Chapter 406: Desperation

“How is it strange?”

“This time, I always feel like we’re being watched everywhere, as if every Aussie knows us.” He recounted what he had seen near the stadium. “It would be one thing if they recognized me, but they even recognized the low-ranking disciples. It’s truly bizarre!”

“You mean, there’s a traitor among us?!” Sima Qiudao was astonished.

Zhuo Yifan slowly shook his head. “I can’t be sure, but I feel like there’s something fishy going on…”

“If we can go back—” Sima Qiudao stopped mid-sentence. It was clear that even escaping from here was a long shot, let alone “going back.”

“If you were alone, you could still escape. With me, I’m afraid it’s impossible,” Zhuo Yifan said, shaking his head. “After dark, you should flee quickly. Go to Nanbao. I don’t know how Old Huang is doing…”

With that, he fell unconscious again.

Wu Mu held the phone, listening to Okamoto’s angry voice. The call from the art troupe director at the sentry post of Bairen City’s south gate was less a notification of the situation and more a cross-examination. But at this moment, he didn’t care about these things.

“It’s best that none of you are hurt. Confirmed three killed? One bandit escaped? Please calm down and speak… alright… pass the phone to Deputy Director Dongfang.”

Okamoto said irritably, “No need, I’ve said all I have to say. Now our art troupe can only hide in the city. It’s your job to catch the terrorists, Director Wu.” With that, he hung up.

Wu Mu shook the handset twice more and got through to Mu Min, asking for the latest update on the list—the captured personnel and bodies were currently under the management of the National Police. The latest feedback was that very few people on the list were unaccounted for.

This list had been compiled by the special task force through continuous surveillance and tracking of suspects. It included both “suspects” who had crossed the sea and local natives and naturalized citizens who were in frequent contact with them. The task force had managed to take photographs of everyone on this list and had designated them as key surveillance targets.

Wu Mu had originally hoped that more and more important figures would appear on this list, but his expectations were completely dashed. The list was indeed a few people longer than it had been a few days ago, but they were either insignificant or unlikely to be “terrorists.”

However, he couldn’t completely let his guard down. Who knew if there were bigger fish lurking beneath the surface that hadn’t shown themselves? Judging from the feedback from various locations today, the performance of the Political Security Bureau, the police, and the Garrison Battalion was not as optimistic as he had previously estimated.

“The arrest warrant has been issued. All naturalized citizen security personnel in Lingao, including the National Army and the Security Army, will be mobilized to participate in the search,” Mu Min said over the phone, as if to comfort him. “I have ordered the Japanese and Korean Security Armies to be responsible for searching key areas. They won’t go easy on them. The canine unit has also been dispatched. You can rest assured, not a single one will escape.”

“Good. I estimate that the escaped personnel are all key leaders. That Young Master Zhuo must be a major leader,” Wu Mu said with a frown. “This person must be captured. What about the policewoman who was with him?”

“I have already ordered Lian Nishang’s arrest. Also arrested are Zuo Yamei, Li Yongxun, and a few others. Everyone on the list in the police system has been arrested.”

“Good. Thank you for your hard work.”

Only a few dozen minutes had passed since Qian Duoduo’s call to Dongmen Chuiyu, but the storm that had been stirred up in that short time had tensed the heart of every Elder in the Lingao area. Wu Mu and Mu Min both understood that hundreds of pairs of eyes were now fixed on the Political Security Bureau and the police headquarters. Every step they took from now on could be a step on thorns.

At least, so far, no Elder had been harmed. One could only say that their luck was good—as always.

Wu Mu hung up the phone and dialed Liu Fuqing’s number, instructing him to immediately send people to the art troupe and the crime scene to investigate and write a report on the relevant situation.

“Immediately arrest the naturalized citizen musicians of the orchestra, as well as the Garrison Battalion soldiers responsible for protecting the orchestra. Yes! Leave no one behind, arrest them all—even if they need to be sent to the hospital, you must send a staff member with them!”

Wu Mu hung up the phone, took a deep breath, and dialed another number to the interrogation department, telling them to “clear all interrogation rooms, cancel all leave, and enter a state of readiness.”

Sima Qiudao and Zhuo Yifan remained hidden until dark. Seeing that the nearby search teams had gradually thinned out, they finally crawled out of the vegetation. Sima Qiudao had brought clothes and a pair of scissors with him. In the bushes, he quickly cut both of their hair short and changed them into the clothes of naturalized citizens.

“Your wound can’t be left untreated for long. We must hurry to Nanbao and find Old Huang!” Sima Qiudao said. As long as they reached Nanbao, it would be somewhat easier to run to the Li territories.

Zhuo Yifan nodded in agreement, but he felt a sense of loss in his heart. I, Zhuo Yifan, am also from a famous and righteous sect, a swordsman who roams the jianghu. Now I’ve been reduced to a common thief, having to cut my hair and change my clothes to survive—the ancients who spoke of cutting their beards and tearing their robes must have felt the same.

“Can you walk?”

Zhuo Yifan had rested for most of the day and had eaten some of the dry rations Sima Qiudao had brought with him. His energy had recovered somewhat. He got up and walked a few steps, which was fine. But a sharp pain shot through his wound, and with a slight movement, he almost fell to the ground.

“This is the Aussie’s secret medicine. Take it first. It’s very effective,” Sima Qiudao said, taking out some painkillers he had bought at the Dongmen Market pharmacy and feeding them to him. He then helped him change the dressing on his wound.

“The Aussie’s medicine is truly effective!” Sima Qiudao said with some surprise. When he was treating Zhuo Yifan’s wound, he had fed him sulfa tablets bought from Dongmen Market and applied anti-inflammatory powder to the wound. Now, the situation looked good.

Fortunately, I was prepared! Sima Qiudao had served in the army and knew that being wounded was more terrible than being killed in battle. One often suffered greatly before succumbing to death. During his time in hiding, he had heard that the Aussie’s medicines were very effective, so he had bought several kinds from the pharmacy, even the bandages were bought in advance.

He tore open another packet of anti-inflammatory powder, sprinkled it on the wound, and re-bandaged it for him. After a short wait for the painkillers to take effect, the two quietly left the riverbank and headed south. They didn’t dare to take the main road and could only use remote paths. Fortunately, this was not the urban area. Although there were some residential areas nearby, because of the recent major incident, the windows of all the houses on the street were tightly closed, and there was basically no one around.

Walking and stopping, after much trouble, the two had escaped the Dongmen Market area. Both Sima Qiudao and Zhuo Yifan had the ability to navigate by the stars and walk at night, through fields and forests. Thanks to the Aussie’s medicine, Zhuo Yifan could still barely move forward. Sima Qiudao estimated that it shouldn’t be a problem to reach Nanbao before dawn.

At this moment, in a certain naturalized citizen dormitory in the Nanbao district under the night sky, the lights were dim. The creaking of furniture and the moans of a woman could be faintly heard:

“Ah, ah, Brother Huang, a little harder, yes, I like it like that.” The woman lying prone on the bed was only wearing her undergarments, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, letting out occasional moans. A middle-aged man was concentrating on giving her a massage, sweating profusely.

“Xiu’er, you can really take it. Even a man might not be able to handle my Tui Na,” said the man massaging the woman, who was none other than Huang Zhen, the shopkeeper of the Huang Family Apothecary.

“Alright.” After he was done, Huang Zhen sat down on a stool, took a big gulp of tea, and lit up a post-coital cigarette. You Xiu had already brought a basin of water for him to wash his face and was wiping his sweat.

“After Brother Huang’s massage, my whole body feels so relaxed. All forty-eight thousand pores are comfortable…”

She snuggled against his chest like a little bird.

“You’re making so much noise. What if the child hears?”

You Xiu had three children. The eldest was boarding at Fāngcǎodì, and the youngest was still with her, sleeping in the bedroom just a wall away.

“He’s a heavy sleeper. When I was fleeing with him on my back, he could sleep even when we encountered a storm at sea,” You Xiu said in a low voice. “I thought he was too small and wouldn’t survive. It’s truly a blessing from the Bodhisattva that we mother and children were able to escape to such a good place.”

Huang Zhen looked at the woman before him. Looking at her, how could one imagine her fleeing in panic? She was said to be a woman in her early forties, but her body was better maintained than that of a thirty-year-old woman from a poor family. The various pleasures of the bed were not for outsiders to know.

He remembered that his affair with her had been born of necessity, but people are not made of wood and stone; how can one be without feelings? In the past, she had also been very considerate to him, so much so that Zhou Zhongjun and the others had laughed at him for his “fool’s luck.”

Huang Zhen was nearly fifty, and the heroic ambition of a wandering jianghu warrior had long since worn away. This time, he had come to Lingao to lie low and had opened a medical hall. Business was good, and he had a lovely companion in You Xiu. Over time, he began to yearn for a stable life like this. Sometimes, he even thought, how wonderful it would be if I could just continue to lie low in Lingao without taking any action… But these good days would end today! At this thought, Huang Zhen felt very sad. He was sad to lose this kind of life, and even more worried about You Xiu’s future. His affair would definitely implicate her. He had heard that the Aussies were ruthless in dealing with traitors. Sigh, I’ve really harmed her, not just her, but her whole family…

At this thought, he felt extremely melancholy. He shouldn’t have come here, but the thought that he might not be able to escape unscathed after the uprising, and that even if he did, they would likely never see each other again, had unconsciously led him to her residence.

You Xiu’s face was slightly flushed, and her body pressed against his chest. It was clear that her passion was stirred. Huang Zhen had no such feelings at first, but the thought that this would be their final farewell made him unable to refuse. One hand had already climbed to the peak of her breast and was gently kneading it.

You Xiu moaned again and whispered, “Brother Huang, I… I…”

“Hmm?” Huang Zhen saw her hesitate, her face shy, and asked, “What is it?”

“I… I… I think I’m pregnant…”