In the bamboo forest, listening to the roar of the waterfall, he opened his eyes. The spring water reflected his face, a decadent man in his thirties with a beard all over his face.
How long?
How long has passed since the end of the Imperial War?
Hundreds of thousands of years, or one million years?
"well..."
He sighed, then picked up the bamboo pole and quickly shuttled through the bamboo forest, walking as fast as flying.
'Do you still hate me?'
'No.'
'The empire fell because of us, you should hate me.'
'That's not your fault,' Xiang Wu said, 'No one can predict the direction of the war, you just made your own choice.'
Many people felt that the empire would eventually fall because the rear brought them down. Almost everyone felt this way.
Zen Master Yi Nian wanted to be a hero, but in the end, he became the one who was criticized in history.
'Thank you,' one thought: 'Maybe you are the only one who thinks that I am not a bad person.'
'We are friends, best friends.'
'yes.'
Zen Master Yi Nian stood up slowly: "Getting to know you is the most correct thing I have ever done in my life."
'A thought?'
'I want to do something, something great.'
'What kind of great deed?'
'That is the cause we pursue throughout our lives, and we must dedicate ourselves to it and be loyal to China.'
The figure of the other party gradually faded away. Xiang Wu watched him leave, unable to stay in the end: "So, where are you going and how long will you go? Don't be like this. There are not many people in our time. You, can
Can't you leave?'
‘…’
He is no longer the young man he was back then. Like Xiang Wu, he has experienced the rise and fall of the empire, and has endured and shouldered too much: 'Let's go together, just like before, and shed the last drop of blood for the empire.'
'good!'
Xiang Wushi agreed, just like when he was a child, in the crowd, he stretched out his hand to himself, no matter where he went, with friends or comrades: 'Wait for me, I will leave right away.'
'Or bamboo tube rice?'
'Isn't it delicious?'
'Well,' Yi Nian praised from the bottom of his heart: 'It's delicious, I want to eat it again.'
'You can eat it as many times as you want!'
Because we have to start together, Xiang Wu will not abandon this close friend, just like he has never abandoned himself.
But...
'Dad, where are you going?!'
‘Wu Shi?’
Looking behind him, his wife and children stood there, looking at themselves, just like when they were children, they were in the air, looking at the soldiers in the ceremonial guard.
He is the husband of his wife, the father of his children, and a hero in their eyes...
In the end, Xiang Wu was unable to leave the people behind him. His eyes were red, his heart was tangled, but he was full of hesitation.
'I'm sorry, I...'
He didn't dare to look at her, feeling that she was not worthy of being his best friend.
However...
'Send me off.'
Looking at them, Yi Nian smiled. He did not force Xiang Wu to go with him because they were friends, so he hoped that the other party would be safe. He hoped that he would be the one who died and that he would be the one who sacrificed.
"Why are you crying there?" The two of them sat on the ground, just like in front of the military camp. Yi Nian ate bamboo tube rice and said with a smile: "Isn't the rice delicious? This is your favorite bamboo tube rice. It's not like we won't meet each other in the future."
Now, don’t treat it like life and death!'
'It's just too hot.'
Xiang Wushi covered his face: ‘My eyes were hit by the heat.’
'Okay, don't be like a child, come on!'
Xiang Wu raised his head, looked at Yi Nian's raised fist, and then smashed it together.
'Anytime, anywhere.'
'Never leave, never give up!'
Yi Nian left, just like before, they embarked on different paths again, but Xiang Wushi still firmly believes that no matter where Yi Nian is, they are friends and best friends!
He will come back alive, and he will be alive, and then they will sit on the floor and eat bamboo rice together again...
'Brother Wu Shi? Brother Wu Shi!'
Is this calling him?
At some point, he was no longer that humble panda, he became one of the leaders of the panda fairy clan.
Tens of thousands of years?
Or, hundreds of thousands of years?
Don't remember.
By the way, when did the Empire happen? How many years ago?
Also, how long has Yi Nian been gone?
'Uncle Xiang!'
'Dad!'
'Old man!'
'Ancestor!'
"Rumble..."
The roar of the waterfall was still there, and in the splashing water, he opened his eyes and saw his face reflected in the crystal water droplets.
His hair is gray and his face is full of wrinkles.
He is old...
"well..."
Unknowingly, he has become old. He is no longer young and has become an elder. The older generation: "A million years have passed since the empire fell."
'Grandpa! Grandpa, come quickly, your great-granddaughter is born!'
'Where?'
The old man walked quickly into the yard. He was old, but he was still energetic, because his heart was not old yet. He was still waiting to continue fighting for the empire. He was waiting for the day when the emperor came back and could pick up weapons again.
I want to be a general, be an old general!
'Give this child a name.'
‘Is it a girl?’ The old man hugged the petite panda and showed a kind smile: ‘It’s called Nuoyou, You’er, Xiao You’er.’
"Boom~~~"
Wearing a simple Taoist robe, he was hunched over, his body no longer what it used to be, and his two white eyebrows were so long that they almost covered his eyes.
Xiang Wu stood on the boulder. He stuck his head out and looked at his reflection in the pool.
This is an old panda, thin and short.
"well."
The old panda sighed: 'I can no longer even look like a human being. It seems that I am really old.'
'Old man, it's windy outside, go home.' A seven or eight-year-old girl called not far away: 'Mom made your favorite bamboo tube rice.'
'It's not cold. I want to sit for a while. You can go back first, Xiao Qiurou.'
The empire no longer exists.
I am getting old myself.
Old general?
Oh, he can no longer be a general. Now, even if he wants to join the army, no one will want him, right?
'well.'
Okay, that's enough, let's go home. Why are you still acting like a child at such an old age?
Let those young people be heroes.
but...
I'm just not convinced, what should I do?
'Old man, I'm only 18!'
'You bastards are a million years too early to surpass me!'
'I was very handsome when I was young, really super handsome!'
‘…’
However, no matter how loud he shouted, when he calmed down, what he finally faced was the loneliness of being alone.
Friends have gone, comrades have died, and the goal of struggle has become a memory. A person does not know why he lives, and he does not know who he should die for...