Volume 1 Hometown Clouds Chapter 3 Ni Zhi's Feathered Robes
Lei Zheng held his son in his arms, his hands gently sweeping over his body. It should have been smooth and supple, but Lei Zheng's touch felt like he was caressing a rough stone. His son's body was covered in wounds - bullet holes, knife cuts, shrapnel gashes, and the horrific honeycomb-patterned injuries caused by anti-personnel landmines.
Lei Zhen gently stroked the scars on his body, which had already formed into hard scabs, and said softly: "Thank you, my son! If it weren't for you, I would have died at the enemy's gunpoint long ago. Now that we've finally been liberated, we've conquered a vast territory, and I can drink wine with my brothers in big bowls and eat meat in large chunks... but what about you, my son?"
"You took a bullet for me, withstood the enemy's bayonet for me. You helped me send out a piece of intelligence and accidentally stepped on an enemy mine. But in that situation, you still managed to drag your body, which was like a sieve, to deliver the intelligence to your mother! It was your mother who performed surgery on you for eight hours and finally removed 24 shrapnel from your body, saving your life! Your body is covered in wounds, all because of me, this heartless father!"
Here is the translation:
At this point, Lei Zhen's voice suddenly stopped, and after a long time, he slowly drew in cold air, saying in an eerie tone: "You howl every day in the military camp, everyone says that wolves have the nature of wailing at the moon at night, but only I, your father, know that you make such cries because you're in so much pain!"
"Do you know why I moved so far away from you? Do you know why I always avoid seeing you? It's not because Dad doesn't want you anymore, it's not because Dad is disgusted with you. It's because when Dad heard your cries, he couldn't do anything about it... my heart aches!"
Lei Zhen's face, as hard as a marble statue, with a hint of metallic texture, suddenly twisted, and he said word by word: "I know you won't last long!"
"Even if it were a human, with so many injuries on their body, they wouldn't be able to live for much longer. Let alone you, who are just a wolf. From the moment you left to find your own mate a year ago, you've already begun preparing for your own funeral. Everything you've done is just to leave behind another child as stubborn as you, like a stone, to replace you and continue accompanying me by my side... isn't that right?"
The son closed his eyes under Lei Zheng's gentle caress, letting out a contented sigh from his throat. Neither of them could remember how long it had been since they sat quietly together like this, feeling each other's warmth.
"You're finally leaving, at this moment, as a father, my heart is both sad and happy! You are my son, I don't want you to leave! But, you will finally be free from suffering, you won't have to endure the pain that keeps you up all night, you won't have to bear these wounds all over your body anymore, I'm happy for you!"
"You've crossed the Naihe Bridge, and before drinking Meng Po's soup, if King Yanluo understood the bond between us father and son, respected your sacrifices on the battlefield, allowed you to reincarnate as a human, and choose which family to be reborn into, then you must hurry back and become my son again!" As he spoke, Lei Zhen suddenly raised his head and shouted loudly: "Remember, I and your mother are waiting for you here!!!"
Standing outside the yard, Hu Yan's mind was focused on borrowing Lei Zhen's son "breeding" to get a batch of good breeds to supplement the reconnaissance battalion. He had already been stunned for a while. It wasn't until now that Hu Yan truly understood why Lei Zhen and his wife valued this wolf so much - they really treated it like their own son!
Think about it, in this world, which parents would still be smiling when they hear that someone wants to borrow their son for "breeding"?
Looking at the man sitting on the ground, tightly hugging his son, muttering to himself, and then looking at the wolf, it seems that its vitality has also rapidly dissipated with the death of its mate. However, on its body, there is still a majestic aura of a king that has been constantly fighting in nature, becoming increasingly tough! And the scars on its body are a testament to its extraordinary experiences!
Hu Yan made a gesture to everyone, and they all quietly dispersed, leaving the two people embracing each other tightly, sitting like children on the doorstep, entering a long silence.
The setting sun poured a soft golden light over this most peculiar yet harmonious father-son pair. From afar, it seemed as if the man and wolf were both draped in a layer of golden auroral robes.
