Chapter 23 – Past Life: Heart Shattered Upon Hearing the Tragic News

It had been nearly four months since he had last seen his wife and children. He didn’t know how they were doing now.

Returning to the door of his home, He Yanxin instinctively raised his hand to knock using the secret signal between husband and wife—two long, three short taps. But his hand passed straight through the wooden door.

He froze in place, unmoving for a long time. As a wandering soul, not even tears would come to his eyes. But the grief on his face was beyond words.

Qingniang, I’m back… but I can never really come back.

For the first time, the excitement and joy he had felt before were gone.

At that moment, the door opened. It was Mrs. Song from next door. She was holding the hands of two children—the younger of the two, now over two years old, no longer needed to be carried.

The three of them walked straight through He Yanxin’s body.

“Qingniang… Dabao… Xiaobao…” he called softly, both hoping they would hear and fearing his voice might scare them.

Mrs. Song looked back. His heart skipped a beat, followed by a sudden joy.

His eyes were full of love and anticipation. He reached out, wanting to embrace her.

“Qingniang!”

But she walked right through him, reaching only to pull the door shut and lock it.

“Alright, let’s go now. When you get to Grandpa Wu’s house, be good, okay? Don’t fight over things with Brother Shitou. Got it? Mama will be back soon.”

She bent down and gently instructed the boys as they walked. Shitou was the nickname of Wu Erlang’s youngest son.

“Mama, we understand. I’ll take care of little brother,” He Chengze nodded obediently. He let go of his mother’s hand and ran to the other side to hold his younger brother’s.

“Qingniang, going to the mountains again?” Aunt Ge opened the door for her.

“Yes. I want to gather more wild herbs while the season is good. Where’s Sister-in-law?”

It was early April, a perfect time for wild vegetables to flourish in the mountains. She and Mrs. Chen often went picking together.

Mrs. Li passed by the courtyard and let out a sharp, dismissive snort. Mrs. Song paid her no mind.

Aunt Ge, on the other hand, looked apologetically at her daughter-in-law, then turned and gave her a sharp glare. Mrs. Li didn’t seem to care, swaying her plump figure as she returned to her room.

“She’s inside, grabbing her basket. If I weren’t too old to climb mountains, I’d go too,” Aunt Ge said wistfully.

“Dalang and Yanxin used to love the shepherd’s purse this time of year. The ones in October never tasted as good as these fresh ones.”

At the mention of He Yanxin, Mrs. Song’s smile faded. Her eyes filled with sorrow and longing.

“My fault—I shouldn’t have brought it up,” Aunt Ge quickly tried to make up for it.

At that moment, Mrs. Chen came out.

“Auntie, we’re heading off now,” Mrs. Song adjusted the basket on her back and stroked her children’s heads.

The two women left for the mountains.

He Yanxin followed behind, gazing at her in silence.

She seems thinner… Is she not eating enough, or… something else?

Mrs. Song walked silently, unaware of everything. Normally she and Mrs. Chen would chat along the way, but today, for some reason, both were unusually quiet.

Only after they entered the mountain did Mrs. Chen speak.

“Do you miss him?” It turned out she had overheard Aunt Ge mentioning Wu Dalang and He Yanxin earlier from the storage room. She had composed herself before coming out.

“I miss him so much.” Unable to hold it in any longer, Mrs. Chen leaned against a tree and broke into sobs.

Crying—especially when shared by someone who has gone through the same thing—only makes the pain harder to contain.

Mrs. Song had been gently comforting her, but when she saw how deeply Mrs. Chen cried, she couldn’t hold back anymore either.

Unlike Mrs. Chen’s outburst, her grief came quietly—her lifeless eyes stared into the distance as tears streamed silently down her cheeks, as though they would never stop.

Hearing Mrs. Chen’s words, He Yanxin thought of Big Brother Wu who had died far away, and his heart ached with anxiety and sorrow.

Seeing Qingniang like this made his heart twist in pain—it was the first time since his death that he felt something like physical pain. He moved close, trying to hug her and comfort her like before.

He tried again and again, but it was useless.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry… I’m here. I’m right here… Qingniang… Qingniang…”

The two women eventually stopped crying, exchanged a bashful smile, and continued their way deeper into the mountain.

In the days that followed, He Yanxin trailed behind his wife, watching her cook, watching her coax the children to sleep, watching the sorrow that followed when they were finally in bed—and the quiet sobs she stifled in the middle of the night.

Ten days later, a knock came at the neighbor’s door.

Aunt Ge opened it to see her younger son. Before she could greet him with joy, a thunderclap seemed to strike her head.

“Mother!!” Aunt Ge fainted on the spot.

“My Yuanglang!!” Mrs. Chen wailed with a soul-piercing scream.

The cries from next door startled Mrs. Song, who rushed out of her room.

What was happening? She had vaguely heard some crying earlier from the village, but it had been far away and unclear.

For some reason, unease stirred in her heart. Without even stopping to tend to her children, she locked the door and headed to the neighbor’s house.

Outside, a wooden cart was piled with sacks of grain. Two men in military garb leaned nearby, holding blades.

Seeing her come out, their eyes swept over her with unsettling gazes, whispering and chuckling among themselves.

Could this be news of Yanlang?

Mrs. Song could no longer care about anything else—she ran into the Wu household.

Meanwhile, He Yanxin rushed toward the two soldiers, as if ready to teach them a lesson—but he passed straight through them, powerless as ever.

Inside the house, chaos reigned.

Wu Sanlang was pressing acupoints on the unconscious Aunt Ge. Old Master Wu sat on the floor, mouth agape, stunned into silence.

Mrs. Chen clutched her chest, gasping for air through sobs. Her children clung to her, crying as well—especially her fourteen-year-old daughter, who tried to help her breathe between her own tears.

Wu Erlang wasn’t home. His two children were also crying in the corner—particularly the younger one, who wept uncontrollably.

Mrs. Li, in contrast, leaned idly under the corridor eaves, as though watching a show. Her brows occasionally furrowed in annoyance, as if the crying were disturbing her peace.

Aunt Ge groaned and slowly woke, but she didn’t look well. She couldn’t sit up and her gaze was unfocused.

“Third Brother You, what happened?” Mrs. Song’s voice trembled. “Didn’t Yanxin come back with you?”

“Sister-in-law Yan…” Wu Sanyou helped support his mother and struggled to speak.

But there had to be an explanation. He took a deep breath.

“Please restrain your grief. Brother Yanxin and my eldest brother… they died in battle at Yizhou.”

The sacks of grain outside were compensation for the families of the fallen. Wu Sanlang, being local and familiar with the roads, had joined the team delivering the rations.

In truth, Prince Qi hadn’t even thought of such compensation. It was only after advisors persuaded him that the effort was arranged.

All the other families in the village had already received theirs. Only at the end did he finally gather the courage to knock on his own door.

A thunderclap in her mind—everything went blank. She could no longer see or hear.

At that moment, it felt like she saw an illusion: He Yanxin appeared before her eyes, urgently calling her name, his eyes red with panic and desperation.

Liar! Liar! she thought. My Yanlang is just fine, isn’t he?

“Yanlang…” she whispered, and then her body collapsed sideways.

Just a moment before, He Yanxin had felt as though Qingniang could finally see him. She even called his name.

But before he could react, he could only watch helplessly as she fainted to the ground.

No one at the scene could help her. Although Wu Xiaoniang rushed forward, it was already too late.

The whole household descended into chaos. From next door, the He family’s children began crying too—perhaps from being unable to find their mother, or maybe from sensing the despair.

Fortunately, people from the village soon arrived to assess the situation. Even Mrs. Li, who had been idle until now, finally came to help settle everyone.

(End of Chapter)