"Big Brother, why didn't you say so sooner?"
Xu Mingshu immediately complained, then slapped the White Tiger's foreleg hard. "Little White, Third Brother's back! What are you roaring for?"
The White Tiger turned to look at Xu Mingshu, its face a picture of innocence.
Roaring?
Weren't you the one who told me to roar?
With their horses spooked, Xu Mingxuan and the others could only make their way slowly along the rest of the road home.
"Father, Mother, Big Brother, why are you all at the gate? I was hoping to give you a surprise."
Xu Mingxuan dismounted, and Bai Jing immediately hurried over. With tears brimming in her eyes, she hugged him and said, "My son, you're finally home."
Hearing her voice, Xu Mingxuan's eyes misted over as well. His voice choked up. "Mother, Charcoal Head's home."
Seeing that their parents were there too, Li Zhi, Chen Daniu, and Bai Hui immediately hurried over to pay their respects.
"Our respects to the head of the household and the former head."
The other three also paid their respects to Xu Mingwei and Xu Chuan.
Xu Mingwei said, "There's no need to stand on ceremony. Returning from the battlefield is a merit in itself. The evening banquet is ready, so stay and eat here. The Xu Household will never mistreat those who have rendered meritorious service."
"Thank you, Head of the Household."
Xu Chuan smiled. "All right, everyone inside. The food's almost gone cold."
At the evening banquet.
Everyone was curious about life on the frontier and eagerly asked questions.
Xu Mingxuan, Li Zhi, and the others took turns briefly recounting their experiences, drawing sighs of emotion from the listeners.
But when they mentioned that Xu Mingxuan had earned one First-Class Merit and one Second-Class Merit, while Li Zhi had also