Chapter 18 Tell It All
Outside the door, Ma's parents looked reluctant, but their attitude was very firm, indicating that they would absolutely not open the door for Ma Nanzheng.
With tears in her eyes, Ma's mother said, "Son, your demobilization pay and our family savings have all been given to the Xia family as betrothal gifts. Just listen to us. Once you have a wife and children, you'll see that life is still beautiful. If you want to commit suicide, your father and I will follow you. Anyway, there's nothing left in this world worth staying for."
After saying that, Mr. and Mrs. Ma walked away, turning back every three steps.
Ma Nanzheng slid down the door and collapsed weakly to the ground.
He cried and pounded his arms and legs, as if venting the pain and torment that had been suppressed in his heart for a long time.
Finally, he shakily raised the scissors, closed his eyes, and was about to use them to cut his neck.
Suddenly, a clear and melodious voice rang out: "If you are not afraid of death, why are you afraid to continue living?"
Ma Nanzheng opened his eyes and saw that the beautiful woman who should have been lying unconscious on the bed was standing in front of him!
"You...you're awake." Ma Nanzheng stammered nervously. "I'm sorry, I don't know my parents...anyway, I will definitely have them send you back, don't worry."
"Hmm, I'm not worried." Xia Fanxing held out her hand. "Can I have the scissors? I want to trim a loose thread."
Ma Nanzheng hesitated for a moment, but still chose to hand over the scissors.
Xia Fanxing took the scissors with one hand and pressed her other hand against his pulse.
Ma Nanzheng was startled and tried to struggle, but then he heard Xia Fanxing say, "The tendons in your hands and feet were once completely severed. Because the treatment was not timely, they could not be restored, which is why you are like this now, and even your normal life is affected."
Ma Nanzheng was stunned. "You're a doctor?"
"I guess so." Xia Fanxing withdrew her hand and sat down on the stool. "How did you end up like this? Weren't you a soldier serving on the frontier before?"
On the way to the Ma family, Xia Fanxing and her two mothers chatted the whole time, and Xia Fanxing got a general understanding of the Ma family.
After a long silence, Ma Nanzheng began to recount his bittersweet life in the border troops.
His original physique was not as thin as a monkey as it is now. He was tall, strong, and powerful, so he received a lot of attention as soon as he joined the army.
But to be honest, he wasn't smart. He was the type who was all brawn and no brains, so he was often secretly bullied and ostracized by other recruits because he was favored by his superiors.
Fortunately, the class monitor spoke up for him and stood up for him, and gradually no one dared to target him anymore.
Recalling those years, a rare smile appeared on Ma Nanzheng's dark and sunken face.
"You don't know, our class monitor never smiles. His face is like an iceberg, so cold it makes you shiver. And because he shows no mercy when he trains us, many people call him 'the cold-faced devil' in private. But I think he's a good person. After all, his strictness is for our own good. Under his leadership, our class has always been ranked first."
Ma Nanzheng paused for a moment, then his smile quickly vanished.
“It was a military exercise. We were lying in ambush at various locations according to a pre-arranged plan, and I was fortunate enough to be in a group with the squad leader. We lay in ambush for a day and a night, and there was no movement nearby. The squad leader found it strange and told me to stay where I was while he went to check the situation. But as soon as he walked down the hillside, someone fired at him. It was a real bullet! But there were no bullets in a military exercise. I immediately knew that it was the enemy!”
Ma Nanzheng rushed forward recklessly to cover his squad leader's retreat, even though he fired a fake bullet and even though he had already been shot in the arm and leg.
He begged the squad leader to run quickly.
He knew there were thousands of soldiers like him in the army, and it wouldn't matter if he was gone, but the squad leader was one in a million, and he absolutely could not be allowed to have any problems.
And he finally had the chance to repay the class monitor for his kindness.
Instead of killing Ma Nanzheng, the enemy took him back as a hostage to coerce the troops into revealing certain military secrets.
That period was extremely dark. Ma Nanzheng's gunshot wounds became foul and rotten. The enemy would try every means to torture him every day, but would also keep him alive with minimal medication.
Finally, the squad leader infiltrated the enemy's lair alone, rescued Ma Nanzheng, and then coordinated with the main force outside to successfully wipe out the enemy.
The army's medics did their best to treat Ma Nanzheng, but the wound had been left untreated for too long and could not be healed no matter what they did. It was a miracle that he could walk and pick things up.
Ma Nanzheng smiled through his tears, "Actually, I know my demobilization pay can't be that much. My squad leader gave me all his subsidies and bonuses, so I can't touch this money. My squad leader feels very guilty, thinking he's the one who caused me to end up like this. He's wanted to help me all these years. But I'm a man, I have dignity. I don't regret my decision back then, and I can earn money on my own!"
Deeply moved, Xia Fanxing decided to help Ma Nanzheng, this unfortunate veteran.
"Lie down." She took out a roll of silver needles from her bag. "I learned acupuncture from an old doctor who specializes in treating chronic illnesses like yours. But don't get your hopes up too high; it's normal if it doesn't work after the treatment."
Ma Nanzheng immediately lay down obediently and comforted Xia Fanxing: "Doctor, don't feel pressured. Let's give it a try. If it doesn't work, then forget it."
Xia Fanxing inserted silver needles into various acupoints one by one.
The space was upgraded due to the storage of a vast amount of treasure, and various skills were available for Xia Fanxing to learn, with medicine being just one of them.
During the acupuncture, Xia Fanxing poured Ma Nanzheng a glass of water and added a drop of spiritual spring water to it.
That's actually the key point.
After all, even the best medical skills cannot undo injuries sustained years ago.
But the spring water has inexplicable magical effects.
Half an hour later, the acupuncture ended, and Ma Nanzheng felt a long-lost sense of refreshment.
He got out of bed and felt something different when his feet touched the ground.
When he started walking again, he was no longer limping!
His hands no longer trembled when he picked things up.
He can easily grip scissors and also perform delicate tasks like threading a needle.
Although he still can't run, jump, or lift heavy objects, for him, it's already a complete transformation.
He was very content and grateful!
Ma Nanzheng knelt down before Xia Fanxing with a thud, saying that his life belonged to Xia Fanxing from this day forward and that he would obey her every command.
Xia Fanxing was in a good mood and said with a smile, "I don't want your life, I want your parents to report the Xia family for selling their daughter, then we'll be even."
Ma Nanzheng called his parents over to show them his transformation, and they were both shocked and overjoyed.
They first knelt down and apologized to Xia Fanxing, then rushed to the police station that very night to report her.
Xia Fanxing didn't comment on them, after all, she was also using entrapment tactics.
After Xia Fanxing left, Ma Nanzheng was extremely excited and rummaged through drawers and cabinets to find the class monitor's contact number.
Oh dear, look at his brain. Now we can't call him squad leader anymore, we have to call him regimental commander.
Ma Nanzheng squatted next to the phone booth, waiting until dawn before going in to make a call.
The communications soldier answered: "Hello, this is Regiment Commander Xie Jingchen."
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