Chapter 46: I Never Thought It Would Be Him.

Life between Heaven and Earth was like a horse crossing a narrow pass. It happened in a flash. In the 5th Lunar Month of this year, Mu Zhiming was already 20 years old. He had already performed the Crowning Ceremony1, praying tribute to the Heavens and Earth as well as to his ancestors in the Ancestral Hall.

In this same year, Caiwei accidentally collided with a green-robed Scholar in an alley and fell into his arms, falling into her own destined marriage as well.

Likewise, this very year, the war on the Northern border had subsided considerably, but Gu Heyan’s right arm had been injured by poisoned arrows. Due to repeated injuries, his wound failed to heal for several months. Due to this, the Rong Yan Army soldiers and Officers advised him to rest, to allow his wounds to properly heal. However, Gu Heyan refused to accept the advice and insisted on continuing to handle military affairs. Regardless of his injuries. Therefore, the sixteen Grand Generals decided to write a letter to the Emperor, asking him for a decree with an Imperial Order to pressure Gu Heyan to rest and recover.

The Emperor commanded: It’s enough. Come back to Zhen2 without delay!

As soon as the soldiers received the decree, they put their Commander-in-Chief inside a carriage and sent him back to the Capital overnight.

—

On the 15th of the 6th Lunar month, late at night, the magpies were already tired and the vermilion houses shone like stars in the dark sky from the faint lights inside them. The great Capital was calm and quiet because of the curfew. In the midst of that tranquility, the sound of a carriage escorted by dozens of soldiers in black armor entered the city. Even when it was during curfew, no one dared stop them.

The carriage stopped right in front of the Gu Residence, and a young soldier stepped forward to lift the curtain on the carriage: “General, we have arrived.”

Then, a young man dressed in white brocade robes peeked out from inside the carriage. His eyebrows as sharp as a sword, and his beautiful starry eyes, reflected his handsome face. However, that beautiful face looked tired and his lips were pale, making him look lethargic. His right arm was clearly injured, resting unnaturally against his chest, deeming him unable to use any kind of strength. Therefore, a soldier stepped forward to help him down from the carriage. However, Gu Heyan shook his head and refused.

Gu Heyan stood in front of the Gu Residence and looked at the vermilion plate, deeply moved: ‘When I left home, I was still a boy, and it has been 5 years since then. Although everything feels familiar, everything also feels unfamiliar to me.’

Aunt Lian and her family already knew that Gu Heyan would be coming home today, so they waited for him in front of the main hall since early in the day. As soon as they saw him, the three of them greeted him and called him ‘Young Master’. Their eyes were red with tears, and they were speechless.

The accompanying Rong Yan Army Military Physician, Xia Tianwu, came forward to say: “General, the journey has been difficult and it’s already late at night. After changing your bandages and applying medicine for your wounds, you can rest.”

When Aunt Liang heard this, she knew that this wasn’t the time to be sad. So she hurriedly said: “Young Master, your wing room is ready. Go and rest.”

After Gu Heyan instructed Aunt Liang to accommodate the Rong Yan Army soldiers who had accompanied him, he said to Xia Tianwu: “Come on, let’s go to the wing room to change the bandages and apply the medicine.”

“Miss, could you please bring a basin of hot water?” Xia Tianwu cupped his fist and asked Miss Juan kindly. Miss Juan nodded and hastened to do so.

Miss Juan quickly brought a basin of hot water to Gu Heyan’s room. After placing the basin on the wooden frame, Miss Juan raised her head. As soon as she looked into the room, she covered her mouth with her hands.

Gu Heyan was sitting on the edge of the bed, already prepared to change his bandages, so half of his body was naked and his right arm completely exposed. From forearm to elbow, his arm was covered in blood as well as exposed flesh, while his festering wound looked extremely ugly and painful.

Miss Juan’s eyes were filled with so distressed, they turned red. She sighed.

“Miss Juan, you can go to rest now.” Gu Heyan raised his eyes and said softly. “There’s no need for you to wait here.”

Miss Juan nodded, got up and left the wing room.

Once Xia Tianwu was done applying the new medicine for Gu Heyan, as well as putting on new bandages, Xia Tianwu also excused himself to go to rest. Gu Heyan then put on his middle garments3, and laid down on the bed with his eyes closed. The familiar residence of his youth was reassuring. The young General, who had been away from home, suffering from the strong winds and powerful frosts in the North, who hadn’t been able to sleep peacefully for so many years, fell asleep in the comfortable bed almost instantly.

In his dream, Gu Heyan was still standing on the yellow sand covered border, with his silver armor and his reddish-brown horse galloping. From one moment to the next, the barbarians’ arrows whizzed down at him, and the entire world seemed to slow down, as if giving him the chance to see each arrow in detail.

Even his own inner thoughts were clear: ‘I can’t dodge it.’

”
”
But in reality, he was perfectly capable of dodging those poisoned arrows.

In Gu Heyan’s previous life, he had been hit with a poisoned arrow. So in this life, he was perfectly prepared to avoid the same fate. He simply needed to turn to the side and the poisoned arrows wouldn’t touch him, avoiding the pain.

But at that instant, Gu Heyan hesitated.

The reason was because in his previous life, after he had returned to the Capital injured, Mu Zhiming came to visit him.

Gu Heyan thought: ‘What if Mu Zhiming doesn’t come to visit me if I’m not hurt in this life?’

It was only a moment, a fleeting thought, but it was already done. The poisoned arrow pierced his arm and his sleeves were stained with blood. Gu Heyan shuddered in pain. He almost felt as if a ghoulish laughter was wrapped in the wind, mocking his suffering, as the powerful scent of blood permeated his nostrils.

When Gu Heyan woke up from his dream, it was already dawn.

The numbing effect of the medicinal herbs had already worn off and the wound hurt immensely. But after suffering from that pain for so long, Gu Heyan had already gotten used to it.

Outside the window, the birds were singing, and the sunlight was warm. Since he couldn’t hear the sound of slaughter and trumpets, Gu Heyan thought he was still sleeping. When he opened his eyes, Gu Heyan stood quiet for a moment, enjoying the calm of the environment. But then he forced himself to get up. Even if he had returned to the Capital, he still had many tasks to handle.

At that moment, the voices of two people talking outside the door could be heard. Although they weren’t talking loudly, Gu Heyan practiced martial arts, so his six senses were sharper than other people. Because of that, he was able to catch a few words.

“Gongzi, our Young Master doesn’t seem to be awake yet.”

It was Aunt Liang who spoke.

However, the other person was someone Gu Heyan never expected.

“Hmm, it’s good for him to sleep a bit more, since he had a long journey.”

It was the voice of the man he had yearned for! Gu Heyan sat up abruptly from the bed, stirring the wound in the process and causing him to frown with pain.

However, Gu Heyan didn’t care about said injury. He stared at the door in shock, as if he wanted to cross over the wooden door and see with his own eyes who was standing outside.

‘Mu Zhiming? How could it be him?!’