ALL NOVEL Chapter126
Deep night, heavy rain.
Bo Jinyan walked alone in the rain.
There was no one else on the streets. Lights were still on in some of the buildings, but all was silent. Tonight, this little town was finally quiet, just like a ghost town.
Bo Jinyan held his gun and walked on, his eyes incomparably bright.
We have prepared a reciprocal gift!
Enough to fill several boats . . .
He ran in the direction of the path closest to the riverbank.
As expected, Wen Rong, having been shot, was unable to run fast. Not long later, he heard the sound of footsteps in front of him. Moreover, there were still intact bloodstains on the ground, although these were very quickly being washed away by the rain.
Bo Jinyan’s finger stayed on the trigger.
When he rounded the corner beyond the eaves of the next building, he would catch up.
The rain fell steadily, like bullets.
As Bo Jinyan shot out of the turn, he saw a figure lurching along in the alley ahead of him, and raised his gun to take aim.
Suddenly, he started.
Because he heard footsteps.
Not his, not Wen Rong’s. In addition, it was the footsteps of a group of people, coming towards them from the other end of the alley. The footsteps were very fast, light, and orderly, whoever it was had obviously been well drilled. Coming closer.
Bo Jinyan had only hesitated for a split second. Then, his mouth abruptly curved into a smile, and he stood where he was without moving.
Wen Rong, who was not more than 20 metres away from him, went rigid, and raised his head.
It was a group of ten or more men clad in black raincoats. The raincoats’ hoods obscured their faces so it was difficult to tell them apart in the darkness. However, each of them held a gun. The men in the lead were holding submachine guns. They spread out under the eaves and in the alley, exuding an air of toughness. Wen Rong had no way to escape, and thus had to face them head-on.
Wen Rong turned and ran.
The second he turned, he saw Bo Jinyan standing in the rain with his gun trained on him, cold and stern, like a grim reaper.
However, stopping him was not up to Bo Jinyan this time. A man clad in a black raincoat rushed forward and attacked Wen Rong with lightning fast moves. Wen Rong was absolutely unable to hold him off, and went down with a cry of pain. His attacker was highly experienced; he clamped one hand over Wen Rong’s mouth, knocked him over the head, then handed him over to the people behind him. Thereafter, he tore open the hood of the raincoat, exposing a stern, resolute face in the darkness, and cried out involuntarily, “Jinyan!”
Bo Jinyan put down his gun and walked towards them. The rain continued to run down his cheeks relentlessly, but his eyes were as bright as stars as he said, “Fang Qing, you all were so slow in getting here.”
Fang Qing was unable to respond before someone behind him also tore open the hood of his raincoat and yelled excitedly, “Boss!”
It really was our flower boy, An Yan.
Although Bo Jinyan was a little annoyed at the speed with which they had come to the rescue, he could not stop his spirits from rising presently. He smiled as he stood in front of them and was about to extend his hand for a handshake when An Yan grabbed and hugged him. Bo Jinyan was somewhat startled, and did not move. Next to him, Fang Qing also reached out, and then all three of them were in a group hug.
Bo Jinyan slowly lowered his head, and was speechless for a time.
The three men hugged in the rain for several seconds, then sprang apart swiftly. The urgency of the situation did not permit them to indulge in reminiscence. Fang Qing lifted his head and just happened to catch Bo Jinyan’s eye. He stilled for a moment before reacting. “Bo Jinyan, are your eyes . . . all right now?”
Bo Jinyan said, “I . . .”
Before he could say anything, An Yan, who was standing beside him, felt a little anxious and interjected, “Lao Fang, we can explain!”
Bo Jinyan was speechless. So was Fang Qing.
At this time, the armed policemen behind them walked up and said, “Lao Fang, do we carry on pushing forward?”
At this, Fang Qing coughed lightly, glared firmly at An Yan, and said to Bo Jinyan, “We’ll talk about this later. First, give us a brief run-down of the situation here.”
“Ok.”
It turned out that two days ago, Fang Qing and Zhu Tao finally determined that this forgotten little town was the hiding place of Buddha’s Hand. They immediately informed their superiors, and formulated a comprehensive attack and rescue plan. At present, Fang Qing was heading a small advance squad whose main objective was to stealthily check out the situation and area without alarming the locals as far as possible and simultaneously ascertain whether they could rescue Bo Jinyan and Jian Yao. Moreover, the main offensive force was coming up behind them, and was advancing on the small town by water, land, and air. In a short while, the total attack would begin. However, Fang Qing and the rest had never imagined that they would be so fortunate as to run into Bo Jinyan as soon as they came ashore.
Bo Jinyan explained, “Due to unforeseen reasons, this stronghold of Buddha’s Hand has already lost it’s fighting strength. Buddha’s Hand himself, Song Kun, is gravely injured and unconscious. Undercover police officer Zhao Kun is also seriously injured; Jian Yao is looking after him. Let’s first join her there.”
Fang Qing and the others gleefully said, “That’s great!”
That building seemed to be no different from when Bo Jinyan had left it half an hour ago. The Buddha’s Hand henchmen who had collapsed earlier still had not regained consciousness. Fang Qing and his men were thus in no hurry to arrest them, and followed Bo Jinyan inside.
When they reached the room, the door was closed. Bo Jinyan pushed open the door slowly, only to see a slender figure stabbing Song Kun in the heart with a blade. They were all shocked, but it was too late to do anything. Qiu Shijin’s movements were swift and light, she used the other blade in her hand to slit her throat. The blood spurted out in a gushing fountain, like water from a faucet.
Fang Qing leapt forward and attempted to put pressure on her neck, but to no avail. A strange smile appeared on her petite face, and a chill crept into Bo Jinyan’s heart. He quickly looked around the room – where was Jian Yao? With one move he seized the dying Qiu Shijin and asked grimly, “Jian Yao? Where is she?”
Qiu Shijin opened her mouth but was unable to force out any words. Bo Jinyan could only rely on the shape of her mouth and the extremely weak sound that issued forth to make out her last words:
“Everything . . . is going . . . according to his plan . . .”
Qiu Shijin drew her last breath.
Bo Jinyan stood up. Quick as lightning, his eyes flashed to the bloody footprints on the ground. Those were Jian Yao’s footprints. The outline was clear and they were steadily spaced out; there were no other footprints next to them. She had not been compelled but had left of her own accord.
Where did she go?
——
Jian Yao was in the mountains behind the town.
It was already midnight, and the heavy rain was growing in intensity. In the rain, everything looked blurred. She had no idea that the backup force had already arrived, otherwise she would not have gone to such a dangerous place by herself.
Following the directions that Qiu Shijin had given her, she climbed up a mountainside, and could vaguely make out a cave hidden within a pitch-dark forest ahead of her. This place was very far away from the streets of the small town. In the damp darkness, she turned on her torch and fumbled her way forwards. Due to the rain, the mountainside had become especially slippery. A moment’s inattention would result in her falling down the mountain. Several small-scale landslides had already occurred in the overhanging cliffs above her. Mud and rocks were heaped up all over the ground, causing Jian Yao to shiver when she saw them.
She thought about her conversation with Qiu Shijin.
“Hi, Jenny . . .” When Qiu Shijin addressed her thus, Jian Yao knew that something like a black vortex, which had been hibernating, was finally showing its face now, and was coming.