Outside the jeep, Li Guilan continued pounding on the window.
“Open the door! The People’s Liberation Army is kidnapping a woman!”
She screamed at the top of her lungs, “So what if you’re driving a military vehicle? Does that give you the right to steal the Liu family’s daughter-in-law?
“Liu Laizi already paid the bride price! This shameless girl still wants to run away with some wild man!”
Liu Laizi chimed in, the flesh on his face quivering as he shouted,
“Everyone, come judge for yourselves! The people in this military jeep are stealing my wife! I paid three hundred yuan for her!”
Seeing the beautiful young woman curled up in another man’s arms made Liu Laizi feel as though a hundred cats were clawing at his heart.
It was already the middle of the night. Guests staying at the nearby state guesthouse, travelers setting out before dawn, and breakfast vendors all stopped to watch from a distance.
Soon, people began whispering among themselves.
“In broad daylight… no, wait, in the middle of the night… the PLA is snatching someone’s bride?”
“That can’t be right. Look at that license plate—it belongs to a pretty high-ranking unit.”
“Just look at those people. They don’t seem like decent folks.”
“Exactly. Maybe they’re the ones bullying the soldier’s family.”
The crowd buzzed with speculation.
In the driver’s seat, Xiao Zhang’s face darkened.
Who was his commander?
The infamous “King Yama Huo”—a man who had struck terror into enemies on the battlefield!
He usually avoided even visiting units with female soldiers, let alone having an unconscious woman in his vehicle.
“Commander, should I get out and deal with them?” Xiao Zhang gripped the steering wheel, murderous intent flashing in his eyes.
“Drive.”
Only two words came from the back seat.
Brief.
Cold.
Without the slightest hint of emotion.
Xiao Zhang blinked.
“Huh? Commander… what about this woman?”
“Drive.”
Huo Zhixing repeated himself, impatience creeping into his voice.
Xiao Zhang shuddered and didn’t dare say another word. He slammed the accelerator to the floor.
Vroom—!
The military jeep roared forward, leaving Li Guilan and the others choking on a cloud of exhaust.
“Ah! They’re trying to run us over! The PLA is running people over!”
Li Guilan collapsed onto the ground in fright. Watching the jeep disappear into the distance, she slapped her thigh in fury.
“My money tree is gone! Liu Laizi, you useless fool! Hurry to the Public Security Bureau ahead and report them! Tell them someone’s abducting a woman!”
Inside the jeep.
Su Jiuyue felt like a fish stranded on dry land.
The drug’s effects were growing stronger.
The little reason she had left was steadily crumbling beneath the man’s clean scent of tobacco and icy masculine aura.
So cool…
So comfortable…
Like a dehydrated fish, she instinctively burrowed toward the only source of relief.
Her restless little hand slipped beneath the hem of his military jacket, brushing against the taut, scorching muscles of his abdomen through his shirt.
Huo Zhixing drew in a sharp breath and immediately caught her wandering wrist.
“Behave.”
His voice was hoarse, carrying a warning.
Startled by the low growl, Su Jiuyue trembled and looked up at him with tear-filled eyes.
“It hurts… Help me…”
Her trembling voice was laced with helpless pleading.
Combined with the increasingly intoxicating fragrance emanating from her body, Huo Zhixing felt an unfamiliar blaze ignite deep within him.
Damn it.
Who exactly is this woman?
Over the years, Huo Zhixing had seen every kind of honey trap imaginable.
Enemy spies had sent stunning beauties who stripped naked in front of him, yet he hadn’t even blinked.
But this woman…
She had merely rubbed against him a few times, and his body had already reacted.
“Commander, there’s a checkpoint ahead leaving the city.”
Xiao Zhang’s voice suddenly became tense.
“Someone’s blocked the road. Looks like those people from before reported us. Those are… members of the local militia?”
At the intersection ahead, several men rushed out from a side alley.
Within moments, barricades had been set across the road.
Several militia members stood in the middle of the street with rifles in hand. Beside them were the panting Liu Laizi and a Public Security officer who had ridden over on a bicycle.
“Stop the vehicle! Routine inspection!”
Xiao Zhang slowed the jeep and glanced into the rearview mirror.
Huo Zhixing still had his eyes closed.
Yet one large hand firmly restrained the struggling woman in his arms, while his expression had turned frighteningly dark.
The jeep came to a stop.
The Public Security officer walked over and knocked on the window with an authoritative expression.
“We’ve received a report that this vehicle is harboring an abducted woman. Everyone, get out and submit to inspection!”
Liu Laizi pointed excitedly toward the back seat.
“She’s in there! I saw her! That woman is sitting in the back!”
Xiao Zhang rolled down the window and handed over his identification.
“Open your eyes and take a good look. This is a military district vehicle! We’re carrying out an urgent official mission. Who gave you the nerve to stop us?”
The officer accepted the credentials. His hand trembled.
He glanced at the document with a bright red official seal that Liu Laizi was waving around, then forced himself to speak.
“Commander… no offense intended. This comrade reported to the Revolutionary Committee that he’s searching for his newlywed wife, and he has a village introduction letter to prove it. To clear up the misunderstanding, could you please let us take a look inside the vehicle? Otherwise, we won’t be able to explain ourselves…”
As he spoke, he reached for the rear door.
“I’d like to see who dares.”
A voice as cold as frozen steel rang out from the back seat.
The officer’s hand froze in midair.
The window slowly lowered halfway.
Revealing Huo Zhixing’s sharply chiseled profile…
The two striking red collar tabs at his neckline…
And the military overcoat reserved only for senior-ranking commanders.
Everyone present stopped breathing for a moment.
Such a young…
Commander?
The legendary “King Yama Huo” feared by enemy spies?
Huo Zhixing slowly turned his head.
His hawk-like eyes swept coldly across everyone outside before settling on the Public Security officer.
“So you’re saying…”
“I abducted a woman?”
The officer’s legs nearly gave out beneath him.
“C-Commander… it’s… it’s a misunderstanding. Someone reported—”
Without another word, Huo Zhixing removed his overcoat and draped it over the woman.
His long fingers casually tucked the loose strands of Su Jiuyue’s hair beneath the coat.
The movement was as gentle as a lover’s caress.
His eyes, however, were filled with chilling killing intent.
“Get lost.”
“The only woman in this vehicle is my wife.”
“What? Planning to investigate a military marriage?”
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Wife?
Liu Laizi’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
“Th-That’s impossible! She’s Su Jiuyue from Su Village in Qingyuan County! I bought her with my own money—”
“Human trafficking?”
Huo Zhixing let out a cold laugh.
His tone remained calm, yet it sent a chill down everyone’s spine.
“Xiao Zhang.”
“Write it down.”
“Report this to the local Armed Forces Department. Let’s conduct a proper investigation into this so-called ‘custom’ of Su Village.”
“Yes, Commander!”
Xiao Zhang answered loudly.
The Public Security officer turned deathly pale.
If he continued blocking this vehicle, he’d lose his uniform before the day was over.
“Let them through! Hurry and remove the barricade!”
The roadblock was cleared.
The military jeep sped away.
Only after the vehicle had driven far into the distance did Huo Zhixing withdraw his gaze and look down at the woman in his arms.
Beneath the overcoat, Su Jiuyue’s mind had already been completely consumed by the drug.
She had no idea what had just happened.
All she knew was that this man’s embrace was the only antidote that could save her.
Her flushed little face rubbed against his chest.
Her scorching breath washed over his neck.
She wrapped herself around him like an octopus.
“So hot…”
“I’m so hot…”
Huo Zhixing’s Adam’s apple bobbed violently.
He caught her hand just as it reached for his belt buckle and ground out through clenched teeth,
“Woman…”
“You’d better pray there’s another way to cure whatever you’ve been drugged with.”
Bonus Mini Scene
Xiao Zhang: “Commander… she’s touching your abs.”
Huo Zhixing (expressionless): “Drive. Don’t look in the rearview mirror.”
Xiao Zhang: “Commander… she’s unfastening your belt…”
Huo Zhixing (Adam’s apple bobbing): “Shut up. Drive faster.”
Xiao Zhang: “…Commander, your ears are red.”