Huo Zhixing withdrew his hand, curling his fingers loosely into his palm as he rose from the bed, his usual cold composure returning.
“Let’s go.”
He turned slightly, his voice still cool, though unconsciously gentler than before.
“I’ll go with you.”
Su Jiuyue instinctively climbed off the bed, but the moment she put weight on her right foot, a sharp, needle-like pain shot from her swollen ankle straight to the top of her head.
“Hiss—”
She gasped, her body pitching to one side uncontrollably.
Huo Zhixing reacted instantly.
His powerful arm swept around her waist, catching her firmly before pulling her back against his broad chest.
“What are you doing?” he asked coldly, though a storm of concern flickered in his lowered gaze.
He stared at her ankle. It looked slightly better than it had that morning, but it was still badly swollen.
“It’s still swollen. Shouldn’t we go to the hospital first?”
Earlier that morning, he’d been afraid of waking her, so he hadn’t dared massage the medicine in properly.
Sweat beaded across Su Jiuyue’s forehead as she forced out a trembling reply.
“It’s fine… It’s nothing serious. Let’s just—”
He ignored her.
Instead, he tightened his grip and practically lifted half her weight into his arms.
Her natural fragrance drifted into his senses, instantly suppressing the violent agitation that had been building inside him.
His expression remained stern.
“Apply the medicated oil first.”
Realizing his tone had been too harsh, he softened it slightly.
“We’ll massage it properly before going out. If you’re not in a hurry to be reincarnated, waiting a few extra minutes won’t kill you.”
Outside the military compound, a large crowd had already gathered.
It was lunchtime, when workers were returning home. Family members and passersby all stopped to watch the commotion.
Li Guilan sat on the ground with her hair in a tangled mess like a bird’s nest, waving a patched old jacket while crying dramatically.
“Heaven has no justice!”
“I worked myself to the bone raising that girl, and now she’s abandoned her parents just so she can live a better life! She ran away with some wild man!”
“And that poor, honest fiancé of hers! On the day of the wedding, before he even got to touch his bride, she was stolen away!”
“Just because you’re in the military doesn’t mean you can kidnap my daughter! Is there no law anymore?”
Beside her stood Liu Laizi, dressed in a yellowed white undershirt. His wrinkled face twisted into an expression of exaggerated misery.
“Leaders, please judge fairly!”
“I’m just a simple farmer. I don’t understand fancy principles, but my wife’s family accepted my betrothal money. That means she’s my woman!”
“Commander Huo is supposed to protect ordinary people. How can he steal another man’s wife?”
The spectators immediately began whispering.
In those days, accusations involving morality and personal conduct were taken extremely seriously.
“The Huo family has always had strict family values. Commander Huo would never steal someone else’s wife.”
“Exactly! Commander Huo has never even been interested in women.”
“You never really know what’s in someone’s heart. He looks cold and upright, but who knows what he does in private?”
“And that country girl is pretty heartless too. She abandoned her own parents just to run off with another man?”
Public opinion was rapidly beginning to turn against them.
Just then, the crowd silently parted down the middle.
Huo Zhixing, dressed in an immaculate military uniform, walked forward with a grim expression while supporting the limping Su Jiuyue.
The overwhelming aura forged through years on the battlefield radiated from him so intensely that everyone instinctively fell silent.
“You little wretch! You finally showed your face!”
Li Guilan froze for a second at the sight of the beautifully dressed young woman. Once she recognized Su Jiuyue, she immediately exploded.
“You shameless slut!”
She hadn’t expected Su Jiuyue to look so stunning.
The floral dress fit her perfectly, making her look like a refined city lady.
Seeing that the man beside her had bought her such beautiful clothes only convinced Li Guilan that the two had long been carrying on an illicit relationship.
Although she feared Huo Zhixing somewhat, the crowd gave her courage.
Surely he wouldn’t dare hit her in public.
So she shouted even louder.
“You’re just like your dead mother! Seducing men at such a young age!”
“I found you a perfectly respectable husband, but you refused him and even ran away from the wedding! I’ll beat you to death!”
Su Jiuyue’s eyes turned icy.
The old woman’s tongue was as poisonous as ever—even dragging the original owner’s deceased mother into her insults.
She gently slipped free of Huo Zhixing’s supporting hand, stepped half a pace behind him, and raised her voice.
“Li Guilan, what gives you the right to say those things to me?”
“My stepmother? What right do you have to interfere in my marriage?”
“Marriage is based on freedom now, yet you forced me to marry a fifty-year-old bachelor!”
“When I refused, you drugged me.”
“You sold me to that old man for three hundred yuan.”
“You’re not just vicious—you’re a human trafficker!”
The moment those words fell, several women in the crowd couldn’t help wiping away tears.
They all had daughters of their own.
Just imagining their own daughters suffering such treatment made their hearts ache.
The crowd immediately changed its tune.
“So she’s the stepmother? No wonder she’s slandering the poor girl.”
“That old man was the husband her stepmother picked for her? I thought he was her father!”
“Isn’t that man the stepmother’s own husband? Those two look more like a married couple!”
Hearing the crowd turn against her, Li Guilan grew flustered.
She had been winning only moments ago.
How had this little brat overturned everything with just a few sentences?
When had this timid, obedient punching bag become so eloquent?
Had all that meekness been an act?
She scrambled to her feet and lunged at Su Jiuyue with bared teeth and flailing claws.
Fear and greed had driven away all reason.
She only wanted to drag Su Jiuyue back, hand her over to Liu Laizi as quickly as possible, and pocket the money so she could enjoy herself.
Su Jiuyue had been trained in the Ghost Physician Sect in her previous life.
Faced with danger, her body instinctively prepared to strike.
But the instant she moved, agonizing pain exploded from her injured ankle, racing through every nerve.
Cold sweat instantly soaked the back of her blouse.
Her face turned deathly pale.
This body was simply too weak.
Forget fighting back—even standing was nearly impossible.
Her vision blurred, and she staggered forward, about to collapse at Li Guilan’s feet.
Just then—
A powerful iron-like arm swept around her waist.
Huo Zhixing didn’t give her the slightest chance to fall.
With one effortless motion, he lifted her completely off the ground with a single arm and locked her securely against his chest.
His cool masculine scent surrounded her.
Above her head came his deep voice, tinged with faint exasperation.
“Use your opponent’s strength against them. Don’t you know how?”
Su Jiuyue’s heart skipped a beat.
With the strongest “support” imaginable behind her, what did she have left to fear?
Leaning against Huo Zhixing for balance, she appeared to wave her hand in panic.
But her fingertips accurately struck the pressure point along Li Guilan’s wrist.
“Ow!”
A wave of numbness instantly spread through half of Li Guilan’s body.
Her arms and legs went weak, as if she’d slammed into an invisible wall.
She completely lost her balance.
Thud!
She tripped over herself and crashed face-first onto the concrete steps.
Her front teeth slammed against the edge, sending blood spraying from her mouth.
“She hit me!”
“Such an unfilial daughter!”
“I kindly found you a husband! He may have been a little older, but he was still an untouched bachelor!”
“How can you be so ungrateful?”
The moment Li Guilan finished shouting, the crowd fell silent for one second—
Then burst into laughter.
“An untouched bachelor? At his age?”
“If she’s so kind, why doesn’t she marry him herself?”
Bonus Scene
Commander Huo (expressionless): “Your waist is pretty slim.”
Su Jiuyue (face burning red): “Is that the important part? I was borrowing your strength to hit her!”
Commander Huo (in a low voice): “Next time, just hide in my arms. Don’t dirty your own hands. I’m afraid you’ll hurt them… I’ll deal with it.”
Su Jiuyue: “…”
(Since when did this man become such a flirt?)