Chapter 180 Wait for me to come back and take you home
I waited my whole life...
Zhou Jue stared blankly at the old dog lying on the ground. It remained motionless, as if it had fallen asleep. But Zhou Jue knew that it was not asleep; it was simply waiting, using all the strength of its life to wait for someone.
"Captain Wang," Zhou Jue's voice was a little hoarse, "was its original name 'Charge'?"
Wang Meng's body jolted, as if he had heard something unbelievable. He stared wide-eyed at Zhou Jue: "You... how did you know?"
This name has been forgotten for a very long time. Since that incident, "Charge" has become "meritorious service," an honor bestowed upon heroes by the military, but also a scar deliberately buried.
“It told me that,” Zhou Jue said softly.
Wang Meng's lips moved a few times, finally turning into a long, heavy sigh.
“Yes, it used to be called ‘Charge’.” His voice lowered, as if he were lost in a distant memory: “Its first trainer gave it that name.”
"And what about its trainer?" Zhou Jue pressed, even though she already had a vague idea of the answer in her mind.
Wang Meng fell silent.
Inside the kennel, the young military dogs seemed to sense the heavy atmosphere and quieted down, no longer making a fuss. Only the German Shepherd named "Black Wind" paced anxiously in its kennel, glancing occasionally in the direction of "Hero," letting out a few low whimpers.
The old squad leader is unhappy again...
That liar, he promised to come back...
The old squad leader has been waiting for so, so long...
Scattered thoughts, belonging to other military dogs, drifted into Zhou Jue's mind.
fraud?
After a long silence, Wang Meng spoke again, his eyes reddening: "He sacrificed himself."
It consists of only three short words, yet they carry immense weight.
Five years ago, on the southwestern border, there was a major anti-drug operation. Its instructor was Li Xiang, who was only twenty years old at the time. He was a young man who had just come down from basic training. He was sunny and cheerful, had top-notch military skills, and his relationship with "Charge" was closer than that of brothers.
Wang Meng's voice was calm, as if he were telling someone else's story.
"During the mission, they were surrounded by a group of ruthless drug dealers. In order to buy time for the main force, Li Xiang led the 'Charge' and volunteered to take on the most dangerous task of luring the enemy."
"He left all his equipment, including food, to his comrades, and took only a dagger and a submachine gun before plunging into the vast primeval jungle."
"Later, we heard from our comrades who came back that the last thing Li Xiang did before they parted ways was to hold onto 'Charge' tightly and whisper something in its ear."
Wang Meng paused, then, mimicking the tone of his voice, softly repeated, "'Chongfeng, wait for me to come back and take you home.'"
That scene seemed to appear before Zhou Jue's eyes.
Before heading to a battlefield where life and death were uncertain, the young soldier made the most heartwarming promise to his most loyal comrade.
"They successfully drew away most of the enemy, creating an opportunity for the main force to break out and counterattack. We won a great victory in that mission, and the amount of drugs seized was a record high."
“But…” Wang Meng’s voice choked with emotion, “Li Xiang never came back.”
“We found him three days later. He was lying at the foot of a cliff with more than a dozen stab wounds on his body, still clutching the dagger tightly in his hand. Beside him lay the bodies of seven or eight drug dealers.”
"And 'Charge' was lying right next to him, covered in blood, one of its hind legs had been shot off, and a knife was stuck in its body. When our men approached, it wouldn't let anyone touch Li Xiang, it just stayed there guarding him, its throat was hoarse from barking, and its eyes were full of blood."
"Later, it took us a lot of effort to bring it back. Li Xiang was posthumously awarded a first-class merit and recognized as a martyr. 'Chongfeng' was also awarded the title of meritorious dog for its heroic performance in that mission, and from then on, it was renamed 'Meritorious Dog'."
Wang Meng raised his hand and wiped his eyes with the rough back of his hand.
"It changed after that. It became less lively and less affectionate. Every day it would just lie there, looking in the direction of the door, as if... it was still waiting for Li Xiang to come back."
“We assigned it a new trainer, the best one in the team, but it wouldn’t recognize any of them. It wouldn’t eat the treats we gave it; it wouldn’t go out to play. Once, a new trainer tried to get close to it and forcibly put a leash on it, but it bit him. That was the first and only time in its life that it attacked someone of its own.”
“From then on, no one dared to disturb it. We know that in its heart, it only recognizes Li Xiang. Its world can only hold Li Xiang.”
"The doctor said that it's a miracle that it's still alive today, given its physical injuries and mental illness. It's just holding on by sheer willpower."
Wang Meng's story was over, and inside and outside the kennel, all was deathly silent.
Zhou Jue felt as if a wad of cotton was stuck in his chest, making him feel uncomfortably bloated.
She looked at the old dog again. It turned out that it wasn't enjoying its retirement; it was serving its sentence, using the rest of its life to imprison itself, just to wait for a promise that could never be kept.
It knew nothing of sacrifice or death. All it knew was that its master, its comrade-in-arms, had told it before leaving, "Wait for me to come back."
So it waited, from its prime to its old age, from "charging" to "meritorious service," day after day, year after year.
I waited, for a full five years.
Zhou Jue finally couldn't hold back her tears, which slid down her cheeks. She slowly squatted down and looked at the old dog named "Meritorious" through the kennel fence.
She once again immersed her spiritual power into its inner world; this time, she was no longer just an observer.
"charge."
She tried, in her gentlest voice, to call out that long-forgotten name in its mind.
The old dog lying on the ground suddenly trembled slightly, and its cloudy eyes slowly opened a crack.
【who……】
Who's calling me?
The old, weary voice rang out again, tinged with confusion and a faint hope that even it itself was unaware of.
"It's me." Zhou Jue's voice rang clearly in its mind: "I know Li Xiang."
Boom! From somewhere, a surge of power welled up in the old dog "Meritorious Service". It struggled and used its two front legs to slowly prop up its upper body.
This action, which would be effortless for a young military dog, was incredibly difficult for it. Its body trembled uncontrollably, and it was breathing heavily, but it still managed to stand up.
It raised its head, its cloudy eyes fixed intently on Zhou Jue's direction.
Do you... know him?
Where is he?
Has he come back?
Did he... come to pick me up and take me home?
A barrage of eager questions flooded Zhou Jue's mind, each word like a small hammer striking his heart.
Wang Meng was also stunned by the sudden reaction of "meritorious service".
In five years, he had never seen such a strong reaction from a "meritorious official"!
Looking into its expectant eyes, Zhou Jue felt as if something was blocking his throat, and he couldn't utter a single word.
How should she answer?
Should we tell it the truth?
Tell it that the person you are waiting for turned into a cold tombstone on the land of your motherland five years ago, and will never come back.
Tell it that the promise you've waited a lifetime for was, from the very beginning, a white lie.
How cruel must that be for it?
If this sole belief that has sustained it to this day were to collapse, could its aging body withstand it?
But if we don't say anything, are we just going to let it go, waiting and hoping in vain until the last bit of its life is gone?
Zhou Jue's mind was in complete turmoil.
Just then, a clear voice, tinged with anxiety, rang out.
[Great job! Tell the old squad leader right away!]
It's Black Wind.
Tell it that big liar hasn't gone far!
He became a star in the sky, watching over the old squad leader every night!
[This is what my dad's dad told me! He said that heroes never die; they just continue to protect us in a different way!]
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