Huo Xiaolong has been spending the last few days with bandages wrapped around his arm. He had a great time fighting that day, but he was also scolded badly in private. There was nothing wrong with him, except that his hand was a little split open and his arm was a little sore from overexertion.

With He Yi not by her side, Cen Ang scolded two people at once.

"You think I can't beat him? And you think it's your turn? Doesn't the commander-in-chief know what his job is? Or do you think your Aunt Zhang can't handle him?"

"If you do it again, I'll beat your ass to a pulp!"

Today, Huo Xiaolong wasn't wearing armor, but casual clothes. He was lying on the bed, cooing and acting cute with Cen Ang.

"Oh, it's nothing, it just hurts a little."

When the girl in red armor rode a white horse through the encirclement and charged straight at the enemy general, Cen Ang's heart leaped into his throat. How could he not feel heartache for his own child?

Outside Hou Xiangxiang's medical tent, a group of soldiers sat in a row, listening to the loud, cursing female voice inside the tent, but dared not speak.

Chunying was injured this time, but it wasn't serious to Hou Xiangxiang. She could use whatever medicine she had, like ginseng pills and Sanqi external injury ointment. They had plenty of those things at home.

A gash ran down the beautiful woman's fair, jade-like back, from her shoulder to her waist, oozing blood—a gruesome sight. Chunying, however, didn't seem to notice; she felt nothing.

Especially after Hou Xiangxiang applied anesthetic, the moment the blade touched her back, all she felt was the burning sensation of hot blood flowing out; the pain was replaced by this feeling.

She didn't suffer much until she reached the military camp.

But she was also annoyed. It was one thing for Ping'er to cry beside her, but Huo Xiaocheng was also crying and muttering to himself.

"I'm your man, why are you taking the hit for me? It hurts so much."

"I knew I shouldn't have let you come..."

Hearing this, Chunying couldn't hold back any longer. She lay on the bed, stretched out her hand, and pointed at Huo Xiaocheng's nose, saying...

"You think I won't come just because you don't let me? You think you can just slash my head with that knife? Don't you know what's more important? Are you out of your mind?!"

"Stop crying! Stop crying! Hold it in!"

The reprimand made both Ping'er and the man stop crying. Then Chunying turned to Ping'er and said...

"It's okay, keep crying."

"Huo Xiaocheng, if you cry again, get out of here!"

As Hou Xiangxiang listened, she stitched up the woman's wound, the stitches dense and numerous. After it healed, she would apply some scar-reducing ointment, and it would be as good as new.

The little girl stood up and told the people around her not to touch water for the next few days.

Outside the door, Huo Xiaocheng's soldiers couldn't help but swallow hard, and said to the person next to them...

"Wow, our general's wife is really that amazing!"

"Good-looking, but also has a fiery temper."

"Come on, stop showing off. Don't you get yelled at at home? Sometimes you even get beaten up, don't you?"

"How many women in the border town don't act like this at home? You'll get used to it."

“It’s not like that where I’m from. My wife is very gentle,” the soldier from the border town, who couldn’t understand the local dialect, spoke up again.

Doesn't your wife usually scold you?

"Instead of scolding me, you even brought me water to wash my feet."

“But my wife doesn’t go out to earn money. She’s different from the women in this border town. The wives in our area all stay at home.”

"But I think women live better here in the border town. I'll bring her over after this war is over, and then we can do whatever we want."

The soldier next to him patted him on the shoulder and said...

"Whether male or female, those with great abilities tend to have great tempers. Once she's able to earn her own money, she'll start to scold you."

"Let her curse. I think the women in the border town are living quite happily, and my wife should be just as happy. General Huo's wife can wield a sword to kill the Xiongnu, so what's wrong with her being a little fierce?"

“I’ve seen his father washing clothes for his mother before.”

But a group of men, just as gossipy as the old lady at the village entrance, quickly spread the word throughout the military camp that Huo Xiaolong's older brother had been scolded.

Huo Xiaocheng had to serve him, bringing him tea and water with great attentiveness.

After Xiao Shizi told Mu Feng that Hou Xiangxiang could help Mu You with his treatment, the man was overjoyed and immediately wanted to sell himself to these girls.

“But Uncle Mu, the doctor said there’s only a 10% chance of a cure,” Little Stone said.

"And they'll have to cut me open." Huo Xiaolong brought Hou Xiangxiang over to take a look, and then the little girl said this.

"It can't be taken out without opening his abdomen, and I won't let him feel pain."

"Even if he dies, he'll die in his sleep. Whether you do it or not is up to you. You're his father, so it's your decision."

Mu Feng looked at the two girls, one in red and one in white. One was the general who had suppressed the Second Prince and made him unable to move. The other was someone he had never seen before, but she should be a military doctor from the Central Plains.

The man nodded.

"I will bring the child over as soon as possible."

Since we're all going to die anyway, we might as well give it a try. Even if we die, it'll be easier.

When Hou Xiangxiang cut open the child's belly layer by layer, revealing the blood-stained but firm yellow soil inside, the girls couldn't bear to look any longer.

None of the three of them hadn't seen a dead person, and none of them hadn't taken a life.

But this time was different from usual; the child on the bed was skin and bones, about the same size as the little pebble from before.

But her belly was as big as if she were ten months pregnant, Hou Xiangxiang said to Huo Xiaolong.

"I don't know how much soil is inside; maybe the whole belly is full of soil."

"The intestines and internal organs are probably squeezed somewhere, and it's not certain that all the soil can be dug out."

"What if the opening were made even bigger?" Huo Xiaolong asked.

Hou Xiangxiang shook her head.

"No, he can't handle it."

"I can only produce some slowly for now. If that doesn't work, I'll have to do it a second time."

As Hou Xiangxiang carefully scraped the yellow soil out of the knife with a small wooden spoon, a strong stench filled the air.

As the tray filled with more and more yellow soil, the group finally saw the intestines hidden underneath. Hou Xiangxiang finished cleaning up the last bit and then said...

"We have to open it a second time. This soil needs to be digested down to the bottom before we can open it again. Further in are the internal organs, and I dare not move it again."

Whether we live to see that day is up to fate.

Then the little girl said to Huo Xiaolong

"This is the method of feeding the elixir every day. I wonder if the elixir can expel these things on its own. If it can, then a second surgery will not be necessary."

The girl in red nodded, while Da Ni'er beside her remained silent. Seeing Hou Xiangxiang put down the scalpel, she lifted the curtain and went out.

Outside the tent, she heard the cries and concern of the man and the child's mother, and felt a surge of indignation.

"That's why I want to assimilate the grassland people."

"Da Ni'er, don't be sad. We will make sure everyone on the grassland has enough to eat."

The girl in red walked to her side. The little girl next to her had already lain down. The intense homework had made her a little tired, but she could feel infinitely safe by her friend's side.

"Yes, we definitely will."