81: Chapter 81 Old Stories

"Go, go, go, go. We'll talk tonight. Let me get some sleep first."

After Chen Mo chased Old Man Zhang out, he finally lay down comfortably.

Old Man Zhang didn't continue to cause trouble, waiting obediently until the evening before knocking on the door again.

"Sigh..."

Dazed from sleep, Chen Mo sat up on the bed. Unable to withstand Old Man Zhang's pestering, he bit the bullet and headed to the Cooking Squad.

After finishing a hearty meal of three dishes and one soup, Chen Mo noticed that there seemed to be quite a few people here for the special meal this time.

"Wait, with so many of us eating together, aren't you guys really afraid of writing self-criticisms or getting punished?"

Chen Mo was a bit confused. He didn't mind more people coming; it was lively to eat together.

Old Man Zhang pulled out two large buckets he had been hiding behind his back and poured a cup for each of the boys and girls who had come to join the fun.

"From now on, you are all adults. There's nothing wrong with having a little drink."

Old Man Zhang chuckled, ignoring Chen Mo's warning, and started drinking heavily.

"Eat up, eat up."

Chen Mo sighed and picked up his chopsticks to start eating.

But after a while, the more Chen Mo ate, the more he felt something was wrong. Why were there more and more people around, and all of them were students here for the Joint Exam?

There were even a few officers from Luofeng Fortress among them?

What kind of situation was this?

"Old Man Zhang, we heard that you, a battle hero, were going to share your past combat experiences?"

Those officers from Luofeng Fortress were quite excited; what they loved most was listening to these battle heroes tell their own stories.

"What battle hero!"

With a dull thud, Old Man Zhang downed the liquor in the large plastic bucket in one gulp, his face turning red as he roared.

Instantly, everyone present stopped what they were doing. Except for Chen Mo, who was still eating heavily, everyone looked at the red-faced old man.

"Back then..."

Old Man Zhang swayed, but still stood up, leaning on his cane.

"The six of us went to perform a routine patrol mission, but we ended up running into forces from Baiye City planning to attack Luofeng Fortress."

"In order to prevent their objective of raiding Luofeng Fortress from being exposed, the City Lord of Baiye City, who had been hiding in Baiye City, personally took action to suppress us."

"I—how could I have ever seen a Venerable take action? The scene was earth-shattering. Just looking at it made my legs go soft; I couldn't even move."

At this point, Old Man Zhang's expression dimmed, his face devoid of anything but dead silence.

"Second Brother Feng hoisted me up and ran, but we were all just 5th-rank Martial Artists at the time; how could we possibly outrun a Venerable comparable to a Grandmaster!"

The scene went completely silent. Even Chen Mo stopped eating and focused his gaze on Old Man Zhang.

"Among the six of us, four were Talent-based Martial Artists, while Fifth Brother and I were just ordinary Ascetic Martial Artists."

"Fourth Brother's talent was called 'Co-existence,' and Sixth Brother's talent was called 'Co-death.'"

"They were twin brothers, and they were the only two children in their family."

Old Man Zhang's speech became increasingly incoherent; it was clear he was drunk and starting to ramble.

"Second Brother's talent was 'Earth Concealment.' After he led us underground for over ten kilometers, his energy was exhausted. He handed me over to Eldest Brother and went alone to block that beast, the City Lord of Baiye City!"

"Fourth Brother, Sixth Brother, Fifth Brother... they all died. Only I..."

"I am a coward..."

"Why wasn't it me who died?"

As he spoke, Old Man Zhang was lifted onto someone's back. It was only then that everyone noticed a chubby person had appeared.

"Commander!"

The few officers stiffened and stood at attention, saluting the gloomy-faced Commander Shen who had just arrived.

"Hmm."

Commander Shen didn't speak, his eyes full of heartache as he looked at Old Man Zhang.

"Remember, Old Zhang is a battle hero. What he just said was just drunken rambling."

"He is a battle hero! Do you understand!"

For some reason, Commander Shen also became agitated, scaring everyone present into silence.

"Sigh, why am I getting angry at you kids..."

Commander Shen sighed, waved his hand to dismiss everyone, and didn't hold them accountable for the special meal.

"Why haven't you left yet, kid?"

After a while, seeing Chen Mo still holding his bowl and sitting by the large black pot, Commander Shen asked, puzzled.

Was this kid not afraid of him?

"I haven't finished my meal yet. I didn't get a full meal outside; can't I at least finish eating now that I'm back?"

Chen Mo lifted the bowl in his hand and casually asked Commander Shen if he wanted a bite.

Seeing this, Commander Shen seemed to age several decades, his spirit completely withered.

The Chen Mo before him was exactly like Second Brother Feng back then. Second Brother Feng used to cook big meals for them, and everyone would eat until their mouths were glistening with grease.

Compared to his current life of high status and power, this Commander Shen missed the days of life-and-death struggle with his brothers even more.

Not knowing what possessed him, after handing Old Man Zhang over to the newly arrived Zhang Lianqi, Commander Shen actually sat down as well.

He reached out and asked Chen Mo for a bowl of rice, eating on his own.

Shen Zhou and Lin Ye, who were observing the situation from afar, also came over and quickly picked up their bowls to continue eating.

"Is it good?"

Watching Commander Shen shovel rice into his mouth, Chen Mo asked curiously.

Logically speaking, shouldn't someone at Commander Shen's level not need to eat?

"It's delicious. It feels like the big communal meals I used to have."

"No wonder Old Third Zhang is always thinking about having you cook for him. So that's why."

Commander Shen finished only one bowl before putting down his chopsticks and looking at the three youths in front of him.

This scene was almost identical to how they were back then, and Commander Shen was even a little dazed.

"You three kids, remember this."

"Even if you go your separate ways in the future, the three of you are brothers who have eaten from the same pot."

"Just now... what Old Man Zhang said doesn't actually count."

Commander Shen seemed to have been holding this in for a long time. It wasn't appropriate to tell others, but telling these youths wouldn't cause any issues.

"Old Man Zhang's mind had problems during that invasion incident. In modern medical terms, it's memory displacement."

"If it weren't for him risking his life back then, I wouldn't be here today."

"If anyone was a coward in that battle, it was actually me, the eldest brother."

"The ones who should have really come back alive were my brothers, not me..."

"Do you know what kind of state a person has to be in for the enemy to give up on delivering a finishing blow?"

"After that fierce battle ended, we found Old Zhang in a corner of the pile of corpses, with only a single breath left."

"Half of his brain had been blown away. One kidney, half a liver, two-thirds of his stomach, forty percent of his digestive tract, and half a lung had to be removed just to save his life."

People have a habit when they get old: they like to tell stories from their past.

Even the dignified Commander-in-Chief of Luofeng Fortress could not avoid it.

Chen Mo and the others listened quietly to Commander Shen's narration, from the treatment to the coma, and finally the memory disorder, believing that it was because of him that his brothers died out there.

It can be said that Old Zhang has lived in endless self-reproach and pain for all these years.

At first, he even thought about suicide, but later, for some reason, he gave up on that idea.

Even when his two sons died on the battlefield, he didn't have much of an emotional fluctuation, just saying that sacrificing for the country was worth it.

As they chatted, the time reached late at night.

Commander Shen reached out and ruffled the heads of the three, Chen Mo, Shen Zhou, and Lin Ye, a smile returning to his face.

"Alright, I've let you three little ones listen to me ramble for several hours. Hurry back and get some rest."

"Shen Zhou."

When the three of them left side by side, Commander Shen called out to Shen Zhou, who was at his side.

"What is it?"

Shen Zhou looked at Commander Shen expressionlessly. Although this man was his father, there wasn't much deep affection between them.

For so many years, Shen Zhou had hardly seen Commander Shen; Luofeng Fortress really couldn't do without him.

"Chen Mo is a good kid, and he will be a good big brother in the future."

"Follow him well. That kid won't let you down."

Commander Shen finished speaking and disappeared from the spot, his speed so fast it was astonishing.