Upon arriving in the city, they had to spend the night at a guesthouse. Lao Jian placed no restrictions on Han Qingyu, allowing him to use this final bit of time to accompany his parents—strolling through the streets, sharing meals, and visiting a photo studio.
The next day brought the scene of the recruit send-off.
It was just as Han Qingyu had seen on television and dreamed of in his childhood: banners, crowds, large red rosettes, and crisp new uniforms...
"It's the boy's first time leaving home, and there's so much he doesn't understand. Brother Lao, please look after him." In the packed crowd of well-wishers, the simple and honest Dad Han repeated the same words over and over, who knew how many times by now.
Mom Han stood in front of her son, who was dressed in his new military uniform. She smoothed his collar, adjusted his shoulders, and straightened the red rosette—repeating each motion again and again.
"Mom, don't worry. Once I'm there, I'll work hard to make something of myself, and I'll definitely follow orders."
"Mm, Mom knows."
Mom Han lowered her head to dab at her eyes, then looked up with a smile.
The new recruits lined up.
Turning his head casually, Han Qingyu noticed that Wen Jifei was there too, standing in another line not far off and waving at him.
His parents had come as well. Having been separated for years, the two standing together looked somewhat awkward and ill at ease, showing little sign of the sorrow of parting.
Before long, men from the army began calling out names. Those whose names were called shouted "Here!" and boarded their assigned carriages.
Wen Jifei boarded, and the number of recruits remaining on the platform dwindled steadily.
No one called Han Qingyu's name.
Lao Jian walked over silently from the side, slung an arm around his shoulder, and spoke like a familiar older brother: "Let's go. Time to get on."
Just the two of them.
An unexpected encounter occurred along the way, however. Lao Jian ran into an old acquaintance—a government cadre transferred here for temporary experience who had also come to see someone off today.
Seeing that Lao Jian had not actually gone abroad but had instead become a military officer, the man immediately stepped forward, surprised and enthusiastic, peppering him with questions.
"How about this: you head over first. Car fourteen. If anyone stops you, just give them my name... I'll deal with this first."
Lao Jian gave Han Qingyu his instructions, then turned back to spin stories for his old acquaintance. This was likely what Han Qingyu's future life would look like too.
Car fourteen was an ordinary carriage as well, the only difference being how few people were inside.
To Han Qingyu's surprise, no one stopped him when he stepped through the door. As he looked for a seat, four or five people glanced up at him one after another, though none of them spoke.
In truth, there were fewer than ten people in the entire carriage, and each sat alone in isolation—regardless of whether their faces showed excitement, agitation, worry, or sorrow...
Han Qingyu even saw someone slumped over a seat, trembling and sobbing.
Finding a window seat on his own, Han Qingyu looked out through the glass, searching for his parents in the crowd. He spotted them, only to find that Mom and Dad were also standing on their tiptoes and craning their necks, searching for him carriage by carriage.
Their eyes met.
They waved to each other.
Both sides tried hard to put the other at ease, forcing smiles even with reddened eyes.
As the train slowly began to roll, his parents' figures remained on the platform, waving and waving as they receded into the distance.
Fortunately, the train took a long, gentle curve, so his parents' figures on the platform faded slowly.
Yet in the end, they vanished from sight all the same.
Han Qingyu no longer had to hold back his tears.
Even after they were gone, he remained motionless, gazing out the window as tears streamed silently down his face.
"Hard to say goodbye, huh? Sigh... don't cry. It's not like you're heading off to the battlefield."
A voice spoke abruptly from behind his seat.
Han Qingyu was completely stunned. He didn't even need to turn around, because this voice... was all too familiar.
Was he hallucinating? Han Qingyu turned his head. "Y-You? Why are you here?!"
"I came in right behind you," Wen Jifei said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "I just saw you were in your feelings, so I held back and didn't bother you."
Han Qingyu's mind was in total chaos. He said nothing.
"Our car was packed, so, you know, being the gentleman I am, I went to stand in the vestibule between carriages. Then I happened to spot you, so I figured I'd come over and say hi... By the way, why is your car so empty?"
Wen Jifei kept explaining while waving cheerfully to the people in the carriage.
"You're part of the Azure Coalition too?" one of them responded with some agitation.
"Huh? What?" Wen Jifei blanked for a moment.
Han Qingyu snapped to his senses.
"Get... get out of here!"
He sprang to his feet, seized Wen Jifei by the collar, and hauled him toward the carriage doorway, intent on throwing him out.
Lao Jian appeared right there. Ducking his head as he entered, he looked up, froze for a split second, and then... began to smile.
A soldier who had appeared at the rear of the carriage at some point walked over, looking guilty and uneasy, and whispered a few words into Lao Jian's ear.
Having listened, Lao Jian turned his head, glanced at Han Qingyu, and then looked at Wen Jifei, whom Han Qingyu had pinned behind him.
"Greetings, Chief!" Wen Jifei struggled, still managing to greet Lao Jian.
"Hello there, young comrade. Didn't expect us to meet again so soon."
Lao Jian smiled warmly, but in Han Qingyu's eyes, he looked like a devil.
Wen Jifei grinned foolishly. "Yeah, looks like you and I are fated, Chief..."
"Shut up," Han Qingyu snapped.
That shout managed to shut Wen Jifei up, leaving him looking thoroughly baffled. Having yelled at him, Han Qingyu rushed over to Lao Jian, pleading almost desperately, "He didn't hear anything, really. He just..."
"Is that so?" Lao Jian said quietly. "Except he's already in this carriage. And my man tells me he just heard the words 'Azure Coalition.'"
"Your man..."
"He was negligent and failed in his duties, but that's another matter. We won't get into it right now."
"Then... Plague Chicken..." Han Qingyu lowered his head in frantic thought, then looked up and said in all seriousness, "It's fine. With his IQ, he can't understand any of this anyway. He repeated his senior year and still only scored 230 on the gaokao."
Lao Jian: "..."
"Really, he won't suspect a thing..."
Right then, Wen Jifei's voice piped up casually from behind them. "Chief, what on earth is the Azure Coalition? Are you guys some kind of secret unit?"
Lao Jian didn't answer. The corner of his mouth curved up slightly as he looked at Han Qingyu.
Han Qingyu still refused to give up. "It's fine, he..."
"It's not fine. Stop struggling," Lao Jian said faintly. At this moment, he turned right back into that villain in the woods of Fenglong'ao.
"But recruiting him is pointless! He's an idiot!" Han Qingyu grew frantic, pointing a finger behind him as he spoke, as if to say: Look at how he acts, can't you tell?!
"What are you saying, Qingzi?!" Wen Jifei was certainly no idiot. He simply didn't know enough, assuming the Azure Coalition had to be some secret special forces unit and that Han Qingyu was worried about him being in danger. "Chief, don't listen to him. I'm not afraid of danger! I was born tough and brave. Good at sports... good eyesight... passionate and optimistic!"
"The passionate and optimistic part, that I can see. That's very important." Lao Jian poked his head out to glance past Han Qingyu and asked, "Got your luggage with you?"
"Got it right here!" Wen Jifei spun around happily to display his backpack.
"All right, then have a seat right here," Lao Jian said.
Wen Jifei sat down in the nearest seat, but soon stood back up, feeling a bit uneasy and incredulous. "Then Chief, what about my original unit...?"
"No problem. Our unit ranks high in the order of precedence. I'll have someone sort out a transfer order for you. You don't need to worry about a thing; just sit tight and relax."
"Whoa~" Wen Jifei sat back down, content, and smoothed his uniform, an immediate surge of pride welling up in him.
"Our unit is so badass, Qingzi," he said.
Han Qingyu kept a dark expression, not saying a word.
"Don't be like that." Wen Jifei nudged his arm and whispered, "Isn't it just special forces, scouts, or something like that? I can guess... Sure, it might be a bit dangerous, but us brothers sticking together has got to be better than you facing it alone, right? Besides, there's no war going on right now, so what is there to be afraid of?"
Han Qingyu still ignored him. Even though part of what Wen Jifei said might hold some truth, and even though this meant that on the thousands of miles of rugged road ahead, he finally had someone he could talk to...
Yet at this exact moment, Han Qingyu didn't want anyone to talk to at all.
Lao Jian exited through the other end of the carriage, presumably off to arrange Wen Jifei's transfer order.
Unwilling to let it go, Han Qingyu followed after him.
The soldier standing at the rear of the carriage hurried over to stop him.
Lao Jian turned and signaled for him to let Han Qingyu pass.
The train clattered forward along the tracks. In the empty vestibule between carriages, Lao Jian lit a cigarette and glanced back at Han Qingyu.
"He knows you're going to a special unit, he knows me, he knows about the Azure Coalition, and he's seen most of the people in this carriage. Just those things... leave us with no other choice."
That was the first thing he said.
"The soldier who neglected his duties will be disciplined, but this matter is already a done deal. I hope you won't make things difficult for me." That was the second.
Then he spoke the third:
"Actually, from the moment you boarded this train, life and death became something you have to face and ponder every single day.
"When it comes to matters of life and death, having your best friend by your side is a truly fortunate thing.
"Besides, someone like him—blindly passionate and optimistic—is someone our ranks actually need. In fact, we need it very much.
"You carry a bandit-like streak in you that you probably aren't even aware of yourself... while in him, there is life, far more vitality and vigor than ordinary people possess."
He finished speaking. From start to finish, he had not spoken harshly; his tone was even mild. Yet there was an inexplicable sincerity and resoluteness in his manner that left no room for argument or resistance.
Han Qingyu opened his mouth, but in the end could not utter a single word.
By the time he returned to the carriage, Wen Jifei had already changed seats and was chatting with the Azure Coalition soldier who had made the mistake.
Han Qingyu couldn't hear clearly what he was saying.
All he saw was that the soldier was laughing.
So, while Han Qingyu still didn't know what Lao Jian meant by the "bandit-like streak" inside him, he had a pretty good idea that the "vitality" Wen Jifei possessed in such unusual abundance was probably just a distinct knack for "courting death constantly without the slightest clue."
"You're back, Qingzi?" Seeing Han Qingyu, Wen Jifei looked a little uneasy and spoke in a fawning tone.
Han Qingyu gave a somewhat bleak, bitter smile and nodded. "Yeah."
"Hey, come on... lighten up! Isn't this great? Don't worry, in the future, I'll still have your back."
His first instinct was to say, "Please don't." But after thinking it over, Han Qingyu said, "In the future, I'll be the one doing it."
Chapter 15