The day of the journey south was set for three days later.
After the Divine Lady vanished, the officials of the Governor's estate immediately drafted a plan and posted a public notice.
A chief clerk read the notice aloud, “In three days, the Divine Lady will personally travel to the south to slay State Preceptor Guo Rong. Anyone willing to follow the Divine Lady south may come here to register their names...”
Before he could even finish, a surging crowd packed around him, layer upon layer, sealing the area off completely.
Almost all the soldiers stationed in the city poured out, crowding before the long registration table, eagerly clamoring to sign up.
“I'll go!”
“Me too! I want to follow the Divine Lady south as well!”
“Count me in!”
From military officers and soldiers to children of noble families and ordinary commoners, their names were recorded one after another.
The pages of the register on the table flipped rapidly; no one even cared that the ink on the paper was still wet.
Gradually, the chief clerk's hand began to tremble as he held the brush. Sweat poured down his temples and soaked into his collar, but he did not even have the time to wipe it away.
He looked up and saw a dark mass of people stretching all the way to the corner at the end of the street, seemingly without end.
In the past, no one would have wanted to leave their hometown.
But the power of faith could overcome anything. To the believers, the Divine Lady was the light that illuminated their bleak lives. How could they tolerate anyone offending her?
If not for the requirement that applicants must possess martial arts skills, the queue would likely have been several times longer.
This registration lasted from morning until the sun began to sink in the west. Yet, the stream of people queuing up to register remained endless.
By the time it was Li Chong's turn, only the very last slot remained, leaving those behind him utterly dejected.
“General Li, you haven't been home in half a year,” the man right behind him quickly spoke up. He clearly knew Li Chong. “Your wife sent you a letter a while ago asking you to go home and see the kids, and you already promised her you would. Why don't you let me go south this time instead? I'm all alone with no family or strings attached, so I'm the perfect fit.”
Li Chong paid him no heed. He gave his name directly to the chief clerk and quietly pressed his thumbprint onto the paper.
Seeing this, the crowd could only disperse in disappointment.
Only Li Chong remained standing there. He stared down at the red print on his fingertip for a long time before slowly clenching his fist.
For the past two years, he had been leading troops away from home to quell rebellions, leaving his wife to raise their two children alone. He had planned to take some leave now that the north had stabilized to spend quality time with them at home.
But now, he was going to break his promise again.
He instinctively patted the object tucked against his chest before mounting his horse and riding back to the home he had not seen in half a year.
As soon as he dismounted, he saw his wife, Zhao Chunniang, squatting in the courtyard and scrubbing a basket of clothes. Next to her, two rows of coarse shirts and trousers hung on lines, water dripping steadily from the hems.
“Chunniang, I'm back.”
Hearing the familiar voice, Zhao Chunniang was momentarily stunned. Then she looked up, her eyes filled with joy.
“Why are you back at this hour? Have you had dinner? There's still food in the kitchen. I'll go heat it up for you.”
As she spoke, she made to get up and go to the kitchen.
Li Chong quickly reached out to stop her. “Chunniang, don't bother. I can't stay long. I have to return to the barracks soon.”
The joy on Zhao Chunniang's face froze. “Didn't you say you could take a month off this time? An'an has been talking about it constantly, waiting for you to come back and fly kites with her.”
Li Chong only felt an intense dryness in his throat.
“Chunniang, I have to follow the Divine Lady south. I might not be back for half a year, or perhaps even a year...” He turned his head slightly, not daring to look into Zhao Chunniang's reddened eyes.
“I've let you down,” he murmured. “I'm not a good husband, nor a good father. I've made you suffer so much.”
Zhao Chunniang did not speak immediately. She only pushed the wet clothes in the basin back into the water, scrubbed them twice, and then lifted them to wring them out.
The sound of splashing water was exceptionally clear in the quiet courtyard.
After a long while, she finally spoke. “When are you leaving?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
Zhao Chunniang kept her back to Li Chong. She shook out the wrung-out clothes in her hands and hung them on the bamboo pole. Her movements were very slow, as if she were buying herself some time to think.
Li Chong took two steps forward, wanting to say something, but Zhao Chunniang suddenly spun around. Her eyes were red, yet she forced a smile on her lips. “Then I'll pack your bags for you.”
She turned and hurried into the house.
Li Chong followed her inside. Zhao Chunniang had already opened a camphor wood chest, pulling out his thickest cotton-padded jacket and folding it neatly. She also packed several pairs of new shoe soles, each one hand-stitched by the light of an oil lamp during his long absence.
“I heard the south is in total chaos. You must have medicine prepared.” She packed all the medicine in the house into the bag.
Unable to hold it in any longer, she finally voiced the worries weighing on her heart. “Once you're on the battlefield, don't try to be a hero. The children and I will wait for you at home. You must return safely.”
Li Chong choked out, “I will.”
“Daddy!”
A crisp, clear voice came from the doorway.
Just as Li Chong turned around, a tiny, chubby toddler came stumbling over. Her two little arms wrapped tightly around his leg as she looked up with a bright, round face.
“Did An'an miss Daddy?” His heart softened as he bent down to scoop up his little daughter, holding her up high.
“I missed Daddy!”
The little girl giggled in midair, her neatly styled pigtails bobbing back and forth.
After playing with his daughter for a while, Li Chong remembered he also had a son. “Chunniang, why haven't I seen that little rascal Li Le? Where did he run off to play wild this time?”
Before Zhao Chunniang could speak, the little girl in Li Chong's arms piped up, “Daddy, big brother is really good at punching! He went somewhere far away to learn how to fight from someone.”
Li Chong frowned. “That boy is always fooling around.”
“You're wronging A'le there,” Zhao Chunniang said. “He's not fooling around. He actually took General Feng as his master and is by her side, earnestly learning martial arts.”
Li Chong was slightly taken aback.
He never expected that his son would actually apprentice under Feng Chunya, who currently enjoyed a towering reputation in the military.
That night, Li Chong had dinner with his family. He even lovingly painted his wife's eyebrows for her, only going to sleep after the candle had burned down to its wick.
Before dawn the next day, Zhao Chunniang heard her husband getting up, but she kept her eyes closed, pretending to still be asleep.
After Li Chong left, she slowly sat up, her gaze landing on the table.
There lay a box of new rouge, a cloth tiger, and a small wooden toy sword.
“Mommy, where's Daddy?” The little girl climbed up from the brick bed, rubbing her eyes with her chubby little hands.
Zhao Chunniang fell silent for a long time before saying, “An'an, how about Mommy takes you to fly kites today?”
“Isn't Daddy coming?”
The little girl's eyes were filled with disappointment.
“Your father is too busy,” Zhao Chunniang replied.
The little girl was exceptionally sensible. She didn't cry or throw a tantrum, but only asked plaintively, “Then when will Daddy not be busy anymore?”
Zhao Chunniang pulled her little daughter tightly into her arms.
“An'an, Mommy doesn't know either...”
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