Yang Fei's voice trembled incessantly.

"Lao Pao always said he feared death because in his family, he was the only pillar of support, his older brother was paralyzed, and his sister-in-law ran off with another man."

"At home, there were still three children and the only elderly father, over seventy years old. He feared that if he died, the whole family would not survive."

"Yet Lao Pao, who feared death the most, who always thought of running away at the sound of gunfire..."

"For the sake of tearing open the enemy's encirclement and allowing his comrades to break out, was the first to be glorified."

At this point, Yang Fei could no longer hold back.

He put down Lin Xueyi and leapt up a small slope in a few steps, his cry sounding like a howl.

"Lao Pao..."

Yang Fei's voice was piercing, like the lonely howl of a wolf, resonating far and wide.

This sound, in the endless night, was filled with endless sorrow and pain.

Yang Fei slowly squatted down, burying his face in the rough Loess soil.

His surging tears soaked the dry earth.

Men shed blood, not tears.

However, a man who truly cries can shatter hearts.

Lin Xueyi slowly walked over and hugged him from behind.

She could feel the tidal wave of grief in Yang Fei's heart.

She could do nothing but hold this wounded man.

Tightly, with all her strength, recklessly...

After a long while, Yang Fei finally turned and sat up, lighting a cigarette.

Amidst the hazy smoke, Yang Fei stared blankly at the stars twinkling in the sky.

"The special forces team I assembled is involved in many secret missions overseas."

"Due to secrecy and diplomatic reasons, the soldiers have no official rank or identity, and the unit's number is also SSS-level confidential."

"When other soldiers fall, their dependents get care from the Government Office and receive honors."

"But when our soldiers fall, they get nothing, not even their real names on their tombstones."

At this, Yang Fei sighed, dropping his head dejectedly.

"I let Lao Pao down. He's gone, and I couldn't even grant him the posthumous recognition of a martyr."

"His family is still struggling in poverty."

Lin Xueyi's heart ached intensely.

"So, that's why you're so desperate to make money, yet you're stingy to a fault?"

In Lin Xueyi's eyes, his stinginess was unbearable.

He only smoked Red River cigarettes that cost five yuan, and he kept wearing the same set of Army-destroyer clothes over and over.

He even considered returning the clothes Lin Xueyi bought for him to get the money back.

Yang Fei remained silent.

After a while, he stood up, pointing to a distant light faintly visible in the depths of the mountains.

"Do you see it? That's Heiniu Hollow. Lao Pao's home is right there."

"Lao Pao's whole family relied on his meager salary to survive."

"Now that he's fallen, Lao Pao's family still has to carry on living."

"And I believe that they should live better, with more dignity, than anyone else."

Lin Xueyi said nothing more. She just held Yang Fei tightly.

She felt how terribly thin he was and a pang of pain struck her heart.

At that moment, Lin Xueyi finally understood why Yang Fei was stingy.

When he worked as an odd-job man at the hotel, he would pinch every penny, hating not being able to even use someone else's toothpaste.

Even after he later made money and reluctantly bought a Land Rover for the hotel business...

He couldn't bear to smoke a good pack of cigarettes buying any decent clothes.

Not just stingy, in daily life, he was always angling for petty benefits.

This fact made the hotel staff grit their teeth in irritation.

It turned out, deep inside his heart, he harbored such noble sentiments.

Lin Xueyi couldn't help but admire Su Yinxue's judgment.

She once said that Yang Fei was the purest-hearted man she had ever met.

At the time, even Lin Xueyi found it laughable.

This shameless fellow who peeped on women taking showers, who could make her blood boil with just a few words, could he have a pure soul?

Yet now, Lin Xueyi felt both pride and sweetness in her heart.

After some rest, Yang Fei once again carried Lin Xueyi on his back and headed towards Heiniu Hollow.

The night was desolate, and raindrops began to drift down unexpectedly.

The frozen raindrops penetrated into people's collars, causing them to shiver.

Facing the Loess Plateau, with its thousands of ravines and gullies.

Yang Fei gently said, "Sis, Lao Pao liked to sing folk songs."

"When he was in the army, he used to sing a lot. Let me sing a bit for you."

Lin Xueyi made a sound of acknowledgement and slightly raised her head.

The lit window on the eastern mountain, yo,

The bright one on the western mountain.

An expanse of flat plains with a horse upon it,

No one to be seen.

The younger sister stands atop the stalky ridges,

The older brother he stands in that ditch,

Remembering my dear loved ones.

Remembering my loved ones,

With tears filling my dress.

...

Yang Fei's voice was not delicate or pleasant to the ear, instead it was hoarse and harsh.

Strangely, such a voice, singing such folk songs,

Somehow made Lin Xueyi's entire soul tremble.

It was unclear whether it was Yang Fei's singing that was too beautiful or the story of Lao Pao that was too touching.

Lin Xueyi, with her face buried in Yang Fei's back, had tears streaming down.

Moreover, vaguely, in Lin Xueyi's heart, there was an ominous premonition.

According to Yang Fei, after Lao Pao had sacrificed himself, he went to Yannan.

Since then, he had been preparing to visit Lao Pao's family.

By that reckoning, it had been about three months since Yang Fei started working odd jobs at Lanting Hotel.

And Lin Zi, her brother, had not been in contact with her for three months as well.

It seemed that ever since Yang Fei appeared, Lin Zi had not contacted her again.

Although Lin Zi was on an urgent mission, he would always find time to call her and reassure her, as long as he had a moment to spare.

Yet until now, a full three months had passed.

Lin Zi hadn't called her.

Lin Xueyi's heart felt as if it was being clutched by a cat's paw.

The immense sense of foreboding made her afraid to continue such thoughts.

However, she could not help but think.

Yang Fei carried Lin Xueyi on his back for over an hour, until they arrived at the entrance of Heiniu Depression village.

This was a typical small mountain village.

Seven or eight households were sparsely distributed on a small hillside.

The house of each family was an earth dwelling left over from the last century.

The small courtyards, all in a state of simplicity and disrepair.

It was just about ten o'clock in the evening.

However, inside the village, it was already pitch dark.

Apparently, most of the villagers were asleep.

Yang Fei, leading Lin Xueyi, entered the village.

The dogs inside the village all started barking wildly, echoing each other, both from afar and up close.

Lin Xueyi feared dogs and clutched tightly to the corner of Yang Fei's clothes.

Yang Fei took Lin Xueyi to the front of a small courtyard at the east end of the village.

He softly said, "Lao Pao's home is right here; I've been here once before."

Lao Pao's small courtyard was no different from that of an ordinary rural family.

However, in the courtyard, there was a heavy stone lock.

Next to the stone lock, there was also a wooden dummy.

These two items gave the whole courtyard an air of the martial arts world.

Yang Fei looked at Lin Xueyi, then glanced again at the stone lock and the wooden dummy inside the courtyard, and smiled.

"Lao Pao practiced his family's legacy of Kung Fu. His father was a master of Shape and Intent Fist."

As they spoke, from inside the gate, came a stern shout.

"Who's there?"

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