The morning on the border came with the mist still lingering in the air, yet the reveille had already blasted across the camp.
Huo Feng hadn’t slept particularly well. The floor was as hard as an iron plate, but the long-lost sense of peace left him surprisingly refreshed.
He sat up and glanced at the still-closed bedroom door, a complicated emotion flickering across his eyes.
The blue butterfly that had rested on his shoulder the night before had already turned into a faint layer of glowing powder, dissolving into the air.
“Wolf Head! Wolf Head, this is bad!”
Zhang Li’s hurried voice suddenly came from outside, deliberately lowered as though he were sneaking around.
Huo Feng frowned. He grabbed the training jacket hanging over the back of the chair and put it on as he strode over to open the door.
“What are you shouting about this early in the morning? Has the sky fallen?”
Zhang Li wore a bitter expression. He was clutching a disciplinary notice stamped with a red seal, practically hopping with anxiety.
“This is worse than the sky falling! The political commissar’s office has gone into an uproar!”
“After that woman Lin Xue went back yesterday, she cried and claimed that our unit was harboring an unidentified dangerous individual. She even said Sister-in-law was… was an enemy agent!”
“The higher-ups have issued a strict order. They say Comrade Su Man’s identity is unclear and her origins are suspicious, and she is carrying… carrying a weapon of mass destruction”—he meant the wild boar—“so she must be immediately isolated and investigated!”
After hearing this, Huo Feng’s hardened face showed no sign of panic. Instead, the corner of his mouth lifted into a cold smile, as though he had expected this all along.
“Isolated and investigated? What an impressive show of authority.”
He snatched the notice from Zhang Li’s hand, didn’t even bother looking at it, crumpled it into a ball, and stuffed it into his pocket.
“Go tell them she’s my family. If anything happens, I’ll take responsibility with my life.”
“And tell that Lin Xue that if she dares spread another word, I’ll have someone investigate how she got her position in the cultural troupe.”
Zhang Li’s blood was practically boiling with excitement, but he still looked troubled.
“But, Commander, according to procedure…”
“Procedure? I am the procedure!”
With that, Huo Feng slammed the door shut.
When he turned around, however, he discovered that Su Man had gotten up at some point.
She was still wearing that intricate and exquisite Miao outfit, the silver ornaments shimmering with a cold gleam in the morning light.
She leaned lazily against the bedroom doorway, holding a crumpled piece of parchment in her hand, and looked at him with an amused, teasing smile.
“What an impressive display of authority, Commander Huo. You even dare protect the family of an enemy agent?”
Huo Feng looked at her devastatingly beautiful face, and his Adam’s apple unconsciously bobbed.
“You’re not an enemy agent. I know that.”
“You’re just a woman who’s obsessed with money.”
Su Man gave a soft snort and didn’t bother arguing. She walked barefoot over to the only square table in the room and slapped the parchment onto it.
“Since you know that, stop wasting time.”
“This is the detailed bill. Things were too rushed yesterday, so I didn’t have time to show it to you properly.”
“Five years of nutritional expenses, emotional distress compensation, lost wages, plus five years of formula, diapers, and education funds for the two children…”
“And the ‘Tianshan Snow Lotus’ and ‘Thousand-Year Snake Gallbladder’ I used to detoxify you yesterday. Even though I gave you a friendship discount, I can’t exactly let myself lose money.”
Su Man tapped the bill with her slender finger. Her bright red nail polish looked particularly striking.
“Let’s round it off. Fifty thousand yuan in total.”
“Cash, bank transfer, or collateral? I’m very easygoing. As long as it’s valuable, I’ll accept it.”
Huo Feng took two steps closer and lowered his head to examine the densely written parchment.
The handwriting was graceful yet carried an audacious flair. Every single expense had been calculated clearly, even a line for the “service fee” from that night five years ago.
Although she had deliberately scribbled that particular line messily, Huo Feng recognized it at a glance.
Half his face instantly darkened, while the tips of his ears inexplicably turned red.
“I can’t come up with fifty thousand yuan right now.”
Huo Feng was being honest. His military allowance wasn’t low, but most of it was sent to the families of fallen comrades. The fifty thousand yuan in his savings was already the limit, and he had promised to pay her part of it yesterday.
“But I can write you an IOU.”
He raised his head and stared intensely into Su Man’s eyes, like a wolf locking onto its prey.
“Until this debt is paid, you’re not going anywhere.”
“This is also an order from above. To cooperate with the ‘investigation,’ you and the children must remain under my twenty-four-hour surveillance.”
Su Man raised an eyebrow, a hint of mockery appearing in her eyes.
“Surveil me? You?”
“Huo Feng, do you really think I’m some ignorant country girl who can’t understand your official jargon?”
“You’re trying to put me under house arrest, aren’t you?”
Huo Feng didn’t deny it. Instead, he stepped forward, instantly bringing their faces close enough that they could feel each other’s breath.
“You can put it that way.”
“The border is different from the interior. There are eyes everywhere.”
“You’re carrying two children, along with that conspicuous… pet. If you walk out that door, drug traffickers or human traffickers will have their eyes on you within three days.”
“At least here, no one will dare lay a finger on you.”
Su Man looked at the face so close to hers. The man’s rugged features and the seriousness in his deep eyes caused the inexplicable anger in her heart to ease slightly.
Although this man was annoying to look at, what he said wasn’t wrong.
She carried a priceless Miaojiang inheritance treasure, and there were indeed plenty of desperate criminals secretly watching her.
“Fine. If you want me to stay here, then I’ll stay.”
Su Man suddenly smiled. Her smile was breathtakingly alluring, yet there was a dangerous undertone to it.
She reached out and lightly patted Huo Feng’s rock-hard chest.
“But, Commander Huo, it’s easy to invite a deity in, but difficult to send one away.”
“I, Su Man, have very particular standards when it comes to living.”
“This lousy barracks has nothing. We can’t even get a cup of hot water.”
“If you can’t afford to support me, say so now. I’ll take my son and go join the drug lord across the border. Maybe he’d be much more generous than you.”
Huo Feng immediately grabbed the hand she was messing around with against his chest. The heat of his palm was startlingly intense.
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“My woman can only spend my money.”
“If you need anything, make a list. I’ll buy it.”
Su Man yanked her hand back and shook it in disgust.
“Buy it? In this middle of nowhere, what good things could you possibly buy?”
“Forget it. I’d be better off relying on Dahua than you.”
She turned and walked over to the corner, picking up the ordinary-looking little bamboo basket that somehow never seemed capable of being filled.
“Son, daughter, get up!”
“Since your father is a poor man, we’re going to have to fend for ourselves.”
A burst of commotion immediately came from the bedroom.
Huo Xiaoman came charging out riding Dahua, while Huo Xiaoxie followed leisurely behind her, still holding the handheld game console he never parted with—which was actually a modified signal jammer.
“Mommy, I’m hungry!”
Huo Xiaoman rubbed her round little belly and complained with a pout.
“The food here is awful! It tastes like pig feed. Even Dahua won’t eat it!”
The wild boar lying beside them cooperatively snorted twice, expelling an unmistakably disdainful puff of air through its nostrils.
The corner of Huo Feng’s mouth twitched.
The army’s braised pork was being called pig feed?
Just how picky were this mother and her two children?
“Wait. Mommy will make you something delicious.”
Su Man placed the bamboo basket on the table. A sly glint flashed through her beautiful eyes.
She turned and glanced at Huo Feng.
It was both a provocation and a declaration of war.
“Commander Huo, since you’re going to keep me under surveillance, then keep your eyes wide open.”
“Just don’t let your jaw hit the floor later. I won’t be responsible for putting it back.”
With that, she reached her hand into the opening of the tiny bamboo basket, which was barely the size of her palm.
Huo Feng folded his arms and leaned against the doorway, watching coldly.
He wanted to see exactly what tricks this woman could pull in a barracks with practically nothing in it.
However, the next second, his pupils suddenly contracted.
Su Man’s hand moved as if performing a magic trick.
From that tiny bamboo basket, she first pulled out a thick woolen carpet embroidered with exquisite Miao patterns and casually spread it across the concrete floor.
Next came a complete set of solid silver tableware, and even a purple-copper charcoal brazier that was still emitting heat!
And that wasn’t all.
A bag of crystal-clear fragrant rice, several lively bamboo fish still flopping around, and even a bundle of fresh wild greens that looked as though they had just been picked from the earth.
The previously empty, cold bachelor quarters were instantly filled to the brim with these things, overflowing with the warmth of everyday life.
It was even more lavishly furnished than the old Huo family residence in the capital.
Huo Feng stared at the little bamboo basket in disbelief.
That thing wasn’t even as big as a basketball. How could it possibly hold so much?
“You…”
He pointed at the things scattered across the floor, and even his usually steady voice carried a trace of tremor.
Su Man didn’t even look up. She was already skillfully stuffing charcoal into the brazier to start the fire.
“What? Never seen a magic trick before?”
“This is a Miaojiang ‘illusion technique.’ Don’t be so ignorant.”
She casually made up an explanation. There was no way this man would understand anyway.
Huo Feng took a deep breath and suppressed the shock in his heart.
An illusion technique?
If this was an illusion technique, then the entire logistics department could go home and start farming!
He gave Su Man a deep look.
The secrets this woman carried were far greater than he had imagined.
But he didn’t expose her or press her for answers.
On this dangerous border, everyone had their own means of survival.
As long as she was Su Man, and as long as she was the children’s mother, that was enough.
“Fine. Take your time with your tricks.”
Huo Feng picked up his cap and put it on, hiding the faint smile in his eyes.
“I’m going to drills. I’ll also apply for some funds for you.”
“After all, fifty thousand yuan really isn’t enough to support this entire family of yours.”
With that, he turned around, opened the door, and walked out.
The moment the door closed, Su Man’s hands paused.
She looked at the closed door, the corners of her lips curling into an almost imperceptible smile.
“At least you know what’s good for you.”
“But if you think you can trap me here just like that, Huo Feng, you’re still too naive.”
She reached into the bottom of the bamboo basket and pulled out a handful of dried chilies glowing with a faint blue light, then tossed them into the glowing charcoal brazier.
A fiercely spicy, intoxicating aroma instantly exploded through the enclosed room and drifted arrogantly out through the crack beneath the door.