Xun suddenly understood. Sheng Yunting asked, “Seventeen Lang, we’re going to be reincarnated now. Will you come with us?”
Cui Xun hesitated for a moment, then shook his head: “No, I still need to wait for someone.”
Guo Qinwei understood. After a pause, he said, “Seventeen Lang, we’re leaving. Take care of yourself.”
With these words, the fifty thousand Tianwei Army soldiers knelt on one knee before Cui Xun, who was astonished. As he was about to kneel himself, Guo Qinwei stopped him: “Seventeen Lang.”
He said, “You deserve this honor.”
Cui Xun looked at the kneeling Tianwei Army soldiers thanking him, his eyes filled with hot tears. Everyone saluted with clasped hands, and then the fifty thousand heroic spirits, reluctant to part with Cui Xun, transformed into green points of light, floating onto the ferryman’s boat that had been waiting. Like a long river of stars formed from emerald blood, they illuminated the black Nai River brilliantly. The river monsters also stayed quiet, resting at the bottom without moving. As the small boat disappeared on the other side of the Nai River, the emerald river of stars gradually vanished completely.
Cui Xun watched as everyone crossed the Nai River to the other shore. Afterward, he turned around and looked towards the direction of the path of life and death.
He was waiting for someone.
He didn’t know how long he would have to wait, but he knew that no matter how long it took, he would continue to wait.
The small boat finally returned, and with it came the ferryman wearing a bamboo hat.
The ferryman adjusted his hat and called out, “Cui Xun.”
Cui Xun turned around.
The ferryman said, “Are you waiting for Mingyue Pearl?”