RYEY -Chapter 354 Mutual Respect

Yao Peng and Wu Hongxin both widened their eyes. At a time like this, someone was still putting on airs—what a complete lack of awareness. The medical staff were startled and quickly retreated.

Wu Hongxin finally got to drink the medicinal porridge. After finishing a bowl, warmth spread through his entire body, and even that old rheumatic leg of his no longer felt quite so cold.

“Ye Jun, you brat, you really don’t know how to do things right. Those pills you gave me last time were completely useless—not even as effective as this porridge.”

Wu Hongxin looked at Ye Jun with reddened eyes, full of accusation and helplessness. Yao Peng glanced at Wu Hongxin’s slightly lame leg, and his heart inexplicably tightened with sadness.

The medicinal porridge didn’t have much effect on Yao Peng. After all, he had once taken a Resurrection Pill—his vitality had long been restored to its peak.

“Old Wu, your leg still hasn’t healed. Looks like those medicines really didn’t work.”

Wu Hongxin nodded. The medical staff behind him flushed with embarrassment. They had combed through countless medical texts, but truly had no solution for old cold injuries like this.

The two men exchanged a look, then waved their hands at the medical staff and guards, signaling them to leave. Seeing this, everyone knew the two had important matters to discuss and quickly withdrew.

The spacious living room was left with only Wu Hongxin and Yao Peng, along with Ye Jun, Ye Chengying, Cheng Ligou, Cheng Qiao, Li Huan, and Wu Jiawei.

“Old Yao, let’s stop fighting. If the Ye family really has something good, let them contribute it. I can guarantee that as long as these old bones of mine still stand, no one will dare touch the Ye family.”

“I don’t know whether the Ye family has anything good or not,” Yao Peng replied calmly, “but I can also guarantee this—so long as these old bones of mine are still here, I’ll see who dares touch the Ye family.”

Yao Peng’s words instantly made the atmosphere tense. Wu Hongxin stood up, his eyes locking tightly onto Cheng Qiao. Startled by the killing aura radiating from him, Cheng Qiao’s heart suddenly began to race.

Inside her space, Little Redhead and the sea eagle also took up combat-ready stances. The moment Cheng Qiao moved her hand, they would pounce on Wu Hongxin without mercy.

Li Huan, Cheng Ligou, and Ye Jun all stepped in front of Cheng Qiao at the same time. Especially Li Huan—though Wu Hongxin’s murderous aura pressed heavily on him, anyone who dared harm his wife would have to step over his dead body.

Wu Jiawei hurried over to support his elderly father. As the late-born son, he had always been deeply cherished by Wu Hongxin.

“Dad, everyone has their own path. You and Uncle Yao have fought for decades already. Now that reform and opening up have begun and talent is emerging everywhere, our country will only get better and better. You should both rest easy and enjoy your later years.”

“You’ve never been on the battlefield,” Wu Hongxin said quietly. “You don’t understand the suffering of the wounded. I only want some good medicine—to ease the pain of those injured soldiers.”

Yao Peng’s brows lifted slightly. He recalled the moment he had been on the brink of death, when Ye Chengying had forcibly stuffed a golden pill, as big as a chicken egg, into his mouth.

The taste of that pill was unforgettable—even now. It melted the instant it entered his mouth, a true miraculous elixir that forcibly dragged his soul back from the brink.

Yao Peng looked at Wu Hongxin and suddenly felt a sense of mutual understanding. They were both old comrades who had barely survived the hail of bullets—what was the point of still fighting each other?

“Cheng Qiao, you’re Ye Jun’s apprentice, right? I, Yao Peng, still owe this little girl my thanks for saving my life.”

As soon as he said this, Wu Hongxin’s gaze toward Yao Peng changed. Back when Yao Peng’s condition had suddenly worsened, every doctor had declared him beyond saving.

Yet Ye Chengying had charged into the ward, driven everyone out like a madman. At first, people thought he simply couldn’t bear the bad news of his old leader’s impending death.

But five minutes later, Yao Peng miraculously opened his eyes. His breathing stabilized completely, and all his bodily functions began to recover slowly.

When the doctors reentered the ward to examine him, they couldn’t believe their eyes. All of General Yao’s conditions had improved—he was out of immediate danger.

Wu Hongxin had been outside the ward at the time as well. Though he and Yao Peng had fought all their lives, facing such a moment of life and death still filled him with deep sorrow.

When the doctors asked Ye Chengying what he had done, Ye Chengying played dumb and shook his head, then threw himself onto General Yao, wailing loudly and sorrowfully telling his old leader to wait for him on the other side.

No one believed Ye Chengying’s explanation. But he was a soldier, not a doctor—saying he had saved Yao Peng was simply impossible. And so the matter was left at that.

Wu Hongxin had his suspicions, but facts spoke louder than words. He never expected that today Yao Peng would be ready to lay everything on the table—meaning that Yao Peng now agreed with his viewpoint.

“General Yao, you’re too polite,” Cheng Qiao said. “It was just a fortunate coincidence, and also because of your great virtue and prestige.”

She gently pushed Li Huan aside and stepped in front of Yao Peng, her expression calm and open. Yao Peng nodded, then suddenly straightened and gave Cheng Qiao a solemn military salute.

Though Cheng Qiao was not a soldier, she respectfully bowed in return. The old general had fought for the country and the people, charged on the front lines, suffered countless wounds, and nearly lost his life—he fully deserved her respect.

“Old Yao, Old Yao—how exactly did Cheng Qiao save your life?” Wu Hongxin grew excited.

So his guess had been right all along. Back then, Ye Chengying must have had a miracle medicine in his hands—otherwise, how could this old fellow have come back from the dead?

If such a medicine really existed in this world… heavens! Wu Hongxin clutched his chest.

“Cheng Qiao,” Yao Peng said, his eyes full of expectation, “tell General Wu how you saved my life.”

With a gentle smile, Cheng Qiao spoke in a calm voice. She told them that she had found a medicinal herb in the Qilian Mountains called the Qilin Resurrection Grass.

With that herb, and following an ancient prescription from the Ye family, she had refined two Qilin Resurrection Pills. As the name suggested, the Resurrection Pill was meant to snatch a life back from the King of Hell.

“Two pills,” Wu Hongxin said urgently. “One was eaten by Old Yao. What about the other one?”

Seeing Wu Hongxin’s impatience, Ye Chengying’s heart sank. The remaining pill was locked away in the safe in his office. If he were asked to hand over that Resurrection Pill, he would rather die.

“The other one was given to my brother-in-law—my husband’s elder brother,” Cheng Qiao replied. “He was hit by a stray bullet at the border and was on the brink of death. I had just refined the Resurrection Pills and wasn’t yet sure of their effect, so I used it on my brother-in-law first.”

Wu Hongxin closed his eyes in disappointment. Ye Chengying quietly let out a breath of relief—worthy of being his younger brother’s apprentice. Her heart was firmly with her own family.

“Comrade Cheng Qiao,” Wu Hongxin asked, “can this Resurrection Pill be made again?”

Cheng Qiao shook her head regretfully. “General Wu, the key to the Resurrection Pill is the Qilin Grass. Without Qilin Grass, it’s impossible to make this pill no matter what.”

“Qilin Grass…” Wu Hongxin murmured. “Just hearing the name, you can tell it’s extremely precious. Why don’t you draw it for us? We can send people to search the Qilian Mountains—maybe it exists in other places too.”