“Move faster! What, did you forget how to work because you haven’t eaten?”
Jiang Ning stood in front of a huge military cooking pot, stirring the murky liquid inside with a long wooden stick.
It wasn’t soup. It was soapy water.
Ten whole boxes of soap had been chopped into pieces and thrown into the pot. The mixture was boiling and bubbling, releasing a revolting, strange odor.
In the pot beside it, water mixed with wood ash was boiling.
“Ladle it out! Once it’s cooled enough, get it into them!”
Jiang Ning tossed aside the wooden stick and pointed at the medical orderlies who were still standing around in a daze.
“What are you staring at? Waiting for them to die so you can practice your autopsies?”
Her scolding jolted the orderlies into action. They hurriedly grabbed basins and bowls, scooped up the murky soapy water, and rushed toward the soldiers lying on the ground.
“Drink! Drink every last drop!”
Jiang Ning approached a soldier who was already half unconscious. His jaws were clenched tightly, making it impossible to get anything into his mouth.
“Pry it open.”
Jiang Ning ordered Wang Dayong, who was following close behind her.
Wang Dayong had now become her personal assistant. Without a word, he grabbed a pair of chopsticks and forcibly pried the soldier’s mouth open.
Jiang Ning picked up a bowl of soapy water and poured it straight down his throat.
“Cough, cough, cough…”
The soldier choked and coughed violently, but Jiang Ning didn’t stop. She poured in one bowl after another until he had swallowed three full bowls.
“Turn him over. Pat his back!”
Jiang Ning slapped the soldier firmly on the back.
“Blaaaargh!”
The soldier suddenly spewed out a foul-smelling mass of vomit, expelling the soapy water he had just swallowed along with it. The mess splattered across the ground.
“Next!”
Jiang Ning didn’t even spare the scene a glance before turning toward another soldier.
The entire training ground had become one enormous vomiting pit.
The sound of people retching filled every corner, accompanied by an unbearable sour stench.
Shen Xue stood in a corner, covering her nose with a look of disgust.
“What kind of treatment is this? It’s barbaric! This is practically torture!”
She muttered under her breath, “Who makes people drink soapy water? What if it damages their bodies…”
“Don’t want to drink soapy water?”
Gu Ci’s voice suddenly sounded behind her.
Shen Xue jumped in fright. When she turned around, she found herself staring straight into Gu Ci’s gloomy eyes.
“Then you can give up the only two boxes of methylene blue we have.”
Gu Ci pointed at the two boxes of specialized medication that Captain Liu was clutching tightly in his hands.
“Those are reserved for critical cases. If you think the soapy water is too barbaric, you can go help suction the airways of the soldiers with milder symptoms.”
Shen Xue’s face turned deathly pale, and she immediately shut her mouth.
Suctioning airways?
That sounded even more disgusting than enduring this smell.
Time passed second by second.
Jiang Ning worked like a machine that never grew tired.
She moved through the crowd, examining patients, pouring water into their mouths, and inducing vomiting. When someone refused to cooperate, she slapped them awake without hesitation. When someone couldn’t vomit, she simply stuck her fingers into their throats to trigger the reflex.
Her clothes were covered in vomit, her hair had become disheveled, and her worn military coat was filthy beyond recognition.
Yet no one dared look down on her anymore.
The soldiers who had vomited were visibly improving. The bluish-purple discoloration faded before their eyes, and their breathing gradually stabilized.
“Miraculous… Absolutely miraculous…”
Captain Liu held an empty medicine box in his hands, staring at the soldiers who were slowly regaining consciousness. He kept repeating the same words under his breath.
He had practiced medicine for twenty years, yet he had never witnessed anything like this.
Hundreds of soldiers had been poisoned, and despite the shortage of specialized medication, they had actually been pulled back from the brink of death with soapy water and wood ash?
“Don’t celebrate too soon.”
Jiang Ning suddenly stopped walking. Her gaze locked onto a soldier lying motionless in a corner.
He was the third platoon leader, the fittest man in the unit. He had also eaten the most food.
Yet now he lay completely still, without even the slightest sign of vomiting.
Jiang Ning hurried over.
The moment she checked his pulse, her expression changed.
“His heart has stopped.”
She turned and shouted, “Gu Ci! Get over here!”
Gu Ci had been helping restrain a struggling recruit. The instant he heard her call, he released the man and rushed over.
“What happened?”
“Cardiac arrest. The poison has affected his heart.”
Jiang Ning immediately tore open the third platoon leader’s collar and placed one hand over the other on his chest.
“Help me with rescue breathing!”
Gu Ci froze for a moment.
In this era, two men giving each other mouth-to-mouth resuscitation…
“What are you standing there for? Do you want him to die?”
Jiang Ning continued performing chest compressions as she roared at him.
“He’s your soldier!”
Gu Ci gritted his teeth.
He hesitated no longer. He pinched the platoon leader’s nose, took a deep breath, bent down, and pressed his mouth against the soldier’s.
Once. Twice. Three times.
Jiang Ning’s chest compressions were rapid and forceful. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead and cheeks, dripping onto the platoon leader’s deathly pale face.
“Wake up… You’d better wake up!”
She cursed under her breath.
“You took my medicine and haven’t even paid me yet. You think you can just die? Not a chance!”
One minute. Two minutes.
Everyone nearby gathered around, holding their breath.
Captain Liu shook his head and sighed.
“It’s no use… It’s been too long…”
“Shut up!”
Without even looking up, Jiang Ning continued pressing down with undiminished force.
“Bring me that box of methylene blue! We’re injecting it directly into the heart!”
“B-But… that’s against medical protocol…” Captain Liu hesitated.
“Bring it here!” Gu Ci lifted his head, his eyes so fierce he looked ready to devour someone alive. “If anything goes wrong, I’ll take responsibility!”
Trembling, Captain Liu handed over the syringe.
Jiang Ning took it, located the position of the heart, and plunged the needle in without the slightest hesitation.
Everyone around them drew a sharp breath.
If she missed the mark, this injection would kill the man rather than save him.
But Jiang Ning’s hand was as steady as a rock.
She pushed the medication in, withdrew the needle, and immediately resumed chest compressions.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Time seemed to stand still.
Just when everyone thought there was no hope left—
“Cough!”
The third platoon leader suddenly convulsed violently on the ground. A deep, rattling cough escaped his throat.
Then, faintly, the sound of his heartbeat returned.
“He’s alive! He’s alive!”
Wang Dayong jumped up in excitement, tears streaming down his face.
Cheers erupted all around them. The soldiers stared at Jiang Ning, their expressions shifting from awe to admiration, then to something approaching fervent worship.
How could anyone call her merely their commander’s sister-in-law?
She was practically a living goddess of mercy!
Jiang Ning dropped heavily onto the ground.
She was exhausted.
This body had already been pushed to its limits, and the intense resuscitation efforts had drained almost every ounce of her strength.
Her vision darkened, and her hands trembled uncontrollably.
A hand reached out toward her, offering a handkerchief.
It was Gu Ci.
He knelt halfway in front of her, his face still smeared with dust and sweat, but his eyes were astonishingly bright.
“Wipe your face.”
His voice was slightly hoarse.
Jiang Ning didn’t take the handkerchief. Instead, she raised her head and looked at the man who had nearly worked her to death.
“Commander Gu.”
She panted for breath, yet the corners of her mouth lifted into a weak but brazen smile.
“This was a major job. On top of my consultation fee, I’m charging you extra.”
Gu Ci looked at her.
This was the woman who had remained unfazed in the face of vomit and death. The woman who had dragged his soldiers back from the gates of hell. The woman who was greedy for money and sharp-tongued to the extreme.
Suddenly, he smiled.
For the first time in years, he revealed a smile that came straight from the heart, one that even carried a hint of indulgence.
“Fine. Charge me.”
He reached out and awkwardly used the handkerchief to wipe the grime from her face.
“Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you.”
Not far away, Shen Xue watched the scene, digging her fingernails so deeply into her palms that they nearly drew blood.
She knew that some things had changed forever.