Resplendent – Chapter 396

Chapter 396 – The Hero’s Medal

“Didn’t Dapeng already tell you everything?” Ling Juechen poured his grandfather a cup of tea, answering vaguely to avoid the main point.

Old General Ling lost his patience. His eyes widened, and he huffed through his beard: “I want to hear it from you! Now tell me about that remarkable young lady doctor!”

“Grandfather, you’re my father’s father, not my father,” Ling Juechen retorted, his tone flat but precise, almost like reciting a tongue twister.

Old General Ling was stunned. He hadn’t expected his grandson to show a sense of humor. Though, if that line hadn’t been said with such a straight face, it might actually have been funny.

“You brat, don’t try to dodge the question! I want to know about that young Divine Doctor: how she used the enemy’s own methods against them!” The old general’s eyes gleamed with gossip-fueled excitement.

“It’s just as you heard,” Ling Juechen said, resigned. “The enemy used poison against our army. I found someone more skilled. She deciphered their poison and then turned it back on them, infecting their troops with the very same plague.”

“That’s it?” The old man nearly exploded with frustration. 

Dapeng had already told him that his future granddaughter-in-law possessed extraordinary medical skill. Her mastery of pharmacy and medicine was near perfection. And his cold, stoic grandson, this block of ice, treated her with nothing but care and gentleness. So why was it so hard to get a single detail about the girl out of his mouth?

“What else is there to say?” Ling Juechen replied calmly, sipping his tea with composure. 

As his gaze drifted toward the ice basins placed in the corners of the study, a flicker of worry crossed his mind. His little girl always forgot everything once she began her research. Her body was frail, and she suffered from the summer heat. Could she endure it this time?

Old General Ling, of course, didn’t miss that hint of concern in his grandson’s eyes. He pressed eagerly, “Where is the young lady from? Who are her family? What’s her temperament like? Is she pretty?”

Are you conducting a household registration check now, old man? Ling Juechen shot him a cool, expressionless glance.

That only infuriated Old General Ling further. He slammed the table and, moving with surprising agility, lunged toward his grandson’s chest. 

Dapeng had said this boy was keeping the girl’s portrait close to his heart—so prying it out of him with words was hopeless. If he won’t show me, I’ll just take it myself!

And so, the grandfather and grandson locked in a swift, silent struggle across the study. Old General Ling was still strong and spry, his martial skills barely diminished with age. But unfortunately, his opponent was none other than Ling Juechen, the man known as the War God. 

After a long bout of CLANG-BANG-THUD in the study, the old general was drenched in sweat—yet he hadn’t even managed to touch the corner of his grandson’s robe.

From behind the bookshelf, Dapeng watched as his general moved with effortless grace, while the old general grew more and more flustered, completely unable to gain the upper hand. He couldn’t help but cover his face.

 Elder Master, please take a break… you’re no match for him at all!

“Elder Master, General Hu and General Zhang are here!” the old butler called from outside. He had been standing there for quite some time with the two visitors, but the scuffle inside still hadn’t ended. Fearing the two generals might grow impatient, he finally raised his voice to interrupt the sparring session between grandfather and grandson.

Lao Hu nudged General Zhang with his elbow, waggling his brows mischievously. “No wonder the King General’s martial skills are so impressive. He’s barely home, and already the old general’s testing him!”

Zhang Qiyun shot him a glare, refusing to dignify the comment. He didn’t want to risk lowering his intelligence by responding to such nonsense.

At last, the sounds of sparring stopped. Old General Ling straightened his robe and hat, pulled over a chair that his grandson had knocked aside during their match, sat down with solemn dignity, and said in a deep voice, “Let them in.”

“Zhang Qiyun and Hu Dagang, reporting to the Old General!”

In his youth, Old General Ling had been a towering figure in the army. Although not as famed as his grandson, the War God, his name still commanded respect throughout the ranks. He had dutifully guarded the northwest for decades, keeping the Mongol tribes at bay and securing forty years of peace for the Great Yan Empire. The two generals stood before him with deep respect, like juniors listening to a revered elder’s teachings.

“Xiao Hu, I heard the Li soldiers split your guts open, and yet here you are, alive and kicking in front of me. And you, Xiao Zhang, you’d nearly lost all your blood, and what was left on you wasn’t even yours but your comrades’. Come now, tell me—what happened?” Old General Ling brightened immediately upon seeing the two men.

At the mention of that battle, Hu Dagang grew animated. He unfastened his tunic right there, revealing a centipede-like scar crawling across his abdomen. Puffing up with pride as if displaying a hero’s medal, he said to the old general, “Old General, take a look at this wound! That day, I faced three of Li’s commanders alone. I fought to the death and cut all three of them down! One of them managed to slash me across the stomach. It left me with a gash this wide, and my intestines spilled out this long.” He gestured with his hands to show the length.

“I tied it tight with my belt and kept fighting until the battle was won. Only then did they carry me off the field.”

He had told this story countless times before, but each time his voice still throbbed with passion. “My guts were out, and so I thought that was the end for me! But fate wasn’t ready to take Lao Hu yet. The King General brought in a young doctor. Her medical skills were extraordinary. She cut away the necrotic section of my intestine, reattached the healthy part, tucked it back into my abdomen, and stitched the wound closed. That lady Divine Doctor said that as long as the wound didn’t get infected and I didn’t develop a fever, I’d be out of danger…”

Lao Hu spoke with such animation that spittle flew as he relived that miraculous night. He said he slept soundly till morning and woke up feeling fine. The only downside was that afterward he could eat nothing but liquid food for over half a year—no meat at all—which nearly drove him mad; his eyes practically gleamed green whenever he saw any.

Then he went on about Lao Zhang whose entire body had been torn up, covered in so many wounds he looked like a man made of blood. Even the most experienced army doctors said they should start preparing his funeral. But that girl tested his blood type, drew enough blood from several officers with the same type, and transfused it into him. Only then did Lao Zhang’s condition stabilize.

Lao Zhang said the young doctor stitched him up as if she were mending a rag doll, sewing every wound on his body one by one. And Lao Zhang—pretentious as ever—accepted the scar-removal ointment she offered him.

Lao Hu teased him, “You’re a rough old man, what do you need scar cream for? That’s for women! The miracle doctor girl said it herself: every scar on us is a hero’s medal! Look at mine—so bold, so majestic!”

General Zhang shot him a glare, too annoyed to even respond.

Old General Ling listened with rapt attention and couldn’t help but sigh: “Is that young lady’s medical skill truly remarkable? It’s a pity I never got to see it with my own eyes. What a great regret in life!”

Lao Hu winked and said, “Old General, there’s no need to regret. It’s a chance you’ll have in the future!” He nodded subtly in the direction of Ling Juechen.

Old General Ling grinned broadly. Finally, this block of ice in his family—his grandson—was starting to get it; he knew how to attract that young lady! 

He wondered what the girl thought of this ice cube of a grandson.

“Dapeng, come here!” Old General Ling called to Dapeng, who had been listening in fascination. 

“Quick, tell me. Did our young lady get scared by your general? With your general’s terrible temper, young ladies in the capital treat him like a rampaging beast. The moment I bring up marriage, they turn pale with fright. Many girls have even cried! Alas… I’m just worried your general might frighten her too!”