Fenglong'ao was in Yuejiang Province, not particularly far from Shenghai by distance. If one traveled by airship, it would take about as long as closing one's eyes for a quick nap.
However, Yang Qingbai and his airship had not appeared on the day of the street conflict, and after that day, he had vanished entirely. No one in the outside world knew where he and his airship had ultimately gone.
Therefore, Han Qingyu and his group returned by car. Wen Jifei drove, speeding and jolting over the roads the whole way until dusk...
A side road branched off the provincial highway and wound into the mountains, where a stone bridge straightened out the curves. Finally, there was an incline, at the top of which stood an ancient, dragon-like camphor tree marking the junction that told travelers they had arrived in Fenglong'ao.
Because of an unexpected discovery, Han Qingyu and the others got out of the car early outside the village, looking up in unison at the mountainside in the distance.
There, beneath the setting sun, two figures were fighting on the mountain.
The clash was quite chaotic, not looking at all like training.
"One of them is my dad," Han Qingyu said, tilting his head back.
Regarding Han Youshan's Grade A degree of fusion, Han Qingyu had originally intended to keep it a secret from him, stubbornly insisting while at home that his father was completely hopeless.
Before departing last time, however, unable to bear seeing his father's aggrieved, mournful expression day after day, he had ultimately told him the truth.
From the looks of it now, his dad had probably been training constantly over these past few months, and very likely under someone's guidance.
"The other one..." Han Qingyu frowned. "Who is he? Why does my dad look like he has a vendetta against him?"
The others beside him exchanged glances.
"That's right, there really is a vendetta."
"Yeah, because he's the very guy who threatened you into joining Azure back then."
"Back then, your dad thought you were enlisting in the regular military. He was so grateful that not only did he treat him to fine food and wine, he even called him brother and begged him to look after you."
"Captain Lao must have been here for more than a day..."
As the Little Prince spoke, he pointed toward the large camphor tree not far away, beneath which sat an Azure military tent.
Judging by this setup, Lao Jian had likely been here for a couple of days, but had never been allowed into the village.
And yet he hadn't left, instead ending up "fighting" with Han Youshan right here.
Regarding Lao Jian... Han Qingyu had naturally heard about those past events. Looking at that figure in the distance who was "sparring to the point of looking quite disheveled," his feelings were somewhat complicated. "What did he come here for?"
"...Probably pissed off his wife and couldn't stay at home anymore, so he had no choice but to run over and find us."
Wen Jifei chuckled, walking over with a communicator in hand.
"I just checked in with Squad 1777. They said Captain Lao has been living in the collective dorms for ages. Aside from letting him see the kid every day, his wife won't let him come home."
"Oh, how miserable." Han Qingyu nodded just as two whooshing sounds cut through the air on the mountain. The fight broke off, turning into Lao Jian sprinting frantically ahead while Han Youshan chased after him.
"I'm not fighting anymore, not fighting! Look who's back, Old Han!"
Running all the way down, Captain Lao first pointed toward Han Qingyu with his blade to show Han Youshan. Then the blade shifted, pointing straight at He Tangtang. "He Tangtang... Fuck! I'm gonna kill you!"
***
Two days ago, when Lao Jian had arrived at Fenglong'ao in high spirits as an old friend and their former captain... the moment Han Youshan found out, he came out to "welcome" him in full combat gear.
Meanwhile, not a single member of the Azure garrison squad came out to break it up.
Before being slashed at, Captain Lao had asked for the reason... only to discover that Han Youshan knew down to the exact detail how Lao Jian had once held a blade to Han Qingyu's throat to threaten him. And of course, he was also acutely aware of all the dangers and grievances Han Qingyu had subsequently suffered because of that.
*Reasonably speaking, there's no way Old Han could know the details so clearly. Once the source energy world was made public, he could look back and figure out that I lied to him back then, but he shouldn't have known the exact way I threatened the boy.*
*If there wasn't the threat part and it was just a lie, he probably wouldn't be this furious.*
*Since he knows, judging by how petty that Han Qingyu kid is, Old Han's heart probably isn't much bigger. He's likely genuinely furious and bearing a grudge.*
*Who the hell told him?!*
Harboring that suspicion, Captain Lao had finally caught Han Youshan off guard during a bout when the man was too focused, suddenly questioning him and coaxing out the truth—it was He Tangtang who had told him! And he had recounted it in vivid, meticulous detail, brimming with righteous indignation.
"Haha, yeah, I told him! What about it?! Haha... Captain Lao, you'd better think this through!" Seeing Lao Jian charge toward him, He Tangtang laughed while raising a one-handed guard to meet him.
He was more than eager to show off his skills in front of his old captain.
"Stop acting so grand, you... Hey, Qingzi, heard you lost your memories?" On the spot, Lao Jian continued charging toward He Tangtang while throwing a grin and greeting toward Han Qingyu.
Han Qingyu ignored him and called out toward the mountainside, "Dad."
Behind Lao Jian, Han Youshan braked hard and came to a halt. Standing there, he looked down at his own fully armed, battle-ready gear, seeming a bit unaccustomed to facing his son like this.
*Clatter...* Han Qingyu slowly drew his blade and smiled. "Let Tangtang deal with him, Dad. Looks like your training's been going pretty well. How about I spar with you instead?"
Regarding Lao Jian having "dragged" him into Azure back then, though Han Qingyu had no memory of it and had only heard the story from others, he had also heard everything that followed, knowing full well the deep bond between him and Lao Jian.
So as far as he was concerned, it had simply been destiny. Any minor grievance was something he could easily let go of himself.
His parents, however, likely still harbored genuine resentment.
Han Qingyu held his combat blade in hand... Not far away, Han Youshan paused, looked at the blade in his own hands, and nodded hesitantly. "All right, sure."
Han Youshan could now roughly be considered part of the source energy world. As a father, on one hand, he thought of the warmth of a father-and-son exchange... *I ought to be the one teaching him;* on the other hand, he couldn't help feeling thrilled and nervous at the prospect of crossing blades with Major The Qing.
Father and son fell into a standoff. Han Youshan stepped forward with great caution, carefully searching for an opening, wondering whether he should suddenly shout first: *Son, I'm your father!*
Meanwhile, on the other side, Lao Jian was about to collide with He Tangtang...
"Dinner's ready!"
Abruptly, with those two words, the whole field came to a standstill.
"What's with all the fighting?! Eat first! The two of you can fight after you're done eating." Zhang Jiexia, wearing an apron, stood at the intersection. She looked at her son, her husband, then Wen Jifei and the others... and finally at Lao Jian. "Captain Lao, come eat at our house too. I bought some wine; you can all have a drink."
And so, the mother finally let the matter pass after all, waving away the anger, grievances, and what-ifs.
*I suppose this is just our Qingzi's fate. His path back then was like this, and now, even in his current state, he still has to go to the battlefield.*
Just now, when Zhang Jiexia was bringing dishes from the kitchen to the table, she had happened to catch the television news. The report said Major Qing had personally stated he would join the expedition to Antarctica.
*So Qingzi didn't come back this time for a reunion. He came to say goodbye to us.*
Chapter 761