In the deep of night, when all is silent, Ruoxi turns restlessly in bed, finding it impossible to sleep.
The outside world seems shrouded in a veil of tranquility, so quiet it’s unsettling.
She slowly gets up, her slender figure appearing exceptionally solitary in the dimness.
Leaving the tent, the night is hazy and alluring, with a bright moon and few stars, a crescent hanging high, casting its cool radiance like water, spilling a silvery white over the ground.
With heavy steps, she follows the road through the military camp, walking out step by step.
"Who goes there?" The vigilant voice of a camp guard suddenly breaks the silence.
"It’s , I’m going for a walk." Ruoxi’s voice is calm as water, yet carries an indescribable fatigue.
The guard is taken aback, but upon recognizing her, his face fills with admiration and reverence.
Military Doctor Shen? To them, she is practically a deity! Previously, each reclaid city required long battles and painful sacrifices.
But since her arrival, everything changed.
First, they recaptured Peng City with minimal losses, and then quickly secured Xia Pass. Her arrival truly felt like a blessing, leading to major victories in hard-fought battles.
"Military Doctor Shen, you may go out, but it’s late, and being alone isn’t safe." The guard says worriedly.
"I’ll just walk nearby, not far." Ruoxi’s tone is firm yet determined.
The guard, knowing her nature, can only repeatedly urge, "It’s dangerous outside, please return shortly!"
Ruoxi nods gently, "I understand."
Once outside the camp, she can no longer suppress the overwhelming grief in her heart, utilizing Qinggong, her figure like a swallow, rushing towards her father and brothers’ gravestones.
The night is as thick as ink, with a cold moon hanging in the sky, casting a pale and desolate light.
The land is ticulously clean, not a blade of grass in sight.
The mounds of earth on the graves rise and fall, stretching endlessly like a silent lant.
Tears stream down Ruoxi’s face like a flood, as she kneels, unable to rise.
"Father, your unfilial daughter is here." Her voice trembles, sounding particularly mournful in the empty wilderness.
Each grave resembles a silent hill, lying there quietly.
Under the moonlight, the outlines of the graves are stark and clear, the shape of death, cold and rciless, piercing her heart.
"I’m sorry, I let Chunyu Che go, becoming a sinner, but Father, please teach what to do?"
Ruoxi lets out a sorrowful laugh, her pale face appearing even more frail and helpless under the moonlight, as if a re breeze could make it vanish.
Her shoulders tremble slightly, waves of pain crashing over her heart like tide upon tide.
"Father, the one who started the war is dead; he was rely a scapegoat. Killing him might seem like justice for you all, but afterwards, how will I find peace?" she continues to murmur to herself.
As she speaks, her eyes redden, tears welling up within them.
"Ruoxi, you did the right thing, and I am very relieved."
A voice, familiar yet seemingly distant as if separated by worlds, suddenly echoes through the silent night sky.
Ruoxi thought her ears were deceiving her, and she quickly raises her gaze.
In the cold moonlight, her father’s hazy figure appears suspended in mid-air.
"Father, Father, is that you?" Ruoxi’s eyes fill with tears in an instant, staring in disbelief at the ethereal figure above.
"Ruoxi, it’s , child, it’s your father who couldn’t protect you, letting you suffer such great pain and grievance." Her father’s voice is filled with guilt and heartache.
Ruoxi weeps like a torrent, her tears flowing uncontrollably, "Father, Father, your daughter is not aggrieved, please co back, co back."
Her voice carries endless longing and pleading, echoing in the empty night.
"Ruoxi, my child, your father, your brothers, and the Shen Family Army have all beco immortals for their bravery, and your mother too.
Your father and mother are very happy, don’t be sad. I can’t return, but I will bless you with peace and happiness." Her father’s figure looks ethereal and ghostly in the moonlight.
"I don’t want you all to beco immortals, I don’t want your blessings, I want you to co back, Father, I miss you, I miss all of you, why have you all abandoned ?" Ruoxi cries hysterically, her heart seemingly shattered into countless pieces, unbearably painful.
"My dear daughter, I miss you too, but I truly cannot return. I know you’re strong, try to be well, lest your father be heartbroken." Her father’s voice is full of helplessness and reluctance.
"I’m not strong, nor do I want to be, Father." Ruoxi disregards everything, scrambling up from the ground, her body lunging forward, attempting to grasp her father.
The apparition of her ’father’ is startled, "Ruoxi, don’t co closer. Your father is going against nature to see you, already defying heaven’s will. I just wanted to tell you, you did right, Chunyu Che is not a bad person, the fall of the Shen Family Army doesn’t rest on his shoulders. Don’t bla yourself."
But Ruoxi can’t hear this; she charges forward desperately, trying to hold onto her father.
She reaches out, trembling, her gaze vacant, tears flowing freely down her face, never drying up.
Yet she watches helplessly as her father’s figure vanishes before her, her heart torn open like a gaping wound.
Soon, confusion floods her face.
Was that the sound of ropes tearing? The dull thud of a fall?
At this mont, a bitter smile painfully tugs at her lips, as she struggles to steady her emotions, slowly saying, "Father, you must all be well over there, your daughter will head back now."
With that, her heavy footsteps gradually drift away.
As Ruoxi’s footsteps fade, a rash young voice complains, "It’s all your fault, I was holding it well, how did you just lose strength? Even the Marshal was dropped!"
The one blad is infuriated, an unjust accusation, "I would say you were the one lacking strength! I held it perfectly, yet your rope snapped, how could you bla ?"
A deep, magnetic voice interjects, "Both of you be quiet, aren’t you afraid Ruoxi might hear? Silence!"
"Marshal, about your..." the young voice tries to stifle a laugh.
Jun Moling’s face is ashen, full of anger.
Good for nothing, he wonders why he ever trusted Xu Ji’s suggestion in the first place?
Ruoxi, usually so calm and wise, how could she have such a reckless cousin.
"I am fine." Jun Moling grits his teeth, forcing out the words through clenched jaws.
Fortunately, his Qinggong skills are excellent, or he might have fallen flat on his back, tarnishing his dignified image as a Marshal.
Xu Ji is a bit worried, "Do you think cousin will believe it? She’s so clever."
The other is Guan Qizhe, who whispers, "Can you shut up, the Marshal is still near!"
"I heard my cousin leave, and you’re not related to her, so naturally you wouldn’t be sad, I was about to break down just now." Xu Ji says, face filled with utter misery.
Jun Moling can hardly suppress his urge to silence them both imdiately.
Normally reserved and laconic, Guan Qizhe becos talkative when faced with Xu Ji.
"Do you enjoy mocking ?"
A cold and slightly hoarse voice suddenly cuts in, its volu low yet as explosive as thunder beside the three n’s ears.
The three freeze, staring at each other wide-eyed, their expressions full of varying emotions.
Jun Moling’s face shifts from ashen to pale, while Xu Ji and Guan Qizhe are filled with terror and anxiety.
Ruoxi, at so point, had returned, her cold gaze sweeping over them without anger, yet making them shiver involuntarily.
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