The Rise of a Special Forces Soldier Abandoned by a Wealthy Family

More than 100 kilometers away from the county seat is Shijiagou Village.

Inside the Shi family's mud-brick house.

Under the dim light, Shiliu's mother sat blankly on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), holding her husband's already cold hand, her tears already dried up.

Little Pomegranate knelt in the corner, using a tattered cloth dipped in water to gently wipe the bloodstains from her father's face. Her movements were light and slow, as if afraid of waking him.

The room was deathly silent.

Only the howling mountain wind outside the window and the faint barking of wild dogs in the distance could be heard.

Suddenly, Pomegranate's mother looked up, her eyes vacant as she stared at her daughter:

"Little Pomegranate...pack your things."

Little Pomegranate paused.

"Leave at dawn." Pomegranate's mother's voice was hoarse, like a broken gong. "Your father is right...those people will come...you have to leave..."

She stood up, her hunched back seeming even more bent. She walked to the corner and rummaged through a pile of rubbish, pulling out a small cloth bag containing a few hundred crumpled dollars—their entire family's possessions.

Little Pomegranate looked at her mother, at her father's quiet body, and at the dilapidated home where she was born and raised.

She slowly stood up and walked to the window.

Outside the window, the night was as dark as ink, and the stars were sparse.

The dark outline of the distant mountains resembled a crouching giant beast.

She remembered the stench of smoke from the bald man's breath when he grabbed her wrist that morning; she remembered her father's beast-like roar as he charged at her with a hoe; she remembered the dull thud of the steel pipe hitting her father; she remembered the look in his eyes when he last looked at her…

She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms, drawing blood.

In those big eyes, something is dying, and something new is being born.

Those weren't tears.

It is something heavier and colder than tears.

"Mother," she suddenly spoke, her voice soft yet exceptionally clear, "I'm not leaving."

Pomegranate's mother was stunned: "What did you say?"

Little Pomegranate turned around, the dim light dancing on her face, making her expression half in light and half in shadow.

"My father died protecting me," she said, emphasizing each word. "If I run away, his death will have been in vain."

"Those people will make Mom pay for their hospital bills, they will burn down our house, they will say Dad is a criminal, they will say Dad deserved it."

"I won't run."

She walked to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), knelt down, and kowtowed three times to her father's body.

Its forehead struck the cold ground with a dull thud.

Then she raised her head, her face devoid of tears, only displaying an almost cruel calm:

"I'll wait for those people to come again."

"I want to look at their faces and remember their names."

"Then," she paused, her voice as soft as a sigh, "one day, I will make them pay for their crimes in blood."

Pomegranate's mother stared blankly at her daughter, as if she were seeing this child she had raised for fourteen years for the first time.

In the flickering light and shadow, Xiao Shiliu's face was tender yet resolute, and in her large eyes, inherited from her father, burned a cold flame that was incongruous with her age.

The night was darker.

The mountain village fell into a deep sleep—or rather, pretended to be asleep.

On the road leading here, a black SUV is tearing through the night, its headlights like swords piercing through the darkness.

Chen Zheng gripped the steering wheel, his brow furrowed.

In the passenger seat, Lu Xiao looked at the flashing dots on the GPS and said in a deep voice:

"Ten kilometers to go. At least another 15 minutes."

Chen Zheng didn't say anything, but instead pressed the accelerator harder.

The engine roared through the silent mountains like an anxious wild beast.

They didn't know that the person they were looking for was no longer there.

But what they didn't know was that this night would change the course of many people's lives.

When the roar of the car engine broke the deathly silence and tranquility of Shijiagou,

Chen Zheng and Lu Xiao quickly opened the car door.

They quickly made their way to a house at the entrance of the village in the darkness.

Chen Zheng pounded on the wooden door.

A moment later, an elderly man with a flashlight opened the door.

The old man saw two unfamiliar faces and looked nervous and inquiring.

A vicious fight just broke out in the village today.

The old man then heard that Shi Qinglie had already passed away.

They were just poor, simple villagers.

The old man wanted to close the door as soon as he saw someone who wasn't a familiar face from the village.

Chen Zheng immediately pulled hard on the wooden door with his hands.

Old man, we are not bad people, we are here to find someone.

I'd like to ask if this is Shijiagou Village?

The old man didn't speak, but simply nodded slightly.

Chen Zheng breathed a sigh of relief and immediately continued to ask questions.

Here's the thing, we've come to your village so late.

They were mainly looking for a family.

The owner of this house is named Shi Qinglie, and I...

Upon hearing that they had come to see Shi Qinglie, the old man immediately pulled hard on the wooden door, trying to close it quickly.

At this point, Chen Zheng and his companion felt that something was amiss.

Lu Xiao quickly squeezed through the crack in the door and went inside.

He looked at the old man in a gentle tone.

Old man, we really aren't bad people.

He quickened his pace.

We sought out Shi Qinglie to help him find his son, who had been lost for many years.

Oh! It was his son who sent us to find out about our origins.

His son's name was Shi Tiezhu.

I think the old man and Shi Qinglie are from the same village.

You should know that he had a son who was lost more than ten years ago, right?

The old man relaxed a little at this point, but remained tense and did not speak.

Chen Zheng and Lu Xiao were as anxious as ants on a hot pan.

I wanted to show my ID to the elderly person.

But their credentials are too mysterious.

Showing it to the elderly may actually cause more trouble.

Because the security department is too far removed from this remote village and the old man in front of them.

The two looked at each other, and having no other choice, they took out their wallets and handed all the money inside to the old man.

Chen Zheng looked at the old man anxiously and said, "Grandpa, we were really entrusted by Shi Tiezhu to come and ask Shi Qinglie from your village about the situation."

We are government officials, not bad people. This is all the cash we have. We don't mean anything by it; we just wanted to make amends for bothering you so late at night. We hope you will accept it, sir.

Chen Zheng tried his best to keep his tone and expression calm. The old man looked at the two people, then at the banknotes being handed to him. He suddenly pushed away their hands with his aged hands and knelt down in front of them.

The old man kowtowed repeatedly. His forehead thudded against the ground.

Chen Zheng and Lu Xiao were startled and were about to help the old man up!

However, the old man did not get up at all. He kowtowed and cried out in sobs, "Please save Qinglie's family!"

Their family was so poor and pitiful. Qinglie died...died...died...!

He was brutally beaten to death by those bullies...! He was beaten to death alive...! We can't bear to do that...!

Our entire village was too afraid to go and help, fearing retaliation.

Qinglie suffered so much... He died with his eyes still open. His wife suffered too, and his daughter, Xiaoshiliu, was even more pitiful, kneeling in front of Qinglie without crying or making a sound.

Good...good people...please save them, I'm an 80-year-old man, I kowtow to you.

What...?

Chen Zheng and Lu Xiao were both shocked and took a step back.

Chen Zheng didn't care about etiquette anymore; he forcefully pulled the old man up.

"Grandpa, could you take us there?"

"Don't worry! We will investigate and punish those who harmed Shi Qinglie's family to the end. No matter who is involved or how powerful or influential they are, we will not let them off lightly."

"Okay... let's go... let's go, I'll take you there."

Holding a flashlight, the old man led Chen Ping and the other man unsteadily toward Shi Qinglie's house.

When they arrived at Shi Qinglie's house, the scene before them stunned Chen Zheng and Lu Xiao—

Shi Qinglie lay motionless on the kang (heated brick bed), his eyes wide open;

Little Pomegranate knelt before the kang (a heated brick bed), her clothes tattered, weeping silently, tears streaming down her face.

Li Yingxiu sat on the cold ground, her hair disheveled, her expression forlorn and lost.

Chen Zheng and Lu Xiao's eyes gradually welled up with tears, and they bowed deeply to Shi Qinglie on the kang (a heated brick bed).

However, Li Yingxiu and Xiao Shiliu ignored Chen Zheng and the other two. Their eyes were blurry with tears and empty, making them appear even more miserable and desperate in the desolate and dilapidated house.

Chen Zheng and Lu Xiao didn't know how to start the conversation. Just then, the old man walked up to Li Yingxiu, his voice choked with emotion:

"Yingxiu...please take care of yourself...Heaven doesn't care about you, but Qinglie will be watching over you and Xiaoshiliu from the other side of the world."

The old man pointed at Chen Zheng and the other man, and continued:

"These two men claim to be government officials. They say they are your long-lost son, Shi Tiezhu... Tiezhu sent them."

"Whoosh..." Li Yingxiu immediately stood up, a glimmer of light flashing in her empty eyes.

She walked up to Chen Zheng, knelt down, and stared at him with hope amidst despair.

Chen Zheng hurriedly tried to pull Li Yingxiu up, but Li Yingxiu seemed to be frightened, knelt on the ground, pushed Chen Zheng away forcefully, and stared at him intently.

Chen Zheng took a deep breath, trying to suppress the turmoil in his heart.

"Auntie, we really did come here...to help Shi Tiezhu find out about his background. I...I want to ask...Auntie, was your son lost eleven years ago?"

Li Yingxiu didn't speak, she just nodded frantically.

Seeing that Li Yingxiu was still kneeling, Chen Zheng had no choice but to step aside and sit down next to her.

"Ah... Auntie! I want to confirm one last and most important thing: when your son Shi Tiezhu was little, what was his favorite food?"

Without a second thought, Li Yingxiu said in a tearful voice, "Luo Bing (a type of flatbread)..."

brush……!

Chen Zheng immediately stood up; the last piece of information matched perfectly.

He and Lu Xiao were both shocked. This was a task personally assigned by Minister Li Weiguo!

However, Shi Tiezhu's biological father has now been beaten to death, which is an extremely horrific event.

But neither of them knew what Shi Tiezhu represented, or what Shi Tiezhu's biological father represented.

That was an anger and revenge that would make that steely, ferocious man an enemy of the world.

Chen Zheng swallowed hard, then struggled to take out his phone and dialed the number of their highest leader, Li Weiguo, the Minister of State Security.

Meanwhile, in the capital city, at the Yueting Pavilion Club, crystal chandeliers shone brightly, and the sounds of clinking glasses and laughter intertwined.

In a small village deep in the mountains of the north, the cold wind howled through the broken windows, sounding like weeping.

Two worlds.

The same moon.

The deathly silence of night... has completely descended...