"Uncle, are my parents doing well?" Afraid that his parents only reported the good news and withheld the bad in their letters, Han Qingyu asked one more question.
Having said this, he looked down at the bag in his hand. He had half a mind to ask the village head to bring it back for him, but an alert instinct warned him that it was better not to.
"Good, they're doing wonderful." The cigarette in the corner of Village Head Wang's mouth bobbed up and down as he said warmly, "They opened a shop, hired workers, and life has really taken off. Whenever the couple goes out, they're all smiles the moment anyone brings you up."
"Is that so..." Han Qingyu pictured his parents' smiling faces in his mind, cheering up as he said, "That's good, then. Thanks, Uncle. I can't be at home, so I still have to trouble you to look out for them on ordinary days."
"It's only right, no need to treat me like an outsider. Besides, your family has ties with the People's Armed Forces Department now—their leaders have drinks at the same table with them! So set your heart at ease and do well in the army."
Looking him up and down carefully again, the village head's eyes held a touch of envy as he sighed with feeling, "You've really made something of yourself, Qingwa-zi. Made your folks as proud and satisfied as could be. Speaking of which, a while back, didn't word get around that you turned twenty? Families have already hired matchmakers to drop hints at your house..."
"Drop hints? What kind of hints, Uncle?" Han Qingyu asked, puzzled.
"You know—the girls aren't that old either, so there's no rush. They just put in an uncommitted word or two in advance, preparing the ground so that when you're discharged in a couple of years and come back, you two can meet and see how it goes," Village Head Wang explained with a knowing grin.
Understood. Han Qingyu's first reaction was a bit of smug pride, but on second thought, he had no idea when his current life would end, let alone when he could return. So he said, "That won't do. Uncle, please pass along a message for me. Tell my parents... tell them that if anyone comes dropping hints like that, to turn them all down straight away."
The village head looked baffled and concerned. "Why? It's not like anything's set in stone; it doesn't tie you down."
"Just... no need," Han Qingyu said vaguely.
"Well... all right, then. I'll pass the word along." The village head nodded thoughtfully, then looked up at him again, seeming to have plenty more chatter lined up.
But Han Qingyu dared not linger or have any further contact. Excusing himself by claiming he had to rush back to the army, he bade Village Head Wang farewell and turned to leave.
With that turn, the rural youth who had just been chatting about family matters darkened his gaze, instantly reverting to the Azure soldier fresh from the front lines.
Han Qingyu quickly wove through several bends to vanish from sight. After changing into another set of clothes, he reappeared, tailing the village head from a distance to observe whether anyone was following him.
In truth, having constantly switched clothes and transfers along the way, the chances of Han Qingyu being tailed were minuscule. Yet because this involved his family, he dared not relax even for a one-in-ten-thousand possibility.
After nearly an hour of this, he finally confirmed that the village head was not being followed. Watching him board a bus heading for the county seat and see it drive off, Han Qingyu said his silent goodbye to Fenglong'ao in his heart.
This was the closest he had been to home over the past year. As for the next time, who knew when it would be.
Moreover, he was about to head to a battlefield completely beyond his current ability to control.
If he took the train on his return journey to the Xilang Peak battlefield, he would almost certainly arrive too late, and as for airplanes, he still could not mobilize one. Waiting for a while by the river near the train station, Han Qingyu finally heard his communicator ring again. Connecting the call, he asked directly, "How is it? Did you find the fastest route for me?"
"Yeah, I checked and asked everywhere, Brother Qingzi," Tu Zi said on the other end. "The fastest route to reach the battlefield right now is for you to take buses and trains, transferring over a day and a night to reach Hui Province... Just around that time, a plane will be picking up the Sixth Army's Long Blade Squad to deploy to the war. I already contacted them for you; you can take that flight to the Xilang Peak battlefield."
Tu Zi explained the detailed travel route and their agreed rendezvous point, adding that he had already arranged tickets for the entire journey through special channels.
"All right, thank you, Tu Zi. And, uh, those source energy blocks you owe me... no rush to pay them back." Han Qingyu stood up, slung his bag over his shoulder, and set out.
He boarded the earliest train toward Hui Province.
With his pack on his back, he stood in the vestibule between carriages. On both sides, the cars were packed like a can of sardines: people carrying bundles on their way to do migrant work; others heading home after scraping together their hard-earned money; mothers nursing infants in their arms; young children migrating alongside their parents, bodies and faces smudged with dirt, leaning against the luggage bags their parents had laid out for them when they grew tired and sleepy... sleeping soundly, undisturbed by the noise.
Back in Fenglong'ao, Village Head Wang had not even stopped by his own house upon returning. He went straight to the Han family home for dinner and had now lit his post-meal cigarette.
The bowls and chopsticks on the table were still uncollected. Across the table, Han's father and mother had been overjoyed for quite a while over the village head's description of Qingzi's current appearance.
Now, however, joy had turned to vexation: Why on earth hadn't the two of them made a trip to the city's train station today? If they had gone, they would have seen their Qingzi!
"Village Head, you too—why did you run off to the city on errands all by yourself? If you'd come invite me to tag along a step sooner, I definitely would've agreed," Han Youshan grumbled mournfully as he helped top up the wine.
That was taking complaining a bit too far! Village Head Wang gave him an amused, helpless look. "Don't go shifting the blame onto me like that, Han Youshan. I understand you two are upset over missing Qingzi, but are you making any sense at all?!"
With that, everyone at the table laughed.
"Oh, right, there's one more thing Qingzi specifically told me to pass along. Having a bit of wine almost made me forget..." Village Head Wang turned to recount how Han Qingyu had told his parents to reject all the matchmakers' hints.
"What in the world would that be for?!" Zhang Jiexia could not make sense of it at all. "It's not like anything was going to be settled right away! Just sounding things out doesn't tie him down!"
"Exactly! That's what I told him too." Taking a sip of wine, the village head looked up and said, "Then on the way back, I got to thinking..."
"With that head of his, does he expect to find someone on his own?" Meanwhile, Han's mother hadn't stopped complaining.
The two remarks collided, prompting everyone to think.
"Hey, could it be that he already found someone himself over in the army?" someone nearby chimed in.
"I'd wager that's it! He found one himself—otherwise why would he be so firm about it?" The village head waved his hand. "Think about it, all of you, isn't that right?"
The table went quiet for two seconds.
"Hahaha, good, wonderful!" Han's mother burst into delighted laughter. In any case, she was convinced now. She thought to herself: *Looks like my boy really has made something of himself. The army truly tempers a man... I just wonder what kind of girl he found. Tall or short, slender or plump, is her skin fair?*
*And also, did he remember to slip that bracelet onto her wrist?*
…………
Hui Province, Sixth Army Regional Branch.
The lieutenant across from him, who also looked quite young, finished inspecting his credentials and handed them back to Han Qingyu... He extended a hand and introduced himself:
"Good to meet you. Sixth Army, Long Blade Squad, Cao Min."
"Greetings, sir." Han Qingyu quickly saluted, then shook hands.
"Not really a 'sir,' just enlisted a bit earlier than you." Cao Min smiled brilliantly and said, "Ninth Army, Han Qingyu, right? I've heard of you... Spar with me sometime if we get the chance?"
"All right."
"You've finished changing into your gear, right? If you're set, get on the plane first; it's almost time."
The plane was there to pick up the Long Blade Squad. With over forty people on board, Han Qingyu, holding a lower rank, went through under Cao Min's guidance and saluted each of them before finding a seat toward the back.
Soon, the plane took off.
The people on board were chatting.
"Speaking of which, with a major war on this scale... the matter of the Great Spikes, and of us, probably won't stay under wraps for much longer, right?"
"Probably. But there aren't many people around Xilang Peak. Right now, governments of all nations are coordinating to evacuate the civilian population under the pretext of a natural disaster, trying their best to clamp down on information."
"Still, they can't lock it down completely! Bit by bit, it's bound to leak out."
"Yeah. In fact, given the current situation, with the fighting reaching this scale, the Coalition is probably already considering choosing an opportune moment to go public voluntarily."
So, will the day really come when the Great Spike crisis and the existence of Azure are revealed to the whole world? When my parents find out then, I wonder how they'll feel... They'll probably worry sick about me, won't they?
Han Qingyu listened for a while and pondered for a while, unconsciously falling asleep with his arms folded.
Until he suddenly felt a vibration and a drop. Waking up, he looked groggily out the window and asked, "Are we there already?"
"No," Cao Min said, shaking his head. "We just got orders to make a stop here and pick up another squad to bring along. By the way, it happens to be an elite squad from your Ninth Army: White Eraser. Familiar with them?"
Han Qingyu nodded. "I am."
The plane touched down, and the members of the White Eraser squad, who had already been waiting, filed in through the cabin door one after another.
Han Qingyu soon spotted two faces he was familiar with.
Lieutenant Liang Ge. Once knocked senseless by a kick from Han Qingyu during a hand-to-hand combat match on the sparring stage at the Ninth Army War Training Base.
Fresh recruit Bai Ji.
*Looks like he still ended up going to White Eraser once his injuries healed.*
At the same time, both of them spotted Han Qingyu. Both froze for an instant before Liang Ge opened his mouth, cursing with a displeased scowl, "Bad luck! Dammit, how are you not dead yet?!"
"What are you saying?! Liang Ge, did your fucking brain short-circuit again? What are we doing right now... heading to the battlefield! Heading to the battlefield, and you say crap like that to a comrade?!" A lieutenant colonel appeared behind Liang Ge, reprimanding him sternly while grabbing the back of his neck with one hand and shoving him far out of the way.
The people from White Eraser all chuckled at the sight, seemingly well accustomed to seeing Liang Ge act like an idiot and get scolded by their captain.
Then the lieutenant colonel looked toward Han Qingyu. "Squad 1777, Han Qingyu? I'm Wei Jiang, current captain of White Eraser. Don't worry about it, no need to stand."
Han Qingyu stood up and saluted nonetheless. "Yes, sir. Greetings, Commander."
"Good. Well, I won't make him apologize to you. That guy runs on raw pride no matter what he does; making him apologize publicly too often would blunt his edge," Wei Jiang explained in a low voice, returning the salute before asking with slight confusion, "So you're rejoining your unit on short notice? Your 1777 was deployed this time too?"
"Yes." Han Qingyu nodded.
"Then, good luck," Wei Jiang said with a smile as the plane prepared to take off.
"Good luck."
Wei Jiang nodded and turned back. Passing by Bai Ji, he said, "You sit here."
He turned back to explain to Han Qingyu with a smile, "You don't mind, do you? He really resents you, but you're also his motivation... Bai Ji has grown a lot this past year. I'd love to see him get another chance to defeat you."
Han Qingyu nodded.
For the rest of the journey, he did not fall asleep again. He listened all the way to the conversation between Wei Jiang in the front row and the captain of the Long Blade Squad.
"They took a heavy beating up front, from what I heard. Although the Great Spikes haven't shown signs of actively forming battle formations yet, there are so many of them now. With dozens naturally moving together, they're extremely difficult for us to handle."
"Yeah, I heard that too. That's precisely why our squads are being mobilized. The counter-tactic devised on the front line seems to be having super-tier experts carve up the battlefield, after which elite squads move in to dissect them... and finally, standard squads take over to finish the kills."
"That won't be easy either, will it?"
"Yeah. That's why even for ordinary squads, I imagine they must have the strength to face at least three Great Spikes simultaneously just to barely hold their ground."
Chapter 245