Chapter 319
Chapter 319
The saber was a natural ritual implement. It could cleave through Ghosts and force spirits to keep their distance.
It was undoubtedly a rare treasure to people like us.
But rare or not, it did not belong to us. It belonged to the veteran.
Yet he wanted to give it to us.
“You… you want us to have it?” I was hesitant to accept.
After all, this saber was something special to the veteran. It held great sentimental value.
“Why did we use things like this back then?”
The veteran gazed at the saber and said with emotion, “Because we were poor. Terribly poor. Our equipment was outdated, so we had to use cold weapons to kill our enemies. But things are different now. Our country is strong, and no one dares invade us. Even if some fool tried, we would have no need for this saber. We have plenty of good weapons now.”
“It may no longer have a place on the battlefield, but that doesn’t mean it has no use. Since it can help you, let it protect the people who need protecting in a different way.”
The veteran’s words moved us deeply.
Seventh Master often said we could never understand the convictions held by people in those days. Now, I felt as though I had caught a faint glimpse.
The people of that generation carried the nation and its people in their hearts.
Even in old age, they still hoped to do something for others. Perhaps that was the selflessness of the older generation.
We chatted with the veteran for a long while before taking our leave.
After we walked out of the residential complex, Song Xiaotian brandished the saber, slashing it up and down as he played to his heart’s content.
I was speechless. “Keep playing with it. When a patrol officer spots you and confiscates it as a restricted weapon, don’t come crying to me.”
Song Xiaotian chuckled and finally put the saber away.
His tone suddenly turned regretful. “My greatest wish in this life was to join the army, but I never got the chance.”
I asked curiously, “Your grandfather and your father both served. Wouldn’t it have been easy for you to enlist?”
The subject seemed to infuriate him. “See? Everyone thinks the same thing. But those two old… My dad and my grandfather refused to let me join. They insisted I become a police officer and attend the police academy.”
“One year, I secretly signed up to enlist. With my physical fitness, my bearing, and my skills, acceptance should have been guaranteed. But in the end, they rejected me. I only found out later that my dad had pulled strings to cancel my application. He even warned them that if I ever applied again, they were to cancel it immediately.”
His story only made me more curious. “Why wouldn’t they let you enlist?”
“Why else?” The more Song Xiaotian spoke, the angrier he became. “They were afraid I’d be killed in action! They were both soldiers, and they trained me from childhood and taught me martial arts. That’s why I’m so damn awesome. But they were afraid I’d be sent on some dangerous mission.”
“If they didn’t want me to join the army, why teach me all these skills? Doesn’t that make them crazy?”
“Then they insisted I become a cop, but that never gave me much of a decent life either. Even my superior thought I didn’t look like a police officer. He sent me undercover all year round. Later, people from other units started borrowing me for undercover work too. They called me the father of undercover agents.”
“In the end, I didn’t even get to be a proper cop. I spent the whole damn year pretending to be a thug.”
Listening to him pour out his grievances like a resentful housewife, I could not help laughing.
But to be fair, with his abilities, he probably would have become one of those legendary Soldier Kings if he had joined the army.
“The truth is, your father and grandfather simply didn’t want anything to happen to you.”
“The fact that they trained you to be so capable proves they must be highly capable themselves,” I said. “When they were young, they probably went through more dangers than ordinary people could ever imagine. That’s why they didn’t want you to follow the same path.”
“Besides, your family already devoted two generations to serving others. It is only natural that they would want to be a little selfish when it came to you.”
Song Xiaotian sighed. “I can’t be a cop anymore anyway, so it doesn’t really matter. Like Seventh Master says, everyone has a path of their own to walk. Life, at its core, is about what you experience.”
…
The next morning, Seventh Master and the others went to the airport first, while I headed somewhere else.
I took a taxi to a funeral home in Lincheng.
Lin Jinhua’s funeral was being held there.
I wanted to see Lin Yin one more time and speak with her face-to-face.
After I got out of the taxi, people streamed in and out through the funeral home’s entrance. Every person who had come to pay their respects was dressed in a fine suit, and more luxury cars than I could count were parked outside.
They were all here to mourn Lin Jinhua.
It was raining, though not heavily.
I stood outside, unsure whether I should enter. I lit a cigarette and hesitated for quite some time.
Just as I finished smoking and prepared to go inside, a Cayenne stopped at the entrance.
The door opened, and a bodyguard stepped out first. He raised an umbrella, then opened the rear door.
A woman emerged. She looked exactly like Lin Yin and wore an expensive business suit with a pair of seductive high heels.
She did indeed look exactly like Lin Yin, yet I no longer recognized her.
Great wealth truly could transform a person. It could bestow an exceptional air upon them and make them seem noble almost overnight.
The dignity and cold aloofness about her now left me afraid to even approach.
If I wanted to speak with her, I would likely have to get through her bodyguards first.
She saw me as well, but she showed no intention of coming over.
To my relief, she did not mock me. Nor did she show any other expression.
If I had to name what I saw, perhaps it was the bearing of a victor.
She looked at me for a few seconds, then entered the funeral home surrounded by several bodyguards.
I stared at the entrance for several minutes. In the end, I did not go inside. I turned and left.
She had everything she wanted now.
She had gotten her wish.
…
On the plane, I sat beside Seventh Master.
I had kept something from him all this time, but there was no longer any need to hide it.
On the high-speed train to Lincheng, a mysterious person had given me a note.
One line on the note instructed me not to tell Seventh Master what it said.
“Not tell me?”
Seventh Master frowned slightly and looked at me. “Who was this person?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. He was wearing a mask and a hat at the time, and I never saw his face.”
Seventh Master asked, “Then what exactly did the note say?”
After a moment’s thought, I replied, “It listed four things. First, you would be in danger. Second, I shouldn’t casually use what I knew, but save it until the very end. Third, I shouldn’t kill the great Ghost. Fourth, I wasn’t to tell you what the note said.”