Hu Xiaotian smiled. "I came this time to ask what you wanted, Brother Fanqi. If you wish to go back, I certainly won't stop you. If you wish to stay, I'll welcome you with applause."
Chang Fanqi sighed. "Vast as the world is, where is there still a place for me? If you truly mean to spare my mother and me, would you let us leave Eastern Liang Commandery? I can promise never to oppose you again. All I ask is to care for my elderly mother and let her enjoy her remaining years in peace." After the battle at the Eastern Luo Granary, Chang Fanqi had lost every trace of his lofty ambitions. For all his martial prowess, other people's schemes had led him around by the nose until they had beaten all the fight out of him.
"Of course," Hu Xiaotian replied without hesitation. "To be honest, I would very much like you to stay and build a great enterprise with me, Brother Fanqi, but I won't force you into anything. If you wish to leave, I certainly won't stop you. Still, your mother is getting on in years. How could you bear to make her travel such a long distance in the bitter depths of winter? If anything happened to her, wouldn't it be too late for regrets?"
Chang Fanqi said despondently, "You needn't waste your efforts on my mother and me. I can never return to Great Yong in this lifetime, but I won't join your camp either. When spring comes next year, I'll leave."
True to his word, Hu Xiaotian arranged for Xue Lingjun to meet Qin Yangming. Qin Yangming had been detained for nearly a month, and the long absence of sunlight had left his face pale. Seeing Xue Lingjun come to visit him,