The next morning.
The wind in the Northwest seemed even stronger, whipping up sand and dust that slapped against the paper-covered windows with a soft, rustling sound.
Jiang Ning got up early.
She divided the medicinal powder she’d ground the night before into several small paper packets. They contained three days’ worth of medicine for Gu Ci.
The wild gastrodia tuber had run out.
This medicinal herb grew deep in the mountains and forests. Most of the varieties sold in pharmacies were artificially cultivated, and their medicinal effects were far weaker. To suppress the blood stasis in Gu Ci’s brain, she absolutely needed the wild variety.
“Xiao Zhang!”
Jiang Ning pushed open the door and called out to the guard who was wiping dust off the jeep in the courtyard.
“Coming, Sister-in-law!”
Xiao Zhang dropped his rag and hurried over.
“What can I do for you?”
“Did I get any mail today?”
Judging by the time that had passed, if the Jiang family had reacted to her departure at all, a letter should have arrived by now.
“Yes! It just came!”
Xiao Zhang pulled a crumpled envelope from his pocket and handed it to her.
“I was just about to bring it inside for you. It came from your hometown.”
Jiang Ning took the envelope.
It was thin, made of rough paper, with the words To Jiang Ning written crookedly across the front. The handwriting looked somewhat familiar. It had an awkward elegance that seemed deliberately imitated, yet a certain superficiality still showed through.
It was Jiang Wan.
Jiang Ning raised an eyebrow but didn’t open it immediately. Instead, she carried it inside.
Gu Ci was eating breakfast.
As usual, he had steamed buns and rice porridge from the mess hall. He ate quickly, as though completing a task. When he saw Jiang Ning enter with the letter, he glanced at it but said nothing.
Jiang Ning sat opposite him and slowly tore open the envelope.
A thin sheet of paper slipped out.
Dear little sister,
I hope this letter finds you well.
How have you been over there? I’ve heard that the winds and sand in the Northwest are terrible, so you must take good care of yourself.
I’m living a very happy life now. Educated Youth Zhao treats me very well. Although my mother-in-law is a little strict, she’s only trying to teach me proper manners.
Although Commander Gu has a bad temper, he’s still an officer. You should learn to be patient with him. After all, a woman must follow her husband wherever he goes. As long as you accommodate him and avoid making him angry, you can always make the marriage work.
By the way, our younger brother needs money to build a house. Mother says you should send another fifty yuan home. You’re a military officer’s wife now, so you should be able to afford that little amount, right?
Your elder sister,
Jiang Wan
The entire letter was dripping with fake sweetness and subtle manipulation.
Every line seemed designed to flaunt her supposed happiness while taking a few underhanded jabs at Jiang Ning. And, of course, she couldn’t resist using family obligations to guilt her into sending money.
Looking at the line I’m living a very happy life now, Jiang Ning’s lips curled into a mocking smile.
Happy?
The ends of the handwritten strokes trembled slightly. There were several obvious creases in the paper, as though someone had crumpled it up before smoothing it out again. Faint grease stains and traces of soot marked the edges.
That suggested the writer’s hands had been shaking and her emotions were far from stable. Her surroundings were hardly as comfortable as she claimed, either.
Educated Youth Zhao’s mother-in-law was notorious throughout the surrounding villages for being a vicious, domineering woman. Jiang Wan, a pampered young lady who could barely lift a finger to do manual labor, was probably being forced to learn her place in the household. She likely spent her days cooking, washing, and serving the entire family.
She had written this letter through gritted teeth.
It was an attempt to preserve her laughable pride while probing to see just how miserable Jiang Ning’s life had become.
“A letter from home?” Gu Ci suddenly asked.
He had finished eating and was wiping his mouth.
“Garbage.”
Jiang Ning crumpled the letter into a ball and casually tossed it into the coal stove beside her feet.
Flames leaped up, devouring the paper in an instant.
“They want money,” Jiang Ning said flatly. “They’re asking me to send another fifty yuan home.”
Gu Ci let out a cold laugh.
“Your family really must have been born to suck other people dry. Are you going to give it to them?”
“Give them my ass.”
Jiang Ning picked up a scrap of paper and swiftly wrote a few lines.
There’s no money, but I’ve got one life to spare. If you want to die, come and take it.
Also, I wish my dear elder sister an early pregnancy. May you have two children in three years—and may they all be girls.
She slipped the note into the envelope, sealed it, and tossed it to Xiao Zhang, who had just come in to collect the dishes.
“Send this back. Postage due.”
Xiao Zhang’s hand trembled so badly that he nearly dropped the bowls.
His sister-in-law was genuinely ruthless!
After disposing of the garbage, Jiang Ning stood up and rummaged through the corner for her sturdiest pair of military rubber boots.
“Going out?” Gu Ci asked, frowning as he watched her.
“Mm. Into the mountains.”
Jiang Ning tied her shoelaces and checked the silver needles in her pocket, along with the self-defense dagger she’d obtained from Gu Ci.
“I’m running short on medicinal herbs. I need to dig up some gastrodia tubers deep in the mountains.”
“No.”
Gu Ci rejected the idea without hesitation.
“The border region has been unstable lately. There are wolves in the mountains, too. With those mediocre fighting skills of yours, you’d barely make a decent snack for one.”
“I have a gun.”
Jiang Ning patted her waist, where Gu Ci’s Browning pistol was concealed beneath her clothes.
“A gun won’t help if you’ve never fired one.”
Gu Ci stood up and blocked her path, his imposing figure towering over her like a mountain.
“If anyone’s going, it’ll be me. Draw me a picture of what you’re looking for, and I’ll send someone to find it.”
“You can’t do it.”
Jiang Ning looked up at him.
“Wild gastrodia tubers grow in decaying wood, mixed in among all kinds of poisonous plants. Those soldiers won’t be able to tell the difference. Besides…”
She paused.
“I’m not just looking for gastrodia. I need several other ingredients, too. I’ll have to locate them based on the local terrain and wind direction. I’m the only one who can handle this.”
“Still no.”
Gu Ci refused to budge.
“In a few days, I’ll be leading my men in a military exercise. I won’t have time to keep an eye on you. If you die in the mountains, who’s going to treat my illness?”
“A military exercise?”
Jiang Ning immediately caught the key phrase.
“Yes. The entire division’s military competition.”
Gu Ci’s expression darkened slightly.
“This exercise is important. It will determine whether you can keep your position as our specially appointed expert. I’ll be extremely busy these next few days, with no time to go collect your corpse.”
Jiang Ning laughed.
“Commander Gu, have you forgotten who I am?”
She walked around him, headed for the door, and picked up her military overcoat, draping it over her shoulders.
“I’m Jiang Ning. Plenty of people in this world want me dead, but the person capable of killing me hasn’t been born yet.”
She looked back at him, standing against the light. Her eyes glittered with an almost insane confidence.
“Wolves? Perfect. Black Panther could use a companion. I’ll catch a wolf cub and bring it home to be his wife.”
Gu Ci stared at her.
This woman had absolutely no regard for her own life.
Strangely enough, however, he didn’t try to stop her again.
Perhaps the light in her eyes was simply too dazzling. Or perhaps… he wanted to see whether this wildcat that bared its claws at him would turn out to be prey or predator once she entered the real wilderness.
“Xiao Zhang!”
Gu Ci suddenly called out.
“Present!” Xiao Zhang immediately snapped to attention outside.
“Go to the guard platoon and pick the two men with the best combat skills. Have them bring live ammunition.”
Gu Ci watched Jiang Ning’s retreating figure, his voice hard and cold.
“Follow her. If she comes back missing even a single strand of hair, don’t bother coming back yourselves.”
“Yes, sir!”
Jiang Ning didn’t object.
Having a couple of people to do the heavy lifting wouldn’t hurt.
She pushed open the door and strode outside.
The Northwest wind lifted the hem of her coat.
The mountains.
That was where she belonged.
In her previous life, as a battlefield medic, she’d faced drug lords in tropical rainforests and fought mercenaries with bayonets in the desert.
What were a few wolves compared to that?
The real danger had never been wild beasts.
It had always been the human heart.
Jiang Ning touched the gun at her waist.
Perhaps this trip into the mountains would lead her to something far more interesting.