The Truth About Yue Xiaofei's Grandfather's Identity Was...

Yue Xiaofei looked at Lin Tiejun kneeling on the ground, then at his tear-reddened eyes, and spoke hesitantly.

"Are you... are you Little Lin?"

The crowd erupted.

"Yue Xiaofei, show some respect!"

Xiao Zhan's face darkened at once.

Who was Old Lin?

How dare a teenager call him "Little Lin"?

It was an outrage!

Lin Xiaolu grew anxious too and tugged at Yue Xiaofei's sleeve.

"How can you call my grandfather that?"

She knew her grandfather's temper all too well!

Back in the army, anyone who disrespected him got a harsh lesson.

Lying on the ground, Gao Zisheng suddenly saw his chance and shouted, "That brat insulted Old Lin! Arrest him!"

But far from getting angry, Lin Tiejun's eyes lit up.

"What did you say? The old Regimental Commander... mentioned me?"

"Yeah."

Yue Xiaofei nodded. "After Grandpa got sick, he often talked in his sleep. He kept saying, 'That little rascal Little Lin has gotten better again.'"

"And he kept shouting something like, 'Second Battalion Commander, bring me my cannon!'"

"Hahaha!"

Lin Tiejun burst out laughing so hard that tears flew from his eyes.

His laughter brimmed with excitement and longing...

"That's him! That's the old Regimental Commander, all right!"

He patted Yue Xiaofei's shoulder and said proudly, "We captured that cannon from the enemy. The old Regimental Commander treasured it more than anything!"

Then Lin Tiejun straightened up and moved to kneel before the Plaque.

"Old Regimental Commander, I owe you three bows today! Not seeing you one last time has been the greatest regret of my life!"

"Wait!"

Yue Xiaofei hurriedly stopped him. "Old Lin, my grandfather isn't dead. He has dementia, and his memory isn't what it used to be!"

"What?!"

Lin Tiejun grabbed his arm. He could barely contain his excitement, and even his voice shook. "The old Regimental Commander is alive? Where is he? Take me to him, quick!"

"Gao Zisheng took people to our house earlier! He said he'd tear it down and chain Grandpa up in a dog kennel!"

Yue Xiaofei's voice turned cold.

"That little bastard!"

Lin Tiejun's face went dark. He spun around and fixed Gao Zisheng with a deadly stare.

"If you've harmed so much as a hair on the old Regimental Commander's head, I'll wipe out your whole family!!!"

Boom!

A murderous aura, forged amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood, burst from him.

"Hiss..."

Terrified, Gao Zisheng scrambled for his phone and messaged his father, Gao Tianxiong.

[Dad, save me! Some old man named Lin Tiejun showed up and says he's going to deal with us!]

Gao Tianxiong soon replied.

[What are you afraid of? He's just some retired old man! Jiangcheng still belongs to the Gao Family. He can't bring us down!]

Only after reading his father's reply did Gao Zisheng breathe a little easier. Still, he dared not talk back to Lin Tiejun and kept his head down.

"Grandpa!"

Beside them, Lin Xiaolu asked curiously, "You always say Grandpa Yue is the person you respect most, but why is there no record of him? Who is he, really?"

Yue Xiaofei wanted to know that too.

Xiao Zhan and the other soldiers pricked up their ears.

What kind of hero could command such deep respect from Old Lin?

"My old Regimental Commander, Yue Qinhu, is the backbone of Jiangcheng!"

Lin Tiejun gazed into the distance, his low voice seeming to reach back through decades.

"Without him, Jiangcheng wouldn't be here today!"

"More than seventy years ago, the enemy reached Jiangcheng. The city's defenders were nearly wiped out, and many people fled. But hundreds of thousands of elderly people, women, and children were still inside!"

"The old Regimental Commander personally led his men in a desperate defense of the south of the city!"

"He was only in his early twenties. He took three bullets in his left shoulder, and a shell tore a chunk of flesh from his right leg. But he stayed awake for three days and nights!"

Lin Tiejun's voice began to tremble, as though he were back in those days.

"When the enemy tanks rolled in, the old Regimental Commander grabbed an explosive charge and charged straight at them!"

"He shouted, 'Brothers, our parents are right behind us! Even if we die, we stop the enemy here!'"

"Almost the entire regiment was lost in that battle. The old Regimental Commander was shot seven times. When they carried him out, his whole body was burned. We all thought he wouldn't make it..."

Lin Tiejun wiped his face and continued, "We won the battle to defend the city, and the old Regimental Commander deserved the greatest credit! Based on his service, he could've become a division commander at the very least... but he vanished."

"We searched for him for ten whole years. We thought he'd died, so we erected a statue of an unknown hero in the city center. Every year on Qingming Festival, we went there to pay our respects!"

In the livestream chat, messages suddenly flooded the screen.

[I know that statue! My grandfather told me it honors the heroes who defended Jiangcheng!]

[My grandmother told me about it too! She said their leader was covered in blood and blew up a tank with an explosive charge!]

[So that unknown hero was Yue Xiaofei's grandfather!]

By then, Lin Tiejun's eyes were red again.

"The old Regimental Commander always said he'd lay down his arms and go back to farming after the war! We thought he was joking, but he actually did it!"

He pointed at the Pillar of the Country Plaque, his voice full of reverence.

"Every one of these Plaques belongs to a hero who stood tall for his country!"

"Back then, that great leader presented the award to the old Regimental Commander in person. He said, 'Yue Qinhu, you held Jiangcheng. You truly are a Pillar of the Country!'"

"But the old Regimental Commander said, 'The credit isn't mine. It belongs to every one of my brothers-in-arms!'"

After hearing all this, Yue Xiaofei finally understood what his grandfather had done.

That bloodstained Plaque was an honor his grandfather had risked his life to earn!

"Old Lin, thank you for telling me all this and for clearing my grandfather's name! He's no fraud. He's a real hero!"

Tears shone in Yue Xiaofei's eyes, but his voice was firm.

Lin Tiejun turned to face the fully armed Elite Guards.

"The old Regimental Commander is a hero of Jiangcheng!"

"If not for him, your parents and grandparents might have been slaughtered by the enemy!"

"And today, in front of everyone, someone slandered that old hero and bullied his descendant! What punishment does he deserve?!"

Countless soldiers answered as one.

"Death!"

"Death!"

"Death!"

Their murderous cries surged skyward.

"Bring Gao Zisheng here!"

Lin Tiejun gave the order.

A squad of Elite Guards rushed over and dragged Gao Zisheng before him like a dead dog.

The thugs dared not make a move, much less face the old general's wrath!

"You scoundrel! Do you admit your crimes?!" Lin Tiejun thundered.

"Wait! I object!"

Gao Zisheng suddenly seemed to spot a flaw. Pointing at the dozen or so First-Class Merit Medals, he shouted:

"Old Lin, even if what you said is true—even if Yue Xiaofei's grandfather really was a great hero back then—he could've earned one medal at most!"

"But there are more than a dozen here! He must have stolen them or taken them by force!"

"Just because he was a hero once doesn't mean he can't do wrong now!"

"He knew the law and broke it anyway. He should be punished even more severely!!!"