Going Home (Part 2)

The two simply ordered red wine to the room and sat down. The document was indeed an internal report from Snow Lotus, and it truly contained profiles on Han Qingyu and the others—even Liu Shiheng had an entry. However, it made no specific mention of whether they were dead or alive; this was an analytical dossier tailored to individuals. "This is out of line," Liu Shiheng muttered under his breath after taking just one glance. He had discovered that aside from his name, his column was completely empty. Even He Tangtang had an evaluation, noting that he was growing rapidly, possessed unyielding willpower, and was worthy of attention. Yet Young Master Shiheng had nothing—not a single word, just blank space. "Even Plague Chicken has one! And so much of it!" Liu Shiheng was taken aback, because under the section dedicated to Wen Jifei, he saw two Chinese characters: *Bold Schemer*. "What kind of nonsense is 'Bold Schemer'?! Young Master Ye." He really ought to have been relieved, but Liu Shiheng felt an odd sense of disappointment as he poured himself wine. Ye Jian drained his glass, set it down, signaled for Liu Shiheng to top it off, and leaned over for a look. "Oh, that's Snow Lotus's intelligence department's assessment of him." "I know that, but he isn't strong, is he? How does that make him bold or forceful?" Liu Shiheng said, moving the wine bottle aside. "He's far beyond not strong; he's practically weak." Ye Jian smiled, pointing to a progression of entries for Liu Shiheng to see. The analytical report preserved historical logs, demonstrating the chronological continuity of their intelligence assessments. In the earliest phase, the annotation behind Wen Jifei's name was very simple: *Disregard*. Then, that evaluation changed continuously until finally, the two characters *Bold Schemer* appeared, followed by a note: *High Alert*. "Hey, wait a minute!" Liu Shiheng froze with the bottle in his hand. A sudden realization struck him, and he turned to Ye Jian. "Wait, if you guys even bother to note down 'Disregard,' then what's the deal with mine being left blank?!" Ye Jian looked at him, his eyes filled with gentle pity. "How about I add one for you?" he asked. With that, Ye Jian picked up a pen and wrote two Chinese characters under Liu Shiheng's column: *Weak Schemer*. Young Master Shiheng stared at it in silence for a moment, then set down the bottle in frustration. "I would've accepted it if you'd written 'Weakling,' Young Master Ye, but what the hell is 'Weak Schemer'?! Did you really have to create a contrast?!" Seeming slightly tipsy, Ye Jian chuckled heartily. "Don't be upset. Honestly, you've surprised me. When it comes to surviving from the posture of the weak, muddling through to achieve your ends, and yielding so that you never break, you've done remarkably well. Scheming from weakness is still scheming." Liu Shiheng said nothing. Ye Jian knew he was scared—scared of being seen through so clearly. Changing the subject, he said, "As for Wen Jifei, he should inherently be a very weak person, a dice. But if you look back, you'll realize that from start to finish, he has thought and planned everything with the mindset of the strong—forceful and decisive. At the same time, he has constantly pushed himself to grow stronger, even if by nature he's just a dice." Ye Jian finished his analysis. Liu Shiheng felt a chill run through him, because he suddenly realized that Snow Lotus seemed to understand the four of them far better than Azure did. "Then what about Qingzi?" "Han Qingyu?" Ye Jian didn't look at the report. Pausing thoughtfully, he said, "He is the pillar of this entire report, the pillar of everything among you all. He is the logical support behind Wen Jifei's bold schemes, and he was the logical support behind you surviving through weak schemes over the past year." It sounded convoluted, but Liu Shiheng understood it instantly. Over the past year, the only reason he had been able to play the coward was that Han Qingyu was there. In any other squad, he would have had to charge forward or flee outright, with a very high chance of being caught. Beyond that, he was naturally the pillar for Wu Xu and Rusty Sister as well. Without Qingzi, the two of them might still be living as pitiful outcasts. "So his willpower and sense of responsibility—whether staying silent or leading you all in wreaking havoc—are extraordinarily strong," Ye Jian said earnestly, full of praise. Liu Shiheng did not reply. Glancing down to the bottom of Han Qingyu's column, he saw an alarming designation: *Must-Kill Priority*. "Brother Ye, this..." "Worried?" Ye Jian paused, then said, "It's already been changed to 'Recruit at All Costs.' I changed it myself. Though that doesn't necessarily mean Snow Lotus's top fighters will act according to it, of course." *** Han Qingyu and the other three walked through the woods. The old chief of staff's previous order had been for them to find a place to lay low for two months to ride out the period of scrutiny. Without overthinking, Han Qingyu had started heading home from the plateau, avoiding cities and crowds the entire way as they trekked across mountains and rivers. At last, home was not far away. That morning, Han Qingyu had changed into a dark blue shirt, navy trousers, and white rubber shoes bought from a small county town, wrapping up his other belongings into a bundle he carried in his arms. Rusty Sister was still wearing her bright red cloak. Clattering as she circled around him, she asked, "Han Qingqing! You said Master Duosang Jiacuo is still using a Third-Generation apparatus—why doesn't he upgrade his gear?" *She really won't learn her lesson until she's beaten!* Han Qingyu furrowed his brows and said helplessly, "Because to him, the grade of the device itself no longer matters. It's just a key to open the door. As long as it can open it, it's all the same. Legion Commander Chen Buer, for instance, is still using a Sixth-Generation apparatus..." "Oh. Then why does he swear all the time? Isn't he a monk? Han Qing... *croak*," Rusty Sister followed up. Han Qingyu couldn't answer that question, nor did he want to. "My guess is to create karma—verbal karma. Otherwise, he wouldn't have any motivation to cultivate," Wen Jifei chimed in with a grin, dressed in a shirt and jeans. "That guy clearly doesn't want to cultivate; he just wants to slash, slash, slash." With that, Wen Jifei turned around. "Don't you think that makes sense, Han Qingting—Han Dragonfly?" Ever since "Han Qing... *croak*" had surfaced, their nicknames for Han Qingyu had spiraled completely out of control. Silence fell. Han Qingyu spun around abruptly, hoisted Wen Jifei into the air, and hurled him straight at Rusty Sister. *Clang!* Man and armor collided, crashing back into a tree. Wen Jifei scrambled to his feet, still defiant. "Too far, Han Qingshe—Han Green Snake! I'm a dice, what if I roll an F? A knock like that could kill me!" Han Qingyu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Call me that again and next time I'll throw Rusty Sister at you." "That's out of line, Han Qingcai—Han Green Veggie! I'm a girl!" The iron armor backed away while pulling Wen Jifei along to evade any incoming attacks, yet her voice remained brazen. "Han Qingcao—Han Green Grass." "..." "Han Qing... lou—Han Brothel." "Hey!" Han Qingyu stifled a laugh, clicking his tongue sternly. "You're supposed to be a girl!" *Can't a girl know what a brothel is?* Shen Yixiu felt indignantly amused, racking her brain to come up with a few more, but drew a blank. Her gaze darted over to Wu Xu. "Wu Xu, you think of one too." "Me..." Wearing an Azure autumn jacket with the insignia removed, Wu Xu looked back. His sense of participation had been growing lately, and he had been listening all along. He gave it some serious thought on the spot. "Han Qing... huaci—Han Blue-and-White Porcelain." A breakthrough! He had expanded it to four characters! Han Qingyu's figure blurred as he stepped forward, grabbed Wu Xu, and slammed him into Rusty Sister. *Crash!* Man and armor hit the ground hard. Considering their resilience, Han Qingyu hadn't held back. "Keep it up and see if I don't ostracize all three of you," Han Qingyu said, chuckling despite himself. Just then, Wen Jifei tapped his arm, pointed down the mountain, and said excitedly, "Qingzi, look!" Down in the distance was a highway, spanned by a simple overhead gantry bearing high-mounted letters: *The People of Xinsong County Welcome You* "We're home," Wen Jifei said, his voice brimming with emotion. "Yeah." Home. Han Qingyu nodded firmly and quickened his pace. The other three hurried after him. "Let me tell you, Qingzi's mom's cooking is incredible. Ah, Rusty Sister, you can't eat, what a shame. When the time comes, you'll have to play the robot—better yet, dance a robot dance for Uncle and Auntie." "Huh?!" Rusty Sister looked bewildered. "How do you do a robot dance?" "Just go clatter, clatter." Wen Jifei demonstrated, then turned to give instructions to Wu Xu: "Wu Xu, when you see Uncle and Auntie, you're not allowed to keep a straight face." Wu Xu nodded earnestly. "Understood." At that moment, Han Qingyu stopped ahead of them on a high ridge. "We're not going down." He knew the old chief of staff and Chen Buer had certainly arranged protection here, but he didn't know whether the Azure Alliance had stationed people to watch for his tracks. Most importantly, he didn't know whether outside factions might trace him here. He could no longer step away from this hidden world. He had no idea whether visiting them would bring endless trouble into his parents' lives. He dared not take that risk—not even the slightest fraction of one. They were the most precious treasure he had. So he had only come to take a look from afar. After trekking across mountains and rivers, that was what Han Qingyu had planned from the very beginning. The four walked a short distance further, finally lying flat among the trees atop a towering ridge. They simply watched from the distance. The door of the small roadside shop was open. They couldn't hear any sounds, nor could they make out faces clearly. Figures walked in and out, and Wen Jifei and the other two gazed downward along with him. "That's my mom," Han Qingyu whispered after a long silence, his voice trembling slightly with emotion. Below, a figure made tiny by the distance stepped out from the doorway. He recognized her instantly. Rusty Sister's eyes grew red. From high above, her metal gauntlet clattered in a gentle wave. "Hello, Auntie." Wu Xu also raised a stiff hand. "Hello, Auntie." "Auntie, I'll take good care of Qingzi for you," Wen Jifei said with a warm smile. Han Qingyu turned to look at them, smiling faintly. "Fine, for my mom's sake, I won't ostracize you guys. But no more messing with my name, or my dad will thrash you if he finds out." In Han Qingyu's memory, his father was immensely strong, thrashing him as easily as peeling garlic. Even though he had grown so powerful now, that childhood memory remained unchanged. All four of them laughed. "My dad came out! He brought plums for my mom—she loves sour things. We have plum trees right outside our house," Han Qingyu said, pointing at the two figures by the shop's doorway. "Yeah, Uncle and Auntie are doing well. Looks like business is good too." Wen Jifei paused. "They probably just miss you terribly." Han Qingyu: "...Yeah." For a brief instant, the two figures below seemed to look up toward the ridge. Even though Han Qingyu knew they couldn't possibly see them, he felt a sudden pang of nervousness, as if their eyes were right on him. It was just like how he had put on new clothes today, even knowing he had no intention of going down. The figures went back inside. Night fell, and the lights inside the little shop were switched on, warm and bright. ...Dawn broke, and cooking smoke curled up from the roof. Han Qingyu stood up. "Let's go." Wu Xu, Rusty Sister, and Wen Jifei all stood up with him. "Dad, Mom, I'm leaving." "The next time I come back, I'll walk straight through the front door, open and proud." Wu Xu and Rusty Sister waved down at the road. "Uncle, Auntie, we're leaving. We'll definitely come back with Qingzi next time." Wen Jifei still had his warm grin as he called out softly, "Uncle, Auntie, don't you worry—you've got me watching his back."