Exorcist Master - Chapter 84 - Officially Commend

This trip had exhausted Chen Shaoxian. On the flight back, he fell asleep as soon as he slumped into the chair and didn’t even remember how he got off the plane.

When he woke up, he was already lying in bed. Seeing the color of the quilt, he knew he was still in the military district. Turning his head, he noticed a piping hot meal placed next to him. The delicious aroma made his stomach growl. He stretched comfortably, sat up, reached for the chopsticks, and began to enjoy the meal.

Chen Shaoxian devoured everything, even the soup, leaving nothing behind.

Afterward, he lay back down and quickly fell into a deep sleep again.

When Chen Shaoxian opened his eyes again, it was already evening. He got out of bed, stretched a bit, took a quick shower, and walked out of the room.

There was a young sentinel, around seventeen or eighteen years old, standing at the door. As soon as the Little Sentinel saw Chen Shaoxian coming out, he saluted, catching Chen Shaoxian off guard. Suddenly recalling a scene from TV, he jokingly patted the young soldier’s shoulder, “Not bad.” Then he strolled around leisurely.

Chen Shaoxian had never been so close to the barracks life before, so he was curious about everything. Occasionally, he heard uniform shouts, which struck him as novel.

“Shao-Xian, you’re finally up,” Song Yumu’s voice came from behind.

Turning around, Chen Shaoxian saw Song Yumu and the Little Sentinel standing not far behind him. He walked over and chuckled, “Song-Ge, morning.”

“Morning my foot, you slept for two days and a night. You were like a dead pig on the plane and needed someone to help you shower,” Song Yumu joked with a laugh. Then, with a wink, he teasingly added, “But you’ve got quite the stamina. Can your girlfriend handle it?” He then burst into laughter.

The Little Sentinel seemed to have never seen Song Yumu like this, staring at his superior in amazement.

Suddenly remembering that they weren’t alone, Song Yumu turned around, embarrassed, and said to the Little Sentinel, “Kiddo, the grown-ups are talking. Go run along.” With that, he gently kicked the Little Sentinel’s backside and then, as if recalling something, pulled out fifty yuan and handed it to him, saying, “Go buy yourselves some soda, and don’t talk nonsense.”

The Little Sentinel saluted the two and then ran off quickly.

Song Yumu patted the still chuckling Chen Shaoxian and said, “Come with me, someone’s been waiting for you all day.”

Chen Shaoxian followed Song Yumu into a small meeting room where he immediately saw three people: Nie Baoguo and a middle-aged man and woman. They were both in military uniform, with high-ranking insignias on their shoulders.

As Chen Shaoxian entered, the three stood up to greet him.

Chen Shaoxian quickly walked over and respectfully greeted Grandpa Nie.

Nie Baoguo, with a somewhat excited expression, held Chen Shaoxian’s hand and said to the other two, “This is the Chen Shaoxian I was talking about.” Then he turned to Chen Shaoxian and said, “Shao-Xian, they’re not outsiders.” He introduced them, “This is my son and daughter-in-law, Nie Aijun and Shang Hua.”

Chen Shaoxian promptly responded, “Hello, Uncle and Aunt.”

The couple warmly thanked Chen Shaoxian several times.

Nie Baoguo invited Chen Shaoxian to sit beside him.

As soon as he sat down, Chen Shaoxian asked, “Grandpa Nie, how are Xiao Zhuang and the others?”

It was Shang Hua who replied, “Xiao Zhuang is fine now. He woke up for a bit this morning and is still resting. The others are still recuperating.”

Hearing that Xiao Zhuang was awake, Chen Shaoxian felt relieved.

Shang Hua then recalled something and added, “Those two foreigners have been taken by the embassy. Also, the one named Thomas left a card for you, asking me to pass it along.” She handed the card to Chen Shaoxian.

Chen Shaoxian took the card and quickly glanced through it. Besides the contact information, it contained some words of gratitude and an invitation for him to visit.

Nie Baoguo waited for Chen Shaoxian to put the card away before speaking, “Shao-Xian, you’ve saved so many excellent soldiers. Each one of them is very dear to me, and I am truly grateful to you. Beyond personal thanks, we also want to officially commend you.” With that, he took out a certificate, a commendation, and a small notebook.

Having rarely received any awards before, Chen Shaoxian felt a bit excited to see something issued by the state.

Chen Shaoxian solemnly accepted the items and looked them over carefully. But when he saw the small notebook, he was stunned. He didn’t expect it to be a military ID, and his own at that. What shocked him even more was that it showed his rank as major.

Chen Shaoxian was baffled; if Nie Baoguo hadn’t handed it to him personally, he might have bitten it to verify its authenticity.

Seeing Chen Shaoxian’s puzzled expression, Nie Baoguo chuckled and explained, “Don’t be surprised. Actually, every country offers special talents attractive benefits to join the military, aiming to draw more exceptional people to serve.”

Everyone present thought Chen Shaoxian would be delighted to accept, but he only kept the commendation and certificate, and respectfully handed the military ID back, saying, “Grandpa Nie, I’m really honored, but I can’t accept this. I cherish my freedom.”

This surprised everyone in the room. Nie Baoguo sighed, “You’re just like your grandfather. He said the same thing back in the day.”

Even though he said that, Nie Baoguo didn’t take back what Chen Shaoxian offered. He smiled wryly and said, “Keep it. Do you know your grandfather’s rank?”

Chen Shaoxian responded with a puzzled “Huh?” and looked at Grandpa Nie in surprise.

“If your grandfather had stayed in the military, his rank would be higher than mine,” Nie Baoguo said, sighing again.

Knowing that his own grandfather had a military background, Chen Shaoxian decided not to decline further.

Dinner was ready, and Nie Baoguo asked Song Yumu to call Nie Wei and the others. About twenty people dined together, enjoying joyous conversation and laughter.

After dinner, the group chatted for a while before Chen Shaoxian stood up to excuse himself and head home.