Ch 60: My Wolf Husband

The deputy general, upon seeing this situation, was about to call for help, but Zhao Xing raised his hand and stopped him.

If the barbarians had come, that spear just now would have already taken his life.

Zhao Xing then saw the man wave his arm, sending a plaque flying toward him. Instinctively, he caught it, feeling a sharp pain in his palm from the impact. When he opened his hand and saw it, the exhausted general gasped for breath, but his eyes lit up.

On the gold plaque were engraved the words, “Rear General, Jiang Zhao’s Order.”

Fuli, seeing the deeply moved city defense commander, said emotionlessly, “At dawn, inside the North Gate, receive the grain.”

With that, he swiftly turned and leaped from the high city wall in a flash! Zhao Xing was startled, fearing that the hope that had arrived so difficultly might be lost, and quickly rushed to the edge of the wall to look down. What he saw was the figure moving with inhuman agility, effortlessly landing at the bottom of the wall.

The man faced the battlefield, littered with corpses, without any reaction, not even glancing at it as he quickly left. Zhao Xing didn’t even see the path he took; it felt as if the moment the man landed, he disappeared.

Zhao Xing searched carefully below the city walls but found nothing. He even started to doubt whether this whole scene was just a hallucination caused by hunger and exhaustion. But as he looked down at the command plaque in his hand, he clenched his teeth. No, it didn’t matter where Jiang Zhao found such an extraordinary person; as long as the grain supplies could reach them and the soldiers didn’t starve, he was confident they could hold the city!

“Pass down the order, cook the last of the rice into porridge and give it to the brothers! We will fight to the death and defend Pingzhou!”

The deputy general wiped away his tears and left the city wall excitedly. Thinking of the fallen brothers and his three-year-old child, it now seemed as if there was hope. They had fought stubbornly to this point, partly out of loyalty to the emperor and the country, but even more because of the deep blood feud and the families, wives, and children they left behind at home.

Even if they died, holding the land meant their souls could return home.

At this moment, Lin Shuishi was covered in dirt, surrounded by a group of equally dusty creatures. Looking around, only the pangolins remained clean, their iron-like scales tightly packed together, shining as they shook off the dirt.

When they were tired of digging, they would come to the surface to catch their breath. The wombats were the ones sprawled on the ground the most! They were plump and soft, usually slow-moving, and now that they had exhausted themselves digging, they were utterly worn out!

So, quite a few of them would wobble out of the tunnels, squinting their beady eyes, their chubby cheeks jiggling as they flopped on the ground, belly up, completely relaxed. Some even leaned against Lin Shuishi’s leg, finding a warm pillow quite comforting!

But after lying down for a while, they were awakened by the hardworking moles, who came over to nudge them back to work! These smallest creatures seemed like perpetual motion machines, tirelessly digging. When tired, they would dig up some worms from the tunnel to replenish their energy.

They were a group of hot-tempered creatures, and when they saw the wombats still lazing around, they charged forward and let out a sharp “Ah!” right into the wombats’ little ears, startling them so much that they jumped up, rolling around in a hurry. They moved so fast that the flesh on their faces jiggled.

So, when Fuli secretly rushed back from Xuancheng, he found his little companion, covered in dirt and looking utterly defeated, trying to break up the fight…

Fortunately, the pangolins were reliable, truly the steady big brothers! Like a group of relentless digging machines, they had nearly completed the tunnel in the direction Fuli had planned.

As soon as Fuli appeared, the rebellious little creatures immediately quieted down, each one obediently lowering their heads and returning to digging. There was still one wombat comfortably sleeping on Lin Shuishi’s leg, snoring loudly.

A nearby companion jumped up and gave the wombat a big slap. The little thing tumbled down, thinking it was an enemy attack, and groggily jumped up and ran! After circling around, it blinked its tiny eyes and finally realized what had happened, then sheepishly returned to digging.

Fuli walked up to Lin Shuishi, sighed, and reached out to wipe the dirt off his little gray face. Then he leaned in, cupping Lin Shuishi’s face, and blew gently several times, finally revealing his companion’s true appearance.

But Lin Shuishi’s nose was tickled by the flying dust, and he squinted his eyes, tilted his head back, and let out a big sneeze, spraying Fuli’s face with even more dirt. Feeling a bit embarrassed, he quickly reached out to wipe Fuli’s face.

However, he forgot that his own hands were also covered in dirt…

So, when the soldiers quietly carrying the grain crept up the mountain, they saw something digging furiously in the tunnel, throwing dirt out with great force! Meanwhile, the only two people present were both covered in dirt, helping to carry the grain.

The soldier was young, newly recruited, and when he saw this, he thought it was some unique camouflage technique. Hesitantly, he bent down, grabbed a handful of dirt, and carefully smeared it on his face.

“……”

“……”

Lin Shuishi and the soldier stared at each other, speechless.

Behind this soldier, more soldiers carrying grain kept coming up the mountain, each one pausing in confusion when they saw the scene.

So, when the bearded Shen Ping, who was in charge of this transport, also climbed the mountain, he saw an entire squad of soldiers, all smeared with dirt.

“?” A new tactic? Should I do it too?

Lin Shuishi was too embarrassed to speak at first, but as more and more soldiers followed suit, he couldn’t bring himself to explain! Seeing Shen Ping approach, he quickly seized the opportunity and hurriedly directed the men to put down the grain, which had been divided into small cloth bags, and pile it near the now-inactive tunnel entrance.

The soldiers watched in amazement as the sacks of grain piled at the entrance of the tunnel were quickly pulled into the tunnel, disappearing without a trace. They were astonished! However, before they left, the general had instructed them not to speak or ask questions after entering the mountain—just complete the mission and return to camp immediately.

Finally, just before the squad withdrew, a young soldier at the end of the line, driven by curiosity, turned back for a quick glance.

One of the sacks had been placed too far away, and under the faint moonlight, he saw a plump paw with sharp claws stretch out from the entrance of the tunnel, scratching around for a bit before finally hooking onto the sack and swiftly dragging it into the tunnel.

The young soldier rubbed his eyes in disbelief, only to be knocked on the head by the squad leader, who signaled him to hurry up and not fall behind!

There was still some time before dawn, and the sky was only faintly lit. The soldiers trapped in Xuancheng, however, had been eagerly waiting at the North Gate for the grain supplies promised by the general. Their cheeks were already sunken from hunger; they had barely regained some strength after drinking the last bit of porridge the general had ordered them to cook the night before. Now, they stood with hopeful faces, waiting to transport the military grain back to camp!

Their weapons were sharpened, and they had recovered some of their strength. They were just waiting for the allied forces to break through the encirclement so they could leave the city to meet them!

But they had been waiting for a long time, and there was no sound of battle from outside the city. A few soldiers with keen hearing, however, heard the sound of small animals digging nearby.

The sound grew closer and closer, until it seemed to be right under their feet! Zhao Xing had personally selected the elite soldiers from the city to receive the supplies, and suddenly, one of the soldiers at the back exclaimed, causing everyone to quickly turn around.

In the faint morning light, they saw a large hole suddenly open up beneath that soldier’s feet, and a huge pangolin leaped out, exuding the joy of having dug through! Behind it was a plump wombat, cautiously poking its head out to look around.

The soldiers, having been starved for days, stared at the animals with green eyes, practically drooling at the sight of meat! But strict military discipline kept them from making any rash moves. Zhao Xing, sensing something unusual, grabbed his spear and stepped forward.

The wombat quickly burrowed back into the tunnel, and shortly after, a heavy sack was tossed up from the hole. Zhao Xing swiftly tore it open and was stunned to find the sack filled with white, glistening grain!

Upon closer inspection, he noticed the sack was marked with the character “粮” (grain) in red paint, following the standard military practice for easy identification.

Before they could even react, it seemed the creatures in the tunnel had already figured out the route. The starving soldiers and officers could only watch as the tunnel began to erupt with sacks of grain, pouring out like a fountain!

Zhao Xing thought of the strange person he had encountered earlier today and was even more convinced that the agreed-upon location was correct. Who cared how the grain was delivered? It was all part of that person’s skills. Given their current dire situation, they would consume anything edible, even if it were poisoned, in an attempt to stave off starvation.

He immediately ordered the grain to be moved, and the soldiers, who had long been unable to contain themselves, rushed forward in an instant. However, as the sacks were being tossed out too quickly, some blocked the tunnel entrance. They were moved to the side, and more men were called in to help.

Those who were weak and faint from hunger were not much use in battle or siege, but when it came to carrying grain, they instantly found their strength!

Zhao Xing watched as the soldiers eagerly and joyfully transported the grain, and his heart settled slightly. With the soldiers’ morale stable and their strength restored, there was now a chance to repel the enemy.

The sacks of grain kept pouring out until the tunnel entrance stopped producing more, just as dawn’s light began to cool.

General Zhao grabbed an extra sack of grain and scattered it at the entrance of the tunnel. This was both an act of gratitude and an attempt to catch a glimpse of the mysterious benefactor.

Once again, a small, furry paw reached out, cautiously grabbed a handful of the grain, and then pulled it back to taste. It seemed dissatisfied, as if the grain wasn’t as tasty as insects or ants, so it politely returned the grain to its original spot.

Zhao Xing looked on, unable to comprehend but feeling that it was the will of heaven, a sign that all living things have a spirit.

He ordered the area to be cordoned off, forbidding any soldiers from approaching or damaging it, and also prohibited hunting the small animals that emerged from the tunnel, under penalty of military law. Only then did he return to the city wall. Now that they had grain, they needed to rest and eat quickly. As soon as daylight broke, the barbarians might attack again, and they would have to start a new round of defense and battle.

After delivering the grain, Lin Shuishi and Fuli thought about returning to the military camp because there was still something on Lin Shuishi’s mind that he couldn’t let go of.

Before Lin Shuishi left, he went to see Dr. Sun, who had been up all night, racking his brain to figure out how to break through the resilient rattan armor. If they could break through the armor, victory might be within reach.

Lin Shuishi was also puzzled by the rattan armor. For various reasons, he felt compelled to get to the bottom of it. Besides, he might be able to offer Dr. Sun some suggestions on how to break the armor. Perhaps it was time for them to upgrade their weapons. Without heavy, large-scale destructive weapons, they couldn’t penetrate the flexible armor.

Before they left, Fuli summoned several small animals and had them lightly bury the entrance to the tunnel. Although the transport tunnel was narrow, allowing only small animals to pass through, Fuli’s cautious nature of a wolf, always made him take extra precautions.

Back at the military camp, Rear General Jiang Zhao immediately went to commend the heroes and insisted on enlisting Fuli and Lin Shuishi into the army, granting them military ranks, and recommending them for commendation. But Lin Shuishi adamantly refused. He had no interest in empty titles, and besides, with Fuli’s situation, it was unwise to delve too deeply into worldly affairs. However, given the current dangerous circumstances, they had no choice but to get involved.

Dr. Sun fully agreed and persuaded the extremely talent-loving Jiang Zhao to give up the idea.

Fuli, unconcerned with generals or formalities, ignored everything and led Lin Shuishi directly to Sun Luqian’s tent, where the rattan-armored body was stored.

Lin Shuishi quickly turned back to apologize, but Jiang Zhao, who had witnessed Fuli’s extraordinary abilities on the first day, didn’t mind. After all, Fuli was someone who lived outside the mundane world. Instead, Jiang Zhao was grateful that the delivery of grain had relieved their urgent crisis, allowing him to maneuver and apply pressure on the six feudal lords’ reinforcements.

Everyone has their own worldly concerns and troubles.

However, as Lin Shuishi once again came face-to-face with the rattan armor, he couldn’t help but feel a chill. It reminded him all too easily of the terrifying anomalies he had encountered in the Dongshan Gorge.

Although the body of the barbarian in front of them appeared more normal, the rattan armor still wouldn’t come off. Sun Luqian had tried various methods, but removing the armor without damaging the body proved extremely difficult.

Lin Shuishi looked up at Fuli. Sun Luqian then saw Fuli step forward and, with a simple movement of his hand, the rattan armor on the barbarian’s chest neatly split open! Lin Shuishi felt that this armor seemed less formidable than those in Dongshan, as Fuli could easily break through it.

The roots of this rattan armor were not embedded in the flesh, muscles, or bones. Instead, a seed was lodged in the chest, encased in a ball of blood-soaked mud. The rattan drew nutrients from this mud without harming the body, but perhaps due to insufficient nourishment, the rattan was weaker.

At that moment, Dr. Sun was still using various weapons to stab at the rattan armor, frowning as he studied it.

“The vines seem to have been soaked in some special substance, making them resistant to water and fire. Ordinary blades and spears can’t even—”

Before he could finish, Fuli, who had been observing the two men, suddenly grabbed a heavy spear from the nearby weapon rack. His arm muscles bulged as he exerted force, and with a solid thrust, he drove the iron spear straight into the rattan armor!

With a cracking sound, the iron spear pierced through the armor and embedded itself into the thick wooden board beneath the barbarian’s corpse.

Sun Luqian, wide-eyed, weakly finished his sentence, “—pierce through.”

“……”

So, it wasn’t that the armor couldn’t be pierced; it just depended on who was doing the piercing.