158: Chapter 158: Su Lingxue and her grandson-in-law Zhou Haitao are back!

"Did you remember everything?" The eldest tribal elder stared at him, his gaze as sharp as if he were inspecting a new recruit.

"I remember." Su Han took a deep breath, trying to recall his experience from the last wedding—

It was nothing more than moving a bit slower, keeping a serious expression, talking less, and kowtowing more.

Su Bowen lit three sticks of incense and handed them to him. "Begin. The ancestors are all waiting."

Su Han took the incense and, following the elder's instructions, walked to the incense burner holding it with both hands.

Amidst the swirling smoke, he looked at the dense list of names on the Family Tree and suddenly remembered what Su Bowen had said—

In the Su Family over the last few hundred years, more than three hundred people had served in the military, and there were over thirty martyrs alone.

Behind those names, there might have once been young people just like him, swearing in the ancestral hall to defend their home and country before heading to the battlefield, never to return.

In an instant, those tedious rituals seemed to take on a different meaning.

He straightened his back, raised the incense, and bowed deeply to the Family Tree.

Offering incense, kneeling, kowtowing... every movement was performed with standard precision and solemnity.

As he knelt on the prayer mat and whispered his achievements, his voice lacked its usual perfunctoriness and gained a touch of sincerity:

"Descendant Su Han, trained in the military, broke Military Region records, earned two Third-Class Merits; rescued hostages, earned one second-class merit; won the grand competition championship, earned one first-class merit; saved people from a fire, and earned another first-class merit..."

"Promoted to Major one month ago, I dare not forget the ancestors' teachings. From now on, I will strictly abide by the motto 'loyalty and bravery passed down through generations', protect the country and the people, and live up to the Su Family's prestigious name."

Faint clamor came from outside the ancestral hall—the laughter and chatter of the War Eagle Squad and the villagers; however, it was so quiet inside the hall that one could hear the sound of incense ash falling.

The tribal elders watched Su Han's pious back, tears welling up in their cloudy eyes.

Su Bowen quietly wiped the corner of his eye, with only one thought in his heart:

The Su Family finally had another 'hard bone' who could carry the weight.

Meanwhile, as Su Han finished his last kowtow, he also had only one thought:

Finish these red tapes quickly; there's a crowd of reporters and fans waiting outside—

Compared to dealing with ancestors, he would rather face those reporters asking about 'becoming a Major in ten months.'

...

The clamor of Su Family Village washed over every alleyway like a tide. Just as the ancestral ritual in the ancestral hall came to a close, a sudden, urgent car horn sounded from the village entrance.

The team member responsible for perimeter security ran over quickly and whispered a few words into Su Wu's ear.

Su Wu's eyes lit up. He turned to Su Han, who was adjusting his collar, and said, "Third Grandpa, Ling Xue and Zhou Haitao are back!"

Su Han's shoulders, which had just relaxed, tensed slightly again. He rubbed his knees, which were numb from kneeling, and said helplessly, "Those two certainly know how to pick their timing."

Before his voice had even faded, Su Lingxue's breathless voice rang out from outside the ancestral hall: "Dad! Third Grandpa! We're back!"

Everyone looked toward the source of the sound to see Su Lingxue wearing an elegant dress, her hair slightly messy, clearly having rushed all the way. Beside her, Zhou Haitao had also changed into his service uniform, holding his military cap in his hand. Sweat still clung to his forehead, and the Captain's star on his shoulder epaulets was particularly striking in the sunlight.

As soon as the two pushed through the crowd, Su Lingxue stepped quickly to Su Han's side, looking him up and down with concern in her voice. "Third Grandpa, how is the injury on your back? The internet said you jumped from the third floor; we were scared to death when we saw the video!"

Zhou Haitao also snapped to attention and saluted, his voice booming: "Third Grandpa! Grandson-in-law Zhou Haitao reporting to you!"

This shout of "Grandson-in-law" was natural and respectful, making the surrounding tribal elders nod in approval—

When Zhou Haitao first joined the Su Family, he had been somewhat reserved when facing this 'cross-generational' relative relationship, but now he was looking more and more like a 'Su Family grandson.'

Su Han waved his hand, indicating he didn't need to stand on ceremony. "It's been a long journey for you both. Seeing you in such a rush, anyone would think something had happened at home."

"We were just afraid of missing the ceremony!" Su Lingxue stuck out her tongue and pulled an exquisite wooden box from her bag. "Knowing you don't like to make a fuss, Haitao and I specifically picked out this waist brace for you. It'll be good for your back injury."

Looking at the waist brace, Su Han felt a warmth in his heart.

This couple certainly kept themselves well-informed about his situation.

Su Bowen walked over and patted Zhou Haitao's shoulder. "It's good that you're back. Come with me to meet the tribal elders. In this Merit Presentation Ceremony, as the only active-duty officer among the Su Family's grandchildren—even if you are a son-in-law—you are considered part of the Su Family. According to the rules, you must stand by Third Grandpa's side to assist with the ritual."

Zhou Haitao quickly agreed and followed Su Bowen to pay his respects to the tribal elders.

Su Lingxue pulled on Su Han's arm and asked in a low voice about the details of the fire rescue, her eyes turning red as she listened.

"You really must take care of yourself while saving others," she said, wiping her eyes. "Zhou Haitao said that even with training, falling from the third floor can easily injure the spine. Why did you push yourself so hard?"

"The situation was urgent; I didn't have time to think about all that," Su Han said, brushing it off lightly.

The path in front of the ancestral hall had just been cleared when Su Wu squeezed through the crowd again, fine beads of sweat on his forehead and a crumpled interview outline in his hand.

"Third Grandpa, Captain Wang, we have a bit of trouble." He walked up to Su Han and lowered his voice. "The reporters outside heard the merit delivery team won't arrive until this afternoon and they're getting restless. Dozens of media outlets are crowding around the security guards at the village entrance, saying they want to do a brief interview with you before the ceremony starts."

He held up the outline and said helplessly, "This was just handed in. The questions are all listed, from your original motivation for enlisting to your future plans. Some even want to know 'secrets' from the grand competition."

Wang Yuanchao crossed his arms and looked at Su Han. "What do you think? See them now, or wait until the ceremony is over?"

Su Han looked at the surging heads outside the ancestral hall and could faintly hear the reporters shouting with their microphones—"Major Su! Just three minutes!"

"Even just chatting about your daily training in the army is fine!"

Su Han pondered for a moment. "There's no avoiding them. Rather than letting them make wild guesses outside, it's better to say a few simple words."

"But there must be rules," his tone shifted and his gaze sharpened. "I will only answer questions related to military merits and duties. Anything involving military secrets or special internal training will not be answered at all."

Wang Yuanchao nodded. "I'll set those rules. Let the people from the Armed Forces Department screen them and pick ten representative media outlets. Each is limited to three questions, and the whole process will be recorded on audio and video to prevent things from being taken out of context later."

Su Wu immediately complied. "I'll go arrange it right away! I'll have the security guards lead the media representatives to the East Flower Pavilion. It's spacious there and close to the ancestral hall."

Su Xiaonuan came over holding Xiao Budian, her eyes sparkling. "Brother, can I go watch the excitement? I've never seen so many cameras before!"

"Follow along if you want, but you're not allowed to speak out of turn." Su Han pinched her cheek and then looked at Xiao Budian. "Especially you. Don't go 'leaking' things to Great-grandfather again, or there will be no meat for dinner."

Xiao Budian immediately covered her mouth and nodded vigorously, but her eyes were darting around, clearly not taking the 'warning' to heart.

...

There will be an update tomorrow at 6:00 PM.