Su Man’s reputation as a “miracle doctor” spread throughout the entire border defense regiment overnight.
But instead of improving her reputation, it made her even more mysterious and terrifying in the soldiers’ eyes, and perhaps even a little… eccentric.
After all, what normal person treated illnesses by letting bugs crawl into someone’s skull?
What was more, this family’s lifestyle was practically challenging the limits of military discipline.
Six in the morning.
The reveille had just sounded when a squad of soldiers preparing for morning drills was nearly scared out of formation.
Lining the horizontal bars beside the training field was row after row of colorful… spiders.
Each spider was as big as a fist. They were happily spinning webs in the morning breeze, wrapping the horizontal bars until they looked like something straight out of a spider demon’s lair.
“W-What… what the hell are those?”
New recruit Xiao Li’s legs nearly gave out. He pointed at a brightly colored spider that was waving its long legs at him.
An old soldier beside him calmly pulled him back.
“Don’t point. Those are Sister-in-law’s ‘guardians.’ I heard Zhang Li say the red one is called Little Red. It’s highly poisonous. One bite can make you laugh uncontrollably for an entire day.”
Xiao Li quickly pulled his hand back, his face turning pale.
What the hell was this, a family compound or a spider demon’s lair?
However, that was only the appetizer.
Around noon, a shrill scream came from the medical office.
Poor Director Liu was clutching his chest, looking utterly devastated at Huo Xiaoxie, who was sitting on top of his desk.
The little boy, who looked only four or five years old, was holding Director Liu’s most treasured bottle of imported painkillers and feeding them one by one to his golden krait.
“Stop! That’s medicine! Medicine!” Director Liu stomped his feet in anguish.
Huo Xiaoxie looked up. His phoenix-shaped eyes, almost identical to Huo Feng’s, were filled with innocent confusion.
“Old man, the purity of this medicine isn’t good enough.”
“My Little Jin doesn’t even perk up after eating it. Remember to get some higher-purity stuff next time, or don’t blame me if I put laxatives in your teacup.”
Director Liu rolled his eyes back and nearly fainted on the spot.
What kind of sin had he committed?
He had tried to learn medical techniques from this boy’s mother and been rejected, and now her son was even criticizing the quality of his medicine?
But the most sensational incident happened that afternoon in the bathhouse.
It was the men’s bathhouse.
After a day of training, it was where everyone went to relax.
A group of grown men were soaking comfortably in the steaming pool, bare-chested and completely at ease.
Suddenly, a cheerful clattering of hooves came from the entrance.
“Snort! Snort!”
Before anyone could react, a gigantic creature charged through the curtain like a heavy tank.
It was Su Man’s wild boar—Dahua.
And sitting on Dahua’s back was Huo Xiaoman, holding a large scrub brush. She had a shower cap on her head and was waving her arms excitedly.
“Charge, Dahua! We’re going to get nice and clean too!”
“Splash!”
With a tremendous crash, the five-hundred-pound wild boar and the little girl on its back launched themselves into the bathhouse pool in a perfect diving pose.
Water exploded three meters into the air!
“Holy crap! A pig! There’s a pig!”
“Oh my god! Is this the women’s bathhouse? No, wait! This is the men’s bathhouse!”
“Run! That pig’s going to bite our—!”
The peaceful bathhouse instantly descended into chaos.
Dozens of naked men covered their private parts and screamed as they scattered in every direction. Some even lost their slippers in their haste.
The scene was beyond embarrassing.
Huo Xiaoman, however, wasn’t embarrassed in the slightest.
Riding on Dahua’s back, she happily paddled around the pool, even using her brush to scrub Dahua’s back.
“Don’t run, uncles! Dahua doesn’t bite! His feet just smell a little, so he wants to wash them!”
“Oh, that uncle! Your butt is so white!”
Standing on the edge of the pool and covering his face with a towel, Zhang Li nearly died of embarrassment when he heard that.
What the hell was this?!
How was anyone supposed to live like this?
Half an hour later.
Inside the regimental commander’s office.
Huo Feng stared at the mountain of complaint letters piled on his desk, feeling his temples throb.
“Commander, this really can’t go on.”
Political Instructor Zhao Gang wore a bitter expression as he pointed at the letters.
“First Company is complaining that Sister-in-law walks around barefoot, distracting the soldiers.”
“Second Company is complaining that the two children released toads in the mess hall to catch flies, making everyone lose their appetite.”
“Third Company… Third Company is about what happened in the bathhouse. The entire company is now applying for leave because of the psychological trauma.”
“If this keeps up, our regiment is going to turn into a zoo!”
Huo Feng silently spun a fountain pen between his fingers for a long time.
An image surfaced in his mind of Su Man’s bare feet, the bells around her ankles chiming softly as she walked.
Indeed… they were rather distracting.
Even he sometimes couldn’t help taking a second look.
“All right. I understand.”
Huo Feng swept the stack of complaint letters into a drawer in one smooth motion.
“Tell First Company that if they can’t concentrate, they’ll get extra drills. Staring at a woman’s feet—have they got nothing better to do?”
“As for the flies in Second Company’s mess hall, that means their hygiene isn’t up to standard. Tell the cooks to write a self-criticism.”
“As for Third Company…”
Huo Feng paused. A trace of helpless amusement flashed through his eyes, though his tone remained stern.
“Tell them, if they’re even afraid of a pig, what are they going to do when they encounter the enemy on the battlefield? Tomorrow, the entire company will carry extra weight and run five kilometers. Build up their courage!”
Zhao Gang’s mouth fell open as he stared at Huo Feng in disbelief.
“Old Huo, are you… taking their side?”
This wasn’t solving the problem at all.
He was clearly backing those three!
Huo Feng stood up and adjusted the collar of his uniform. His cold, hard face wore an expression of complete justification.
“They just came down from the mountains. They don’t understand the rules.”
“I’m their family. If I don’t protect them, who will?”
“Besides…”
He walked over to the window and looked toward Su Man, who was sunbathing with the children at the edge of the training field.
The woman was lazily leaning against Dahua, holding a stalk of foxtail grass and teasing Huo Xiaoxie with it. Sunlight spilled across her profile, making her look as beautiful as a painting.
“This camp has been lifeless for far too long. A little liveliness isn’t a bad thing, is it?”
Zhao Gang followed his gaze and sighed.
It was over.
The man known as the most ruthless “Wolf Head” on the border had truly fallen.
And he had fallen willingly—so willingly that he had no intention of climbing back out.
Just then, Huo Feng’s gaze suddenly sharpened.
He saw Su Man abruptly stand up, her expression turning serious as she stared intently toward the rear mountain.
That area was a restricted zone enclosed by barbed wire.
“What’s wrong?”
Huo Feng’s heart skipped a beat, and a bad feeling suddenly welled up inside him.
Surely this mother and her two children hadn’t taken a liking to some kind of “wild game” inside the minefield again?