Chapter 282: Chapter 233: Pain Up Close
After saying goodbye to Yu Lao’er, Du Chengfeng set off to return to Yizhou.
This time, he knew the route, having obtained a map from Songzhou, and with the guidance previously given by Liu Bolun. If anything was slowing him down, it was probably the warhorse he was currently riding.
His current sprinting speed was significantly faster than that of the warhorse. But considering not wanting to frighten passersby, he chose to ride back.
Moreover, it wouldn’t scare his own people. After all, running faster than a warhorse was somewhat unnerving.
"Anyway, I’m back!"
Looking at the tall city gates of Yizhou City, Du Chengfeng suddenly felt as if a lifetime had passed.
When he once stepped out of these city gates, he carried the determination to fight for himself, and even for his friends and family, to carve out a future— and now, he could proudly say he had finally done it.
He had finally done it, becoming a peerless strongman against whom even the Southern Chen’s Great Ancestor had fallen, and even the Chu remnants were defeated by him... With such prowess, he could finally tell his friends and family that everyone was safe, and could live peacefully.
No longer needing to fight, for nothing in this world could threaten them anymore.
Liu Bolun would probably become a wine merchant, given his love for brewing, and Carpenter Li could finally rest, opening a furniture shop he always wanted. As for that little Cui, who always opposed him... little Cui would likely gain more growth, as he now understood more things.
The only one to disappoint would probably be Old Yang, the old guy whose longing to serve a great leader couldn’t be fulfilled. But at least they could live in peace, like the other villagers, leading stable lives.
As for Du Chengfeng himself, he planned to live in seclusion, get a small courtyard, and raise a couple of cats and dogs... Of course, to others, this might seem like lacking ambition, but he indeed lacked ambition. He only wanted to quietly live his days, though if possible, he’d love a place to practice martial arts, which would make him truly happy.
In the end, Du Chengfeng never had great ambitions; he was easily satisfied.
As long as he could live his days well, he had no extravagant desires.
Perhaps this was what set him apart from that nameless giant, who was lonely all his life. But not him, he had friends, brothers, and people who cared about him, people he could drink with—even if that person had poor alcohol tolerance, at least...
"...Huh?"
Seeing the white banners and lanterns on the street, Du Chengfeng couldn’t help but pause.
"Who’s died? Could it be someone highly respected in Yizhou City has passed away?"
Pondering, Du Chengfeng decided to ask a roadside merchant, for someone worth the entire city mourning must have been highly respected.
But when he brought his horse to a cloth shop, the answer he received left Du Chengfeng somewhat in disbelief.
"...Is this a joke?"
Du Chengfeng forced a smile.
"How could Brother Li..."
"Don’t ask me, it’s just the kids at home insisting on doing this."
The shopkeeper of the cloth shop also frowned. Clearly, the white cloth and symbols displayed outside had severely affected his business.
But there was no choice, the kids at home insisted because one of them bought toys from that carpenter at a very cheap price.
Children’s sense of good and evil is always simple, whoever treats them well, they remember that kindness.
Even if it’s just a wooden toy.
"...Huh?"
Du Chengfeng still didn’t want to believe it.
"How could it be? He was fine when I left! How could he just suddenly die..."
"He hasn’t set up his stall for days!"
Several young children gathered around, their faces stained with tear marks.
"We all saw it, that person stabbed a pole into Old Li’s stomach... then Old Li died, and his body was taken away."
"...What?"
Even with the children’s accounts, Du Chengfeng was still unwilling to believe such a thing could happen.
That Carpenter Li was a good person, even the best person he’d met since arriving in this world. His first courtyard in this world was built by Carpenter Li, and he had troubled him many times since... Carpenter Li, who was content with life, even more than himself, who still had some desire to grow stronger and gain bravery, never sought more...
Such a virtuous person, a kind-hearted man... how could he have just died like that?
"It’s fake, it must be fake..."
Du Chengfeng quickly led his horse back to the old military camp. He couldn’t believe that Carpenter Li could just die like that—indeed, it must be some kind of joke, a new joke, everyone was teasing him, since he returned too late, they were teasing him, saying someone had died... Carpenter Li surely wasn’t dead, the old brother must be waiting for him, waiting to give him a surprise...
"So where is the old brother now?"
Looking at Carpenter Li’s wife and two children, Du Chengfeng forced a supposedly sunny smile.
"I already know, no need to scare me, he’s surely still waiting for me to drink with him, right?"
"He, he..."
Carpenter Li’s wife and children just sobbed.
"Brother Du, you should go and see for yourself."
"What’s there to see? He’s surely... huh?"
Leading his horse into the old military camp, Du Chengfeng was stunned.
What appeared before him was nothing but an open casket.
And Carpenter Li, with a large missing piece from his chest.
"...Huh?"
Du Chengfeng felt dizzy.
When he came to, he didn’t know how much time had passed; Liu Bolun, Old Yang, Little Cui, and even the villagers from Yang’s Fort were gathered at his bedside.
"Please accept our condolences."
Liu Bolun said this to him, echoing the shared sentiment of the villagers.
The dead cannot come back to life, they just wanted Du Chengfeng to get through this painful time.
But Du Chengfeng insisted on shaking his head.
"What do you mean by ’accept condolences’?"
At this moment, an unprecedented determination showed on Du Chengfeng’s face.
"Clearly, no one is dead, why are you saying these things?"
