Chapter 47 I Am Just Old, Not Stupid

Sun Ting raised her head and looked at Ye Yuan, her eyes filled with surprise and shock. "The roster of the earliest Independent Regiment, everyone's name... are they all in here?"

Wu Shanhe was already Ye Yuan's closest comrade-in-arms. However, Wu Shanhe had only met Ye Yuan in the year 1939. Yet, according to what Ye Yuan had said, the names listed here belonged to the members of the Independent Regiment from its very earliest period. Weren't the people recorded here also part of that first generation of soldiers who joined the Anti-Japanese United Army?

"Yes."

Ye Yuan nodded.

Sun Ting took a deep breath, leaned in to look closely at the notebook in Ye Yuan's hands, and then asked, "What do the numbers behind these names mean...?"

For a fleeting second, Ye Yuan's eyes became distant before he quickly recovered. "The number of Japanese devils they killed on the battlefield."

Sun Ting's slender body trembled slightly. If that was the case, how could the notebook in Ye Yuan's hand simply be a notebook? This was clearly a monument to heroic spirits, a roll of honor!

"Lu Dabin, 13; Erheizi, 6; Wang Dazhuang, 8..."

Sun Ting murmured, reading aloud the contents recorded inside. Every single name represented a vibrant life. Slowly raising her head with teary eyes, she looked at Ye Yuan. "Then these people..."

Ye Yuan fell silent for a moment before finally saying softly, "The vast majority of them died on the battlefield."

Although she had anticipated this answer in her heart, actually hearing Ye Yuan speak the words still sent stabs of pain through her chest.

Sun Ting took a deep breath to regain control of her emotions, looked back up at Ye Yuan, and said, "Grandpa... Grandpa Ye, may I borrow this notebook? I want to copy these names down so everyone can pay their respects..."

"You may..."

Ye Yuan nodded slowly.

Sun Ting reached out, took the notebook from Ye Yuan's hands, stood up, and walked over to the front of the camera. She slowly turned the pages of the notebook one by one. Every single page was densely packed with names and the number of enemies those individuals had slain. No one could have imagined that Ye Yuan would record such details.

In the chat room, the viewers' messages had shifted accordingly.

"I saw the name Lü Yang written on there! That looks like my grandfather! My grandfather was also a veteran of the Anti-Japanese United Army! Could my grandfather have been a soldier under Grandpa Ye's command back then?"

"I saw several familiar names too! They look just like the martyrs from our city!"

"So many people, and Grandpa Ye actually remembered every single one of them!"

Everyone was astonished by the contents within the notebook.

Inside the broadcasting studio, someone suddenly stood up. "This is all fake!"

The speaker was a middle-aged man, not Liu Debao. Instantly, everyone's gaze fell upon him, wondering what he meant.

"I don't believe that anyone could be so tedious as to write down everyone's name in a notebook and precisely record how many Japanese devils each of them killed," the man said loudly. "At first I had some doubts, but now I'm certain—you are nothing more than a fraud!"

As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately provoked righteous indignation among everyone present.

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting!"

"Just because you couldn't do it doesn't mean others couldn't! How dare you slander the veteran hero Ye?"

"Has your conscience been eaten by dogs?"

People shouted one after another, rebuking the man who had spoken.

Yet the man's expression remained indifferent; instead, he kept staring at Ye Yuan with a provocative gaze.

Ye Yuan knew the man was targeting him. Most likely, he had been sent by Zhao Ming or Liu Debao.

"Then tell me, how should I prove the authenticity of this notebook?" Ye Yuan asked calmly.

"With so many people having served as soldiers under your command, you must still remember what they looked like, right?" The man crossed his arms and said leisurely, "Pick a few people at random and describe their appearances and native places. Only then will I believe you're telling the truth."

"You're making things difficult for him on purpose!" Sun Ting blurted out without hesitation.

There were nearly a thousand names recorded in this little booklet. For this man to casually demand that Ye Yuan recall the appearance and hometown of any randomly chosen name—if that wasn't making things difficult, what was?

However, Ye Yuan nodded. "Very well."

The entire hall fell silent. No one expected that Ye Yuan would actually agree to such an absurd test!

"Grandpa Ye..." Sun Ting turned around, looking at Ye Yuan with worry in her eyes.

"I am only old, not senile." Ye Yuan waved a hand, then looked back at the man in the audience. "Go ahead and ask."

"The fifth name from the bottom on the third page," the man asked with a sneer.

Following the man's instructions, Sun Ting checked the names in the notebook and said softly, "Grandpa Ye, it's Xu Yuzhu."

"Xu Yuzhu: dark-skinned, honest-looking, slight problem with his eyes, originally part of a pair of twins from Shanlu province, his younger brother died at the hands of the Japanese devils." A look of nostalgic remembrance filled Ye Yuan's eyes. "A member of the First Battalion, Second Company of the Independent Regiment. Enemies killed... 7."

Uproar broke out across the hall. Ye Yuan had actually managed to recite it.

Frowning, the man continued, "The thirteenth name from the top on the sixth page."

Sun Ting flipped open the notebook once more, turned around, and looked at Ye Yuan with hopeful eyes. "Grandpa Ye, this hero's name is Liu Shengxin."

"Liu Shengxin: short in stature, somewhat bald, quick-tempered, native of Heyu province." Ye Yuan went on, "A soldier of the Second Battalion, Third Company. Enemies killed... 6."

"What else do you have to say?" Sun Ting glared at the man.

The man curled his lip. "His mouth is on his face, so he can say whatever he likes. Who can prove it? Besides, he just spouts answers off the cuff—he probably made it all up long ago, just waiting for someone to ask."

"I can make a phone call right now to verify this."

Cong Gui finally lost his patience. He stood up, his gaze icy, carrying the proud demeanor unique to a soldier. "You'd better pray that everything Old Hero Ye said is wrong."

Without hesitation, he pulled out his phone and made calls to the military districts of Shanlu and Heyu provinces successively.

Everyone waited for the final verdict.

It wasn't long before Cong Gui received return calls from the military districts of both provinces, confirming that the two individuals named by Ye Yuan were indeed anti-Japanese war heroes whose personnel files remained locally on record, and both had been posthumously honored as martyrs after the war ended.

"What else do you have to say?!"

Cong Gui glared straight at the man, shouting angrily, "Old Hero Ye has lived an upright and honorable life, keeping every promise he makes. Since when is it your turn, a petty villain, to distort black and white here? What is your real motive?!"

The man had now completely become the target of public criticism. He never expected that Ye Yuan would actually be able to recall the names of the people he had recorded, right down to their hometowns.

Slinking away in disgrace, he made his exit. If he stayed any longer, he feared he might be torn to shreds by the crowd.

With an icy gaze, Cong Gui made yet another phone call.

"Someone will be walking out of the television station shortly, wearing a black leather jacket, black trousers, and glasses."

"Detain him and escort him to the public security bureau."

"Wait for my further instructions on the rest."