Chapter 726 - 625: The Last Time
Chapter 726: Chapter 625: The Last Time
In a remote county town in Qing Province, a middle-aged man in a faded old military uniform pushed a bicycle into a narrow alley. He stopped before the gate of an ordinary courtyard, took out a key, unlocked it, and went inside, quickly shutting the gate behind him.
The courtyard wasn’t large and was rather cluttered, piled high with old odds and ends. A row of three main rooms stood with their doors open. The man parked his bicycle and went inside. From the easternmost room, a young man’s voice called out, "Is that you, Uncle Qin?"
"Yes, it’s me. Xiao Fan, are you hungry? Lunch should be ready at my place. I’ll go bring it over."
"There’s no rush. You should rest for a bit first, Uncle Qin. Is there any news today?"
"Yes! I’ve got it. Look at this."
The middle-aged man took a green money order from his pocket and handed it to the young man lying on the large kang bed by the window.
With the middle-aged man’s help, the young man slowly sat up, leaning against the head of the kang. The light filtering in through the window illuminated his pale, gaunt, yet still handsome face. It was none other than Bai Junfan.
Bai Junfan took the money order and examined it. The smile on his face slowly faded as he murmured in disbelief, "Only ten thousand?"
The middle-aged man quickly said, "That’s already a lot! It’s enough to treat your injuries. I can’t let my wife see this. It’s a good thing Old Huang at the post office helped me out. He notified me to come pick it up the moment it arrived. If the mailman had delivered it to my house and the womenfolk saw it, they’d think it was my money. That would be a disaster; they’d raise the roof."
The young man didn’t seem to hear him, his gaze heavy as he stared at the two short lines of text in the memo section of the money order: "This is all. The last time!"
After a long silence, Bai Junfan heaved a long sigh. He had the middle-aged man help him lie down again and handed the money order back. "Go and cash this. Pay back whatever we borrowed for my hospital stay. You keep the rest, Uncle Qin. Use it however you need to. I’ve been too much trouble for you during this time. It’s all because of me—the children had to drop out of school, the elders had to stop their medicine... It’s my fault. I don’t blame your wife and her family for all the noise they’ve made."
"No, no, don’t say that. It’s my fault for not being capable enough. How could I possibly blame you?"
Uncle Qin waved his hands dismissively, his face awash with guilt. "My foolish wife is short-sighted and unreasonable. Xiao Fan, don’t stoop to her level. Back in the army, your father—my commander—was unbelievably good to me. If it wasn’t for the commander, how could a country soldier who never even finished elementary school have ever advanced? After I left the service, I never would have been assigned a job in the county town, much less gotten married and started a family... Taking care of you, Xiao Fan, is my duty. Otherwise, I’d be letting my commander down completely!"
At Bai Junfan’s insistence, Uncle Qin tucked the money order into his pocket. ’Anyway,’ he thought, ’Bai Junfan hasn’t recovered yet and can’t leave the house. I’m managing everything for him, so I might as well cash this. I’ll deposit it into the bank under his name, buy him nutritional supplements, get him the best medicine, and help him recover his health as quickly as possible.’
’Also, since I have to work, I don’t have much free time. I’ll need to hire someone to take care of him.’
’My wife and my in-laws are completely unreasonable. They were against me taking care of Junfan from the very beginning. It was bad enough that they refused to bring him food and water or help him wash up, but they even encouraged the children to mock and insult him. Once, while I was at work, the six kids ganged up, carried him outside, and just dumped him. When I heard and rushed back, my only choice was to rent this small courtyard on credit from a neighbor to give him a place to stay. That, of course, led to my wife throwing a massive tantrum and threatening divorce. She even claimed Junfan was my bastard son, or else why would I be so insistent on helping him while neglecting our own children... She’s gone mad! But it’s true, we have absolutely no money left at home. I already scraped together and sold off our few valuables to pay for Junfan’s treatment, and on top of that, I’m up to my eyeballs in debt. Creditors are hounding me every single day. Things are finally looking up now that there’s money. *Sigh*, it hasn’t been easy!’
Uncle Qin went back to his own home to get lunch. Bai Junfan lay on the kang, staring at the dusty, dilapidated roof. His expression shifted, alternating between sharp, furious hatred and bleak, desolate sorrow. He clenched his fist and slammed it down on the edge of the kang with all his might, kicking up a cloud of dust. He paid it no mind; after living here for over a month, he had grown used to the squalor.
’The Qin Family couldn’t stand the sight of me, and I couldn’t bear this poverty. I had Uncle Qin find a way to take me to the post office so I could call Liu’er. I spelled it out for her, told her exactly how destitute I was: I didn’t have a roof over my head, my injuries were going untreated, and I could barely even get a drink of water! I asked for a hundred thousand yuan, and she actually refused to give it to me!’
’Has she really forgotten all about our past? Is her heart that cold? Were all those vows we made, our passionate love, our inability to be apart—was it all a lie? Yes, it’s true that I listened to my aunt. For the sake of my family and my future, I considered an alliance with a more prominent family. But I always had her, Yang Liu’er, in my heart! Why else would I have brought her back to Beijing? Everything with other people was just an act. My love for her was real, and I would never abandon her. Why can’t she understand that?’
’My aunt was always talking about Yang Liu’er’s clothing company, going on and on about how profitable it was. She was convinced that I had given Liu’er the seed money to start it and insisted I take it over as soon as possible. But I had my own plans; I didn’t follow my aunt’s advice. I even secretly obstructed her moves against the company. I understand Liu’er. No matter how angry she gets or what tantrums she throws, I know for a fact that I have a place in her heart. And not just any place—the most important one. Just like she will always have in mine!’
’Everything Liu’er achieved by starting her own business was for me. A hundred thousand yuan isn’t that much to me. I need it to buy herbs to treat my injuries. After I recover, I’ll need jade for my Cultivation, and it will take money to reactivate my father’s old network of contacts... I only asked for a hundred thousand out of consideration for her cash flow. I was thinking that once I healed up, free from the shackles of military discipline, how could someone with my skills possibly be short on money? And yet, I never, ever would have thought... that not only would Liu’er not come to see me, she wouldn’t even give me the hundred thousand!’
Bai Junfan’s chest heaved violently. His eyes were bloodshot, glistening with unshed tears. After his parents died, he had long since forged a heart of ice. The only time he ever felt a flicker of warmth was when he thought of Yang Liu’er. But now, his emotions were in violent turmoil—
’Liu’er, don’t think you can get rid of me by finding another man. I won’t let you go. You will always be my woman!’
’I believe you now. I believe that dream you told me about! An expert divined your existence from my facial features; you’re the fated benefactor in my life! You have to stay by my side at all times, never leaving me. Only then will I be safe and sound, my career prosperous. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have listened to my aunt, shouldn’t have neglected you and made you sad. Wait for me. I will come back. This time, we will never be apart again. No one will be able to stop us!’
Bai Junfan tried to move his limbs. His legs remained as heavy as lead, and he couldn’t help but frown. ’A small county hospital could never have healed his injuries; they had even diagnosed him with permanent paralysis. But he wasn’t worried in the least. He still had two elixirs prepared by the Gongsun Family. He had taken one right after the devastating injury to save his life. When the hospital said a full recovery was impossible and Uncle Qin ran out of money for his stay, he had left and taken the second elixir. His legs were still immobile, but he could feel it—his meridians and bones were slowly mending. He wasn’t going to be a cripple.’
’In another ten days to half a month, I should be able to walk with crutches. Then I’ll go to G Province to find Tang Yaxuan. I’m sure she’s obtained that herb by now. After that, I’ll find the Gongsun Family. With Gongsun Ruxue’s medical skills and a "Spirit Plant," is there any doubt my body will recover? Gongsun Chongshan was the one who guided me into Cultivation, so what does it matter if I join the Gongsun Sect? As long as I can obtain a better Cultivation Method and raise my cultivation quickly, it’s worth it.’
’We’re all living in the End of Dharma World. If Gu Shaojun and Gu Shao Feng can do it, there’s no reason I can’t!’