Dream of the Red Chamber: From a Border Ruffian to a Capital Tyrant

"Hasn't that bastard Li Tiedan come back yet?"

Jia Lang muttered to himself, a sense of foreboding rising within him.

Just now at the city gate, he was exhausted and didn't have time to ask about the whereabouts of Li Tiedan and the others. Naturally, he didn't know that his brothers had already escaped death and returned to Yanmen Pass.

Thinking of this, Jia Lang felt a surge of anger. He took a deep breath, strode up the steps, and slammed the door shut.

"Squeak—"

With a screeching sound, the heavy door was slowly pushed open.

Upon hearing the commotion, the guards inside the courtyard turned around in unison like a startled pack of wolves, their eyes filled with confusion and shock, as if they had seen something unbelievable and ghostly.

"General...?"

When everyone saw the figure standing against the light, they were all dumbfounded. They rubbed their bloodshot eyes in disbelief, then stared wide-eyed at the newcomer.

"General...is it really you?"

Li Huowang's voice trembled violently, choked with sobs. He was terrified that this was just a beautiful dream, terrified that the person in front of him would shatter and disappear like a bubble in the next second.

"You damned fool, you don't even recognize your own general?"

Jia Lang grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, and stepped forward with somewhat unsteady but still firm steps, giving Li Huowang a heavy pat on the shoulder.

That familiar force, that nonchalant tone, instantly shattered Li Huowang's doubts!

"General...General!"

"You...you're finally back..."

Upon hearing that voice that haunted his dreams, Li Huowang could no longer hold back his tears, which streamed down his face as he sobbed and cried out like a wronged child.

"That's enough! What kind of man are you, crying and sobbing like this? Aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"

Looking at Li Huowang's pathetic state with snot and tears streaming down his face, Jia Lang was both annoyed and amused. He shook his head and chuckled as he scolded him, but his eyes were full of tenderness.

"General, I...I'm just happy! So happy!"

Li Huowang hastily wiped away his tears, so excited that he was incoherent.

"Heh, I'm incredibly lucky. Those barbarians from beyond the Great Wall who only know how to herd sheep think they can keep your general? Dream on!"

Jia Lang looked around at everyone and laughed heartily, trying to dispel the gloom in the courtyard with his laughter.

However, when his gaze swept around and he did not find that towering figure, his brows furrowed again.

Where is Li Tiedan?

"Where did that idiot go?"

A barely perceptible tremor and worry crept into Jia Lang's voice.

"General...we thought you...we thought you wouldn't come back. Commander Li was so anxious when he returned that he fainted..."

Zhang Xinhuo, standing to the side, explained with red eyes and a sob in his voice.

"You good-for-nothing!"

Upon hearing that Li Tiedan had only fainted and not died in battle, Jia Lang's tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and he let out a long breath.

He was about to utter a few more curses to mask his lingering fear when, before he could utter a word, everything went black, the world spun around him, and he collapsed like a mountain, instantly losing consciousness.

"General!"

"General!!"

The surrounding guards, seeing this, were terrified and screamed in panic, rushing forward to catch the falling body...

...

At Yanmen Pass, the first rays of dawn are just beginning to break.

Jia Lang fell into a deep sleep that lasted for a full day and night.

As soon as the sky began to lighten the next day, his military biological clock, ingrained in his very bones, jolted him awake from his deep sleep like a precise mechanism.

Opening my eyes, what comes into view is a wooden duster with an antique charm, its rough texture revealing the vicissitudes of time.

Memories of last night before he fell into a coma flooded back like a tidal wave. Jia Lang let out a soft breath, and his tense nerves relaxed slightly.

What a brutal and bloody battle that was!

The clash of swords and the carnage, every scene of carnage is etched deep into the soul like a branding iron.

As for the reason for his fainting spell, Jia Lang knew perfectly well.

It was the extreme exhaustion that drained the very marrow, the extreme excitement after the adrenaline surged, and with old wounds not yet healed and new wounds added, and excessive blood loss, even an iron man could not withstand such overexertion.

Thinking of this, Jia Lang slowly sat up. As soon as he moved, he felt a strange sensation of numbness, itching and pain in his abdomen.

He looked down and saw that his abdomen was wrapped in strips of white cloth, with faint traces of crimson blood showing through them. Clearly, Li Huowang and his gang had had a doctor treat his wounds while he was unconscious.

Jia Lang hesitated for a moment, then reached out and gently lifted a corner of the cloth strip.

The wounds were covered with some kind of wound medicine, and the blood had already congealed. Some of the shallower wounds had even begun to scab over, resembling winding little red snakes.

Only a few deep, bone-exposing injuries, caused by the intense fighting last night, had a few streaks of blood seeping out, but they were not serious.

Jia Lang glanced at it, then conveniently landed and re-wound the cloth strip tightly.

This body's recovery ability is simply abnormal. At this rate, it will probably be back to its energetic self in less than three days, ready to go into battle again.

Then, Jia Lang stood up and stretched his stiff body, his joints cracking and popping as if protesting his long slumber.

He walked to a clothes rack, took down the set of bright armor that had already been washed and dried, and put it on.

The heavy, cold armor pressed down on his shoulders, yet it gave him an unprecedented sense of security and peace of mind.

This is a man's battle robe, the courage of a general!

"General?"

"You...you're awake?"

Just as Jia Lang was about to go out to find something to eat, the door creaked open.

Li Tiedan's honest, big face was filled with surprise as he stood frozen at the door.

"Is he still not awake, or is he talking in his sleep?"

Jia Lang was amused by the fool's nonsense, and gave him a sidelong glance, asking in return.

"Well..."

"General, I..."

Li Tiedan was speechless for a moment, awkwardly scratching the back of his head, his hands unconsciously rubbing the hem of his clothes, looking just like a naughty child who had done something wrong and was waiting to be scolded.

"Alright, stop being so long-winded."

Jia Lang raised his arm and shook it, staring at Li Tiedan with a half-smile, and teased:

"I heard yesterday that you've even learned to cry?"

"I wonder how long she was unconscious before she woke up?"

"General..."

Upon hearing this, Li Tiedan lowered his head even further, his ears turning bright red, and dared not look directly into Jia Lang's sharp gaze.

Seeing this, Jia Lang simply waved his hand casually, no longer teasing the simpleton. He stood with his hands behind his back in front of the door, gazing at the rising sun outside the courtyard, and stepped out.

The air outside the courtyard was crisp and clear, carrying the fresh scent of earth and vegetation, which was invigorating and refreshing.