One Lifetime Is Never Enough

1.50 Determination

Imperial Physician Su was utterly baffled.

He performed all sort of tests on the Young Master of the Ji clan, inserted his needles in acupoints of the latter, examined his wrists for his blood movement and his heartbeat.

He had never faced such situation before. Just a couple of days ago, the young man's breath was a faint as a flickering candle.

But now, it was like he was never poisoned.

Ji SongLi could even already move very vigorously and started to conduct his normal sparring sessions with Zhen BuFeng. Initially the latter refused, but later on he acquiesced. If anything, BuFeng did not hold back the slightest when he was against SongLi.

He needed to express his grievance towards the younger man's lack of care towards himself.  Both did not hold back in their exchanges of blows - every time their training sessions concluded, both were panting heavily.

Unfortunately however, Ji ChanFang was not that fortunate. A week after SongLi was awakened, Ji ChanFang also regained his full consciousness and could start walking and eating normally. He no longer had his dizzy spells.

But his limbs were weak, and he could no longer hold his sword without his wrist trembling.

The Imperial Physician could only attribute it to the General's older age and the longer time of having been contracted by poison.  

For Ji ChanFang's whole life, sword was his path. Therefore, the General was disheartened by Imperial Physician Su's latest prognosis:

"Although the General can live like normal people, he may not be able to wield weapon anymore."

One day, his anger took the better of him as he bellowed from inside his room,

"What 'living like normal people'?? Without my swordsmanship, I may as well be an invalid!!"

Wu JianRui could only stare at the tightly closed door with tears in her eyes. Ji LanBai hold her mother's sleeves, also with silent tears streaming down her face. 

For them, it was the first time ever they saw this man – the pillar of their family – looking so frail. He had shut his own wife and daughter from reaching out to him.

But would Wu JianRui be admonished by her husband if she was to say that, for her, it was enough that he was alive.

Without formal arrangements, but with implicit understanding, Ji SongLi became the head of the family. He started to assign some lead commanders in Ming Town – the base of their operation - to recruit some fresh faces for the clan. For days and weeks, he traveled back and forth between Ming Town and Da Lang. He also set a second base for Ji clan in Da Lang, having purchased another empty field, by the recommendation of Zhen BuFeng.

It was to be the second barrack of the Ji clan's freshly recruited soldiers. Fortunately, for the immediate family members, Liu YangHuan was more than happy to let them continue their use of his estate.

For months ahead, he was busy carrying the duty as the Tiger's heir. In the absence of his father, he was to approve and half-supervise all new recruits. Luckily there were still some experienced soldiers in the clan, who were more than happy to ease his burden somewhat. 

Again, the women in the Ji family – and YuLan – could only wait. Waiting while the main pillar of the family – Ji ChanFang – wallowed in his fate.

Some days, there were also some grieving families from the soldiers killed by the Dong tribe who directly expressed their grievance at the front gates.

The people, dressed in whites, carried the urns containing the ash of their sons, brothers, or nephews, or fathers. Ji SongLi had to deal with those families as well, despite YuLan having giving them their due compensation.