Chapter 25 Going Home
After receiving the medication, Chu Qiang's symptoms were significantly relieved. Wang Chunlan said that this was likely because Chu Qiang was an enhanced ability user, and his self-healing speed was dozens of times faster than that of ordinary people.
After taking two doses of medicine, the bruises on Chu Qiang's body began to fade at a visible rate. Although he was still swollen all over, he was much better than before. Seeing this, Uncle Chu's eyes reddened once again.
Perhaps because Jiang Xiaoheng's gaze was too intense, Aunt Chu slowly opened her eyes.
Jiang Xiaoheng smiled happily: "Grandma!" Leleduo really works. She woke up in no time after it was placed next to the diaper.
Aunt Chu's confused eyes gradually cleared, and when she saw Jiang Xiaoheng's face clearly, the old lady suddenly stood up and hugged the child tightly: "Baby! Baby, what are you doing here? Grandma isn't dreaming, is she?"
Jiang Xiaoheng stretched out his tender, lotus-root-like arms and wrapped them around Aunt Chu's neck. He turned his head and kissed Aunt Chu's cheek: "Grandma, Dad and I will take you home~"
Aunt Chu turned her head and, when she saw Jiang Rong's face clearly, tears streamed down her face: "Xiao Rong, thank you, thank you so much!"
Qiangzi was right. If there was anyone in the world willing to travel such a long distance to rescue them, it would definitely be Jiang Rong. If it weren't for Jiang Rong, their whole family would have perished here.
The conditions in the house were poor, and Chu Qiang needed to move to a better place to recover faster. Jiang Rong suggested, "Uncle Chu, it's not safe for us to stay here any longer. Let's go back."
Uncle Chu sniffed and nodded: "Okay, let's go home." He didn't want to stay in this awful place anymore.
When Uncle Chu uttered the words "go home," Wang Chunlan's daughter, Leilei, also woke up.
The little girl calmly got up and walked to her mother's side. Wang Chunlan took out a comb and tied her daughter's messy hair into a neat ponytail. The mother and daughter took a few steps back and shrank into the corner. The daughter's eyes were full of confusion, while Wang Chunlan's eyes uncontrollably showed confusion and anxiety.
She was happy that Chu Qiang and his group had someone to pick them up. But what would happen to her and her daughter after that? She had lost her car while traveling with Chu Qiang, and now she had fallen out with her original convoy. Without supplies or transportation, how far could they go?
Wang Chunlan gently stroked her daughter's hair, her fair face filled with confusion.
Leaving would be easy; Jiang Rong only needed to carry Chu Qiang and his aunt to the car, and they could return home. However, there were still some things to take care of before they set off.
After wiping away his tears, Uncle Chu walked up to Wang Chunlan and her daughter. He hesitated before speaking, "Dr. Wang, we're going back to our hometown now."
Wang Chunlan nodded slowly, forcing a smile: "Congratulations." She was now homeless; after the great crisis, only she and her daughter survived. After Chu Qiang's family left, she and her daughter had to rely on each other for survival.
However, what Uncle Chu said next made her eyes widen. Uncle Chu asked seriously, "What I mean is, are you and your daughter willing to come with us?"
Having spent this time with them, Uncle Chu had come to clearly understand the character of the Wang mother and daughter. When everyone else in the convoy abandoned them and even kicked them while they were down, only they stood up to defend them.
The world is already so difficult, those who have survived should unite and strive to live on.
Aunt Chu stood up shakily, holding Jiang Xiaoheng. The pressure in her heart eased instantly, and the gloom of the past few days vanished. "Yes, Chunlan, if you don't mind us, please bring Leilei to live with us. Our house is big, and there are plenty of rooms!"
The confusion in Wang Chunlan's eyes gradually disappeared, replaced by immense joy and gratitude. Her eyes reddened: "Okay, thank you, Uncle Chu and Aunt Chu."
After saying this, she kissed her daughter's forehead and said, "Leilei, we're going home now."
After quickly packing their things, Jiang Rong carried Chu Qiang towards the gate. The bloated Chu Qiang was tall and heavy, but when Jiang Rong carried him, he felt much lighter than before.
The anxiety of the past few days, coupled with not being able to eat enough, caused Chu Qiang to lose a lot of weight. Jiang Rong decided to go home and get some meat from the cold storage so that Qiangzi could have some proper nourishment.
As soon as Jiang Rong stepped out the gate, he heard his car alarm go off. Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw someone standing next to his SUV, with the brambles that had been wrapped around the vehicle broken off and lying on the ground.
Before Jiang Rong could speak, Uncle Chu roared, "Lynx! What are you doing?!"
Lynx was once Chu Qiang's drinking buddy, but after the major crisis broke out, he awakened his metal-type superpower. He left City C with Chu Qiang and received a lot of care from Chu Qiang along the way. However, when Chu Qiang got into trouble, he was the first person to stand up and betray Chu Qiang.
Hearing Uncle Chu's outburst, Lynx didn't even turn his head: "That Chu guy is really capable, someone actually came to rescue him. You know what, this equipment is really good. With this vehicle and the forklift behind it, we'll be able to get to the N City base without any problems."
As a metal-type ability user, he didn't take wood-type ability users seriously. What can wood-type ability users do? Besides growing vegetables, what else can they do? The people who came to rescue Chu Qiang could only grow a few thorny brambles. Are those brambles as powerful as the dagger in his hand that can cut through iron like mud?
Wang Chunlan's face flushed with anger. She sternly rebuked him, "Mountain Cat, you should have a conscience! How much did the Chu family help you before? You're ungrateful and repay kindness with enmity!"
The lynx scoffed, "Conscience? What's a conscience worth? I'm barely surviving myself, why would I care about your lives?"
As he spoke, Lynx turned around, the dagger in his hand drawing a smooth arc in the air. He raised his chin in Jiang Rong's direction: "Hey, give me the car keys, and I'll spare your life."
Jiang Rong: ...
Just as Lynx was speaking, a group of people appeared around Jiang Rong and his group. These were the same people from the convoy who had betrayed Chu Qiang and followed Lynx; they surrounded Jiang Rong and his group, armed with weapons.
With one hand in his pocket and the other twirling a dagger formed from his supernatural power, Lynx said, "What are you dawdling for? Hurry up and give it to me."
A follower standing next to Jiang Rong nudged Jiang Rong's side with a baseball bat: "Hurry up, or the bat won't have eyes!"
Seeing his father being bullied, Jiang Xiaoheng couldn't stand it. He pulled a bottle of Leleduo (a popular Chinese beverage) from his backpack and smashed it at the person threatening Jiang Rong: "You bad guy! You're not allowed to bully my dad!"
Jiang Xiaoheng had short arms and little strength, so Leleduo flew through the air in an arc and then "poof"ed into a place that was nowhere at all.
An eerie silence fell over the room as everyone stared at Leledo lying on the ground. A moment later, someone shouted, "The kid has supplies! Make him hand them over!"
Realizing that the group's target was Jiang Xiaoheng, Uncle Chu and Aunt Chu hugged each other and formed a wall of protection for the child with their bodies: "Don't hit the child, let's talk this out!"
Just as the stick was about to hit the two old people, the earth shook violently.
Dozens of thick, green brambles burst from the ground, kicking up clouds of yellow dust. The robust branches were covered in sharp thorns, each coiling around a man carrying a weapon. As the branches tightened, the thorns pierced deep into their skin. Bright red blood gushed from beneath the skin, and the men, who had been so arrogant just moments before, screamed in agony, becoming covered in blood.
As the instigator, Lynx received special treatment; a thick thorny branch wrapped around his ankle and lifted him upside down. Before Lynx could use his metal-based ability to cut the tendon, the thick tendon, still holding Lynx's ankle, slammed him twice onto the road with a "bang."
The sound of bones breaking rang out clearly the moment the dagger struck the ground. After only two shakes, the lynx was a limp, limp cat; the supernatural dagger in his hand flew out and disappeared upon hitting the ground.
In the blink of an eye, Jiang Rong seized the initiative, and the battle turned in one-sided.
Those around Jiang Rong were completely bewildered, staring blankly at the person struggling in the brambles, not knowing what had just happened. It took Jiang Xiaoheng a while to come to his senses. He peeked out from the arms of the Chu family elders, proudly raising his little face: "My dad is the best!"
Just then, a thin thorny branch rolled up the Leleduo that had fallen into the dust and slowly rose up, finally hovering in front of Jiang Xiaoheng. Jiang Rong's voice rang out: "Xiaoheng, don't waste food."
Jiang Xiaoheng happily reached out his little hand and took the drink from the thorn branch: "Mmm!"
The lynx's followers wailed and begged for mercy: "Uncle Chu, Uncle Chu, we're so sorry. It's all the lynx's fault, the lynx made us do this!" "We're sorry, we were forced to do it! Please, let us go!"
Jiang Rong didn't respond to them; he simply looked up at the slowly rising lynx. The unconscious lynx was hung upside down from a streetlamp by thorny branches. After confirming that the branches were secure, Jiang Rong pressed the car key: "Let's go."
The white SUV slowly started moving, taking the orange forklift with it as it drove away. The people left behind cried out, wondering if they would live to see the sun rise again.
Jiang Rong's actions not only deterred those with ill intentions, but also greatly excited Chu Qiang and his group.
After going through so much, Uncle Chu and the others were exhausted. With the soft music playing in the car, they soon fell into a deep sleep.
Because the roads had been cleared before they arrived, the journey home was exceptionally smooth. Jiang Rong kept her eyes on the road ahead, only occasionally glancing up at the tired people huddled together in the back seat.
His car is only certified to carry five people, but now there are already five people crammed into the back. His son and Leilei are short, and the five of them are barely able to fit. Luckily, there were no traffic police after the major incident, otherwise it would have been considered that he was overloading.
The vehicle was moving steadily along the highway when Jiang Rong suddenly heard a hoarse voice: "Xiao Jiang, thank you."
Jiang Rong turned her head and saw a slit where Chu Qiang's eyes should have been. Large tears slid down from the narrow slit: "If it weren't for you, I might not be here anymore. What would I do without you?"
The fact that Chu Qiang could speak proved that he was much better, which put Jiang Rong at ease. He took out a few tissues and handed them to Chu Qiang: "Don't cry, we're almost home. You'll feel better once we get home."
"Pfft—" The sound of blowing his nose was long and loud.
The white SUV swerved a couple of times on the mountain road, and Jiang Rong's disgusted voice came: "Ugh~ Don't throw your snotty tissues in the car!"
Author's Note:
Chu Qiang: I just survived being bitten by a mutated wasp, and almost died from my childhood friend's iron fist.
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