Left behind...
There was still the option of staying behind?
Shen Le swayed along with the group to the post station, found a quiet spot, and sat down, still somewhat dazed. These soldiers and officers from Anxi and Beiting...
Could they stay and not go back? In his impression—or rather, in Iron Armor's memories—A-Li had gone back. It seemed that the overwhelming majority had gone back—
Had anyone chosen not to return?
"Hey!" While he was lost in thought, someone shoved him hard enough to make him stagger, nearly pitching him forward. Shen Le came back to himself and saw an old veteran from Anxi standing beside him, his expression a mixture of envy and concern.
"Are you going to stay?"
"Stay?"
Shen Le really wanted to curl his lip. I'd like to stay—no, to stay as long as possible, until I'd had my fill of Chang'an and Daming Palace, until I'd committed them to memory before going back.
But there was no guarantee that this Bronze Mirror would let me stay any longer!
If it kicked me out, I wouldn't be able to stay even if I wanted to!
"Yeah, didn't you say you were from here?" The deeply featured old veteran looked around at the crowds moving through the post station, then turned his gaze back to him. "You said you were some kind of... Longxi respectable family's son... You have a home here, a wife and children. Aren't you staying? You finally made it home—"
"Stay?"
Shen Le reached up and touched the armor over his chest. To his right, another old veteran with curly hair stared at him enviously as well.
"Exactly. And we were promoted seven ranks in one go—seven ranks! You're already a fourth-rank official now! A fourth-rank official might not mean much where