Chapter 2460: Chapter 2461: Redemption

“Thank you.”

Zhang Long, with a cigarette in his mouth, leaned against the bed, silent.

At this moment, he was relieved.

The quietness in the room was extreme, in Ning Che’s view, it was like two worlds apart.

Sitting on the floor, Zhang Long seemed like a lengthy movie that neither he nor Tao Cheng could comprehend.

Maybe only Lin Yi could understand, perhaps only his presence could bring such calmness to Zhang Long.

If it were anyone else, it might have backfired.

But at this moment, he just quietly sat there smoking.

His soul found redemption at this moment.

“I want to tell you something, would you believe me?”

“I will.”

“I didn’t kill Song Guofu.”

“You didn’t kill him?”

This claim surprised Lin Yi; it was something he had never considered.

“I knew about your meeting with him, but at that time, I only wanted to scare Song Guofu and remind the other villagers not to talk nonsense. I also knew that he got drunk and fell into a ditch at the side of the road that night and died. So I took advantage of the situation, broke his neck, and staged it like a murder to silence the people of Jindou Village.”

“So that’s what happened.”

“This matter is quite coincidental; even I can hardly believe it, so I can’t guarantee you will believe it, but none of this matters anymore.”

“Indeed, at this time, many things indeed do not matter.”

“There’s one more thing, I want to ask for your help.”

“Your foster parents? I will take good care of them,” Lin Yi said:

“And your family’s old house, I will arrange for someone to clean it regularly.”

Zhang Long paused for a moment, “Thank you.”

“I heard your foster parents are getting on in years. If possible, I will apply to the authorities and try to arrange for you to escort them on their way before the execution, but I can’t promise it can be done.”

After a long silence, the last response from Lin Yi was still a ‘thank you’.

Unnoticed, the sky outside had already brightened, and Lin Yi got up and stretched.

“There are no eternal banquets in the world, dawn has arrived.”

“Mm, I know,” Zhang Long said indifferently, “May I finish this cigarette first?”

“Sure, we’ll wait outside for you.”

Lin Yi gave a signal with his eyes to the two people, and they all left the room together.

“The business here should be settled; do you want to go to Yanjing for a turn?” Ning Che said:

“The international situation has been a bit abnormal lately.”

“Abnormal how?”

“Meiguons and Japanese have been frequently showing up in Africa; it’s not a good sign.”

“Isn’t that place always quite chaotic?”

“Chaotic, yes, but in such a critical period, any small gust of wind and blade of grass warrants our attention.”

Lin Yi nodded, “Zhong Hai has a lot of matters waiting for me to deal with, I won’t go to Yanjing for now. If there’s anything, call me immediately.”

“Okay.”

“We borrowed a car from the military, do you need us to leave it for you?”

“No need, you guys take it. Taxis are quite convenient, we’ll just grab one.”

Ning Che looked toward the room door, “How do you plan to handle him? Will you be alright on your own?”

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”

“Then we’ll be taking our leave,” Ning Che said:

“Call me immediately if you need any help.”

“Okay.”

After chatting for a while, Ning Che and Tao Cheng left.

Lin Yi stood outside the room, quietly waiting.

About ten minutes later, Zhang Long emerged from inside.

His demeanor was calm, his face had a smile, as if he was seeing an old friend.

“Let’s go.”

The two walked out and hailed a taxi.

But as they drove, Zhang Long realized something was wrong.

“This isn’t the way to Jinling, is it?”

“We’re at our doorstep, naturally we should take a look home,” Lin Yi said with a smile:

“We’re not Yu the Great controlling the floods; there’s no need to pass by our home three times without entering.”

Zhang Long fell silent; he didn’t know what to say and could only reply with silence.

After about fifteen minutes, the taxi arrived at the entrance of the village, and the two walked for another five or six minutes until they reached Zhang Long’s home.

The house was a newly built red-brick building, not particularly grand, but plenty for the old couple to reside in.

The two walked into the courtyard where a middle-aged couple was bending over and busy working in a small vegetable garden.

By their age, they were almost in their seventies.

“Be more upbeat, don’t make them worry.”

Zhang Long took a deep breath, and a smile appeared on his face.

“Dad, Mom.”

Hearing someone talking, the busy old couple turned around.

On seeing Zhang Long, their faces immediately lit up with joy.

“Son!”

Because Lin Yi was present, the old couple’s emotions were somewhat restrained.

“This is…”

“He is…”

Zhang Long faltered, unsure of what to say.

“Uncle, Auntie, I am his comrade-in-arms.”

As he spoke, Lin Yi took out his military officer ID as proof of his identity.

“A comrade-in-arms is here!”

The old couple’s faces brightened again, and they warmly invited Lin Yi into the house.

“You haven’t had dinner yet, right? We’ll go prepare some food.”

“No need, we already ate on the way here.”

“That was on the road, but now you’re at home, you must eat something more.”

Not giving Lin Yi the opportunity to refuse, the old couple went to the kitchen to get busy.

It wasn’t long before four dishes were served.

“There isn’t much delicious food in the countryside, just make do with a bite, later my son can take you to eat something better.”

“This is quite good already.”

When in Rome, do as the Romans do; as the meal was served, Lin Yi stopped refusing and even drank some wine with Zhang Long’s foster father as if they were properly hosting each other.

“Uncle, Auntie, I came today because there is something I want to discuss with you.”

“What is it? Just tell us.”

“Our leadership mentioned that they’d like the captain to return to service. The country still needs him, so we came…”

The old couple was stunned for a moment, not expecting such a turn of events.

Zhang Long also froze for a moment.

Grasping his wine glass tightly, his eyes moistened.

“That’s wonderful, my son is useful to the country, we’re both happy about that.”

Lin Yi’s lies were full of holes, but the old couple did not notice.

They were simple peasants, unfamiliar with these slightly more complicated matters.

“Our leaders feel somewhat sorry that this means he won’t be able to come home often.”

“No problem at all, we’re both still strong, we don’t need him to look after us,” Zhang Long’s foster father said:

“Besides, he’s been working away all these years, seldom coming home, so it’s better to contribute to the country instead.”

“If Uncle and Auntie can think this way, then I am relieved. The leaders from above have given him three days leave, he can be at home and spend some quality time with you.”

“Naturally, if the country needs him, we absolutely cannot hold him back,” Zhang Long’s foster father patted his shoulder, “Son, after you return, you must train well, don’t disgrace me.”

“Got it, Dad.”

“Uncle, Auntie, you go ahead and eat, I have other matters to attend to, and must leave now.”

“Leave?” This took Zhang Long by surprise.