Chapter 58: Injured and Amnesiac Upon Returning from Military Service
Yes, he was bewildered, like a teenager looking at something amazing, curiously observing all the people who came to pick him up.
He grinned, revealing a set of white teeth. His smile was big and silly, tinged with a hint of embarrassment. He raised his hand, waved to the crowd, and called out crisply:
"Mom! I'm back!"
The voice, the tune—Wang Xiuying's mind went blank, as if she had been hit hard with a big stick. This was no longer the son she had left home, a grown man who spoke and acted with such maturity.
This is clearly... clearly Xie Yunze, the fifteen-year-old boy from a few years ago who hadn't fully matured and just spent his days laughing like an idiot!
"Dog Egg!"
Wang Xiuying felt as if a piece of red-hot coal was stuck in her throat; her voice was shrill and hoarse, as if it had been split open.
She didn't care about anything else and pounced on him, grabbing his arms tightly with both hands like iron clamps, her nails digging into his flesh.
She tilted her head back, and her turbid tears fell like broken beads, pattering down and hitting the dust.
She stared intently into her son's clear yet unfamiliar eyes, which broke her heart. Her lips trembled violently, and her voice shook uncontrollably.
"You...your head! What happened to your head? Look at your mother! Look carefully, it's me, Gou Dan, do you still recognize your mother? Speak up, speak up!"
Xie Yunze was startled by his mother's outburst. His smile froze on his face, and his eyes were full of confusion and grievance: "Mom? You...you hurt me. Of course I recognize you. You are my mother. I'm fine. My head...I just accidentally bumped it. It's nothing! Why are you crying?" He tried to break free, but he didn't dare to use too much force.
"Nothing happened, just bumped into it?"
Listening to her son's light-hearted words, which didn't sound like he had just escaped death, and seeing the carefree innocence in his eyes that belonged only to fifteen-year-old Xie Gou Dan, Wang Xiuying was overwhelmed by a huge, cold despair.
The gauze, the blood, that look in his eyes... this is hardly a "touch".
This clearly means she's lost her youngest son, Xie Yunze, who's grown into a strong and capable man, making a name for himself in the army... What's returned is just an empty shell of an adult, with the soul of a half-grown child inside...
"Well!"
Wang Xiuying felt a sudden rush of metallic sweetness to her throat, and her vision went completely black! She managed to squeeze out a short, choked sob, as if she had been choked, and her grip on her son loosened abruptly. She felt as if all her bones had been removed, and she collapsed limply backward.
"mother--!"
"Xiuying!"
The surrounding area erupted in chaos, filled with gasps of surprise!
Xie Yunze was terrified and hurriedly grabbed his mother's limp body.
All the grievances I felt earlier vanished, replaced by overwhelming fear.
He held his mother, who was light and lifeless, in his arms. Looking at her closed eyes, pale face, and the dark red mark left on the corner of her mouth where he had hastily wiped it, a huge fear poured over him like ice water.
His voice was trembling and choked with sobs:
"Mom! Wake up! Don't scare me! Mom! Uncle! Aunt! Quick, quick, save my mom! What happened to her? She was fine just now..."
The setting sun cast long shadows of the mother and son on the ground.
Everyone rushed to help, and in the chaos, no one could answer Xie Yunce's question, which was filled with the panic and helplessness of a young man.
Wang Xiuying's last thought before she fainted was like a dull knife cutting into her flesh: her Yun Ce was gone.
The one who came back was not him.
The dense forest behind the mountain is dappled with sunlight and the air is humid.
Xu Zhili's figure was like a shadow blending into the forest, moving swiftly through the dense vegetation that almost blocked out the sun.
The ancient trees towered into the sky, their branches twisted and intertwined, with thorny vines coiling around them like countless cold, sinister snakes. The ground was covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves and tangled roots that exuded a putrid smell.
Every step requires extreme care, as a slight misstep could lead to slipping or getting caught on thorns.
With precision and swiftness, she chopped down the thorns and overgrown branches blocking her path with her machete.
"Swish! Swish!"
The dull thud of the blade slicing through the vines was exceptionally clear in the forest.
She had a clear goal—deep in the mountains, a paradise for small prey.
If we can hunt wild rabbits, pheasants... it will add some income to the men who are working hard to build the house, and it will also allow An'an to have a good meal.
Just as she held her breath, her gaze fixed like a hawk on a slightly swaying bush ahead, her muscles tense, preparing to deliver a fatal blow—
Click!
A very faint, yet unusually jarring, cracking sound came from not far behind.
That's the sound of a dead branch being broken by footsteps!
It's here!
Xu Zhili instantly entered a battle state.
Like a cheetah sensing a deadly threat, she didn't hesitate for a moment, nor did she turn around to confirm.
The muscles in his right hand, gripping the machete, bulged, and his waist twisted suddenly at an incredibly flexible angle, his whole body like a spring that had been fully charged and then released.
The machete in his hand was no longer a tool for clearing the way, but transformed into a silver streak that tore through the air, carrying a chilling killing intent. With lightning speed, it slashed fiercely towards the direction from which the sound came from.
"Whoa—!"
A short, startled cry!
The blade whistled past the person's cheek.
The sharp wind from the blade even severed a few strands of hair that were flying across his forehead.
The icy blade's chill instantly pierced through the skin!
As the shadows of the trees swayed, a lithe figure wearing a faded green military vest stumbled back two steps, his back slamming heavily against the rough tree trunk with a dull thud.
Xie Yunze's handsome face froze completely, his usual bright smile turning into one of shock and disbelief in his peach blossom eyes.
A bead of genuine cold sweat slid down his bronze temples.
"elder sister!"
He clutched his cheek, which had almost been split open, his voice hoarse with lingering fear, "You...you're trying to murder your...uh, your guide."
Xu Zhili missed her attack and did not pursue.
She steadily retracted the wood-chopping knife, its tip pointing diagonally at the ground, the cold blade gleaming in the dappled light.
She stood there, her beautiful almond-shaped eyes now sharp as knives, fixed on Xie Yunce, her voice even colder than the morning mist in the forest.
"Why are you following me?" Xu Zhili asked, her voice utterly calm after her initial attack failed.
Xie Yunze patted his chest, exhaling heavily in an exaggerated manner, trying to calm his wildly beating heart. But when his peach blossom eyes looked at Xu Zhili, there was no fear at all. Instead, they shone with an astonishing brightness, as if he had discovered some rare treasure, filled with wild excitement and pure appreciation.
"Sister, you're so fierce and spicy!"
He licked his slightly dry lips, revealing his signature little tiger teeth, and a smile returned to his lips, carrying a touch of youthful roguishness and fearlessness.
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