Super Soldier in the City

The two women had also woken up by this time. Fortunately, they had fallen into a deep sleep; otherwise, with the bumpy roads, both would have certainly thrown up. After a nap, they felt much more refreshed. Seeing Zhang Tianxing approaching and greeting them, they quickly got off the car to return the greeting.

"Sister-in-law, I didn’t host you well. Please wait a moment while I find a proper place for you to stay, especially now with the heavy rain; the original place might have leaks."

"No need to bother for now, let’s check the place first, Tianxing!"

"No trouble at all, I’ll just..."

"Tianxing, let’s go to the booked place first, we can discuss any issues tomorrow. It’s not good to trouble others so late at night." Li Yifei spoke up, and only then did Zhang Tianxing nod, revealing an embarrassed expression, "I handled this poorly, boss, sorry, Mingrui."

"Why bring this up? Who’s blaming you? My sister-in-law and my wife are reasonable people; they won’t have any complaints. Get in the car; let’s head to the accommodation and tidy up."

"Alright!" Zhang Tianxing bounced a bit forward, but hesitated when he reached the car. He was covered in mud, from shoes to pants, even his upper body. Though the car was muddy outside, the interior was clean and tidy. So Zhang Tianxing said, "It’s not far ahead, boss, you drive over first, I’ll jog over."

"No need to run, get in the car!" Zheng Mingrui said.

"No, I’m too dirty, it’s fine, a few steps and I’m there."

"No, can’t allow that!"

"Get in the car, if the car gets dirty, it’ll be washed. How can we drive and let you run? Is that how you treat a brother?" Li Yifei spoke again, making Zhang Tianxing’s eyes turn red, nodding forcefully, he took off his camo jacket, lay it on the front seat, and knocked off the mud from his shoes. Unfortunately, one foot was not functioning well, making it quite difficult. Li Yifei and Zheng Mingrui saw this and an indescribable feeling surged through them.

Under Zhang Tianxing’s guidance, the car arrived at the so-called town, roughly two kilometers from the village. This distance didn’t seem far, but to run it... even those with good legs would need over ten minutes. During cross-country training, people like Li Yifei might not take that long, but that was for them. For the current Zhang Tianxing, this over two-kilometer stretch would take quite a while, given only one of his legs was functional.

How could they let him run at the back, is that still humane?

Sitting in the passenger seat, Zhang Tianxing was in a state of both unease and excitement, frequently sighing while watching Li Yifei drive.

Upon arrival at the town, Zhang Tianxing knocked on a family’s door, and someone came out cursing.

"Uncle, these are my comrades, as we agreed before, they will stay at your place first!" Zhang Tianxing quickly said politely.

"Oh, comrades, huh? You didn’t mention there were women!" The uncle eyed them, with a slightly displeased expression, seemingly feeling the group was too large. Zhang Tianxing quickly added, "Uncle, please help me out. You know the conditions at my place; it’s too cramped and a bit dirty. Your home is known far and wide for being clean and nice, please help us."

"Alright, let your comrades in." The uncle finally stepped aside. His place was indeed one of the better homes, with a clean yard, despite the recent heavy rain, there was no water accumulation. The house was made of bricks, looking fairly new.

Li Yifei and Zheng Mingrui walked in and said, "Sorry to trouble you, Uncle."

"It’s not about the trouble, but you should have come earlier! What time is it to come over now? Fine, the room on the west side is yours, the door is unlocked, you can go in directly. Leave your muddy shoes outside!"

"Sorry, Uncle, we drove here, the road was unfamiliar, so we arrived late." Zheng Mingrui apologized.

The uncle grunted a couple of times, glancing back at the car. It was too dark to see clearly, but he noticed it was a large vehicle. His gaze paused when he spotted Na Yi and Lin Wanqing, and he somewhat annoyedly said, "Why are there women too?"

"Uncle, this is my comrade’s wife, here to attend my wedding!" Zhang Tianxing explained.

"Just one room, arrange among yourselves. Don’t blame me for not helping!" The uncle said impatiently.

Zhang Tianxing gritted his teeth and said, "Thank you, Uncle, sorry for the trouble."

Following inside, Li Yifei and Zheng Mingrui walked ahead. They entered the room on the west side, only to find it somewhat simple. Inside, there was just a large bed with a tattered quilt thrown on it. The room reeked of mold. Li Yifei and Zheng Mingrui were fine—after all, they’ve been everywhere—but behind them, Na Yi and Lin Wanqing frowned slightly. The former wasn’t exactly pampered, but after living with the Li family for over a year, she felt the room was somewhat basic. Lin Wanqing, on the other hand, had never stayed in such a place and found it hard to accept.

Second Uncle had already returned to his room by himself. Zhang Tianxing looked at the room’s setup, his face showing a complicated expression. There was only a small pendant lamp in the room with an old-fashioned bulb. Under its dim, yellow light, Zhang Tianxing’s face appeared even older.

Indeed, particularly old. He was two years younger than Li Yifei, yet now he looked like he had many more wrinkles on his face, and he seemed somewhat grubby. Standing next to Li Yifei and Zheng Mingrui, Zhang Tianxing was evidently the oldest, almost appearing ten years older in spite of just a few years. How had he become so aged?

Li Yifei and Zheng Mingrui felt very surprised. How vigorous Zhang Tianxing was before, but now he was so downtrodden.

"Boss, Mingrui, my sisters-in-law, I... I’m very sorry. I should have prepared a place for you to stay earlier. Please go out for a while. I’ll clean up this room right away..."

"No need, Na Yi, you and Wanqing can tidy up a bit. It’s getting late. We can rest after that. Tianxing, don’t trouble yourself. We came for your wedding. Our brotherhood over the years shouldn’t be troubled by this." Li Yifei gripped Zhang Tianxing’s hand firmly.

Na Yi and Lin Wanqing responded, "Okay, we’ll tidy up quickly!"

"I..." Zhang Tianxing inhaled sharply, his eyes seemed to redden, and he lowered his head for a few seconds before looking up and saying, "Boss, I’m sorry."

"Why say that? This condition is fine compared to when we went on missions. This is like heaven!" Zheng Mingrui patted his back and laughed.

"That time when we went to Xinjiang for training, we struggled to find a river, only to discover it was a saltwater river. After soaking in it for half a day, we felt like salty fish when we came out." Li Yifei gestured as he spoke, and the two nodded and laughed, easing Zhang Tianxing’s mood somewhat.

As Na Yi and Lin Wanqing tidied the room, the three men walked out and arrived outside the main door. Zheng Mingrui took out a packet of cigarettes, handed one to Li Yifei, and distributed another to Zhang Tianxing. They lit up and suddenly fell into silence. Zhang Tianxing felt guilty, Zheng Mingrui felt stifled seeing a buddy in such a state, and Li Yifei took a long drag from his cigarette and said, "Tianxing, we’re brothers, right? That’s why Mingrui and I came to attend your wedding because of the camaraderie we’ve built over the years."

"I know..." Zhang Tianxing wanted to say more but stopped. Li Yifei placed a hand on his shoulder, gently patted it, and said, "If there’s anything troubling you, talk to the old captain—we’ll face it together."

"No, it’s nothing difficult, really. I’m just uncomfortable letting my sisters-in-law stay in such a place given my conditions aren’t great."

"It’s no big deal; tidy up a bit and spend the night—it’s not cold, after all!" Li Yifei shook his head.

"What about you two..."

"There’s a car here, so we can sleep anywhere!" Li Yifei nodded his head up, suggesting perhaps letting the two women sleep in the car while they went to the room—it didn’t matter which option they chose. Even all four of them sleeping in the car wasn’t impossible. "Don’t worry about that; they’ll arrive tomorrow, and we won’t need you looking after us. Focus on preparing for your wedding. We’ll all accompany you to pick up your bride."

"Alright, alright!" Zhang Tianxing repeated several ’alrights’.

"Tianxing." Zheng Mingrui finally couldn’t hold back and frowned as he asked, "We’re brothers, so I won’t beat around the bush. Tell me how you’ve been these years. I remember when you retired, your leg wasn’t as bad as it is now—even if it wasn’t fully healed, it shouldn’t have become like this!"

Looking at Zhang Tianxing’s twisted leg made Zheng Mingrui uncomfortable. The original injury was a gunshot wound, and even if it wasn’t cured, it shouldn’t have twisted like that!

Upon hearing Zheng Mingrui’s query, a hint of sadness appeared on Zhang Tianxing’s face, but he quickly shook his head and forced a smile. "It’s nothing. I got injured returning home and left with lasting effects!"

"What kind of injury?" Zheng Mingrui pressed on.

"Just... hey, don’t ask anymore. It’s how it is, and it can’t be helped!" Zhang Tianxing said.

"Even if it was another injury, why didn’t you get treated? I mentioned it to the boss when I came—you know, the time when you retired, he helped secure hundreds of thousands as severance for you—why didn’t you get your leg properly treated? And what about your arm? I noticed something was off earlier!" Zheng Mingrui exclaimed agitatedly, grabbing one of Zhang Tianxing’s arms but paused, realizing it felt wrong. He quickly pulled up the sleeve, only to discover the arm was a prosthetic. No wonder Zhang Tianxing had kept his hand hidden in his sleeve; it was dark, and everyone hadn’t noticed, even Li Yifei overlooked it. Upon seeing the prosthetic arm, Li Yifei’s gaze narrowed. Zheng Mingrui asked excitedly, "A prosthetic arm? Tianxing, what happened? What occurred after your return from the military?"

"I..." Zhang Tianxing showed a painful expression, shook his head, and said, "Don’t ask, it’s just... a little accident, so there’s no other way but to be disabled."

"An accident?" Zheng Mingrui’s eyes widened, then said, "An accident or a man-made disaster? Tianxing, we’re brothers, seeing you like this, it’s hard for me!"