Waiting for the Returnee in the Human World

After an incense stick has burned.

Night fell.

Yan Li led Shen Gui and Zhao Yue into the inn.

The inn was even more crowded than the teahouse. Seven or eight families of refugees were sleeping in the lobby downstairs. Their bundles were piled against the wall, and children were huddled next to the pots and pans, dozing off. No one dared to sleep soundly. If there was any noise outside the door, someone would look up.

"Sir, this way."

Yan Li led the way, walking quickly and trying not to make any noise. He stopped in front of the innermost room on the second floor.

An old man coughed from inside the house: "Eldest son?"

"Father, it's me." Yan Li swallowed hard, then pushed open the door.

Shen Gui followed closely behind. The room was dark, the lamp wick was small and almost extinguished, and the air was filled with the smell of medicine.

Yan's father sat at the table, covered with a thin quilt, with one foot on a wooden stool, and was sewing a pair of new shoes with a needle in his hand.

The uppers of the shoes were made of blue cloth and were not worth much, but the soles were stitched so tightly that there were almost no gaps between the stitches, as if sewing an extra thread would allow the child to wear them for another day.

The old man looked up and, seeing no familiar figure behind Yan Li, immediately withdrew the light that had been shining in front of his eyes.

"You're back? Where's Xiao Ci? Why didn't he come with you? Did he go to the camp to ask for leave? I know there are many rules for soldiers, so let's not rush him."

"Still inquiring."

Yan Li's throat moved slightly.

"Oh." The old man nodded, as if he believed him, or as if he hadn't heard him clearly.

He didn't ask any more questions, lowered his head and continued threading the needle. The eye of the needle was fine, and his eyes were blurry. He tried to thread it twice but failed. He put the end of the thread to his lips, moistened it, and then brought it closer to the light to slowly push it in.

Whether it was due to the lighting or the darkness, the old man's back was more hunched than before.

Yan Li saw this and a hint of helplessness flashed in his eyes, but he quickly composed himself.

"Father," Yan Li said in a low voice, "go to the counter and get a pot of hot water and some more lamp oil. This man is my benefactor, and I want to say a few words to him."

Yan's father looked up at Shen Gui and quickly put down his needlework. "Yes, yes, the guests have arrived, we should pour water. Why didn't you say so earlier, child?"

The old man walked to the door, then looked back at the shoes. "Don't move them. They still need a few stitches at the top. When Xiao Ci comes back, have him try them on. If they don't fit, I can alter them tonight."

Yan Li nodded. "Mm."

The old man closed the door from the outside, and footsteps slowly echoed downstairs.

The room fell silent.

Yan Li then walked to the bedside, took off the bundle behind him, and took out a few silver ingots from the innermost layer and placed them on the table.

The silver coins made a dull sound when they hit the table.

"Sir," Yan Li said, bowing his head, "I spent some of the money I took from the bandits that day. I bought a cart, medicine, and two sets of thick clothes for my father. The rest is here."

He pushed the silver ingot toward Shen Gui: "It should be returned to the master."

Shen Gui looked at him, "No need."

Yan Li paused, immediately realizing that someone like the other person wouldn't care about a few coins, so she stopped being coy, put the silver back into her bundle, and took out an oil paper package.

The oil paper package was wrapped with a red string tied in a tight knot. Yan Li tried to untie it for a long time but couldn't, so she simply bit it off with her teeth.

Inside were several sheets of rubbing paper.

The paper was yellowed and deeply creased. Yan Li carefully unfolded it, pressed down the curled corners with her palm, and whispered:

"This was sent back by my brother a few years ago. The year he joined the army, he said he had been registered as a soldier and asked me to leave a receipt for Dad."

There are military tag marks printed with black ink on the paper.

[Returning to the beacon camp, the main soldier departs, bidding farewell at Yan.]

The characters are small, but the rubbings are clear.

Zhaoyue leaned closer for a glance and whispered, "Yan Ci..."

"Um."

Yan Li then took out the old military tag she had picked up.

The light shone on the two things, and the difference wasn't significant. To an ordinary person, they would just look like military badges.

Shen Gui, however, saw through the clue and pushed Yan Ci's paper half an inch to the right, confirming his suspicions.

"This is the current military system in the north. It has a three-toothed edge, a battalion seal on the back, the character '炎' (yan) is in the new seal script, and the military registration number is after the name."

He pointed again to the plaque engraved with Han Shouyi's name, "This one isn't it."

Yan Li's eyes narrowed: "Not from Guifeng Camp?"

"no."

"Where is it from?"

"It's an old camp dog tag."

Shen Gui stared at the three characters "Han Shouyi".

He didn't recognize the name, but he recognized the shape of the sign.

It's very old.

It's so old it carries a heavy sense of history. Many things are buried in the ground. The military flag has long since changed its pattern. Even the soldiers who charged into battle back then have become stories of their ancestors told by others.

"Before the Yan Kingdom was formally established, the border troops used this kind of plaque. The plaque was engraved with the country's name on the front and the name on the back, without listing the battalion or unit. Later, after the establishment of the country, the military system was changed, and this kind of plaque was either put back into storage or buried with the dead."

"You mean, this military license plate is four hundred years old?" Yan Li's voice was filled with disbelief.

Shen Gui remained noncommittal and turned to look out the window.

Old military license plates...

Old-fashioned war drums...

He didn't want to care whether the lights of thousands of homes were stable overnight at the border, but if it was an old matter, he wanted to go and see.

Shen Gui said softly, "Let's not eat noodles for now, let's go outside the city and take a look."

Zhaoyue glanced at the military tag on the table, then at the new shoes, and didn't object: "We can eat noodles anytime, whatever you say, young master."

Yan Li ran to the door and looked outside. After confirming that her father had not yet come up, she turned around and knelt down in front of Shen Gui.

The knee slammed onto the floor with a loud thud.

Zhaoyue was startled. "Hey, what are you doing?"

Yan Li did not look up.

"Sir, I know you are no ordinary person. There are some things I wasn't prepared to say, but when I heard you were going out of the city, I'll shamelessly ask you this: if you hear any news about my brother, whether he's alive or dead, please confirm it for me."

Yan Li's voice was hoarse, and her fingers pressed hard against the floor.

"My younger brother has a black mole behind his left ear. When he was little, he stole candy and my mother hit him with a bamboo stick, leaving a shallow scar on his back."

He spoke slower and slower.

"If he's really gone... I have to take this message back with me, I can't let my old father wait for me with his shoes for the rest of his life."

Shen Gui reached out and picked up the military register rubbing from the table, then folded it.

"stand up."

Yan Li did not move.

Shen Gui said, "I will see."

As soon as the four words were spoken, Yan Li's shoulders relaxed, as if half of his strength had been drained away. He kowtowed heavily before pushing himself up from the floor.

Footsteps came from outside the door.

Yan's father returned carrying a pot of hot water and a small lamp oil lamp in his arms. The old man was taken aback when he saw that the three people in the room were standing. "Why aren't you sitting down? The water and the lamp oil are here."

Yan Li hurried over to take it, saying, "Father, take it easy."

The old man handed him the hot water, then looked at Shen Gui and Zhao Yue, and said with a smile, "Sir, don't mind that the house is small. When my son Xiao Ci comes back, I'll have him take you to eat the mutton soup here. He said in his letter that after a bowl, you'll feel warm all over."

Knowing the truth, Zhaoyue couldn't bear to see such things. Her nose stung, and she quickly turned her face away.

Shen Gui didn't respond, but simply pushed the new shoes on the table half an inch further in to prevent the lamp oil from spilling on them.

The old man saw this and smiled even more sincerely, "Sir, you are very thoughtful."

Shen Gui lowered his eyes.

The lamplight illuminated the dense stitches on the soles of the shoes; each stitch represented a person waiting for their return.

Just then, the wooden door downstairs suddenly creaked open.

The wind, carrying the dampness of the rain, rushed into the room, causing the abacus beads on the counter to tap softly.

The shopkeeper was adjusting the accounts with his head down when he heard the noise and quickly looked up.

A goatee-bearded advisor stood at the door, his green robe half-wet, holding an umbrella in his hand, followed by two sword-wielding constables.

The clerk closed his umbrella, shook off the water, and spoke softly, yet the hall fell silent instantly.

"Shopkeeper, I'd like to inquire about someone."

He looked up at the building.

"Did a gentleman in grey come here tonight?"