The fighters.
I reached up, took the strap from beside my ear, then lifted my straw hat and looked at Old Man Sun.
"Phew..."
I let out a long breath as I looked at the elderly man, his face full of excitement.
"About that battle... I'm sorry I let you all down."
Most of the people who fought in that battle had been elite soldiers, and many of them were in their forties. After all, people's physical fitness had improved considerably since the apocalypse. Even someone in their fifties might be no weaker than a young person in their twenties.
"E-Empress...?"
Old Man Sun stared at me, visibly excited. The way he looked... made me a little worried. As I remembered it, Old Zhao's place at the west end of the village was a clinic. They should have some fast-acting heart pills there, right?
"Mm."
I nodded. Looking at this veteran, I felt a little excited too.
After all, he'd followed me back then. Seeing how old he'd grown now filled me with emotion. Though I didn't recognize him... Mm, I really didn't.
"Y-Your appearance... How did you...?"
"I look a little different from before, don't I?"
I smiled and waved my hand.
"After all... I practically crawled back from hell. I actually died once in that battle. It's just that my body... Mm, explaining it all would be too much. You only need to know that I'm still the same Fang Yuxuan."
"This is... This is wonderful! Wonderful... Sob... Wonderful..."
Old Man Sun looked at me, his hands trembling uncontrollably. Tears slid slowly down his deeply wrinkled cheeks, and he wept openly.
"You're alive... That's wonderful. Truly... really..."
Seeing him choke up like that, I was genuinely worried his heart might not be able to take it.
"All right.