The Medical Unit.
Captain Liu was frowning over a medical record when the door suddenly burst open.
Gu Ci stormed inside with Jiang Ning slung over his shoulder, his entire body radiating a murderous aura. Jiang Ning was covered in blood, the sight absolutely horrifying.
“Quick! Get the emergency kit!”
Gu Ci lowered Jiang Ning onto the treatment bed and barked the order.
Captain Liu was so startled that he dropped his pen. Assuming something terrible had happened, he immediately shouted to the nurses, “Quick, quick, quick! Prepare the operating room! Where is she injured? How did she lose so much blood?”
“Her hand.”
Gu Ci pointed at the back of Jiang Ning’s hand.
Captain Liu took a closer look.
On her fair hand was a scratch… approximately two centimeters long. The bleeding had already stopped, and a small scab had formed.
Captain Liu: “…”
Nurse: “…”
An eerie silence fell over the entire emergency room.
That was it?
There wasn’t even enough blood to justify wasting a bandage! Where had all the blood covering her body come from?
“Commander Gu,” Jiang Ning said helplessly as she sat up, looking at Captain Liu’s expression—a mixture of wanting to curse and not daring to do so. “It’s just a scrape. A little iodine will do.”
“No.”
Gu Ci remained adamant. “Give her a tetanus shot. The mountains are filthy. Who knows whether that branch had manure bacteria on it?”
Captain Liu’s mouth twitched. “Commander, the tetanus shot hurts quite a bit. Besides, this really… doesn’t seem necessary, does it?”
“Give it to her.”
Gu Ci shot him a sharp look.
Captain Liu immediately backed down. “Of course! We’ll do it right away!”
Jiang Ning rolled her eyes speechlessly.
When this man went crazy, absolutely no one could stop him.
After the injection and treatment of a tiny wound that didn’t even need a bandage, Jiang Ning was bundled back into the jeep by Gu Ci.
This time, they didn’t return to the regiment headquarters. He drove straight to the military family compound.
The courtyard was already bustling with activity.
The three-hundred-pound wild boar had been carried into an open space, where the head cook and several helpers were busy removing its bristles and gutting it. A crowd of military wives and children had gathered around to watch.
“Good heavens! What a huge wild boar! How much meat must there be?”
“I heard Commander Gu’s wife killed it. Is that true?”
“I saw Zhang and the others carry it back with my own eyes! They said Sister-in-law killed it with a single stab! That’s incredible!”
Wang Juhua was squeezed into the front of the crowd. Looking at the dead boar, she suddenly felt a chill run down her neck.
Jiang Ning even dared to kill a wild boar. Killing a person would probably be just as easy for her!
She had better stay far away from that woman from now on.
The jeep came to a stop.
Gu Ci got out first, then walked around to open the door for Jiang Ning.
Jiang Ning hopped out. She had already changed into clean clothes after taking a shower at the Medical Unit, but the murderous aura surrounding her didn’t seem to have faded at all.
“Hello, Sister-in-law!”
Someone called out.
Immediately, the surrounding soldiers and military wives began greeting her. Their eyes were filled with awe and admiration.
In an era when food and clothing were scarce, anyone who could bring meat to the table for everyone was a hero. And Jiang Ning wasn’t just a hero who had brought them meat—she was a female hero capable of taking on a wild boar single-handedly.
Jiang Ning nodded in acknowledgment.
Then she walked over to the boar.
The head cook had just finished cutting open its belly, exposing the internal organs.
“Sister-in-law, what should we do with the offal? It smells pretty strong, so we usually throw it away,” the head cook asked.
“Throw it away?”
Jiang Ning raised an eyebrow. “That’s good stuff! Keep it. Save the heart, liver, and stomach for me. Send the rest of the meat to the regiment’s canteen so everyone can have a proper feast. However…”
She pointed at the two fattest hind legs.
“I want these two legs. And I’ll take the leaf lard, too.”
“No problem!” the head cook readily agreed.
Gu Ci stood to the side, watching as she confidently directed the proceedings and divided up the spoils.
“You certainly know how to win people over,” he murmured. “Keep the best cuts for yourself and use the rest to buy everyone’s goodwill.”
“It’s called rational resource allocation.”
Jiang Ning turned and smiled at him. “I killed the boar, so eating the legs is only fair. As for the rest, I can’t possibly eat it all myself. I might as well trade it for a good reputation. Commander Gu, this is a profitable deal.”
Gu Ci looked at her smiling face.
In the glow of the setting sun, she seemed to be outlined in a golden halo. Her eyes sparkled with cunning and calculation, yet somehow, none of it made her unpleasant. Instead, she radiated a vibrant, untamed energy.
“It’s definitely profitable.”
Gu Ci reached out and tucked a strand of windblown hair behind her ear.
The gesture came so naturally that even he hadn’t expected himself to do it.
Jiang Ning froze for a moment and instinctively tried to dodge, but his gaze held her in place.
Those eyes, usually filled with barely restrained violence, seemed to contain a hint of… tenderness?
Must have been her imagination.
“We’re having a wild boar feast tonight.”
Gu Ci withdrew his hand, his voice returning to its usual coldness. “Make sure it tastes good. If it’s awful, I’ll throw you into the pot and stew you instead.”
Jiang Ning clicked her tongue.
“Just wait until you’re swallowing your own tongue.”
…
Dinner was served in the courtyard.
A huge iron pot had been set up outside over a fire fueled by chopped wood. Sauerkraut, sliced pork, and blood sausages simmered inside, sending up clouds of steam and filling the air with an aroma that could travel for miles.
Jiang Ning took charge of the cooking herself.
She stir-fried cabbage with rendered pork cracklings, flash-fried the pork liver, and even braised a whole pot of pork head meat.
Gu Ci brought out two bottles of good liquor and invited Zhang, Li, Captain Liu, and several battalion and company commanders to join them.
Everyone gathered around, eating huge mouthfuls of meat and drinking from large bowls.
“Sister-in-law, let me offer you a toast!”
Li raised his bowl, his face and neck red with excitement. “If it weren’t for you up in the mountains today, that beast would have taken my life! From now on, if you ever need anything, just say the word. I’ll do whatever you ask without a single complaint!”
“That’s right! A toast to Sister-in-law!”
Everyone joined in the cheering.
Jiang Ning wasn’t one to stand on ceremony. She picked up her bowl—which contained water, since Gu Ci wouldn’t let her drink alcohol—and clinked it against theirs.
“We’re all family here. There’s no need to be so formal. I’ll be counting on all of you to look after me from now on.”
Her words were perfectly chosen. She accepted neither excessive praise nor credit for herself, while effortlessly bringing everyone closer.
Gu Ci sat to one side, drinking slowly, his eyes never leaving Jiang Ning.
This woman really was suited to this place.
She was ruthless, clever, and tactful. She knew exactly when to draw her blade and when to offer someone a sweet reward.
She was like a desert thorn growing on the Gobi. She might look unremarkable, but her roots ran deeper than anyone else’s, and her vitality was more tenacious than anyone could imagine.
“Old Gu.”
The political commissar nudged his arm and lowered his voice. “You got yourself quite a wife! Her abilities and bearing are impressive. She’s far better than those delicate young ladies in the capital who can barely lift a finger.”
Gu Ci’s lips curved slightly.
“She’s worth it.”
He glanced at Jiang Ning, who was now playing drinking games with the soldiers.
“She’s just too wild. Needs to be taught a lesson.”
The political commissar burst out laughing. “Wild is good! A wild horse is exactly what a madman like you needs! The two of you are a perfect match!”
A perfect match.
Gu Ci rolled the words around in his mind.
Perhaps they were.
Two mad souls whom society could never tolerate, brought together. Even if they ended up tearing each other apart, it was still better than rotting alone in the mud.
Night fell, growing late.
Eventually, the crowd dispersed.
After cleaning up the mess, Jiang Ning was so exhausted that she could barely straighten her back.
She walked into the room and saw Gu Ci sitting on the edge of the bed, holding the red-shelled egg she hadn’t finished eating in the mountains and had brought home.
“Why aren’t you asleep yet?”
Jiang Ning yawned. “I’m not giving you acupuncture tonight. I’m exhausted.”
“Mm.”
Gu Ci placed the egg on the table.
“Come here.”
“What for?”
“I’m putting medicine on your wounds.”
He pointed at the scrape on the back of her hand. “And the blisters on your feet. Don’t think I didn’t notice you limping.”
Jiang Ning froze for a moment.
Her feet really did hurt. The military rubber shoes didn’t fit properly, and after running around the mountains for most of the day, the soles of her feet had been rubbed raw.
But she was accustomed to enduring pain and hadn’t expected Gu Ci to notice.
“It’s fine…”
“Come here.”
Gu Ci’s voice deepened. “Don’t make me say it a third time.”
Jiang Ning pursed her lips but walked over and sat down.
Gu Ci crouched in front of her, took hold of her ankle, and helped her remove her shoes and socks.
His movements were a little rough, but he didn’t actually hurt her.
Sure enough, two large blisters had formed on the soles of her feet. Some had already burst, leaving the skin raw and bloody.
Gu Ci frowned, picked up a cotton swab dipped in iodine, and began carefully disinfecting the wounds.
A stinging pain shot through her foot, and Jiang Ning instinctively pulled back.
“Don’t move.”
Gu Ci tightened his grip around her ankle.
“Bear with it.”
Under the lamplight, the man kept his head bowed, his expression focused. Those same hands that had taken lives were now performing such delicate, painstaking work to care for someone else.
Jiang Ning watched the crown of his head, and an unfamiliar feeling suddenly welled up inside her.
A little ache, a little fullness.
As though that acupuncture needle had pierced a particular pressure point in her heart.
“Gu Ci.”
“Hmm?”
“Why were you so angry today?”
Gu Ci’s hand paused.
He looked up at Jiang Ning.
“Because I still haven’t cured your brain.”
His voice was cold. “If you die, who am I supposed to get a refund from?”
Jiang Ning laughed.
“Don’t worry.”
She reached out and gently poked his hard chest.
“This deal comes with a lifetime warranty.”