Judgment at the Broken Road

Even if anyone else was grinding their teeth in fury, they would not take it this personally. Yet she did... Anyway, taking it personally did not cost points.

Anyone who heard that tone and saw that expression would ask, "What's wrong?"

But none of the three people in the car asked.

The flying car sped over the Yangtze River, drawing closer and closer to Lin Xiaosu's hometown...

Suddenly, the flying car lit up faintly, and a file seemed to arrive from the starry sky.

At the top of the file were the words "Lin Xiaosu's Application for Full Membership."

Below it was a red annotation.

A huge red cross, followed by a line of red text: "Upon review, this reservist does not meet the requirements for full membership."

A bright-red seal: Hidden Dragon Review Committee.

Lin Xiaosu froze.

Number 88's face darkened sharply.

Changye's expression changed drastically as well. "It wasn't approved? On what grounds?"

Her finger flicked lightly and tapped an attachment...

The attachment opened, revealing a criminal judgment...

Lin Yaojun was convicted of homicide on July 3, 2098, Daxia Calendar, and sentenced to twelve years in prison.

Lin Xiaosu was Lin Yaojun's grandson. Under Article 177 of the Qianlong Regulations, direct blood relatives within three generations of serious offenders could not be admitted into Qianlong.

Changye said slowly, "When he was brought into Unit 101, this file had already been checked eight times over. No one objected then, yet now it suddenly jumps out and cuts off his path outright?"

Number 88's face was incomparably grim. "The words 'serious offender' in Article 177 generally refer to treason and espionage. They have never included negligent homicide!"

"I know about this too!" Xin Yue sprang to her feet. "His grandfather was actually acting bravely for a just cause back then. Causing someone's death by accident was purely unintentional. His grandfather even died because of it. Lin Xiaose had not even been born when he died, so why can't he join Qianlong?... No, we have to appeal! We must appeal!"

Changye pointed lightly at the screen ahead. "That's the problem. The red cross represents a final ruling. No appeals are accepted!"

"I f*** his eight dads!" Xin Yue slapped her forehead and stared at Lin Xiaosu, letting out a soft breath. "Lin Xiaose, you're even more wronged than I am."

The cabin was quiet. Suffocatingly quiet.

One minute, two minutes...

Lin Xiaosu slowly withdrew his gaze from the notice.

Before him were the faces of his three comrades.

Some furious, some sorrowful...

Lin Xiaosu smiled softly...

His smile remained calm and gentle.

For a moment, his three comrades did not know what to say.

A breathtaking genius, a Qianlong hero who had rendered outstanding service during the operation, receiving such a verdict just as he returned in triumph.

No one could accept it.

But they were Qianlong personnel. Their duties demanded it, their discipline demanded it. They could not question their superiors! They did not even know how to comfort him.

Lin Xiaosu said softly, "I'm home. Can you let me off? Let me go home?"

The flying car abruptly stopped in midair.

Directly below it was the peak of Tashan.

No one spoke inside the flying car.

Number 88's finger rested on the hover button, his fingertips trembling slightly.

He was home. He wanted to go home...

And this time, he would formally leave Qianlong...

From then on, this astonishingly gifted comrade would no longer be their comrade.

Perhaps only those who had truly experienced comradeship could understand that feeling. It was absolutely not an easy one to bear...

The flying car descended slowly. At last, it dropped beneath the treetops and stopped on a cliff.

The car door opened. Lin Xiaosu pressed his fingers to his waist. With a soft click, his Qianlong uniform came off. He placed it on the seat, rose, and stepped out of the flying car.

Changye followed him all the way, walking along the mountain path.

This mountain path lay on the northern side of Tashan. Through the treetops, the county town could vaguely be seen.

The mountain wind blew over them, chilling them to the bone.

"I'm sorry," Changye's voice came softly.

"What are you sorry for? For bringing me to experience the scenery of this remote wilderness?" Lin Xiaosu's voice was calm. Yes, after the notice appeared, he had remained calm throughout, not at all like someone who had just endured such wild ups and downs.

Changye let out a soft breath. "Subjectively, I never wanted this. But objectively, I delayed your civil service exam. I turned your path beyond recognition."

Lin Xiaosu smiled. "You're worried I won't survive in this worldly mortal dust?"

"I'm absolutely not worried about that."

"Then that's settled. You have to believe that, no matter when it is, I can live better than most people! So don't say you're sorry. You've never wronged me!"

"It's just that this matter..."

Lin Xiaosu raised a hand lightly, stopping her. "Changye, some things can only be done, not spoken!"

Changye took a deep breath and stopped walking.

Lin Xiaosu stopped too, standing at the edge of the cliff.

Before them, mountain flowers bloomed in riotous splendor. It was as though they had walked side by side along a spring outing path, but now the road was gone, and ahead lay a sheer precipice.

"Qianlong has its own standards for handling matters. If you were a Qianlong member, this operation would merely count as a mission, and you should have been awarded points. But now that you are no longer a Qianlong member, you should receive financial compensation." Changye smiled faintly. "Three hundred thousand in cash has been transferred to your account!"

With a soft chime, Lin Xiaosu picked up his phone. The screen showed a transfer of 300,000 yuan.

Lin Xiaosu stared at that long string of zeros. "This is Qianlong's reward?"

"Of course it is!"

Lin Xiaosu smiled faintly. "Don't forget, I spent half a month in Unit 101 too. I know that even rewards have to go through a long approval process. There's no way it could come this quickly! And this matter... hasn't reached the point where you need to pay out of your own pocket."

His finger lightly tapped the "Refund" button.

The 300,000 yuan was returned the same way it came.

He was still so shrewd, so observant down to the slightest detail, so uncannily able to foresee events.

Changye sighed softly. "You should know that, as someone in Qianlong, I do not really need money. But you do!"

"Oh, please. You don't need money? You gave me ten thousand yuan as case-handling funds, yet you were still hoping my mother would send you one of those once-in-a-lifetime red packets..."

At that, Changye burst out laughing.

The mood shifted straight from tense and oppressive to relaxed.

"I'll say goodbye to 88." Lin Xiaosu walked toward the other side of the cliff.

Number 88 stood at the cliff's edge, looking up at the sky. His face was incomparably grave and dark, darker than at any point during the entire operation.

"If you were still my instructor, I probably couldn't act recklessly in front of you. But now I can!" Lin Xiaosu smiled faintly. "So, tell me. Handshake or hug?"

Number 88 slowly opened his arms, storm clouds shifting across his face.

After a light embrace, Lin Xiaosu strode away. A petite, delicate little beauty stood at the intersection, looking somewhat lost...

"Hi, Xin Yue. Congratulations!"

Xin Yue stared at him in disbelief. "Congratulations for what?"

"If the question of who entered Qianlong first was treated as a competition between us, you won without any suspense. Isn't that worth congratulating?"

"What kind of bullshit are you talking about? This lady wanted to beat you, but I wanted to beat you with real skill! Not compete with you over... whose backstabber was more sinister!" Xin Yue sprang up. "This lady hates this kind of crooked atmosphere more than anything. I've got a whole pile of names written in my little notebook, and now there's another one: whoever plotted to drive you out of Qianlong. I'll carry their heads to your grave and pay my respects... Oh, no, burn incense..."

Lin Xiaosu wore an expression of tooth-aching agony. Visiting a grave and burning incense were not basically the same thing? You were charging headlong down the road of cursing me dead, never once taking a fork.

Xin Yue seemed to realize the flaw in her words and hurriedly changed the subject. She raised her hand, and a green leaf appeared in her palm. Her fingernail scratched over it haphazardly, and a smiling face appeared on the green leaf.

She handed it to Lin Xiaosu.

"Here!"

"What does this mean?"

"A smiley face! Can't you tell it means encouragement?" Xin Yue glared at him.

Lin Xiaosu looked at the leaf. "This is a Green Orchid leaf."

"Mm."

"You suddenly gave me this leaf. Why do I smell the same feeling as when you served me tea that day?"

"What do you mean?" Xin Yue jumped again.

Serving him tea had meant poisoning him!

That had been true, but was she poisoning him today?

Xin Yue specialized in treating people who got carried away with success. How could she possibly do something as low as kicking someone when they were down?

"Green Orchid is a rare protected plant, right? If someone finds this thing in my house someday, would I violate protection regulations and get dragged off by a bunch of uncles to work a sewing machine in prison?"

She surrendered!

He had actually found a reason, even if it was so utterly absurd...

Xin Yue rolled her eyes. "Relax. Even if someone really gives you trouble, don't you have me, a Hidden Dragon Gold Medal? I'll abuse my authority and let you go!"

Lin Xiaosu sighed in admiration. "No wonder you can't become a full member. Your sense of principle is basically made of rubber..."

"I f*** your eight dads! Will you die if you stop bringing up full membership? You always pick the pot that won't boil! Fight me before you leave!" Xin Yue sprang up, and Lin Xiaosu fled in disarray...

Before leaving, however, he still took the Green Orchid leaf Xin Yue had given him...

"Did you see it?" A wisp of Number 88's voice reached Changye's ear. "He was deliberately creating a relaxed atmosphere."

"We could all see that," Changye said. "But do you know? He... he also saw something!"

"What did he see?"

Changye said, "He saw that there was something wrong behind this notice!"

"Oh?" Number 88's brows drew together sharply.

Changye said, "He said something: some things can only be done, not spoken! When he said it, there was a deeper meaning behind it..."

Lin Xiaosu had already descended from the mountaintop, leaving the forest and reaching the winding mountain road. Following the road downhill would take him directly to Qingyuan Temple.

The mountain wind swept past, carrying the faint fragrance of orchids to his nose.

Above the drifting clouds, the flying car plunged deep into the cloud layer in a manner ordinary people would never see, marking the true end of his journey.

Yet Lin Xiaosu sat down in a pavilion on the mountain, a trace of seriousness on his face.

Just as Number 88 had said, he had been deliberately creating a relaxed atmosphere. For those who had never served in the military, it was hard to understand the sentiments contained in the word comrades. He had never been a soldier, but this operation itself had been the kind that best allowed one to experience comradeship. After this journey, he had gained three comrades.

Comrades parting, their paths diverging from now on—their hearts were filled with emotion, yet there was nowhere to release it.

Only a relaxed atmosphere could put everyone at ease.

That was what Number 88 had seen.

And just as Changye had said, Lin Xiaosu himself had seen some things as well.

For instance, this notice!

Or perhaps it should be called a ruling...

It ruled that he could not join Qianlong because his grandfather's old case had triggered a prohibited threshold under the Qianlong Regulations.

He knew about his grandfather's old case.

It was true that his grandfather had accidentally injured someone and caused his death. Though that man had been a village tyrant who had committed every kind of evil, his grandfather had struck too hard and without restraint, causing the man to die. It had indeed been against the law, and a twelve-year sentence had been entirely lawful.

There was nothing unfair about it.

In fact, within their village, it was not considered especially shameful at all. The villagers had even sighed in regret for his grandfather.

When Changye had set her sights on him as a seed candidate and reported him upward, a full month of investigation and review had taken place. His family records for eight generations back had probably been picked apart until they were in tatters.

This case had obviously already passed the review.

Everyone believed that the crime of "causing death through negligence" committed by the grandfather who had died before Lin Xiaosu was even born had no necessary connection to whether Lin Xiaosu could fight for his country. That was why he had passed the review and been admitted into Unit 101.

But now, this very case that had already been reviewed was being used to reject his entry into Qianlong.

Why?