Chapter 20: He Died for Us
At the valley entrance, the remaining soldiers had already started rushing towards Yan City.
Old Huang, the monk, and others walked at the back of the formation, carrying a body wrapped in banners. They remained silent for a while.
As soldiers, they have naturally seen the bodies of their comrades.
But just now, Qiao Mu's brave and self-sacrificing appearance was so shocking and unforgettable that they still feel restless.
"Speaking of which, what's the situation with the leader's family?" Old Huang asked incessantly.
"If we bring the body back to Yan City, someone should explain the situation to his family, right?"
Others began discussing as well, "Qiao Mucenturion seems to be from out of town, and he just arrived in Yan City recently?"
"I once saw him helping a blind girl in her twenties walk. She's probably his relative."
"In his home, it seems there is only one blind person around his age, probably siblings relying on each other?"
The other soldiers chatted for a bit and fell silent again.
Old Huang, who wanted to start a conversation earlier, was now speechless.
The leader's only relative is a blind girl... How can they continue to talk?
When they thought about having to carry a body to see Qiao Mu's blind sister or younger sister, they suddenly felt the weight on their shoulders increase.
"Why are there still words carved on this tree?" At this moment, the discussion among the nearby soldiers caught the attention of Old Huang and the others.
"Fallen Wood Valley? It looks like these words were just carved with a sharp tool. How strange! Who has the leisure to carve words on a tree when we are about to go into battle?"
Old Huang, who was carrying the body, suddenly froze.
Fallen Wood Valley？
Only now did he realize the meaning of this name, catching a glimpse of Qiao Mu's state of mind when she carved the words before.
"So, before entering the valley, he was already uneasy and had thoughts of death!"
"He wasn't fighting for survival. Before entering the valley, he suspected that the bandits had set an ambush. He had no choice but to go against his instincts and enter!"
The scenes from before appeared in his mind again. He saw the stern face of Military Officer Chu when he gave the military orders, and he saw the figure of Qiao Mu charging forward alone... It turns out that Qiao Mu's death in battle was not a coincidence, but a premeditated sacrifice!
So as soon as we entered the valley, Qiao Mu ordered everyone to retreat if they found any bandits, leaving only himself as the rearguard.
So when there was no way to retreat, Qiao Mu made a resolute decision to charge forward alone and eventually died from serious injuries.
So before charging forward alone, Qiao Mu turned back and reminded Old Huang about his family, telling him not to follow and sacrifice himself...
He knew he would die a long time ago and accepted it willingly.
Only at this moment did he realize this matter after the fact.
He finally understood the motivation behind Qiao Mu's fight to the death.
He bravely fought alone, not to save himself from the bandits, but to fight for the survival of his subordinates.
It was said that he made a promise to protect Old Huang, but he didn't just protect Old Huang alone, did he?
"He died for us..." Old Huang stopped in his tracks, murmuring suddenly.
At this moment, a voice came from beside him.
"What are you carrying?"
The person speaking was Military Officer Chu. He saw that Old Huang and the others were hanging at the back of the group, so he walked over with a serious expression to ask.
He didn't remember giving such an order.
"Reporting, sir, it's the body of centurion Qiao Mu." Old Huang quickly lowered his head, feeling a bit afraid inside.
It seemed that there was some resentment between Military Officer Chu and centurion Qiao Mu. Would carrying Qiao Mu's body arouse any displeasure from Military Officer Chu?
However, Military Officer Chu's reaction was unexpected.
"Qiao Mu's body? Ah, yes, centurion Qiao Mu died bravely in battle with the mountain bandits. It's indeed not right to leave his body exposed in the wilderness." Military Officer Chu patted Old Huang's shoulder and said:
"After your hard journey, please take the body back to Yan City. I will arrange the funeral when the time comes."
Old Huang and the soldiers were a little surprised and looked up, but Military Officer Chu walked away with his back turned.
"Could it be that we misunderstood? Is Military Officer Chu not deliberately making things difficult for the captain?" Old Huang was getting a bit confused.
However, he didn't see the slight curve at the corner of Military Officer Chu's mouth as he walked away.
In front of so many soldiers, he certainly wouldn't let his comrade's heart grow cold.
Of course, there was also another very important reason.
"These soldiers actually reminded me of something," thought Military Officer Chu.
"The City Lord's son is a vengeful person. He was humiliated by Qiao Mu in the street before, losing face. Maybe the City Lord doesn't care that much, but his son won't easily forget."
"Sending the body back to Yan City can inform the City Lord's son, which can be considered a favor done out of convenience."
Military Officer Chu called his trusted subordinate over and instructed him to take care of collecting the bodies once they returned to the city. He also asked him to inform the City Lord's residence.
As for the City Lord's son, it was no longer his concern whether he intended to come to witness Qiao Mu's gruesome state or to whip the body in the coffin.
..................
On the mountainside to the left of the valley.
Qiao Mu casually picked up a long spear discarded by the bandits on the ground.
The bandits were defeated and fled once again, leaving behind some weapons which Qiao Mu picked up at this time.
After coming back to life, Qiao Mu had a brand-new body, but the spear in his hand didn't return to him upon his resurrection.
"After dying in battle, one's personal weapons are lost... In that case, weapons can be trained with, but martial arts skills with fists and feet are still the most important and cannot be neglected."
Qiao Mu picked up the long spear in his hand and casually waved it a few times, instantly feeling different.
Before he died in battle, he only practiced military marksmanship for a few days. He could only be considered slightly better than someone who had never practiced before. He mainly relied on his strong physical strength and fast speed to fight with a spear.
But as soon as he held the spear, Qiao Mu felt something different.
He had already mastered Military Spear Skill, making him feel like the long spear in his hand was a part of his own body. He could effortlessly control it, hitting wherever he aimed.
Holding the long spear in his hand, he swiftly thrust it towards the nearby tree trunk. There was a sharp whistling sound as the tip of the spear stopped steadily an inch away from the trunk, without touching it.
Bringing the tip of the spear closer to his eyes, he saw that there was a ant impaled on it.
The spear penetrated the ant, yet didn't hit the tree trunk that was close by. This showed that Qiao Mu's ability to control the long spear was as easy as using his own fingers.
Furthermore, it was obvious that his physical strength had increased, surpassing the normal limit of five hundred kilograms of strength. That's why he could lift heavy things effortlessly.
The powerful body gave birth to internal strength, and the gradually growing internal strength in turn widened the meridians, allowing the martial artist's body to surpass the limits of an ordinary person.
"Next, I should thank my good brother who helped me cash in my chips." Qiao Mu held the long spear, looking down from a high position at the soldiers below, his eyes turning cold.
