He Zhiran looked at Mo Chuhan who was still in a coma.
"Have you thought about how to bring Eighth Brother to meet Mother and Sisters-in-law?"
Mo Jiuye pondered for a moment. They had brought Mo Chuhan into the space early in the morning, and now it was already late into the night.
If he told the truth that Eighth Brother was one of the black-clothed assassins who had tried to kill him, it would be hard to explain everything that had happened today.
After thinking for a bit, he said: "Let's go farther away and say that I heard some noises in the mountains and went to check it out, and that's when I ran into Eighth Brother."
He Zhiran nodded: "Okay, that works too."
In the time they were talking, half an hour had already passed.
Mo Chuhan's IV had also finished dripping. He Zhiran brought Mo Jiuye and vanished from the space without a sound.
The two of them noiselessly left the campsite and headed towards the distance.
When they felt they were somewhat far away from the camp, Mo Jiuye stopped in his tracks.
"Let's do it here!"
"Alright." As He Zhiran's voice fell, Mo Chuhan had already appeared on the open ground in front of the two.
Seeing that Eighth Brother still hadn't woken up, Mo Jiuye went and gathered some firewood to make a bonfire.
About twenty minutes later, Mo Chuhan's fingers twitched, then he slowly opened his eyes.
Mo Chuhan stared at Mo Jiuye in disbelief for a long time, seeming unable to believe it.
His voice was somewhat hoarse and powerless. "Ninth younger brother?"
Tears once again welled up in Mo Jiuye's eyes. He grabbed Mo Chuhan's hand excitedly and said emotionally, "Eighth Brother, it's me, it's Jiuye!"
Mo Chuhan reached out a trembling hand, trying to touch Mo Jiuye.
Mo Jiuye moved his body closer to help prop Mo Chuhan up into a sitting position.
"Eighth Brother, we all thought you had died. What on earth happened?"
Mo Chuhan's lips moved, but he seemed very weak.
"I was with Sixth and Seventh Brother resisting the invasion from the Southern Borderlands when we were lured by the enemy to a mountain valley.
Just as I was battling the enemies, there suddenly appeared a pungent smell that I accidentally inhaled through my nose and mouth.
The next time I awoke, I was chained with iron shackles to a pillar in a dark, gloomy cave.
Not long after, an old man dressed like someone from the Southern Borderlands came before me. All I saw was him scattering some powder at me. Right after that, I didn't know anything anymore."
When Mo Chuhan finished speaking, he tightly grasped Mo Jiuye's arm.
"Ninth younger brother, are Sixth and Seventh Brother okay? And where are we now?"
Mo Jiuye wiped away the tears at the corner of his eyes, then said:
"Eighth Brother, the incident you spoke of happened three years ago. Back then, I received the news that you, Sixth Brother and Seventh Brother had all died at the hands of the Southern Borderlands troops. I didn't expect that you were actually still alive, Eighth Brother!
The Mo family manor has now been ransacked and exiled by an imperial decree accusing us of treason and colluding with the enemy. Right now we're on the road during this exile.
This morning a group of black-clothed assassins tried to kill me, and you, Eighth Brother, were one of those black-clothed men.
Although you had your face covered, I immediately recognized your martial arts techniques, so I knocked you out and hid you away."
As Mo Jiuye spoke, he had already pulled He Zhiran over to stand in front of Mo Chuhan.
"Eighth Brother, this is my wife, He Zhiran, the legitimate daughter of the He Chancellor's household. Thankfully she knows medicine and helped remove your puppet worm."
In just those few short sentences from Mo Jiuye, Mo Chuhan received a huge amount of shocking information.
He stared fixedly at the two people dressed in coarse hemp clothing standing before him, but was unable to respond for quite some time.
After a long pause, Mo Chuhan tentatively asked:
"Ninth younger brother, did you say it's already been three years since that battle at the Southern Borderlands?"
Mo Jiuye nodded. "That's right Eighth Brother, it's exactly three years now."
Mo Chuhan continued asking: "Then what about Sixth Brother and Seventh Brother?" He was hoping that if he could miraculously survive, then surely Sixth and Seventh Brother could also appear alive by some miracle.
Mo Jiuye tilted his head slightly to one side, forcefully blinking his eyes several times to hold back the tears that threatened to spill out.
"Sixth Brother and Seventh Brother both lost their lives in that battle."
Upon hearing this, Mo Chuhan gripped Mo Jiuye's arms tightly as tears began streaming down his face.
"Could it be that the only Mo men remaining now are just us two brothers?"
Mo Jiuye answered with great difficulty, "Yes."
When Mo Chuhan heard the affirmative answer, his eyes seemed to be those of a trapped beast stained with blood.
He struggled to sit up straight, gripping his hair tightly with both hands and yelling out in near despair.
"No...I can't believe all this is real!"
Seeing his state, Mo Jiuye suppressed the heart-wrenching pain he felt to go up and comfort him.
"Eighth Brother, it's already been so long since it happened. Now that you're still alive, it's the heavens showing great benevolence to our Mo family."
Witnessing this scene also brought tears flowing freely down He Zhiran's face, but her reason was still sound.
She went up to the two brothers and gently reminded:
"Eighth Brother, Mother and Eighth Sister-in-Law are at the campsite not far away."
Sure enough, upon hearing He Zhiran's words, Mo Chuhan's emotions calmed down quite a bit.
He looked at Mo Jiuye with bloodshot eyes.
"Ninth younger brother, how are Mother and your Eighth sister-in-law? Are they well?"
Mo Jiuye carefully helped prop Mo Chuhan up to his feet.
"They're both doing fine. And from what I can see, Eighth Sister-in-Law seems to miss you a lot."
A mental image of his mother's loving countenance and his wife's charming figure instantly appeared in Mo Chuhan's mind.
He had married his wife Zhao Xianglan less than a month ago when they were still passionately in love. But then he immediately received the urgent news from the border pass and set off with Mo Jiuye through the night to rush there under imperial orders.
He remembered that the last time he left home, his mother had brought all the women of the household to see them off at the front gates.
By then his mother had already lost her husband and five sons.
Even so, she still admonished him and Ninth Younger Brother: the Mo Family's men cannot be cowards!
His wife Zhao Xianglan had held onto him reluctantly, her eyes full of heartache...
Who knew that this farewell would last three whole years.
And he had actually spent those three years unconscious and muddled.
Mo Chuhan gripped Mo Jiuye's hand tightly. "Ninth younger brother, take me to see them."
Seeing Mo Chuhan stumbling with each step, Mo Jiuye felt anxious.
He was thinking that Eighth Brother had only gotten his arm cut open, there's no way he could be this feeble.
So he asked He Zhiran,
"Ranran, what exactly is going on with Eighth Brother's body?"
"It's normal for Eighth Brother to be weak right now after the Puppet Worm had sucked out so much of his essence and blood over the past three years. And judging by his current state, it should also be because he hasn't eaten anything for a long time.
Coincidentally, I still happen to have some food in my package, so let's first get some food into Eighth Brother's stomach."
He Zhiran didn't actually have any package on her. She realized that Mo Chuhan hadn't been paying much attention to her this whole time, so taking out a random package from her space wouldn't be discovered.
As she finished speaking, her consciousness entered her space. She bought a large white steamed bun from Taobao, and took out some braised beef from her fridge.
Mo Chuhan really was starving. He gave a word of thanks before accepting the food from He Zhiran's hands and started wolfing it all down.
He Zhiran also took out a water bladder.
"Eighth Brother, since it's likely been a very long time since you've last eaten, don't eat too quickly or you'll hurt your stomach and spleen."
Hearing this, Mo Chuhan's face flushed red.
He had actually forgotten his younger siblings were still here.
Mo Chuhan felt a little embarrassed as he accepted the water bladder. "Thank you for the reminder, younger sister."
