“Hiss…”
Su Jinxiu sucked in a sharp breath, feeling as though her entire skull was buzzing.
After twenty straight hours of high-intensity surgery, she had assumed the worst outcome would be collapsing dead in front of the operating table and dying honorably in the line of duty.
She never expected an afterlife bonus package—buy one, get one free, complete with transmigration.
Lowering her head, she realized she was holding a long whip, the tip still coated with sparkling… salt crystals?
Well then. Whoever arranged this was really going all out.
【Ding—Soul binding with host detected.】
【Merit Medical Space officially activated!】
A cold mechanical voice echoed in her mind. Before she could complain about the cheap, low-budget system design, a flood of chaotic memories rushed violently into her head.
…
She had transmigrated into a novel.
The original owner of this body was also named Su Jinxiu, infamous throughout the surrounding villages as a wicked woman. Obsessed with a scholar in town, she squandered her family fortune trying to support him, only to be swindled out of every coin she had. To take revenge on the scholar who called her “vulgar and uncultured,” she bought the most handsome slave she could find from traffickers, intending to train him into the most obedient dog possible and flaunt him in front of the scholar.
Su Jinxiu stiffly turned her neck and looked ahead.
A man was tied hand and foot with thick hemp ropes and thrown onto a pile of straw. The clothes on his body were so tattered their original color could no longer be seen. Whip marks and bloodstains covered him from head to toe, new wounds layered over old ones in a horrifying sight.
Even from the perspective of an emergency surgeon accustomed to gruesome car crash victims, this was the kind of scene that would require censorship before broadcasting.
And this man was none other than Huo Chen—the future tyrant of this political intrigue novel. Ruthless, bloodthirsty, and destined to personally order Su Jinxiu’s death by slow slicing.
【Host vital signs abnormal. Adrenaline levels rising. Please remain calm.】
Calm? Calm my ass!
Su Jinxiu screamed internally. I know this guy is going to turn me into sashimi someday! How am I supposed to stay calm?!
Just as her thoughts spiraled into chaos, the man who should have been unconscious suddenly opened his eyes.
In the next instant, a tremendous force clamped around her throat.
Huo Chen pushed himself up with one hand while the other seized her neck tightly, his nails digging into her flesh with painful intensity.
“Urgh…”
The sensation of suffocation overwhelmed her.
Damn it, was she really going to get killed at the very start?!
In that split second, countless options flashed through Su Jinxiu’s mind.
Run? Impossible. Even injured like this, he could still attack instantly.
Beg for mercy? With his suspicious nature, that would only make her die faster.
But the novel mentioned that this severe injury would cause him to lose his memory…
She had to gamble.
With death looming over her, Su Jinxiu’s survival instincts exploded to maximum capacity.
With a loud clang, she threw away the whip in her hand. Instead of resisting, she suddenly wrapped both arms tightly around Huo Chen’s waist in an incredibly bizarre posture.
Then, a heaven-shaking wail erupted through the broken woodshed.
“Husband! You’re finally awake! Wuwuwuwu—you scared me to death!”
Huo Chen: “?”
The grip around her throat noticeably loosened.
Su Jinxiu immediately sensed she could breathe again and instantly increased her performance level. Tears came the moment she wanted them to, and she nearly forced snot out as well.
“My poor husband! Do you know that in order to save you from those damned traffickers, I pawned off all the dowry my mother left me?!”
As she cried, she rubbed her face against Huo Chen’s filthy chest, smearing herself with blood and dirt until she looked as miserable as possible.
“When they beat you, my heart hurt like it was being cut by knives! Husband, I’m your wife! How could you raise your hand against me?”
Huo Chen’s mind was in complete chaos.
He remembered being hunted down, severely injured, and falling from his horse. After that came endless darkness and torment. But his memories had shattered into countless fragments that refused to piece themselves back together.
Who was this woman crying her heart out while clinging to him?
His wife?
He looked at her reddened eyes and the little face stained with his blood and grime, yet showing not the slightest disgust. Unconsciously, the hand around her neck loosened even further.
Confusion filled his face.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In the middle of the strange atmosphere, the dilapidated wooden door shook violently from heavy pounding.
A shrill female voice came from outside.
“Su Jinxiu! You little bitch! Get your ass out here!”
“You still dare hide after owing our family money? Hurry up and hand over that wild man! Selling him to the black mines can at least pay back a few coins!”
The shouting outside caused Huo Chen’s body to tense instantly. His battlefield-honed instincts sensed strong hostility.
Su Jinxiu’s heart skipped a beat.
The original owner’s awful relative—her eldest aunt, Madam Zhao.
Truly, when it rains, it pours.
But for Su Jinxiu, this was basically a stage gifted by heaven itself.
She gave a delicate shiver and snuggled even closer into Huo Chen’s arms, trembling like a frightened little rabbit.
“Husband… I’m scared…”
Huo Chen felt deeply uncomfortable and was about to push her away when the little rabbit in his arms suddenly changed completely.
Su Jinxiu turned her head and immediately shouted back toward the door. Her voice was so loud and fierce that she sounded like the undefeated queen of a marketplace argument marathon.
“What are you yelling for?! Is someone dead?! My husband is severely injured and lying in bed, and all of you are just waiting for us to die, aren’t you?!”
“I’m telling you, if anyone wants to touch my husband, step over my corpse first! As long as I’m alive, nobody is laying a finger on him!”
Her fierce declaration stunned both Madam Zhao outside the door and Huo Chen inside the room.
He lowered his eyes and looked at the woman in his arms. Just a second ago she had been sobbing pitifully, and now she suddenly looked ready to fight the whole world. The killing intent in his eyes was temporarily replaced by something far more complicated.
She… was protecting him?
Taking advantage of Huo Chen’s distraction, Su Jinxiu urgently called out to the system in her mind.
“System! Hurry! Scan his physical condition! Make it professional!”
【Eye Scan function activated. Mental energy consumption: 1%.】
【Scanning… Beep. Scan complete.】
In an instant, a high-definition three-dimensional image of the human body appeared in Su Jinxiu’s mind.
【Name: Huo Chen】
【Injury Report: Mild intracranial bleeding accompanied by retrograde amnesia. Fractures in the seventh and eighth ribs on the left side. Open fracture of the right tibia. Multiple soft tissue contusions across the body. Several wounds have become severely infected due to improper treatment and have begun ulcerating, showing early signs of sepsis.】
【Overall Assessment: On the verge of death. Immediate emergency treatment recommended.】
As expected of the future tyrant. Even injured this badly, he still managed to grab my throat.
Su Jinxiu mocked inwardly, but her expression became extremely grave.
This was the perfect chance to earn favorability points—and also her only chance to survive.
“Husband,” she said softly yet firmly as she helped Huo Chen lie down slowly, “your injuries are too severe. If they aren’t treated now, this leg will be crippled.”
Huo Chen stared at her warily, his eyes filled with suspicion and scrutiny.
Su Jinxiu quickly wiped her face clean. The pitiful crying expression from earlier vanished instantly, replaced by a solemn focus he had never seen before.
Turning her back to him to block his view, she pretended to search through an old wooden box nearby. In reality, she took out a scalpel as thin as a cicada’s wing and a cotton mask soaked with ether from her medical space.
“What are you trying to do?” Huo Chen asked hoarsely. His body tensed, ready to strike at any moment.
“Save your life.” Su Jinxiu’s tone remained calm as she turned around and fearlessly met his probing gaze. “Your seventh and eighth ribs on the left side are fractured. Your right tibia is broken, and the wound is festering with pus. If this drags on any longer, even the gods themselves won’t be able to save you. They’ll only be able to collect your corpse.”
She accurately listed his most severe injuries. Huo Chen’s pupils contracted slightly. Even he himself could not clearly sense all those injuries—so how did this woman know them in such detail?
“Don’t move. It might hurt a little, but it’ll be over soon.”
With practiced movements, she lifted his pant leg, revealing a gruesome wound so deep the bone could be seen beneath the mangled flesh.
“The rotten flesh has to be removed, and the bones need to be reset. Husband, you’ll have to endure it.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she pressed the strange-smelling cloth toward his mouth and nose.
“You—!” Huo Chen flew into a rage and raised his hand to grab her wrist.
But although he was fast, Su Jinxiu was faster.
With a flick of her wrist, she evaded his grip. Her other hand accurately pressed against a spot on his neck, instantly draining his strength.
“Stop struggling. Otherwise, the one who dies from blood loss will be you.”
Her voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable professionalism and icy authority. She was completely different from the crying peasant woman from before.
Huo Chen tried to resist, but the strange sweet scent invaded his nose forcefully. His body grew heavier and heavier, and his eyelids began to droop.
Before losing consciousness, the last thing he saw was the woman who claimed to be his “wife.”
She lowered her head and focused intently on his wound. On her delicate side profile was a strength he could not understand—yet somehow, it gave him an inexplicable sense of reassurance.
Who exactly was this woman?