Chapter 20.1

Wang Tiejun had just woken up, feeling extremely weak. The hospital room wasn’t suitable for so many people; besides the nurse who was taking care of him, everyone else had been asked to leave.

Guan Yue took a few steps away, then turned back to Wang Tiejun and said, “By the way, your right foot, I don’t have time right now—I’ll treat it when I get back.”

Only then did Wang Tiejun notice his foot—the bullet had gone through his ankle.

Hearing Guan Yue’s words, he tried to move his foot, but it was bound with bandages and he couldn’t move it.

Deng Weimin comforted Wang Tiejun, “Don’t worry, your foot is still there, at worst you’ll just have a bit of a limp when you walk. Guan Yue is skilled with acupuncture; let her treat you—there’s a chance you could even recover fully.”

Wang Tiejun looked at Guan Yue with a grateful expression, “Thank you, Doctor Guan.”

For someone who had come off the battlefield, the number of disabled people was countless. The fact that he could still keep his foot was a blessing—he felt fortunate, especially with a doctor like Guan Yue treating him.

After Guan Yue left, she immediately asked Deng Weimin, “Where’s Gu Sui now?”

Deng Weimin replied, “I’ve never even seen Gu Sui.”

“Then who’s Gu Ci?”

“Who’s Gu Ci? A relative of Gu Sui’s?”

“Gu Ci is Gu Sui’s brother, also Wang Tiejun’s battalion commander. If you don’t know where Gu Sui is, you should at least know where Wang Tiejun came from.”

Apparently, Deng Weimin really didn’t know.

Deng Weimin was proud, “Ask me? I know this stuff. Wang Tiejun was under my care—I even saw the comrade who brought him in. Wang Tiejun had been in a coma for days, and a few days ago, his comrades came to visit him in the hospital.”

“So, where are they now?”

“Where else would they be? Out on the border.”

Guan Yue made her decision, “I’m going to the border.”

Deng Weimin and Deng Weimin’s younger brother, Deng Weijia, both strongly opposed.

“Why are you, a young woman, going to the border? What’s your business there?”

“Exactly, it’s so dangerous.”

“Even the rear hospital at the border has been attacked before; you’re unarmed—how can you go?”

Guan Yue had just displayed her skill with acupuncture, making her not only Deng Weimin’s concern but also Deng Weijia’s admiration. They saw her as a prodigy in their medical field, someone they had to protect.

Was Guan Yue someone who listened to others’ advice?

No!

That night, Guan Yue stayed at the Deng household. As the night wore on, she quietly packed her bag and scaled the wall, disappearing into the darkness.

The next morning, Deng Baishu went to call Guan Yue for breakfast, but the room was empty. By then, Guan Yue was already nearing the makeshift battlefield hospital near the border.

As she approached, Guan Yue’s sharp instincts detected an ambush ahead. She didn’t risk trying to pass over their heads; instead, she used her powers to control the branches, allowing them to fall from the air to the ground.

“Stop! Who are you? State your name.”

Guan Yue pulled out her ID and a letter of introduction. “I’m from Qingchuan City, coming to find Gu Sui.”

The two young soldiers checked Guan Yue’s ID and letter of introduction and found nothing suspicious.

The soldiers exchanged looks, then one asked, “Who is Gu Sui? Is there such a person?”

“There is one called Gu Ci.”

Guan Yue’s eyes brightened, “That’s right! Gu Sui is Gu Ci’s younger brother.”

“Who are you to him?”

“I’m here to collect a debt!”

In the end, Guan Yue was allowed to pass, guarded at both the left side of the battlefield hospital and the right side near the temporary resting point. Two young nurses went in to report that there was a girl looking for Major Gu.

Gu Sui had not returned, and Gu Ci was growing increasingly anxious and frustrated, angrily shouting at the others, “It’s not a good time to be seen—get out of here!”

Yesterday afternoon, a skirmish had occurred in the jungle, and many injured soldiers had been brought back. The doctors at the makeshift battlefield hospital were running themselves ragged. Nobody knew that a whole squad had become separated, and in the evening, a rescue mission was mounted to retrieve one of the doctors. No one was free to go except Gu Sui, so he went along.

By the time they returned, it was already late in the night. Gu Sui had not yet returned, and Gu Ci was trying to figure out how to find him. He wanted to go in himself, but his own injuries weren’t healed, making him a liability—no one would let him go in.

“Wrong,” someone said, “the person isn’t looking for you; they’re looking for Gu Sui, your brother.”

Gu Ci glanced at the messenger with a questioning look, “Looking for Gu Sui? Does anyone even know Gu Sui is here?”

When he saw Guan Yue, Gu Ci didn’t know who she was. But as soon as Guan Yue said her name, Gu Ci understood.

Gu Ci’s brows furrowed tightly. If Gu Sui wasn’t here, he had no way to bring him out to meet Guan Yue.

Guan Yue sensed something wasn’t right and cut straight to the chase, “So, where is Gu Sui?”

“Gu Sui—Gu Sui went with a squad last night to the front line for a rescue mission. He hasn’t returned yet.”

“Was it a far-off place? For him not to come back after a whole night?”

Gu Ci let out a heavy sigh, “It was dark last night; he could have taken a wrong turn.”

The jungle was dense, with high mountains and thick forest. If one got lost in there without the right experience, finding their way out could be nearly impossible.

And even if they tried to mount a rescue, they wouldn’t know where to start looking.

“Captain, the Colonel wants you for something,” a runner came over, calling out to Gu Ci.

Gu Ci turned back to Guan Yue and said, “Don’t wander off—wait for me here. I’ll be back soon, and then I’ll find a place for you to rest. Don’t worry; I’ll figure something out for Gu Sui.”

Guan Yue nodded, and as soon as Gu Ci left, she turned and disappeared into the jungle.

The young soldier who had shown Guan Yue the way earlier had been about to help her find some food when he saw her disappear into the jungle. Cursing under his breath, he set the food—corn porridge—on a table, then hurried after her.

By the time he reached the edge of the jungle, Guan Yue had already gone deep, disappearing among the trees, jumping up to climb branches, and running off in the distance.

He stomped his foot and put the food down carelessly, then ran after her, thinking, “This is it—if Major Gu finds out I let her slip away, he’s going to cut me down!”

Guan Yue controlled her wood-based abilities. Her power seemed to disperse in the air like tiny molecules, drifting with the wind. When they brushed against the leaves, the leaves excitedly trembled.

After changing three directions and walking a short distance, Guan Yue suddenly stopped. The trees nourished by her powers kept growing, taller and taller until they reached a height that allowed her to stand on a branch and look down over the expanse of the jungle.

This time, there was no rustling of leaves from the jungle to disturb her; instead, Guan Yue heard a noise coming from her right front.

High, strong branches bent, and lower branches swayed, continuously growing to meet her, seamlessly connecting.

A few minutes later, Guan Yue saw Gu Sui hiding behind a thicket of trees. He was disheveled, covered in leaves and mud, his right arm injured as he sweated profusely, trying to bandage it with makeshift materials against a tree.

Around him, other wounded soldiers were scattered, exhausted and disheveled.

Less than two kilometers away from Gu Sui’s position, another group was silently preparing to encircle them.

Someone in Gu Sui’s group spotted the approaching danger and stopped to rest no longer, quickly getting to their feet to break out.

“Doctor Gu, move!”

The ones in pursuit had realized they were escaping and began to chase them down frantically, gunfire ringing out constantly.

Gu Sui stumbled and fell, his injured arm hitting the ground. In pain, he rolled to face the incoming enemy, just in time to see a gun aimed at him.

Suddenly, a black vine shot from his blind spot, swiftly and silently taking out the enemy soldier.

The others in the surrounding enemy force didn’t know what had happened, but their instinct was to raise their guns and fire, the bullets embedding harmlessly into the tree trunks—barely grazing a bird’s feather.

Gu Sui watched in stunned silence as Guan Yue jumped down from a tree branch at least ten meters high, landing without a sound.

The enemy, skilled in jungle warfare, quickly identified Guan Yue’s position.

This time, before they could make a move, Guan Yue’s iron vine flew out like a blooming flower, swiftly taking the lives of all the enemies around.

At that moment, there was no emotion on Guan Yue’s face—no aftermath fear or terror.

In her eyes, Gu Sui saw coldness; the killing intent she radiated was like a drawn blade, and there was no one standing against her who would walk away alive.

Gu Sui’s heart ached for her, deeply so.

What experiences had shaped her into this? He wondered. The sharpness in her now was nothing like the soft girl he used to beg for food with. Why should someone like her have to go through these things?

Struggling, Gu Sui got to his feet.

The iron vine twisted excitedly, its tips, with their two green leaves, stained black after soaking in blood, taking on an eerie hue.

Gu Sui pulled his eyes away from the iron vine, taking two steps forward. “Guan Yue!”

Guan Yue stepped back distastefully, “Xiao Hei, go clean up. You’re disgusting!”

In her eyes, whether it was human blood or zombie blood, it was equally filthy—she didn’t want to touch any of it.

Hearing Guan Yue finally speak—no longer cold and distant—Gu Sui let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

He leaned on his injured arm as he walked closer, “How did you get here? It’s so dangerous—just now, a bullet almost hit you.”

“Don’t worry. Even if you got shot to pieces, I’d patch you up just fine. How’s your arm?”

“Still good. No bones or tendons hurt—just some flesh wounds.”

“Good. Did you bring the hemostatic powder?”

Hemostatic powder was a precious commodity. Once used, there was no wanting less. Most of the medicine Gu Sui had brought had been given away—he didn’t have much left, and last night, he’d used the last on the wounded soldiers.

Guan Yue dug into her pocket and pulled out a small bottle of powder and clean cotton cloth strips, “Good thing I brought it.”

Gu Sui took the items and got to work bandaging his arm, feeling the relief that only someone who’d been in this situation could understand.

Tearing open his sleeve, Guan Yue cleaned his wound and applied medicine, barely holding back her sarcasm: “How can there be someone like you? You don’t even have enough for yourself and yet you generously give it away to others. I don’t know if you’re stupid or if you’re just plain foolish.”

Gu Sui smiled gently, not bothering to argue.

At this moment, the two of them both tacitly avoided mentioning the bodies behind them, as if the event had never happened.

After bandaging, Gu Sui used his left hand to pull her arm. “We should go quickly, it’s not safe here.”

Guan Yue pulled him back. “Go this way.”