Jin Shanyao moved Shen Yan to the end of the kang (a heated brick bed), and emptied the head of the kang for the two children. Meng Anzhi slept inside, while Meng Anci stayed outside, unwilling to close his eyes for a long time.
In the middle of the night, as he was drifting off to sleep, he heard his aunt talking to someone. He suddenly woke up and found that besides Dahuang and Xiaoli, his aunt was nowhere to be seen.
He looked in the direction of the sound, but the doors and windows were covered by curtains and he couldn't see anything. Just as he was about to get down, Shen Yan suddenly opened his eyes, which startled him.
He clutched his chest, "Young General, your eyes look like you want to devour me, it's terrifying..."
Shen Yan glanced around. "You know me?"
Meng Anci and said, "I've seen your shadow puppet show."
Shen Yan struggled to sit up halfway, looking at the bandaged wound on her chest. "Who saved me?"
Meng Anci proudly, "It was my aunt and my sister who pulled you back from the brink of death. Aren't you amazing?"
Shen Yan got up to leave, Meng Anci quickly said, "Where are you going?"
"I can't stay; I'll only bring trouble to you all," he said, getting up from the ground. He'd only taken two steps when he heard a girl outside ask, " Shi Dun, do you do fortune telling?"
Shen Yan froze, vivid faces flashing through his mind. He quickly opened the door, and a gust of cold wind rushed into the room, instantly waking him up.
Yes... Shi Dun and the others are dead.
Jin Shanyao turned around at the sound and saw Shen Yan standing in front of the door. She smiled and said, "You're awake..."
Shen Yan carefully examined her through the moonlight. "You're the girl from the post station."
"Hmm... You have a good memory. I told you you were going to have a bloody accident, but you wouldn't believe me... It's just like me trying to scam you out of money."
Shi Dun stood beside the carriage, looking around. "Young lady, who are you talking to?"
Jin Shanyao looked at the ghostly figure and smiled, "Do you know Shen Yan?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Yan's expression froze. He slowly looked into the void. "Miss, who are you talking to?" Across a vast expanse of space and time, neither could see the other.
Jin Shanyao her hand and laughed, "Fortune telling?"
Shen Yan looked intently at Jin Shanyao, then suddenly smiled after a long while, "You saved me?"
Jin Shanyao noncommittal. As the Earthbound Spirit was about to hurry, someone called out, " Shi Dun... hurry up, or we won't make it before dawn!" Shi Dun responded, glanced at Jin Shanyao, and turned to catch up with the group.
Jin Shanyao watched the departing ghost, then pushed Shen Yan into the house, "Let's go... there's nothing to see."
"Young lady, I must leave quickly, or I will implicate you."
"You're seriously injured right now; you won't need anyone to stab you, you'll die on the way here..."
Jin Shanyao the room and closed the door, seeing Meng Anci sitting cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed) looking behind her.
She smiled and ruffled his hair. "Go to sleep, it'll be dawn soon."
Jin Shanyao examined Shen Yan's wounds. "You really don't do divination? It's very accurate..."
Shen Yan thought of the sound from the Shi Dun and said with a wry smile, "Can everything be counted?"
Jin Shanyao her head. "It all depends on how much money you offer. If you pay enough, I can find you even a ghost."
Shen Yan looked dejected, his brows furrowed with an unyielding melancholy. He had joined the army at the age of thirteen and had been fighting for nearly ten years, long since regarding his brothers as his own.
When the superiors ordered the selection of 28 men to escort grain supplies, he carefully selected them, choosing only young, strong, brave, and reliable soldiers. Little did he know that this mission would lead them to their execution.
I want to see him alive or dead.
For over a year, whenever he had free time, he would venture into the mountains, hoping to find their remains. As time went on, he realized something was amiss and began to investigate the truth.
He had spent all his military pay on this, and now his face was emptier than his pockets. Looking at the girl in front of him with expectant eyes, he took a piece of broken jade from his waist.
"This was cut off from the enemy; it should be worth some money."
Jin Shanyao out and took it. "Okay... what do you want to know?"
"I lost twenty-eight brothers, none of them alive or dead. The authorities said it was a landslide that buried them at the foot of the mountain, but I went to that mountain and found nothing."
He stared at the Jin Shanyao, each word seeming to be carved from the depths of his heart, "Can you tell me where they are? I want to take them home; their parents, wife, and children are waiting for my reply."
Shen Yan's eyes reddened without his realizing it. For more than a year, he hadn't had a good night's sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the scene of the twenty-eight people leaving.
Blood seeped from Shen Yan's chest from the pulling, but he seemed oblivious to the pain. "You can summon ghosts, can't you? If you really have that ability, I want to see them again, to ask them what wishes they haven't fulfilled."
Jin Shanyao stared at the broken jade in her hand... "Tomorrow night at midnight, wait at the door. Their grain delivery team will pass by."
Shen Yan asked excitedly, "What do you mean? They're still alive?"
"No... they became Earthbound Spirit, forced to repeat the tasks they performed before their deaths every day," Jin Shanyao, twirling the jade pendant in her hand and raising an eyebrow with a smile. "This jade is quite valuable."
As dawn broke, Jin Shanyao told the peasant woman to stay another day. The peasant woman beamed with joy, as her yard was always empty in winter.
"It's rare to have someone staying here..." She continued, "Girls, just relax and stay here. I'll go cook for you right away." Then, turning to the two children, she added, "Auntie will steam some egg cakes for you today."
Meng Anzhi asked in confusion, "Do chicks still lay eggs in winter?"
The farmer's wife laughed out loud, "Other people's chickens don't lay eggs, but my aunt's chickens lay eggs all year round." Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci were curious and followed her over to take a look.
It turned out that the chicken coop was well-insulated, and the farmer's wife provided them with hot food, which allowed the chicks to lay eggs in winter.
After dinner, Meng Anci sat cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed), staring at Shen Yan. Shen Yan forced a smile, "Why are you staring at me like that?"
Meng Anci, "I want to see what a hero looks like."
"Who said I'm a hero?" What hero can't protect their own soldiers?
Meng Anci's eyes sparkled as he said, "My aunt said that all soldiers who defend their country are heroes... It is you who have protected the people of the Sheng Dynasty with your lives."
Whether a common soldier or a general, they are all great heroes.
Shen Yan softly echoed, "Whether a common soldier or a general," his heart trembled, for this was the first time someone had listed a common soldier as a hero.
Yes, how could they not be heroes? They protected the people of the Sheng Dynasty with their lives, and elevated the general with their bodies, yet they died on the battlefield without even leaving a name.
Shen Yan subconsciously looked at Jin Shanyao, who was teaching a little girl to recite a prescription. Seeing him looking over, she asked with concern, "Are you feeling unwell?"
Shen Yan shook his head, then looked away and continued staring at Meng Anci.
The sound of horses' hooves came from outside the courtyard. Shen Yan subconsciously reached for his sword, only to find it empty. He realized that he had lost his sword somewhere. He said goodbye and left the house, grabbed a stool, and went outside.
Jin Shanyao her tongue in amazement. "No wonder he's a general. He dares to go out and fight people head-on just by carrying this stool. Wait... at least check if the other person has a sword."
Thinking of this, she taught her two children, "Remember, before you take action, open your eyes wide and see clearly the enemy's strength."
If you can win, fight to the death. If you can't, run for your life.
Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci in unison.