After traveling the long and distant roads, he saw his old home once more.
Ji Chang felt desolation fill his heart and sighed inwardly. When I went to pay court to Shang, I suffered that great calamity. Who would have thought that five years would have passed by the time I returned to Xiqi? Mount Qi still stands, the setting sun has reddened it time and again, but the faces have changed, and so has Xin Mian...
As he sighed, he saw two flame-emblazoned banners fluttering, and a company of men and horses streamed out of the city.
Ji Chang was still startled and uncertain. Has the Shang Army fought its way to Xiqi?
He looked more closely and saw General Nangong Shi on the left, Senior Grandee Ji Dan on the right, and his hundred sons, accompanied by their guards, all coming to welcome him.
Ji Fa approached and bowed. "Father, you were detained in Chaoge as the months and years passed. As your son, I could neither share your worries nor suffer in your stead. Truly, I am a sinner before heaven and earth. Please forgive me, Father. To behold your kindly face again today fills me with boundless joy!"
Seeing so many of his sons present, Ji Chang sighed with emotion. Having lots of sons really was wonderful.
Before he knew it, tears streamed down his face. "Today, I am overcome with sorrow. Without a home, yet I have a home; without a state, yet I have a state; without ministers, yet I have ministers; without sons, yet I have sons. Trapped for five years, imprisoned in Youli, I had resigned myself to growing old and dying there. Fortunately, I have seen the light of day again and reunited with you all. Yet seeing all this bustle