Chapter Ten: The Legendary Medal

Cong Gui clung to Ye Yuan as if grasping the last lifeline, his eyes filled with desperate hope.

“Old hero, you said you still have a medal left. Where is this medal?”

Cong Gui gripped Ye Yuan’s hand tightly, his voice urgent. “Where is it? As long as that medal can prove your identity, that’s all that matters!”

When he first heard Ye Yuan admit that the medals he had were not truly his, Cong Gui felt his mind go blank.

Because if Ye Yuan was really as Liu Dehai claimed, then Ye Yuan’s fate would only be more tragic.

But he refused to believe it.

He could not believe that this frail old man before him, flickering like a candle in the wind, was a fraud.

He did not believe it.

Sun Ting did not believe it.

Nor did the soldiers stationed here!

So when Ye Yuan said he still had one genuine medal of his own, Cong Gui wanted nothing more than to quickly prove Ye Yuan’s identity and restore this old hero’s honor.

“It’s buried at home,” Ye Yuan said softly.

There was a hint of nostalgia on his face, and a wistfulness in his voice.

As if…

He did not wish for this medal to ever resurface.

Cong Gui clenched his fists, hesitated for a moment, then finally bit his lip and said, “Let’s go! To Kaoshantun!”

Today.

Even if he faced punishment, even if he were dismissed, he would risk his own future to clear Ye Yuan’s name!

This responsibility beyond duty—Cong Gui would bear it!

A military vehicle rolled out of the base.

Ye Yuan sat in the front passenger seat, Cong Gui drove personally, with two young soldiers, Sun Ting, and Liu Dehai in the back.

As for Liu Dehai’s men, they were all left behind at the base gate.

Fifteen minutes later.

The vehicle stopped at the entrance of Kaoshantun.

The roads inside were too muddy and narrow for the vehicle to enter.

Looking at the dilapidated path ahead, Cong Gui felt a sting behind his nose.

If this old hero’s identity was true—

No, there was no “if.” It had to be true.

He hadn’t expected that this old hero would live in such a humble settlement.

Ye Yuan stepped down from the car and led the others toward his home.

They walked a long way.

Just as Cong Gui was still searching for Ye Yuan’s house, Ye Yuan suddenly stopped and turned toward a nearby ruin, a courtyard burned to ashes.

This was the old hero Ye Yuan’s home?

How could it have become like this?

Sun Ting’s eyes stung with tears.

Ye Yuan—and countless heroes like him—should not live like this!

They should not be broken by life’s weight, ending their days in unnoticed obscurity.

They should be known by more people, revered and admired.

This was what she must do as a journalist!

Tears streaming, she picked up the miniature camera hanging around her neck and began recording everything in the courtyard.

Cong Gui hurried to catch up with Ye Yuan, stunned. “Old hero, your… your home?”

“Someone burned it down,” Ye Yuan replied calmly. “Yesterday.”

Cong Gui was no fool. He immediately turned sharply toward Liu Dehai.

The authoritative gaze made Liu Dehai shudder, filled with regret over why he had ordered Ye Yuan’s house to be burned yesterday.

Had he known a simpler way, he would never have resorted to such a scheme.

Ye Yuan walked straight into the ruins.

Everything inside had been consumed by fire.

Only a mud brick bed remained, teetering on collapse.

“Old hero, it’s dangerous inside. It could fall apart any moment. Let me go in,” Cong Gui said quickly.

Ye Yuan shook his head. “No need. You won’t find it.”

With that, Ye Yuan stepped into the wreckage and began searching through the debris.

Soon.

Ye Yuan emerged holding a soot-blackened enamel container.

As he moved, the container emitted a rattling sound.

Cong Gui took a deep breath.

Inside…

Was the proof of Ye Yuan’s identity.

Ye Yuan approached Cong Gui.

Sun Ting moved closer, aiming her camera at the container, eager to witness this historic moment.

Watching Ye Yuan’s trembling hands, Cong Gui refrained from helping.

This honor must be unveiled by the old hero himself.

Ye Yuan finally opened the lid of the enamel container.

Cong Gui immediately peered inside, and even Liu Dehai leaned forward, curious to see how Ye Yuan would prove his identity.

But what they pulled out was a crushing disappointment.

It could hardly be called a medal.

Compared to the gleaming medals they had seen, this one was pitifully simple.

It was just a polished copper disc, roughly engraved with a crooked five-pointed star.

“Hahaha…” Liu Dehai burst into laughter. “Ye Yuan, this is the military medal you claim is yours?”

“If this thing counts as a medal, I could make you a whole bunch of them in no time, believe me!”

“You wasting our time would be one thing, but pulling Director Cong along to mess around with you? He’s got more important things to handle every day!”

Cong Gui still believed wholeheartedly in Ye Yuan’s identity.

He did not doubt the medal.

He picked it up, examining it carefully, then looked up at Ye Yuan with serious eyes.

“Old hero, what exactly is this medal?”

“The person who gave me this medal called it the Red Star Medal,” Ye Yuan said.

Cong Gui’s body trembled, nearly tossing the medal away.

“Red Star… Medal?! You’re saying the Red Star… Medal?!”

Cong Gui’s voice shook to the breaking point.

Sun Ting, curious, asked, “Director Cong, what is the Red Star Medal?”

“The Red Star Medal was established during the Land Revolution War. It was the highest honor in the Soviet areas at the time, the earliest and most prestigious medal set up during our nation’s revolutionary war era,” Cong Gui explained, his posture straightening with resolve. “But documented awards are extremely rare—some say it may never have actually been awarded—and it’s almost become a legendary medal.”

“Why is it legendary?” Sun Ting pressed. “Why wasn’t it awarded?”

“Perhaps because the wartime conditions were harsh, the awarding system didn’t function properly during the war, and later policy changes…” Cong Gui felt the small copper disc in his hand weigh a thousand pounds, pressing down so heavily he could barely lift it.

“The Red Star Medal symbolizes the highest loyalty and contribution to the revolutionary cause. I always thought it was just a legend—never imagined it could be real…”