96: Chapter 96 The Unknown Aftermath

Late 1937, Wuhan.

In this city that had temporarily become the wartime capital, the air was thick with the humidity of the Yangtze River and an invisible sense of anxiety.

Inside a heavily guarded conference room, smoke swirled in the air.

In the brass ashtrays, extinguished cigars and cigarettes were piled into small mounds.

Both sides of the long conference table were lined with generals with gold stars on their shoulders.

Their expressions varied.

Some had their brows furrowed, some were resting with their eyes closed, and others were impatiently tapping the tabletop with their knuckles.

The atmosphere was dull and oppressive.

In this room, the fates of millions of Soldiers were decided, as was the direction of the nation.

And today, they had a special agenda item.

Concerning a miracle that had just occurred, shaking the entire country and even the world.

“Next, Xie Jinyuan.”

Following an announcement from the adjutant outside, the heavy wooden doors of the conference room were pushed open.

Xie Jinyuan walked in.

He wore a faded military uniform, his posture was upright, and his face was lean, but his eyes shone with startling brightness.

It was as if two flames were burning within them.

As soon as he entered, he drew everyone's gaze.

In those looks, there was curiosity, scrutiny, jealousy, and a hint of indefinable suspicion.

“Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief: Xie Jinyuan, Commander of the 1st Battalion, 524th Regiment, 88th Division, has arrived as ordered to report on my duties.”

His voice was not loud, but it was full of vigor.

Everyone present heard him clearly.

Seated at the head of the table, a lean elderly man with deep-set eyes slowly raised his hand.

“Regiment Commander Xie, there is no need for such formalities.”

“In the battle of Sihang Warehouse, you and your brothers demonstrated the prestige of our Chinese Soldiers; the whole nation has witnessed it.”

His tone sounded like praise, yet it held no warmth.

“However, regarding the details of your final retreat, the battle reports are vague.”

“I have asked you here today because I want to hear the course of events from your own mouth, exactly as they happened.”

“Yes, sir.”

Xie Jinyuan responded.

Standing straight and looking directly ahead, he began his calm narration, devoid of any personal emotion.

He started from the moment he received the order to defend to the death.

He spoke of the brutality of the battle, the repeated back-and-forth with the Japanese Army, and the dire situation of running out of ammunition and food.

All of this was consistent with the intelligence the generals present had obtained from other channels.

Until he mentioned that name.

“When my unit was in a desperate situation, an overseas Chinese man surnamed Chen appeared on the battlefield in a manner... that I cannot comprehend.”

A faint, almost imperceptible stir went through the conference room.

Everyone subconsciously sat up straighter.

The main point had arrived.

“He possesses extraordinary skills, and the items he carries are even more inconceivable.”

Xie Jinyuan's voice remained steady.

“He has a seemingly ordinary scythe that can cut through iron like clay; the Japanese Army's guns and cannons were like rotten wood before him.”

“He has a seemingly common Potion that, when sprayed on fatal wounds, can make them heal completely in an instant.”

“He also has a child's slingshot, which can silently and accurately snipe enemy gunners and destroy their cannon barrels from hundreds of meters away.”

The conference room fell into a dead silence.

Only the heavy or light breathing of the generals could be heard.

Xie Jinyuan ignored their reactions and continued.

“The most unbelievable part was when my unit received the order to retreat, but was completely blockaded by Japanese fire, with our path of escape cut off.”

“Mr. Chen, by his own efforts and using a device we had never heard of called a ‘Zipline,’ set up a lifeline across the sky between the two banks of Suzhou Creek.”

“The 423 officers and Soldiers of my unit followed this ‘sky path’ and retreated into the Concession right under the noses of the Japanese Army, completely unharmed.”

“That concludes my report.”

Xie Jinyuan finished speaking.

He stood there quietly, awaiting judgment.

The dead silence in the conference room lasted for a full half-minute.

Then, it was broken by the sharp sound of a teacup being slammed heavily onto the table.

“Absurd!”

A three-star general with a square face and large ears suddenly stood up.

He pointed at Xie Jinyuan, his face flushed red, spitting as he spoke.

“This is utterly preposterous!”

“Xie Jinyuan! What do you think this place is? A teahouse or a storytelling hall?!”

“A scythe that cuts iron like clay? A Potion that brings back the dead? And a damn Zipline across Suzhou Creek?!”

“Do you think we are all three-year-olds who would believe this pack of lies?!”

This General Gu was a veteran of the military and had always looked down on ‘irregular’ officers like Xie Jinyuan who were not from the Whampoa core.

At this moment, he seized the opportunity to launch a full-scale verbal assault.

“I ask you! Is this so-called ‘zero casualty’ retreat true or false?”

Xie Jinyuan looked at him and answered calmly.

“Excluding the brothers who died in the warehouse, the 423 who participated in the retreat were all unharmed.”

“Nonsense!”

General Gu slammed the table.

“According to you, did over four hundred people grow wings? Did they fly across the sky?”

“Or perhaps...”

His voice suddenly turned cold and suggestive.

“Did you, Xie Jinyuan, reach some secret agreement with the Japanese that we don't know about?”

These words were like a venomous snake, biting hard into the hearts of everyone present.

Xie Jinyuan's pupils suddenly constricted.

He stared intently at General Gu, his teeth clenched.

This was a soul-crushing accusation.

More than that, it was the most vicious insult to the honor he and the Eight Hundred Heroes had earned with their lives and blood.

“Chief Gu.”

His voice grew cold.

“One can eat whatever they like, but one shouldn't speak recklessly.”

“The loyalty and bravery of every one of my men are as clear as the sun and moon. I will not allow you to make such baseless accusations here.”

“Hmph, loyalty and bravery?”

General Gu sneered.

“I think it's blind loyalty!”

“Being led around by the nose by some charlatan of unknown origin!”

“What Mr. Chen? What overseas Chinese? In my view, he's simply a spy sent by the Japanese or some cultist sorcerer!”

“He used these supernatural tricks to win your trust for the purpose of using you to bewitch the army's morale and destabilize the nation!”

“I suggest that Xie Jinyuan be immediately dismissed and investigated! His troops should be quarantined and scrutinized! We must thoroughly purge the influence of such supernatural nonsense!”

Every word General Gu spoke was forceful.

The atmosphere in the conference room reached a freezing point.

Finally, an elegant general wearing glasses couldn't help but speak up.

“Chief Gu, you're being too harsh.”

“The battle at Sihang has inspired the whole country. Regiment Commander Xie and his men are well-deserved heroes. Regardless of the details, this achievement cannot be erased.”

“Achievement?”

General Gu immediately turned his fire.

“Deputy Chief Bai, why don't you tell us what achievement he has? Did he hold the warehouse, or did he annihilate the main Japanese force?”

“He merely performed a play in the spotlight! A self-deceiving play built on countless sums of money and lies!”

Deputy Chief Bai's face turned red from being stifled; he opened his mouth but couldn't find the words.

Because from a purely military perspective, General Gu's words, though harsh, were not entirely without merit.

The conference room fell back into a suffocating silence.

Everyone lowered their heads, looking at their teacups or the documents in front of them.

As if, as long as they didn't look into Xie Jinyuan's burning eyes, none of this had anything to do with them.

Xie Jinyuan's heart sank bit by bit.

He looked around at these powerful figures who decided the fate of the nation.

He saw the numbness and self-preservation on their faces, along with the shrewd calculations of factional struggle hidden deep in their eyes.

He suddenly found it ridiculous.

And very tragic.

On the front lines, what he and his brothers fought and died to protect...

Was it this group of people?

With the nation in peril and the foreign enemy at the gates...

What they thought about was not how to unite as one to resist foreign aggression.

But rather how to suppress dissent, how to preserve their own strength, and how to gain more chips for themselves at the gambling table of power.

A deep sense of helplessness welled up in his heart.

It was even more debilitating than facing the Japanese Army's planes and cannons.

“Enough.”

The elderly man at the head of the table, who had remained silent all this time, finally spoke.

His voice was still calm, without a ripple of emotion.

“This matter is indeed strange.”

“But Regiment Commander Xie's loyalty and bravery are also beyond doubt.”

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the room.

“I think we shall do this.”

“The Lone Army of Sihang has fought all the way and is physically and mentally exhausted; they deserve a period of rest and reorganization.”

“Effective immediately, they are to be transferred to the rear to take charge of training reserve personnel. For the time being, they will no longer participate in frontline combat.”

“As for this so-called ‘Mr. Chen,’ this matter is classified as top secret and strictly forbidden from being leaked. We will conduct a detailed investigation in the future.”

“Everyone, dismissed.”

He waved his hand as if he were merely handling a trivial little matter.

A smug sneer appeared on General Gu's face.

The other generals stood up one after another, looking relieved.

A debate that could have caused a massive stir was suppressed just like that, with a few casual words.

No one spared Xie Jinyuan another glance.

As if he were merely a tool that had been used up and could be discarded at will.

Xie Jinyuan said nothing more.

He just silently gave a military salute toward the head of the table.

Then, he turned and left.

His back was still ramrod straight.

But that silhouette conveyed an indescribable sense of bleakness and loneliness.

Walking out of the conference room, Shangguan Zhibiao was waiting anxiously outside.

Seeing Xie Jinyuan come out, he immediately went up to meet him.

“Commander, how did it go?”

Xie Jinyuan did not answer.

He just looked up at the gray, sunless sky outside the window.

Then, he gently shook his head.

He had won the battle.

Yet he felt like a defeated deserter.