Yao Xin, Your Last General Pays Respects to the Marshal

"Hurrying their horses to the front lines, a valiant warrior comes to his death; with a raised sword, its red light shines, and this ignorant fool perishes on the battlefield!"

Li Banfeng hummed "Dingjun Mountain" as he climbed the mountain to find Yao Lao and share the good news.

He had been thinking about whether to tell Qiu Zhiheng about breaking the Mourning Gate Formation first, but then he thought that it might be a good opportunity to lure the Mourning Star out of the sky. So he decided to tell Yao Lao about it first.

From afar, Yao Lao stood majestically in the courtyard, wearing Three-Pronged Purple Gold Crown, Red Brocade Hundred Flower Robe, lotus -Lotus Silk Cloud-Stepping Shoes, Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade sword in his hand, and four Back Flags stuck behind him.

I just admire his aura.

Hearing footsteps in the distance, Yao Lao smiled and said, "Little Qiu, you've arrived?"

Li Banfeng smiled; the old man was always so humorous.

I must say, his red robe, paired with his red beard, and the four flags behind him, really gave him an imposing presence when the wind blew.

Etc.

When did his beard turn red?

Li Banfeng quickened his pace and ran into the courtyard.

Yao Lao then asked, "Isn't it Little Qiu? Or is it that girl Yu Nan?"

This is not a joke.

He really can't see anymore.

Li Banfeng stepped forward and asked, "Yao Lao, what happened?"

Yao Lao was covered in blood.

The courtyard and the house were in complete disarray.

"Li Qi, it's you here, kid!" Yao Lao chuckled. "I'm fine. I just ran into a petty thief who foolishly barged into my door. I chopped him down."

Yao Lao held a long knife in one hand and a human head in the other.

Is this the head of Mourning Star?

Li Banfeng ignored that; he wanted to help Yao Lao sit down first, Yao Lao waved his hand and said:

"I'm not sitting anymore. If I sit down, I won't be able to stand up again. Li Qi, you're too early. If I had come any later, you wouldn't have seen me in this disheveled state."

He spoke with some difficulty.

"Why are you saying this? Let's find a place to sit down first."

"I can't sit, I have to stand, I have to stand," Yao Lao grabbed Li Banfeng's wrist. He was standing with great difficulty, but he kept standing. "It doesn't matter if I look a little disheveled. So what if you saw me? I never make friends among the living, but you really are one of my friends."

Do you remember why I didn't make friends?

"I remember," Li Banfeng quickly found some tape to help stop Yao Lao's bleeding. "You said you had a friend you made when you were eight years old. He stole your sugar figurine and ate it."

Yao Lao nodded and smiled, "Yes, this bastard is my childhood friend, his Pan Dehai."

He's a smooth talker; he's always been good at deceiving me with his words since we were kids. I don't know how many good things he tricked me out of. Once I figured things out, I treated everything he said as utter nonsense.

Li Banfeng was surprised. "Pan Dehai is your childhood friend?"

Yao Lao laughed and said, "That's why I told you, this old dog is a scoundrel!"

Li Banfeng went to find some ointment.

Yao Lao shouted, "Stop wasting your time! Do you think you know more about medicinal properties than I do? I can't take it anymore!"

"You only remember me when I was eight years old?"

Li Banfeng found some medicine for the wound and, while applying it, replied, "I remember you mentioned something about when you were eighteen. You made a friend when you were eighteen, and he stole your wife and slept with her."

Yao Lao laughed and said, "I come from a military family. I joined the army at thirteen, rose to the rank of colonel at fifteen, and became a general with a miscellaneous title at eighteen."

Prince Rui thought highly of me and married his daughter to me. I was overjoyed! I could finally marry a princess!

On my wedding night, I drank and drank, round after round. I had a friend named Lin Dexing, the son of a high-ranking official, and that bastard kept me company, drinking round after round.

"After I got drunk, he fucking went to the bridal chamber for me, he..."

At this point, Yao Lao's hand trembled for a moment, then he sighed and said, "To be honest, it's not the princess's fault. She never left her quarters, and on her wedding night she didn't even lift her veil. I don't even know what she looks like."

She didn't even know me, and she just got slept with by that bastard Lin Dexing without even knowing it!

Li Banfeng asked, "The Grand Tutor's son did such a thing, isn't anyone going to do anything about it?"

Yao Lao gave a bitter smile, "If this gets out, Lin Dexing will be torn to pieces."

But the matter couldn't be exposed. The prince forbade me to, Grand Tutor Lin begged me not to, and I myself didn't want to expose it.

But I can't live like this anymore, I can't afford to live like this.

I don't want to see the princess. I'll go before the emperor and ask for permission to go to war.

On the battlefield, I was still troubled by this matter. I was distracted in leading my troops, and we lost every battle we fought. My command was also taken from me.

So be it, I can't lead troops, but I can do other things. I can train cooks, and I can brew wine for the soldiers.

I brew wine and drink it at the same time. Wine is a good thing; it can enhance one's cultivation, boost courage, dispel sorrow, and even cure diseases!

I'm not joking, the wine I brew really can cure diseases. Countless soldiers in the army have had their lives saved by my medicinal wine!

I spent decades in the military like that. People forgot that I was a fighter and all thought I was a medical officer.

Actually, I haven't forgotten military strategy, nor have I lost my martial arts skills. When it comes to actual battle, I can even offer advice to the officers, but unfortunately, no one is willing to listen to me.

Before I knew it, I was eighty years old, still just getting by in the military. And so my life went by.

That time, we encountered a major battle. Before the battle, the generals discussed the situation, and I couldn't help but suggest a plan: we should lead our troops in a night raid on the enemy camp. The enemy would certainly be caught off guard, and we would be able to achieve a great victory.

People laugh at me, saying I'm an eighty-year-old doctor with no teeth, just spouting nonsense. Aren't I afraid of biting my tongue in the wind?

The Marshal didn't laugh at me; she gave me two thousand soldiers and sent me off that very night.

While applying the medicine, Li Banfeng asked, "Who is this Marshal?"

"The famous general Zhao Xiaowan."

Clang!

The medicine pot fell to the ground, Li Banfeng quickly bent down to pick it up.

Yao Lao continued, "Zhao Xiaowan is a true general who knows how to fight, unlike those who are all talk and no action."

She had good judgment, and I lived up to her expectations. That very night, I burned down the enemy camp, beheaded their commander, and returned victorious. She then made me a general under her command.

I'm eighty, you know? I'm eighty years old, and I've become a general again.

The armor was damaged, so I sewed it back on myself, stitch by stitch.

The First Blade was rusty, so I polished it myself, stroke by stroke.

The warhorses of yesteryear are long gone, but the saddles remain; with a little cleaning, they can still be used.

Following Marshal Zhao Xiaowan, I first served as his deputy, then as his vanguard, fighting battle after battle. I never lost a fight under General Zhao.

I feel like I've come back to life. I feel like I died when I was eighteen and then came back to life at eighty!

But do you know what happened next?

Li Banfeng said, "You said that you had another friend whom you made when you were eighty years old. He took everything he could from you."

Yao Lao sighed, "I've made friends with that bastard Cong Shixiang!"

Cong Shixiang and Li Banfeng had seen each other in historical records; Across-the-Waves General at that time.

Mentioning this man, Yao Lao gritted his teeth. "That bastard instigated me, saying that the Marshal didn't trust me, that he would never ask me to do anything about fighting again, and that he would make me a doctor in the future."

There were several battles at the time, and although the Marshal didn't order me to fight, I was assigned a lot of miscellaneous tasks like patrolling and sentry duty. I believed Cong Shixiang's lies and stubbornly insisted on guarding Bitter Medicine Pass, ignoring everyone's attempts to persuade me.

I genuinely didn't know the situation at the time. I had no idea that these bastards wanted to harm the Marshal.

The Marshal didn't send me to fight because, apart from me, there was no one else in the army he could trust.

But I insisted on going to Bitter Medicine Pass, and the Marshal agreed. Not long after I arrived at Bitter Medicine Pass, I received news that the Marshal had been... well, well, well... by those bastards...

Yao Lao paused, then sighed, "If I were still in the army, these bastards wouldn't have succeeded. But what's the use of thinking about this now?"

I held the Bitter Medicine Pass death, and no matter who came, I drove them back, but what good was that?

I'll stay here while I'm alive, and I'll stay here even after I die. I've made this my home, but what good is it now?

I have nothing left. I was eight years old, eighteen, and eighty. I've always been betrayed by my friends. From then on, I never made friends again.

When I'd forgotten how old I was, I unexpectedly ran into you again.

You said you wanted to do business with me, but I didn't want to talk to you. However, your personality really resonates with mine.

The key thing is, I know our Marshal is by your side.

Clang!

The medicine pot fell to the ground again, Li Banfeng quickly bent down to pick it up.

Yao Lao smiled and said, "Our Marshal went to Feng's General Store. I heard her sing there, but I didn't dare to see her."

Later I learned she left with you. I know you're a good person; you saved Fatty Qin, helped Yu Nan, and dealt with those thugs from the Geng family. You're a good kid who knows right from wrong and values loyalty.

But I was still worried, so I asked Hulu to go and check on the Marshal for me.

When she came back, she wouldn't tell me anything. This girl was devoted to you too.

"It's good that I'm following you. You held off Pan Dehai and saved Sea Eat Ridge. I trust a hero like you. I can rest assured that the Marshal is with you."

Li Banfeng gripped the medicine pot tightly, preventing it from falling.

Yao Lao knows a lot of things, but Li Banfeng isn't worried about that now.

His concern was how long Yao Lao could hold on.

We've run out of adhesive tape.

The ointment is all used up.

The bleeding on Yao Lao's body had not yet stopped.

He is the Medicine King.

If even he can't do it, is there really no way to solve this?

Yao Lao took a deep breath, turned to Li Banfeng and smiled, "Brother, I smell something, the bad luck in Medicine King Gully seems to have dissipated, has the Mourning Gate Formation been broken?"

Li Banfeng replied, "It's broken."

Yao Lao smiled and said, "Good brother, I owe you a lot of favors. All the belongings in this place are yours. I have something to ask of you. I want to see the Marshal one more time."

Can I let him see me?

Yao Lao stood there, trembling all over, barely able to support himself by leaning on his Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade.

He couldn't see Li Banfeng, but it seemed like he was looking at Li Banfeng.

He was waiting for Li Banfeng to give him a reply.

Li Banfeng pondered for a moment and said, "Wait a moment."

Yao Lao lost his sight and didn't know where Li Banfeng had gone.

After waiting for a moment, he suddenly heard the sound of war drums, a familiar sound.

Amidst the drumbeats, soldiers marched, warhorses neighed, and weapons and armor clashed.

Li Banfeng pushed open the door of Portable Abode, which faced Yao Lao directly.

Wife's voice came from inside the door. "General Yao Lao, how is the battle going?"

Yao Lao gripped his long sword tightly, straightened his body, and said:

"This humble general, Yao Xin, guarded the pass and repelled the invading enemy, not losing an inch of land."

"We have killed over a hundred enemies and beheaded their general in battle. Now we present the enemy leader to the Marshal!"

He wanted to lift the head of the Mourning Star, but he couldn't.

The Wife's voice came again. "General, your bravery is unparalleled in the army. When we go on the expedition tomorrow, you will still be the vanguard."

"Thank you, Marshal!"

Two streams of blood slid down Yao Lao's eye sockets.

He died.

But he didn't fall.

He remained standing, gripping the long sword.

The record player started playing "Dingjun Mountain" again.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Hong Ying gently tapped the ground with the butt of her gun, in sync with the drumbeats.

This is the etiquette of a martial artist.

Hong Ying said, "You're right, he was a good general. Is he still alive?"

The record player said, "Alive, but the injuries are too severe; he's fallen asleep."

"Will he be able to wake up?"

The record player made no sound.