Huo Feng’s body suddenly stiffened.
Those words—“Can you ever repay it?”—were like a rusty saw, repeatedly sawing back and forth across his heart.
The memory of that night five years ago was actually blurry.
He only remembered being poisoned, his entire body burning as if it were on fire. In his dazed consciousness, he had only felt a cool, soft body press against him.
When he woke up, he was already in the hospital, the half-moon-shaped jade pendant clutched tightly in his hand.
Everyone had told him that the border patrol had rescued him.
But he knew that wasn’t true.
Because a strange fragrance still lingered in his body, exactly the same as the scent coming from Su Man right now.
“Su Man…”
Huo Feng’s voice was so deep that it seemed to come from the depths of his chest.
He grabbed the hand that had been teasing his Adam’s apple, his palm burning hot.
“If my life can repay the debt, you can take it whenever you want.”
“But the children are innocent.”
“These past five years… why didn’t you come looking for me?”
A trace of mockery flashed through Su Man’s eyes as she forcefully pulled her hand back.
She turned around and walked to the window, her back facing Huo Feng.
“Come looking for you?”
“Captain Huo really is a man of high status with a terrible memory.”
“Back then, to save you, I used my natal Gu to draw out the ‘Seven-Step Drop’ poison from your body.”
“And what happened afterward?”
Su Man’s voice suddenly rose, carrying a tremor she had suppressed for years.
“My natal Gu was damaged, all my cultivation was lost, and I became a useless person in the village!”
“My clansmen treated me as an omen of bad luck. The elders stripped me of my position as Saintess and drove me into the depths of the Ten-Thousand Mountains like a stray dog!”
“That was when I swore that if I survived, if I could protect the child in my womb…”
She suddenly turned around. Her eyes were slightly red, and those eyes that usually carried a hint of playful mischief were now filled with shattered light.
“I would make you see exactly what you owe me!”
Huo Feng was struck as though by lightning.
He had never imagined that the truth would be like this!
He had always thought that Su Man had simply disappeared without a word after saving him.
He had even resented her in his heart, wondering why she hadn’t left him a way to contact her, why she had allowed him to search for five years without a trace.
But the truth was—
She had lost everything to save him!
She had been driven into a desperate situation because of him!
“I’m sorry…”
Those three words seemed so pale and powerless at that moment.
Huo Feng wanted to step forward and embrace her, but Su Man stopped him with a cold, stern look.
“Don’t give me that.”
“I don’t want your apology.”
Su Man took a deep breath and regained her usual cold, proud demeanor.
She walked to the table and lifted the lid of the clay pot.
A rich medicinal fragrance instantly filled the room.
“Drink it.”
She pointed at the bowl of black medicinal soup.
“It was brewed with the gallbladders of those venomous snakes from last night.”
“Drink it, and the remaining poison in your body will be completely cleared.”
“I don’t want my children to have just recognized their father, only to have to wear mourning clothes for him.”
Huo Feng looked at the bowl of medicine and drank it without the slightest hesitation.
Bitter.
So bitter that the root of his tongue went numb.
But no matter how bitter it was, it could never compare to the regret filling his heart.
“Su Man.”
Huo Feng put down the bowl, his eyes filled with a gravity he had never shown before.
“Give me a chance.”
“Give me a chance to make it up to you and the children.”
“Whether it’s the dowry from the Ten-Thousand Mountains or the stars in the sky, as long as you want it and I have it, I’ll give it to you.”
Su Man snorted coldly and crossed her arms.
“You want to make it up to us?”
“Fine.”
“Then solve the trouble in front of us first.”
“What trouble?” Huo Feng froze.
Su Man pointed toward the door.
“That childhood sweetheart of yours, the young lady from a prominent family, has brought a ‘decree from Beijing.’”
The moment she finished speaking—
Someone knocked on the office door.
It wasn’t the cautious knock Lin Xue had used earlier, nor the loud, boisterous pounding Zhang Dabiao favored.
The rhythm was steady, carrying an unmistakable air of arrogance and superiority.
“Come in.” Huo Feng frowned.
The door opened.
A woman in a military uniform from the art troupe walked in. She had a tall, graceful figure and striking, dignified features.
To Huo Feng’s surprise, she also wore two bars and one star on her shoulders.
A major!
Following behind her were Zhao Gang, looking extremely awkward, and Lin Xue, the woman who had been humiliated earlier.
Lin Xue now looked like a lackey basking in someone else’s authority, her face filled with smug delight.
“Brother Huo Feng.”
The female major entered the room and immediately looked past Su Man, her gaze landing directly on Huo Feng.
Her voice was clear and pleasant, carrying the confidence of someone accustomed to being in a position of authority.
“I heard you found yourself a… village woman at the border?”
“Auntie is very worried, so she specifically asked me to come and take a look.”
As she spoke, she scrutinized Su Man from head to toe like she was inspecting a piece of merchandise.
There was no contempt in her eyes.
Only blatant disregard.
It was as though, in her eyes, Su Man was nothing more than a wild weed by the roadside, completely unworthy of her attention.
Huo Feng’s expression instantly darkened.
“Jiang Yingxue, this is a military base. Watch your words.”
“And she is my wife, not some village woman.”
The woman known as Jiang Yingxue smiled, still carrying herself like a refined young lady from a prestigious family.
“Brother Huo Feng, don’t be angry.”
“I’m only worried that you’ve been deceived.”
“After all, the border is full of all kinds of people. Some people will use any means necessary to climb the social ladder.”
As she spoke, she finally turned her full attention to Su Man.
“This… Sister?”
“I heard you know a few folk remedies?”
“Coincidentally, my throat hasn’t been feeling well these past few days. Could I trouble you to take a look?”
It was obviously a provocation.
She was using a condescending, charitable tone to treat Su Man like some wandering village healer.
Lin Xue covered her mouth and giggled, waiting to watch Su Man embarrass herself.
Jiang Yingxue was the eldest daughter of the Jiang family in Beijing and a specially appointed expert at the General Military Hospital. Whether in family background or ability, she could crush this wild girl from the Miao region!
Yet—
Su Man smiled.
Her smile was even more radiant and seductive than Jiang Yingxue’s.
She slowly walked up to Jiang Yingxue and circled her once.
Those beautiful, almond-shaped eyes swept over Jiang Yingxue from head to toe, as though she were inspecting a plump lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
“Your throat feels uncomfortable?”
Su Man suddenly reached out and lightly tapped Jiang Yingxue’s slender neck.
Her movement was so fast that no one saw it clearly.
“I think it’s not just your throat that’s sick. Your brain is sick too.”
Jiang Yingxue’s expression changed.
She was just about to explode in anger—
When she suddenly realized, to her horror, that she couldn’t make a sound!
She opened her mouth wide and desperately tried to speak, but all that came out was a hoarse, wheezing sound.
“What? You can’t speak?”
Su Man leaned close to her ear and let out a low laugh that only the two of them could hear.
“This is the ‘folk remedy’ you looked down on.”
“It’s called the ‘Silence Mantra.’”
“Since that mouth of yours doesn’t know how to speak like a civilized person, you might as well keep it shut.”
“Come back and ask me to undo it once you’ve learned how to respect people.”
With that, Su Man stepped back, clapped her hands, and said to the stunned crowd:
“All right. The unnecessary people have been dealt with.”
“Captain Huo, I’m hungry.”
“When are we eating?”
Looking at the young lady clutching her throat in terror, then at Su Man, who remained completely calm—
Huo Feng felt his scalp go numb.
Yet for some inexplicable reason…
This felt damn satisfying!