Chapter Twelve: My Name Isn’t on the Roster, Is It?

“There's even a possibility...”

Liu Dehai was frantic, shouting hysterically, “Who knows where these medals came from, if they’re unclaimed items, maybe from those who died without anyone to claim them...”

Ye Yuan’s body trembled slightly.

He could endure humiliation.

But his fallen comrades could not!

If even he, a living man, could not uphold their dignity, then who else could?!

“Silence! To slander martyrs and defame heroes, do you know the crime you commit?!”

Cong Gui finally erupted in anger, pointing at the medals and shouting, “Look at these! This is irrefutable evidence! Look closely! The old hero has a dozen military medals hanging on his chest! And here, there are over twenty more!”

“Nearly forty military medals laid out together — do you understand what this means?”

“From the Northeast Resistance War in 1931 until now, even if one collected medals continuously on the battlefield, they wouldn’t gather this many! How dare you say such things!”

Cong Gui had always harbored ill feelings toward Liu Dehai, a local bully.

Seeing Liu Dehai repeatedly slander Ye Yuan, he could no longer hold back.

Even the young soldiers gripped their shovels and hoes tightly, veins bulging, each filled with righteous indignation as they stared at Liu Dehai.

If not for discipline, they truly wanted to rush forward and teach him a lesson.

Liu Dehai hung his head in silence, his eyes darting about as he concocted a plan.

Cong Gui took a deep breath to calm himself, then apologized with a sincere expression to Ye Yuan and Sun Ting, “I’m sorry, old hero, Miss Sun, I lost my temper just now.”

Sun Ting raised her small fists and said, “That’s right! Heroes like Grandpa Ye cannot tolerate slander!”

“Oh, what a misunderstanding, a huge misunderstanding!”

Liu Dehai suddenly bowed exaggeratedly, “Old hero, please forgive me. I was misled by some rumors and feared imposters pretending to be heroes...”

Before he finished, a sly smile crept across his face. “Old hero Ye, although you’ve proven these medals are yours, why aren’t you recorded in the county annals? Could it be... there’s some secret you’re hiding?”

Though his words were subtle, he was clearly insinuating that Ye Yuan had concealed his identity because of sensitive issues.

Ye Yuan lifted his head, his fierce eyes fixed intently on Liu Dehai.

Liu Dehai shuddered inwardly.

For some reason, he felt fear.

How could an old man nearing the grave possess such a commanding presence?

---

“That shows Grandpa Ye is a man indifferent to fame!”

Sun Ting’s voice choked with emotion. “On the battlefield, parting with life and death is already painful enough... those who died are immortalized in history, revered by future generations... but those who live... must bear everything while alive...”

“The war is over! Those who live simply want to live ordinary, honest lives. Is that wrong?”

The last sentence came out of her mouth in a sobbing shout.

For some reason, whenever she saw Ye Yuan, she thought of her own grandfather, which made her so fiercely protective.

She had never met her grandparents.

She had heard her father say that on the battlefield, her father was shielded in the middle by her grandparents and survived.

Even when cleaning the battlefield later, the soldiers who found her father alive had to exert great effort to separate her grandparents.

If her grandparents were still alive, they would probably be like Grandpa Ye—unconcerned with empty fame.

“Drag him aside, don’t let him speak anymore!”

Cong Gui glared furiously at Liu Dehai, then turned back, looking expectantly at Ye Yuan, “Old hero, is that so?”

If Ye Yuan nodded, all of Liu Dehai’s accusations would be instantly disproven!

But Ye Yuan neither nodded nor shook his head; he only said softly, “I have a clear conscience.”

“Good! Such a noble declaration!”

A loud voice came from outside the vegetable garden.

Everyone turned to see Commander Xiao Bo and Political Commissar Liu Ping striding over.

“Commander, Commissar.”

Cong Gui immediately saluted them.

Sun Ting’s eyes brightened at the sight of the two.

Xiao Bo and Liu Ping returned the salute, then walked briskly toward Ye Yuan.

Xiao Bo noticed Sun Ting beside them and nudged Liu Ping gently, “That seems to be Miss Sun from the old Sun family.”

Though they recognized her, the three tacitly chose not to greet her.

Xiao Bo and Liu Ping stopped before Ye Yuan.

“You must be Old Hero Ye!”

---

Both wore solemn expressions and saluted first. “Greetings, Old Hero Ye! We are Xiao Bo, Commander of the Northeast Military District, and Liu Ping, Political Commissar, paying our respects!”

Xiao Bo then smiled awkwardly, “Commissar Liu and I stayed up all night finishing urgent matters and came here early this morning. Sorry to have kept you waiting.”

“No trouble at all. I’m already very pleased that two commanders have come.”

Facing two high-ranking commanders, Ye Yuan’s expression remained unchanged.

Xiao Bo shook his head gravely, “How could that be? You are a veteran of the Anti-Japanese War, a witness to history. People like you are treasures of our entire nation!”

Liu Ping cut to the chase and asked quietly, “Old hero, to be honest, before coming here, we investigated your identity, but...”

“You didn’t find my name, did you?”

“Yes.”

Liu Ping nodded. “Not only in our province but nationwide, we requested the roster of all anti-Japanese war veterans, yet your name was still missing.”

“See! See! What did I tell you!”

Liu Dehai muttered under his breath, but loud enough for all to hear. “The local county annals have no record of him, and now even the national roster of anti-Japanese veterans lacks his name!”

“What does that mean? It means he’s a fraud! An impostor pretending to be a veteran, a grave crime!”

Silence fell over everyone.

Now, Ye Yuan’s identity was the biggest issue.

Once his identity could be proven, everything would become clear.

“I originally wanted to take all this to the grave, but... now I have no choice but to reveal the truth.”

Ye Yuan spoke slowly, anger burning in his voice.

At this moment, he was like a raging lion.

Before everyone’s eyes, the frail old man disappeared, replaced by a vigorous, impassioned young general!

“I can endure humiliation and false accusations, but... my deceased comrades cannot suffer even the slightest injustice!”

Once these words were spoken, everyone’s eyes, except for Liu Dehai’s, burned with fervor.

Has the old hero finally decided to tell the truth?