Volume 1: The Fierce Tiger Leaves Its Leash Chapter 36: Bidding Farewell to the Past (Part 1)

  In the western suburbs of Wucheng, at the Martyrs' Cemetery, thirteen coffins draped with flags were neatly placed in front of thirteen tombstones. Each tombstone had a photo on it, with a name engraved below. On the eleventh tombstone from the left was a bright and cheerful young man's photo, with the name "Ling Tianxiang" engraved below.

  In the cemetery, hundreds of soldiers took off their military caps and silently gazed at those thirteen faces that were both familiar and strange to him. Among these thirteen martyrs, eleven were officers and men of the "Snow Leopard" detachment, one was a guard, and one was an intelligence officer. As for why these people were pursued as martyrs, no one asked much, nor did anyone proclaim it. This was a non-public funeral, attended by soldiers and personnel from the military intelligence bureau.

  Zhou Guohui presided over the funeral, and finally, the commander of the military region delivered a eulogy. The ceremony was very solemn, and when the voice of the general commander still echoed in the wilderness, 24 soldiers dressed in ceremonial uniforms fired their rifles. For soldiers, guns are their most basic weapons, and using gunfire to bid farewell to comrades is the greatest respect for them.

  The gunshot was heard from a great distance, all the way to a highway in the distance, and into the "Jingqi" sedan parked on the side of the road.

  Looking at the comrades in the distance all wearing olive green military uniforms, looking at the dense crowd, looking at the photo on the tombstone with a bright smile, two lines of tears rolled down Ling Tianxiang's face. He put down the monocular telescope in his hand and quickly wiped away his tears. That was his past, his comrades were seeing him off, and he was also bidding farewell to his own past.

  "It's all in the past, you're only 23 years old, and there's still a long way to go." Huang Longfei has been accompanying his son for the past few days. "For a person's life, if they always dwell on the past and don't look towards the future, then they will never be able to live a normal life, let alone achieve new success. Tian Xiang, maybe you'll miss your past, but we all hope you can recover as soon as possible. The old road has come to an end, but a new one is already in front of you."

  "Dad, I just want to take a few more glances." Ling Tianxiang clenched his teeth. That was the two years of fighting career he had been through, that was the six years of military career he had been through, that was the twelve years of happy life he had lived, and the twenty-three years of life he had spent. It's not hard to say "goodbye" normally, but now it's hard for anyone to bid farewell to the past twenty-three years immediately.

  Huang Longfei didn't say anything else, he rolled down the window and the cool evening breeze blew in. The smoke inside the car also quickly dissipated. Huang Longfei had been constantly smoking cigars these days, trying to figure out what his son was thinking, but after several attempts, he found that his son seemed to have built a wall around his inner world, no longer opening up his heart and not letting others easily know what he was thinking. Ten years ago, Huang Longfei's disastrous defeat in the business world had also led him to build a wall around his own soul, now he didn't know if this change in his son was good or bad.

  At this time, the phone in the car rang, and Huang Longfei immediately picked it up. "Okay, I know."

  Ling Tianhui turned his head back.

  "Minghanci just called, the plane has been arranged." Huang Longfei put down the receiver, "I told him to wait at the airport, anyway we don't need to rush back."

  "Let's go." Ling Tianxiang let out a breath, looked at the grave for the last time, then rolled up the car window.

  Huang Longfei's gaze lingered on his son for a moment before nodding to the bodyguard and driver sitting in the front row, then raised the window glass on his side. The "Jingqi" car immediately drove along the highway towards the airport, Huang Longfei noticed that Ling Tianxiang never looked back at the tomb again, his eyes fixed on the front, without even turning his head once.

  At the Wucheng Airport, a business jet had completed its pre-flight preparations. Li Minghan and his two bodyguards were waiting outside the plane. The "Jingqi" sedan drove all the way to the boarding stairs before stopping, and one of the bodyguards immediately got out to open the door.

  "Huang, it's all arranged."

  Huang Longfei nodded slightly, and only after Ling Tianxiang got off the car did he board the gangway. Li Minghan just nodded slightly towards Ling Tianxiang, then followed him onto the plane. The business jet quickly taxied down the runway and soon rose into the sky, which was dyed red by the sunset glow.

  "This is our donation account." Li Minghan was 5 years older than Ling Tianxiang, although Huang Longfei also sponsored him to finish college that year, but did not adopt him as a foster son. Instead, Ling Tianxiang and more than a dozen other children later adopted by Huang Longfei all regarded Li Minghan as their elder brother.

  Huang Longfei handed over the documents, flipped through them, and then handed them to Ling Tianxiang, who was sitting across from him, looking out the porthole. "This is the donation I made in the name of assisting the families of martyrs, which I helped donate to the family of Lieutenant Zhang Guoting. In addition, the families of the other ten 'Snow Leopard' troops who sacrificed also received corresponding donations. This matter was handled personally by Ming Han, take a look."

  Ling Tianxiang didn't go to flip through the files. He only glanced at his father opposite him, and Li Minghan sitting on the other side of the aisle, before shifting his gaze back out the window.

  "This is a new certificate and various related procedures." Li Minghan didn't mind Ling Tianxiang's attitude.

  Huang Longfei took over the cowhide envelope, and this time he didn't hand it to Ling Tianxiang. "This is your new identity, along with related documents. It was also personally handled by Ming Han, only changing the birth date and place, without changing the name."

  Ling Tianxiang nodded slightly and after a while, he suddenly turned his head around. "Where are we going now?"

  Huang Longfei slightly furrowed his brow, Ling Tianxiang's change made him feel a bit strange.

  "We'll go home first and then arrange for you to go abroad." Li Minghan immediately replied on behalf of Huang Longfei.

  "Can you give me a day, no, half a day's time?" Ling Tianxiang looked at Huang Longfei.

  "Do you have anything unfinished?" Huang Longfei hesitated for a moment without responding promptly.

  "I want to go see Wei Daming's family, I heard he'll be discharged from the hospital soon, maybe I won't have a chance to see him again, but..."

  "Let Minghan accompany you." Without waiting for Lingtian's response, Huang Longfei said to Li Minghan, "Arrange the relevant itinerary, do you know where Wei Daming is from?"

  "It's just in Tongzhou, not far from the city center."

  Huang Long nodded. "Tian Xiang, after arriving at the airport, you should go with Ming Han to pay a visit. You should also go see Wei Daming's family."

  Ling Tianxiang's gaze turned back to the porthole, the sky was rapidly darkening, and night was about to fall. The sharp blade rolled away like a fierce tiger, unbridled. Chapter 36: Farewell to the Past (Part 1)