Chapter Four: One by One, the Military Medals
“Illegal possession of firearms?”
The expression on the officer’s face grew markedly serious.
Eight years ago, the Long Kingdom implemented a comprehensive ban on firearms, spending five years reducing civilian gun ownership to virtually zero.
No department could afford to take the matter of illegal firearms possession lightly.
“Are you sure?” the officer asked, his voice growing more solemn as he looked at Ye Yuan.
Ye Yuan was about to speak when suddenly more than a dozen people entered from outside.
It was Liu Dehai and his gang.
The officer furrowed his brows. “Do you know where this is?”
Liu Dehai smiled. “Nothing much, just that my gun permit seems to have expired.”
“You see, I work at the Baolin Forest Farm. The forest is huge, full of wild animals. Forest rangers need something to protect themselves.”
He placed a certificate on the officer’s desk.
The officer glanced at Ye Yuan but said nothing.
Ye Yuan remained silent.
He understood.
Relying on the local police to rescue his granddaughter was nearly impossible.
He took a step and headed out of the police station.
But as he stepped outside, Liu Dehai called out to him.
“Old Ye,” Liu Dehai said with a sly smile, approaching Ye Yuan. “Planning to report me for illegal gun possession? Too bad, I’ve got the permit, hahaha…”
Ye Yuan narrowed his eyes, his aura quietly exuding the strength of a hidden dragon.
Liu Dehai barely noticed, smiling as he patted Ye Yuan’s shoulder and whispered, “Old man, be careful walking at your age. I heard your house is falling apart—what if it collapses someday?”
“And your granddaughter... maybe she’ll be back in a few days? Being alive is the most important thing, don’t you think?”
“Are you threatening me?”
Ye Yuan immediately recognized Liu Dehai’s provocation.
He wanted Ye Yuan to act against him inside the police station.
If Liu Dehai refused to reconcile, Ye Yuan would inevitably be locked up.
By the time he got out, it would be too late.
The officers also sensed the tension and strode out.
“Liu Dehai! What are you doing? This is a police station, not your forest farm!”
“No worries,” Liu Dehai shrugged. “Just checking on the old man’s health. See you.”
Ye Yuan left Hehe County.
Liu Dehai’s influence in Hehe County was even greater than Ye Yuan had imagined.
Rescuing Ye Yanan required more than impulsive action.
Upon returning to Kaoshan Village, Ye Yuan saw a vehicle leaving the village.
Kaoshan Village nestled against the mountains; everyone toiled hard in the fields. Who here had wealthy relatives like that?
As Ye Yuan stood frozen, he noticed thick black smoke billowing in the distance.
That direction—
It was toward his home!
Recalling the car that had just brushed past him, Ye Yuan instantly understood: this was Liu Dehai’s warning!
His heart tightened as he pedaled his bicycle homeward.
When he arrived, his already dilapidated house was engulfed in roaring flames!
All his possessions—everything—was inside that house.
Ignoring everything else, Ye Yuan snatched a bucket of water from arriving villagers and doused himself from head to toe before charging into the burning building.
“Old Ye, you’re crazy!”
“That fire’s huge! Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
“Come back, quickly!”
The villagers were alarmed and tried to stop him.
But Ye Yuan moved swiftly and was inside the house within steps.
He didn’t glance at the belongings. Instead, he grabbed a burning gray military uniform and rushed outside.
The villagers watched in disbelief.
He risked his life running into a blazing house only to come out holding a tattered military jacket?
Ye Yuan grabbed another bucket and thoroughly extinguished the flames on the uniform before collapsing to the ground, relieved.
Everyone else busied themselves with putting out the fire, paying no attention to Ye Yuan.
An hour later,
the fire was out.
Not because they had fully extinguished it, but because there was nothing left inside the house to fuel it.
Staring at the charred ruins of his home, Ye Yuan stood and approached the wall.
He dug into the earth beneath it with his hands.
The yellow soil, soaked by water, turned into thick mud.
Soon enough, Ye Yuan unearthed a small iron box.
The box was still warm, reminiscent of the blood that once splattered onto his face beside comrades on the battlefield.
He didn’t open it immediately, instead cleaning all the dirt from the box and his hands carefully before slowly opening it.
Inside were gleaming military medals.
They were proof of Ye Yuan’s lifetime of service.
Countless third- and second-class honors!
Six first-class merits!
Two special-class merits!
And one awarded the title of Special Combat Hero!
A century ago,
he was a national hero destined for the annals of history!
Surviving countless battles was a mere trifle to him.
“This… this is a special-class medal?!” the old village chief, who had also served in the military, trembled as he picked up one of the special-class medals.
A young man, puzzled, asked, “So what if it’s special-class? Doesn’t your family have plenty too?”
The old chief spun around, glaring fiercely at the young man, his voice trembling with excitement.
“This kind of honor is paid for with one’s life! Having one in a lifetime brings glory to the family! Old Ye… he has so many?!”
The crowd fell silent.
In everyone’s minds,
Ye Yuan was just an honest, kind old man.
No one expected him to carry such tremendous honor.
Listening to the crowd’s words, Ye Yuan felt a pang of bitterness.
Honor?
No—
It was paid for in lives!
Those were his comrades, his brothers-in-arms!
On battlefields torn by artillery and bullets,
he had helplessly watched familiar figures fall, never to rise again.
That despair, that helplessness, even decades later, still pierced his heart.
What others called honor was for him an unhealable wound.
“Why is this one different from the rest?” another meddlesome young man picked up a medal.
The old chief’s eyes nearly popped out.
“Special… Special Combat Hero!!”
He whipped around, staring at Ye Yuan in disbelief.
He never imagined
a Special Combat Hero lived quietly in their very own Kaoshan Village!
Ye Yuan remained unmoved as he slowly took off his clothes.
Gasps arose from the crowd.
His body was covered with countless scars; there was hardly a patch of skin untouched.
The villagers fell silent.
Their astonishment faded, replaced by the highest respect for a veteran.
Ye Yuan put on the burned, soaking wet uniform.
Once defiant and unyielding, believing no hardship was greater than reason,
now, he had no choice.
A lifetime of unbowed pride now forced to bend.
“Brothers…”
Tears welled in Ye Yuan’s fierce eyes as he trembled, pinning each medal to his chest.
“Just… one last time… help me…”