Chapter 24: Everyone is Dead
The familiar words were still ringing in his ears. Fei found it hard to believe that in just a little over a month, they were separated forever by death.
The evening breeze blew gently, carrying the faint scent of roses.
His eyes bloodshot, he looked at Lan: “You…”
Lan sighed and patted his shoulder twice to comfort him, “I don’t believe this news either. So many bugs, yet only a single message tells me they’re all gone. I don’t believe it either.”
“Major General Fei, right now in the First Military District, the only squads that can be deployed are yours and Major General Morgan’s.”
“I want to have you form a small six-bug team to sneak into the Western Battlefield and investigate the situation.”
“I’ll go.” Fei was impatient to go investigate.
“Don’t answer me so quickly.” Lan’s gaze moved past Fei’s neck, landing on the bustling banquet hall behind him. “Talk to your Xiongzhu first.”
“This matter is very important.” Lan’s gaze was heavy and complex. “I cannot guarantee that you will return safely. You know that if it truly is as the message from above stated, then there must be an unknown force intervening in the middle. They won’t let us find the answer easily.”
“I will explain the situation to my Xiongzhu tonight. He…” Fei said uncertainly, “If he doesn’t agree, please help me, Admiral Lan.”
“Lord Jiang Xu is somewhat different from the rumors.” Lan suddenly remembered how Jiang Xu had defended Fei just a moment ago. “You know, it’s not easy for us Cichong to find a good home. You…”
He advised, “Cherish it well. If something comes up, discuss it properly. Don’t walk a dead-end road. That path is too difficult.”
Speaking of Jiang Xu, Fei felt a bit guilty, but he affirmed, “If he doesn’t agree, please cover for me, Admiral. Just say I need to stay at the military department for a while.”
It was best not to have any illusions about certain things. Jiang Xu’s face flashed through his mind; he was a Xiongchong, after all.
“If you are certain you want to do that, I will help you.”
Although they were in the dark, Lan still noticed the slight difference in Fei.
Time passed quickly, and the banquet had long since ended.
Jiang Xu sat at the head of the bed, looking at Fei standing at the foot of the bed, feeling an indescribable sensation.
The last time they had shared a bedroom was when he had just arrived.
Now, in the blink of an eye, over half a month had passed.
He didn’t know how his grandfather and grandmother back home were doing.
However, now was not the time for him to be sentimental.
Ever since the Cichong before him had stepped out and returned, he noticed that for the remaining half of the banquet, the other’s state of mind had been completely disconnected.
He was heavily burdened with worry.
Fei stood silently at the foot of the bed, his bare feet stepping on the pure cashmere plush carpet, the fine fibers tickling his feet.
But right now, he was in no mood to feel any of it.
In front of the Admiral, he had been absolutely resolute, but now facing Jiang Xu, he suddenly didn’t know how to speak.
The European-style fringed translucent sheer curtains danced gracefully in the moonlight.
The evening breeze blowing through the half-open window swayed the wheat ear tassels on the bed canopy and tangled the hair of the two bugs.
Because neither bug spoke, the spacious room appeared even more quiet.
“Xiongzhu.” Steeling his heart, Fei knelt down at the foot of the bed.
Jiang Xu’s expression changed slightly, his eyes narrowing a bit. Ever since telling the other he didn’t need to kneel, this was the first time he had done so.
“What happened?”
During the banquet, when the Cichong had returned to his side, he had noticed the redness in his eyes.
It looked as if he had calmed himself down outside for a long time; the traces had faded a lot, but if one looked closely, they were still visible.
“My upcoming work requires me to go out of town for a period of time.”
“A business trip?” Jiang Xu looked at Fei’s evasive eyes. This demeanor didn’t seem like it was such a simple matter.
“Mm.”
Fei’s voice was very shallow and light.
Perhaps these few days would be their last time together, and he was somewhat afraid to meet the other’s eyes.
He was afraid that the tiny bit of softness in his heart would be drawn out.
Jiang Xu slowly uncrossed his legs, stepped into his indoor soft slippers, and stood up.
The soft sound of slippers treading on the plush carpet echoed in the room.
He walked briskly to the kneeling bug, half-crouched down, and used his hand to lift the other’s tightly lowered chin, looking directly into his eyes.
“You know that a Cishi cannot hide anything from his Xiongzhu. I want to hear the truth.”
Fei looked at Jiang Xu, and the emotions that had subsided quietly crept back into his heart.
His eyes gradually grew red, and slowly, he realized he could no longer clearly see the face in front of him.
Jiang Xu’s simple sentence caused the other’s emotional defenses to completely crumble.
“Sigh.” Jiang Xu sighed, his thumb swiping across the other’s cheek to wipe away the tear that was about to fall from his eye. “How big of a deal could it be?”
Why did he start crying?
It was Jiang Xu’s first time seeing him shed tears, and ripples were stirred up in the tranquil lake of his heart.
He remembered the last time he had seen the fresh and old scars all over the other’s body, yet he hadn’t let out a single groan.
An inexplicably indescribable emotion spread throughout the room.
“I…” Fei choked on his words, his tears flowing uncontrollably. It seemed as if he wanted to shed all the tears he had held back in front of the Admiral.
“There’s no rush. We have the whole night to talk.”
Jiang Xu stood up and pulled Fei up as well. “I’ve said it before, you don’t need to kneel to me at home.”
Holding the bug’s hand, he sat down on the edge of the bed, quietly waiting for the other to calm down.
Fei also didn’t know what was wrong with himself; his tears simply couldn’t be stopped.
He didn’t really want to cry, but he truly just couldn’t control it.
Gradually, from silently shedding tears, it turned into quiet sobbing, until he finally broke into uncontrollable, loud crying.
“Xiong, Xiongzhu. The bugs on the Western Battlefield are all dead.” He reached out and grabbed the hem of Jiang Xu’s shirt. “Wenxi is gone too.
I don’t believe it. This time, this time we clearly could have won.
Why?”
His still-sobbing eyes stared fixedly at Jiang Xu, seeking an answer. “Why did it turn out like this? So many comrades, all gone.
Wenxi is… is gone because of me, too.”
From his intermittent words, Jiang Xu sorted out the useful information: the entire army on the Western Battlefield had been wiped out.
He continued to remain silent, listening to the other cry and say, “If it weren’t… if it weren’t for my marriage, Wenxi wouldn’t have had to take my place, and he… he wouldn’t have died.
It’s my fault.
We clearly did combat simulations before the march; we were going to win.”
Fei kept repeating these words, venting all his emotions completely.
Gradually, his voice grew softer and softer, until he stopped crying.
Only then did he realize that, without knowing when, he had been pulled into Jiang Xu’s embrace. A hand was gently patting his back, comforting him.
And his own mental tentacles had unconsciously wrapped tightly around Jiang Xu.
Jiang Xu looked down at Fei, who had completely stopped crying, and sighed helplessly, “Couldn’t tell, you’re actually such a crybaby.”
He looked so aloof and cold, didn’t talk much, and wouldn’t utter a sound even when injured.
But when he started crying, he could cry harder than a three-year-old child.
In all his years, this was the first time Jiang Xu had seen someone bawl their eyes out in front of him with completely no reservations—and the one crying was a bug.
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