Chapter 130
The guide stared blankly; his head was wrapped in gauze, but his handsome face was much paler than the gauze.
Ilya held Jiang Wenxing's hand. His hand was very white, but it had many small cuts. He held it as gently as possible.
The young guide lay in the soft blankets, the cloud-like quilt almost swallowing his figure. His voice was hoarse, carrying the confusion of waking from a long coma. He had slept for a long time, three days and two nights, but he himself did not know it.
The first thing he said to him when he woke up was in Thanatos, "Moon, oh moon."
The guide's tone of voice had a heartwarming quality that touched him deeply.
He always felt that Jiang Wenxing was dreaming about something that made him sad, but he didn't know what it was, so he couldn't comfort him.
Ilya looked at him, and he and Jiang Wenxing remained silent for a long time.
The scent of lilacs, like the warmth of a fireplace, has a captivating fragrance that evokes a sense of beauty. Jiang Wenxing's fingers weakly touched Ilya's palm.
Ilya realized he had held on for too long.
He released his grip, snapping out of his daze, and transformed back into the composed and serious sentry captain, looking after his comrade without any reservations: "Would you like some water?"
He turned to make himself a hot cup of milk tea, when he suddenly heard that hoarse voice say, "Captain."
Ilya waited for his next words.
"I like the smell of lilacs."
The kettle crashed to the ground, splashing up a cloud of hot, humid steam.
The military doctor in a white coat and Director Liu rushed in, flustered: "What happened? What happened?"
Jiang Wenxing looked at Director Liu with some surprise. Director Liu's expression was colorful, showing a hint of guilt, which was seamlessly replaced by a genuine smile. He pulled up a chair and sat down: "Hey kid, you're finally awake."
Ilya, with his back to Jiang Wenxing, stiffly picked up the water bottle from the ground.
The military doctor took out his stethoscope, flicked it, and said to him, "Awake? Come on, let me listen to your heartbeat."
Jiang Wenxing let the military doctor unbutton his clothes and listened silently for a while. The military doctor's expression remained unchanged as he massaged him from head to toe, and then went through the procedures of observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation before asking, "Is there anything that feels uncomfortable?"
Jiang Wenxing took a moment to feel it, then weakly propped himself up to sit up: "I feel tightness in my chest, but nothing else is too bad."
The military doctor nodded and said, "It's normal. You've been lying down for too long. Just go for a walk and you'll be fine."
Director Liu said worriedly, "Should we check it again? There's such a big bump on its head, it should be fine, right?"
The military doctor tucked his stethoscope into his jacket pocket and looked over: "Since you enjoy treating patients so much, why don't you sit here?"
Director Liu: "..."
The medic, hands in his pockets, turned around and looked suspiciously at Ilya, who had been facing away from the hospital bed. He exclaimed in surprise, "Why is your face so red? Did you burn yourself?"
Ilya placed the kettle on the stove, wiped his face, and quickly opened the door to go out: "I'm going to inform the old guide."
Jiang Wenxing lay quietly on the hospital bed. In his mind, it was a very minor injury, and with a negligible price, he had destroyed a route for the ant tribe to cross the snow-capped mountains.
Director Liu said that the ant likely escaped from Xiaoxishan, and subsequent investigations confirmed this.
If Jiang Wenxing and Yano hadn't happened to stumble upon it, the ant colony, which would have hatched in twenty days, would have devoured the entire forest like locusts and then ravaged the nearby villages.
Director Liu was still shaken when this possibility was mentioned.
The extent of harm that a group of successfully hatched "ant tribe" members could cause to the lives and property of people along my country's borders is unpredictable and incalculable.
only.
When only Director Liu and Jiang Wenxing remained in the medical room, Director Liu stopped joking around and his face gradually darkened. His serious demeanor, like Ilya's, made people feel intimidated.
He stood up, shook his head, gave a forced smile, and then slammed his hand on the table: "You bunch of little devils! You've got some nerve! Running away at night, do you know what kind of crime that is? At best, it's insubordination; at worst, it's disregarding military discipline and illegally crossing the checkpoint, which is the same as desertion! Tell me, who started this?"
Jiang Wenxing was startled.
Judging from Director Liu's expression, the military doesn't believe in offsetting merits and demerits; each matter is handled separately.
He went out at night without permission, knowing the danger, and led another guide deep into the anthill.
This is not something a soldier should do. A bead of sweat appeared on Jiang Wenxing's forehead. He pursed his lips and said, "I was the one who led the charge. They... don't know what I'm trying to do."
Director Liu's expression darkened further: "So you're saying you're the mastermind?"
Jiang Wenxing lowered his eyes, his hand hidden under the blanket slowly clenching: "Yes."
Director Liu remained silent for a while, then picked up the teapot, poured himself a glass of water, and said with a serious expression, "This is a very serious disciplinary issue."
Jiang Wenxing: "Yes."
Director Liu: "Jano said he was the one who instigated it."
Jiang Wenxing looked up abruptly. Director Liu, holding a glass of water, said expressionlessly, "Alena said she knocked you two unconscious and smuggled you out. Although I don't think the Kush patrolmen are cowards to that extent, she insisted on it and even offered to report it herself."
Jiang Wenxing remained silent, his complexion already poor, now appearing even paler and sickly.
Director Liu tossed a sugar cube into the water and placed it next to Jiang Wenxing: "The old guide said you can't unite the other guides, but I think you're doing a pretty good job of uniting them. They all want to get rid of you."
Director Liu looked at the somewhat bewildered young guide, walked to the window, and pushed the tightly closed window open a crack for him.
A crisp wind carrying the scent of ice and snow rushed in, and the white gauze curtains danced like butterflies.
It was already late autumn outside.
Layers of red and yellow leaves intertwine, covering the entire forest, while the clear blue sky reflects the beautiful snow-capped mountains in the distance, creating a scene like a beautiful painting.
The sunlight playfully fell on the guide's face, turning his fluffy hair golden. He relaxed his eyebrows, and his brooding, handsome face softened because of the view outside the window.
...
Director Liu said, "Write a 3,000-word self-criticism. That's all. It's a very light punishment."
I waited until the military doctor said I could get out of bed.
Jiang Wenxing made his way into the yard. The morning sun was warm, and the gauze wrapped around his head had just been changed, making him feel a little dizzy.
He hadn't been sitting in the yard for long when he heard the clatter of footsteps. A gray, one-eyed wolf ran over and crouched down a few steps away from Jiang Wenxing.
Wolf Eyes watched him quietly. Jiang Wenxing smiled, beckoned, and the proud old wolf slowly walked over, lowered its head and touched Jiang Wenxing's palm with its cool nose, then lay down at his feet.
Transparent ripples spread through the air, and a little mouse with a pink tail suddenly appeared, pounced on its friend's back, and rolled around squeaking.
The one-eyed gray wolf's ears snapped up, and its tail swayed involuntarily from side to side. The little mouse, its fur rounded like a ping-pong ball from winter molting, trudged through the wolf's thick fur with its short legs, finally managing to climb onto the wolf's head, sit down, and tug at its ears, squeaking and squeaking.
The gray wolf's expression didn't change much, but it stood up on its own initiative, letting the little mouse ride on its head, and then ran up the hillside.
Jiang Wenxing turned off synesthesia, letting his little mouse go play with its friends while he sat in the same spot basking in the sun.
It didn't last long in the sun.
A Congolese lioness and a snow leopard chased each other. The snow leopard was more agile, but the Congolese lioness bit its bushy tail, causing the snow leopard to lose its balance and both of them fell to the ground.
Jiang Wenxing turned his head, and Alena, dressed in her training uniform, looked dashing: "Wenxing!"
After such a long time, she finally learned to call Jiang Wenxing's name in standard Mandarin.
Alena rushed over, lifted Jiang Wenxing up with a jerk, and chuckled, "Well done! You actually dared to fire a gun! And you even killed an ant soldier! I'll definitely introduce you to the bravest girl in our Tanigamar! I'll keep you here!"
Jiang Wenxing's eyes lit up with laughter at the first part of the sentence, but her face turned red from her ears to her cheeks when she heard the second part. She struggled, "Ah, Alena, put me down!"
In terms of individual combat skills, Alena could easily defeat Jiang Wenxing, but considering that he was still a patient.
"Alena, he still has a head injury!"
Upon hearing its master's voice, the gentle snow leopard retaliated by biting the Congolese lioness's rump. The lioness immediately jumped up and angrily pounced on the snow leopard again.
Arno ran over, slightly out of breath, his expression tense. Jiang Wenxing felt awkward when he saw him. He didn't know what to say, and he felt it was hard to feel disgusted or averse to such a beautiful scene under the blue sky and white clouds, facing the pristine snow-capped mountains.
Alena laughed and put Jiang Wenxing down, giving him a light tap on the shoulder with a genuine smile: "Jiang Wenxing, I admire you."
Jiang Wenxing looked at Yano, whose eyes were a little red. He didn't say anything, but reached out and hugged Jiang Wenxing.
Jiang Wenxing was stiff all over, as if he were bound by a large sack of burlap. He couldn't push it away, nor could he hug it. He stood there blankly with his hands outstretched, at a loss.
Arno's smell wasn't as bad as he'd imagined. He couldn't help but turn his head away, furrowing his brows as if he were very unhappy, but his eyes remained calmly fixed on the hillside.
A one-eyed gray wolf trotted down slowly, its body adorned with wildflowers. Behind it followed a pack of lions and tigers, chasing after the wolf as if they wanted to play with it.
The gray wolf nimbly dodged, avoiding being touched by the lions and tigers. A fluffy ball sat on its head, like a general, directing it to leap left and right.
Jiang Wenxing turned around and saw Zhu Ning standing in the distance with his hands in his pockets. When Zhu Ning looked over, Zhu Ning turned around and walked away.
Day passed, and night fell.
Honest Sergeant Xiong brought him food, a delicious braised eggplant and potato dish. The old guide came with him.
He didn't say anything blaming, but carefully inquired about Jiang Wenxing's mental state, confirmed that he hadn't been affected by the "ant tribe" phenomenon, left him a few cans of fruit, and then left with his hands behind his back.
Before leaving, the old guide said, "Your greenhouse..."
Jiang Wenxing looked up: "..."
The old guide said, "We missed the market."
Jiang Wenxing nodded, indicating that he understood. He had been sleeping for several days and already knew that the seeds for the greenhouse probably wouldn't be available before winter. Although he was disappointed, he wasn't discouraged.
The old guide coughed twice, recalling Director Liu's arrangement, feeling bewildered yet compelled to say, "Liu Wen said he gave Ilya a day off to take you to buy seeds."
Jiang Wenxing's eyes lit up instantly. He rolled up his sleeves and felt he could eat three more big bowls.
Author's Note:
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