Huo Qingfeng rushed back to B City. As soon as he exited the airport, he saw Qiao Fei already waiting for him.
Knowing his father well, Huo Qingfeng called Ruo Ke as soon as he got in the car, telling her that he would be training secretly for the next few days and that he could not have any contact with the outside world.
The car sped all the way to Ziyun Capital. Just from the name, you could tell how deeply the old man loved the old woman. The old man was a veteran of the battlefield, a man of great influence and aloofness. But in the old woman's presence, he melted into a gentle, cuddly figure, completely at her mercy.
In short, he had to win over the old lady no matter what.
The car stopped, and as soon as Huo Qingfeng entered, he saw the old man sitting facing the door. His legs were shoulder-width apart, his back straight, and his hands rested on his knees—a standard military posture. His face was expressionless, frighteningly serious. No, it was more like frighteningly gloomy.
"Mom, Father." Huo Qingfeng stopped, his way of addressing his parents was a little awkward, one ancient and one modern, but he had been calling them that for over thirty years.
Normally, Yang Ziyun would have rushed over and pulled her son around, looking him over from all angles. But this time, she just smiled and said, "You're back," without the usual excitement.
"Kneel down!" Huo Zhixun commanded.
Huo Qingfeng had expected this and obediently knelt down. He wasn't afraid of the old man, but this man was his father. Besides, he was a soldier, and the old man's rank was far higher than his. "Father, why did you call me back in such a hurry? Is something wrong?"
"How dare you ask!" Huo Zhixun's mustache trembled with anger. His son had never caused him any trouble growing up, yet this time he'd gotten into such a disgraceful mess!
"For a woman, you caused a huge scene at the Z City Public Security Bureau, injuring public officials; for a woman, you actually stormed into their door to fight and cause trouble; for a woman, you almost ruined the long-standing friendship between the Huo and Gu families! Huo Qingfeng, you've really made something of yourself!"
Huo Qingfeng met his father's gaze directly, showing no fear whatsoever at his murderous stare. "Father, what if someone wrongly accuses Mother without any evidence, and then takes her to the police station where she's beaten and kicked?"
"Kill that bastard! And wipe out those bastards in the police station too!" The old man's gaze suddenly turned fierce!
"What if someone dares to kidnap my mother?"
"Kill his whole family!" With a whoosh, he waved his hand.
"What if someone dares to come to our door to protest, demand that my mother leave my father, and even beat her?"
"Then his hand was broken, and he was thrown into the deep mountains to be fed to the wolves!" His face turned red, and his eyes were still bloodshot.
That's just how the old man is. Even if it's just a hypothetical situation, as long as it concerns the old lady, he speaks with murderous intent, every word brimming with killing intent.
Huo Qingfeng shrugged and spread his hands. "Well, isn't this exactly what I'm doing? I don't think I'm doing it as thoroughly as you described, Father! Ruoke is to me what Mother is to Father, how could I let her be bullied without doing anything about it! Didn't Father say that our wives are the highest leaders among us!"
Huo Zhixun was completely cornered; it was all his son's fault! He was so angry that he glared at his wife and finally yelled, "See? It's all because you raised such a good son!"
Yang Ziyun stood up, slowly walked to her son, and straightened his collar.
"Qingfeng, how can these be the same? I am an innocent person who followed your father without any grudges or entanglements. But Ruoke is different. She is not only a divorced woman, but she is also still entangled with her ex-husband. I know you like her, and it's not wrong for you to protect her. But have you ever thought about how much these things will affect you as a soldier? Do you know that?"
"Mom!" Huo Qingfeng didn't want her to continue. He hadn't expected his mother's attitude to change so quickly. "Mom, your life has been smooth sailing. Besides your character, luck played a large part. Ruoke is just not as lucky as you. Perhaps you think Ruoke is inferior because she's divorced. But to me, she's my woman, the only woman I want. No matter what happened in the past, from the moment she came with me, I'm going to protect her. Even if I lose my military rank, I won't abandon her!"
"You—you brat, how dare you say such things! Someone, get me a cane!"
At the old man's command, someone quickly brought a rattan cane to him. This rattan cane was a family precept tool of the Huo family: it was over three feet long, about three fingers wide, and bluish-black.
"Old man, you...you really want to hit me?" Yang Ziyun was genuinely worried, and her face scrunched up when she heard that he really wanted to hit her.
Huo Zhixun had already taken the rattan cane, his expression menacing. "This brat dared to utter such outrageous words! He'll definitely get thirty lashes today!"
"What? Thirty lashes? Old man, you...you're going to beat him to death!"
"Honey, don't worry about him today! I'm going to teach this brat a lesson so he won't embarrass himself like this again!"
"But……"
"..."
Huo Qingfeng ignored their arguing and obediently lay down on the stool, waiting to be punished. He was already prepared for it; a beating would be fine. If the old lady felt sorry for him, things would be easier to handle.
The family precepts were personally enforced by the old man. He was a veteran of the battlefield, and he showed no mercy.
The cracking sounds had barely begun when Yang Ziyun couldn't take it anymore. He was her only son, and every beating he inflicted pain on his mother. So she rushed over and snatched the rattan whip from the old man's hand. "Stop hitting him! You'll kill him!"
"Qiao Fei, help the old lady to the side to rest!"
"Yes!" Guard Qiao Fei pulled the lady away, preventing her from getting any closer to the torture site.
Yang Ziyun paced anxiously, unable to hear Huo Qingfeng's moans, but unable to bear the sound of the cane striking her body. Then, she put her hands on her hips and roared, "Huo Zhixun, if you beat my son to death, I will never forgive you for the rest of my life!"
The old man paused for a moment with the rattan cane in his hand, then continued hitting.
After thirty sharp, cracking lashes from the rattan cane, even someone like Huo Qingfeng, who had fought his way through gunfire and swordplay, couldn't maintain his composure and began to feel dizzy. His trousers were already stained red; one could imagine the bloody, mangled mess beneath.
"Someone, carry him to the room. Don't let him step out of the room for the next two weeks!"
Yang Ziyun rushed over, and seeing the blood-stained pants, she finally couldn't hold back and burst into tears. Even when Huo Zhixun came to help her, she pushed him away, not letting him get close.
Huo Qingfeng was in so much pain that he was dazed and confused. He felt himself being carried to the bed and then someone applied medicine to his wounds. Throughout the whole ordeal, he didn't utter a sound, but beads of sweat dripped from his forehead like water.
Yang Ziyun wiped away her sweat while crying uncontrollably.
Huo Zhixun arrived at the door, only to be pushed and punched out by her. She slammed the door shut and coldly said, "You don't care about my son, but I do!"
The old man's face immediately fell into a worried expression as he looked at Qiao Fei and asked, "Qiao Fei, what should we do?"
Qiao Fei tried hard to suppress his laughter and replied, "Reporting to the commander, well, I can't help it!" What could a bodyguard like him do when his wife was arguing?
The old man paced back and forth in front of his son's room with his hands behind his back, his white hairs piling up in worry.
Qiao Fei was struggling to suppress his laughter and was just thinking of finding an excuse to run away.
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