Chapter 83: Journey to Lvteng City

No one’s life is ever easy—whether you choose to give up or keep going, each path has its hardships. The dawn breeze scattered the red clouds along the horizon, and sunlight pierced through the gaps in the leaves, stabbing straight down to the earth. Song Yicheng turned his face away, not because the light was blinding, but because the scene before him was even harder on the eyes. He shifted his body, and his old back injury flared up, making him grimace in pain and long for the comfort of lying down again.

Although the steering wheel was in his hands, and he should have been able to decide where to go and when to stop, his fate was now controlled by others. Whether he went or stayed depended entirely on the man holding the knife.

So, before dawn broke, Song Yicheng drove Hou San and Zhu Dachang to Erxian Bridge as agreed. Then, just as during their first meeting, he was hung from the fifth tree to the right of the pharmacy’s entrance. The moment mirrored that earlier encounter—head down, feet up, the world turned upside down.

Hou San shook himself, zipped up his trousers, and glanced at the dripping-wet Song Yicheng. He turned to Zhu Dachang, who was still relieving himself against the tree, and said, “You’ve got quite the flow. I was just giving him a hair wash, but you went and gave him a full-on yellow shower.”

Zhu Dachang shuddered in satisfaction, turned off his “faucet,” wiped his hands on his pants, and grinned sheepishly. “Drank too much soda last night, held it in all night… San-ge,” he said, pointing at Song Yicheng, “why does this guy keep haunting us like a ghost?”

Hou San pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and crouched down, staring intently at Song Yicheng’s face. His eyes were cold as he said, “Not hard to guess. Most likely, the police already caught him over those fake jewels. Now they’re using him to try and round up everyone involved. So, it’s not him that’s haunting us—it’s the cops behind him… Dachang, we’re this close to making a name for ourselves.”

“San-ge,” Zhu Dachang crouched down beside Hou San, scratching his head, “If the police are onto us, shouldn’t we lay low for a while? That’s what they always do in the movies.” He cleared his throat and imitated a gangster, “Ahem… Brother Haonan, eight o’clock tonight, Kowloon Wharf, I’ve got a fishing boat ready for you to hide out…”

Hou San rolled his eyes. “Maybe cut down on those movies—all that hacking and slashing, no skill at all. It won’t help you become a pro. You’d do better to read some detective stories…” He blew a smoke ring. “Sure, being on the cops’ radar is trouble, but think about it—if you’re in our line of work and the police don’t even know you exist, are you even in the business?”

Zhu Dachang nodded blankly. It didn’t matter if he understood—he’d do whatever Hou San told him. “San-ge, so what do we do now?”

Hou San stubbed out his cigarette on the ground, stood up, and stretched. “I have a plan that’ll turn danger into safety…” He glanced back at the pharmacy. “Let’s go in and grab some medicine—not just for my gunshot wound, but also for bruises, sprains, and maybe even the flu. Better safe than sorry. Then, we’ll take this guy’s taxi…”

“Huh?” Zhu Dachang interrupted, surprised. “San-ge, is it safe to drive this taxi? The police must be looking for it, and with cameras everywhere, we’ll be spotted in no time.”

“After all this time with me, you finally show some brains,” Hou San said, not annoyed at all. “But don’t interrupt me again—let me finish… The cops are watching us now. Even if we escape this time, there’ll be a next. As long as we stay in City A, they won’t give up. So, let’s drive this taxi somewhere else, make them think we’ve left, then sneak back in another vehicle. It’s called ‘making a show of one thing to cover another.’ Learn from it.”

Zhu Dachang stood as well, lowering his voice deliberately. “San-ge, shouldn’t we keep it down? If we plan all this in front of him, won’t the police hear everything from him?”

Hou San’s face stiffened, and he coughed awkwardly. “Doesn’t matter. The police may not believe him anyway. He messed up their plans this time—they might just throw him back in jail. Even if they trust what he says, how would he know where I’m going, when I’ll be back, or if I said all this just so he’d repeat it to them? Enough—time’s short. Let’s get the medicine first. We’ll talk on the way.”

With that, Hou San and Zhu Dachang strode to the pharmacy entrance. Remembering last time, Hou San didn’t have Zhu Dachang throw stones at the glass but smashed the lock himself and quickly gathered a pile of assorted medicines before hurrying back to the taxi. The car sped off into the early morning glow.

After running eight red lights in a row, Zhu Dachang couldn’t hold back any longer. “San-ge, there are thousands of roads, but safety is the first. Better to wait three minutes than to rush a second…”

“You don’t know a thing,” Hou San squinted through the windshield. “Didn’t I tell you? We want to attract the police’s attention, make some noise, let them know where we are… Once we’re out of town, we’ll lay low, let them hunt for a while. When we get somewhere else, leave the taxi in a conspicuous spot, and sneak back. Like flying a kite—sometimes tight, sometimes loose.”

Zhu Dachang glanced at the speedometer and swallowed. “So, where are we headed?”

“Not too close, or the police will find us easily. Not too far, either—the longer we’re in this taxi, the more dangerous it gets. A trip of a few hours is best… I checked the map back in the pharmacy,” Hou San said, driving with one hand and fiddling with his phone to bring up navigation with the other. “Lvteng City is the best choice—two and a half hours’ drive. We’ll go there, grab some stinky tofu, take a coach back in the afternoon, and pretend nothing ever happened…”

Zhu Dachang watched as Hou San ran another red light, his face pale. “San-ge, please, no more red lights. You must have lost all your license points by now—each one’s six points, and this is the ninth…”

“Points?” Hou San snorted. “You need a license for them to deduct your points! I don’t even have one. What’s to be afraid of?”

Zhu Dachang was stunned. “Didn’t I see a blue booklet in your pocket before? Isn’t that your license?”

“I’d forgotten about that—it’s a license all right,” Hou San licked his lips, “but for a tractor…”

As the car crossed the city’s border, Zhu Dachang breathed a sigh of relief and grinned. “San-ge, we’re out of the city. You can slow down now.”

Hou San sniffed, shook his head, and tried to sound calm. “Can’t slow down. In fact, I’ve already let off the gas. It’s just all downhill now—the car won’t slow at all…”

Zhu Dachang’s heart, just settled, leapt up again. “Then hit the brakes!”

“I am!” Hou San’s voice was dry with panic. “The brakes seem to have failed… Damn it, when that guy drove, everything was fine. Now it’s broken in my hands… Hold tight! There’s a series of sharp bends ahead…”

Zhu Dachang’s face turned ghostly pale. He clapped both hands over his eyes in terror…

“You can open your eyes now…”

A familiar voice came from behind a tree. Song Lao’er hurried over to Song Yicheng, eyeing his soaked clothes with sympathy. “Those two bastards are gone. I’ll get you down right away.”

Song Yicheng opened his eyes, grief and rage on his face. “Bastards… One day I’ll settle the score with them. It’s bad enough they pissed on me, but did they have to aim for my face?”

As Song Lao’er untied him, he tried to comfort him. “There are times when a man must swallow his pride. Even in the word ‘man,’ there’s hardship—just don’t take it to heart. Go home and wash up; it’ll pass.”

“Easy for you to say, flipping everything upside down,” Song Yicheng grumbled, standing unsteadily with Lao’er’s help. “If it were you, would you just let it go? And… you were nearby just now. Why didn’t you help? Were you just waiting to see me humiliated?”

“They had a gun. If I’d rushed in, I’d have just been served up on a platter,” Song Lao’er explained. “By hiding, I could at least think of something. As long as your life wasn’t in danger, a little humiliation is nothing. The police will be here soon…”

Song Yicheng spat on the ground. “They’ve already run off. What’s the use of the police now?”

“They won’t get far,” Song Lao’er said with a sly grin. “While they were inside the pharmacy, I put a tracker in their car and cut the brake line. Consider it some payback for you.”

Song Yicheng was about to say more when the sound of police sirens grew nearer. He quickly wiped his face and body with some tissues, turned to Song Lao’er, and warned, “Don’t you dare mention the pissing, or we’re through!”

Song Lao’er shrugged, pursed his lips, and opened his phone’s tracking app, pretending not to hear as he watched the little dot moving on the map.

Several police cars screeched to a halt outside the pharmacy. A young officer approached, asked a few questions, and prepared to leave.

Song Yicheng grabbed his arm, scowling. “Where’s Zhang Xiaoman? Even if we didn’t catch those bastards, we worked through the night. If nothing else, we deserve some credit. Isn’t it a bit much for him not to show his face?”

“What are you on about?” the officer pinched his nose. “Professor Zhang has other business. He left City A at dawn and should be almost at Lvteng City by now. How could he meet you? Instead of guessing, you’d better go home and wash up—you reek of piss, like you fell in an outhouse…”

Next to him, Song Lao’er zoomed out the map on his phone, his mouth agape. “Incredible… Those two idiots are headed toward Lvteng City too…”

End of chapter.